7 Pegan Recipes That Combine the Best of Paleo and Vegan Diets (2024)

FAQs

Is peanut butter allowed on a pegan diet? ›

Focus on Nuts & Seeds

Not so nuts for nuts? Luckily, the list of approved foods also includes sugar-free nut butter (e.g., almond butter, peanut butter), so long as it's sugar-free.

In essence, a pegan diet is the same as paleo, just with much fewer animal products; fruit, vegetables, and nuts make up three quarters of your plate, whilst meat, fish, and eggs fill the rest. A vegan paleo diet, however, doesn't contain any of these animal products.

The key difference between pegan and veganism is that the pegan diet encourages the consumption of small portions of sustainably sourced protein, including eggs, chicken, lamb and wild salmon. “These are [solid] sources of high-quality protein, which helps with muscle preservation/building and satiety,” says Martin.

But a pegan diet severely limits or skips certain foods, including: Bread and most grains like barley, oats and wheat (except black rice or quinoa). Dairy products including milk, cheese, ice cream or yogurt. Foods with added sugar or a high glycemic index.

To keep blood sugar levels stable, the Pegan diet advises picking low-sugar fruits like berries and avoiding high-sugar fruits such as bananas, pineapples, and watermelon, especially for those who need to keep their blood sugar in control.

More About the Pegan Diet

If you need a refresher, the paleo diet attempts to model what those living 2.6 million years ago in the Paleolithic era ate: vegetables, fruits, fish, meat and nuts. It excludes dairy, grains, legumes, sugar, oils, salt, alcohol and coffee.

If you are following a strict paleo diet, you should avoid the following foods. These foods are not permitted on the paleo diet: Cereal grains. Legumes (peanuts, beans, lentils, tofu)

The diet excludes cereal grains, legumes, dairy, processed oils, refined sugar, alcohol, caffeine, artificial sweeteners, and trans fats. Some paleo-friendly foods include lean meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.

What Can You Eat on the Pegan Diet? The pegan diet focuses on eating “clean.” This includes: Fruits. Vegetables, mostly those that have low starch or rank low on the glycemic index, such as broccoli, carrots, peas, and tomatoes.

Is rice allowed on the pegan diet? ›

The paleo diet avoids grains as ancestors did not eat them until more recently. The pegan diet suggests eating only small portions — for example, half a cup of low glycemic grains such as black rice or quinoa with a meal. In addition, people should avoid processed foods made from flour, which may raise blood sugar.

Eat mostly plants.

Stick with mostly nonstarchy veggies. Winter squashes and sweet potatoes are fine in moderation (1⁄2 cup a day). Not a ton of potatoes!

You can also eat small amounts of gluten-free grains like quinoa and oats and legumes like black beans and lentils (up to a cup daily). Like many other “clean eating” diets, the pegan diet keeps sweets to a minimum. “Sugar as an occasional treat is allowed but should be unprocessed and eaten very seldom,” Shupe said.

And as plant-based protein sources that are high in good and unsaturated fats, peanuts and peanut butter are a natural fit within Mediterranean and Flexitarian ways of eating. Unfamiliar with the Mediterranean and Flexitarian diets?

Foods to avoid on a lectin-free diet

The foods highest in lectins include: nightshade vegetables, such as tomatoes, potatoes, goji berries, peppers, and eggplant. all legumes, such as lentils, beans, peanuts, and chickpeas. peanut-based products, such as peanut butter and peanut oil.

All in all, blanched almond butter is:

A lectin-free alternative to cashew & almond butter.

Peanuts are technically legumes, which are not paleo compliant, and that means peanut butter is off limits for paleo eaters. All other nuts and seeds are fair game, so if nuts and seeds are the only ingredients, snack away!