Vegetarian's Guide
 

Hello fellow IPers! I was hoping to get some ideas/advice/suggestions from those of you who are vegetarians (or who eat vegetarian products) and doing the diet. Maybe start a thread? I have some products that I eat regularly and I would love to hear from you about products you like. Right now I frequently eat Quorn's Naked cutlets, Morningstar's sausage patties, Meatless meatballs. I also worry about not getting enough fat and protein (most of the veggie products are much lower in both than regular meat). Any tips, suggestions, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Hope everyone has a great OP day! Thanks!

I have 2 boca burgers in place of the dinner animal protein. Each one is 15g of protein, 6g carbs, 6g fiber. So I have 2 and then I get the 30g of protein required for dinner protein. And the extra 12g of fiber per day is a life saver as I normally have big C problems in p1. I only buy one kind though. All American Classic with Non-gmo soy. I don't need to add any more hormones than are already going through me right now. It does get spendy so I rotate these with eggs.

You do want to be careful and check the carb amounts on the vegetarian products as some of them are pretty high.

There is also a protein powder called Garden of Life RAW protein. It would be equivalent to a packet. I would only use it in almond milk though as it's low carb and low sugar. The unsweetened, original. Per scoop is 17g of protein, 3g carbs, 3g fiber and less than 1g sugar. It's soy free, gluten free and dairy free, certified vegan. It's made from raw sprouted protein and live probiotics and enzymes.

As long as your getting in your oil (or a bit more than required) I wouldn't be worried about the fat in your diet. You can add in chia seeds or flax seeds for more healthy fats and fiber if you wish.

I'm not vegan or vegetarian but I'm very familiar with the lifestyle as my DH is vegan.

Thanks CassiR
 

Great tips, thanks! From your post, I realize that I am not getting enough protein at dinner, as I only eat one of the veggie burgers/patties, which is = to about 10-15 grams of protein. So I will start to eat more. I will also check around for that protein powder and the flax supplements. Putting it on my grocery list now. :)

No problem! If you find any neat ideas feel free to share as well! I love trying new things on this diet.

Originally Posted by darcrista:
Hello fellow IPers! I was hoping to get some ideas/advice/suggestions from those of you who are vegetarians (or who eat vegetarian products) and doing the diet. Maybe start a thread? I have some products that I eat regularly and I would love to hear from you about products you like. Right now I frequently eat Quorn's Naked cutlets, Morningstar's sausage patties, Meatless meatballs. I also worry about not getting enough fat and protein (most of the veggie products are much lower in both than regular meat). Any tips, suggestions, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Hope everyone has a great OP day! Thanks!

Great thread - thanks for starting it. Doing IP vegetarian is challenging. I am not sure exactly how much protein we need for the protein meal of the day. A lot of people on the boards say that substituting a 4th packet for the protein is fine, and that would only be 15-17g of protein, right? A good option is tofu, if you like/can handle it. The entire block of extra firm tofu has 40g of protein. I use about 2/3 and make tandoori tofu with vegetables. I have had it 2x this past week. I like it.

I am going to have to buy the Boca burgers. I didn't even think about them and thought they'd be too high in carbs, but they might work. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Bdmom:
Great thread - thanks for starting it. Doing IP vegetarian is challenging. I am not sure exactly how much protein we need for the protein meal of the day. A lot of people on the boards say that substituting a 4th packet for the protein is fine, and that would only be 15-17g of protein, right? A good option is tofu, if you like/can handle it. The entire block of extra firm tofu has 40g of protein. I use about 2/3 and make tandoori tofu with vegetables. I have had it 2x this past week. I like it.

I am going to have to buy the Boca burgers. I didn't even think about them and thought they'd be too high in carbs, but they might work. Thanks!

Yes i love tofu! I am picking up some today. I was thinking of using it to try and make low carb lettuce wraps like they have at PF Changs. Gonna look around online to see if I can find a recipe. :) I have thought about using a 4th packet but i really don't like much of the IP food.. I think i will start eating more egg whites as well. I found this recipe via pinterest that I want to try-

Mini Quiches-

.5 cups liquid egg whites
1 whole egg
1.75 cups mushrooms
.25 cups green onions
.25 tsp sea salt
1 tsp EVOO
dash of black pepper
mrs. dash (i use the garlic and herb - salt/msg free)

heat oven to 350

chop mushrooms and green onions and add to a pan with 1tsp EVOO. cook covered on low until soft. remove lid, turn up heat and cook until the water evaporates.

in a mixing bowl, add .5 cups liquid egg whites with one whole egg and beat. add .25 tsp sea salt, a pinch of black pepper, and mrs. dash. add the cooked mushrooms and green onions to this mixture.

spray a small muffin pan with a light spray of olive oil. pour egg mixture into muffin pan, filling each cup about half way (should make about 5-6). place muffin pan in the oven and bake for about 30 min, or until egg is slightly browned on top and a toothpick comes out clean from the center.

I think the dinner protein is supposed to be around 30-40g of protein. That's why my coach suggests 2 packets in place of dinner meat in that case. Or a packet and egg whites. The tofu is good. I've baked it before and that was tasty.

The only boca burgers I buy are the All American Classic with non-gmo soy. That's because of the non-gmo soy and also because there is technically 0 net carbs. 6g carbs but 6g fiber. This really, really, really helps me with the big C problems.

Originally Posted by CassiR:
I think the dinner protein is supposed to be around 30-40g of protein. That's why my coach suggests 2 packets in place of dinner meat in that case. Or a packet and egg whites. The tofu is good. I've baked it before and that was tasty.

The only boca burgers I buy are the All American Classic with non-gmo soy. That's because of the non-gmo soy and also because there is technically 0 net carbs. 6g carbs but 6g fiber. This really, really, really helps me with the big C problems.

Cassir - thanks! I had not heard to do 2 packets with dinner to replace a meat protein. Good to know.

darcrista - the Mini Quiches sound good; I am going to have to try that. Have you looked into the textured soy protein? I haven't really heard anyone talk about it so am not sure how good it is for IP.

Originally Posted by Bdmom:
darcrista - the Mini Quiches sound good; I am going to have to try that. Have you looked into the textured soy protein? I haven't really heard anyone talk about it so am not sure how good it is for IP.

I'm not sure.. By textured soy protein, do you mean tempeh? or there are also those "ground beef" crumbles and a soysage flavored protein that you can find in the produce section. I am not a big fan of tempeh, unless someone else (who knows what they are doing) makes it. I use the others all the time. I am almost 100% positive they are ok to use on this diet.

Originally Posted by darcrista:
I'm not sure.. By textured soy protein, do you mean tempeh? or there are also those "ground beef" crumbles and a soysage flavored protein that you can find in the produce section. I am not a big fan of tempeh, unless someone else (who knows what they are doing) makes it. I use the others all the time. I am almost 100% positive they are ok to use on this diet.

I love love love tempeh. But I only make it one way and it's kind of weird.
I use half a package and slice it into thick slices, kind of like wide french fries. I put it in the oven at 425 on a sprayed baking sheet and spray some EVOO and add some salt on them. Bake it for only about 10 mins. I dip them in Heinz Reduced Sugar Ketchup like french fries. I only use 1 tbsp. You can easily use BBQ sauce or any other IP-approved dipping sauce. Is this weird? I really enjoy it.

Cassi- that actually sounds awesome! I wish I had bought some at the store today so I could try it. I will definitely, later this week. Thanks!

The guidelines I have suggest aiming for 40g of protein at dinner, trying to keep veggie burgers to 10g of carbs or less, and not having a restricted if the dinner carbs hit 15g or more. You can have a veggie protein source and a packet or you can have two packets.

The easiest products for me are the Gardein ones. Not all of them meet the guidelines, but many do. My favorites are the "chicken" scallopini, the buffalo wings (without the sauce), the ultimate burger and the beefless tips. Sometimes I mix and match them. I think Quorn makes some crumbles that would work nicely, too.

I even did the two packets for a while. I liked to have a soup with a pudding or make crispy cereal pancake and put vanilla pudding on it. Kind of pricey compared to other protein sources.

My local stores seem to be changing their Gardein inventory. I had the best luck at one (not all) of the Supertargets. I've also seen them at Safeway and the Kroger chain, plus Whole Foods. I get Quorn products at those same places.

Tempeh strips on the grill are pretty good. I just haven't figured out an IP appropriate marinade. I'm not a big fan of the Walden Farms stuff, but it might be a place to use the oriental dressing.

My weight loss has been comparatively slow. I don't know if that is due to the vegetarian sources or age. There was one poster on a previous vegetarian thread who just used a protein source in a similar quantity as meat (not necessarily the 40g rule). She stated that she thought she lost more quickly because her protein sources had less calories.

I was losing about 1 lb lean mass for every 2 lbs of body fat when I didn't know to use extra protein (using only one item with 14g protein, for example). When I started to double up, it really improved to where the majority of weight lost was body fat.

Weight loss is dependent on so many factors beyond staying 100% on the protocol, it really is difficult to compare.

Originally Posted by infoplease:
The guidelines I have suggest aiming for 40g of protein at dinner, trying to keep veggie burgers to 10g of carbs or less, and not having a restricted if the dinner carbs hit 15g or more. You can have a veggie protein source and a packet or you can have two packets.

The easiest products for me are the Gardein ones. Not all of them meet the guidelines, but many do. My favorites are the "chicken" scallopini, the buffalo wings (without the sauce), the ultimate burger and the beefless tips. Sometimes I mix and match them. I think Quorn makes some crumbles that would work nicely, too.

I even did the two packets for a while. I liked to have a soup with a pudding or make crispy cereal pancake and put vanilla pudding on it. Kind of pricey compared to other protein sources.

My local stores seem to be changing their Gardein inventory. I had the best luck at one (not all) of the Supertargets. I've also seen them at Safeway and the Kroger chain, plus Whole Foods. I get Quorn products at those same places.

Tempeh strips on the grill are pretty good. I just haven't figured out an IP appropriate marinade. I'm not a big fan of the Walden Farms stuff, but it might be a place to use the oriental dressing.

My weight loss has been comparatively slow. I don't know if that is due to the vegetarian sources or age. There was one poster on a previous vegetarian thread who just used a protein source in a similar quantity as meat (not necessarily the 40g rule). She stated that she thought she lost more quickly because her protein sources had less calories.

I was losing about 1 lb lean mass for every 2 lbs of body fat when I didn't know to use extra protein (using only one item with 14g protein, for example). When I started to double up, it really improved to where the majority of weight lost was body fat.

Weight loss is dependent on so many factors beyond staying 100% on the protocol, it really is difficult to compare.

Thanks so much! This was very helpful. I have been feeling a lot of muscle fatigue and soreness without doing much exercise. I will definitely start making sure I consume more protein at my dinner. Been a vegetarian for almost 13 years and I don't think I've heard of Gardein.. Maybe I have and I just don't know it. I will look for it at whole foods next time I am there. Is it frozen? Thanks!

The Gardein stuff is both frozen and some products are next to the tofu.
I think if you go to their website you can look up which stores near you carry the product. Whole Foods has it frozen, in the case with the Quorn & similar products. I hope they have it in your area.