Any Vegetarians?
 

Just wondering if there are any vegetarians in the group, and what ideas you might have for meals and proteins.

I like my tofu, but I have heard it can be bad for your hormonal balance. Since I don't have the same female hormone fluctuations any more, I wonder if that is still an issue.

I also eat a lot of egg whites.
But I'm sure there are other ideas. :hug:

I try to mix things up, but I am still having soy products in the mix.
I had read that tempeh can be one of the better soy choices because it is fermented. You need to look at the calorie charts closely because some have a lot of carbs and some have very few, much like the tofu varies.

Consider eating the yokes of the eggs some of the time because there is b-12 in there that vegetarians can become deficient in.

My p4 additions are plain greek yoghurt (because it is higher in protein than the regular) and cottage cheese.

The Quorn products get their protein from egg whites and mushrooms. They tend to be a little low in protein and higher in carbs.

I also think there is a way to use beans, lentils and peas for p4 dinners as they are high in carbs and fiber, along with more protein than typical vegetables.

Yesterday I found Tempt Hemp tofu at whole foods, which I will give a try soon.

My go-to stuff is Gardein Chick'n Scallopini and classic Buffalo Wings (without sauce). Occasionally the beefless tips, which are higher in carbs. Kroger is also carrying suspiciously similar products under the "Simple Truth" brand, such as the Meatless Grillers. Costco has some awesome Boca Burgers that were 19g protein each and maybe 1 net carb; they are trying to get them back (per the buyers book) but I haven't seen them yet. Those are all soy containing products, along with wheat proteins and ancient grains.

There is also peanutbutter and nuts to a limited extent in p4.

Plus, whey protein powder can be purchased unflavored if you want to experiment with that.

In p1 you can also use two non-restricted packets, which might make a good "back up" in p4 but not a continued practice ALTHOUGH Ideal Protein is selling the "Complete" packet that is supposed to be a p4 meal replacement so maybe that is a tool that would be useful to some people.

I'd really like to start doing more beans and lentils in p4. I swear that the few times I did it at dinner it had no impact at all. I was very, very careful about portion control.

What all have you been using?

There doesn't seem to be solid scientific evidence that tofu interferes with hormones, but everyone is unique. In addition to various forms of tofu out there (have you tried shirataki noodles and yuba?), I'm gradually re-introducing kidney beans and quinoa into my diet. I use a lot of whey powder shakes. Looks like are getting close to your goal---way to go! :cp:

In terms of re-introducing the kidney beans and quinoa...
What are you using for serving size and are you using them only at your "carb rich" meal (typically dinner)? Or, are you modifying p4 in some way?

I'm not sticking precisely to P4 protocol, though it seems to work for a lot of people. For lunch, I've been having 1/4 cup kidney beans each day with a big veggie salad that also has about 2-3 oz of tofu. More beans would probably be okay. I use 1-2 tsp oil on the salad and/or on steamed broccoli or butternut squash.

Usually I have 8oz of chicken for dinner, but will soon use the quinoa here instead--1/4 cup uncooked to start, with 1-2 tsp oil & some veggies. I have snacks of whey shakes & yuba wraps filled with veggies (that's the tofu sheets).

I use myfitnesspal.com to track and also weigh myself each day--not to obsess but just for consistency and to get a sense of how the added foods affect me. I should tell you I've been on maintenance for 5.5 months--I'm still on the learning curve :D.

Thanks, Mars735, those portion sizes seem reasonable although probably not really "proteiny". You seem to be getting additional protein from your snacks. What a great loss you are maintaining!
Do your shakes still have sucralose or have you quit artificial sweeteners too?

By the way, the hemp tofu is really good. I tried the sweet and spicy chili lime one by Tempt. It has a different texture and kind of a "seed" taste. A little higher in fat (350cal, 30gProtein, 10gCarbs, 8gFiber and 22g Fat) but figure 4 whole eggs are 18g and maybe use 1t instead of 2t for the day of oil and it seems to work out.

Thanks for the hemp ideas & encouragement, infoplease! :hug: Looking forward to trying hemp tofu.

I'm still working to easing sucralose out of my diet. I think the sweetness is addictive, and generally avoid artificial ingredients as much as possible. If I eat regular food, I get satisfied pretty easily. When I have anything with sucralose, I want more right away, whether or not I'm hungry. But I'm taking it one step at a time and trying not to make things feel too restricted. For now, sucralose is better than for me than carbs.

mars735, my trouble with eliminating sucralose was that I still wanted a treat "thing", so I found one in the right calorie/protein range but too many real sugars (like cane juice sugars) and I wanted those all the time. I have a couple of bars I like (but not like the arctic zero) such as Nugo Slim Dark Chocolate Brownie that only has 2g of sugar. It doesn't trigger anything. The other one I like is the BHRG Power Crunch is Mint Chocolate, which is sweetened with stevia and also doesn't set things off; the Nugo is a protein blend and the power crunch is whey. But I really like ice cream...so maybe I save the Arctic Zero JUST for fun day and things will work out better. So to bring this back to the thread topic, sometimes in balancing soy meat analogs with whey things, I get a little off track with processed things when I should be sticking to whole foods (yoghurt, cottage cheese, beans, lentils).

Eating the entire 2 serving package of the hemp tofu maybe was more fat than I could comfortably process, so maybe mix it with another protein next time. But it was really good. If you are up to experimenting, I found a veggie burger recipe that uses hemp hearts, but it wouold need quite a bit of modifying to make it more IP compliant.

Thank you for that great info! I think I will check in with our whole foods market. And we have a Lucky's coming to Billings. I hear it is supposed to be a good source of unprocessed foods and vegetarian foods. I have not seen any of the things you mention, so I will do some research.:hug:

Anyone ever shop at Lucky's?

Hemp tofu. Interesting. Do you where can find it?

I found it at Whole Foods in the tofu section. Maybe the Tempt site has other stores if you do not have one of those in your area.

Try this link: http://www.livingharvest.com/stores?..._units%5D=mile

It can be challenging to get vegetarian, non-processed, and low carb all together without a monotonous diet :dizzy: Exercise will allow a little more leeway with the carbs. I've have been having a hard time working it into my day, but this thread is motivating.

I would love to see your veggie burger recipe.

Yay! 2 locations in Billings!
Thanks!

here is the recipe:
http://askgeorgie.com/high-protein-vegetarian-burgers/

Let me know if you make it. If I were to make it I would definitely just use half or three quarters of a serving.

And yeah, if I went to the gym less than 4 times a week it would be p1 as the maintenance plan. Hopefully once I'm back to p4 I will branch out from my same breakfast and lunch everyday lazyness and put some "good" (non-sugar) carbs into dinner to mix it up.

infoplease: That hemp hearts burger looks good--going to Whole Foods now to see if they carry it. Thanks! My foray into exercise today was to use stairs instead of elevators. It's a start : )

They have Hemp Hearts at Costco, twice the bag for the Whole Foods price.
(I feel guilty saying that. Stepdaughter and her husband are happy employees of Whole Foods).

I have used the Hemp Hearts plain (a tablespoon or two) as the fat for p4 lunches. They have an interesting taste. I just wasn't sure what to sprinkle them on.

i just started yesterday and am panicing a bit about the protein for dinner. yesterday i tried to eat the 4eggs with my veg and it was tough to get down---i have never eated that many eggs at once before. i have never been a big tofu eater (i love my cheese--obviously) so i have to readjust my thinking for that.:?:

Just getting started today, so I am trying to figure this out. I need to fix a dinner I could eat, my husband (also vegetarian but not dieting) and my meat eating teen son could all enjoy.... No wonder dieting stresses me. Anyhow, I sautéed onions and green pepper is a tiny bit of oo and the sautéed Gardien "beef" tips. I added lots of fajita seasoning to both. I ate mine on top of salad greens with a little squeeze of lime, and it was actually very tasty and filling. Let's see how I feel in a couple of hours! I hope we can share more vegetarian ideas!

Are there any IP approved Gardein or Morningstar products?? I am still a novice when it comes to reading the nutritional values and I am looking for some type of guidance.

I am new too, and using alternative products, so please don't take my word. I did find some info yesterday with guidelines for using meat substitutes. I will see if I can come up with it again. You do have to watch nutritional information since protien, carbs, fat, sugars can really vary. Good luck!

Hi im vegetarian too...but i eat salmon..go figure...
I like this link to help with ideas.
Hope this helps. http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/idea...as-dinner.html

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/idea...ans-guide.html. Another one

OvoPescatarian, or just pescatarian?
:D
Liana

I am using Quorn grounds and Boca Vegan (Non-GMO) patties. I try not to have Boca as much since I need low sodium products. Does anyone here use vegan shakes? I am thinking of ordering brown rice, pea and hemp and doing my own mix.

The Quorn serving is 2/3 cup

Nutritional Information
Typical Values Per serving (85g)
Calories 110
Calories from fat 20
Total fat 2.0g
Saturated fat 0.5g
Trans fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 170mg
Total carbohydrate 9.0g
Dietary fiber 5.0g
Sugar 0.5g
Protein 13.0g

Boca- 1patties
Calories 100 Calories from Fat 20
Total Fat 2.5g
Saturated Fat 0g
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 470mg
Potassium 310mg
Total Carbohydrate 9g
Dietary Fiber 4g
Sugars 1g
Protein 13g

I use Gluten Free vegan protein powders without soy. I like Vega Tropic Tango Protein smoothie powder 90 cal, 15g protein, 0g fat, 3g net carbs. Only a tiny bit of stevia and it is a short list of fruit & veg ingredients with no tongue twister chemicals in there. Non GMO as well.
I also like Garden of Life Raw Protein in Cacao Kiss 90 cal, 18g protein, 1g fat, 1g net carb. Non GMO
For a change I also use Prairie Naturals Organic Sprouted Brown Rice Protein in Vanilla 110 cal, 24g protein, 0g fat, 1g net carb. Non GMO
Just a bit of a warning - the texture of vegan protein powders will never match the whey/soy ones - it's just not physically possible to make it 'creamy' without the milk, lol.
I use water for my shake still, but others use almond milk (once on maintenance).

Liana

Quorn isn't available in Canada, I wonder why? I had to google it. I can't see that is more dangerous than GMO'd soy from the US, for goodness sake.
Liana

Thank you so much Liana. It's nice to get a review from someone on IP. That is weird. I've been thinking they originated in Canada all this time.

bump

are any of you still on this thread? i started ip in may and just had my 4th weigh in. i am having a hard time with dinner---i have trouble eating tofu and most fake meat products---i think its a texture issue. what do you think about using ip packets for dinner? maybe just a few days a week....i had losses the first 2 wks then a 4lb gain (don't know why) and then a 2lb loss. i am trying to stay positive but dinner makes me depressed:?:

i have been looking at every package of meat subs/veg products... the only ones that i found that the coach said to eat are tofurky bologna, soy hotdogs, field roast hotdogs, tofurky sausages, veggie slices (cheese sub) boca original burgers ( which made me cry when i tried to eat them!!!). if you look on the pkg the carbs shoud be about 7gm to 30-40gms protein. you have to eat a lot of the bologna to get the protein but i use a mix of hard boiled eggs and bologna. hope this helps a bit:D

If you have no issues with gluten you could try seitan. It is made from wheat gluten protein and has a 3 oz serving size = 21 g protein and 2 net carbs. 120 calories approx.
Some people say it feels more meaty than tofu. I've always used extra firm tofu and you can roast it in the oven after flavouring it with a marinade (I like Bragg's Aminos - which also has protein and Franks hot sauces). I cut it up into cubes and add it to stir fry veggies. You can also mash-scramble it like eggs for a breakfast lettuce burrito, tucking it into romaine leaves and adding a dash of hot sauce and the veggie slices, and a bit of green onion.

Liana

Bumping up - I am looking to start tomorrow and interested in the vegetarian side of things. I have done a lot of research here and have gathered lots of info!

Thanks!!

hey veggies---what are you making for dinner tonight?:?:

Good Morning Valerie,
I am desperately seeking some protein vegetarian product? Have you identified any product as? Thanks in advance.

I'm all late. I really need to subscribe here. I think it would be helpful if we did start naming ideas.

I had Gardein Chick'n (sans the sauce) strips mixed with bell peppers and a little broccoli. I mixed in a little Braggs Aminos, curry season and stevia.

I am still trying to find the samples of the ones canadjineh suggested, but I did try brown rice protein and hemp protein. They were both hard to get down but I think the hemp fared better.

Has anyone used Bobs Red Mill TVP
TVP® (Textured Vegetable Protein). The nutritional value is


Nutrient Facts
Serving Size: 1/4 cup (24g)

Calories
80.00
Calories from Fat
0.00
Total Fat
0.00 g

Total Carbohydrate
7.00 g

Dietary Fiber
4.00 g

Sugars
3.00 g

Protein
12.00 g

Finding vegetarian protein has not been easy. I do tofu stir fry for dinner sometimes or just a veggie pattie and vegetables. Here are some of the specific products:

Morningstarfarms products

https://www.morningstarfarms.com/pro...ecipe-crumbles

wherever you would use minced meat in recipe. This is very versatile.

and also use their veggie burger for protein as well

https://www.morningstarfarms.com/pro...veggie-patties - this one tastes better

and

https://www.morningstarfarms.com/pro...llers-original - better nutritional content for IP

I thought about it, but then I found out it was not Non-GMO and highly processed. I thought it would be good for mock sloppy joes though.

So far I have been sticking to Quorn and Gardein. If I find anything else, I'll try to report back. Does anyone use hemp hearts? Since I liked the hemp powder, I am thinking of adding those in. I could probably just toss those on a salad.

I use hemp hearts but they are very high in fats (albeit healthy ones) - they won't help in the IP weight loss plan. I only use in maintenance & sparingly.
I did pick up a sample packet of Hemp Hearts Reduced Fat Powder but haven't tried it yet. You can get more info from www.hemphearts.com (Rocky Mountain Grain Products). It has 35% less calories and 65% more protein than normal Hemp Hearts. 1/2 c = 220 cal, 7g fat, 11g carb minus 9 fibre carbs so only 2 carbs. It must be used with higher moisture foods like in soups, dressings, or drinks. (reading from the package)

Liana

If you have a chance to do some searching, there is a previous member here - "longdivision" is her user name and she has some really great vegetarian ideas!