The keto diet has many benefits beyond weight loss, as there is evidence that it can also improve your health regarding diseases such as diabetes, for example, but it is also a support for treating neurological diseases.

Although more conclusive studies are still needed, scientific research has shown that this diet can have benefits for a wide variety of different health conditions:

Heart disease. The ketogenic diet can help improve risk factors such as body fat, HDL cholesterol (good) levels, blood pressure, and blood sugar.
Alzheimer's disease. The ketogenic diet may help reduce symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and slow its progression.
Epilepsy. Research has shown that the ketogenic diet can lead to significant reductions in seizures in epileptic children.

The ketogenic diet, or keto, is a high-fat and low-carbohydrate diet that typically contains animal products such as meat, fish, and poultry, but what if you want to integrate it into your vegetarian lifestyle? The good news is that it is possible to adapt it to a vegetarian diet.

What is a keto-vegetarian diet?
A vegetarian ketogenic diet consists of a meal plan that combines aspects of vegetarianism and the ketogenic diet, in order to avoid meat and fish, while maintaining a high fat intake and limiting carbohydrate intake to 20-50 grams per day, thus inducing ketosis, a metabolic state in which the body begins to burn fat for fuel instead of glucose.

In a traditional ketogenic diet, about 70% of total daily calories should come from fats, which can be sourced from oils, meat, fish, and full-fat dairy products, but the vegetarian ketogenic diet eliminates meat and fish and relies on healthy fats, such as coconut oil, eggs, avocados, nuts, and seeds.

Keto-Vegetarian Meal Ideas
A keto-vegetarian diet is possible, so you can easily combine it with dishes that include eggs, nuts, and seeds, like the ones we propose below.

Roasted Cauliflower with Egg and Avocado
This dish can work very well as breakfast in a keto-vegetarian diet and has a simple preparation. The cauliflower is roasted for 15 minutes in the oven with a little olive oil, and to season it, use a pinch of garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Top with some slices of avocado, a fried egg made with spray oil, and you will have a dish with around 179.5 calories.

Kale Chips
Kale is one of the most nutritious leafy greens you can find, and one way to include it in your diet is as chips. Simply place the kale leaves on a baking sheet with olive oil, salt, and chili powder; bake for 25 minutes or until crispy, and don't forget to flip them occasionally. For a delicious snack, pair them with a bit of guacamole.

Spaghetti Squash
This recipe is perfect for a low-carb dinner but full of healthy fats, as it consists of spaghetti squash with a sauce made from avocado cream. To make it, blend or process 2 avocados with 1/4 cup of cilantro, a tablespoon of lime juice, and season with salt, pepper, onion powder, and a garlic clove. Cook the squash noodles and simply add the avocado sauce to have dinner ready.

Find some other meal ideas to follow a keto diet and start the year with a balanced diet in our keto challenge.