Hey, I made a good thing the other day and thought I would pass it on. Before starting to try to lose weight I loved egg mcmuffins (no meat) & sometimes would eat ... I am ashamed to admit it..TWO. Well, the other day I bought Pritkin w.w. english muffins, 2% american cheese, egg beaters and morningstar (fake) sausage patties. They were so good & much healthier than a regular egg mcmuffin. My 6 foot 5 inch, 185 lb. husband said they were better than the original thing...and he does not need to eat low fat etc. Try it!

[This message has been edited by judi (edited 03-06-2000).]

Hi everyone,

I'd like to join in here if you don't mind. I am not a vegetarian by all means, but I have always thought I probably could be one. The truth is though that I do like meat also, just not tons of it. I would rather have a plate full of carbs & veggies with a tiny piece of meat. So, in my quest to eat healthier, I have decided to have one vegetarian dinner per week. Like Calamity Jane, I am having a hard time coming up with meals. Perhaps it is because I am new to this but it seems like the meal is not complete without a piece of meat. I am probably making this harder than it needs to be. I should probably use something to substitute the meat so that I feel like I am actually having meat. Like for instance, Millieb mentioned vegetarian sausage instead of ground turkey, etc. Are eggs considered a vegetarian food?

This next month my meatless dinners will consist of (I plan my meals out for the next month):

Pancakes (yes for dinner), w/ a fruit cup
Manicotti Florentine
Portobello Layered Mashed Potatoes
Eggplant Parmesan
Vegetarian Lasagna

I liked hearing the story about the cows with personalities. I never new they would get excited to see someone. I have to tell you about the TV show I saw the other night. True story in England (I think it was England), a farmer was attacked by a wild bull. A cow named Daisy called the other cows over while the man was being attacked and the cows formed a circle around the man so the bull could not get to him. Lucky they did that because the bull would have killed the man. I was so amazed.

Anyway, sorry for blabbing.

Marianne

WOW-- how great to find this topic! I was raised heavy meat eater on the coast. Lots of fresh seafood too. Now I'm 400 mi away from the beach and gave up seafood when I couldn't have it fresh. Gradually gave up meat because hubby couldn't get cholesterol levels down. Both parents died of cancer, and I believe they cancer is genetic because families eat the same food-- chocked full of hormones, antibiotics, etc... like someone mentioned above. Whoever heard of a vegetarian that needed to lose weight?????? Why I gained 10 lb the month I gave up flesh foods!! It opened up a whole new world of eating for me. And yeah, consuming 8oz of cheese/day is easy to do. So, the battle continues.

Today:
grapefruit
1 pc whole grain bread toasted
1 slice cheese melted on top

pasta w/ nutritional yeast & seasonings
grilled veggies
apple

repeat, but get fresh garlic on the pasta since I don't go to work tomorrow!
cantaloupe for dessert

I "eat mostly vegetarian meals".. i can't really claim to be a vegetarian per se, since i do eat a bit of chicken now and then, and regularly eat fish. Mhami ovo-lacto-vegetarians will eat eggs and dairy. Those who choose not to consume any animal products at all would be considered "vegan".

My average day..

Breakfast: toast and lite jam, or cold cereal... sometimes a scrambled egg + egg whites, or french toast. Milk.
Lunch: whole wheat pita spread with hummus, lettuce, tomato slices, and whatever else i find handy (kalamalta olives? sliced roasted beets? you name it, it's been in my sandwich!). Lite yogurt and a piece of fruit.
Dinner: Tonight's contained shellfish... made a stew-soup by sauteeing some garlic, onions, red peppers and mushrooms, tossed in a few handfuls of spinach (from a bag of pre-washed stuff.. very handy staple item to have around) and a diced tomato, frozen black tiger prawns and a squeeze of lemon. Added some water and steamed till done. My dinner entree is often a lot like this... i don't follow set recipes so often these days.. just chuck whatever i have on hand into the pot, and voila... amazing it usually turns out, really! *L* Yesterday i had "lasagne"... replacing half the noodles with slices of baked eggplant, using mushrooms instead of ground beef, and cutting way back on the cheese (recipe calls for a pound of mozza? ohhh yeah, those were the days!).

I have been using the Moosewood Restaurant cookbooks for years and highly recommend them. I also make great use of my local library.. test those cookbooks before you buy! I'm glad to hear someone say they've been pleased with the WW Versatile Vegetarian.. perhaps i will treat myself to a new book one of these days!


Deb

I use the Low Fat & Fast series of cookbooks from Vegetarian Times magazine all the time. There is a general one, and three ethnic ones: Asian, Mexican, and Pasta. Even my meat-eating husband likes most of the stuff I make from those books; Veg. Times actually publishes a Low Fat & Fast magazine but I can't find it around here. The regular Veg. Times magazine is stellar too.

The trick for me was not trying to replace meat. If you're trying to fill that meat-sized hole on your plate, you really limit what you could eat, and I always ended up substituting something with a ton of cheese or eggs. Or both Sometimes I'll eat a cup of brown rice with a steamed sweet potato chunked on top, covered with some Thai peanut sauce. Vegan and under 10 points if you use an absolute drenching amount of sauce.

Other books that are good: anything by Deborah Madison, the Moosewood books (though some of the recipes in the low-fat book are simply awful), books by Lorna Sass (vegan books, so no dairy or egg).

Sample day from my food journal:

Breakfast (5.5 pts) -
1.5 cups Kashi Good Friends
1 cup milk (I'm not wholly vegan and I hate soymilk)
1 cup calcium-fortified orange juice

Lunch - (7 points)
1 cup brown rice
1.25 cups Bean Salad #5*
big glass of V8

Dinner - (9.5 points)
1 cup Caribbean black bean soup (uses coconut milk)
Kale stirfried with olive oil, red pepper flakes, and garlic
Whole wheat dinner roll

Snacks - (5 points)
A can of whole beets that I insta-pickled by draining and replacing the liquid with plain white vinegar
1 Brown Cow yogurt (an organic brand that's whole-milk, though they also make a nonfat)

* Bean Salad #5 is basically 2 cans of starchy beans and 2 cans of green or wax beans, dressed with a full prepared package of Good Seasons FF Italian dressing.

Pulling Up.

WHere do you get teh SHepards pie? Did you make it your self, if so what is the recipe

------------------

What great ideas. I'm not vegitarian(nor can I spell it) but I have two days every week that I don't eat meat. I find this helps towards my WW goal.
Suzette- 9 lbs to go

CalamityJane:

Sample veggie day:

Breakfast: 1 slice toast w/ peanut butter

Snack: 1 orange

Lunch: pasta with tomato sauce

snack: frozen yogurt

supper: BLT with Yves Canadian Back Bacon (really good and if you use high-fiber bread and no mayo or butter the sandwich is only 3 points), tomato soup

Other ideas:
- veggie lasagna
- pita pizza or regular pizza (examples of toppings: mushrooms, green peppers, pineapple, olives, tomatoes)
- create-a-meal stir-fry (buy from grocery store, really easy and just don't add meat)
- grilled cheese with soup
- veggie wrap (you can buy them in Canada at a place called Badass Jacks, all you have to do is put some noodles or rice in a wrap and grill up some mushrooms, veggies and add teriaki sauce. They are very good and only about 4-5 points depending on size of wrap)
- macaroni w/ light cheese whiz
- fettincini alfredo (light options available)
- macaroni w/ can of diced tomatoes (it's actually pretty good)
- pasta figoli(sp?) soup, WW recipe
- cheese quesidillas with or without avocado dip
- veggie sausage w/ hashbrowns
Just to list a few things.

I have a really great receipe for veggie lasagna that uses Yves Ground Round as a meat substitute. Email me if you'd like it.

I've been vegetarian for almost 8 months, right before Canadian Thanksgiving and I can't image it any other way. I agree with the others that you just have to be a little more creative. Good luck.

Jewel
168/125/132

My all time favourite veggie cookbook is "The New Moosewood Cookbook". Its the sequel to the original, and they have a third excellent one called "The Enchanted Broccolli Forest"

My second favourite is "The Horn of the Moon Cookbook", recipes from a small vegetarian cafe in Vermont that I used to eat at all the time.

I've been a veggie for over 5 years now & love it. Here are a few of my normal meal selections:

Breakfast:
Morningstar Farms "chik" pattie, breakfast "sausages" or breakfast patties
Vegetarian chili or soup (yes, for b-fast--normally Health Valley brand)
Waffes with low cal syrup
Kashi cereal with Soy or Rice Milk

Lunch or dinner:
Morningstar farms products!!!! (they have "corn dogs","mini corn dogs", "ham" & cheese sandwiches...so many good veggie substitute products)
Vegetarian pizza
Pasta dishes
Veggie burgers, "hot dogs"
Bean & veggie burritos
Subway's veggie burger sub
Blimpie's veggie burger sub
Tofu chinese dishes

I generally eat smaller meals & then snack a lot. Here are some snack ideas:

Fruit or yogurt
"power bar" essentials bars (2-3 pts)
Twinlab "soy sensations" bars (2-3 pts
Soy nuts
Flavored mini-rice cakes (bbq, cheddar, sour cream, etc)

I'm at goal on WW. Its so easy to be a vegetarian on WW because the foods we eat generally have a higher fiber content--especially the meat substitutes.

Hi,
WW & vegetarianism go together quite well, actually. In fact, when I achieved lifetime ~ 10 years ago, I became veggie along the way since protein was so limited on the WW plan back then. I like my veggies pretty much plain (esp. squash on the GF grill!), although I have some good recipes for some veggie casseroles and such. There are lots of good hints up above regarding veggie meals. I would also recommend reading "Diet for a New America" by John Robbins and his sequel, "May All Be Fed" to learn more about the importance of vegetarianism upon the environment and your health. These books helped me tremendously in my decision to become vegetarian. Enjoy your newfound healthy lifestyle, Dee (PoohsHunny)

Hi, just found this...I'm veggie but new to WW and trying to change around the recipes on the CD ROM is driving me nuts!I have a carnivorous husband and a 2 year old son who is all for eating animals...I asked him if he thought it would be OK to eat the cat and he said yes..so not much chance of support there.
I do have one great diet tip, for those, who like me enjoy creamy pasta sauces and hate the texture of tofu.
Try making a sauce from a potato, a carrot and half an onion cooked in a little water,then add a pack of manrinated or plain tofu and blend it all until smooth. You can add all kinds of things to the basic theme, roasted red peppers, pine nuts (not very slimming, I know) and basil or fresh tomatoes are all good.
No matter how you feel about animal welfare,eating meat makes no sense for your health, or the health of the planet.Meat these days is full of all kinds of hormones and chemicals.I read the other day that our homes are more polluted than the outside world because of the chemicals we use for cleaning our homes and our bodies and the rubbish we call food!
Anyway, time to get off the soap box and on with the diet!

shei.

go to lettuceladies.com they have some cool info on cooking.

I'm a lazy cook...here's my day (more or less)

Breakfast: Instant oatmeal, a piece of fruit, a small glass of skim milk

Lunch: chopped raw veggies (ie: tomatoe, cuke, celery, pepper) tossed with a 1/2 c. of chick peas and some seasoned vinegar; a piece of fruit; a fat free pudding for dessert

Snack: a few baked tortillas with bean dip

Dinner: the fastest and tastiest is left over brown rice, canned mixed beans - stirfry until warmed thru. Top with salsa. Throw together a big colourful salad.

Snack: a little fat free yogurt or a banana or (this is a little weird) -cooked frozen corn (I love corn) *LOL*.