Ladies, this thread is for vegetarians or those wanting more info. Let's help each other with nutritional and weight loss questions.

I've been a vegetarian (no animal flesh - I do eat dairy and eggs, but only organic) for a year. I went off meat for philosophical reasons, though I'm aware that going meatless has a lot of benefits as well. I even went through the weight gain that's common for people who go veggie.

My problems: I don't get nearly enough whole grains, I eat way too much sugar and simple carbs, and I don't eat enough fresh fruits and vegetables, either. Crazy, since I'm a vegetarian. I also am having a lot of trouble learning new recipes that are healthy and meatless. Laziness, I think.

hi cerise. I am also a vegeterian. I use soy protein mix at least 3 times a day. Each serving is 25 gms of protein with no carbs or fats. I usually mix it with some crystal light (strawberry/kiwi the best) It seems that if I don"t get enough protein that I crave all the foods that are not good for me Sandylynn

I've been vegetarian for about ten years. I'm also lactose-intolerant. I eat eggs, though, and I will eat low-lactose dairy sometimes.

My dietary balance is usually around 55% carbs, 35% protein and 10% fat, although I would probably eat more carbs if I weren't dieting. I want to make sure that I get enough protein every day, so when I'm cutting back on overall intake I have to make my percentage of protein a little higher.

I've never eaten protein mix. I do eat quite a bit of soy, though.

I think the trick to vegetarian cooking is much like light cooking. You just have to learn to substitute well. There are lots of prepared substitute products on the market - product lines like Yves and Boca, that kind of thing - but it's also important to learn to use basic ingredients to fill in the gaps in regular non-vegetarian recipes. I eat a lot of the same dishes I did before I was vegetarian, I've just learned to make them in new ways. I think a lot of people would find the transition to vegetarian eating easier if they thought in those terms... instead, a lot of people end up eating tons of bread and pasta and gaining weight.

Hi, I'm also vegetarian (5 years) and I'm new to the forums. It's good to see that there are a few others out there. My biggest problem with being veg is too many carbs, not enough protein. I do use a lot of meat-subsitutes as described in the post above to get more protein, but it just isn't enough compared to carbs. My new plan is to eat a lot of those (non-breaded) subs without the pasta or bread added to it. Hopefully it will work out better.

I am a vegetarian and created my own low carb diet. I have dreams of becoming vegan, but it is be fat and vegan or be thin and a veggie, So I am opting for the second option.

Hey, ladies!

Hey, 200club, ctagmire, aphemia. And METTA!! THERE you are! You know, the ladies in the "Labor Day Losers" ask about you from time to time. Shall I tell them hey for you? I'm definitely gonna tell them that you were lurking around here...

So. I've been a vegetarian for a year and a couple of months now. Wow. My nutrition was PRETTY bad last year, though I did well giving up meat cold turkey (ha, ha) and never missing it. So, this year I'm really focusing on nutrition, especially getting in fruits and veggies (harder than I think, even as a vegetarian. Isn't that weird?) and getting whole grains in, too. That's a hard one, whole grains. I'm trying to learn to bake bread, and I've found that those yummy WASA crackers are a great way to get a wallop of whole grains. Also, oatmeal or Cheerios for breakfast, and I can stand brown rice (tastes like grass to me) if it's mixed with beans. Any pointers from more experienced vegetarians?

So, what do you guys do to get your iron? Do supplements really work? I've been dizzy and sort of weak in the last few months. I can't really tell if it's because I'm anemic or because my fitness efforts were nil and I was just getting wussy.

Anyway, I promise I'll get better about checking in here. Good nutrition is getting crucial to me, and I'd sure appreciate any help you guys can offer a new vegetarian.

Buh-bye, girls.

Hi Cerise! I don't know if I mentioned this to you on the boards but I'm a long time vegetarian--almost 20 years. Maybe it would help if we posted our daily menus from time to time---what we had one day or a plan or even our veg. dream menu?

Basically I go for balance and 8-9 servings of fruit and vegetables per day--and I go for low-fat and high-fiber. I'm the queen of roughage. Hah! How long has it been since you've heard anyone use that word?!

Eydie, the best food I've had as a vegetarian is the falafel I learned how to make from the Moosewood cookbook. God, that stuff is amazing!! I wish they'd shut up about the accompanying tahini lemon sauce, though, because it's soooo high in fat!

My family gave me a bunch of wonderful cookbooks last Christmas - they've been so wonderful about my giving up meat, especially considering that they're all dyed-in-the-wool carnivores!

My SIL is fretting right now that I'm not getting enough protein. I've been thinking about using protein powder in smoothies or something. And iron is always a challenge.

My favorite meal, though, is black beans and brown rice with tomatoes, cilantro, onions, some avocado and just a smidge of sour cream, all mixed up together. MMMMMMMM.

What do you do to get enough iron and Vit. B and protein and such? Supplements?

Funny story for the day: an aquaintance at work told me that she had given up meat for 5 years, but noticed that her hair had started to get thin. So she started eating meat again. Didn't argue with her...

Hi Cerise!
I'm pretty faithful about taking my supplements---I take 2-3 'Source of Life' multis a day. I feel really good about them. I've recently started taking a B-12 too, just in case. I don't worry about iron too much and protein isn't a worry; I think that I get all I need from the grains and beans and soy.

I love felafels too. I'll see if I can find a lower fat tahini sauce in the archives or invent one. I have hundreds of cookbooks, a sickness really!

Hey, recently someone said to me [in all sincerity!] 'I know you're a vegetarian, but if there's a really good piece of meat around , something you couldn't get too often, you'd eat that, right?' You've gotta laugh!

Hi!

I'm new to the boards, and thought about starting a veggie thread, but I'm glad I waited and found this one.

Iron... I happen to like spinach, so no problem.

I'm with the rest of you on too many carbs and not enough veggies. My problem is that I buy veggies and then don't eat them fast enough. They go bad. I'm thinking about buying more frozen food.

Getting enough protein has never been a problem, since I'm a tofu fiend and a cheese-a-holic. Unfortunately cheese has way too much fat and calories, and tofu tastes best when it's stir-fied in something greasy and sweet. Uh, time for a new strategy.

I've heard good things about falafels. How do you make them?

Nice to meet all of you,
AR

Hey, girl!

Man, I need to get on the spinach wagon! I love it, just don't find myself buying it all that often. Stoooo-pid!

I'm going to start pre-cutting veggies into usable components when I buy them - chopping takes a LOT of time and I refuse to buy a food processor! That way I can throw them into the pan or microwave and not lose the rest of my evening. I really, really need to bulk up on fruits and vegetables.

M-m-m-m-m. Tofu. My favorite way to eat it is cubed, raw with soy sauce over the top. People wig out at work when I eat it, though. Pooters. I also like cheese, but am trying to avoid it. I'm never going to be able to swing veganism, but am getting as close to it as I can.

My falafel is from the Moosewood cookbook, and it's the best I've ever eaten, including in restaurants. I'll post the recipe for you tonight when I get home.

Anyway, welcome! This thread isn't very busy from day-to-day. If you want to meet a group of amazing ladies who are great friends of mine, go visit the "Labor Day Losers" in the Support section. They always like to meet a new face.

And come back and see me! I need all the help I can get.

Hi Cerise!

Thanks for the welcome. Yeah, I like the holiday threads... Labor Day seemed too close, though, since I just started back yesterday. I'm in the New Year's thread right now, love all the daily posting. Maybe after Labor Day there will be a new holiday thread... Halloween?

Hm, Moosewood... I actually ate at the restaurant back in college. A recipe from there has got to be good.

Well, I was too lazy to shop for groceries last night and reaped the non-rewards today... I ate take out for lunch, which translates into fried rice and fried tofu. I could probably lose half a pound a week just by giving up fried rice...

I wish I had gone vegan back in college. Our dining halls included vegan main dishes on their menus and it would have been relatively easy... if I had gotten into the habit then, I probably could do it now! But yeah, I try to go close to vegan. I've found it's easy to go one day a week. Maybe my goal will be two days a week, then three... all the way up to six days a week. Don't think I could ever give up cheese or ice cream permanently. But that's how I did it for vegetarianism... one day a week, then every other day... and it worked really fast. If I ate a mostly vegan diet, I would be a much thinner lady.

Hope you all are doing well!
AR

Aquareggie, you're so right on going vegan. I wouldn't be able to go 100%, because you can eat out almost nowhere, and Ramon and I like to eat out, once a week.

Still, I keep hearing more and more about the evils of any animal proteins (though I think vegsource.com is a LITTLE biased).

Isn't it sad? I'm realizing that especially for a vegetarian white rice is junk food. I love white rice...I guess I can treat it like a...TREAT and eat brown basmati instead most of the time. I'm getting used to the taste.

I've been bad this week - haven't been food shopping in a while and am down to ramen (the Oriental flavor in some brands is technically vegetarian) and peanut-butter sandwiches. I need to take control tonight.

See you, girls!

Oh my god, white rice... I eat it five times a week. That stuff is just like sugar. Bad, bad, bad.

Anybody who has low-simple-carb ideas for vegetarians, PLEASE post them!!!

Thought I'd check the thread today because I'm going to try a vegan day. So wish me luck.



AR

Oooh, Vegan Day. Good luck, darlin'.