Valentine’s Day is rough
Let’s start by stating the obvious; you’re either into V-Day or you’re not. I’ve always thought it was a made-up holiday, designed to sell greeting cards and candy, like how Arbor day was invented to sell trees or Mother’s day to sell mothers. Everybody gets chocolate and sometimes flowers and it’s JUST close enough to New Year’s that it can screw with resolutions. Honestly, it can be pretty frustrating but especially so if you’re trying to lose weight.
So if you’re trying to lose weight and still want to participate in Valentine’s day, this post is for you. Well, perhaps more specifically this post is for your loved one who wants to get you something special. I’ve put together a list of keto-friendly gifts, food, and other low carb lifestyle items that I personally would be stoked to get, and I’m sure your low carb love will as well.
I recommend you share this vaguely in social media where your significant other might see it, like this:
Gifts, not glucose
If your honey has a sweet tooth, there are some things you can get that won’t break the carb bank, so to speak. Here are some solid bets:
Lily’s Sweets Stevia-Sweetened Chocolate
Lily’s is really good chocolate, made from ethically sourced ingredients. It’s non-gmo if you’re into that, and gluten free, if your intestines are into that. I’ve only had their salted almond and milk variety, but it was quite delicious. The primary downside to Lily’s is the cost; it’s pretty expensive chocolate. It’s definitely worth it as their means of sourcing and production are incredibly high quality, and their stevia blend sweetens without a weird aftertaste.
Avoid: Commonplace “sugar-free” candy you can get at the drugstore. These are most often sweetened with maltitol, which though it’s a sugar alcohol and isn’t really sugar, it’s glycemic impact is like 5 points below sugar, so it’s basically sugar. In addition, maltitol is a laxative, which is probably the least sexy thing you can get someone for Valentine’s day.
Nuts!
I don’t have a link for this because you can find nuts almost anywhere. Nuts are kind of a tricky area as it’s hard to eat a reasoned amount for some people. That said, it’s better to get some junk calories in from healthy nuts than chips or Snickers. Blue Diamond brand even has some flavors that are pretty delicious – the wasabi soy almonds don’t last long in my house.
Avoid: Peanuts and cashews, and anything with a sugary coating. Aim for walnuts, pecans, and especially macadamia nuts, which are the holy grail of keto nuts but they’re typically so expensive most ketoers will forego them at times. If any holiday calls for a little extra spending on your pudding-dumpling, it’s this one.
Keto Products
As I’ve said before, there are a lot of stupid, pretty “meh” keto products floating around that you’re better off not avoiding. For instance, I wouldn’t spend the money month-to-month on like keto coffee creamer. There are some good ones out there, but it’s not something I need. If my wife got some for me, however, I would use the hell out of it and be thankful. There are a lot of keto products that serve a myriad of purposes that would make great gifts. Some that I have personal experience with are:
Perfect Keto MCT Creamer – This is powdered MCT oil, which is incredibly weird to me, but it will definitely make your coffee a little more palatable in the morning if you miss your creamer. MCT oil is also great for a jolt of focus and mental clarity. The salted caramel flavor is delicious. I love salting my sweet stuff, leave me alone.
F-Bomb Macadamia Nut Butter Fat Bombs – These things are delicious. They’re a very niche concept – if you’re doing keto, you’ve probably heard of fat bombs. There are TONS of recipes online and it’s basically a way to get a nice dose of healthy fats in a quick and tasty way. Many people use fat bombs – myself included – as a sweet treat when you’re craving candy. They’re also wonderful if you’re trying to power through the last mile of a run, or a final set at the gym.
MCT Oil – Sometimes you just want MCT oil without all the extra stuff. While personally I like coconut oil, as it’s cheaper and more accessible, I will admit there is a marked difference in my perceived energy gain from coconut oil and pure MCT oil. There’s a LOT of information to MCTs if you’re interested in undertaking a torturous amount of reading, but pure MCTs basically go straight into energy conversion and are very difficult to get stored as body fat. If you or your loved one have wanted to try MCTs over coconut oil, no better time than Valentine’s day to splurge on the experience.
Avoid: Don’t fall into the trap of buying ketosis testing anything. The little pee strips that you can buy at the pharmacy are good for seeing if you’re peeing ketones out, but A) they’re not useful for measuring anything other than the excretion of ketones which tells you largely nothing and B) how romantic is it to buy something for your SO that they have to pee on?
Protein
Unless you’re doing veggie or vegan keto, everyone loves a steak. The amount of effort in learning how to cook a steak, going out and buying one, and then cooking it for your SO is absolutely worth it. Even if you are TERRIBLE at cooking, a steak takes care of itself, and your partner will be pretty happy.
I also recommend:
Beef Jerky – I don’t have a favorite brand, but as long as you avoid sugar in the processing (which honestly can be tricky) you’re on the right track. Bonus points if you can find some local business because then you might be able to get a batch or two that have been cured without sugar.
Meat subscriptions – If you REALLY love your valentine, there are some amazing curated meat delivery companies that source from farms local and ship you boxes each month. Conversely, you can usually just order one box and have it shipped as well. This is a really cool idea if your partner likes to cook. My wife picked up a box from a local cattle farm last year and I was exceptionally excited. Extra bonus is that you benefit from your partner’s gift as well, assuming they cook and share with you.
Sweep them off their feet, not out of ketosis
These of course are just some keto or keto-adjacent ideas for Valentine’s Day. Do you have any staples you’d love to get from your lovebug that will help keep you on the right track?