Celebrating Birthdays on the Ketogenic Diet

staceyIn today’s guest blog post, ketogenic dietitian Stacey Bessone provides some tips for celebrating birthdays while on the ketogenic diet. Stacey is a ketogenic dietitian, RDN, LDN, based in St. Petersburg, Florida and a Nutricia Keto Ambassador.



A birthday party can be a little tricky for someone trying to stay on their ketogenic diet.  With a party comes the expectations of cake and ice cream, not bacon and heavy cream.  Luckily, there are more resources for low-carb and keto friendly treats so thoughts of birthday treats are possible.  Here are some suggestions.

  1. If you are planning the party, concentrate on the activity or theme of the party and make the treats secondary. For example, you could have a jump house with games, go to the movies, have an arts and crafts project, or have live entertainment such as a magician. Having the focus on fun will divert from the expectations of cake.
  2. Have a birthday cake made of flowers or a craft paper cake.
  3. Cupcakes or cake pops are very popular at birthday parties. These are great options because they are single serving and you can provide regular cupcakes or cake pops for the party guests and keto-friendly cupcakes or cake pops for your child. Try these recipes for KetoCal® chocolate cupcakes or KetoCal® vanilla cake pops.
  4. Doughnuts and doughnut holes can be made with keto-friendly ingredients. Try these recipes for KetoCal glazed or chocolate doughnuts.
  5. Sometimes having a trip or a special outing can replace a party. Depending on the time of year and where you live, your child may want to go to a theme park or go boating!
  6. If the party is during summer months, consider a Popsicle party. Popsicles are easily made keto-friendly and kids enjoy them.
  7. Another great dessert is sugar-free gelatin. You can use blue gelatin to make a beach themed dessert. Here is an example that you can make keto-friendly by using sugar-free blue gelatin, almond flour for sand, and adding a tiny drink umbrella.
  8. For your child’s birthday celebration at school, opt for non-food items to celebrate. You could send non-food party favors for all of the children to enjoy, such as stickers, pencils, etc. Doing a craft or playing a game could also be a good substitute.
  9. For other children’s birthday parties, including school parties- have your child come prepared. Send along keto- friendly snacks and/or fat bombs so that they may have a sweet treat too.


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