Keen to try the ketogenic diet? Vegan? You may assume that a ketogenic diet is out of the question if you don’t eat animal products.

The keto diet is a high-fat, low-carb, moderate-protein diet renowned for its effective promotion of weight loss and improved health.

While we often link the keto diet with meaty foods, don’t worry. There are many ways to alter your vegan diet to align with a keto regime too. With careful planning, vegans can enjoy the benefits of a ketogenic diet.

Ready to learn how to follow a healthy vegan keto diet? We’re here to spill all with our handy guide.

THE VEGAN KETOGENIC DIET

Before we go into more detail on how to follow the vegan keto diet successfully, let’s briefly go over what a vegan ketogenic diet comprises.

First, let’s be honest. The vegan keto diet is one of the most limiting diets out there. But it’s more than possible to pull it off with style to better your health and reduce animal suffering by following a strict diet.

To follow the vegan keto diet successfully, you should stick to the following rules:

• Reduce your total carbohydrate intake to 35 grams or fewer per day.
• Remove all meat, fish, dairy, eggs, and other animal-derived products from your diet.
• Consume lots of low-carb vegetables.
• Receive at least 70% of your calorie intake from plant-based fats.
• Consume around 25% of your calorie intake from plant-based proteins.
• Take supplements with nutrients that you may not be consuming enough of. For example, vitamins D3, B12, & B6, DHA & EPA, iron, zinc, and taurine.

LIMITING YOUR CARBS ON A VEGAN KETO DIET

It’s difficult enough to reduce carbohydrate consumption even on a usual ketogenic diet, which makes restricting them in a vegan keto meal plan even harder.

So, what carbs should you avoid on a vegan keto diet? First, you should avoid grains such as wheat, corn, rice, and cereal.

High-carb legumes you should also reduce include lentils, black beans, peas, and similar. And tubers you should eliminate include potatoes and yams.

When it comes to sugar, you need to cut out all the usual sweets and chocolate bars, along with honey, agave, and maple syrup. Fruits you should avoid include apples, bananas, and oranges.

FOODS TO EAT ON A VEGAN KETO DIET

You may be wondering what you can eat in a keto vegan diet at this point. Don’t worry—there’s plenty of low-carb yet delicious foods you can incorporate into your new regime.

High-protein vegan “meats” that mimic animal products are great to include in your diet. These include tofu, seitan, tempeh, and other similar vegan “meats” that you can often find in the supermarkets in the meat-free section.

Mushrooms are also wonderful inclusions. Think large meaty options such as shiitake, king oyster, and lion’s mane mushrooms. Don’t forget the leafy greens too, such as spinach and kale.

Above-ground vegetables are perfect for a healthy vegan keto diet too. Think greens such as broccoli, zucchini, and cauliflower.

High-fat dairy alternatives work well to help you consume enough fat and today there are many options available in supermarkets and grocery stores. We recommend looking out for vegan cheese, coconut cream, unsweetened coconut-based yogurts, and dairy-free milk such as coconut or oat milk.

Other fats to include are oils such as coconut oil, olive oil, MCT oil, and avocado oil. These are great for cooking, using on salads, and blending into smoothies.

Nuts and seeds are also full of proteins too. While most nuts are healthy, we love pistachios, almonds, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds. You can also keep an eye out for avocados and berries such as raspberries, blackberries, and other low glycaemic-impact berries.

By incorporating these foods into your diet, you can follow a vegan ketogenic diet while receiving enough nutrition. Luckily, in today’s day and age, there are many meat substitutions that mean you can “veganize“ almost every regular keto recipe you find.

A SAMPLE VEGAN KETO DIET MEAL PLAN

If you’re not sure where to start on your vegan keto diet, here are some sample vegan keto recipes to help get you started. By following a similar day-to-day regime using our nutritional advice, you’ll be able to create and consume healthy and tasty vegan keto recipes.

Breakfast: Peanut butter pancakes and keto-friendly smoothie

Lunch: Crispy tofu with a salad or oven-roasted Caprese salad

Dinner: Sesame tofu served with an eggplant or a vegan red coconut curry with tofu or eggplant. You can also add a broccoli salad as a side dish.

READY TO TRY A VEGAN KETO DIET?

Using our nutritional advice, you’ll be able to follow a healthy vegan keto diet with ease.

Just make sure you’re consuming the right amount of calories, carbs, fats, and proteins. If you don’t eat enough of the right nutrients, all the time and effort you spend into planning and following your diet will go to waste and you can end up making yourself unwell.

If you feel like you’re lacking in certain nutrients, such as iron and vitamins B12 and D, be sure to go to the doctor for a blood test. It may mean that you require certain supplements to guarantee that nutrient needs are met.

With a high-fat and low-carb vegan keto diet that concentrates on whole, unprocessed, healthy plant-based foods, you can expect an improvement in overall health and weight loss.

Want to learn more about how to follow a successful keto diet? Here are the common mistakes people make on a keto diet—so you can learn how to avoid them!