Healthy Lunch Ideas: Vegan Keto Bento Box | High Fat Low Carb + Paleo

Looking for healthy lunch inspiration? This Vegan Keto Bento Box with almond seaweed noodles, heirloom tomato salad & guacamole makes a great lunch on the go! It’s packed with plant-based protein, healthy fats & essential minerals - perfect to boost your energy levels, speed up your fat-burning metabolism and beat sugar cravings. That's a triple win :)

If you’ve never heard of the ketogenic diet before, it’s basically a low-carb high-fat diet that is reported to help with hormonal imbalances, weight loss & eating disorders, diabetes and inflammation in general (the cause of most Western diseases we know today). I heard about it many years ago through Dr. Mercola but up until a few months ago, I never really considered giving it a try myself.

However, a lot has changed since I discovered Dave Asprey’s book ‘The Bulletproof Diet’. It immediately caught my attention. He explains how certain foods (like refined carbohydrates and artificial additives) can completely disrupt our hormonal health – leading to anxiety, sleeping disorders, food cravings and many health issues. The book really triggered my curiosity and I decided to start adding more healthy fats to my diet (like avocado, olives and coconut) to find a natural solution for hormonal imbalances and other health challenges I’ve been dealing with the last couple of months.

Back in the days, at the beginning of my health journey when I was recovering from chronic glandular fever (caused by the Epstein-Barr virus), I experimented with a fully raw high-fruit low-fat 80/10/10 diet to heal digestive issues. Unfortunately, that way of eating just didn’t work for my body. It gave me lots of dental issues, I was low in several nutrients & I never really felt satisfied. After about a year, I moved on to a more balanced diet that combined raw food and Ayurveda.

Nowadays, I eat a mainly plant-based diet that combines raw & cooked foods, with plenty of vegetables, leafy greens and green superfood powders (like spirulina, chlorella, barley grass…) to keep my energy levels up and the Epstein-Barr virus under control. I try to eat intuitively according to what my body needs, with plenty of local seasonal produce and warming foods.

I also discovered MCT oil. It basically helps your body to burn fat for fuel and it can help to protect your brain from all types of degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s too. Personally, I’ve found that it makes a huge difference to my blood sugar level. It really helps me to stay satisfied longer and to beat sugar cravings.

I’ve started adding it to my smoothies, chia pudding, and even in savory dishes like the guacamole recipe you can find below. At first, I was a bit hesitant. I had been avoiding fats for so long, even the healthiest ones, thinking that they would make me fat. However, what I didn’t realize was that the right type of fats will actually help you to burn fat instead of storing it.

So far, I’m truly impressed by the results. I no longer suffer from food cravings, I don’t get ‘hangry’ before lunch or dinner and I’m not constantly thinking about food. I don’t follow a strict ketogenic diet though – I’d rather call it a low sugar plant-powered diet high in healthy fats and a moderate amount of healthy carbs like pumpkin, sweet potato and berries. They really help me to feel energized and vibrant. 

I’ve been a bit more flexible during our city trip to London this summer (you can watch the ‘what I eat in a day’ vlogs right HERE) and our book promo tour of Vegan & Raw 2 in California (check out the first California vlog HERE). I wanted to visit as many vegan hotspots as possible, including the occasional dessert ;-), but I tried to make the best choices for my digestion.

The last couple of months I’ve also been experimenting with intermittent fasting (very interesting) and I have many ideas for new recipes that are grain free, completely sugar free & higher in healthy fats.

Would you like to find out more, including details of what my diet looks like & how I’ve overcome digestive issues? Let me know in the comments down below!

For now, I leave you with this fun vegan bento box recipe.

Vegan Keto Bento Box | Seaweed Noodles + Guacamole + Heirloom Tomato Salad

DIRECTIONS:

Almond Seaweed Noodles (4 serving sizes)

1. Cook the arame seaweed until tender for about 15 minutes. Pour away the cooking water.
2. Lightly heat some extra virgin coconut oil and stir in the seaweed.
3. Take off the heat, add the tamari, stir well and top with the almond flakes.

Heirloom Tomato Salad

1. Chop the fresh tomatoes into chunks, the cucumber into ribbons, and the sundried tomatoes into strips.
2. Add sprouts (a great source of protein & minerals!) + oregano and/or basil for extra flavor.

Protein Power Guacamole

1. Mash the avocado. Season with lemon juice, salt and pepper.
2. Add MCT oil (or extra virgin olive oil if you don’t have MCT at home) and finely chopped chives. I like to add spirulina and seaweed flakes too – they’re both rich in protein and essential minerals such as zinc and iodine.
3. If you wish, top the guacamole with seasoned seeds: I used a mix of sprouted pumpkin, sunflower, sesame & buckwheat that I seasoned with Italian herbs & sea salt.

On the side, you can serve carrot sticks to have with the guacamole and fresh coconut for dessert.

JULIE’S TIPS & TRICKS:

• This Protein Power Guacamole will stay fresh for 2 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can store the Almond Seaweed Noodles for at least 4 days in the fridge.
• Not a fan of seaweed? Replace them with any noodles of your choice: zucchini, carrot, buckwheat, rice…

Now I would love to hear from you!

Have you ever suffered from bloating, digestive issues, food cravings or hormonal imbalances?

Are you interested to find out more about the interesting correlation between our food, gut, brain and health?

Let me know by leaving a comment down below.

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