Best Ketogenic Vegetables - In order of importance for you

vegetables
(VLC.MD) #1

I was inspired by this How to Keto 1 page list you can put on a fridge by @stacy
Here is the post …

I don’t know if this is helpful but my 15 year old son recently started keto (my wife and I have been doing it for four years), and I put a list on the side of the fridge to help him out (copied below), with simple instructions: If it’s not on the list, don’t eat it.

He said this was really helpful with his decision-making. He has already lost 15 pounds in five weeks and he feels great.

Meats:
Beef — hamburger, steak, roast
Chicken
Pork — bacon, ham
Fish
Turkey
Sausage

Eggs

Butter, mayonnaise

Whole fat milk, cream & cheeses

Nuts: macadamias, almonds, pecans, walnuts

Olive oil, coconut oil

Berries — limited

Avocados

Low carb veggies:
broccoli
cauliflower
brussel sprouts
asparagus
spinach
squash
cabbage

Source:

So I love (t)his low carb veggie list, but I thought, cucumbers would be a good addition to that list. So would lettuce.

What would you add to her good Veggie List ? Would you take away anything ?

I guess I’d like to see what veggies people actually eat, and which veggies people avoid.

To make a list … I’ve made a list of priorities. Anyone got some other good priorities ?

Priorities:

  • the newbie will eat them / ie. palatability
  • in most fridges
  • lower the carbs or “insulin load” the better
  • people will know them (ie. WTH is beet greens, snap beans, chayote ?)
  • has nutrients (must have more nutrients as the carbs go up) .ie. good nutrient density per carb.
  • easy to prepare

All help appreciated.

Try to make the list in order of importance for you are your ketogenic success / what you perceive as successful for others. The idea might be … when you are going to eat carbs which veggies do you “Spend them” on ?

(Duncan Kerridge) #2

I might take milk off the list, very easy to bump up your carbs with that if it’s more than a splash in tea or coffee

(VLC.MD) #3

List of Veggies, sorted by insulin load (very close to carb load).
alfalfa 1
endive 1
escarole 1
pickles 1
cucumber 1
chicory greens 2
coriander 2
beet greens 2
sauerkraut 2
zucchini 2
radishes 2
summer squash 2
lettuce 2
bamboo shoots 2
Chinese cabbage 2
banana pepper 3
mustard greens 3
jalapenos 3
red peppers 3
chayote 3
arugula 3
asparagus 3
brussel sprouts 3
celery 3
okra 3
turnips 3
chard 3
rhubarb 3
snap beans 3
collards 4
turnip greens 4
chives 4
spinach 4
cauliflower 4
cabbage 4
turnips 4
carrots 4
carrots 5
parsley 5
broccoli 5
red cabbage 5
portabella mushroom 5
kale 5
bamboo shoots 5

(VLC.MD) #4

How to participate:

Method (A)
(1) Quote the veggie list above.
(2) then Delete all the stuff you dont eat, or stuff you dont think others will eat / or isnt good for keto.
(3) Re-arrange this list of vegetables that are important for you (most to least).

Method (B) Ignore my list, make your own.

Method (C.) Use Stacy’s list … and add / subtract.

Low carb veggies: Stacy’s list
broccoli
cauliflower
brussel sprouts
asparagus
spinach
squash
cabbage

tl;dr

What are your top 10 ketogenic veggies !

(VLC.MD) #5

My list … as I love salad and the fatty dressing +/- some chicken or beef. So lettuce, red peppers, cucumber, radishes are up there.

lettuce 2
red peppers 3
cabbage 4
cucumber 1
spinach 4
broccoli 5
mushrooms 5
pickles 1
radishes 2
kale 5
banana pepper 3
jalapenos 3
asparagus 3
celery 3
chives 4
carrots 5

Want to eat more: / haven’t had lately.
zucchini 2
summer squash 2 (can’t tell different squashes apart)
Chinese cabbage 2 (not sure what it is)
turnips 3
cauliflower 4

(Keto in Katy) #6

His.

Common mistake :smile:

(VLC.MD) #7

fixed. thanks. feel free to delete your post so i can sweep this one under the rug : !

(Elmo) #8

This is profound. :sunglasses:

(VLC.MD) #9

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source: https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/vegetables

All numbers represent percent of net carbohydrates.(Net carbs = digestible carbs, i.e. total carbs minus fiber.) This means that a hundred grams (3½ ounces) – the weight of an average tomato – of any vegetable will contain this number of grams of carbs.
E.g. an average tomato has about 3 grams of net carbs. A whole cauliflower head weighs a lot more though, perhaps ten times more, and may thus contain about ten times 4 grams, i.e. 40 grams of carbs.

Vegetables with less than 5 percent carbs may be eaten relatively freely.

If you’re on a keto low-carb diet (below 20 grams a day), you may need to be a bit careful with some of the vegetables. You should probably be especially careful with peppers or tomatoes – these carbs quickly add up towards the 20 grams-a-day limit. Just one medium-sized pepper may contain 6-8 grams of digestible carbs.

Top 10 low-carb vegetables

Low-carb veggies top 10

Here are the ten greatest low-carb vegetables, tasty and nutritious but with very few carbs. They’re sorted by how popular and useful they are in low-carb cooking.

All numbers are net carbs per 100 grams (3½ ounces).3

Cauliflower – 4 g. The most classic and iconic of all low-carb vegetables. The base of cauliflower rice and cauliflower mash.
Cabbage – 3 g. Another great low-carb vegetable. Who doesn’t love butter-fried green cabbage or the truly addictive Asian cabbage stir-fry? Top 21 Cabbage recipes
Avocado – 2 g. Not just low carb, but also full of nutritious fat. Avocado can be eaten in all kinds of ways, including on its own, perhaps with some mayonnaise, or it can be used to make guacamole. But that’s just the start, here are more awesome avocado recipes
Broccoli – 4 g. Another great option that can replace pasta, rice or potatoes. Just fry it in butter or add some cheese for great-tasting side dishes.
Zucchini – 3 g. Try our zucchini fries or zucchini chips. Zucchini can also be used to make low-carb pasta, like in this low-carbonara.
Spinach – 1 g. An extremely low-carb vegetable, that can be used in many ways. Check out our very popular low-carb frittata with fresh spinach or any of our many other spinach recipes
Asparagus – 2 g. Tasty and nutritious and very low carb.
Kale – 4 g.
Green beans – 4 g.
Brussels sprouts – 5 g.

(VLC.MD) #10

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source: Ketogenic Diet in a nutshell. see [here]

Quite an emphasis on green veggies in this keto pyramid.
Makes things easy to remember.

I have salad for lunch every weekday. So Romaine +/- whatever leafy green for me.

(VLC.MD) #11

I’d like to rank the veggies in terms of providing vitamins / micronutrients that are typically low in Keto eating. Potassium, Magnesium for sure. Any other nutrients besides those ?

(VLC.MD) #12

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Wonder if any of these actually have any significant nutrient differences.

#13

Zucchini chips and their close cousin, squash chips, are really quite good. I use the thin slicer blade on the cuisinart and then fry in boiling oil (or lard) until crispy. Apply seasoning salt (“Sonny Salt” is best) and eat em while they are hot.

#14

I use a lot of spinach, either as a salad with boiled eggs, red onion, & artichoke hearts; or alternatively sauteed with pine nuts and sesame seeds, + the secret ingredient (anchovies). I tried to like kale, but alas I am not a fan. Chard is much better in my opinion. I also like turnip greens, which is a southern specialty. Save your leftover bacon grease and dump it in a mess of turnip greens.

(8 year Ketogenic Veteran) #15

Yum.
That is all.

(Tsering M) #16

I see a scale of 1-5 here (1 being the best?)

Chayote is 3; better than cabbage. (btw you have carrots listed twice, with ratings of 4 & 5)

So chayote is not too bad? we have some growing in our garden.

(Sophie) #17

My carb weakness is Tomatoes, Avocados and Strawberries, all fruits, but I can’t help myself. Many times I’ve ditched something in order to have a homegrown tomato in my salad. :yum:

#18

How is the insulin load on kale and parsley worse than red peppers and carrots? I’m confused about how this works. That doesn’t make any sense to me.

(VLC.MD) #19

Must be carbs in Kale.

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#20

I am absolutely blown away that 100g of kale has more carbs than 100g of red bell peppers. I guess the obvious culprit is partly water content? Either way, I would’ve lost that bet.