Vegetarian Diet

[HowlingWolf]

So I've been trying to improve me health further. I am a little under weight, have difficulty keeping weight on, am fairly active, have borderlined low blood pressure, and overall very healthy. Right now, I eat only organic meats, but I do so almost daily in an attempt to get my weight to target weight. Those meats are almost only poultry and fish.

 

I've considered eliminating meats from my diet entirely, maybe all dairy as well. However, I despise all meat substitutes from tofu to beans. What else could I get the same nutrition from and help me stay at a healthy weight?

[dragonfly23]

You can add nuts, sea kelp and eggs and that should substitute pretty well. If you are including eggs in dairy that's tougher and requires some beans. Just my experience

[HowlingWolf]

I've started adding nuts in my diet, but I didn't know about sea kelp. That's interesting.

[dragonfly23]

It's sold dried in health food stores. It's a very good supplement. It is nasty looking and you don't eat it as much as you add it to things.

But really doesn't have much flavor, green and salty tasting.

[revolution724]

I do eggs and dairy and don't have any problems.  Nutritional yeast is high in protein and can be added to meals for flavor and as a nutrient boost.  There's also bee pollen, which tastes a bit like honey and is also high in protein and other nutrients.

 

Fake meat has come a long way, though.

[Wooster]

I don't do meat substitutes generally unless we're going to a cook out or something.

 

However, I've grown to love all kinds of legumes (beans) from split green peas to lentils to limas to anazazi to aduki to mung to turtle to black, etc.

 

Seeds also have a lot of protein, as do nuts and nut butters.

 

You'd be surprised at how much protein can be in leafy greens, as well... spinach, kale, broccoli, brussels sprouts all are pretty high up there per serving.

[HowlingWolf]

Those all sound like great ideas, except the beans. Ick. I've read about Chia seeds and thought of trying to cook with those.

[cosima]

quinoa, buckwheat, and grains in general can add a hefty amount of protein to your meals (and calories as well if you're trying to maintain or gain weight). i'm a vegan and have been for years and i dislike tofu and most beans - however - i do love pinto beans - have you tried them? i find them different and they're really great in burritos. 

 

i'm not sure how much money you're working with. fake meats and things like that tend to be on the expensive side - some of them taste pretty good though (but i am picky so many of them i won't eat). yves and amy's organic kitchen are my faves. when you add up your daily veggies and you're eating a lot of leafy greens - you'd be surprised at how much protein you're getting in there - wooster is right. raw spinach and broccoli and peas are good ones.

 

there are cheap granola mixes you can find - or you can make your own. hemp is an excellent source of protein - you can eat it by the handful or make smoothies with it. also smoothies!! great way to add in lots of healthy stuff for a yummy meal. load them with leafy greens and chia or hemp seeds and then fruit and a sweetener in there to taste and they're filling and good for you. adding in a milk alternative (i drink soy milk because i don't eat a lot of soy otherwise) will add to the protein and calories and good nutrients.

 

nut butters - peanut, almond, cashew - they taste really good and are filled with protein and healthy fats. nuts and seeds are your friends.

 

i have a friend who's trying to gain weight and she makes sandwiches on sprouted-grain bread. apparently there is tons of protein in the bread alone and then she adds a soy-based fake turkey and it's a significant amount of protein there in one meal (around 14 grams or so). 

 

with all that said unless you're an athlete you don't really need as much protein as you'd think. what are more important on a veggie diet are iron and b12. if you're still eating dairy and eggs then those are not a problem whatsoever, but if you're eliminating dairy and eggs - all the things i mentioned previously contain iron in good amounts but for b12 you need a supplement or fortified milk (soy or otherwise). 

 

otherwise your diet should contain all the nutrients you need and more. 

Edited October 23, 2014 by cosima

[Exuvia]

hey, I'm mostly vegan. I used to hate beans when I became vegan years ago, but I've adjusted to them. I don't ever remember anyone in my life using beans in cooking when I was a kid, so when I became vegan they tasted weird. I also learned to cook them properly, so when I eat them now they taste AMAZING Before when I ate beans they always tasted really dry. Now that i can cook them right they're very flavourful and not dry at all. Even my boyfriend, a sworn bean hater, like beans when I cook them

 

Not saying this is would apply to you, but it's "bean" my experience with vegan protein options

Edited October 23, 2014 by Exuvia

[Wooster]

 

 

Not saying this is would apply to you, but it's "bean" my experience with vegan protein options

http://sadtrombone.com

[melissaw72]

Have you tried the protein powders to make shakes/smoothies with?  I get 2 organic kinds and they are high in protein.  You don't have to mix them with regular milk either ... you can just add them to like fruit or whatever, with a little liquid (I use almond milk) and blend it all up.  You can put whatever you want in what you blend together.

 

Yes, Chia seeds are also good in protein, among other things.

[jarn]

Hemp seeds!  They are high in protein, omegas, fiber, and yummy!  You can get hemp protein powder too but I'm cheap so I never have.  

 

I'm vegetarian, don't like eggs, and trying to eliminate dairy from my diet.  Slowly.  Without triggering ED feelings.  

[SisterWolf]

I'm semi-veg, so I use a lot of lentils in my cooking.

 

Also, I'm curious about the problem with beans? Is a texture thing? A flavor thing? A gas thing? I mean, depending on the problems, a good cook may know how to make them a viable protein source for you. 

[HowlingWolf]

The bean thing is that they taste icky. Very icky. Gag worthy icky. Besides, that one source wouldn't be sufficient to eat everyday. So I want other ideas. All of the ones suggested are great

 

I've made a list of many of the things you guys listed and I'm going to look into them more. I'll see what recepies I can find and what can fit in my budget. At the least I would like eat less meat or do a paleo diet. I think that may be a good route for me, but I'm going to gradually get there and get accustomed to it.

[Wooster]

This may be kind of obvious, but have you tried seasoning your beans such that they are more like a neutral protein source and other flavors make it taste good? 

 

In particular I'm thinking about a bean dip recipe that uses fresh prepared salsa. Doesn't taste at ALL like beans to me.

[malachite]

I've been full-on vegetarian for 12 years, and am still mostly vegetarian. I find that for my moods, eating local, humanely raised meat once a month or once every two months is beneficial for me. It's expensive, but if you only have it seldom, it's fine. I make sure the beef I get is also grass fed (nice omegas in it.)

 

I guess I would have to know what is making you want to give up meat....is it for animal rights? You feel you would be healthier? Cost? Environment?

[crtclms]

Woo, could you post those links to the fast vegetarian meals again? Or were they books? I have Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, and it has some great recipes, but it is huge and dense. We're drinking green smoothies, so we are getting fruit and veggies, but I've heard there is too much fruit (Pfft, fruit tastes delicious). I think I've told you before that a big obstacle to my being vegetarian (ovo-lacto) is that it is so fast and easy to make dinner with meat. I might still eat meat at (good) restaurants, but I aspire to vegetarianism at home.

 

I'm interested for ecological reasons more than animal rights issues, although I only eat free range/grass or veggie fed meat and eggs. I guess I don't have a problem with animals for food, but I do want them treated humanely. On the other hand, humans' meat consumption is really bad for the environment.

[koa]

have you tried mycoprotein?  

 

Also, mushrooms.

[Flash]

So I've been trying to improve me health further. I am a little under weight, have difficulty keeping weight on, am fairly active, have borderlined low blood pressure, and overall very healthy. Right now, I eat only organic meats, but I do so almost daily in an attempt to get my weight to target weight. Those meats are almost only poultry and fish.

 

I've considered eliminating meats from my diet entirely, maybe all dairy as well. However, I despise all meat substitutes from tofu to beans. What else could I get the same nutrition from and help me stay at a healthy weight?

Grains, nuts, and seeds, provided you eat enough, should do the trick. I used to be vegan/vegetarian and I also disliked tofu. And while I didn't dislike legumes, I ate them rather sparingly. Since I didn't eat much in the way of nuts and seeds or bread, I was not getting enough protein. Normally that is hard to do if you eat enough (I probably didn't, but was nonetheless weight stable, probably thanks to drinks). I found grains to be most helpful to prevent weight loss and regain weight. Lots of Nuts and seeds made me gain weight a number of years ago (when I didn't want or need to ), so those might help put on some pounds if you snack on them a lot. Also, You may need to supplement with B12.

[lachesis]

Don't forget corn. Corn and wheat is a complete protein. so is corn and eggs or corn and cheese