low carb vegetarian meals

angmarie28
angmarie28 Posts: 2,883 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I recently became vegetarian, and I love it, but im having a hard time staying low on carbs, most everything i make is pasta or has crackers or bread, so to all the Vegetarians and Vegans, what are your favorite meals that arnt high carb.

Replies

  • sarah_ep
    sarah_ep Posts: 580 Member
    Substitute the the bread in sandwiches with something else.

    Lettuce Wraps
    Peanut butter Apple Sandwiches (apples as bread)
    Lots of salads
    Omelets - if you are eating eggs
    Quinoa still has carbs but it has a good amount of protein.
    Bean salads.
  • angmarie28
    angmarie28 Posts: 2,883 Member
    Substitute the the bread in sandwiches with something else.

    Lettuce Wraps
    Peanut butter Apple Sandwiches (apples as bread)
    Lots of salads
    Omelets - if you are eating eggs
    Quinoa still has carbs but it has a good amount of protein.
    Bean salads.
    I have yet to try quinoa, where do I find that, and whats the best way to cook it
  • freckles_cmj
    freckles_cmj Posts: 205 Member
    Well there are carbs..and there are carbs.... You are eating more refined carbs..bread pasta etc, instead of simple carbs like grains beans and veggies. There are a lot of great recipes out there..the happy herbivore is my current fave. They will be high in carbs because they are vegetables.
    If you do a bit of research you may find that the need for protein instead of carbs is greatly overstated (and I am just waiting for someone to come in here and blast me for this..lol) You only really need 30-40 g of protein per day. you can easily get that just from eating a variety of veggies, grains and beans
  • freckles_cmj
    freckles_cmj Posts: 205 Member
    Substitute the the bread in sandwiches with something else.

    Lettuce Wraps
    Peanut butter Apple Sandwiches (apples as bread)
    Lots of salads
    Omelets - if you are eating eggs
    Quinoa still has carbs but it has a good amount of protein.
    Bean salads.
    I have yet to try quinoa, where do I find that, and whats the best way to cook it

    quinoa...yum! Its usually in teh health food section of the store. use it anywhere you would use rice, salads, pilafs, soup.... I have some on the stove now in a kale, white bean and quinoa stew :)
  • angmarie28
    angmarie28 Posts: 2,883 Member
    Well there are carbs..and there are carbs.... You are eating more refined carbs..bread pasta etc, instead of simple carbs like grains beans and veggies. There are a lot of great recipes out there..the happy herbivore is my current fave. They will be high in carbs because they are vegetables.
    If you do a bit of research you may find that the need for protein instead of carbs is greatly overstated (and I am just waiting for someone to come in here and blast me for this..lol) You only really need 30-40 g of protein per day. you can easily get that just from eating a variety of veggies, grains and beans
    im doing pretty good with my protein, i try to keep that up since I do weight lifting, but i am just looking for meals that are not pasta (im a pasta lover, would eat it every meal if I could)
  • AdAstra47
    AdAstra47 Posts: 823 Member
    You can't really do low-carb and vegan. Even if you eliminate all grains and fruits and only eat vegetables, you'll still end up with too many carbs and not enough protein in your diet.
    I have a carbohydrate-intolerant metabolism, and per my doctor's orders, I have to eat fewer than 30g carbs per day and at least 230g protein per day. He leaves the "how" up to me; but it's just simply not possible unless I eat meat, eggs, fish & dairy and drink a couple of 0-carb protein drinks each day.

    With that said, though, vegetarian is a bit easier than vegan. You can always go with veggie omelets. Vary the veggies and spices you use and you'll never get bored with that. Baked mushrooms stuffed with cheese are wonderful. Depending on the brand, you can find some pretty low-carb broccoli-cheese soup or spinach quiche. I love to coat asparagus stalks or eggplant slices in egg and parmesan cheese, then bake or grill it. Also, in any recipe that calls for potatoes or rice, try substituting cauliflower instead; that can reduce the carbs quite a bit.

    Hope this helps. Good luck to you!
  • angmarie28
    angmarie28 Posts: 2,883 Member
    You can't really do low-carb and vegan. Even if you eliminate all grains and fruits and only eat vegetables, you'll still end up with too many carbs and not enough protein in your diet.
    I have a carbohydrate-intolerant metabolism, and per my doctor's orders, I have to eat fewer than 30g carbs per day and at least 230g protein per day. He leaves the "how" up to me; but it's just simply not possible unless I eat meat, eggs, fish & dairy and drink a couple of 0-carb protein drinks each day.

    With that said, though, vegetarian is a bit easier than vegan. You can always go with veggie omelets. Vary the veggies and spices you use and you'll never get bored with that. Baked mushrooms stuffed with cheese are wonderful. Depending on the brand, you can find some pretty low-carb broccoli-cheese soup or spinach quiche. I love to coat asparagus stalks or eggplant slices in egg and parmesan cheese, then bake or grill it. Also, in any recipe that calls for potatoes or rice, try substituting cauliflower instead; that can reduce the carbs quite a bit.

    Hope this helps. Good luck to you!
    i actually found a few cauliflower recipes today, im going to make a cauliflower cheesey garlic "bread" with my avocado pesto tonight :)

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