I’ll give you a few vegetarian keto diet tips, and some vegetarian keto meal ideas. Make sure you watch this video until the end to not miss anything out. By the way, if you’re new to my channel, my name is Greta, and I’m a low-carb keto nutritionist and a health coach.
I share health-related videos every week. If you haven’t yet, consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. What are the rules of a vegetarian keto diet? You don’t eat meat, fish, sugar, and starch.
It might sound restrictive at first. However, there are plenty of healthy vegetarian keto foods that you can have. I’ll get to the specific vegetarian keto foods in a minute. So first, you have to limit your daily carb intake to no more than 50 grams of carbs a day.
You will see some other sources recommending to lower your carbs to 20 grams of carbs a day, which would ultimately lead to avoiding low carb keto vegetables and other foods that are totally fine on a low carb keto diet.
An important thing to mention, in different countries, you will have different nutrition labeling regulations. For example, if you’re in the UK, you should stick with 50 grams of carbs a day.
You don’t need to do any additional calculations. And if you’re in the US, you should stick with the same 50 grams of net carbs a day. Net carbs are basically total carbs minus the fibre and some sugar alcohols.
Each sugar alcohol is different. It’s the same figure, just called differently, and depending on where you live, you might need to do some extra calculations. The next rule to follow when starting out with the vegetarian keto diet is having the right amount of protein.
And eating the right types of protein. So first, what is the right amount? Your protein intake will depend on your body weight and activity level. Around 20% of your daily calories should come from protein.
What does that look like? An average person needs 0.8 grams of protein daily per kilogram of body weight (or 0.36 grams per pound). If you’re an average male, you weigh 75kg, and you don’t do any intense workouts, you’re moderately active, your daily protein needs would be around 60g of protein a day.
And your protein sources should be complete. Compared to animal-based protein, plant proteins have reduced digestibility and bioavailability. Even if the nutritional label shows that a product has a high amount of protein, it doesn’t always mean we are able to digest and absorb 100% of it.
Eating a variety of different plant-based proteins daily will provide you with a complete amino acid profile. From plant-based protein sources, soya is the best in terms of quantity, amino acid profile, and bioavailability.
Just keep in mind, not all soy is created equal. We have organic soya and we have GMO soy. And we have unfermented soya or fermented soya. These are very different. If you’re in the US, most soy is genetically modified.
If you’re in Europe, the only way GMO soya would get into your food is through conventional animal products. I recommend staying away from GMOs at all costs. I have another video where I explain why is it a good idea to avoid GMOs.
You can check it out after. Also, check out the reference list in the description of this video. You should choose organic fermented soya products, such as organic tofu and tempeh. Keep in mind that most tofu is actually unfermented but it is soaked.
Which still reduces the amount of antinutrients and makes them more bioavailable. You can buy tofu, and ferment it yourself or buy tofu that is already fermented. And you should stay away from genetically modified or unfermented soya.
You find unfermented soy in all the different protein powders, health bars, soya milk, and fake meat products. If you see soya protein isolate on food or supplement label, I would advise you to not buy it.
Why is unfermented soya bad for you? It is loaded with antinutrients. Unfermented soy contains enzymes, that block protein absorption. It also contains phytic acid that blocks mineral absorption.
So, it’s a good example of food, that seems very nutritious when you look at the food label. But you’re not actually getting the benefits. If you eat fermented soya, you’re overcoming these issues.
It becomes more bioavailable. In addition, unfermented soya also messes up with your hormones if you consume high amounts of it. It is very estrogenic. Soya is unique in that it contains a high concentration of isoflavones, a type of plant estrogen that is similar in function to human estrogen but with much weaker effects.
These molecules can bind to estrogen receptors in the body and cause either weak estrogenic or anti-estrogenic effects. Excess estrogen from soya can increase your cancer risk. But again, some studies show it increases your risk, some show it decreases your risk.
It seems that it varies from person to person. Ok, enough about soya! These are the best sources of vegetarian keto protein: Organic tempeh, with around 20g of protein per 100g. It has a high protein quality score, 0.
91, with the maximum score being 1. This scoring system is used for evaluating the quality of a protein, based on both, the amino acid requirements of humans, and their ability to digest it.
Then next, we have hemp seeds, with 32g of protein per 100g, with a protein quality score of 0.61, meaning it is lower quality protein but still worth including in your vegetarian keto diet.
Then next, organic tofu, around 12g of protein, protein quality score, 0.91. Pea protein, around 60g of protein, quality score 0.73, also, not as good as tempeh. Then, organic eggs, 13g of protein per 100g, and the maximum protein quality score.
Meaning you should eat more eggs. Then next, grass-fed cheese. If possible, try to consume only A2 type casein, which is easier to digest and is less inflammatory. you can get A2 type casein dairy by choosing French or Swiss cheese.
Cheese like feta will have only 14g of protein, while cheese such as parmesan, will have 38g of protein. On average, cheese would have around 25g of protein. And the last one is chia seeds. It has 17g of protein per 100g, and the quality score is 0.
48, so it is not the best, and you would not be having 100 grams of chia seeds, but it’s a small addition to your total daily protein amount. There are other protein sources that you can have, but your main ones should be eggs, cheese, tempeh, and tofu.
Unless you’re allergic to eggs, dairy and soy. Then, let’s look at the best low carb keto vegetables. You should aim for 7 to 10 cups of non-starchy vegetables a day. All of these are low in carbs.
They’ll have up to 5 grams of carbs per 100g. So the best low carb keto vegetables include cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, spinach, asparagus, kale, olives and nuts, these are called fruits, but I call them vegetables, then aubergine, courgette, lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumber, green beans, celery, radish, and kaletts.
Then next, very important, the best keto fats. When following a vegetarian keto diet, make sure you consume only the highest quality fats, avoid vegetable oils at any cost. These are very inflammatory.
Stick with organic extra virgin coconut oil, grass-fed butter, if possible, A2 type casein, then, if you’re lactose intolerant, you could use grass-fed ghee instead of butter, ghee is simply a purified butter.
Then, extra virgin olive oil. You should always add it to your salads. And the last one is avocado oil. All of these are great vegetarian keto fat options. Next, the best keto drinks, water, sparkling water, black coffee, various types of teas, and keto coffee, which is coffee with coconut oil and butter.
The rule is to drink when you’re thirsty. Avoid any diet sodas with artificial sweeteners, these are unhealthy. They alter your microbiome, increase your risk of cancer and diabetes. Then next, the best keto sweeteners.
Organic stevia, liquid, or powder, I personally use liquid because it’s much easier to doze it. Monk fruit is just as good when it’s pure and not mixed with anything. Stevia and monk fruit extract are both natural sweeteners that are proven to be safe.
They don’t spike blood glucose or insulin. However, they are not good for baking, and you should use erythritol instead. Erythritol is a sugar alcohol that does not affect your blood glucose or insulin and it is also considered safe.
However, it’s important to note that some people may experience digestive issues. I would recommend using stevia as your main keto sweetener. I will link a few good sweetener brands in the description of the video.
Next, the best keto nuts – pecans, brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, walnuts, and hazelnuts. They have 4 to 7 grams of carbs per 100grams. They also have healthy fat, some protein, and fibre. You should definitely include some nuts in your vegetarian keto diet.
Next, we have the best keto fruits. These include raspberry, blackberry, strawberry, blueberry, lemon, lime, coconut, rhubarb, currants, cranberries, and lingonberries. Yes, some of these fruits have slightly higher amounts of carbs, but I would advise you to not exclude them from your diet.
They all have amazing health benefits. These low carb keto fruits will provide you with various vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients, that can only make you healthier. And the foods to avoid, include bread, rice, pizza, pasta, potatoes, lentils, chickpeas, beans, quinoa, high sugar fruits such as pineapples, mangoes, oranges, sweets, sodas, fake meat, soy milk, and vegetable oils.
Now, before you start your vegetarian keto diet, here are some of my vegetarian keto meal ideas. A vegetarian keto salad, with mixed salad leaves, a handful of walnuts, yellow bell pepper, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, and marinated organic tofu baked in the oven.
I marinated it with turmeric, herbs, salt, pepper, and garlic. Another meal idea, steamed broccoli with boiled eggs. With extra butter. Or some tempeh salad with avocado, and orange bell pepper.
If you need more guidance and meal ideas, I also work with clients online and help them to start a low carb keto diet correctly. You can learn more about my personalised keto plans by checking out the link in the description GET YOUR CUSTOM KETO DIET PLAN