If you search for a former poster by the name of "longdivision", she has a list of non-meat items and lots of good information. I haven't had meat for a few weeks now and have used veggie burgers and non-breaded veggie chicken. She has a better list - I will look and bump it up if possible!!
If you don't have gluten issues you can use seitan (which is apparently easy to make) - although it is made from wheat it is low in carbs and very high in protein. http://www.livestrong.com/article/29...lue-of-seitan/
hope this helps a bit... You may need to use low or no fat dairy products like 0% plain Greek yogourt, or dry curd cottage cheese for a protein source if you don't have many choices. Just check the carb counts on the side of the tubs as they are not all created equal.
there are tons of meat alternatives (boca, morning star, quorn, etc.) that you can eat. most are pretty high in protein. just try to keep your servings under 5 net carbs and watch out for sugars in the ingredients. always read the labels and stick to the serving sizes on the box. enjoy!
I find that there are very few products that meet this nutritional criteria for vegetarians. Most are too low in protein or too high in carbs.
I am using the Trader Joe's High Protein Extra Firm Tofu at least once a day, although I'm basically just marinating it in soy sauce and spices, which gets boring.
I am also using one or two of the Beyond Meat products (their chickenless chicken strips, in particular, seem to meet this nutritional criteria). The Quorn products are too low in protein. The Setian seems to meet the nutritional criteria, but my consultant said I can't eat it yet because of the ingredients (I'm guessing because it contains wheat).
Any other suggestions would be appreciated! Thank you!
I am using one or two of the Beyond Meat products (their chickenless chicken strips, in particular, seem to meet this nutritional criteria). The Quorn products are too low in protein. The Setian seems to meet the nutritional criteria, but my consultant said I can't eat it yet because of the ingredients (I'm guessing because it contains wheat). For those that use Gardein, which Gardein products meet the nutritional criteria:
The 100 calories part is the deal breaker.
Have you looked at Trader Joe's Beef-less Ground Beef (near the tofu in the store)?
It is close. If you go with two servings it is 120 calories, 18 grams of protein, 2 NET carbs (8 carbs - 6 fiber) and 2g fat. You could cook it with an egg white and maybe use a little less and get closer to the calorie/protein requirment.
Beyond Meat, especially the strips, are the closest. At least they have 3 flavors.
They are really low fat. The Gardein Teriyaki Strips (the sauce packet is separate so you don't have to use it) are higher in calories, higher in fat and lower in protein.
Gardein switched up their product line (about which I have complained to them!). The Scallopini was my standby -- now it is glutenfree (and tastes "different"--at first I would describe it as "nasty"), even lower in protein, same or higher calories and the carbs are different. This was my mainstay!
None of the Gardein products will get you near enough to the protein and will have too many carbs and calories until P4.
Have you considered using egg whites to make up the protein difference? You could use something that has 15g of protein and cook an egg white into it?
Morningstar sausage patties are like 70 or 80 calories and 10g of protein, so you could make it up with egg whites and get close.
There is also tempeh, but the one that I occasionally use has too many calories for what you need now. If you look careful you can find ones that are both higher in protein and lower in carbs (kind of like the tofu).
You can also get TVP at the health food store, which could meet what you are looking for, depending on what is available in your area. I never use it.
Black soy beans used to be OK, too. They are really low in carbs but not enough protein for the calories for what you are looking for.
Seitan is kind of hit or miss in terms of protein/carb ratios. I also found some hemp tofu but it was really high in fat.
Which part of the country/which country are you in? I'm sure some stuff is regional, too.
The Setian seems to meet the nutritional criteria, but my consultant said I can't eat it yet because of the ingredients (I'm guessing because it contains wheat).
Any other suggestions would be appreciated! Thank you!
"Although seitan is made from wheat, it is low in carbs and high in protein. A 3-ounce portion of seitan contains 2.5 to 4 grams of carbs, 1 to 2 grams of fiber, 0 to 2 grams of fat and 21 grams of protein." http://www.livestrong.com/article/29...lue-of-seitan/
"Shortcut: An ounce of meat or fish has approximately 7 grams of protein if cooked, and about 6 grams if raw." http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/wha...roteinfood.htm So 6 - 8 oz raw meat = 36-48 g while seitan would be 42g for 6 oz and only 4 carbs net. That's within the allowed ranges.
If you are eating vegetarian this would be a good choice. I don't think your coach actually knows how little carb and how much protein there is in seitan even though it is made from wheat.
Thanks for the info/comments re Seitan. I discussed it with my consultant, and she said the issue was garbanzo bean flour, which is an ingredient in Seitan. I did send my consultant the complete ingredient list and nutritional label from the Seitan, so she had all that info. She said it's a good choice for phases 3 and 4 but not phases 1-2.
You could always do the Alternative (Diabetic) P1-3 and use low fat dairy products and seitan as they would both be allowed. Just not do the 1 fruit per day. I lost the last half of my weight this way with no problem. It's still IP - their plan. Ask your coach about it, you never know.
BTW, here's the recipe for seitan - there's no garbanzo powder in any of these.
Seitan is essentially a dough made with vital wheat gluten, a high-protein wheat flour, and liquid. The dough can be rinsed or poached to become a chewy meat substitute that can be added to many different dishes. We've added light seasonings to this recipe so that it will work in any dish, but feel free to play around with flavors and shapes. This tried-and-true favorite can be used in any recipe calling for seitan.
2 cups vital wheat gluten
½ cup nutritional yeast
2 tsp. garlic powder
5 cups low-sodium vegetable broth, divided
2 Tbs. low-sodium soy sauce
½ small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1. Combine wheat gluten, yeast, and garlic powder in large bowl. Stir in 1 cup broth and soy sauce until dough forms, adding more broth if necessary. Knead dough in bowl with spoon 3 minutes, or until elastic. Shape into 2 loaves.
2. Place loaves in large saucepan, and add remaining 4 cups broth, onion, garlic, and enough water to cover seitan. Cover, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 30 to 45 minutes, or until seitan is firm. Remove from heat, and cool in broth.
Thanks for all the great ideas everyone! Really appreciate it! Im looking forward to transitioning into a vegetarian lifestyle!
This is my struggle as well tho I can have egg whites and no egg yolks due to cholesterol issues. I struggle with what I am supposed to look for on the box. Seems like if you are just grabbing turkey its 8oz and you are done but for me I have to know all types of things and I don't know what those are. It gets discouraging.
Vegetarian getting mixed messages from coach on protein- help!
Hey everyone, yesterday I entered week 2 of this diet. After my first week check in where I only lost 2 pounds (goal is 20, I weigh 121 now), my coach advised me that I wasn't eating enough protein for dinner. What I had been doing for the last week was eating 8 oz of extra firm Trader Joe's Tofu (roughly 30g protein) and some veggies. She stated that I needed to be getting 56g of protein. When I did some math, it lead to me eating A LOT of food, quite frankly, much more than I could handle. She then suggested that I eat another packet (so 4 packets total) and eat 3 oz of tofu (12g) for a total of 30g protein. This would be the EXACT amount I was getting before and it definitely does not add up to 56 g protein for a dinner portion.
In order to make 56 g protein on my own, today I will consume 8 egg whites, 2 servings of tofurkey soy chorizo, and 2 glasses of Silk unsweetened protein soymilk. All of this is in ADDITION to the packets. This just doesn't seem right to me.
It is also worth noting that if I do just eat an extra packet for dinner and 2 oz of tofu, my net carb would be at least 8 and that is still missing the additional protein she wanted me to get in.
Since I've already downed 6 egg whites today, I just wanted to see what you all thought before I go ahead with the chorizo and soy milk.
I'm not an expert like some people here, but I was a vegetarian for a long time and understand your pain.
It sounds to me that your coach doesn't understand vegetarianism and is stretching to find a reason for your two pounds when the glaring reason is the fact that you're only 20 pounds away from your goal and can't be expected to drop high numbers like those of us combating obesity.
If you want to up your protein to come closer to your coach's recommendation, I think the 8oz tofu and 6 egg whites are suitable. That'll bring you to approx. 51g protein.
I'd steer clear of the soymilk and chorizo. The protein to carb+fat benefit is way off track.
Last edited by ImASharkIPromise; 06-17-2015 at 05:41 PM.
