Eating keto (high fat, medium protein, low carb) has helped me overcome a lifelong battle with hanger and finally feel great all day long. When I started my keto lifestyle, I was eating fish, but recently went back to being a vegetarian. I’m not vegan, so I do eat cheese and eggs, and while I am sure it could be possible, I would have a very hard time eating a keto vegan diet. I’ll keep sharing individual recipes on this blog, but there are many things you can enjoy to eat in a vegetarian keto lifestyle that aren’t very hard to make, so this post can help you get started with ideas for basic meal plans.
To adapt a recipe to being keto, you just have to think about how to make a few changes to carb-heavy foods, like using zucchini noodles (and cheese) in place of pasta, or almond flour and erythrytol (low glycemic, no calorie plant-based sweetner) instead of wheat flour and sugar for making treats. If using erythrytol, be sure to get the confectioner’s kind, as the granules tend to not entirely dissolve.
Here are the simple veg keto meals I tend to eat in the course of any given week:
BREAKFAST OPTIONS
- Smoothies – See my keto smoothie post on how to amp up the healthy fats and balance proteins, but basically, add coconut milk and full fat Greek yogurt to amp up the fats and use only half a scoop of protein per serving.
- Eggs – add cheese whenever possible to make them more keto. You can have omelets, over easy (cheesy over easy!), boiled with butter melted on top, deconstructed omelets with avocado and cheese, scrambled, cooked in muffin tins to go, you name it. I often end up eating an omelet for lunch since this is such an easy veg keto option.
- Full Fat Greek Yogurt – on its own or with dark (85%+) chocolate & coconut flakes, slivered almonds or other nuts sprinkled on top. Trader Joe’s has an amazing and inexpensive FFGY and also is the best place to get dark chocolate, as The Chocolate Lover’s Dark bar is less than $2 a bar near me, while other grocery stores will charge you around $7! Avoid or minimalize fruit if you can since it tends to be (naturally) sugary. Raspberries have the least amount of sugar among the berries, so they are a better option for keto eating.
- Keto treats – I make keto chocolate chip cookies with almond flour, brownies, pecan bars, home made Mounds bars (great for smashing on top of yogurt), keto cheesecake, savory keto biscuits, and all kinds of other things that I end up eating for breakfast. I’ll work on posting my staple recipes so you can whip them up to. Most are pretty fast to make!
- Bulletproof Coffee – This is coffee shaken up with grass fed butter, coconut oil, and MCT (medium chain triglycerides) fats. ‘Tis fancy and pricey to buy the real deal mix, so I DIY, and I nearly always eat something in addition to making coffee like this at breakfast. I actually drink nearly decaf coffee and find that butter is too intense for coffee that lacks much caffeine, so I just shake mine with coconut oil and it tastes great. LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES - DO NOT SHAKE COFFEE UNLESS YOU HAVE A PROPER SHAKER, like the Contigo thermal shaker. You could also use a blender, but I have yet to do that and cannot advise on the safety of the hot liquids in the blender. I’ve tried shaking up my bulletproof a mason jar with a plastic lid and it literally turns into a (scalding) hot mess. The Contigo shakers can handle the pressure of the hot liquid and will keep you, your fancy yoga or office clothes, and your kitchen safe and clean.
LUNCH / DINNER
- Omelets – A fabulously French way to lunch. Put cheese on it, serve with a side salad, and win!
- Pesto Zoodles – Super simple now that Trader Joe’s sells frozen zoodles. If you work in an office, pick up a few boxes, some pesto and shaved or shredded parmesan cheese, and you can whip up a keto meal in a microwave in minutes. And you don't have to skimp on the pesto and cheese since you need the fat to stay full! I’ll work on posting a zoodles carbonara recipe, but basically, to make that variation of zoodles, just find a recipe for carbonara and skip the bacon to make it veg. My husband adds bacon to his since he isn’t on Team Vegetron.
- Salads – Make them with lots of nuts, cheese and avocado, and choose or make full-fat dressings with plenty of olive oil but no sugar.
- Caprese salad – Super easy! Mix tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and pesto. Done! Or mix tomatoes, fresh mozza, torn/chopped fresh basil, olive oil & salt for an even fresher DIY version.
- Cauliflower Rice Risotto – I’ll work on posting a recipe for this one soon, but just about every grocery store near me now sells frozen cauliflower rice. I’ve made cauli rice risotto, paella, bibimbap – basically anything you need rice for can be prepared keto by using cauliflower rice instead of the grain.
- Thai Curry – Made with coconut milk, thai curries are an easy option for a high-fat vegetable meal. While they may seem exotic, basically you can make them by blending a prepared curry spice with canned coconut milk and allowing veggies to simmer until cooked. I make mine in the slow cooker to prepare big batches to freeze and eat easily, and will post a recipe soon!
- Indian Curry – Make your Indian curries with butter and cream, skip the naan, and serve with cauliflower rice to make a magical keto meal. We often just order takeout curry and serve at home with our own cauliflower rice.
- Keto Pizza – I blogged about how to make a keto salad pizza version of Abbot’s Habit salad pizza in Venice, CA, but don’t go there if you don’t live near a Trader Joe’s where you can get their frozen cauliflower pizza crust. I’ve also made a tomato sauce caulicrust pizza, and soon want to try out making a flatbread with caramelized onions and gruyere cheese, which I’ll tell you about if it goes well.
SNACKS
My life is super busy and we don’t have kids, so I find that I end up eating keto snacks instead of dinner some days. They fill me up with great fats so I stay happy, not hangry.
- Walnuts & dip – Walnut halves make amazing alternatives to crackers and are so good for your brain. I use them with cheese dips and it’s one of my favorite snacks.
- Veggies & dip – Same same, but different. Use fresh peppers and cucumbers for your dipping. Avoid carrots since root vegetables tend to be more carb-heavy. A general keto rule of thumb is that if the veggie grows above ground, it has fewer carbs than it’s below-ground root cousins.
- Nuts – We make a nut mix with smoked almonds, Whisps parmesan crisps, and flavored cashews. It’s pretty spectacular and I think we’ll have to post the recipe because everyone who vists us asks for it.
- Cucumbers & cream cheese – Slice the cukes, spread the cheese, and enjoy. You could also or sprinkle dill or chopped chives on the cream cheese.
- Dark Chocolate – Yes please. I try to eat 85% or higher since the remaining percentage in the bar is basically how much sugar is added to the pure cacao. 100% cacao tastes pretty awful though.
Have other ideas or foods you can share? Comment here or on Facebook and we’ll chat it up!