Vegetarian low carb ideas please

Em_runs_away

Hello,
Does anyone have any suggestions for vegetarian low carb meals and snacks please?

I've finally got the hang of fueling my body properly and avoiding carbs in the evening but am struggling as I dont know which vegetarian foods are low carb and haven't got many recipe ideas.

huntingforhipbones

- greek yogurt
- hardboiled eggs
- hard cheeses
- high fibre crackers
- meat-free alternatives (eg. Quorn do 80-calorie "light bites" snack packs and their products have very few net carbs, lots of fibre)
- hummus

And many more, no doubt!

LadyKatieBug

i eat Vegetarian sandwiches

1 whole wheat pita bread
1 hand ful of cauliflower, brocoli, red cabbage shredded, sheredded carrots, cheedar cheese on it. I throw in sliced dill pickles. I know the combination sounds strange but its very good and very filling.

MoreBean13

I tried doing vegetarian low-carb for a while. Are you doing a complete low-carb vegetarian diet or just looking for lower carb snacks and meals in addition to your diet?

Either way, I would plan on getting friendly with Eggs. Lots and lots of eggs. And protein shakes.

huntingforhipbones

Nah, lots of other things than eggs! I don't eat eggs or dairy - although I'm pescaterian; essentially, I'm a vegan who eats fish as the only non-vegan product - and even in meals where I don't eat any fish I can still pack in a good 20g protein and low carbs (I low-carb due to PCOS medication.)

yvonnej1

I'm not a vegetarian but one of my favourite low carb meals at the moment is stuffed mushrooms, I usually use a meat based mixture but that could easily be omitted, or a meat sub such as quorn used. You need the large open cup mushrooms, and remove the stalks and scrape out the brown gills, you can add these bits to make your filling mix, along with tomatoes and veggies. My other favourite is a chilli filling so mixed beans, some peppers, tomato and chilli spice. I top with cheese halfway through cooking so that it melts. I serve with salad and it is less than 400 calories.

MoreBean13

Nah, lots of other things than eggs! I don't eat eggs or dairy - although I'm pescaterian; essentially, I'm a vegan who eats fish as the only non-vegan product - and even in meals where I don't eat any fish I can still pack in a good 20g protein and low carbs (I low-carb due to PCOS medication.)

Oh I know- I didn't mean to imply that eggs are the only thing out there- of course there's the ones you mentioned like unsweetened greek yogurt and the meat-alternative products. There's also TVP and Tempeh and edamame and mozzerella string cheese is a great to-go snack. I don't eliminate the meat-alternatives, but they're really processed, so I consider them more treats than staples. If you're trying to stick to more natural unprocessed stuff, eggs really are the number one choice for low carb vegetarian.

Em_runs_away

Thank you so much for the replies already. I am clearly in need of serious education!
I'm eating healthily but normally for breakfast and lunch then sticking to low carbs in the evening and for snacks. I've managed to lose 5lbs so far which is great but I'm getting married in 6 weeks and don't want to lose motivation just because I'm out of ideas.

stringband

for snacks I find it best to eat fruit especially grapes as they are sweet ( plenty pf nutrients)but relatively low in calories/. I also like to make interesting fresh fruit salads with satsumas, pears, rasberries etc. I do like to add low fat yoghurt sometimes. for snacking I like to eat some dried figs & other dried fruits.

For main meals I try and eat nice intersesting salads with interesting low fat dressings and stir fries with quorn, tofu added in. Quorn pieces also useful for curries. Small portions of whole grain rice, qiinola or cous cous rather than plain white rice are good alternatives.

Best wishes
stringband

MoreBean13

A great snack if you take plain unsweetened greek yogurt and mix it with powdered ranch dressing mix (or onion soup mix, or italian dressing mix - just watch the sugar in the mixes) it makes for an awesome dip with baby carrots and celery, or whatever your veggies of choice are.

Unsweetened greek yogurt tastes a lot like sour cream- you can use it as a substitute in almost any snack/dip recipe that calls for sour cream.

Caseyeatsclean

Gimme Lean Sausage style "meat" is wonderful! My meat-loving boyfriend prefers it to bacon in his breakfast sandwich, which I make every.morning. lol

_VoV

The only true low-carb vegetarian food I can think of is vegetable oil. It is 100% carb free.

But, my guess is that you are looking for no- or low-fat vegetarian foods with low-carbs. Those would be foods with a good amount of protein. Most, but not all, fake meats fit that bill. Tofu, unsweetened soy milk, tempeh, and seitan are all high protein, and moderate in fat.

Beans are a great source of protein, but have relatively high carbs. Much of the carbs are fiber, so if you calculate the 'net carbs', it looks a bit better, but I still wouldn't say they are low carb.

MoreBean13

Muffin pan quiches make for great meals and snacks too-

mix together eggs, cheeses, crumbled up vegetarian bacon, chopped onions, garlic, spinach or whatever you like, really- mix in a large liquid measuring cup. Spray muffin pans with Pam or grease with whatever your oil of choice is, and fill the muffin pans no more than 1/2 way with egg. Bake at 350 until they are puffed up and a little golden brown on top, probably 10 or 15 mins for small muffin tins. Once cooled, the little quiches can be kept in the refrigerator and reheated on low-medium power in the microwave. Great for pre-making quick meals.

Note, if you use egg whites instead of whole eggs, you probably need to use extra grease to keep them from sticking.

spluta18

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/caramelized-onion-mushroom-and-gruyere-quiche-with-oat-crust-recipe/index.html

MoreBean13

Another meal idea is tempeh tacos- Tempeh is a fermented soy product that is wayyyy underused. It's firm and has a nutty flavor to it. For tempeh tacos, I will take the tempeh and rough chop it up, until it is about the crumble size of cooked ground beef. I will put this over medium-high heat in a nonstick saute pan with taco seasoning and a couple tablespoons of water per serving. You don't need to add fat- the tempeh packs it's own. It takes about 5 or 7 minutes to cook. Serve with whole wheat or my fav- mission brand carb balance tortillas (11 g fiber each!), cheese, greek yogurt as sour cream, tomatoes, lettuce and salsa (watch the sugar) for a moderately low carb meal. Tempeh is much much less processed than the vegetarian ground beef replacements- but they work perfectly well for this too, especially if you're trying to convince a meat-eater.

Obviously its truly low carb if you eliminate the tortilla, but I want my tortilla with my tacos!

MoreBean13

Cottage cheese is a great choice too- I will mix up cottage cheese with stevia (or your sweetner of choice) and cinnamon, vanilla, and a touch of nutmeg for what I call "cheesecake flavored" cottage cheese. It's not cheesecake, but its sweet and the spices make it tasty.

MoreBean13

And deviled eggs...they may not be as cool as they were in the early 90's but they're just as delicious. Use your choice of mayo/light mayo/miracle whip.

I'm glad you posted this. I needed to dig some of this out of the cobwebs in my brain to use again, too.

Em_runs_away

Thank you so much for your ideas, some of the recipe ideas you've all posted sound delicious. Fingers crossed I can keep with this since it's working so well!