Can you be vegan and go Keto-Green?
The short answer is “yes”! In fact, in my new book Keto-Green 16, I’ve included a 16-day plan with meals and recipes that are 100% vegan.
My Vegan Keto-Green 16 diet is low-carb, high in healthy plant fats, and moderate in plant proteins. Like my regular Keto-Green diet, it has powerful effects on weight loss and overall health.
Vegetarians of all types can join in too. So can meat-lovers who’d like to fast from animal products—a strategy that I support and feel is very beneficial. I recommend taking a break from animal foods at least twice a year, in two different sixteen-day cycles.
So, what exactly is the Vegan Keto-Green 16 diet?
For starters, it keeps your carbs to around 40 grams a day or less to achieve ketosis – a metabolic process in which your body burns fat for energy instead of glucose. Those carbs come mainly from alkalizing veggies such as green leafy vegetables, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cabbage, gut-friendly foods that include onions, kimchi, and sauerkraut, and digestive support fruits such as pineapple, mango, and papaya.
Keto-Green eating relies on a high intake of fat. For vegans, these fat sources are nuts and seeds, olive oil, coconut oil, avocados, and avocado oil – all healthy and filling.
There are plenty of vegan Keto-Green proteins on the plan too:
Beans. These are one of nature’s superfoods, of protein, fiber, and various vitamins and minerals. What’s more, they have many health benefits, including a reduction in cancer risk.
While beans are a little higher in carbs, they still work well on my Vegan Keto-Green 16 diet. Look for beans like black soybeans, white beans, and garbanzo beans.
Tofu. Also known as bean curd, tofu is a high-protein plant food. It does contain carbs, but not that many – under 3 grams in a half-cup serving. I love how versatile tofu is. You can replace meat in almost any recipe with tofu. It can be baked, grilled, or sauteed.
Tempeh. This popular meat replacement is made from fermented soybeans. It is slightly higher in carbs than tofu – 9 grams per ½ cup serving, so take this into consideration when keeping your carbs under 40 grams a day. With its slightly nutty taste, it’s delicious in many dishes and can be steamed, sautéed, or baked.
Vegan Protein Powders. In Keto-Green 16, you’ll find lots of recipes for vegan shakes and smoothies. They call for my Keto-Green Meal Replacement powder—which is perfect for vegans and vegetarians. If it’s hard to meet your protein needs or get enough protein diversity as you progress through this program, this powdered supplement can be your best ally.
When Keto-Green Meets Vegan: The Upside
My Vegan Keto-Green 16 diet offers lots of health benefits. For example, we know from research that vegans tend to weigh less than non-vegans. We also know that ketogenic diets produce significant and sustainable weight loss. Combine the two into a vegan keto-alkalinizing plan, and you’re in super fat-burning territory.
Both the keto diet and a vegan diet are well known for their effectiveness not only in weight loss but also in blood sugar and insulin control and reduction of heart disease and diabetes risk factors.
As for hormone-balancing, the Vegan Keto-Green 16 approach pulls out the stops here too. You’ll be eating lots of cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, bok choy, and Brussels sprouts—all of which contain high amounts of glucosinolates. These are natural detoxifying substances that help usher harmful estrogens from the body.
Vegan Keto-Green 16 is rich in fiber, which helps balance blood sugar and produce satiety after meals. Fiber is helpful for regularity and preventing constipation that sometimes occurs as dietary fat increases. Fiber creates a healthy microbiome well populated with friendly gut bacteria, which in turn supports weight control, immunity, and hormone balance.
The Vegan Keto-Green 16 diet is also extremely high in phytonutrients (plant compounds) that offer a host of protective benefits to the body and decrease inflammation. The more colorful a veggie, the more phytonutrients it contains, so eat a rainbow of colors at your meal.
You’ll be enjoying super-nutritious plant-based fats on this plan too. A good example is the avocado. Avocados are packed with beta-sitosterol, a natural substance that helps regulate and balance cortisol and restore low DHEA.
So if you’re a dedicated plant-based eater or even an omnivore who wants to lose weight and inches and to get your hormones back in balance, the Vegan Keto-Green 16 diet is the right course of action.
To learn more and get started right away, pick up Keto-Green 16 at any online or physical bookstore and you get a lot of FREE gifts: A Keto-Green Quick Start Guide, an additional 3-day meal plan with recipes, Keto-Green Recipe Videos (watch recipes being made!), and more recipes to help you “feast” healthfully.
