An essential component of a keto or ketogenic diet is vegetables. Mushrooms, tomatoes, celery, and spinach are some of the best veggies for ketogenic diets.
People should avoid starchy veggies like sweet corn, beets, and potatoes. The intake of carbohydrates is capped on keto diets.
Generally, a person consumes only a little protein and a lot of fats. A ketogenic diet aims to induce ketosis in a person’s body.
When the body uses fat as fuel rather than carbs, ketosis happens. Therefore, weight loss might result from ketosis.
In this article, we will be looking at some vegetables suitable for the keto diet.
Before beginning the list of keto-friendly vegetables, you may want to note that one could consume other substances during a keto diet if you are not fond of vegetables.
These include keto fruits and a low-carb diet as well. On the other hand, there is also a food list for keto beginners.
Keto-Friendly Vegetables
According to a review[1] published in 2018, a person on a keto diet should do their best to keep their daily carbohydrate intake to no more than 60 grams of carbohydrates. This could aid in weight loss.
Let us take a look at some vegetables that could be considered good for the keto diet.
Celery
One hundred grams of celery has[2] 2.95 grams of carbs. It has very few calories and a lot of important nutrients, including potassium and calcium.
Celery could be considered a powerful source of antioxidants and vitamins A, K, and C. It not only has fewer amounts of carbs but adding it to your daily diet could support digestion.
Tomatoes
The amount of carbs varies in different varieties of tomato. Under 1 gram of carbohydrates, along with vitamin C, potassium, phosphorus, and calcium could be found in one tomato.
Even one hundred grams of tomatoes only holds[3] 3.85 grams of carbs in them. However, one 70-gram Italian tomato has 2.35 grams of carbs.
Apart from being low on carb content, tomatoes also have essential nutrients and minerals in them.
Spinach
A green leafy vegetable that is known for its high iron and calcium levels is spinach.
According to a 2011 study, spinach contains antioxidants that could help prevent oxidative stress in a person’s body.
As per this[4] data, spinach has 3.65 grams of carbs per one hundred grams.
You could add a few handfuls of spinach to whatever you are cooking, saute it with garlic and serve it with meat, or cut up the spinach and use it in salads.
Even though spinach contains only 1 gram of carbs per cup of spinach raw leaves, it is nutritionally dense. Calcium, vitamin K, vitamin C, carotenoids, iron, and folic acid are present in spinach.
Cucumber
Another most liked veggie salad is cucumber. A lot of important elements are included in it, including minerals and vitamins.
Because of its low carbohydrate level[5] of 3.65 grams per one hundred grams, cucumber is easily acceptable for the keto diet.
However, before eating the cucumber, one might peel it to reduce the carbohydrate content.
Zucchini
One hundred grams of zucchini has[6] 2.69 grams of carbs. Zucchini is a vegetable that could be used in sandwiches, salads, and also in garnishing.
As a low carbohydrate substitute for pasta dishes, one might also make zucchini noodles. It is simple to bake, grill, or boil zucchini to make several wholesome recipes.
Cauliflower
The greatest vegetable for replacing high carbohydrate dishes is cauliflower.
It is the low carbohydrate alternative that any ketogenic person adores, from cauliflower tots to cauliflower rice. 1 cup or 110 gms of raw cauliflower offers only[7] 5. 47 grams of carbs.
Brussels Sprouts
The brussels sprout vegetables are a rich source of potassium and iron. Additionally, they are minimal in carbs, with only[8] 9.3 grams in 100 gms.
They are somewhat more expensive than some, but they are quite filling. They might be roasted with another keto favorite item, bacon.
Carrot
Carrots are clearly keto friendly as one carrot contains[9] only 6 grams of carbs.
Additionally, carrots have a respectable quantity of vitamin A, folate, and potassium. Carrots also have a fair quantity of water, so that you might hydrate yourself while eating.
Arugula
This green spicy vegetable is a wonderful source of folate and potassium. Additionally, it is very low in carbs, with less than one gram in a cup.
It includes[10] around 3.65 gms of carbohydrates in 100 grams of raw arugula.
You might add some arugula in a meat and cheese keto-friendly roll or include it in your morning omelet for a little kick.
Broccoli Raab
One cup of this cruciferous yet delicious vegetable provides[11] only 1.14 grams of carbs. Additionally, it has a lot of iron, calcium, and folate to provide several nutrients in each meal.
You might consider toasting or roasting broccoli raab with olive oil, pepper, salt, and red chili flakes.
Cabbage
Similar to Brussels sprout, the cabbage also adds a super delicious and refreshing crunch to any dish.
One cup, around 89 gms of chopped cabbage retains[12] 5. 16 grams of carbs and is bursting with antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins including vitamin C and beta-carotene.
Vitamin c and beta-carotene are sometimes called [13]dietary antioxidants and may prevent oxidative damage.
To make a delicious casserole or salad, you might add cabbage as a dressing in those items.
Eggplant
As per this[14] data, eggplant has only under 8. 64 grams of carbs per cup. This purple delicious vegetable is wonderful for the ketogenic diet.
It also contains a lot of minerals like manganese and potassium, vitamins, and fiber. You might try it with some delicious eggplant parm or lasagna.
Bell pepper
In addition to being vibrant and beautiful, bell peppers also provide a plethora of great health advantages.
Sliced bell peppers have[15] exclusively 5.55 grams of carbs per cup and make a wonderful low carbohydrate vegetable addition to ketogenic stir fries and tacos.
They are also excellent providers of potassium, vitamin K, and vitamin C.
Kale
Kale is a low carbohydrate vegetable that provides nearly[16] 4.42 grams of carbs per 100 gms and is also rich in antioxidants, vitamin K, and different nutrients.
Additionally, it also has a protein content of around 2.92 grams per 100gms. You might try baking some kale chips, adding them to soup, or chopping them into a salad.
Mushrooms
Mushrooms add delicious flavor to any recipe. As per this[17] info, they have slightly more than 3 grams of carbs per cup or 100 gms.
Mushrooms are also excellent providers of B vitamins, protein, selenium, fiber, copper, and potassium.
Conclusion
The keto diet could support several health objectives, such as weight loss and sugar regulation. However, initially, its low-carb, high-fat strategy might seem restrictive.
However, this eating strategy is going to allow you a wider choice of nutritionally dense, adaptable, and delectable vegetables which shall enable you to stay within your daily carb limit.
Keto diets are high-fat, low-carb eating plans which make your body use fat for energy rather than carbs.
This indicates that you should consume little carbs each day to bring your body into the ketosis state.
Even though vegetables are a beneficial component of any diet, some of them have too many carbs to be used on a keto diet.
You should always consult your doctor or nutritionist for the best keto diet vegetable for you.
References/Sources
Working4Health prefers using primary and verified references. We have strict sourcing guidelines and our primary references include peer-reviewed research, academic, and medical institution studies.
- Joshi Shilpa and Viswanathan Mohan. Ketogenic diets: Boon or bane? Indian J Med Res. 2018 Sep; 148(3): 251–253.
doi: 10.4103/ijmr.IJMR_1666_18 - Celery, raw. Available from https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/169988/nutrients
- Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average. Available from https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/170457/nutrients
- Spinach, raw. Available from https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/168462/nutrients
- Cucumber, raw. Available from https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/1103352/nutrients
- Squash, summer, zucchini, includes skin, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt. AVailable from https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/169292/nutrients.
- Cauliflower, raw. Available from https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/1103345/nutrients
- Brussels sprouts, fresh, cooked, no added fat. Available from https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/1103465/nutrients
- Carrots, raw. Available from https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/170393/nutrients
- Arugula, raw. Available from https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/169387/nutrients
- Broccoli raab, raw. Available from https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/170381/nutrients
- Cabbage, raw. Available from https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/169975/nutrients
- Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, and β-Carotene and Other Carotenoids: Overview, Antioxidant Definition, and Relationship to Chronic Disease. Available from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK225471/
- Eggplant, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt. Available from https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/169229/nutrients
- Peppers, sweet, red, raw. Available from https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/170108/nutrients
- Kale, raw. Available from https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/168421/nutrients
- Mushrooms, white, raw. Available from https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/169251/nutrients
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Otella has an experience of around eight years of writing about health and nutrition-related topics. She is a full-time mother and a housewife, and the time she has left after doing her mother and household duties is spent writing for Working for Health as a full-time writer. Her life goal is to raise both her boys into a gentleman, and at the same time, she wants to educate people on how to keep themselves fit by tweaking their daily diet.