How to Eat More Veggies on a Keto Diet - Free Low Carb Eat the Rainbow Tracker
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If you follow a low-carb diet you may wonder how you can eat more veggies on a keto diet. Vegetables are the healthiest foods on the planet and it is a very good thing to include more nutrient-packed veggies in your meals and snacks.
Use a technique called “eat the rainbow” to get a wide variety of healthy plant foods in your keto diet. Eating the rainbow will help you eat more vegetables, get a wide range of vitamins, minerals, and fiber, promotes gut health and improved immune function, reduces the risk of lifestyle diseases like heart disease and obesity, promotes brain health, can lower inflammation, and protect against some cancers.
Because I feel so strongly about eating lots of veggies and low-carb fruits on a keto diet for good health, I’ll share a Low Carb Eat the Rainbow Food Tracker you can download and print or use on an iPad. You’ll learn why it’s important to eat a diverse diet of plant foods, even on a low-carb diet, and 16 ridiculously easy ways to get more plant foods on your table each week.
Be sure to download this free Low-Carb “Eat the Rainbow” Tracker!
Today we talk all things veggies, plant food, and eating the rainbow:
How “eating the rainbow” helps you eat more veggies on a keto diet.
16 ridiculously simple ways to eat more veggies.
Why you don’t have to strictly limit veggies on a low-carb diet.
How tracking eating “rainbow” plant foods will help you eat more veggies.
Download a free printable “Eat the Low-Carb Rainbow” tracker.
Low-carb green foods, and why they are healthy.
Low-carb red foods, and why they are healthy.
Low-carb orange foods, and why they are healthy.
Low-carb yellow foods, and why they are healthy.
Low-carb blue and purple foods, and why they are healthy.
Low-carb white and brown foods, and why they are healthy.
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.
“Eating the rainbow” helps you eat more veggies on a keto diet.
Since veggies (and fruits) have different nutrients based on their color, being aware and consciously trying to eat more colorful veggies is a fun way to get more healthy veggies onto your plate.
Benefits of eating a wide variety of colorful plant foods:
Plant foods like fruits, vegetables, herbs, nuts, and spices contain vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and fiber.
Eating lots of veggies helps you feel full.
People who eat a wide variety of plant foods have a lower risk of chronic lifestyle diseases like obesity and Type II diabetes.
Eating an abundance of colorful plant foods may protect against certain kinds of cancers. Source.
Eating a wide variety of plant foods may reduce the risk for heart disease, including heart attack and stroke.
A diet high in fruits, veggies, and plant foods can be lower in calories.
A diverse plant food diet provides fiber and is important for good gut health. A healthy gut, or microbiome, is linked to a strong immune system, lower inflammation, and improve or eliminate irritable bowel syndrome.
16 ridiculously easy ways to add more colorful and diverse vegetables and plant foods to your keto or low-carb diet.
Stock your freezer with packages of frozen berries to add to smoothies, salads, or to eat for dessert.
Challenge yourself to try one new plant food each week. It could be a vegetable, herb, nut, seed, or low-carb fruit.
Add herbs to your dishes, either in the cooking or for garnish. Herbs add flavor and nutrients to your keto recipes. Use either fresh or dried. In the warm months, consider planting a simple herb garden so you always have fresh parsley, cilantro, or chives for your meals.
Add a handful of greens, nuts, and/or seeds to a morning low-carb smoothie.
When cooking, ask yourself what spices might enhance the flavor of your recipe? Consider trying new spices to add to your spice collection.
Prep salad veggies in advance so you can easily have a large salad for lunch or with your dinner. Definitely add keto-friendly healthy fats too, like an extra-virgin olive oil-based vinaigrette, avocado, or olives.
Save higher-carb fruits (like apples or bananas) and starchy vegetables (like potatoes or beets) for a healthy carb-up day.
Include low-carb plant foods with every meal. Instead of just bacon and eggs for breakfast, sprinkle your eggs with green onions, or serve with roasted cherry tomatoes.
Post the low-carb rainbow tracker in this blog post on your fridge to keep you motivated. Encourage your family to eat the rainbow with you!
To save food prep time, purchase pre-washed, cut-up veggies.
Serve your favorite dishes over cauliflower rice or zucchini, summer squash, or hearts of palm noodles.
Make a pot of homemade vegetable soup every week to eat with meals or for snacks. I am obsessed with making a pot of homemade soup almost every week, winter and summer. It's an easy way to add extra colorful veggies, herbs, and spices, to your diet.
Garnish your soups or meals with healthy keto-friendly garnishes! Garnishing your keto chicken piccata or low-carb beanless chili with fresh herbs, or other toppings makes your meals prettier and is another way to eat more veggies on a keto diet. See this post: 65 Keto-Friendly Soup Garnishes that are Ridiculously Tasty
Make coleslaw or other vegetable slaws a part of your weekly food plan. I've always loved coleslaw but fell in love with the idea of "different" slaws when I did the bone broth diet. I made a Napa Asian coleslaw with napa cabbage, fresh ginger, snow peas, parsley, and poblano peppers that was TO DIE FOR. And each serving had 5 different types of keto-friendly veggies. Use Google or check Pinterest for healthy keto slaw recipes.
Roast veggies in the oven or air fryer. Roasting isn't just for potatoes anymore. Most hearty veggies taste amazing when roasted. Try one at a time, like roasted green beans, or combine your favorites like tomatoes and mushrooms. Top with some freshly chopped herbs or nuts for an even healthier dish.
Start an afternoon green tea habit, or enjoy a mug of green tea after dinner instead of a sweet.
Shouldn't you limit fruits and vegetables on a keto diet?
Vegetables and (especially) fruits contain carbs. But plant foods can and should be a part of a keto or low-carb diet for overall health and wellness.
When eating keto, be sure to eat mostly low-carb vegetables.
I have tables below with veggies organized according to color to give you inspiration if you decide to add more colorful veggies to your diet. The ones marked with an asterisk are higher in carbs, so limit the amount and frequency of fruits and starchy vegetables.
Low-carb vegetables, like leafy greens, add important nutrients and fiber to your diet and will have minimal impact on your ability to stay in ketosis.
Higher carb veggies are not off-limits, but eat them in small amounts and infrequently.
As you likely know, root veggies like potatoes and beets have more carbs and are generally no-no's on a keto diet. A 3.5 ounce serving of purple potatoes has 17 grams of net carbs.
If you like purple potatoes (or sweet potatoes or any other starchy vegetable), just budget that 17 grams of carbs into your keto day a few times a month if it makes you happy. Enjoy your purple potatoes tossed in olive oil and roasted in the oven for colorful and delicious purple potato fries, or make a purple potato mash using real butter.
Choose mostly berries and low-carb fruits when on a keto diet.
When choosing fruits, pick lower-carb berries most of the time and be mindful of portion size. A 1/2 cup serving of blueberries (considered a superfood) has 9 grams net carbs. A small banana has about 16 grams net carbs. If you make wise keto choices for the rest of the day you can absolutely budget in a small amount of higher-carb fruits if you enjoy eating them.
Tracking your “rainbow” plant food intake will help you eat more veggies on keto.
A food tracker will help you see how many different fruits and vegetables you eat in a week, and it is highly motivating. The Low-Carb Eat the Rainbow Tracker is like a grown-up sticker chart.
Print the tracker and post it on the fridge, or use the PDF in an app like GoodNotes or Notability on an iPad. Set an alarm to update your list every day. And definitely invite your kids to track their fruits and veggies too!
In most "eat the rainbow" or "food diversity" lists you will see a wide variety of plant foods. Fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and legumes. Since this is a keto and low-carb-focused list, I have excluded grains and legumes.
You will see fruits and some higher-carb vegetables like sweet potatoes, and cherries on the chart. You don't need to exclude these foods from a keto diet but eat them infrequently or in small quantities.
Foods higher in carbs and not generally a part of a keto or low-carb diet are noted with an **.
Why GREEN plant foods are healthy.
Green foods, especially dark leafy greens, are considered the healthiest foods on the planet. Green veggies and fruits are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, magnesium, folate, and flavonoids.
Green veggies help prevent free radicals from damaging your cells. And green fruits and veggies have compounds that can help lower blood pressure and are good for heart health.
I have been obsessed with learning about how our food affects our brain health ever since I read Brain Food: The Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power by Dr. Lisa Mosconi, and greens may help protect the brain against inflammation and help prevent neural damage. Source.
Remember that fruits and veggies higher in carbs are noted with an asterisk in the lists below.
Green vegetables to include on a keto diet.
Artichoke
Asparagus
Bok choy
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Celery
Cucumber
Edamame
Green beans
Green olives
Green onions (scallions)
Green peppers
Kale
Leaf lettuce
Microgreens (be sure to check out 10 Ways to Eat Microgreens and Why You Should)
Okra
Peas**
Seaweed
Spinach
Sprouts
Zucchini
Green fruits.
Avocado
Kiwi**
Limes
Green herbs, spices, etc.
Basil
Chives
Cilantro
Dill
Green tea
Matcha tea
Oregano
Parsley
Peppermint
Sage
Rosemary
Why RED plant foods are healthy.
The red color in many fruits and vegetables contains antioxidants that lower the risk of developing diseases like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and atherosclerosis. They also lower the risk of developing different types of cancer, including prostate cancer, and protect against heart diseases.
Like green plant foods, red fruits and vegetables have been shown to improve brain health. Let’s get eating!
Red vegetables to include on a keto diet
Beets**
Radish
Radicchio
Red bell pepper
Red cabbage
Red chili pepper
Red leaf lettuce
Red onion
Red pepper flakes (If you love red pepper flakes as much as I do, check out how to make homemade Chinese Sichuan Chili Oil. It’s super delicious, keto AF, and adds a wonderful spice to lots of dishes.)
Red potatoes**
Tomatoes (I know, it’s technically a fruit.)
Red fruits.
Cherries**
Grapefruit
Pomegranate**
Raspberries
Red apples**
Rhubarb**
Strawberries**
Watermelon**
Red herbs, spices, etc.
Cayenne pepper
Chili powder
Paprika
Red pepper flakes
Why ORANGE plant foods are healthy.
Orange plant foods contain carotenoids, which have lots of health benefits, so be sure to include orange veggies and spices in your keto diet.
We’ve all heard that carrots help your eyesight, right? Well, the carotenoids in carrots (and pumpkin, sweet potatoes, etc.) also help prevent macular degeneration, can destroy some cancer cells, and improve the immune system.
Orange vegetables to include in a keto diet.
Butternut squash **
Carrots**
Pumpkin
Sweet potatoes**
Orange fruits.
Apricot**
Cantaloupe**
Nectarines**
Oranges**
Peaches**
Orange herbs, spices, etc.
Turmeric
Why YELLOW plant foods are healthy.
Yellow plant foods are wonderful sources of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. They promote good gut health, are good for the eyes, promote heart-health, and can help fight certain types of cancers.
Yellow vegetables to include on a keto diet.
Corn**
Golden beets**
Yellow cherry tomatoes
Yellow onions
Yellow peppers
Yellow potatoes (Yukon)**
Summer squash
Yellow fruits.
Bananas**
Golden Delicious apples**
Lemons
Mango**
Pineapple**
Starfruit**
Yellow herbs, spices, etc.
Cumin
Curry powder
Ginger
Mustard
Why BLUE and PURPLE plant foods are healthy.
Blue and purple fruits and vegetables add color to your table and have amazing health benefits, just like all vegetables. The properties in blue and purple plant foods may help prevent certain cancers, stroke, and heart disease. They promote good gut health and healthy aging. Try including blue or purple plant foods in your keto meal plan each week.
Blue and purple vegetables.
Black olives (I know this is technically a fruit)
Eggplant
Purple cabbage
Purple carrots**
Purple kale
Purple potatoes**
Purple sweet potatoes**
Blue and purple fruits.
Blueberries
Blackberries
Plums**
Purple grapes**
Blue and purple herbs, spices, etc.
Blue spice basil
Why WHITE and BROWN plant foods are healthy.
You may not think of white and brown foods when imagining “eat the rainbow.” but these less vibrant plant foods still bring a lot of health benefits to the table.
Brown and white veggies all contain vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Some have anti-inflammatory, or anti-tumor properties. These veggies, herbs, and fruits can promote heart health, boost the immune system, heal the gut, and help prevent some types of cancers.
White and brown vegetables to include in a keto diet.
Cauliflower
Fennel
Garlic
Leeks
Mushrooms
Onions
Parsnips
Potatoes**
Turnips
White and brown fruits.
Coconut
Dates**
White peaches**
White and brown herbs, spices, etc.
Cinnamon
Chia seeds
Flaxseed
Nuts (almonds, walnuts, macadamia, pecans)
Nutmeg
Seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, chia)
I hope you enjoyed this look at the health benefits of veggies, fruits, herbs, and spices, and understand how important it is to eat more veggies on a keto diet. If you haven’t already, click on the button below to download the FREE Low Carb “Eat the Rainbow” Food Tracker. No opt in is necessary.
Happy colorful keto eating!
—The Keto Minimalist
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