Keto While Vegetarian w/o eggs?

vegetables
vegetarian
(Lucy) #1

Hi, I have been curious in the Keto diet, but I can’t really find much about this online. I want to try out keto, maybe for a week or two, just to see what I think, but I want it for the most part to be vegetarian.

The issue is, I am not a huge fan of eggs or avocado (some avocado sure, but not dripping in it), and most recipes I see tend to be scrambled eggs stuffed in avocado. I want to try this diet because I have a lot of food allergies, and it may be able to help me to eat more satiating foods (Vegetables are good, but as someone who was a WFPB vegan once, they aren’t very satiating.)

Any help on meal plans, or recipes, that are filling and satiating, but are varied enough to prevent repetition… and is fairly cheap (avocado costs like, 2$ each here).

I certainly hope this is making sense.

I need help 🙏
#2

I probably could give you some ideas, as I’m vegetarian and only eat eggs now and then. What are your food allergies? Do you eat dairy?

(Anderson Herzogenrath Da Costa) #3

We still don’t have a specific vegeterian section on this forum, but I can point you to 2 subreddits that might have some useful information.

https://www.reddit.com/r/vegetarianketo/

https://www.reddit.com/r/veganketo/

(Lucy) #4

Yes, I eat dairy. I can eat eggs in the form of sauces (like Taco Bell creamy jalapeno sauce) but whole eggs just taste and feel gross to me. I have to be careful when consuming nuts, as too much can give me a stomach ache, and soy doesn’t suit me well either.

Aside from that, I am allergic to wheat and most grains (still eat bread because I apparently hate myself), and can’t handle beans well in large quantities.

#5

Well here are a few thoughts (just brainstorming) - I do eat fish, so you could use that or substitute with a veggie protein:

Baked fish with a mayo/parmesan cheese/butter spread on top (seasoned with basil, salt, pepper). You bake the fish first, then you broil it after topping it so the topping browns a little.

Fish, meat substitutes or other protein and steamed veggies topped with Hollandaise (this one was pretty easy to make:)

Any number of salad options

  • feta with walnuts or pecans, vinagrette dressing (lots of olive oil), grind pink salt and black pepper on it
  • egg salad served on mixed greens if you can do that. - or you could make a salad dressing using just the hard boiled egg yolks with mayo, maybe some yellow mustard and seasonings
  • tuna salad mixing chopped celery and mayo (white pepper is the secret seasoning to make mayo dressings taste awesome). I put this on a lettuce salad, add cheese and ranch dressing.
  • taco salad using Morning Star or Boca crumbles, salsa, sour cream, a little avocado if you want, cheddar or colby-jack cheese, ranch dressing.

I also like making a quick soup in the microwave:

  • frozen broccoli (I put it in a ziplock and pound it with a meat tenderizer to break it into little pieces), 2-3 servings of Morning Star crumbles (or could use some steak or chicken substitutes), 2-3 tbsp. of butter, salt, garlic powder, white pepper, onion powder. I add 1-1/2 cups of water and microwave it for 5-6 minutes. Then I add a few tbsp of heavy whipping cream and a handful of shredded parmesan (I get these really large shreds that are like noodles in the soup)

  • another version uses mushrooms and fresh spinach instead of broccoli (I add the spinach after it’s cooked)

  • Curry. I like shredded cabbage sauteed in butter and seasonings, pour in as much coconut cream as you like, add curry paste/powder. I also add some meat substitute to this. The steak and chicken ones work well with this.

  • Cheese tortillas, can bake it or do it like this:

That would work nicely for tacos or enchiladas.

You can make fettucini alfredo using spiralized zuke noodles or Miracle Noodles.

That’s all I can bear to think about right now (fasting today haha).

#6

A vegetarian section would be excellent. What “level of trust” do you need to be at do add a category?

The sub-reddit for vegetarian keto you mention does have some really helpful basics.

(Brian) #7

I’m a former vegetarian. I’d have a hard time doing what I’m doing (keto diet) without fish and eggs. I go out of my way to buy eggs that are really pasture raised (true free range), which is more than just looking at a box. I also make an effort to find wild caught fish and very much prefer if it doesn’t say Product of China on the package if it has a package at all.

You’d have to be quite selective about what meat substitutes you use. Many of the prepared versions you find in the grocery stores are loaded with stuff most of us can’t pronounce and also loaded with carbs. Many are wheat and/or soy based and that is an issue with some, even apart from the carbs. It’s amazing to me that people still call some of those things, “health food”. Shiver me timbers!

There are a lot of meats and meat products I don’t eat. I don’t eat pork, lard, shrimp, catfish, that kind of thing. But I will eat some fish, chicken, turkey, a bit of beef and buffalo, and most dairy, though I’m pretty picky about where all of it comes from and prefer organic when I can get it.

Good luck!

(Lucy) #8

How many grams of carbs do you consume? I tried to do mimic diets on Cronometer and they all came out as over the 40 net carb limit. Most people I see say to limit carb intake to even below 20 grams a day. How to?

#9

I could see a nice vegetable coconut curry in your meal plan.

#10

I am not familiar with the mimic diets on Cronomoter. I use Sparkpeople to track carbs and protein. I try to keep carbs under 20 grams TOTAL carbs but I am happy if it lands below 30 grams really. The only way I can pull this off is by keeping my eating to two meals a day. I am trying to follow @meganjramos (Dr. Jason Fung’s assistant) advice to eat two meals of 90-minute limit each within an 8 hour window. That prevents me from grazing or having never-ending mealtimes, which is a bad old habit. I do have to measure anything with protein and/or carbs, especially those meat substitutes, too easy to go over. It seems to work best if I do a salad for one meal and a more substantial recipe for the other meal.

I have gotten pretty good at upping the fat in my meals, which helps a lot with satiety. I do not “count” or limit fat. It turns out I just don’t eat as much volume of food as I used to. Fasting has helped improve leptin signaling so I get the “I’m full” message loud and clear.

(Anderson Herzogenrath Da Costa) #11

@carl @richard
Can we have a new “Vegatarian/Vegan Keto” section under “Food”?

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #12

How much carbohydrate one can consume and remain ketotic is an individual matter. I believe Phinney and Volek consider under 125 grams of carbs daily to be legitimate LCHF, but a lot of people (including Dr. Phinney himself) find that they have to eat a lot less than that to stay in ketosis. Myself, I find that I can tolerate very little in the way of carbs without regretting it.

Given that so many of us are carbohydrate-intolerant these days, Dr. Phinney recommends starting at the lowest level of carbohydrate you can manage and then seeing what happens. If you get into ketosis at that level of carbohydrate, great–then you can try adding more until you get kicked out of ketosis, which will tell you where your limit is. If you don’t get into ketosis, however, then you’ll need to figure out how to eat even fewer carbs. Don’t forget to eat fat at every meal, until you find you are no longer hungry. For me, that is a big help. I can go quite along time between meals if I eat enough fat. There is probably a vegetarian fat source that you can tolerate, though you may have to do a bit of searching.

(Carpe salata!) #13

If you’re going a bit higher in carbs then fibre becomes a critical part of the equation. I forget where I saw it (someone will fill the gaps) but the fibre does a lot to slow the glucose absorption and flattens any insulin spike. After all, keto is all about insulin control.

Put lots of olive oil on your salads, and macadamias are the best nuts for fat. If you do bullet proof coffee (shot of coffee, water, coconut oil and blend) that can be a fat boost too.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #14

And the good thing about fiber is that it doesn’t count towards the carb limit! I know that in Europe, the dietary labels show net carbs, but here in the U.S. and Canada, we have the fun of subtracting the fiber from the total carbohydrates. It sort of makes me feel as though I’m getting away with something, lol!

(Richard Morris) #15

We have a #food:vegetables section which is on “Vegetables, Vegetarianism, and Veganism”

Personally I would like to talk to people who succeed at ketogenic diets on a vegetarian or vegan template.

(Todd Allen) #16

Yesterday I ate 2 tablespoons of miso paste, a sheet of seaweed, two medium cucumbers, a medium peach, a small zucchini, a big handful of spinach, several cherry tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of almond butter and I’m deeply in ketosis. But I’m not currently trying for “nutritonal ketosis” in the sense of a weight stable diet, rather I’m trying to lose significant weight in a few months. When I finish this phase of dieting I’ll return to eating a lot more fat and protein and I may need to keep a closer eye on the carbs to stay in ketosis.

Ones tolerance for carbs depends on many factors, you level of insulin resistance, your activity level, the type/source of your carbs, the types and quantities of protein, etc. Measuring your response in terms of blood glucose, ketones, etc. is a good way to find out what works for you and your goals.

#17

Hi Richard. It would be nice separate vegetarian and vegan from vegetables. After all vegetables (recipes, keto-friendliness etc) apply to a broad group of eating styles. Also I think the carnivores have their own category and are not grouped with “meat.” :full_moon_with_face:

I have done low carb on and off for years as a vegetarian, and since April or so have gotten serious about keto. I have lost about 20 lbs since doing that. My Nova Max has never read lower than .4 (while trying Metformin) and lately reads between .6 and 1. something. I struggle with getting my glucose down, but it was in the 300s all the time, and lately the highs are in the low 200s, getting down to low 100s while fasting.

Overall I dont think my keto approach differs much from meat eaters, except my protein sources are sometimes a little carby.

(Sarah Herlihy) #18

Hi Lucy,
I am a vegie and coming off a purely raw food fruit and veg diet of about the last 3 years. I have been following a keto based plan for about three weeks now and loving it. The new foods are amazing. I have been having eggs now and then but find i am absolutely loving having butter and ricotta and sour cream. OMG!!! I have made a few curries with full fat coconut milk and coconut cream with spinach, broccoli and zucchini to keep carbs low. I eat this with just cauliflower or you can make cauliflower rice.
I have been loving having fetta and olive oil over spinach and rocket with olives and sundried tomatoes. There are so many options once fat is on the menu. Full fat yoghurt is delicious too. I do have one piece per day of paleo bread i found at my local health food store which is delicious with butter. I also just recently found a recipe i am going to make this week for keto scones. They are made from coconut flour and coconut oil. Lots of options.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #19

I have fallen in love with full fat yoghurt. Never could stand the taste of plain yoghurt before going keto, but now it certainly tastes sweet enough, and the fat makes it very rich.

(Chris) #20

I know there are a couple of groups on Facebook for Vegetarian and Vegan Keto-ers, both with over 15,000 members. (I belong to both).
A lot of support, meal ideas and protein sources and other info shared there,