When you go vegan, I highly recommend tracking your foods using a tool like Cronometer (free).
You’ll likely see that your intake is low in certain nutrients.
It’s going to be different for everyone. So instead of writing a 100 page guide here, I’ll link to detailed resources of the best vegan foods for each nutrient.
It’s easy to develop deficiencies when you switch to a completely different type of diet. Many new vegans do, develop symptoms (e.g. fatigue, headaches, etc.), and then claim “I’m just not made to be vegan”.
The fact that you’re here means you likely won’t fall into that category, which is great.
This guide will help you identify foods to try to incorporate into your diet and correct any (hopefully minor) deficiencies.
Vegan Sources of Fat and Protein
Why only fat and protein, and not carbohydrates?
Almost every vegan diet is already high in carbohydrates, that’s just the nature of plant nutrition. The list of vegan foods for keto is quite small.
If you’re just getting started looking at vegan nutrition, start with these resources:
- Vegan foods high in fat
- The 50 Highest Calorie Vegan Foods (good if you’re having trouble eating enough)
- How to get enough protein as a vegan
- Vegan sources of fiber
Vegan Sources of Vitamins
Most vitamins are pretty easy to get on a vegan diet, but it’s still possible to lack any of them depending on what you’re eating.
I’ve created detailed lists of the best vegan sources of each vitamin:
- Vegan sources of vitamin A
- B vitamins
- Vegan food sources of vitamin C
- Vegan sources of vitamin E
- Vegan sources of vitamin K
- Vegan sources of antioxidants
And while it’s not technically a vitamin, you may have some interest in plant based sources of CoQ10 (an enzyme that’s a nutrient).
Vegan Sources of Minerals
Mineral deficiencies are more common than vitamins for vegans.
Here are links to detailed lists of good sources for each mineral, in alphabetical order:
- Vegan sources of calcium (common deficiency)
- Vegan sources of choline
- Vegan sources of copper
- Vegan sources of iron (common deficiency)
- Vegan sources of magnesium
- Vegan sources of phosphorus
- Vegan sources of potassium
- Vegan sources of selenium
- Vegan sources of zinc
It may seem like a lot of work, but over time you’ll need to check these lists less and less.
You’ll find ways to include diverse plant foods into your diet that cover all essential vitamins and minerals, and eating a healthy diet will become easier.
Getting The Most Nutrition From Your Food
Storage methods don’t typically change nutritional value. For example, you can freeze tofu and it will taste different, but the nutrition is the same.
However, your cooking method can. In general, steaming and frying is the best way to maximize your nutrition from foods.