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MyFitnessPal Community

need vegetarian input

ddky

I am trying to help someone who is a vegetarian. She didn't get overweight eating vegetables. It is because her diet consisted mostly of starches and cheeses. Can you give me some ideas for protein other than beans and peanut butter for dinners. Breakfasts and lunches are covered. It is dinner ideas that I need. Any great tofu ideas that are fairly easy? Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

Replies

epie2098

Fairly easy tofu:

http://www.pbs.org/food/fresh-tastes/asian-baked-tofu/
http://whiskflipstir.com/2010/10/04/general-tso-tofu/

These are also insanely easy (going down my favourites list on explorer lol):

http://veganflavorista.wordpress.com/2013/07/28/korean-style-soy-curls/
http://www.thecurvycarrot.com/2011/03/06/black-bean-burgers/
http://www.feastie.com/blog/spicy-vegetarian-chili-and-best-cornbread
http://bevcooks.com/2012/09/kidney-bean-and-quinoa-soft-tacos/
http://edibleventures.blogspot.ca/2010/04/broccoli-polenta.html
http://www.savvyeat.com/pizza-lentils/

And for veganizing anything:

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/vegetarian-starter-kit/

graycalico

Quinoa is awesome! A lot of the time I make it in vegetable broth with black beans and corn and add fresh cilantro.

pillbug89

Try tempeh. Tofu isnt fermented and blocks the absorption of nutrients! Be careful with soy!

Eat2Live2Run

Eggs can be for dinner too.

ddky

Fairly easy tofu:

http://www.pbs.org/food/fresh-tastes/asian-baked-tofu/
http://whiskflipstir.com/2010/10/04/general-tso-tofu/

These are also insanely easy (going down my favourites list on explorer lol):

http://veganflavorista.wordpress.com/2013/07/28/korean-style-soy-curls/
http://www.thecurvycarrot.com/2011/03/06/black-bean-burgers/
http://www.feastie.com/blog/spicy-vegetarian-chili-and-best-cornbread
http://bevcooks.com/2012/09/kidney-bean-and-quinoa-soft-tacos/
http://edibleventures.blogspot.ca/2010/04/broccoli-polenta.html
http://www.savvyeat.com/pizza-lentils/

And for veganizing anything:

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/vegetarian-starter-kit/

thank you. I will check these out.

ddky

Quinoa is awesome! A lot of the time I make it in vegetable broth with black beans and corn and add fresh cilantro.

I had forgotten about quinoa. I will keep it in mind. I have made her a soup before that is vegetable broth simmered with chopped onion, black beans, white beans, kidney beans and a can of ro-tel tomatoes. That was pretty good. I think I could just add the quinoa to that. Thanks!

ddky

Try tempeh. Tofu isnt fermented and blocks the absorption of nutrients! Be careful with soy!

Never heard of it. I don't know if it is available here, but I will check on it. thanks.

ddky

Eggs can be for dinner too.

I agree. I love breakfast for supper, but bacon would be involved for me. Unfortunately, she doesn't like eggs. She is not opposed to them, she does eat food that contain eggs, but she doesn't like them by themselves. That is a big part of my problem. There are a lot of foods that she doesn't like. She is trying to eat veggies that she hadn't eaten before. She actually liked the spaghetti squash. Thanks.

veg_runner

Just tell her to lay off eggs and dairy and refined oils and focus and high carbohydrate foods like potatoes and other starches. If she keeps the fat low and the carbs high it won't be a problem. If she tries to starve herself eating just low calorie vegetables then she will binge out on the junk. Recommend to her that she read "The Starch Solution" by Dr. Mcdougall as well. Hope this helps.

ddky

Just tell her to lay off eggs and dairy and refined oils and focus and high carbohydrate foods like potatoes and other starches. If she keeps the fat low and the carbs high it won't be a problem. If she tries to starve herself eating just low calorie vegetables then she will binge out on the junk. Recommend to her that she read "The Starch Solution" by Dr. Mcdougall as well. Hope this helps.

Cheese will be the big thing. She eats too much cheese. I am looking for alternatives. She will be eating a lot of the carbs that Dr. Mcdougall pushes. Potatoes and sweet potatoes and corn. Thanks for your input.

AlexisJ330

Yves soy crumbles are a great replacement for ground beef. I use it in sloppy joes, tacos, etc. It has low cal and very low fat and high protein.

Tempeh is also very versatile and doesn't need prepped like tofu.

Both are commonly located near the tofu in a refrigerated section of the store.

Making your own black bean burgers are also very easy.

Best vegan cookbook with various protein sources is the candle cafe cookbook. It is from a small vegan cafe in NYC and gives great easy recipes. You can google it or find it on amazon.

Commander_Keen

2 words
Boca
Morning star
Great company

AlexisJ330

2 words
Boca
Morning star
Great company

Be careful on the amount of sodium in the frozen foods. But they are good for a quick meal.

Commander_Keen

2 words
Boca
Morning star
Great company

MorningWhispers

tell her to snack on nuts - walnuts are really good.

or when she cooks something to toss some nuts on top like almond slivers on green beans.

cinnabear22

I've been making my own veggie burgers. Try

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Homemade-Black-Bean-Veggie-Burgers/Detail.aspx?evt19=1

They taste better than morningstar, and I'm obsessed with Morningstar products! My 5 year old son even loves them and he doesn't like beans, peppers or onion so I was really surprised. Lentil soup and stir fry is good. Even spaghetti with a zucchini, squash, onion stir fry on top is great to me. I've been a vegetarian for 14 years now.. I've gotten pretty creative. Good luck!

benol1

The previous poster who warned people to be careful of soy - no disrespect intended but it is not correct.
Soy has some amazing health properties. Its been linked to a reduced prevalence of cervical and uterine cancers and a diet replete with soy is also linked to shrinkage of abdominal fat.
-- www.nutritionfacts.org

Tofu is amazingly versatile. Throw it into a stir fry with other vegetables with black-bean sauce, or your favourite thai curry sauce - or whatever. Apart from the websites offered above - I recommend that your friend look at some cookbooks including Madhur Jaffrey's Eastern Vegetarian Cooking (a classic) and her World Vegetarian Cookbook. There are several different types of tofu which relate to its texture: firm, medium firm, and silken tofu. Silken tofu is great for soups (miso soup) but will scramble if put in a stir fry.

Tempeh is also an excellent product. It is soybeans innoculated with koji culture. It has a different texture to tofu and different flavour profile. Part of my dinner last night was a serving of tempeh, brown onion and portobello mushroom lightly fried in rice bran oil, with chilli and tamari (soy sauce).

If your friend is a vegetarian then I would also recommend a range of quorn products. It should be in the frozen section of your supermarket. Its sometimes derided as "fake meat" or "fake chicken". It is made from a mycoprotein and depending on the product, the texture is either like chicken, fish or meat. I have often used the quorn mince in a spaghetti bolognaise sauce and my kids didn't know that they were eating a vegetarian meal. Likewise, the quorn stir-fry pieces are texturally almost identical to chicken. You can also get quorn in a variety of convenience foods such as fish-like fillets, quorn sausage rolls, lasagne, and etc.

Having returned to a vegan diet recently following a 25-year break, I cannot tell you what a great decision it was. I've ditched diary and nearly all processed foods and feel fantastic. I also know that I am eliminating or significantly reducing nearly all risk factors associated with early death from disease. In your situation, I would encourage your friend to ditch diary.
kind regards,

Ben

ddky

Thanks to everyone that replied. You have given me some great ideas. I really appreciate it.

redraidergirl2009

Just tell her to lay off eggs and dairy and refined oils and focus and high carbohydrate foods like potatoes and other starches. If she keeps the fat low and the carbs high it won't be a problem. If she tries to starve herself eating just low calorie vegetables then she will binge out on the junk. Recommend to her that she read "The Starch Solution" by Dr. Mcdougall as well. Hope this helps.

Cheese will be the big thing. She eats too much cheese. I am looking for alternatives. She will be eating a lot of the carbs that Dr. Mcdougall pushes. Potatoes and sweet potatoes and corn. Thanks for your input.

If she likes mexican food let her eat it but skip the cheese, tacos are delicious with some guac or pico de gallo and flavorful. No need for lots of cheese there.