HARLINGEN — Sophia Rodriguez, 36, said Keto Mini Donuts are the first ketogenic donut shop in Texas. Her shop specializes in guilt free donuts along with other sweet treats.
“We specialize in donuts and our donuts are very small and that is because of portion control. Every donut is calculated to be under one gram of carb, no sugar whatsoever, they are gluten free,” she said.
The reason the donuts are small, is because when people are dieting and cutting back on sugar, it is very hard to say no, she added.
“When you are having that craving, you just need something to satisfy that sweet tooth and we made it very small to where you are just cutting that sensation out of your system.
“They are so small because just like a fun size candy bar you just eat that and get that kind of craving away,” she said.
The usual boxes include 12 flavors and people get to mix and match however they want.
“Since they are very versatile with the macros you can have anywhere between five to six little mini donuts throughout your day,” Rodriguez said.
The shop first opened in the summer of 2018. Rodriguez and her team had been trying to bake for diabetics since 2010.
“We didn’t have as much access to the new sugars and flours and substitutes.
“It was a struggle just to get it down to where it doesn’t spike anybody’s sugar or insulin levels,” she said.
Keto lifestyle helped with the creation of recipes and Rodriguez used to sell from the trunk of her car and promoted on Facebook.
“We just did it to help them out and started selling from Brownsville to Mission. We would wake up early in the morning and glaze,” she said.
Rodriguez was born and raised in Harlingen. She and her husband decided to buy a location in her hometown to be able to expand. She said she did not think it would be as successful as it has been.
“We said, you know what, we can’t work from home anymore, we are outgrowing it. I think the Valley needs something like this,” Rodriguez said.
“I just wanted a little storefront but once we opened, we literally sold out in less than two hours,” she said.
Her location has been going on for three years, and now, there is another one located in Edinburg and an online store where people can purchase her products.
“Our future is to franchise to bigger cities,” she said.
Rodriguez has been baking since she was a child. She used to do 3D cakes and fondant cakes but she had not tried gluten free baking, which is what she and her team focus on now.
“We have been consistent and transparent with what we use, staying consistent and being informative is what has us keep going where we are,” Rodriguez said.
Her location in Edinburg opened March 3, 2020, and was only open for three weeks before it had to shut down because of the pandemic. But, Rodriguez said clients showed up and made the location strive.
Keto Mini Donuts offers a variety of donut flavors, cupcakes, cookies and brownies. Also, cheesecake cups, specialty cakes and more.
“The Valley has a high rate of diabetics and we are here to better the situation,” she said.
“We came into the picture to help them not feel restricted, to help the sweet tooth but not add on to the problem,” Rodriguez said.
Keto Mini Donuts
>> Open Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
>> Located at 2222 S Expressway 83, Harlingen
