Vegans/vegetarians/or trying!?

janejellyroll

amusedmonkey wrote: »

I'm not vegan, or vegetarian for that matter, but due to preference I find my diet to be largely plant-based and only very few, very particular and very infrequent meat dishes. I find myself looking for ways and new dishes that help me achieve good nutrition despite my meat picky-ness because I'm tired of milk and yogurts every day whenever my protein suffers. So any resources of good vegetarian reasonable calorie dishes that don't contain soy or vegan specialty foods (too expensive and scarce to be worth it) I'm all ears.

I love the cookbook "Supermarket Vegan" by Donna Klein. I think there is a little soy (not much at all) but the focus is on recipes that involve foods that can be found at regular grocery stores -- no vegan specialty foods. Everything I have made from it has been really tasty.

angelaschnegg

janejellyroll wrote: »

iamagodess998 wrote: »

Vegetarian for 6 years now. Want to switch to vegan but right now my priority is health/weight loss so if staying vegetarian makes that easier for me then I'll stay for now. I eat a lot of "fake meats" and find it hard to not have that constant hungry feeling whenever I try to eat healthy. Would appreciate any help anyone can give me.

What do you mean by "eat healthy"? Are you saying the foods that make you feel full are unhealthy?

Hope you are not eating a lot of soy bc it is bad for you.

janejellyroll

angelaschnegg wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

iamagodess998 wrote: »

Vegetarian for 6 years now. Want to switch to vegan but right now my priority is health/weight loss so if staying vegetarian makes that easier for me then I'll stay for now. I eat a lot of "fake meats" and find it hard to not have that constant hungry feeling whenever I try to eat healthy. Would appreciate any help anyone can give me.

What do you mean by "eat healthy"? Are you saying the foods that make you feel full are unhealthy?

Hope you are not eating a lot of soy bc it is bad for you.

That's a myth.

DaddieCat

I had almost a lb of soy yesterday in just one meal. Am I gonna die?

janejellyroll

BecomingBane wrote: »

I had almost a lb of soy yesterday in just one meal. Am I gonna die?

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I am positive that you will die someday.

DaddieCat

Not if I have anything to say about it. I'm a supervillain for a reason, you know.

robingmurphy

I've been vegetarian for twenty-five years, and my diary is open

amusedmonkey

janejellyroll wrote: »

amusedmonkey wrote: »

I'm not vegan, or vegetarian for that matter, but due to preference I find my diet to be largely plant-based and only very few, very particular and very infrequent meat dishes. I find myself looking for ways and new dishes that help me achieve good nutrition despite my meat picky-ness because I'm tired of milk and yogurts every day whenever my protein suffers. So any resources of good vegetarian reasonable calorie dishes that don't contain soy or vegan specialty foods (too expensive and scarce to be worth it) I'm all ears.

I love the cookbook "Supermarket Vegan" by Donna Klein. I think there is a little soy (not much at all) but the focus is on recipes that involve foods that can be found at regular grocery stores -- no vegan specialty foods. Everything I have made from it has been really tasty.

Thank you! I will check it out for sure. It's on kindle so that makes it easier. Hopefully I will find some higher protein recipes.

ellenavegan

Vegan! Would love some buddies x

salembambi

FunkyTobias wrote: »

BecomingBane wrote: »

salembambi wrote: »

i have vegan powers

Are they useful powers, though? My powers seem to consist mostly of annoying people and making lame *kitten* jokes, neither are useful.

And farting.

My vegan friends can clear a room like nobody's business.

i fart so much it might be why i am single

courters123

Vegetarian! Documentaries would scare nearly anyone into it I'd say! Also read the book 'Eating Animals' by Jonathan Safran Foer which is such an informative book! May go vegan some day but I'm finding it very hard to get a stable, healthy enough diet as it is at the moment! Always on the go so unfortunately fast options and sugar products have taken up a great deal of my diet at the minute! Going to get back on track soon though! I plan to go travelling too so I don't know if Ill be a strict vegetarian then because I don't want to have to limit myself to new experiences when I'm away! In saying that, still a vegetarian for the foreseeable future!

curvy_gamer_loses

Vegetarian for 4 years, although I have been dabbling in eating again. My diary is open

toronto88

I have a mostly plant-based diet. I cook vegetarian stuff at home and end up having about 1-2 servings of fish/meat/eggs/dairy per week (at restaurants, friends' houses, etc). You can add me if you want. I feel better and tend to lose weight more easily when I focus on shoving a ton of fruits, veggies, and beans into all of my meals and then the amount of animal products & processed foods decreases pretty easily and it is way easier to eat the right number of calories........better for the environment and me!

joycemfp8

I'm trying to reduce my meat intake, so right now I'm trying to eat vegetarian/vegan 80% percent of the time. Would love some mfp-friends around for support and recipe inspiration, feel free to add me if you like!

siltsu2014

(Pesco)vegetarian here, been for the last almost 14 years! I eat fish only about once a month. My current project is to eat more vegan food, you can do so much of your daily cooking easily vegan so why not

BreakOnThru

joycemfp8 wrote: »

I'm trying to reduce my meat intake, so right now I'm trying to eat vegetarian/vegan 80% percent of the time. Would love some mfp-friends around for support and recipe inspiration, feel free to add me if you like!

SAME!

CollieFit

I so wish I wouldn't enjoy eating meat so much for ethical / animal welfare reasons. If there was a really tasty meat alternative I would jump at the chance, but in the UK I've tried most meat alternatives available in supermarkets and sadly just didn't like the taste. This was a few years ago admittedly. Since then we have simply changed how much, where and what we buy (eat less meat, buy non-factory farmed, local and organic), but I would still like to do more.

Anyone in the UK who can perhaps recommend any additions to the meat-free ranges in recent years? Any new brands or products? Thanks x

AshetteKetchum

Wow thanks for sharing everyone, it gave me some insight.
I currently still eat meat, but am trying to experiment and possibly get into being a vegetarian or vegan. My only concern is trying to make my macros, especially as a bodybuilder competitor. It seems challenging enough to get 200+ grams of protein in a day as is, lol. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated =] Feel free to add/msg me as well if anyone has some advice.

rainbow198

I'm on day 22 of not eating any meat. I didn't realize it until I reached about day 6 and was wondering why did I feel so amazing. I usually have a lot of energy and a pep in my step but something was different.

I reviewed my food journal and realized I haven't had any meat during that time. It was not intentional since I was never a big meat eater anyway.

What an incredible journey this has been. I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but I'm reaching my protein goals everyday with ease and it feels really great.

charis_et2

I have been trying to reduce meat consumption and have turned to a more plant based diet. Still have the odd bit of fish or meat from sustainable sources and would love to see food diaries of other people in similar situations for inspiration

courters123

I meant to ask do any vegetarians ever find themselves very tired? I've been a vegetarian for over a year and a half and at the beginning I was so good at getting the right nutrients but havn't been eating right for a long time! Was just wondering if anyone else ever came across this problem of being so so tired?

janejellyroll

courters123 wrote: »

I meant to ask do any vegetarians ever find themselves very tired? I've been a vegetarian for over a year and a half and at the beginning I was so good at getting the right nutrients but havn't been eating right for a long time! Was just wondering if anyone else ever came across this problem of being so so tired?

Various dietary deficiencies can make you feel tired. I don't know what you mean by "haven't been eating right," but it may be time to begin focusing on what you eat or speak to a doctor.

DaddieCat

janejellyroll wrote: »

courters123 wrote: »

I meant to ask do any vegetarians ever find themselves very tired? I've been a vegetarian for over a year and a half and at the beginning I was so good at getting the right nutrients but havn't been eating right for a long time! Was just wondering if anyone else ever came across this problem of being so so tired?

Various dietary deficiencies can make you feel tired. I don't know what you mean by "haven't been eating right," but it may be time to begin focusing on what you eat or speak to a doctor.

I agree with all of the above, but if it's an option, you really should see a doctor and have some blood panels. When I first started my vegan journey years ago, and before I knew enough about proper nutrition, I went through something similar. In my case it was a lack of certain necessary nutrients that needed to be addressed by my way of eating. (zinc, B12, and VitD in my case) Not a big difference, mind you, but enough of one to correct the deficiencies I had created by not eating correctly.

It might be such that you can easily reverse the problem if this is the reason for your lethargy... but it might also be the case that some medical intervention in the shape of prescribed vitamins/minerals or vitamin injections will be required to address the issue in the short term.

We also don't really know what your intake is like since your diary is closed, but it could also be the number of calories that you are intaking is not sufficient for your needs, which is much more easily fixed. Or perhaps your macro ratio isn't the most satiating for you.

Either way, opening your diary will lead to others being able to give you more meaningful advice.

*edited for clarity

angelexperiment

chrisHarrington725 wrote: »

angelexperiment wrote: »

chrisHarrington725 wrote: »

vegan since the day after Christmas, so just a little more than a month but I don't see going back to eating animals...curious to hear about how any of you decided to go vegan, why you started and if you get any negative reactions from people when/if others find out that you are vegan and how you handle it. And curious to hear more about the scientific evidence vs. "the feels"

Mine is more health and the feels I guess. My hubby is just now seeing me eat different and said he might go dairy free ( he's a vegetarian lacto ovo) he has migraines and avoids lots of things. He said being vegan is too hard to get protein. I had let that steer me away feeling I could not bc I love dairy and meat! But I just did it and have not had any issues getting protein! I have no cravings or sugar cravings and no energy dips anymore. I feel awesome!

did you use "steer" to be ironic? Why did you decide to give up meat and dairy?

Actually no! Lol not intentionally. I just wanted to try being meat and dairy free to see if I felt better egg free too. I don't miss it too much honestly though a challenge to figure out how and what to eat some days!

alltheweigh170

Vegetarian for life. Add me, though I eat a lot of Indian food.

angelexperiment

Nutritional yeast is a good source of protein, hemp seed, peas, edamame, kale, broccoli, spirulina, chloerella are some alternatives to soy. There is also kidney bean tempeh ( which is soy less) malinga powder, the Sacha inchi or inca peanut ( 60%protein!) nuts seeds, beans and legumes are all good protein sources as well there is grains like oats, millet, amaranth, triticale, buckwheat, oat groats, wheat berries, Farro, and more. There is soy, tempeh, tofu, seitan, miso. ( if you are ok w soy and gluten) oh and you can make you own seitan at home from what I read)

angelexperiment

Oh and home made protein balls! I made some they have a nut butter, a greens powder, chia, hemp hearts, oats and dates. There are a lot of online recipes from them and it's super easy to make ( also like fat bombs to boost fats) all you need is a blender:) or I made roasted chickpeas that's a good protein source too.

Terri6627

Vegetarian who tries to make a lot of vegan choices. I'm a student, so the only thing standing in my way is that fully vegan options are sometimes out of my price range.

angelexperiment

There's a book called the 4$ vegan. I don't know if you can cook at your dorm if you live on campus but cooking everything yourself is cheaper. Than buying the premade processed things like burgers and cheese or mayo even. Even egg replacements. I've searched high and low ( I am on extreme budget (40 for two weeks) I've found that 1. Discount grocers are our friend 2. Do canned if you can't afford fresh or frozen it's twice as cheap ( spaghetti squash was1.35 a lb I could not afford that so I got canned yellow squash two cans .98 c ea.) 3. Shop around at different grocers for best prices4. Check out Asian/Mexican grocers they may sell Indian bulk foods at great prices spices and flours are way cheaper ( I found black salt for egg flavor for 99c)4.) buy your nuts from the baking isle bigger sizes or you can buy half cup sizes for cheaper on expensive nuts and they are in raw state I found Walmart has a pretty good selection5. Make soups and chilis ( maybe not in a dorm for lack of freezer space tho) as they make multiple meals 6. Use the cheaper veggies lik cucumber 7. Grow your own you can have a small container with different lettuces and herbs they grow back fairly quick too.

triciegirl2014

I was overweight became a vegetarian for 10 years over all gained weight because I was really a starchetarian. I experimented with veganism for 3 months and raw food vegan for 3 weeks of that in that 10 year period. I went back to eating chicken and fish and lost 30 lbs (at first)probably bc I reduced the starch. I have since gained it back and now I am on journey to mostly plant based with whole foods.