Editors of Rodale Books - The Essential Vegetarian Keto Cookbook: 65 Low-Carb, High-Fat Ketogenic Recipes: 65 Low-Carb, High-Fat, Plant-Based Recipes

VEGETARIAN KETO 101 When you think about the ketogenic diet, you probably associate it with large quantities of animal fats and proteins. However, eating keto as a vegetarian isnt as difficult as it may seem. The Essential Vegetarian Keto Cookbook includes more than sixty-five easy and delicious recipes that are all compliant with a ketogenic lifestyle; weve even included a section of easy fish and seafood recipes for those following a pescetarian or flexitarian diet. So whether you are a lifelong vegetarian who is learning about the ketogenic diet for the first time, or a traditional meat-eating keto dieter who is looking for some lighter recipes to add to your kitchen repertoire, these recipes make it easy to stay in ketosis and enjoy the health benefits of the ketogenic diet. What Is the Keto Diet? A ketogenic diet is a low-carb, moderate protein, high-fat diet that puts the body into a metabolic state called ketosis. When you are in ketosis, your body is better able to burn fat for energy, which can result in weight loss and a host of health benefits.

Typically, your body utilizes glucose (or sugar) from the carbs you eat to convert into energy. However, when the body does not have glucose available, it will use fat instead of glucose to fuel your body. To limit the amount of glucose the body has available, you need to reduce the amount of carbohydrates you eat. Typically, the ketogenic diet contains 70 to 75 percent fat, 20 to 25 percent protein, and 5 to 10 percent carbohydrates. When you first start a keto diet, you will track your macronutrients, or macros, to ensure that you are eating within these guidelines.

What Are Macros and How Do I Track Them? Macros are nutrients that provide energy in the form of calories, and we need them in large amounts each day.

There are three categories of macrosfat, protein, and carbohydratesand its important to track them closely when on a keto diet. If you go outside of your target macro zones, your body can start utilizing glucose again as energy and take you out of ketosis. There are several ways to calculate your carbohydrate intake. Some folks like to monitor their total carbohydrates per day, while others will monitor their net carbs. To calculate net carbs, subtract the grams of fiber from your total grams of carbohydrates. Fiber is not absorbed by the body and therefore is not calculated in your net carb figure.

The recipes in this cookbook provide the nutrition information for both total carbohydrates and net carbs. As a general rule of thumb, you will stay in ketosis if you eat fewer than 20 grams of net carbs per day, though everyone is different; depending on your weight and level of activity, you may find you can eat as many as 50 grams of net carbs per day and stay in ketosis. CAREFUL WITH CARBS Its easy to rack up the carbs in unexpected places, even when following a strict keto diet. Thats why watching portion size is so essential. For example, one quarter of an avocado contains 4.2 grams of carbs while the entire avocado contains 17.1 grams! Less extreme examples of where carbs can add up, even by 1 or 2 grams, include high-carb vegetables. For example, 1 cup of chopped kale contains 6.7 grams of carbs.

Adding 2 or 3 cups to a stir-fry can increase your carb count over your daily limit. Apps for Tracking Macros Carb Manager (www.carbmanager.com): Carb Manager allows you to set your macros, net carbs, and weight-loss goals with its calculator. The database contains more than 1 million foods with macros and carb counts, including net carbs and sugar alcohols. It also allows you to create custom foods and recipes. Carb Manager is available on the web, Apple App Store, and Google Play. You can use it for free, but in-app purchases are available for full access.

MyFitnessPal (www.myfitnesspal.com): MyFitnessPal provides both free and premium services. To help you track macros, the free services include customization of macros goals. You can also purchase the premium service, which provides users access to a nutrient dashboard, food analysis, export data, view macros by gram or percent of your day, and do a quick addition of macros when youre in a hurry. When following a vegetarian keto diet, the premium package is more useful compared to the free service. MyMacros+ (https://getmymacros.com): Use this site and app to quickly log your food and track your weight. With its library of over 1.5 million food items, its easy to find exactly what youre looking for.

You can also purchase a MyMacros+ Pro package that includes more advanced features and priority customer support. This app is available on the web, or for iPad, iPhone, Android, and Apple Watch. The Keto Diet App (https://ketodietapp.com): This app has you pay the fee upfront with no hidden costs once you start using it. You can get a visual breakdown of your daily macros, along with recipes, articles, and expert advice. The Keto Diet App is available on Google Play, iTunes, Android, iPhone, and iPad. What Is Ketosis? Ketosis has been the default metabolic state throughout most of human history.

It once allowed humans to survive in times of food scarcity. To get into ketosis, you must continuously consume fewer than 35 grams of net carbs per day or consume between 5 and 10 percent of calories from carbohydrates per day. If you take a day off and eat carbs above that threshold, your body will go out of ketosis and utilize energy from carbs. You can start feeling the effects of being in ketosis within seven days on the diet. Being in full ketosis, however, can take two to three weeks of strictly following the diet. Once your carbohydrate levels are maintained at the very low level specified above, your body will begin using fat instead of carbs and glucose for energy.

The molecules that are created from this process are called ketones, and are created in much higher amounts when carbs are not present. Ketones provide energy to the brain and nervous system. Testing for Ketones There are a few ways to measure your ketones to see if youre in ketosis. Weve outlined the pros and cons of each here. Eventually you will have a good sense of whether or not you are in ketosis without having to test, but these tools are extremely valuable at the start of your diet.

METHOD	PROS	CONS
URINE
Use ketone urine strips to measure the amount of ketones in your urine If the color is anything other than the lowest level, then you are in ketosis	Strips are available online and at local pharmacies Easy to measure on your own Can get results quickly, some brands as quickly as 15 seconds Can help motivate you knowing youre on the right track Inexpensive	Cost of strips varies by company Theyre a crude estimate of ketones in your blood; it is the least reliable testing method Can vary based on hydration levels; possible to get false negatives and false positives depending on your level of hydration or dehydration
BREATH
Similar to a breathalyzer for alcohol; you breathe into a small contraption that can tell you if you are in ketosis It measures the ketone by-product acetone in your breath	Easy to administer test Some brands contain software that can collect and compare data over time	Also a somewhat crude measure of ketosis Expensive Some brands with more functionalities have specific software requirements (varies by brand)
BLOOD
Similar to diabetics testing their blood for sugars, you prick your finger and a machine reads the amount of ketones in your blood