Vegetarian - difficult to reach calories goal

Hanna1983

Hi everyone,

About a month and a half ago I decided to become a vegetarian. But I am struggling to meet daily calorie goal now without being able to pick on chicken or turkey slices, and vegetables dont have many calories.

I seem to only be able to meet my calorie goal if I add cheese or oil or more carbs to my eating plan, which I dont want to do. I am starting to get frustrated. I tried and up my calorie intake by eating more snacks between the meals by eating yoghurt, but they all seem to be full of sugar.

Have you got any advise for me as to what I can eat that has around 100 cals but low fat, low sat fat and low sugar and is not bread, pasta or rice, etc?

Thanks so much.

Hanna

Hanna1983

Hi everyone,

About a month and a half ago I decided to become a vegetarian. But I am struggling to meet daily calorie goal now without being able to pick on chicken or turkey slices, and vegetables dont have many calories.

I seem to only be able to meet my calorie goal if I add cheese or oil or more carbs to my eating plan, which I dont want to do. I am starting to get frustrated. I tried and up my calorie intake by eating more snacks between the meals by eating yoghurt, but they all seem to be full of sugar.

Have you got any advise for me as to what I can eat that has around 100 cals but low fat, low sat fat and low sugar and is not bread, pasta or rice, etc?

Thanks so much.

Hanna

havingitall

Almonds are good. Nut butters are also good too

fitnessperfection

Although almonds are not necessarily low fat (they have good fat), it is a suitable option for additional calories. I am a vegetarian during the week (if that makes any sense!). Almonds help me to meet my calorie goals along with a sweet potatoe. Sweet potatoes are slow burning carbs and will last longer without spiking your insulin levels like a regular white potatoe or rice or pasta would. You could also add a protein drink to your diet. There are some really good ones out there and being a vegetarian, you might need the extra protein.


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Hanna1983

Hi fitnessperfection

thank you for the advise. I thought protein shakes are a meal replacement though?

Thanks
H

dclarsh

I'm a vegetarian too, but I never have trouble meeting my calorie goals. It's tough at first because you're probably still thinking about food the same way you used to, just without the meat. After a while, it will get easier, I promise!

Try greek yogurt. I get mine from Trader Joe's, they have three flavors in the non-fat version, blueberry, honey and pommegranate. I hated the pommegranate, but the honey and blueberry are de-lish. They have about half the sugar of regular yogurt, and like twice the protein.

Also, you might want to try some of the "meat-esque" products out there to help fill in where your meat used to be. One of my favorites is Light Life Italian style sausage. I eat it with sauteed veggies, pasta sauce, either pasta or polenta and a little cheese. It's really good. But, if you're not quite brave enough for that yet, eat more beans. They are extremely versitile, high in fiber and protein and low in fat.

msarro

I say give peanut butter a shot. One tbsp is about 100 calories. The fat won't harm you.. it's good fat, especially at such a small amount.

Hanna1983

dclarsh, wow thank you for all those tips.

Over here we have products made from quorn. I tend to eat them sometimes and like them, however they are high in fat. :-( the beans definitely sound like a good idea. I could do a chili without carne :-) haha

Dave198lbs

avacado

Hanna1983

avacado

yes they are yummy, however I have heard you are only supposed to have 1 portion per week if you want to lose weight...? :frown:

hiddensecant

Do you like hummus at all? I normally have some hummus with my veggies to increase my protein and it doesn't have any fat or sugar if you make it with soy yogurt instead of tahini or olive oil. Actually, it has about 0.3g of fat per serving but MFP doesn't count it, hehe.

1 15 oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tsp chopped garlic (or 2-4 garlic cloves)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 container of Whole Soy & Co - Plain Soy Yogurt
1 tsp cumin seed spice

1/4 cup has about 66 calories, 5 carbs, and 4 protein. You can slice cucumbers or chop some romaine lettuce and use it as a dip to stay well below 100 calories.

Also, consider looking into some soy substitutes. Tofutti's Better than Cream Cheese makes a really good spread. I'll also add 2 tbs of Smart Balance's Low Fat Buttery Spread to my 2 cups of dinner veggies, to help hit my calorie goal.

dclarsh

avacado

yes they are yummy, however I have heard you are only supposed to have 1 portion per week if you want to lose weight...? :frown:

It's all about what fits in your meal plan. Theoretically, you could eat avacados for every meal of every day and as long as you stay in your calories, you will lose weight. Although, I would imagine that you would be very sick of avacados in a very short while.

slwwilson

Lentils or quinoa are great. Also I buy a whey protein shake mix and use Soy milk with it.

You may want to get some vegetarian cookbooks which will have information on making complete proteins from beans and grains. One of my favorites is the New Laurel Cookbook. It's an old cookbook but has great information on nutrition.

Best of Luck!

Stephanie

Hanna1983

Thanks guys for all your advise and help. I dfinitely got some good ideas now.

:happy: