I have read in many places that low-carb vegan diets are impossible. This is so ridiculously not true, and I don't really know why this rumor pervades the internet.
Let's get a few things out there to begin:
- Vegan diets will almost never reach the "induction" levels of the regular low-carb diets. Omnivores have food options with little to no carbohydrates in them. Vegan food will almost always contain carbs, but that doesn't mean we can't be wise in choosing which foods have the least carbs.
- Eating green, leafy vegetables will give you the lowest carbs in the vegetable world. This includes broccoli, cauliflower, kale, bok choy, spinach, cabbage etc. I would rather eat a diet rich in fabulous veggies like these any day, over the supposedly "better" method of low-carbing with meat and greasy cheese.
- There are a great deal of wonderful meat alternatives that are very tasty and very low-carb! Tofurky, tofu, seitan, tempeh and Boca, to name a few. I tend not to add meat substitutes to every meal, so I can easily spend a month rotating through the ones I like.
I follow the following rules regarding my diet:
- I eat as many leafy green vegetables as I like. I also love eating tomatoes and onions. I tend to avoid starchy vegetables like carrots and squashes. I only eat potatoes on very special occasions.
- I eat fruits for breakfast, or as part of a dessert. I tend to gravitate towards the less calorie dense varieties, such as apples and berries. I avoid fruits such as bananas and pineapples.
- Bread, rice and noodles are off-limits, unless they are a whole wheat variety or they are high in fiber. Even then, I avoid them if at all possible. I do eat small amounts of oatmeal and All-Bran.
- For everything else, including meat substitutes, I avoid having a serving larger than 10g of carbs of that particular item at any one meal.
