For the love of veggies

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Do you love veggies? What kinds? How do you prepare them? Do you eat a lot of them? Do you limit yourself on the amounts you eat?

I find myself loving and craving more and more veggies. Broccoli, cabbage, peppers, and zucchini are among my favorites. The problem I find is that they are pretty carby, but also fiber dense. I really, really try not to let the carbs in the veggies bother me, but when I do go over my daily carb allowance, it's frequently because of the veggies. I really don't limit myself when I eat them. I often cover them in fats, cheese, or bacon bits to try to "bulk" the amounts I eat with fat. More often than not, my dinner plate is half covered in veggies, and half covered in a protein. Do you do this?

Replies

  • Jasmine_James
    Jasmine_James Posts: 188 Member
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    Keto has made me love vegetables for the first time in my life! I am eating more vegetables now than I ever have in the past. For me, it's the fat that I add to them that makes me love them so much. Cabbage sauted in coconut oil and then sprinkled with sea salt and some butter melted on top -- OMG, it's like dessert! Last night, I had some chicken breast with 2 cups of green beans with butter, sea salt, and pepper. It was so much food, so satiating, and soooo delicious I savored every bite.

    I plan my day around vegetables because they are my main source of carbs. I mostly get carbs from my veggies. My other top sources are almond butter (usually 6 g), Greek yogurt (6g), and/or a whey protein shake (I opt for low-carb whey of 5 g carbs + unsweetened coconut milk + unsweetened almond milk) -- but I usually only have one of these sources in a day, so it's usually veggies plus one of these for my carbs for the day.

    I have a big salad for lunch that usually comes in around 5-6 g carbs total. Always have 1-2 tablespoons of some decadent high-fat salad dressing with it. For dinner, I always have 1-2 cups of a green vegetable smothered in some yummy healthy fat. I do limit to low-carb veggies though (spinach, green beans, sometimes kale, arugala, etc.).

    I haven't been counting net carbs -- just carbs total and I'm always between 20-30 g for the day.
  • RiesigJay
    RiesigJay Posts: 151 Member
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    Yes, I've learned to love veggies. And cherish fruit on the rare occasions I'd eat them during a CKD.

    I used to hate broccoli (especially as a youngster). To the point where I'd wait for my parents to leave the kitchen, grab up the broccoli in a paper napkin, run to the bathroom and throw it in the trash and cover it with kleenex.

    Now, I go through a 3 pound bag of broccoli (from CostCo) in 3 days. Somehow I've found that if you steam it just right, it tastes like parmesan. Probably just my imagination though.

    I also love kale, spinach (when raw. Cooked is just like eating slugs or something), baby bok choy, and collard greens.

    I usually lightly steam or fry the vegs in the meat drippings and eat 50% raw vegetables and 50% cooked. Apparently there are some nutrients in raw broccoli that are altered in the cooking process.

    I don't limit myself on the amount I eat and have never been kicked out of ketosis by vegetables.
  • GabyBaby916
    GabyBaby916 Posts: 385 Member
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    I'm a huge veggie lover also!
    My current favorite (a near daily treat) is to make noodles out of zucchini. I think toss it in a pan with cheese, butter, and seasoning.
    Yummmmmm!

    I make pizza crusts, rice, and mashed "potatoes" from cauliflower.
    I've always loved raw spinach salads (though like Riegsig, I dont care for cooked spinach). Bell peppers, jicama, turnips, and so many others.

    I had to increase the size of my veggie garden from one bed to three this year because I had a lot of things I wanted to plant, but one bed wouldnt hold it all! :)
  • SadKitty27
    SadKitty27 Posts: 416 Member
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    I absolutely love raw spinach (I eat it with just about every meal,) brussel sprouts, and asparagus. Kale is pretty yummy too, albeit I only eat it in chip form lol. I do however limit myself because some veggies are high in carbs.
  • albertabeefy
    albertabeefy Posts: 1,169 Member
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    I need to start recording it in my food diary... I eat raw baby spinach every day - I throw a small handful of leaves in my protein shake and never notice it ... typically because I chug it, LOL.

    I also love salad: I tend to make huge salads of leafy greens (I like the 'spring mix' they have at my costco combined with baby spinach) - typically around 6, 7 cups of the greens goes well with ham, bacon, turkey, eggs, whatever protein source and a nice high-fat dressing. You can make a very ketogenic salad that's amazing.

    My other go-to veggie is broccoli. Steamed with butter, cheese-sauce, thrown into casseroles, whatever.

    And I've gone to heaven since I found zucchini lasagna works just as well as pasta lasagna ever did...
  • stephanj
    stephanj Posts: 898 Member
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    Has anyone tried "crack slaw"? (google it) I was so good even hubby loved it!

    I like the idea of tons of veg even if it puts you a little over on carbs. I just ate an entire cucumber for lunch, how could that be bad?

    Grandma's cucumber salad (done keto):

    1 cucumber, sliced very thin (shaved if you can)
    1 dropper liquid stevia (or powder to taste
    2 Tb apple cider vinegar
    1 Tb olive oil
    salt and pepper to taste.

    Let the cuke sit in the dressing and soak up that goodness for while. Serve cold.