There are many indulgent and decadent comfort foods available on a ketogenic diet, so there's no need to go off-plan in that sense to feel like you're cheating.
However, although monitoring macronutrients like carbs, fat, fiber, and protein are vital, it's also essential to mind your micronutrient intake to ensure you're getting enough vitamins and minerals in your daily diet.
To that end, you'll want to incorporate foods containing essential nutrients into your keto meal plan as much as possible. But what do you do if said foods are vegetables and that's a food category you don't venture into often enough throughout the week?
It's fair that everyone has their taste preference, and if you don't jive with kale or cabbage, you shouldn't have to force yourself to eat it. But with that said, it’s also crucial to acknowledge that nutritional deficiencies can lead to many health conditions.
If the scenario painted above feels familiar, and you know your meal plan could be more well-rounded, and you're not a fan of veggies but desire to enhance your nutritional intake, keep reading.
We'll share the essential nutrients that the body needs and how to get them in daily, without having to join forces with kale and Brussels sprouts face-to-face.
Although nutritional needs may vary from person-to-person and may be affected by factors like gender, family history, and current lifestyle, the addition of a super green supplement daily can improve and sustain one's health with ease.
Everybody needs some general nutrients, and many of them are in our premium Supreme Greens.
Here's an overview of the vitamins and nutrients in our blend, followed by keto-friendly foods that provide more of the same complementary elements to create a highly nutrient-dense meal plan.
- Spirulina Powder: All the greens in our super greens formulation pack a potent nutritional punch. However, spirulina probably tops the list of said ingredients and with good reason.
Here are a few of the fantastic benefits provided by the edible alga known as spirulina:
This blue-green alga is a nutritional powerhouse, providing a load of vitamins the body craves.
A single tablespoon of our richly green powder provides four grams of plant-based protein and significant amounts of vitamins B1, B2, B3 and copper, iron, magnesium, manganese and potassium.
Plus, the noted serving is only 20 calories and has a keto-conscious carb load of 1.7 grams! Also, spirulina is known to aid in the following:
- Powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties
- May have anti-cancerous properties
- May reduce blood pressure
- Supports the body to prevent conditions such as anemia
- Can lower LDL (a.k.a., bad) cholesterol and lower triglyceride levels
- May aid in blood sugar regulation
- May enhance muscle strength and endurance
- Boosts metabolism and aids in weight loss
- Improves gut health
- Helps prevent heart disease and supports coronary health
- May reduce allergy symptoms (e.g., runny nose, sneezing, nasal congestion, itching, et al.)
- Promotes mental health and mood regulation
Barley Grass Powder: Another amazing nutrient-dense powder with many benefits is barley grass.
Besides supporting the immune system, barley grass powder can also alkalize the body, enhance energy, aid digestion, relieve constipation, and improve skin, hair, and nails!
This vitalizing powder is also critical to remove heavy metals and toxins from the thyroid—a major weight-regulating gland.
Also, barley grass is especially helpful to those suffering from liver damage, as it contains 18 bioavailable amino acids to fuel and support physical performance.
Alfalfa Sprout Powder: In addition to their fast-growing time and accessibility at most local markets, if you want to add them to smoothies, alfalfa in fresh or powdered form is an excellent option.
Here are some perks of including alfalfa in your keto regimen:
- Helps lower LDL (bad) cholesterol
- Helps to regulate blood sugar levels
- Relieves many symptoms of menopause
- Rich in antioxidants
- Provides vitamins and minerals like vitamin C and K, copper, magnesium, and folate
Wheat Grass Powder: If you're seeking a boost in energy without a crash later in the day, you'll want to add wheatgrass to your daily regimen.
Plus, in addition to a noticeable increase in energy, wheatgrass is known to offer many other health benefits.
Here are some significant benefits of adding wheatgrass in your keto meal plan:
- Could help kill diseased cells
- May promote increased weight loss
- Can aid in blood sugar regulation
- May alleviate inflammation
- Rich in antioxidants and nutrients
- May reduce bad cholesterol.
Plus, wheatgrass is a superfood known to eliminate toxins, help with digestion, and boost your metabolism and immune system!
Wheat Sprout Powder: We generally stay away from grains on a ketogenic diet, but sprouted wheat grains are worth another look as their further deteriorated phytic acid levels increase the sprouted foods' nutrients.
As a result, sprouted wheat products offer more folate, iron, vitamin C, zinc, magnesium, and protein.
Chlorella Powder: There's less of a need to stress out about eating greens when you have handy nutritional powerhouses like chlorella on-hand—and as you can see, that’s just one of our blend’s many potent ingredients!
Here are some of the powerful benefits of incorporating chlorella into your keto plan:
- Dense Nutrition
- Binds to heavy metals to facilitate the detox process
- Immune System Booster
- May Improve Cholesterol Levels
- Helps to Regulate Blood Pressure
- Aids in Blood Sugar Regulation
- Helps Manage Respiratory Diseases
Beetroot Powder: A ketogenic diet is already prone to boost energy and endurance. However, you can execute more intense and lengthier workouts at peak performance with the addition of beetroot.
Plus, beetroot also aids in the following:
- Boosts brain health
- Reduces post-workout recovery time
- Provides anti-inflammatory benefits
- May aid in digestive health
- Helps support weight loss
- Aids in blood pressure regulation
- Nutrient-dense yet low in calories
Dulse Powder: There are many forms of seaweed that provide the body with many nutrients. Varieties like nori, kelp, and dulse provide significant amounts of calcium and potassium, which fortify bone health.
Plus, in addition to strengthening your bones—which becomes particularly important as we age—dulse also helps improve eyesight and lower blood pressure!
This mild yet slightly sweet variety of seaweed is excellent to use to thicken broth, soups, and stews!
And last but certainly not least, dulse may improve thyroid health, which can enhance overall wellness and performance—especially as it pertains to weight loss.
Bee Pollen Powder: The benefit of bees in our ecosystem and their medicinal honey production has already secured definite holistic health acclaim.
However, honey is only part of a bees' helpful and healthful elements. You can also consume bee pollen to aid in the following:
- Bee pollen contains more than 250 biologically active substances, including proteins, carbs, lipids, fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and antioxidants.
- Rich antioxidant content acts to protect the body from free radical damage and some chronic diseases.
- It helps prevent heart disease thanks to reducing high blood lipids and bad cholesterol in the body.
- Bee pollen helps support liver function, therefore eliminating the build-up of toxins in the body.
- Contains several anti-inflammatory properties
- Bee pollen is also a fantastic tool to help boost immunity and stave off illnesses by killing harmful bacteria in the body.
- The regenerative nature of the pollen may also aid in the healing of wounds and prevent infections.
- Plus, tests of bee pollen's properties have shown an ability to slow tumor growth and stimulate apoptosis—the programmed death of mutated cells—in the prostate, colon, and leukemic cancers.
- May help mitigate the symptoms of menopause (e.g., hot flashes)
- Aids in metabolism function and nutrient assimilation
Micronutrients are vital to optimal health, but we'd be remiss if we didn't note the importance of prebiotics and probiotics in the gut and holistic health.
Our proprietary Supreme Greens blend of good bacteria will support optimal gut health and digestion, something essential for any healthy body.
Immunity & Digestion Complex: Plus, our immunity and digestion complex also work to boost our body's ability to ward off illnesses and disease while further aiding in proper digestion.
Pair our Supreme Greens with nutrient-dense keto meals and beverages, and you'll have a well-rounded plan to achieve optimal health.
Just like eating veggies can be a bore, sometimes you want to switch up the way you drink your Supreme Greens. You can go basic and add a scoop to at least six ounces of cold water. Or you can dump a spoon in your favorite smoothie for an added nutritional and flavor boost.
Here are some keto recipes to use as a base for your morning shot of Supreme Greens:
- Konscious Keto Strawberry Keto Smoothie
- Triple Berries and Cream Keto Smoothie
- Konscious Keto Strawberry Green Goddess Smoothie
- Açaí Almond Butter Keto Smoothie
- Citrus Keto Smoothie
- Micronutrient Matcha Keto Smoothie
Also, you'll probably love many of our veggie-laden keto dishes, even if you aren't the biggest fan of produce. Here are a few recipes to consider adding to your keto meal plan, to boost veggie intake, for the produce skeptic in you:
- Delightful Zucchini Bread
- Zoodle Keto Alfredo with Bacon
- Keto Savory Pie with Zucchini
- Creamy and Keto Broccoli Cheese Soup
Eating veggies hidden in recipes may work best for you if you don't like the taste of them straight, and that can increase your overall nutritional intake.
However, there's no need to fret if you don't want to consume many veggies but still care about getting the nutrition as if you did.
Fortunately, adding Supreme Greens to your keto plan is an easy way to shore up any holes in your real-life eating style. No one is perfect and including a premium supplement is like having insurance to guard against vitamin deficiencies.
Besides, in addition to implementing Supreme Greens into your keto protocol, you may also benefit significantly from a personalized keto meal plan for weight loss tailored for your specific needs and lifestyle.
Click here to take our 30-second quiz and gain instant access to your customized keto meal plan to get started on the road to ketosis today.
Summary
Dense nutrition is always essential, but probably more so now than ever. Between life-work balance, societal unrest, and economic volatility, the world can present high levels of stress without ceasing, and chronic stress can take a significant toll on the quality of your health.
Although your efforts may focus squarely on feeding yourself the highest quality nutrition possible, the pace of life may leave you eating more vendor meals than home-cooked fare.
Explore the wide variety of low-glycemic veggies to enjoy on a low-carb, high-fat ketogenic diet and make sure to include the ones you like as often as possible. And add Supreme Greens to your dietary regimen to supplement the veggies you still can’t stomach, regardless of the potential reward.
No one should have to eat foods they dislike to maintain or improve their health. Swap tart veggies for a cold glass of our greens supplement and enjoy the benefits of a mix brimming with dense-nutrition, with a delightful taste of apple and cinnamon to start each day with optimal health front and center.
Sources
- Kour, B. (2016). Wheat Grass Benefits. International Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 3(5). doi:10.15406/ijcam.2016.03.00092
- Hayashi, O. (2007). Studies of health benefits of Spirulina as a food supplement. Journal for the Integrated Study of Dietary Habits, 18(1), 19-24. doi:10.2740/jisdh.18.19
- Health Benefits of Barley Foods. (n.d.). Barley for Food and Health, 178-203. doi:10.1002/9780470369333.ch8
- (2015). Physicochemical and Sensory Characteristics of Muffins added with Wheat Sprout Powder. Culinary Science & Hospitality Research, 21(4), 207-220. doi:10.20878/cshr.2015.21.4.015015015
- Beet Root. (2017). Natural Food Flavors and Colorants, 77-79. doi:10.1002/9781119114796.ch21
- Kanazawa, A., Saito, A., & Idler, D. R. (1966). Vitamins B in Dulse (Rhodymenia palmata). Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada, 23(6), 915-916. doi:10.1139/f66-079
- Karabagias, I., Karabagias, V., Gatzias, I., & Riganakos, K. (2018). Bio-Functional Properties of Bee Pollen: The Case of “Bee Pollen Yoghurt.” Coatings, 8(12), 423. doi:10.3390/coatings8120423
- Shaw, G. (2018). Leafy Greens Are Good for the Brain. Brain & Life, 14(5), 8-9. doi:10.1097/01.nnn.0000547349.42307.81
- Clifford, T., Howatson, G., West, D., & Stevenson, E. (2015). The Potential Benefits of Red Beetroot Supplementation in Health and Disease. Nutrients, 7(4), 2801-2822. doi:10.3390/nu7042801
