This is a guest post by Louise Hendon, co-host of the Keto Summit.

Maybe you like the idea of following a Keto diet but you’re concerned you’ll never have enough time to prepare and cook all that delicious fresh food. If you’ve also decided to take a vegan approach to Keto, you might be asking yourself where to even start. Well, we’ve got some great news for you since staying on track with your macros doesn’t need to be that tough. With a little forethought and some sensible planning, you’ll be able to make your food prep count by getting meals ready when it suits you.

Before anything else, it’s worth checking out the ultimate vegan Keto shopping list so you’ve got your fridge, freezer and cupboards brimming with everything you need to stay healthy, feel fuller for longer and hit your macros at the same time.

Once you’ve got all your supplies in place, it would also pay to consider these awesome time-saving meal-planning tools so you can make your life even easier.

     1) Crockpot

While crockpots are perhaps best known for enabling you to cook cheap cuts of meat, they also work wonderfully with vegetables, even if they’re softer with a higher water content like mushrooms.

The crockpot is arguably the kitchen appliance that can save you most time while also helping you to plan out your meals better.

Picture this…

You come home exhausted after a long day at work and a numbing drive through traffic.

As you enter the kitchen, you open the lid of your slow cooker, you’re treated to the wonderful aroma of an Italian vegetable bake you’ve left simmering away as you congratulate yourself once again on investing in that crockpot.

While it is not a magic bullet that magically makes lovely Keto crockpot meals appear, it does enable you to batch prepare when you can snatch the time, and then profit from not needing to cook every meal from scratch.

Another key slow cooker benefit is the way you can take full advantage of time when you’re not at home. It’s perfectly safe to leave your crockpot unattended for hours so you the legwork of dinner is taken care of before you even get home.

It’s not just the convenience angle that accounts for the popularity of this method of cooking, though. Although it’s most noticeable with meat, you’ll also extract the finest flavor from your veggies when you cook them long and slow.

2) Spiralizer

If you’re committed to a vegan diet, sooner or later you’ll probably start craving new ways to experience your favorite vegetables.

If you pick up a spiralizer, you’ll be able to create glorious, crunchy ribbons from all your fruit and veg in next to no time.

Spiralizers come in manual or electric form so there’s something for all tastes and budgets.

Any time you’re hankering after a bowl of pasta, why not push some eggplant or zucchini through your spiralizer and go for a low-carb alternative instead? Spiralized vegetables take on a consistency and texture resembling pasta so you’ll get a placebo hit of what you’re missing while loading yourself up with goodness.

You can also create striking shapes out of fruit so inject some new life into your Keto-friendly faves and brighten up mealtime for your kids at the same time.

One of the primary advantages of spiralizing beside the time you’ll save chopping is the fact you’ll make your vegetables go even further. If you want to make Keto-friendly noodles, you’ll need very little veg to yield enough noodles for 2 people and you won’t feel any guilt about carb-creep as you tuck into an Italian with a twist.

For a winning combination of time and money saved with a healthy injection of fun thrown in, road test some spiralizers and see which one would work most effectively in your Keto kitchen.

3) Blender

If you plan to eat a meat-free Keto diet, there’s little substitute for an effective blender.

As with any kitchen appliance, it pays to buy the highest quality gear you can afford rather than looking only at the bottom line then wondering why your equipment is letting you down.

Do you find yourself struggling for time to make a nutritious breakfast?

If so, why not just rustle up a green smoothie packed full of goodness in a matter of minutes? This ability to take the sting out of pulping fruit or veg alone makes a blender a go-to item in any Keto kitchen.

Making Keto smoothies couldn’t be easier…

Use almond milk or coconut milk as a base and use some vanilla extract or perhaps some unsweetened cacao powder for flavor. Collagen powder or Brazil nuts give some extra nutrients while you can ladle in plenty of extra Keto fats for good measure. Almond butter and MCT oil make great choices here. Top your drink with some shredded coconut and then add whatever else takes your fancy for a smoothie sensation that’s ready before you know it.

Another area where many newcomers to Keto fall down is at snack time. Sure, Keto generally makes you feel fuller for longer, but it’s inevitable you’ll get hungry between meals from time to time. Rather than blowing your macros with some carelessly selected junk food, why not treat yourself to some Keto fat bombs instead? All you’ll need is a blender.

If you still need some inspiration, it might be time to consider a meal plan so you never run dry of ideas and you’ll leave yourself with no excuse for not knowing what to make for dinner next week.

So…

We very much hope you feel encouraged that following a Ketogenic diet doesn’t mean you need to spend all your time shackled to the chopping board.

With some smart planning and a very small investment in some of these times-saving tools, you’ll soon find yourself eating better and saving money on your grocery bill at the same time.

Please note that I am not a doctor or registered dietitian. Before starting any new diet and exercise program please check with your doctor and clear any exercise and/or diet changes with them before beginning.