Yes, seeds are interchangeable with nuts on this plan.

And I'm glad the person was respectful of you. I've just had one too many people on my back lately about not eating meat/cheese/whatever, and I was feeling kinda ranty. I'm pretty much in the "live and let live" category... I've had so many people judge me for what I (don't) eat that I tend to err on the side of being overcautious. Give me awhile on this plan, though, and maybe I'll be ready to pick up my badge for the Vegan Police. lol

Wow, all that fruit at once! Dang! I spread mine out (to keep my sweet tooth happy). I actually "cheat" and make them snack foods -- I figure I'm going to eat them anyway, and it helps me stick with the rest of the plan. And I don't have nearly a pound of cooked vegetables in a day, because I prefer to eat my veggies raw (I think they taste better that way).

Oh, and one other thing that could help you get the calories up if you need to: Whole grains. Don't forget you can have one serving a day, so you could add some brown rice to your soup or something. I use a multi-grain tortilla to make a veggie wrap for lunch.


I got this great salad mix -- organic blend of baby lettuces and stuff -- yummers! I'm actually starting to really LIKE rabbit food!

I understnd what your saying about people Tripin on what you eat. I belong to a TOPS(Take off pounds sensably) group and bless there harts they just don't get it. Which is fine in July I'm doing a program on being a vegetarain. Another person who is haveing trouble with it is my mom. For Example today she had me try her potato salad and it had baccon in it. I didn't know it had baccon until it was in my mouth. Now I could have pitched a fit and spit it out but I didn't(pitch the fit) I did spit it out when she was not looking. the thing is i chose not to say anything to her because I was afraid it would hurt her feelings. so I guess I pick and chose my battles and to me reasureing a 75 year old was more important to me then haveing a bit of Babe in my mouth. Ok I'm getting off my soap box now

I had a little slip up I had some yams for dinner but man where they good they remind me of my dad.

I hope everyone is well
G

Hi guys,
I'm actually at home with my family, so I can't follow this plan before Saturday. But I am eating lots and lots of salad and a bit of pulses and tofu.
I'll be updating you soon.
Good luck to all!
San

I lost five more pounds!!

5 pounds! Way to go Junia! By the Way, thank you soooo much for inspiring us to start this diet! I am loving it! I'm still obsessing about dressings but that will change. San, I wondered where you were! I will be off the diet this weekend as I plan on drinking alcohol but I'll get back on the wagon when I return. Probably won't be able to post much after this weekend as DH will have the laptop with him for a couple of weeks. Has anyone heard from ArticAngel?

p.s., what are pulses???

Pulses = Legumes.

I'm glad this is working for y'all!

Re: dressings -- you're in the U.S., right? Well, see if you can find Maple Farms of Vermont fat-free dressings -- some of them are very low-cal. My favorites are honey dijon and raspberry vinagrette (that one I can find at Wal-Mart), which are 35 calories for 2 Tbs. But the one I'm going to try to use most often, and is also good, is their fat-free balsamic vinagrette, which has only 5 calories!!

Also, another thing that I do is buy the broccoli slaw -- you know, the pre-bagged, pre-shredded stuff with broccoli, carrots, cabbage, and sometimes cauliflower? I get that and some garlicky hummus, mix it up, and have a yummy high-protein salad.

I think I saw Maple Farms when I went to the store Monday. I plan on looking over the selection if I ever get the privilege of going without my darling sons. They are not fun to shop with if I actually have to read a label. When they go with me, I speed down the aisles, grabbing anything that looks familiar off the shelves and hope they don't see the candy, cereal, or toy aisles! I have a bag of Broccoli slaw in my fridge right now! I plan on making Tabouli today but was concerned about the oil. I may make it without oil or I may use flaxseed oil instead of olive.

P.s.- I love hummus too but trying not to get any because I usually eat the whole thing at one sitting. Of course, that's one way to up my calories!

Hay ladies wow five pounds Junia thats wonderful.

Sarah did you check out www.fatfreevegan.com it has a bunch of recipes for dressings.

Welcome to all the of the other people how are joining us.

As for me I down 2.5 this week and was the best looser I feel really good.

hope everyone is haveing a good day. Today is my weekly egg breakfast but right after it was back on track for me.

Hi everyone! I feel like a bit of an impostor here since I’m not really doing the plan but I am so enjoying your thread. It’s nice to find some like-minded people, you know?

Junia – 5 more lbs, that's fantastic!

gggbdomino – I really disliked that my family was so resistant to my vegetarianism when I first started. 12 years later and they tolerate it, but I wouldn’t say they “get it” by any stretch. My grandma still tries to offer me something with meat in it just about every time I visit. When I remind her about me not eating meat she acts like she is shocked I am not out of that “phase”. 12 years is a long time to be having a “phase”! Then she usually follows that up with “it’s just a little bit”, or “you can pick it out”, and my favorite “there’s no meat in gravy”. God love her, but I guess after a lifetime of farming not eating animals is just too foreign a concept. She had a stroke a couple of months ago and my family tells me she is recovering OK, but I’m afraid she won’t be doing any more cooking or offering me any more meat. Strangely enough I think I will miss that a bit, it was kind of “our thing”.

I wanted to share a recipe that I though might be suitable for you all, I made it for dinner last night and it was sooooo good! I just had leftovers for lunch. It’s an Indian dish called chana masala: http://vegancore.blogspot.com/2006/0...na-masala.html

What’s the deal with soy products (like soy milk, cultured soy “yogurt”, etc.) on your plan? Is that permissible? I use them as an easy way to get some more protein and most are fortified with vitamins A & D just like their dairy counterparts.

Shananigans: Thanks for the recipe -- I love Indian food, so that could be a great one to try. For the first six weeks of E2L, the olive oil would be a no-no, but after six weeks you can add a little back in. As for soy yogurts and stuff -- I think it would depend on the ingredients. If it had added sugar or sodium, that would be a problem (again, it's the first six weeks that are the most strict). I don't live in a place where these things are easy to find, so they're not part of my diet -- I just stick with the whole foods pretty much in their natural state, with the exception of tofu and the occasional Amy's bean burrito.

Shananigans, you are more than welcome here, even more so if you give us yummy recipes! In fact, Junia and I discussed doing our own individual plans but just hanging together for the support so we need all the cheers and support you can give! I wasn't on a "diet" until I started this so I'm glad for everyone's input. Aren't you doing a body for life plan? Seems like I remember something about that. How's it going?

Domino, I went surfing on fatfreevegan when you mentioned it before. Lots of recipes! Thanks for the recommendation!

I have a new cookbook The Best Light Recipe by the editors of Cooks Illustrated. It has some dressings that use less oil. Plus it has a recipe for hummus so maybe I'll eat that again soon! Let me know if anyone wants any recipes.

Has anyone heard the term pesca-vegan (vegan who eats fish)? I read it in an older nutrition book I checked out.

Junia – I believe you could make the recipe without the oil if you used a really good non-stick pan that the caramelized onions wouldn’t stick to and some cooking spray. I used closer to ½ T for 4 servings so it has very little oil. I use plain Silk brand “soygurt” and it is low sodium and has no added sweetener. I think it would be good even without the soy yogurt added, it just lends a bit more thickness and creaminess to the sauce.

SSarah - Basically I’m mapping out a modified BFL plan, right now I’m concentrating on eating more frequent (about every 3 hrs), smaller meals and making sure each of those has a protein and a “good” carb. I kind of feel like it’s a lot of work to eat that often but I’m never hungry so I can say that much for it. I plan on incorporating the four day lifting split alternating with cardio that’s recommended when I get back form my vacation mid June. Right now on a weekly basis I’m doing one day upper body lifting, one day lower body lifting, one stability ball workout that concentrates on core and usually some lower body, one non-weighted upper body workout like push-ups (cheat ones, I can't do them on my toes yet!) and tricep bench dips, and 1 or 2 hour long yoga classes. My cardio is a bit sporadic, I try to get at least one good 45 min elliptical workout at pretty high intensity every week, an hour of lap swimming or water aerobics class when I can get to the pool, and I do some walking every day. I feel like the BFL model is going to be a good change because it’s so regimented and right now it’s sort of hit or miss when it comes to my workouts.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of “pesca-vegan” but I have heard something like “pescatarian”, as is a semi-vegetarian that eats fish. I think “vegetarian” and all the variations mean a lot of different things to different people. It can get a bit confusing!

Generally-accepted terminology within the veg*n community:

Vegetarian: Someone who doesn't eat meat (defined as any flesh from the animal kingdom, including seafood)

Vegan: A subset of vegetarian who eschews the use of all animal products, for food or otherwise.

Strict Vegetarian or Complete Vegetarian: Someone who follows a vegan diet (no animal products) but does not necessarily avoid such things as leather, wool, or animal ingredients in cosmetics and soaps.

Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian: The most common form of vegetarianism, includes eating eggs and dairy.

Lacto-Vegetarian: A vegetarian who drinks milk.

Ovo-Vegetarian: A vegetarian who eats eggs.

Pescatarian: NOT a vegetarian, but someone who eats fish as their only meat.

HTH

Hi everyone and I just read my last post and I sould have said I was the best loser at my TOPS meeting. I have a question do you think it is posable to get down to 215 by next wednesday? Or do you think thats to much?

I have heard of vegetarians that that eat fish but I'm not sure I would classife them as vegetarians really.

Tomorow I have to go to the dentest for a posable root canel or extraction so I'm not sure how I'll be feeling. If ya don't hear from me you'll know why.