Is it safe to eat Lupin flour/Milled Lupin Bean every day on Keto?

vegetarianprotein
vegetarian
(jordan) #1

Hello,

I am a vegetarian and have started Keto about a month ago. Being a vegetarian, my choices are pretty limited with the types of proteins I can consume. Tofu gets boring pretty soon. I also eat Paneer but too much daily ends up causing some stomach bloating. I used to alternate between Paneer and Tofu.

After looking through youtube videos for vegetarian recopies, I found Milled Lupin Bean which seemed like a god’s gift. It is super high in protein and low in carbs for a vegetarian bean-based product.

Here is the Amazon link to the product: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0854JVNVS

Now I have variety of options and I am able to meet my macros while eating tasty food. Milled Lupin has opened up so many possibilities and now I am happy with what I am eating. I add vegetables and fats to this. I make some Indian recipes which keeps me satiated.

I have not seen many posts or discussions regarding this product. I just want to make sure that it is safe/healthy to eat this every day (within my macros). Has anyone else tried this on Keto?

Thanks.

(Robin) #2

first, welcome!
I had not heard of it and looked at the product on amazon. It says 1/3 cup is 16g of carb.

Are you limiting your carbs to a specific number? It’s commonly suggested to keep under 20g to ensure you are in ketosis. But some eat more. And some, like our carnivores eat none.

Is it safe? if that is your main concern; probably. I did some research and it seems the “beans” are actually the seeds of a plant, which can be toxic if prepared wrong. But this product is a powder, so it should be fine.

Most of us however prefer real food. And we tend to be leery of things advertised as “Keto’. Most are gimmicks.

There are vegetarian keto folks on the forum. I’m sure they’ll chime in soon. Glad you’re here!

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #3

It would definitely be easier if you can stretch your vegetarianism to include eggs and fish, as some do. Otherwise, pay attention to the amino acid profiles of the foods you eat, and try to balance them to correctly meet the needs of your body. Otherwise, you will eventually end up with a protein deficiency, which is seriously not fun.

And a couple of thoughts. I am told that vegan keto can be done but it requires careful planning and the use of supplements.

As far as ethical vegetarianism is concerned, eggs are a very good source of protein, and a chicken lays an egg every day, whether it’s been fertilized or not,. Most commercial eggs sold in the U.S., for example, are unfertilised, so it is not taking a life to eat one.

(jordan) #4

Robin,
16g is total carbs. On Keto I usually keep track of net carbs. I try to keep my net carbs under 20 to 25.

Why would you think that a powder/flour made of beans is not real food? Would you consider minced meat not real food? Just trying to understand your perspective. Thanks.

(jordan) #5

Thank you, Paul. I have never thought about amino acid profiles. How do I check those? I will do further reading on that topic.

Within my limited vegetarian options, I do meet my macros for protein and fat every day. I have started to incorporate egg whites into my diet. Any forms of meat are a strict no for me - Not for any ethical or moral reasons, but I was brought up to be a vegetarian and physiologically I can never seem to be able to accept myself to eat meat. It took me a few years to start eating egg whites. Something about the smell of meat causes me to look away.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #6

Here’s a place to start. The body makes all its proteins out of twenty specific amino acids, nine of which must occur in our food, because the body can’t make them, They are discussed here, with reference for further reading:

#7

@jordant Welcome to the forum!

I love lupin flour! It’s a great source of protein & the carbs in it aren’t that much.

No safety concerns if you buy it in its finished version (i.e like lupin flour, lupin flakes or the cooked lupin beans that’s usually sold in a jar filled & packed with salt water).

Don’t try to buy the raw lupin beans however or try to cook the raw lupin beans yourself. The raw beans needs to be prepared correctly to be safely edible. But flour, flakes, etc as mentioned earlier are all good as already cooked & processes.

I love eating the cooked beans as a snack. Search for “lupini beans” or “tremocos” and you’ll usually find some locally sold in a jar filled with brine. It’s delicious - to me anyway.

For the flour, I use this to prepare these savoury quiches. Just mix the flour with some sauce (not so much water) and seasoning, add eggs if you eat this, add some spring onions. Then bake in paper cupcake cups. So delicious and filling!

Regarding carbs, in my opinion & after lots of research, I have concluded it’s about 5 net carbs per 100g. Some suppliers who sell the flour claim 0 net carbs, some general food database claims 5 net carbs. So I had to pull up some research papers etc and I decided on 5 net carbs as the average.

What I have noticed however is - no matter how much I eat - it doesn’t really seem to affect my blood glucose or ketones. The 0 net carb claim may have some validity but I track it as 5 net carbs per 100g anyway.

In summary - go for it! Lookup some recipes - there is one for bread using lupin flour, oat fiber & wheat gluten!

(Robin) #8

I forget many people do net carbs. Sorry ‘bout that.
I simply meant why not eat actual bens instead of the powder… but using it like flour to add to dishes makes sense.
Carry on… :vulcan_salute:

#9

I would have been doomed on vegetarian keto with total carbs… It was hard enough with 40g net and I ate eggs galore and dairy too…
Now I could easily do it, with gluten. If I did vegetarian keto again, I would focus on it - but I had 1-2 gluten free years without any change so I am pretty sure I handle it well, I am aware very many, maybe most people don’t. And that there is completting the amino acid profile, I probably would need to incorporate legume protein into my diet on vegan keto…? On vegetarian keto, I never worried about such things as I ate so much animal protein… I got much from oily seeds and some from vegs too. Never did plant-based keto, merely had 5 low-carb plant-based days and my protein dropped almost to 1g/kg for LBM… But that is enough for some. With gluten, I could do over 2g/kg but I am not sure it would be healthy longer term even for me. But as I wrote, I would add pea protein or something and maybe that would work…

I just write my own thoughts, I never did a really deep research as I didn’t need it.

I don’t know Lupin flour so IDK if it’s fine in bigger amounts. That would be very costly though. I wouldn’t worry about a little but that’s me.

I personally always used net carbs as total doesn’t seem to matter to me at all. Back then I ate as much flaxseeds as I could (it’s not particularly tasty but works in some dishes mixed with tastier things like walnut) as it has almost no total carbs and it was cheap and not bad tasting just not good tasting either.

So it’s almost veganism with some egg whites? Tricky. But the egg whites can help, I probably could eat many a day if I needed. (I do eat 8+ egg whites a day but usually with the tasty, nutritious yolks.) I have plenty of recipes though I end up adding yolks to almost all (it’s my thing. I add yolks to everything. they make everything better except seitan).
I have more gluten recipes and I only could find pure gluten a few years ago when I already was somewhat committed to carnivore so I rarely cooked with it. But it’s useful and even satiating for me so I consider it a good idea for the ones who handle it as well as me.

#10

Some people are severely allergic to it, it’s has to be highlighted as a known allergen here on menus and in packaging.