Any dietary advice on going vegetarian?

[npmommie]

OP don't worry about people saying you will be malnourished from not eating meat. It is way healthier to eat a plant based diet, and if you include grains and beans you would be hard pressed to NOT get enough protein.
When I said be careful, I just meant don't over do the dairy to make up for the meat because you won't change your numbers that way.
plant based diet with healthy monounsaturated fats will change your numbers. even if you occasionally add a little fish and chicken ( a little like a condiment)
but if you truly want to go vegetarian I would offer a suggestion to check out
www.veggieboards.com
I am also a member there and you will find lots of good advice for starting out, good recipes, and get lots of questions answered.

and forget the old fallacy of having to combine foods properly to get complete protein, as long as you do it it doesn't even have to occur in the same meal.
a bowl of cereal gives complete protein, as does a grilled cheese sandwich, rice and beans, a peanut butter sandwich,
but don't get hung up on the protein issue. You will get what you need and its very easy. no need to complicate things,
there are plenty of malnourished people that eat meat.
cutting out meat does not equal being malnourished.

anyway, some good cookbook suggestions if you want are
vegetarian family cookbook by Nava Atlas,
her recipes are easy, inexpensive and she includes a vegan version if needed.

 

[MelanieC]

I've been a vegetarian now for a little over 5 months now, and am currently working on giving up all dairy and eggs. It's the best thing I have ever done for myself, the planet and the animals. I wake up every day feeling blessed and feel such happiness eating this way.


I agree with the others that you don't need as much protein as you think. The averge American gets way too much protein. There is protein in so many things, and no need to worry about combining foods. Just concentrate on eating whole foods and staying away from processed foods. I second reading Alicia Silverstone's book - The kind diet. Personally I don't feel it's a diet book, more of a lifestyle book and she really has some great info about flirting with vegetarian and veganism, being vegan and doing more of a superhero diet (eating more macrobiotic).

For protein, beans (I have never met a ben I dont like ) veggies (especially green leafy veggies and broccoli) have tons of protein. Even my beloved avocado has protein. Whole grains are so good for you and have good protein. Quinoa is particularly good, as is rice, bulgar, millet, buckwheat, barley, oatmeal, etc. Nuts and seeds are also gret sources of proteins and healthy fats. My favorite breads and wraps are Ezekiel 4:9 breads. They are sprouted grains and way healthier than regular bread with questioable ingredients and they full of great whole grains. Stick with less proccesed types of soy. Soy milk is highly processed so I would say use it sparingly. Edamame, and fermented soy are great. Tempeh is a really good form of soy (it's fermented) and has protein. Hemp and flax seeds are another good protein source. Throw some hemp seeds in your food, or grind up some flax seeds to put in your foods - yummy! I keep greens in my fridge like spinach and Kale. They are high in iron and can be thrown in everything from soups, on pizzas, and just about anything.

For cereals and smoothies I like almond milk and hemp milk. I relly like Pacific Organic unsweetened original almond milk. It's so yummy in cereal.


Also, one thing I can say is that one of the best things you can do for your health is to give up the soda. No-It's not easy, but you can do it. Start slow and cut back 1/2 cup and go a few days then cut back another 1/2 cup. Just do it nice and slow. Or you can do like I did years ago. I cut out all caffein cold turkey. Yep - just gave it up. It was hard for a few days, but it got easier. You might get headaches that way thought. Soda leaches nutrients from your body. If your working hard to get the right nutrients, you don't want them to be leached by soda. They make plain bubbly water with no sweetners that isn't too bad if you need the bubbly feeling once in a while. Just make sure to drink lots of water while you try to do this to keep your hydration up. Maybe you drink caffinated hot teas as you do this not to suffer caffeine withdrawls.


Buy some vegan cookbooks, or there are tons on the web. Visit veggieboards.com, read some vegetarian and vegan blogs (tons out there and some great recipes can be found). Just take it one day a time. I also agree with those who say to be careful of the cheese and dairy if your trying to lower your cholesterol. I use hummus and other spreads a lot in place of cheese. Hummus is great in a quesadilla - had this for dinner tonight. I use hummus in sandwiches and wraps. There are lots of recipes for cheese substitues using nuts as a "cheese" and you can also make "cheesy" saues using nutritonal yeast. Raw food cookbook have a lot of great ideas for using vegetarian/vegan foods in their raw state that give you whole new list of ideas for yummy eats.

Check out this article:
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/2007/pdf/vegetarian_starter_kit.pdf

A good way to look at how to build a proper vegetarian meal.

Add a grain, a protein, a healthy fat and as many veggies as you want.

 

[bumbershoot]

Tried tofu in my stir-fry tonight. I'm not crazy about it. I don't hate or even dislike it, it's fine when it absorbs the flavors of the medley, but the texture just gets to me. I'll eat it if I have to.

I don't eat much tofu at home, though I did when I first was veggie AND cooking for myself. But I've heard that people will get the firm kind, or get the other kinds and sort of squish it for some hours (put a bowl or something on it as a weight) to get the liquid out. Then cook with it. Changes the texture.


I say, as long as you're not in college eating salads every single day for every single meal, you'll probably be fine. And don't forget to eat salt occasionally...I had been veggie for nearly a year, was working an internship doing a nutrition project in our food service at college...the catering manager there was a 20 year vegan... I started having these crazy dreams about eating ham...I hadn't eaten pork since HS when I dropped non-kosher meats from my diet...just big long dreams about eating it... I told my boss, and she said that my body was telling me I wasn't having enough sodium. So I sprinkled a bit on the salt-free foods I was eating, and the dreams went away. LIstening to your body can really help.


I'm with npmommie, in that I don't think your numbers are unhealthy, but if you WANT to do a diet change, go for it. I only started getting those things checked after going veggie, but I've always had terrific numbers. (apart from weight that is...spaghetti and chocolate cake are vegetarian, and if you eat too much and don't exercise, you'll gain! Lesson of my life, LOL)