A Guide To Vegan Keto Diet

The keto diet is basically a low carb diet which aims to cut down your carb intake and generate energy from fats and proteins which takes the body to the process of ketosis. The ideal Keto diet incorporates 75% fat rich food, 20% protein rich food and only 5% carbohydrates to attain the process of Ketosis. If we have a closer look, we can see that the Keto Diet is a diverse diet rich in foods of different cuisines. However some dieters complain of the Ketogenic diet being more inclined towards the non vegan side since meat, fish and eggs are few mandatory items to add to your Keto platter. There is a myth that there is no such thing as a Vegan Keto Diet which restricts many vegan dieters to take up the Keto Diet. While we agree that the options are a little less but it is still possible to pull it off while maintaining your sanity, decreasing animal suffering, and improving your health.

To implement the diet correctly, follow these rules:

• Limit your total carbohydrate consumption to 35 grams or less per day.
• Eliminate all meat, fish, dairy, eggs, and other animal products from your diet.
• Eat plenty of low-carb vegetables.
• Get at least 70% of your calories from plant-based fats.
• Consume around 25% of your calories from plant-based proteins.
• Supplement with nutrients that you may not be getting enough of (e.g., vitamins D3, B12, & B6, DHA & EPA, iron, zinc, and taurine).

These are some basic principle steps which one needs to incorporate in the diet when on a Vegan Keto Diet. 

DO NOT EAT

• Grains – wheat, corn, rice, cereal.
• Legumes — lentils, black beans, peas.
• Sugar – honey, agave, maple syrup.
• Fruit – apples, bananas, oranges.
• Tubers – potato, yams.

 

Now let’s look at low-carb vegan-friendly foods that you can eat on a vegan keto diet:

WHAT TO EAT

• Vegan “meats” — tempeh, tofu, seitan, and other high-protein, low-carb vegan “meats”
• Mushrooms — shiitake, king oyster, lion’s mane
• Leafy greens – spinach, kale
• Above ground vegetables – broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini
• High-fat dairy alternatives – unsweetened coconut-based yogurt, coconut cream, vegan cheeses
• Nuts and seeds – pistachios, almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds
• Avocado and berries – raspberries, blackberries, and other low glycemic impact berries
• Fermented foods — Natto, sauerkraut, kim chi
• Sea vegetables — dulse, bladder wack, kelp
• Sweeteners – stevia, erythritol, monk fruit, and other low-carb sweeteners 
• Other fats – coconut oil, olive oil, MCT oil, avocado oil 

By eating the foods on the “Do Eat” list, you will be able to follow a vegan ketogenic diet and cover most of your nutritional bases. At first, however, it may be difficult to adapt to this new lifestyle with all of the low-carb and keto recipes that contain animal products. Luckily, there are some simple substitutions you can make that will allow you to “veganize” almost every keto recipe.

From Keto to Vegan Keto: Simple Vegan Alternatives

If you search through ruled.me (or any other keto website), you will see a ton of recipes featuring eggs and cheese. Even most of the desserts are filled with high-fat dairy. Are there any keto-friendly vegan dairy and egg replacements? Why yes — yes there are.

Keto-Friendly Vegan Dairy Replacements

• Replace Milk with Coconut Milk. In recipes, you can substitute coconut milk in for regular milk in a 1 to 1 ratio.
• Replace Heavy Cream with Coconut Cream. You may have to blend in a bit of water or skim some water out of the container depending on the creaminess of the coconut cream.
• Instead of Butter use Coconut Oil or Vegan Butter. Coconut oil has a slightly lower melting point than butter and the same smoke point as butter, which makes it a good butter replacement. If you are not a fan of the flavor of coconut oil, look for vegan butter in your local health food store. 
• Replace Dairy-Based Cheese with Vegan Cheese. There are plenty of vegan cheeses on the market right now. If you want to avoid soy (for the reasons we will discover later), then you can find coconut, cashew, and other tree-nut-based cheeses. 
• My personal favorite vegan cheese-making companies are Treeline and Miyoko’s Kitchen. Their cheeses are some of the best I’ve ever tasted. 
• Replace Heavy Cream with Coconut Cream. You may have to blend in a bit of water or skim some water out of the container depending on the creaminess of the coconut cream.
• Instead of Cream Cheese have Vegan Soft Cheese. Treeline makes a cashew-based soft cheese that is delicious and savory, and it has almost the same texture as cream cheese.
• Replace Yogurt and Sour Cream with Nut-Based Yogurt. At your local health food market, you will probably be able to find plain almond, cashew, or coconut milk yogurt. Just make sure it has no added sugars or hidden carbohydrates.

Some keto friendly vegan dairy replacement examples

When it comes to buying keto-friendly vegan dairy products, make sure you are not getting any extra added sugar, hidden carbs, or unhealthy ingredients like hydrogenated oils. Some of these products may also have “gums” in them like agar agar or guar gum. These compounds are used to make the product creamier, and they are safe for most people. However, some people may get gastrointestinal discomfort from eating them, so look out for gums when switching to vegan dairy products. The good news is that the availability of high-quality keto-friendly alternatives is increasing rapidly. You don't need to rant about the unavailability of Keto friendly products into the market because Keto has paved its way right into the market. In this blog we have covered almost every aspect of the vegan Ketogenic diet so you need not to worry about following the Keto diet being a vegan already. Stay strict with the diet, drink lots of water and eat healthy food and enjoy the benefits of the Vegan Ketogenic diet as it follows.