At first blush, vegans and ketogenic dieters don’t have a lot in common. One eats no meat; the other eats tons of it. One loads up on carbs; the other takes pains to avoid them. They seem to be on opposite ends of the eating spectrum.
But if you’re passionate about animal right and you’ve found that your body just doesn’t do well on carbs, it is possible to combine a vegan and keto approach. Be warned, however: it’s not easy. Trying to align two disparate eating philosophies will force you to walk a fine line—particularly in a world of readily-available animal products and high carb foods. It’s an impressive feat to pull off. And, potentially, great for both your health and the environment.
So, if you’re interested in being vegan and keto, here’s how to do it.
The Vegan Ketoegnic Food List
The goal for the vegan keto-dieter is to eat:
- Plenty of plant-based fats
- Some plant-based proteins
- As few carbs as possible
Below are some foods that fit the vegan-keto bill nicely, courtesy of Liz MacDowell, N.C., founder of meatfreeketo.com and author of ‘Vegan Keto‘. “This is basically every vegan keto-friendly whole food in your typical North American grocery store,” she says, “which can help take care of the what-can-you-eat-on-vegan-keto question.” Good protein sources are marked with a “p”, while foods that have a higher-carb content (and should, therefore, be eaten sparingly) are marked with an asterisk (*).
| Nuts | Other Whole Food Fat Sources |
| Almonds* | Avocados |
| Brazil Nuts | Coconuts |
| Hazelnuts/filberts | Olives |
| Macadamia nuts | |
| Pecans | |
| Peanuts* | Healthy Oils |
| Pine nuts* | Almond oil |
| Walnuts | Avocado oil |
| Cocoa butter | |
| Coconut oil | |
| Seeds | Flaxseed oil |
| Chia | Hazel nut oil |
| Hemp | Macadamia nut oil |
| Pumpkin | MCT oil |
| Sunflower | Olive oil |
| Nut and Seed Butter | Fruits |
| Almond butter | Avocados |
| Coconut butter/coconut manna (‘meat’ of the coconut) | Blueberries* Coconuts |
| Hazelnut butter | Cranberries |
| Macadamia nut butter | Lemons |
| Peanut butter | Limes |
| Pecan butter | Olives |
| Sunflower seed butter | Raspberries |
| Tahini walnut butter | Strawberries |
| Tomatoes | |
| Watermelon |
| Vegan Keto Pantry Staples | Vegan Keto Fridge Staples |
| Almond flour | Apple cider vinegar |
| Artichoke hearts | Dairy-free yoghurt* |
| Baking powder | Dairy-free cheese* |
| Baking soda | Pickles |
| Coconut flour | Micro-greens |
| Coconut milk (canned, full fat) | Sauerkraut |
| Cocoa or cacao powder | Seitan* (p) |
| Dark chocolate (85% and up) | Sprouts (all kinds) |
| Glucomannan powder | Tempeh (p) |
| Hearts of palms | Tofu (p) |
| Jackfruit (green, canned in brine) | |
| Psyllium Husk | |
| Nutritional yeast | |
| Vanilla extract (most brands OK, but check for sugar) | |
| Other Vegan Keto Meal Staples | |
| Herbs and spices | Edamame |
| Kelp noodles | Kelp flakes |
| Lupini beans* (p) | Shirataki noodles |
| Nori sheets | Roasted seaweed |
Foods You Can Not Eat On A Vegan Diet
- Meat, fish, poultry, dairy, eggs, other animal products
- Gelatin
- Sugar (refined, cane, honey, corn syrup, and all other forms)
- Grains (wheat, pasta, rice)
- Legumes (beans)
- Starchy vegetables (yams, potatoes)
- High-carb nuts (chestnuts, cashews, pistachios)
- Partially-hydrogenated oils (trans fats)
- Refined vegetable oils**
**Even though they’re not derived from animals and are high in fat, oils such as canola, corn, rapeseed, and margarine are highly processed and have a poor ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids. They promote inflammation in the body. Because they have low smoke points, these oils are also terrible choices for cooking. High heat will turn the fats in the oil rancid, and make it even more unhealthy, causing damage to your heart, neurological problems, and other health woes. Always cook with saturated fats, such as those found in coconut and red palm oil.
How Much Can I Limit Carbs On A Ketogenic Diet?
In our sandwich-with-a-side-of-bread culture, cutting carbs down to the wire trips many people up. “Exact numbers vary person to person, but in general, strict keto dieters need to consume less than 50 grams of carbs a day,” says exercise physiologist Michael T. Nelson, Ph.D. (miketnelson.com). “Some people need to go as low as 30 grams.”
The Mod Keto approach allows two to three times as many, but it’s still very low-carb compared to the diet of the average American. (For reference, one banana, one apple, or a single slice of bread would put you over your daily carb allowance on a strict keto diet.)
Cutting out grains, rice, bread, and pasta will reduce your carb intake substantially, but you’ll also have to cut way back on nearly all fruits (exceptions are in the food list above, though even those should be eaten sparingly). Starchy vegetables like potatoes and yams are out, too. And the sugary dressings and sauces you may be so accustomed to that you don’t even question them anymore… well, start questioning them.
If you’re longing for carbs so badly that you feel your resolve to stay on the diet is breaking, it’s possible to trick your brain that you’re eating them by making approved foods look more like your starchy favorites. Cauliflower can be grated into “rice,” or boiled and mashed like potatoes. You can slice zucchini into noodles to (sort of) replicate pasta. See “Vegan Substitutions for the Keto Diet” below.
But by and large, you’ll simply have to develop a taste for fattier foods and rely on them to supply energy in place of carbs. Avocados, coconut oil, and nuts are all filling, flavorful options that can also power your workouts.
And speaking of working out, if you’re a gym rat or avid runner, prepare for your workouts to suck for a while until your body fully adapts to the diet. If you’re cutting out carbs for the first time, your body will need two weeks or more (and sometimes months) to fully support the demands of exercise with ketones. And if you’ve been relying on animal products, you may find it difficult to recover without the full array of amino acids that every serving of animal protein provides. You’ve chosen a hard road to travel, nutritionally, but don’t lose heart. Time and persistence will force your body to accommodate just about any regimen you subject it to, and there are plenty of people whose performance has thrived on unconventional diets.
A 2012 study found that gymnasts on a strict ketogenic diet for only 30 days lost weight without losing strength. The researchers concluded that keto eating may actually prove advantageous to athletes in weight-class sports since it could allow them to keep their strength up when competing at lighter body weights.
How Do I Get Enough Protein On The Ketogenic Vegan Diet?
For anyone following any vegan diet, and athletes especially, the question always comes up: “How do you get enough protein?” Nelson recommends about 0.7g of protein per pound of your goal body weight as a baseline daily intake for active people—and most nutritionists recommend up to one gram per pound if you’re weight training. (Goal body weight means the amount you want to weigh—not the number that currently comes up on the scale. So, if you weigh 205 pounds but remember looking and feeling your best when you weighed 175, eat 0.7g of protein x 175, or about 120 grams daily.)
Your main challenge will be to find plant-based protein sources to hit that number that aren’t also high in carbs. To get an idea of what that entails, consider that an averagesized person who eats about 2,000 calories a day will need 100–200g protein daily (on the lower end for strict keto dieters, and on the higher side for those going the Mod Keto route). A three-quarter cup serving of sunflower seeds nets you 25–30g protein, but also costs you 10g of carbs. Almonds have a similar protein-to-carb ratio at 30g to 15g per cup. The key is to accumulate enough protein from vegan sources without letting your carbs creep up too high.
Your best bet for low-carb vegan protein may be hemp seeds, which provide 30g protein and 8g fiber (NOT counted as carbs) in a mere half cup. Seitan, which is made from wheat, is another good choice and offers about 18g protein and 2g carbs every three ounces. Tofu and tempeh rank high as well (tofu has an 8:1 ratio of protein to carbs; tempeh is about 6:1).
If you’re willing to go the supplement route, hemp and other vegan-sourced protein powders such as rice and pea, which have about a 5:1 protein-to-carb ratio, are the best choices and may be indispensable for athletes and workout fiends.
If you were doing a more conventional ketogenic diet previously and relying on animal foods, you may have only counted the protein in those foods toward your allotment for the day because they are complete sources. In other words, the protein in animal products contains all the essential amino acids that your body needs from food and in substantial amounts. This is a rare find in plant foods, and the reason that bodybuilders have historically kept track of the protein they eat from chicken, beef, and fish, but don’t consider the amount they take in from vegetables, grains, and nuts. The thing is, though, while they may be less bioavailable than animal foods, plant proteins are still usable by your body and still count toward your total—and if you’re going to forgo animal products entirely, you’ll need to get them in to support muscle, performance, and general health. Otherwise, you’ll be protein deficient.
Vegans have long known that they can’t get all the amino acids they need from one source of plant protein, so they make an effort to eat a diverse selection of them and often combine foods in the same meal to get a complementary assortment of aminos. You don’t need to do this at every meal—your body can hold on to the aminos from one food a few hours until you eat another food with aminos that complement them and form a complete protein. But don’t get in the habit of basing your meals around only tofu or only hemp. Eat as broad a menu as you can to ensure the richest nutritional intake possible. (See more reasons to limit tofu under the vegan substitutes list below.)
Vegan Substitutes For The Keto Diet
If you’re already a keto eater used to animal products, the list below will give you ideas on how to switch to zero-cruelty food options while keeping carbs low. (Likewise, it will help vegans find lower-carb alternatives to their starchy or sugary favorites.) As always, be extra sure you’re staying faithful to the diet by checking labels for the presence of added sugar, carbs, and hydrogenated oils (harmful, processed fats that have no place in any healthy diet).
If you’re already a keto eater used to animal products, the list below will give you ideas on how to switch to zero-cruelty food options while keeping carbs low. (Likewise, it will help vegans find lower-carb alternatives to their starchy or sugary favorites.) As always, be extra sure you’re staying faithful to the diet by checking labels for the presence of added sugar, carbs, and hydrogenated oils (harmful, processed fats that have no place in any healthy diet).
Replace The Foods You Are Currently Eating In The Left Hand Column with Those In The Right Hand Column
| Dairy Foods | |
| Milk | Coconut milk, Almond milk |
| Butter | Coconut oil, Vegan butter |
| Cream | Coconut cream |
| Eggs (for cooking) | Flax seeds (add water in a 1:3 ratio) |
| Eggs (for meals) | Silken tofu, Vegies |
| Grains and Starches | |
| Sandwich bread | Lettuce wraps |
| Tortillas | Flax tortillas |
| Pasta | Shirataki sand or Zucchini noodles |
| Rice | Cauliflower rice |
| Mashed potatoes | Cauliflower mashed potatoes |
| Oatmeal | “Noatmeal” ? |
| Cereals | Chia Pudding, Flax Granola |
| Pancakes | Peanut Butter pancakes |
| Waffles | Almond flour waffles |
| Snacks | |
| Chips | Dehydrated Vegetables (including Kale Chips) |
| Crackers | Chia Seed Crackers |
| Desserts | |
| Ice cream | Avocado Ice cream, Low carb sorbet |
| Brownies | Macadamia nut, Avocado, Almond flour |
| Pudding | Avocado Pudding |
Processed soy-based meat substitutes (such as Boca Burgers) and protein powders are major go-to’s for people transitioning to vegan diets, but they come with a catch. A 2016 position paper published by Virginia State University explains that soy contains isoflavones, a kind of plant estrogen that can act like the female hormone in humans.
While typical serving sizes (one to three of soy foods, or less than 25g of soy protein from non-concentrated sources like tofu) have not been shown to be problematic, amounts more than that (totaling around 100mg isoflavones or greater daily) could negatively impact testosterone. To our thinking, why take the risk? It may be best for a keto dieter to get the majority of his/her protein from nuts, seeds, vegetables, and supplements and less from soy products, apart from the occasional slice of tofu.
Dominic D’Agostino agrees. “I generally avoid soy isolate and soy milk,” he says. “But I don’t think this is a major concern unless you are consuming large amounts of soy.” Note that fermented soy products—such as soy sauce and tempeh—don’t pose the same risk, and can, therefore, be eaten more liberally.
Vegan Keto Diet Sample Meal Plan
The following menu, courtesy of Dr. Nelson, will give you an idea of how a day of eating on a vegan keto diet could look (with a Mod Keto carb allowance). One thing’s for sure: you can eat a high volume of food without having to worry about taking in too many calories, so you’re unlikely to gain weight by accident with this style of eating. It’s easy to stay satiated due to the fat content and the abundance of fresh vegetables makes this diet rich in phytonutrients and fiber. On the downside, it’s very tough to get enough protein in. As you can see, aiming for the bare minimum amount—20% of calories— almost certainly requires supplementation.
Breakfast
Smoothie made with:
Rice protein powder (30g protein)
½ cup mixed berries
1 tbsp MCT oil***
1 ½ tbsp almond butter
1 cup chaga tea
Lunch
3 servings tofu (300g)
2 cups asparagus, baked
2 tbsp MCT oil, as dressing
Snack
Salad with:
1 green bell pepper
2 cups cremini mushrooms
4 oz chopped onion
1 serving tempeh (100g)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 oz vegan teriyaki sauce
Dinner
Salad with:
2 cups spinach
4 oz cucumber
4 oz tomato
1 cup red cabbage, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
¼ cup walnuts
Totals: 1,728 calories, 86g protein, 78g carbs, and 125g fat
***Whether you go full or Mod Keto, supplementing with MCT oil can help support ketosis by providing a quick-burning fat for fuel, says D’Agostino. Other helpful strategies for making a keto diet more user-friendly, he says, include “eating in a timerestricted window [such as 16 hours of fasting followed by an eight-hour period in which you get all your food in], and breaking the fast with a ketone supplement. You can have a whole-food vegan keto meal a few hours later.”
While it hasn’t been formally studied, “It is generally observed that, if you are ketoadapted,” says D’Agostino, “it is easy to fast for prolonged periods of time. This has practical benefits for occupations where stopping to eat would be an inconvenience— such as for military personnel—and jobs where you do not want to lose the flow of productivity.” If you do get hungry during a fast, D’Agostino recommends taking a supplement that provides ketones (known as exogenous ketones), which will help sustain ketosis and energy. “I typically take a ketone supplement late afternoon and follow up with a whole-food meal in the evening,” he says. Onnit’s Total Keto Daily offers exogenous ketones.
Read More-
How To Do The Low Carb/Ketogenic Diet – Part 1… and Part 2: Lose Fat, Feel Better, Have Energy
Alcohol On A Low Carb/Ketogenic Diet
By Sean Hyson, C.S.C.S., Andrew Heffernan, Liv Langdon, Phil White, and the Onnit Academy
This article originally appeared and can be downloaded as a PDF from the ONNIT Academy