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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I just went to their website and I have definitely seen it.. in fact there is some in my freezer right now. lol I just didn't know the brand name. Its somewhat new in my area, i think.

That is too funny.
:)

darcrista - I wasn't referring to Tempeh, although that's a good source. I was referring to textured vegetable protein (or TVP). I've heard its good but don't have too much experience with it.

Ohhh i know what you are talking about. I have no clue how to make it.. i wish I did! But there are some vegetarian restaurants and a lot of Chinese restaurants in my city that have dishes made with TVP! I love that stuff! I found this link that has the nutritional info on TVP- http://www.livestrong.com/article/88...table-protein/

I didn't realize that it was dry and that you soak it. Maybe I will look for it at one of the natural food stores near me, or whole foods.

I bought some protein powder today at trader joe's. I don't really like the taste (chocolate flavored).. I wish I could add it to yogurt or something. Not a fan of milk and so I'm kind of afraid to try soy or almond milk.. maybe I should just try it. :)

Hi there. I'm a veg too. Have been since I was a kid. Tempeh is not a great protein nutrition wise. It is good protein wise but higher in fat, carbs and calories than tofu, tvp etc. TVP can be purchased at some grocery stores. Here in Canada I get it at Nutter's the Bob Mills brand. It is prepared a lot like couscous. I put it in sauces, spice it up for "taco sala" minus the taco, add to salads - lots of good stuff. You could substitute it in most recipes as you would with tofu in place of meat/fish etc. I have been on IP since January and lost 65lbs. Started phase 2 this week. Since I eat soy based protein anyway my coaches encouraged me to add some cheese and full fat dressing or mayo to my noon meal. So far so good, lost another 2lbs in 1st week of phase 2 and feeling good/not hungry. A little worried about next phase - time will tell.

This vegetarian thread is great. We should keep it up!

Wow!! Congrats on your success! And thanks for the info regarding TVP, tempeh, etc. It is great to know that vegetarians can benefit from this diet as well. Just curious, when you first started, did you need an extra source of protein? If you think of any more tips or have any words of wisdom for the veg IP newbies, please post. Thanks!

darcrista, Thanks for website re: TVP! How does it compare to lean meats as a protein source? I see that it does better with no bad fat, but am worried that do get 12g of protein, you get 7g carbs. Doesn't that sound too high? To meet the 40g of protein at dinner, we would get roughly 21g (or mroe) of carbs.

Zartas - congrats on your weight loss!!! Great job. Can you give us some sample daily plans that you followed? And, I agree - great thread. We should keep it up!

Sorry, just now seeing this! I am not sure if it is too high.. possibly.. I would definitely not eat a restricted item on days when you eat TVP.

Wanted to update you all on a new (well new for me) product i have found called: Lightlife- Backyard Grill'n Burgers. 9 grams of fat, 7 carbs and 20 grams of protein. This is one of the highest I have found around me. They taste very much like I remember real burgers tasting.. which is a little weird. I actually checked the package again to make sure they were veg. But they are pretty good.

Also was surprised to find out that morningstar garden vegetable patties have 18 grams of protein, 5 of fat, a bit more carbs, 10 grams.

Was also surprised to see that

Those sound like great products to look for. For a Phase 1 dinner, it would take two, which puts the Backyard Grill'n Burger in a fairly good position, but maybe don't do a restricted that day (14g Carbs for two) or have 1 and a half, which puts the protein at 30g, which is fairly close. The Morningstar one I would have with something lower carb, maybe 3 egg whites.

Also, looks like the "formula" for the Gardein Scaloppini has been "improved". Now the rub has sugar listed as an ingredient but not enough to register in the nutrient list. They also doubled the fat so the calories are up a bit, too.
Gardein is having a contest and also has a coupon on their website, for those that like the products.

I enjoy the gardien products too. Here in Canada we can get a "chicken" breast. It is 160cal, 5 fat, 6 carb, 23 protein. They are quite good on the BBQ or "fried. Just sauté with evoo. Yves, also makes soooo many products veg dogs, burgers, deli slice, ground round, ground chick n', bacon, sausage etc. the carbs probably higher than meat, but I never worried about this. I always just had one serving for supper. Never worried about extra protein. Only in the first week did I have an extra pack once in a while. I am increasing my exercise starting this week, so will add a bar, or something on the way to workout.

Is the "chicken" breast one in the freezer or the refrigerator section? We have some in the refrigerator section but I'm not really a fan of the sauce they put on those, usually. At least not the ones that the local stores are currently carrying.

Do you think/know if you lost a lot of lean mass (more than 12 lbs)? I am really curious if it helped to have the extra protein. I did not do it for the first 12 to 16 weeks and lost about 10 lbs of lean mass during weeks 1 to 18 compared to 1 lb during weeks 19 thru 33.

Working out on Phase 1 (beyond a nice walk) has been a very interesting experience over the past two weeks. You might also want to take your salt with you, depending on how intensely you plan to work out. Any activity at fat burning level (bike, treadmill, rowing, elliptical, zumba) feels really good. Anything beyond that takes a little experimenting around what to eat and when.

I need to find this Gardein Scaloppini! Sounds yummy!
What do you all think about fat free greek yogurt? in one cup there is 9 carbs, 22 grams of protein, and like 130 or something calories. I hope it is ok.. because I ate it for dinner last night. Chopped up some fresh dill and added a little garlic and salt and then dipped sliced veggies in it. It was delicious.. but I'm not sure if it is allowed. I think my coach would allow it, since I am a vegetarian and the diet is a little bit different, i think, for vegetarians.

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I've got some of the Fage Fat Free Greek Yogurt in the fridge (husband eats it).
It says that the 9 carbs are all sugars (9g of sugars). Compare that to IP chocolate soy puffs, which have 8g of sugars. Although my coach has never suggested I could use that (and I have actually had cravings for the stuff!), you might consider not having a restricted on a day that you have it, plus perhaps supplementing it with a whole egg, to add a little protein and fat.

I have always found it interesting that many of the IP products contain milk and whey protein, yet no yogurt, cottage cheese or hard cheese are part of the protein list. I'm not going to mess with them this close to the end, but am looking forward to having those protein sources in Phases 3 and 4.

Solid advice, infoplease. Thanks! I might talk to the owner of the clinic I go to as she is much more informed about IP than my coach. Also curious as to why those items are not allowed. I'll relay any info I get from her.

I am not sure which number on my body fat analyzer would tell if I lost muscle mass. The stats I have been recording are
Jan 25 wt 234, body fat 43.02
May 7 wt 186, bf 37.7, fat mass 70lbs
May 24 wt 180, bf 37.3 fm 67lbs
June 14 wt 173, bf 33.2 fm 57.5
I am pretty much where I want to be. Would like to get bf to 30%. Or maybe lower as I add more exercise. I am probably always going to incorporate "packaged" protein into my diet now as I do not think I was getting enough prior to IP. I am on P3 now and added Greek yogurt to my breakfast at about 18gm per 3/4 cup, plus a little from peanut butter. Takes a little more effort for us veggies, but it is worth it!!

I did some calculations for you.
You lost about 17.76 lbs of Lean Mass and 44.24 lbs of Fat Mass.
Anticipated is 1lb of lean mass lost for every 3 lbs of weight lost (.33)
You lost 17.76lbs of lean mass for 61 lbs of weight (.29)
So, you preserved lean mass better than average.

To be at your goal of 170 and 30% bodyfat, you will need to lose 6.7 pounds of body fat while gaining 6.7 pounds of lean mass.

I am also going to watch my protein intake in p4 as well, as I am sure I wasn't really getting enough before IP. Realistically, I'll probably keep a protein bar/snack food daily, too. Is P4 really 8 oz protein equivalent at Lunch AND Dinner? My coach keeps promising that I won't need to count calories or carbs in Phase 4, just follow the IP rules.

P3 breakfast sounds great. I think I have missed Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, feta and parmesan, but we shall see if I'm better with them or without them.

With your goal of 170, did you take it down to 165 before starting P2?
My biggest fear is that I am taking it below where I can maintain.

Wow! Thanks so much for doing those calculations for me! I started P3 at 172ishlbs. I kind of panicked though and did not feel I had the right info to start P3. I actually went back to P2 after a couple days. I think I need to be more prepared. I think I will also go down to 165 and then start back on P3. Don't know what happened. So I have to do more reading and planning some breakfasts then I will start. Maybe in a week. I really do not want to count calories, carbs etc. and that really is how P3and p4 are. Kind of disappointing. It is not going back to "regular eating" because we can't combine fat, carbs etc. feels like every meal will need to be planned. I really liked the easy approach to P1 and P2.

Did you/Do you continue to lose weight on Phase 2? The 5 lb buffer is an allowance for P3 and the first week or two of P4 as glycogen is restored. After reading the P3 threads and parts of the Maintainers ones, I, too, want to take a little time to plan the P3 breakfasts so I am able to pinpoint which, if any, foods cause a reaction of some sort. I'm hoping that in the restricted quantities all will be well.

I did continue to lose in P2, i started adding 1-2oz of cheese and regular salad dressing or mayo to my lunches. My coaches encouraged that saying your body needs to experience a calorie increase. With just substituting my own soy protein for theirs would have created little change. Also increased protein at supper from 1 veggie burger to 2, or things like that. Still lost 2-3lbs a week.

Great point on just substituting their soy protein for your own. I'll be sure to ask about that. I thought I was going to phase off for a trip in June and did Phase 2 for a week, but just taking away the IP product at lunch and having the 30g to 40g of protein at both meals. I will definitely ask about the extra fat and cheese. Thanks!

I was wondering about MSF (Morning Star Farms) breakfast sausage patties. These have always been a staple in my diet but I don't know if I can eat them on IP.

Do any of you eat them, and if so how many and how do you count them in your protein intake?

I love the hot n spicy ones. I would have never picked these before IP, so that is how your tastes can change.

I like to have two with one egg and two egg whites. I'm eating that now.:)

I think four of them makes an IP dinner serving. 4 of them would be 32g of protein and 12g carbs. That puts four of them on the high side for carbs where you might want to not have a restricted that day.

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Not sure if you guys have seen this, but I found it helpful!

http://idealcoaching.tv/wp/archives/1133