How to cope on Keto as a vegetarian


#21

You are welcome :slight_smile: I’m glad if it helped any.
Heavy cream in coffee works for many, it just raises my calories without any satiation effect for me (but a little bit makes my coffee so much better ;)). So it’s individual, try it! So few things can be said for certain if it’s about satiation, we need to figure out what works for us. (I often put eggs into my coffee and it’s not even my own idea, I picked up this thing at some point. That was only yolks though but I can afford raw whites with my very high biotin intake. Salmonella shouldn’t be a problem either, I simply don’t worry or bother but there are ways to pasteurize eggs at home.) Many people use MCT oil, coconut oil and/or butter in coffee too. Butter isn’t my fav (and oil is out of question) but it’s not bad if I make it foamy with a stick blender. But I have better options. I’ve read nice things about MCT powder too but I never met even MCT oil in my life so I don’t know what it is like.


(Brian) #22

One possibility… full fat Greek yogurt. We make our own, it’s not hard. There is actually quite a lot of protein in Greek yogurt and the carb count is such that it can fit in with a keto diet. We like a little peanut butter and a little bit of some kind of berries on top. My wife makes a keto granola that she likes on it, too. We tend to alternate between yogurt and some kind of eggs with a meat for our breakfasts.

FWIW, my wife and I used to be a vegetarian (decades) and spent a couple of years as a vegan, for religious reasons. It wasn’t a good choice for either of us (neither the religion or the diet). We’ve changed both and are now much more at peace internally and way healthier despite our condemnation by members of our former religion. Good luck to you as you move forward in the keto journey. I wish you much success!


(Carole) #23

Nuts and seeds?


(Peter - Don't Fear the Fat ) #24

Absolutely. Not sure why nobody could think of Nuts and Seeds back in 2020 … brains confused by covid?
Protein has always been the issue for veggies … and vegetables of course lol


(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #25

If a vegetarian is willing to eat eggs and fish, that should meet most protein needs. (Most eggs sold commercially are not fertilised, so there is no question of taking a life where they are concerned.)

Be careful: plant protein estimates are often based on nitrogen content (raw protein), not on available amino acids (digestible protein). Nitrogen can be used by the human body only if it comes in the form of amino acids, and it has a very limited capacity to store them. This means that how utilisable the protein consumed in a meal is, depends on the availability of the least-available essential amino acid in that meal. The body needs the essential amino acids in a certain proportion, so if one amino acid in the meal is present in a lower proportion, that limits the availability of the protein in that meal.

It is possible to get better availability by combining foods (this is why beans and rice are often combined). The proportions we are trying to match are those in beef (which is the “high-quality reference protein” referred to in the U.S. dietary guidelines). This is why eggs are such a good food, if one can consume them. The amino acid profile of fish comes close to beef, as well. Vegan keto is possible, but it requires a great deal of planning, in order to get good protein.

Peter Ballerstedt, a forage agronomist, has some good lectures on the topic. They can be found on the YouTube channel of Low Carb Down Under and similar channels, and there is also good information in the “sodcasts” on his own channel.


#26

Then they aren’t a vegetarian (in the case of fish, of course).

Protein is ridiculously easy to get as a vegetarian ketoer if one can eat, mine was always too high, it was one reason to avoid meat and indeed, my protein may be even a tiny bit higher now that I barely eat plants.

Eating eggs is pretty much supporting killing masses of baby roosters so I don’t think it matter so much but maybe other folks think differently, whatever helps them to sleep better…
Of course, if we eat, it will cause killing masses of animals, we can’t avoid that.