Trying to go Meatless (HELP)

pamsdiet

Hello Everyone,

Im starting over and trying to get back on track with my weighloss goals. I cut meat from my diet due to hormonal issues, its been only about a week and it has been really hard because I dont know what to cook or eat. I recently embarked on this weightloss journey to go low carb and meatless but here's the thing, I'M A CARB ADDICT... I love my cereal in the mornings and I like to have a sandwich from time to time, I can take or leave pasta and rice but boy that bread and sweets....

Can some one please give me any advise or pointers on how to go meatless the right way and what recieps I can make for my breakfast, lunch and dinner also that is low carb.

Thanks,

Pam

graceangel8

Hi Pam,

I have been mostly vegetarian/vegan for a few years now. I do have meat when I crave it but I would say only in one meal every 2-3 days. If I do have meat I make sure it's organic so I don't get all those nasty hormones, etc. So... for breakfast, instead of cereal or oatmeal, try and find quinoa. It is a very high protein grain, and incredibly nutritious. They call it a superfood. I find quinoa flakes at the local co-op and mix that with dried berries, cinnamon and coconut sugar (lower glycemic index). It's fast and tastes great.

As a meat substitute, I am in love with this Layonna meatless chicken. It's like chicken breast that you can slice and stir fry or whatever. They also make meatless shrimp, pork, bacon, meatballs, etc... but I love the chicken. It's 170 calories per serving and has 17g of protein. It's BONELESS CHICKEN GMO FREE ($3.50 a pkg). They are near me but I know they supply to all kinds of restaurants. Maybe they ship in smaller quantities than the case. Would be worth checking out. Here's the link:

http://www.layonna.com/chicken_flavor.htm

To your health!

Grace

htrl877

Going meatless is difficult and it will be a little challenging, but don't worry-- its totally within your reach! I love my carbs too and I first went on Atkins when I started my dieting adventure. Since then (4 years later), I put on weight again and decided to become a vegetarian. Its hard to be a vegetarian and not be hooked on carbohydrates- bagels, breads, pastries-- you name it. Here are a list of diet breakfasts that are 300-400 calories (depending on the kind of brand you buy and whether or not its in season or on sale). If you don't like veggies, its important that you do research and learn about how important they are to have in your diet (and how you can eat a lot of them and not feel guilty!). If you're a veggie lover, then you're in luck! Try to portion meals so that they are 1/2 to 3/5 veggies. They fill you up, are enriched with vitamins, and make you feel good the day after.

Breakfast foods:
1. 3-4 egg whites with veggies (peppers, mushrooms, tomato) omlette (if you add cheese just add half a slice or so)

2. 1 cup almond milk paired with 1 cup grapes and half a grapefruit (drink milk before you start on your grapefruit or else it won't taste sweet). I mean, while we're on the subject of almond milk-- its sweet (satisfies your sweet tooth) and has as many calories as regular skim milk (but without the worries of hormones or the fact that skim milk tastes like water).

3. Birds eye veggie blend (you can buy this in bulk in the frozen isle- I like the squash ie. normandy blend) with 2 regular eggs (yolk and all). Add garlic, parsley, oregano, basil, herb blends, etc. Buying a variety of spices will keep your diet on track and your taste buds still interested if you're eating the same things on a weekly basis.

4. Blueberries with plain 0% fat greek yogurt (some people are turned off by the consistency of greek yogurt, but it has a lot less additives than regular yogurt like gelatin, high frutose corn syrup, and food dyes). Its time consuming, but its so important to read the label and the ingredients.

5. strawberries and cottage cheese (again, this might be a consistency thing you might not like... and when I first started really taking a hold of my diet I didn't like it at all. But considering you're going meat free, this is a great way to get some dairy in your diet as well as protein. Cottage cheese has so much protein its great!).

I lost 15 lbs before joining the sight and I've been eating a variation of these meals every day. Breakfast is most important and it will keep you full for most of the day. But don't feel as though you need to exclude cereal entirely. Start with a bowl or two a week and mix and match the rest of these breakfast ideas.

Hope this helped. Keep it up and don't feel discouraged! It gets easier. I've been a vegetarian for two years (for sustainability and other issues) and I do miss chicken every once in a while, but its worth it! You feel a lot better about yourself and you can be proud of yourself for having such self discipline!

maddymama

Appetite for Reduction is a great cookbook to look at. It's for vegans (I'm not) but all of the recipes taste great, are easy to make, and leave me feeling very full and satisfied.

superhippiechik

Summer is a great time to start because of all of the fresh fruit and veggies! There is 45 calorie bread that is good. Tofu,once you learn the secret to cooking it can be delicious! It is like a mushroom and takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it with. Message me if you want some recipes. The Amy's line of dinner's was my saving grace when I gave up meat. I eat meat now,but I was Vegetarian for two years.

BJPCraig

My wife & I are fans of the "30-Day Diabetes Miracle Cookbook" (a vegan, carb-conscious diet designed to help weight loss & healthy blood-sugar levels; totally reversed the wife's diabetes) and Joel Fuhrman's "Eat to Live" (he's a bit over the top with his rhetoric for the importance of vegetarianism, but he has good info). You might also want to look for recipes & info from the Vegetarian Resource Group (http://www.vrg.org/).

We're slowly starting to break away from processed meat substitutes (in an effort to be more conscious of our sodium, and I find I'm usually going over on my daily protein intake), but they do make a great stop-gap measure as you start to go veggie. Our favorites have always been Morningstar Farms, Boca Burgers, Quorn, and Tofurkey (their Italian sausages are fabulous). We've also had terrific luck at a local Chinese food market, where they have great prices on tofu and two-and-a-half large frozen-food cases of vegetarian "meats," including mini-drumsticks (which are great for buffalo wings), fish, shrimp, squid, etc. So, if you have an Oriental market in your area, you might want to check that out, too.

Good luck!

BJPCraig

You might also want to check this out:

http://www.not-just-recipes.com/support-files/vegetarian_starter_kit.pdf

Jorra

I've recently discovered the wonderful Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP). It's flakes of soy that are rehydrated by soaking in water and they can be used as a substitute for ground meat in anything! It takes the flavor of whatever you cook it with. I added low sodium meat seasoning. It's low carb, low sodium, and high protein!


It should be in the vegetarian/natural section of the grocery store.

valerieelyn

Over a year ago, I was watching Ellen and Jonathan Safran Foer was on her show. He was talking about his book "Eating Animals". I decided to pick it up and read it just for the purpose to learn where the food we eat comes from. Simple as that. It was a very interesting and eye opening book. If you're looking for motivation to not eat meat, this will surely do it. I haven't touched meat since.

"The Kind Diet" by Alica Silverstone also has many great recipses in it, and eases you into the new diet.

Good luck! Even if it's only for health reasons, I think it's great you're doing it. More people should realize that it's unhealthy and unnecessary to be consuming as much meat as they are.

Jorra

I just wrote a blog post for a vegetarian taco recipe. To make it low carb, you can use lettuce as a wrap instead of flatbread or a tortilla.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Jorra/view/tvp-tacos-116661