Clean vegetarian

I am a vegetarian but my diary is a combination of 'clean', grubby and downright filthy. I personally do not see the need to eat 'clean', whatever that means. I just eat a lot of nutrient dense foods (fruits, veggies etc), eat 'normal' food and add some treats as my calories and macros allow.

Most recipes that you find will be 'clean' to some degree.

I would also suggest looking into this group if you are not already a member - they have vegetarian/vegan recipes.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/45-happy-herbivores

http://www.vegweb.com/recipes/ultra-easy-lentils
served with rice or rice pasta
delicious!

Feel Free to add me. I come up with a lot of tasty vegetarian meals. Most of them are clean or close to it. I spend 8 months fully vegetarian but since I am back in marathon training, I've been adding fish into some meals for the protein. However, most of these meals or vegetarian based and my diary is open. Good luck.

I made this recipe the other day and it was SO much food and it was pretty good with a lot of protein. Serves two, but I'm single so I cut it in half. To make it a little more "clean" you could cut the soy sauce, but its only 1/2 tsp. I would also at least press the tofu (remove the water). I also added black beans and cheese and my version ended up being 324 calories with 39 grams of protein and 38 carbs.

Tofu Scramble with Spinach

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup onions/pepper
2 tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch spinach, rinsed
1 pound firm or extra firm tofu, well pressed and crumbled
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
nutritional yeast (optional, I used 1tsp)

Preparation:
Sautee tomatoes, garlic and mushrooms in olive oil for 2 to 3 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium low and add spinach, crumbled tofu, soy sauce, and lemon juice. Cover and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Sprinkle with a dash of salt and pepper before serving.


Got the recipe here: http://vegetarian.about.com/od/healthnutrition/tp/high-protein-recipes.htm

I think we are all works in progress...so sometimes I'm "clean" and sometimes I'm "clean enough".

I try to avoid anything with refined grains..cause when you're a vegetarian it is easy to justify that vegetarian lasagna...which often times is made with white flour or rice flour pasta. I also avoid any kind of sugar other than naturally occuring sugar in whole fruit (I can binge on dried fruit.)

I've found flour (or flour like) and sugar can send me into a binge.

For me, the key has been buying the right kitchen equipment: The Ninja Blender ($100.00 on Amazon) makes incredible smoothies, the Hamilton Beach steamer makes steaming veggies incredibly easy. Also, keeping the "clean" foods ready to eat..always have a bowl of apples out, e.g.

Kale Quinoa Salad
1 can chick peas
1/2 quinoa, cook with lemon enhanced water
about 1/2 to 2/3 bag of kale (chopped fine, 10oz bag)
1-2 bell peppers, red, orange or yellow make it pretty
Juice of 1-2 lemons, grate the rind into the salad for more of a punch!
Chop veggies, cook and slightly cool the quinoa and toss together with desired amount of olive oil, lemon, salt/pepper/sugar.

Black Bean & Corn Salad

2 cans black beans drained & rinsed (or you can use 1 can black beans & 1 can garbanzo or kidney beans)
2 cups frozen corn kernels
1/2 purple onion chopped
1/2 cup cilantro chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded & chopped
6 tsp seasoned rice vinegar
6 tsp of lime juice
1 tbsp. olive oil
garlic powder, salt & pepper to taste

Mix well & cover, refrigerate & eat cold. So refreshing especially on these hot summer days ))

I also add a cup of cherry tomatoes, broccoli slaw, purple & green cabbage to the above to give me more fiber & raw veggies.

6 Servings Per Serving (original recipe) (1 cup) 225 calories 40 carbs 5 fat 10 fiber 9 protein