This is a definitive guide for vegetarians exploring how to successfully do a vegan keto in 2020.
I understand how frustrating it is to find all the resources, but not able to get detailed information on how to adopt keto without eating meat or other non-veg foods.
So if you’re still searching the internet to find vegan keto resources that don’t promote eating meat, I have done the research work for you.
Trust me, you can reap all the keto benefits while staying vegetarian with these interesting tips.
Registered dietitian nutritionist Isabel Smith described ketogenic diet as basically a low-carbohydrate, moderate protein, and high-fat diet which is designed to help lose weight while staying healthy.
Moreover, this practical guide includes meal plans, food lists, snack lists, recipe links, and other important resources to help you achieve a vegan keto diet in the long run.
Now, are you ready to become healthy and fit through vegetarian keto?
Do you want to explore an all-vegetable keto diet guide?
Well, you’re on the right page!
It’s really important to eat a balanced diet and do regular exercises to maintain your shape no matter your age.
Vegan Keto Meal Plans
Generally, the ketogenic diet consists of 70 percent fat, 20 percent protein, and 10 percent carbohydrates.
The key purpose of this meal plan is to help the body burn fat as the main source of energy, instead of protein or carbohydrates.
Aside from helping achieve healthy weight loss, the keto diet can also reduce inflammation and certain cancers.
But what is more interesting is that the ketogenic diet can be combined with a vegan lifestyle because it focuses on consuming protein and fat over carbohydrates.
So, what are the best meal plans for vegan keto?
Here’s a one-week vegetarian keto meal plan to help you start your vegan keto journey:
Sunday
- Coconut almond chia pudding for breakfast.
- Green salad made of vegan cheese, pumpkin seeds, non-starchy veggies, and tempeh avocado for lunch.
- Vegan cauliflower mac&cheese for dinner.
Monday
- Keto porridge with ground flaxseeds, nonsweet shredded coconut, chia seeds, and full-fat Coconut milk for breakfast.
- Low-carb veggie soup with vegan cream for lunch.
- Cauliflower rice with tofu for dinner.
Tuesday
- Tofu scramble topped with avocado and vegan cheese for breakfast.
- Zucchini noodles made with vegan cheese and walnut pesto for lunch.
- Walnut chili mixed with sliced avocado and vegan cheese for dinner.
Wednesday
- Chia pudding with sliced almonds and full-fat coconut milk for breakfast.
- Cauliflower soups with creamy coconut for lunch.
- Shirataki noodles mixed with Alfredo sauce and mushrooms for dinner.
Thursday
- Coconut yogurt with non sweet shredded coconut, seeds, and nuts for breakfast.
- Vegetable, coconut, and tofu curry for lunch.
- Cauliflower pizza with vegan cheese and non-starchy veggies for dinner.
Friday
- Tofu scramble mixed with spinach, mushrooms, and vegan cheese for breakfast.
- Tofu and veggie salad with avocado stuffing for lunch.
- Eggplant lasagna topped with vegan cheese for dinner.
Saturday
- Vegetarian keto smoothie mixed with vegan protein powder, cocoa powder, almond butter, and full-fat coconut milk for breakfast.
- Tofu and veggie salad with avocado stuffing for lunch.
- Cauliflower stir-fry rice for dinner.
If you’ve been a vegetarian all your life, it’s so easy to incorporate ketogenic meal plans to your diet.
However, there are healthier alternatives if you don’t want to use cheese and eggs.
Some of the best keto-friendly vegetarian dairy replacements include coconut milk, coconut cream, vegan butter, coconut oil, vegan cheese, and nut-based yogurt.
For vegan egg substitutes, you can use silken tofu, flaxseed, vinegar and baking soda, and The Vegg, a 100 percent plant-based egg product.
So, which of these meal plans do you think is your favorite?
Vegan Keto Food List
The good thing about choosing a vegan keto diet is the wide variety of protein, fat, and carbohydrate sources available from plant foods.
However, you may notice that protein is the most difficult nutrient in the vegan keto diet since most plant-based sources of protein are high in carbohydrates.
Instead of eating peas, lentils, broad beans, chickpeas, baked beans, and runner beans as high-carb protein sources, you can consume these low-carb vegan protein sources:
- Almonds
- Brazils
- Cashews
- Chia seeds
- Flax seeds
- Firm tofu
- Regular tofu
- Seed mix
- Silken tofu
- Seitan
- Tempeh
- Textured veggie protein
- Walnuts
What is your immediate reaction whenever you see sausages and bacon on the table?
Do you frown?
If so, that’s a natural reaction from a true-blue vegan.
Don’t worry because there are a lot of healthy fat sources you can use for your vegan keto diet.
The following are excellent sources of healthy fat:
- Avocado
- Almonds
- Brazils
- Chia seeds
- Cashews
- Cacao butter
- Coconut oil
- Flax seeds
- Groundnut oil
- Olives
- Olive oil
- Rapeseed oil
- Seed mix
- Sunflower oil
- Vegan soft cheese
- Vegan Greek-style cheese
- Vegan cheddar cheese
- Walnuts
For carbohydrates, there are good and bad sources that you need to know.
Limit your consumption of non-veg, high-carb foods such as pasta, syrups, cereals, rice, and bread since they are high in carbohydrates.
On the other hand, there are also high-carb vegetables that you need to limit including onions, beetroot, carrots, pumpkin, lentils, beans, peas, corn, squash, and potatoes.
The best food sources for a low-carb diet include the following:
- Avocado
- Aubergine
- Asparagus
- Broccoli
- Bamboo shoots
- Cucumber
- Courgette
- Cauliflower
- Cabbage
- Green bell pepper
- Green beans
- Kale
- Mixed salad leaves
- Mushroom
- Spinach
- Tomatoes
If you want to get a more detailed breakdown of proteins, carbs, fats, and calories in these foods, go visit the vegan keto food list.
But wait, just because this is a vegan keto guide doesn’t mean you can’t include some fruits in your diet.
In fact, there are low-carb fruits that are healthy to eat such as raspberries, plums, lemons, limes, coconut meat, cantaloupe melon, strawberries, and blackberries.
Vegan Keto Snack List
To make sure your appetite is under control between meals, there are some vegan-friendly keto snacks you can try.
This snack list will surely help you keep everything in check while enjoying your vegan keto meals:
- Coconut cream mixed with strawberries or blackberries.
- Cauliflower tater tots.
- Guacamole with sliced bell peppers.
- Olives with vegan cheese.
- Coconut yogurt with almonds on top.
- Celery sticks dipped in almond butter.
- Roasted pumpkin seed.
- Dried coconut flakes.
- Trail mix with non sweet coconut, seeds, and nuts.
- Cocoa and coconut milk smoothie.
- Coconut and nut bars.
- Coconut fat bombs with shredded coconut, coconut oil, and coconut butter.
- Sliced cucumber in vegan cream cheese.
Other yummy vegan keto snacks you can try to include keto pancakes, keto cookies, vegan cheese bars, mixed nuts, and avocado itself.
Vegan Keto Recipe Links
I have found a lot of vegan keto recipes online, but this comprehensive list of unique vegan keto recipes got my attention.
The recipes are truly incomparable and mouth-watering. You can check it out yourself to see how interesting the diet meals are.
But let me give you a sample of my favorite vegan keto recipe, the Warm Asian Broccoli Salad!
What I love about this recipe is that you can prepare the salad in as little as 15 minutes.
How cool is that?
That means you are only three steps away from enjoying a bowl of this heavenly vegan keto salad.
Plus, you will surely enjoy a tender broccoli slaw dressed and warmed in unique Asian flavors.
Just make sure to use coconut or nut milk yogurt to create a more satisfying flavor for this salad recipe.
If you’re new to this lifestyle, you can check out the Vegetarian Keto Diet for Beginners.
It’s a cookbook with 55 simple recipes you can choose from, so you can enjoy your meal time while making sure you get enough carbs, calories, fat, and protein.
Few Reminders Before Doing Vegan Keto
Let me just remind you that there are a few important things you need to know before you decide to go vegan keto as a first-timer.
You need to stay hydrated, eat foods rich in fiber, engage in light activities, and get enough rest to reduce the side effects of the vegan keto diet.
I’m telling you, it’s not easy to transition to a vegetarian keto diet as you may get keto flu while shifting from high-carb diet to ketogenic diet.
You can supplement with potassium, sodium, and electrolytes magnesium in order to reduce headaches, insomnia, muscle aches, and other symptoms.
Remember, the vegan keto diet is not for everyone.
Wrapping It Up
The key takeaway from this ultimate vegan keto guide is that you need some forward planning before taking the challenge.
There are lots of veggies and fruits you can enjoy, but there are also some foods to avoid.
With a healthy diet and exercise, you can keep your body fit and fab without worrying about any potential side effects that crash diets usually have.
