Vegetarian help!

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chrissymcmurray
chrissymcmurray Posts: 19
in Food and Nutrition
I'm trying to transition into a mainly vegetarian diet for the first time in my life and I have no idea how to effortlessly plan a vegetarian meal, unless I want soup and salad everyday! And I'm not to gun-ho on the "fake meat" substitutes, I'm trying to get more veggies in my diet not a processed meat like substance. Any advice for someone new to the meatless world?

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  • JBcat123
    JBcat123 Posts: 211 Member
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    well- my cousin is a vegan and she sells something called " faux grass" all over Brooklyn and manhattan. its made out of walnuts, lentils, and different spices. if you live by Brooklyn or manhattan here is her site regalvegan.com and you can check out her faux grass she makes. its really delicious! or google the recipe online.
  • almc170
    almc170 Posts: 1,093 Member
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    Check out one of the vegetarian groups, such as http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/45-happy-herbivores
  • debbie0142
    debbie0142 Posts: 3 Member
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    There are lots of good books on vegetarian diets, including on how-to make the transition. Check out your local bookstore or library. There are lots of great cookbooks out there now too if you don't want to rely of processed food, which is a good decision. There are lots of protein choices, yummy carbs that you may never have had! Good luck and keep at it.
  • debbie0142
    debbie0142 Posts: 3 Member
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    I'm new to this myfitnesspal, thanks for posting about the happy Herbivores!
  • stopdangerpi
    stopdangerpi Posts: 34
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    Vegetarian of 10 years here!

    I love and eat a lot of avocado, broccoli, portobello mushrooms, kale and spinach. My boyfriend is also vegetarian and eats lots of peanut butter (but I don't really like it) We almost never eat meat substitutes.

    I would say good things for breakfast are: eggs & toast, cottage cheese, granola & yogurt, english muffin with lox (if you want to have a little seafood), etc.

    It's fun it get into non-American cooking like Mexican food (bean, tofu,spinach or broccoli tacos/burritos), Indian food (you can eat practicallly everything), Thai food (tofu pad kee mao!)

    Also many vegetarians develop their standards "vegetarian mash" which is usually like a bowl full of a grain (quinoa or rice) and a bunch of their favorites veggies with spices.

    There will be a lot of experimenting for you and maybe trying new things but in my opinion avocado, broccoli, portobello mushrooms, kale and spinach are like the most satisfying, delicious and easy to prepare veggies. I literally will cut an avocado in half and use a spoon to eat it out of its shell. Sometimes I will eat a whole tomato with a sprinkle of salt on it. Marinating a portobello mushroom and then grilling it makes the best burger. Also!! At BBQs I will make kebabs with marinated campari tomatoes, whole white mushrooms and chunks of bell pepper. SO GOOD.

    Have fun!!
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
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    Just look for recipes based on eggs, soft or hard cheeses, nuts or seeds - they are all reasonable meat substitutes in terms of protein and the first two supplying vitamin B12. Too many people make the mistake of replacing meat with mushrooms, aubergines (eggplant) or premade vegetable burgers all of which supply carbs not protein.

    Do choose omega-enriched eggs and take a marine algae DHA/ EPA supplement to replace oily fish in your diet.
  • angmarie28
    angmarie28 Posts: 2,815 Member
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    I just started a vegetarian lifestyle, today is 5 days no meat, and I found it easier then I thought, I made a taco pie the other day, it was beans, tomatos with green chilis, onion and green pepper with taco seasoning and taco sauce and then layer a taco shell, bean mixture and cheese, repeat 2 more times and bake, I made lentil soup today. cheese pizza, cheese raviolis with any red sauce. pastas, meatless spaghetti. I look at pintrest for ideas alot
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
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    Plenty of vegetarian recipes online, as well as some great vegetarian cookbooks out there - student ones are particularly good.
    Just remember to get adequate protein - quite a lot of vegetarians end up gaining weight due to being clueless about cooking, and just living on starchy carbs like bread, pasta and pizza. Get creative with tempeh, tofu, cheeses, eggs, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds and quinoa. You can make a very decent and tasty salad combining avocado, walnut halves, sunflower seeds, cottage cheese, spinach, kale, cucumber, banana and lettuce, or any other salad vegetable you might like to add.

    I personally was vegetarian for over ten years, then transitioned to pescetarian for a little more variety, although I did have a few ethical issues eating fish. It helped tremendously with energy though and I stuck to mostly wild alaskan salmon.

    I also now am venturing into grass fed, pasture raised/organic free range meat occasionally, so, not a vegetarian anymore, but still trying to eat a lot more vegetarian meals than flesh based meals.

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