Is Beef Jerky Keto Friendly? | Can I Eat Beef Jerky on Keto Diet?

Friends, as someone who has spent much of his life living off the land in the forests and mountains of this great country, I admit, I don’t keep up with the latest foodie trends. Although I have always focused on the two pillars of healthy living, which are good eating and vigorous exercises like log jumping and cougar racing. However, in recent years a growing number of people have asked me, “is beef jerky keto?” Initially, I thought this was a nonsense phrase. But the food experts at Old Trapper informed me that this is actually a growing community of people who follow a disciplined diet consisting of fat, protein, and very little carbohydrates. While I may be out-of-step with the ways of the modern world, I am still committed to improving myself, so I vowed to learn more about the keto lifestyle.  

What is Keto?

I will begin this (brief) explanation by saying I am not a licensed nutritionist. The Old Trapper legal team of Clearly, Chomping, and Best, Esqs also recommend that readers consult a physician before starting a keto diet. That being said, keto is a method of eating that drastically reduces carbohydrate intake in favor of fat and protein. Sounds pretty good, right? As a result of following this diet, a person’s body enters a metabolic state called ketosis (hence, keto) and burns fat as energy. People who eat a keto diet report dramatic weight loss and reduced blood sugar and insulin levels. That’s why keto is the diet of choice for many people who are trying to cut their sugar intake and lose weight or maintain a healthy weight. 

Eating on Keto

People who follow a keto diet need to track the nutritional content of the foods they eat. For example, many typical keto diets only permit carbohydrates to account for 5% of your daily calories. This means someone might regularly consume 20g or less of carbs each day. As a result, people following the keto lifestyle have to choose their foods carefully.

Daily keto meals include lots of meats, cheeses, green vegetables, and healthy oils. Choosing keto-friendly snacks is more challenging because many convenient choices like chips, crackers, or pastries come loaded with carbs and sugar. Naturally, many keto dieters turn to beef jerky as their satisfying, sustaining snack savior.

Is Beef Jerky Keto?

While beef jerky is undoubtedly an excellent source of lean protein, ingredients like honey, sugar, and soy sauce can add a relatively high amount of carbs per serving. That means some flavors of beef jerky can contain nearly half of your allowed daily carbs. So if you’re eating keto, it’s important to compare nutrition labels and snack accordingly. 

Fortunately, the keto community has a new snack option. I recently formulated my Zero Sugar Beef Jerky, which contains 14g of protein per serving and only 2g of naturally occurring carbohydrates and no added sugar of any sorts. Keto eaters can now enjoy the real wood-smoked flavor my beef jerky is known for, without blowing up their daily carb consumption. My Zero Sugar Beef Jerky is also a great snack option for people who don’t eat keto but still adhere to low-sugar and low-carb diets.

Snack Carefully

In conclusion, Canada is a land of contrasts… Whoops! Wrong essay. What I meant to say is that I’ve learned quite a bit about the keto diet recently. While I didn’t set out to make a Keto jerky, I just wanted to see if I could smoke up a good batch without any brown sugar, and, well, here we are! I am glad to know my Zero Sugar Beef Jerky is an excellent snacking option for health-conscious people who still appreciate delicious foods. 

If you’d like to try a bag of my Zero Sugar Beef Jerky for yourself, you can find it in most major grocery, convenience, and outdoor stores nationwide. Or, it’s always available online at oldtrapper.com.