Hey everyone! I decided to buckle down and give this WOL a go! Seems its very similar to what I have been doing with low carb and vegetarian already so I am hoping to adapt well!

SO, hopefully someone has some good info I may need about which veggie "meats" are ok and which are not, I know obviously not the breaded ones or sauced ones but some of my favs are morningstar crumbles, dogs, black bean patty, veggie bacon, chic strips, link sausages Boca brand brats, smart pattys...
I also love tofu but I see in the book I have it says to buy soft or low fat tofu... I really like the extra firm- seems I saw somewhere on here that all kinda are ok?

And another thing-
on acceptable foods for phase 1 it says "beans"- what does that mean? Green beans I know would be fine, but does it mean any kind of bean? maybe bc I was cheap and only bought the smaller paperback its not as clear. I haven't gotten to anything that says what is ok for veg heads like myself!!!

Any extra info is appreciated!!!

Hi rdw1!

I've found this way of eating to be very vegetarian friendly. However in P1 I did feel I needed to figure some of it out on my own. I don't think Dr. a is focused on vegetarian foods so there are things we eat that didn't make it to the list at all. I'll tell you what I did, and I know some folks will disagree with my choices so as always YMMV. After reading the book it was clear to me that he built this plan on glycemic index and now the more accurate glycemic load. I read every label and looked up every food I eat and built a Phase 1 that worked for me and I believe is compatible. I ate, and eat, a fair amount of homemade seitan. I know some disagree because it is derived from grain, however it is pure protein and that fits my understanding of the plan. I don't know of any reason extra firm tofu (my preference too) would be any different than soft tofu. the numbers and ingredients are the same, so I'm not sure where that came from. Just read packages carefully and you should be able to figure out what things work and what don't. although we don't count carbs checking that number will give you a hint when grains are part of the recipe.

Oh, and beans means all beans. In fact dried beans are encouraged. I eat lots of hummus and homemade bean dips. Some tempeh is also compatible but watch for added grains.

Sounds like you're on he right track. Ask any questions - I know there are several vegetarians bouncing around here.

I watched for wheat (and wheat gluten) in vegetarian products while doing Phase 1. I had no problem with extra-firm tofu (which pretty much rocks, if you ask anyone in our house).

Because of eliminating the wheat gluten, I was forced to leave the meat crumbles, etc. in the freezer for the duration of Phase 1, but I got by without much trouble.

Good luck!

Kara

Thanks guys- one more question- is the Heinz low carb ketchup p1 friendly?
I don't see anything on the ingredients that would make it not?

oh, and check out the recipes - there are some great veggie recipes posted (many by the ever famous Kara Sunshine posted a tofu cacciatore a few eeks back that was pretty good too.

At Food Lion yesterday, I saw some Morningstar farms has some chikin strips, unbreaded. Which is great because their products are awesome. The chikin strips I imagine can be used in grilled 'chicken' salads and other stuff.

The ketchup is fine. It's the one that I use. It's sweetened with Splenda.