VLC Veg Salad with Marinated Mushrooms or Mustard & Thyme Vinaigrette

In this recipe, you can use any of the keto-friendly sweeteners that exist, whether they are a bulky granulated one (e.g. erthritol), or a pure one (e.g. monk fruit or stevia) where only very small qualtities are needed. If using a granulated sweetener, you can just match the amount 1 for 1. However, if using a concentrated low-bulk sweetener, you may have to do some math. Liquid stevia or monk fruit usually claim a certain number of drops equal a teaspoon. There are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon and 12 teaspoons in a quarter cup. Powdered pure monk fruits can vary quite a bit in concentration. I use Julian Bakery pure monk and find that their little scoop is equivalent to about ⅓ cup sugar in sweetness.

Many vinegars are carb-free or extremely low in net carbs. However, some vinegars, such as balsamic or pomegranate can actually be quite high in net carbs or can contain sugars. For some people following a ketogenic or low-carbohyrate diet, these vinegars may be able to fit in their macros, and if that's the case, then or course, use whichever vinegar you like best and meets your personal needs.

When available, I usually use NCCDB data in Cronometer to calculate calories and macros. Occasionally, I use USDA data. For a few ingredients, however, I use label or custom data instead, even when NCCDB or USDA data is available. Typically, this is because I’ve found the product label data to differ substantially and consistently for those foods. Please note that NCCDB, USDA, and label data can change over time, so the nutritional calculations for the recipe, make at the time of writing, may differ from calculations made with current data.

For this recipe, I used label or custom data for the pumpkin seeds (Bob's Red Mill).

Counting calories and macros can negatively impact mental health, so most numbers are rounded. Calories are rounded to the nearest multiple of 5, and macros are rounded to the nearest 0.5 g or whole number, depending on their value and use. For simplicity, naturally occurring sugar alcohols are counted as fiber unless the recipe includes added sugar alcohols.