i've sort of been feeling in a rut myself-- maybe i'll get some good ideas here too. here goes with a 'typical' day:
b-
coffee w 1%
lf vanilla yogurt w kashi golean crunch and strawberries
or
coffee w 1%
2 slices sprouted wheat toast w natural pb or brummel&brown and blueberry jam
l-
big mixed greens salad w 1/2 can tuna (i know this is veggie chicks-- marinated baked tofu or tempeh is good too), cukes, cherry tomatoes, cabbage, carrots-- dressed either with this delicious avocado/wasabi dressing (basically pureed avocados with wasabi powder, water, and a little vinegar) or a few drops of sesame oil and a dash or two or braggs liquid aminos.
or
(i've been eating this A LOT lately)
2 c pumpkin/tomato soup (basically pureed pumpkin, crushed tomatoes, and sauteed onions pureed together with a little veggie stock-- sounds plain but it's so yummy)
3 wasa crackers with homemade hummus
snacks-
orange or grapefruit
wasa crackers w 1 wedge laughing cow light, small can v8
d-
depends on how tired i am (or where i'm coming in from-- work, gym, going out) veggie burger w cheese, pickles, and mustard on sprouted bread; quinoa with toasted nuts, dried cranberries, and yogurt; fritatta w whatever veggies i have on hand and faux sausage. i hate to say that i am most likely to overeat/eat poorly during dinner. i'm working on that.
Well, I'm not vegetarian, but I have days where I happen to not eat meat. Today happened to be one:
Late Breakfast
2 waffles (Van's, which are vegan I think, they're egg-free and dairy-free, and wheat-free, gluten-free... hrm, wonder what they're made out of )
2T lite pancake syrup, and a dab of Promise spread
2 Morningstar breakfast patties
Lunch
PB&J sandwich, made with no-sugar peanut butter I made at the store, all-fruit spread, and Ezekiel whole wheat bread
Watermelon chunks
Dinner
Amy's Organic Thai stir fry (w/ tofu, jasmine rice, veggies, and, uh, Thai stuff)
Mixed green salads with a few different veggie types and a homemade balsamic vinegarette dressing
Afternoon munchies
McD's fruit and yogurt parfait
Some baby carrots with a bit of fat free ranch dressing
Munchie snack
Very incredibly street strawberries (8 oz)
---
Thumbing back I can find another day that was all vegetarian:
Breakfast (7 points)
Breakfast sandwich (English muffin, 1/4 cup egg beaters, 2% Kraft cheese slice, dab of light margarine, and a Morningstar breakfast patty)
Peach
Midmorning snack (2 points)
Pria bar (I love the peanut butter crunch!)
Lunch
Morningstar black bean burger on an Ezekiel whole grain bun, plain except for ketchup
About 4 oz of these really awesome frozen potatoes with olive oil and parmesan that I can't remember the name of
Snack
Soy chips (I individually bag them so I don't pig out!)
Apple slices
Dinner
Homemade black bean burrito
Salad with just romaine lettuce and grape tomatoes, with fat free ranch dressing
Late night munchies
No Pudge! cookie crumble bar
Nothing too exciting. For general suggestions, though, I love eating Indian or Thai dishes when I'm eating vegetarian. Despite being vegetarian for a few years, I never did figure out how to cook with tofu, so I usually go out or get Amy's organic frozen foods (which is about as expensive as going out). I also love some of the Morningstar products (especially their breakfast patties and black bean burgers). And there's a lowfat perogie I love. One of my staples was what I call 'bean thing'. Invented in college, it's mostly just sauteeing some bell pepper and onion, adding about a jar of salsa and a can of black beans, then some Mexican seasoning I get, and voila. It goes in burritos, on baked potatoes, on English muffins for mini pizzas, over brown rice, and probably other more creative ways I'm forgetting.
(For reference on the menus, I use the WW point system and those are probably around 30ish points, maybe a point or two higher or lower. Which is probably around 1500-1700ish calories, if I had to guess.)
One trick that works when I find myself in a rut is to try one new food or dish each week. I also find that if I have a few minutes I check out some of the vegetarian food blogs for inspiration. I recently learned about a Thai rice pudding made with black rice and coconut milk - finally made some and it was a delicious breakfast instead of my usual fruit or oatmeal! I am following Eat to Live (for the most part) so I have lots of salads and I find that even a new dressing can shake things up - I just made one with miso paste, a drop of sesame oil, some fresh ginger and a dash of rice wine vinegar yummy!
this is the past 2 days, so hopefully it helps a little....
breakfast (same each day)
- Silk Light Vanilla Milk
- Kaisha Go Lean Waffles (have egg and milk in them), top with some light smart balance.
- tea
Lunch
yesterday
- Sandwich on whole wheat bread with some mustard, lettuce, tomato and a boca spicy chicken patty (yum, love those!)
today
a sweet potato (microwavable ones) with a dab of smart balance and a salad with romaine lettuce, tomatoes, and bacos (which are vegan) drizzled with oil and vinegar.
Dinner
yesterday
- bird's eye frozen tuscan veggies in tomato sauce with some morningstar chickn strips.
-apple sauce
today
- yam noodles with tomato sauce, salad and spicy "chicken" patty.
I've been drink lemon water like crazy. I like the fact that it helps my digestive system and tastes pretty good too.
Also, on the peta page, they have a page that is called "i can't believe it's vegan!" . it lists a lot of grocery items that you would never think of as vegan. It may come in handy for you!
I'm back from my vacation so I am ready to get back on track again. I found some new WW friendly vegetarian recipes and will be doing my meal planning over the weekend for my Monday grocery shop.
I am looking forward to getting back to eating vegetarian meals again as I feel so much healthier eating this way.
Oooh this thread is great! I am also in a rut. I have lately been eating egg beaters on whole wheat in the mornings, and the rest of the day is just whatever I can grab. Too many grains, not enough veggies!
The black rice pudding sounds delish! I've got a can of coconut milk in the cabinet but I've never cooked with it. I honestly don't even know how many calories are in it. I also have some black rice. If you haven't tried it, you should! My kind is called Forbidden Rice and I get it at the health food store, but they also have it at many 'whole food' or natural type stores. Be warned, your pan will look like you boiled blackberries when you are done. So don't cook it in a fancy white enamel pan. It has a really unusual, nutty, buttery flavor. I don't put anything on it. I eat it plan with veggies or tofu. It is really good!
Monday: wholewheat spaghettini with broccoli, onions, mushrooms and fresh grated parmesan cheese.
Tuesday:
Vegetarian stirfry with vermicelli noodles served with green tea.
Wednesday:
Chili Mac n' Cheese - made with whole wheat macaroni, canned vegetarian chili, canned red kidney beans and low fat cheddar, paired with a salad and breadsticks.
Thursday:
Veggie burgers with sweet potato oven fries.
Lunches will consist of leftovers, fruit, celery, carrots with hummous, yogurt.
Breakfasts will consist of oatmeal or bran cereal with strawberries or bananas.
Friday is dining out night and that is about as far as I have planned.
Today was another vegetarian day (plenty of dairy in it, though) that is, probably, a touch heavy on the cheese. Oops. But here it is, ends up being 31 WW points.
Breakfast
McD's fruit and yogurt parfait (160 calories)
Lunch
Stuffed potato recipe modified from Cooking Light, sans bacon (about 250 calories guessing)
Some steamed broccoli topped with shredded parmesan cheese (about 75 calories)
Very small cup of Edy's light ice cream (125 calories)
Snack
Whole wheat pita stuffed with hummus, feta cheese, cucumber, tomato, mixed greens, and sprouts (about 400 calories)
Dinner
2 slices of A.C. Rocco's feta and tomato pizza (325 calories)
Mixed greens salad with some veggies and light raspberry vinegarette dressing (about 75 calories)
Late night snack
Very big Fuji apple (about 100 calories)
Sugar free hot chocolate with some mini marshallows added (100 calories)
So, I'm estimating on calories (you know, I never really know how many calories I eat...) and come up with a little over 1600, I think. And probably more cheese than I should have, heh.
Here's another veggie day. It's the day before grocery shopping, so pickings were a bit lean. No milk, no fruit except pineapple juice, which I didn't want, and I was too lazy to go to the store.
Breakfast
Breakfast Burrito: Scrambled up 1/2 cup egg beaters, with loads of sauteed bell peppers (I had leftover green, red, yellow AND orange, very colorful) and onion. I just sauteed in olive oil spray. Then I mixed in 1/4 cup of shredded lowfat cheddar cheese, and threw it all in a flour tortilla and wrapped it. I topped with some salsa.
Lunch
Amy's Organic frozen meal -- Mexican Casserole. Not the healthiest by far, but mmm good.
Snack
Some sugar free chocolate pudding made with 1% milk, with a quarter of a sliced banana in it (hey, there was some fruit! sort of)
Dinner
Tofu stir fry over coconut ginger rice. I just stir fried some frozen broccoli stir fry veggies in 1 tsp of olive oil. Then cooked some extra firm tofu, cubed, in olive oil spray. Mixed it all up with some Kikkomon stir fry sauce. The rice was by A Taste of Thai, there were 3 seasoning packets that went into it! And a tablespoon of olive oil for 4 servings.
Then a salad with some tomatoes and the other odds and ends veggies that were going bad, topped with almost the last of the big bottle of raspberry vinegarette dressing.
Late night snack
I took half of a large pita pocket, and opened it up into two pieces. One size I slathered with hummus, the other with a light Laughing Cow cheese wedge. Then I ate some grape tomatoes and cucumber slices separately, plain.
Menu help?
