Cocoa powder is an essential for us chocolate lovers, but it can be very high in fat and sugar. The solution? OurCocoa Plus powder! Not only is it one of the healthiest cocoa powder on the market, it’s also versatile and can be used to make all your keto-friendly chocolate treats. Now you can satisfy your sweet cravings when on a keto diet, making keto a much easier lifestyle to stick to.

What is Cocoa Powder?

Cocoa powder is an unsweetened chocolate product that comes from the cocoa bean from cocoa trees. It is an essential in making deeply flavoured chocolate desserts, drinks, porridge - you name it! 

Typically, cocoa powder is a no-no for us keto’ers as most powders have hidden carbs, or in simpler terms, added sugars that would go unnoticed without analysing the ingredients list. This particularly occurs in hot chocolate products that contain ingredients such as modified food starch, which is literally just good ol’ flour. So, let’s not be fooled by products falsely selling the idea of being ‘healthy’, ‘fat free’, ‘reduced calorie’ or even ‘keto-friendly’, and let’s start understanding what a keto-friendly cocoa powderactually means. 

Figure 1: A quick look at the outside of our keto-friendlyCocoa Plus Powder.

What is the NGB Cocoa Powder?

The No Guilt Bakes Cocoa Plus Powder is a super healthy substitute for regular cocoa powder. It is 100% keto-friendly, meaning you can make keto-friendly hot chocolate or any other chocolate-y treat you can think of. You’ll momentarily forget that you are on a diet at all when you experience the richness and decadence of this cocoa.

What makes it so good?

Here are some reasons as to why we can proudly say our Cocoa Plus is the best keto-friendly cocoa powder you’ll find:

The clean ingredients

Figure 2: Our full ingredient list, as shown on the packaging of our Cocoa Plus Powder.

The Cocoa Plus powder only contains 6 ingredients! →

• MCT Oil Powder
• Cocoa Powder
• Sweetener (Erythritol)
• Citrus Fibre
• Stabilizer (Xanthan Gum)
• Natural Flavouring
• Stevia

This is far better than anything you'll find stocked in tescos etc.!

Now, let’s get a better understanding of each ingredient and what makes this cocoa powder so different.

MCT Oil

MCT stands for Medium-chain triglycerides. MCT oil is a supplement that contains fatty acids called medium-chain triglycerides. These triglycerides are derived from foods such as palm kernel oil, coconut oil, and cocoa butter. It is used for energy storage in the body, to help with weight management and to promote healthy digestion.

The benefits of MCTs derive from their ability to be used as a dietary supplement. MCTs contain one of the most easily digestible and quickly metabolised forms of fat, which is quickly converted to ketones in the liver and provide energy for the body.

MCT is perfect for:

• Weight loss
• Increasing energy and endurance levels
• Improving brain and memory functioning
• Lowering cholesterol and blood sugar levels

TL;DR: MCT oil is a healthy and digestIble form of fat, perfect for us keto dieters!

Sweetener - Erythritol

Erythritol is considered one of the healthiest sugar alcohols. It is a delicious and sweet substitute for sugar. It is commonly in baked goods and low-calorie food as a sweetener.

Erythritol contains the least amount of calories compared to it’s fellow sugar alcohols, xylitol and table sugar. This means that it is perfect for low calorie diets, especially as it does not stay in the body for long and instead is absorbed into the bloodstream and passed through urine.

Want to learn more about Erythritol or Xylitol? Find more information here!

Stabiliser - Xanthum Gum

Xanthum gum is a polysaccharide that is used as a food additive to stabilize or thicken foods. It essentially helps foods to maintain a certain consistency, texture, flavouring, appearance and shelf life.

Xanthum gum has no calories and so is perfect for us keto’ers or even general calorie counters.

In terms of health benefits, Xanthum is known to help lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels. It also helps with digestion by promoting healthy bacteria in the gut, thus helping with constipation issues, bloating, gas and other digestive problems.

When consumed in a moderated amount with so many health benefits, it is the perfect ingredient to keep your Cocoa Plus in shape!

Net Carbs

Our Cocoa Plus powder contains a surprising low amount of net carbs.

Per 100g, our Cocoa Plus contains only 5g of net carbs.

To put that into perspective, one serving is just 10g, or a teaspoon of powder, meaning you’ll have just 0.5g net carbs per serving!

You’ll notice many products that are usually available in supermarkets have a much higher net carb count. This is exactly why we made this Cocoa Plus powder - so you could embrace your chocolate cravings and not be preoccupied by going over your recommended carb intake!

Want to learn how to calculate net carbs yourself? Check out our blog post:How to Count Carbs - The UK Edition

Stevia

Stevia is a natural, no-calorie sweetener that is perfect to lower sugar intake whilst still providing a perfectly sweet taste. Stevia is actually derived from the leaves of a plant calledStevia rebaudiana(Bertoni) plant. 

The sweetener is not absorbed by the body, meaning that it does not contribute any calories or influence levels of blood glucose. This means that Stevia is perfect for weight loss purposes. Stevia is also completely safe to be consumed by adults and children, including diabetic persons and women that are pregnant and/or breastfeeding!

Our cocoa powder only uses a small amount of Stevia, as a little goes a long way with this sweetener! 

How to use our favourite cocoa powder

As you probably already know, cocoa powder is perfect to use in many ways and with many things!

Here’s a few ways we tend to enjoy our Cocoa powder.

Figure 3: Some ways to use our No Guilt Bakes Cocoa Plus Powder!

Hot Chocolate

Figure 4: Our homemade keto hot chocolate using the Cocoa Plus Powder, topped with keto-friendly whipped cream!

Enjoy a teaspoon of our cocoa powder with some hot or cold water, or milk of your choice! You can then sweeten it to your preference.

Pancakes / Waffles

Figure 5: Our homemade waffles made using our Pancake and Waffle Mix, topped with plenty of toppings, including strawberries and chocolate syrup!

Add some cocoa powder to your pancake or waffle mix! We tend to add it to the mix and serve with some keto-friendly maple syrup.

Breakfast

You can easily add this powder to your porridge in the mornings for a nice change in flavour. You can even enjoy your breakfast with a glass of chocolate milk because let’s be honest, who doesn’t love their chocolate milk?

Another idea is adding cocoa to your keto-friendly cereal! Or maybe you’re on a health kick and have been drinking protein shakes. You can add a teaspoon to your shake for a warm chocolatey kick.

Mocha 

Get creative! You can use the cocoa in your coffee to make a perfect keto-friendly mocha! Sweeten to taste and ta-da, your kitchen is now your own keto coffee shop!

We’re sure you can think of better ways of incorporating cocoa into your keto treats, so do let us know what you come up with.

Key Takeaways 

OurCocoa Plus powder is no average cocoa powder. We have created this kitchen essential to make sure you can satisfy all your chocolate cravings without any guilt. With minimal ingredients that each serve an important purpose, this cocoa is going to provide more health benefits than guilt-trips. With 220g in each packet, you’re bound to get your money's worth!

Be sure to comment your thoughts on our Cocoa Plus powder! Have you thought of a different keto-friendly way of using it? Or maybe you have more questions about the powder? Let us know down below!