Can You Eat a Low Carb Vegan Diet?
It is hard to find vegetables which have zero carbs so eating a low carb vegan diet can be a challenge. It is not impossible, however. There are many people who have figured out ways to go low carb vegan because they want to lose weight or they want to do an Atkin’s type diet without using meat for protein.
What do vegans eat?
Vegetarians don’t eat meats of any kind although some do eat fish and seafood. Vegans carry this diet a step further by not using any products which come from animals. These include milk, eggs, and other dairy products, as well as honey. They also don’t wear clothing made of leather, wool, fur or other fabrics made from animals.
Most low carb diets are heavy on eating meats as protein sources. When you don’t eat eggs or dairy products you are even more limited when it comes to protein acquisition. You also don’t have to eliminate all of the good carbs from your diet. When you eat a lot of vegetables and fruits, you eat a lot of good carbs and you eat a lot of fiber. Fiber can fill you up without adding the calories of carbs.
Proteins and fats
If you want your low carb vegan diet to work, you need to get the right amounts of fiber, proteins and fats along with good carbs. One of the choices that you can make is to eat soy products. These usually have high quality protein and are very low in carbohydrates. This includes tempeh and tofu as well as soy milk (not sweetened), miso paste, edamame, and soy pasta.
As a low carb vegan, you can also eat healthy fats because seeds and nuts are full of monounsaturated fats. The goal is not to abstain totally from fats because fats are needed for a healthy body. But, you can stay away from saturated fats by eating a good variety of nuts and seeds.
These include walnuts, peanuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, cashews, flaxseed, hazelnuts, brazil nuts, chia seeds, hempseeds and sesame seeds. Many vegans make these nuts and seeds in butters. You can also find good fats in avocados and in olives. Olive oil is great in salads as well as being a wonderful cooking oil.
Lentils and beans can be part of a low carb vegan diet, just don’t eat them every day of the week. Try to choose the options which are best for taking in the fewest amount of carbs. Lentils and split peas are very high sources of protein and fiber and low on the spectrum of carbohydrates.
Low carb fruits and vegetables
You can eat all of the leafy greens you can hold because these are low in carbs and high in just about every nutrient. You can have steamed veggies in addition to salads and add green leafy vegetables to soups and casseroles. You are not often told to eat as much as you like but this is true when it comes to dark green, leafy vegetables.
Fruits are more of a challenge when it comes to eating low carb vegan, but even here, you can make good choices over bad ones. Berries are a good choice and there are many types--strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, cranberries, blueberries, etc. You can add other vegetables to the O.K. list, including onions, garlic, asparagus, radishes, broccoli, carrots, zucchini, pepper, eggplant, sprouts, beets, tomatoes, turnip, squash, and many more.
Most people don’t know that one of the best fats is coconut. Your body doesn’t store this fat for later but uses it up immediately. Dark chocolate (non-dairy) can be a real treat and you can use cocoa to make hot chocolate or use it in cooking.
All of these foods can make a low carb vegan diet not only healthy but tasty as well.