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The Ultimate Vegetarian Keto Diet Guide
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March 26, 2022
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The Ultimate Vegetarian Keto Diet Guide
Introduction
You have probably already heard of the Ketogenic diet, one of the hottest diet buzzwords. But do you HAVE to eat meat to follow the keto diet? While it’s true that because a traditional keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat, and moderate-protein diet in which animal products like meat, poultry, fish, and dairy are regularly consumed, you can eat a vegetarian keto diet and still reap the same results. In order to go the keto route as a vegetarian, you have to be willing to carefully plan and be mindful of your food choices to make sure you’re getting enough of the essential vitamins and nutrients your body needs to thrive.
What is a Vegetarian Keto Diet
The simplest definition of the vegetarian ketogenic diet is a diet free of meat, fish, and fowl flesh that restricts carbohydrates. By eating in this way, we can reap all of the benefits of the ketogenic diet while reducing our carbon footprint, decreasing animal abuse, and improving health. But what makes the Vegetarian Keto Diet different from the others? This low-carb, high-fat diet has the right formula to burn fat much faster by activating your ketones and using them as the main fuel for your body (instead of sugar). It offers you a wide variety of foods, giving special attention to fat that replaces meat (like avocado, olive oil, etc), so you can follow a clean vegetarian keto diet.
Types of Vegitarian Keto Diet
- Lacto-vegetarian – diets exclude meat, fish, poultry and eggs, as well as foods that contain them. Dairy products, such as milk, cheese, yogurt and butter, are included.
Ovo-vegetarian diets exclude meat, poultry, seafood and dairy products, but allow eggs.
Lacto-ovo vegetarian diets exclude meat, fish and poultry, but allow dairy products and eggs.
Pescatarian diets exclude meat and poultry, dairy, and eggs, but allow fish.
Vegan diets exclude meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy products — and foods that contain these products.
What are the top foods to eat on a Vegetarian Keto Diet?
Nuts and seeds
Rich in healthy mono-unsaturated fats, and low on carbohydrates, crunchy and delicious nuts and seeds are a great pick for vegetarians, who wish to follow the Keto diet. Some of the best available options are walnuts, Brazil nuts, pine nuts, peanuts, almonds, sesame seeds, chia seeds, among others. Furthermore, they can also help reduce bad cholesterol levels in the body.
Dairy & Leafy green veggies
Go for good-quality dairy products in your vegetarian keto diet plan for a health boost. Some of the best picks are butter, cheese, plain yogurt, and milk. Aim for as much low-carb, leafy green veggies in your daily diet as possible. Some of the best buys are celery, cucumber, spinach, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, among others.
Include more of healthy fats
Avocado: Avocado can be a great addition to a vegetarian Keto diet, as it contains a good amount of healthy fats, while being considerably low on carbohydrates. It is also rich in potassium, magnesium, and other essential nutrients.
Coconut oil: Rich in fatty acids, and low on carbohydrates, coconut oil can help you shed unwanted kilos, fast. Coconut milk, coconut water are also good alternatives.
Fill the grain void
A vegetarian diet is typically naturally rich in grain foods like rice, oats, quinoa, pasta, and bread. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, but it just doesn’t jibe with a keto diet. However, if you’re used to eating a grain-heavy diet (plant-based or not), including some close substitutes can make sticking to a low carb diet much easier.
– Rice: Cauliflower rice, konjac rice
– Oats: Made with seeds, almond flour, and coconut
– Pasta: Zucchini noodles, Konjac noodles
– Potatoes: Jicama fries, roasted radishes, mashed cauliflower
– Flour: Almond flour, Coconut flour
You can try some of the great flour replacements over at NutriBarn.
Eliminate these foods right away!
Meat Veal, beef, goat, lamb, pork
Fish and shellfish Salmon, sardines, lobster, mussels, tuna, anchovies, mackerel, etc.
Poultry Turkey, chicken, goose, duck, pheasant, etc.
Eliminate these foods right away!
- Sweeteners Brown sugar, honey, agave nectar, maple syrup, white sugar, etc. Replace them with sugar-free and zero calorie sweeteners.
- Starchy veggies All Starchy Yams, potatoes, sweet potatoes etc. You can have non-starchy roots like carrots, Onions, Ginger, Garlic, beets, parsnips, etc. in moderation.
- Grains Quinoa, bread, buckwheat, rice, pasta, barley, rye, millets, oats, pasta, etc.
- Sugar sweetened beverages Sweet tea, juice, soda, sports drinks, store bought fruit juices. You can find sugar-free and zero calorie alternatives to these, but limit their consumption.
- Legumes Chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, lentils, etc.
- Condiments Honey mustard sauce, ketchup, barbecue sauce, sweetened salad dressings (ranch, thousand island, etc.) marinades, etc. You can replace most dressings with low-carb variants.
- Alcoholic beverages Beer, sweetened cocktails, liqueurs, etc. As a thumb rule, avoid alcohol while trying to lose weight. Having said that an occasional glass of dry red/white wine or dry (unsweetened) spirits will not kick you out of ketosis.
- Processed foods Granola, cookies, breakfast cereals, fast food, crackers, cookies, chips, etc. Now-a-days there are a plethora of Low-carb snacks that you can get or make to make your diet fun.
- Fruits Bananas, apples, apricots, melon, oranges, plums, peaches, grapes, raisins, etc. There are certain berries that you consume in small quantities like strawberry, blueberry, blackberry etc.
