vegetarians

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spartymama
spartymama Posts: 15
in Food and Nutrition
vegetarians out there what are your favorite protein packed meals? How do you avoid junk food that is "vegetarian"

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  • MorningWhispers
    MorningWhispers Posts: 182
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    I am new to being vegetarian - this is my 3rd week. Still learning the protein meals - I eat fish or other seafood occasionally and I cook everything from scratch - I don't do the prepackaged items.

    As far as "junk food" - if you mean like Oreos and teddy grahams - those are both vegetarian, that answer is very simple - I don't go down that aisle at the grocery store. My main shopping is in the parameter of the store - produce and seafood.

    The only aisle that I go down is the one with the different ethnic foods and seasonings - I am trying new recipes and discovering spices and seasonings that I never really paid any attention to before.

    I haven't eaten processed sugar since March, so for me when I crave something sweet - I eat fruit.
  • Trechechus
    Trechechus Posts: 2,819 Member
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    I really dig meat substitutes by Gardein, Morningstar Farms, Smart Life etc. Gardein makes and AMAZING pulled pork substitute and my boyfriend (who is not veg) and I like to make pizza with it (in place of pizza sauce.) I also eat a lot of Greek yogurt and whey protein shakes. Tofu Waldorf salad is good and tofu stir-fry. Beans, nuts, spinach, broccoli, tempeh, qunioa... all good sources of protein.

    I don't generally avoid "junk food." I eat healthy most of the time and when I want a piece of cake, I work it into my intake.
  • daffodilsoup
    daffodilsoup Posts: 1,972 Member
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    Oatmeal with protein powder, veggie chili with TVP, and stir-fries with tofu, tempeh or seitan (sometimes a combination of the three!) are my go-to meals. They are packed with protein, delicious and nutritious!
  • lexiek47
    lexiek47 Posts: 18 Member
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    I've been vegetarian for 2 years. When I first became vegetarian I thought that I could survive on peanut butter and that I could eat more junk food because HEY, not meat in these chips!! Eventually I realized that that was not the type of food I wanted in my body so I started what you could call clean eating which is avoiding anything over-processed. A trick could be to avoid anything with more than 3 ingredients that I cannot pronounce! Like cinnamyl isobutyrate or heliotropin. ( I have noo idea what those things are therefor I don't put them in my body. Vegetarian or not.)

    I personally avoid the center aisles of the grocecy store and I've never found myself tempted by meat substitutes like veggie burgers,fake bacon,etc because i think of all the preservatives and additives needed to make those products taste meaty. And to me it defeats the purpose. ( Although i do understand how some many vegetarians enjoy those products.)

    Other than tofu, i like to stick with natural sources of protein like dark greens,nuts,lentils,edamame, eggs and fish if you eat those.
  • SJVZEE
    SJVZEE Posts: 451 Member
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    New vegetarian here :) I started out feeling very overwhelmed with the whole protein thing, but then realized the CDC and the WHO only recommend women in my age bracket to consume around 46 grams a day. Well, that's actually not that hard to do if you eat a diet based on whole foods-lots of veggies, a serving of grain or beans every day, some nuts etc. So far I've hit or exceeded my protein goal since making the switch. I've only had eggs a couple times, so the protein is mostly coming from the other things I'm eating.

    Also, I'm making the transition for the health benefits and I'm staying away from non-whole foods, for the most part. I've just finished Dr. Fuhrman's book, Eat to Live, and his plan is what I'm working towards-LOTS of veggies and fruit, beans and a bit of grains and nuts. Simple, healthy and inexpensive :)

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