Vegetarian & Carbs ... Meal Plans / Ideas?

Being that I'm gluten intolerant, I didn't really kick up my carbs (wanted to, but gluten free stuff is too pricey and half of it has eggs or milk in it - I went vegan).

There are vegan/vegetarian groups you can join on myfitnesspal and they have recipe recommendations. Raw is usually best, but obviously not everyone switches to that (I'm not 100% raw).

Some blogs w/ recipes galores: spicedblueberryshake, ohsheglows, thisrawsomeveganlife, rawon10, peta, compassion over killing, glutenfreevegan, vegandad, stayingvegan, tofupress, etc. you can also use eathismuch.com and change the settings to vegetarian or vegan.

Also, get familiar with your produce section! Eat those tomatoes, rainbow chard, spinach, starfruit, papaya, peaches, grapes, strawberries, blueberries, ginger root, green onions, apples, bananas, grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, mangoes, cucumbers, carrots, onions, bok choy, avocados, lettuce, kale, red chard, raspberries, etc. Go to whole foods, get some agave nectar (or honey), try out nutritional yeast, sesame seeds, flax seed, hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, get walnuts, cashews, almonds, store some black beans, get some tofu-- try hiyayakko (tofu with soy sauce, green onions, and grated ginger root, little preparation, looks good and tastes good). Get some soy sauce. Go to a Banana Leaf or look up vegetarian or vegan eats you have in your area. Look at the community market, they usually have tons of vegetarian/vegan stuff.

Just get stuff and start throwing it together! One day I brought a starfruit salad to work (you cut the starfruit and it's just star shapes automatically) with blueberries, diced tomatoes, spinach, lettuce, sliced strawberries, and sliced starfruit and I got so many compliments and told how "fancy" it was. It seriously took me less than five minutes to throw it all in a container. And it tasted super good, too!

Mash up some avocado with agave nectar, stir until you have a sauce type consistency, spread it on a chard leaf, dice up tomatoes, onions, ground up some walnuts, and throw those in it, maybe dice some cucumbers, and throw them on the chard leaf and roll it up!

Get some rice paper from the grocery store (usually in the international aisles, marked "asian cuisine" if you're in America- if not, I'm sure you can figure out where it's out in your grocery store). Just plain rice paper that you got soak in cold water for a few seconds (around 15). Fill it with blueberries, kale, raspberries, carrots, avocado, then told it up like a burrito and you have a summer roll up.

Watch some youtube videos on how to make sushi and make vegetarian rolls (with carrots, avocados, and celery, usually-- though you can pretty much put whatever you want in there).

Start carrying bananas and apples with you or whatever your favorite fruit it!

ETA: Oh, yeah, and DEFINITELY get some quinoa, that stuff is AMAZING. One time I ate it with spinach and tomatoes and had so much energy, I went a walked outside for an hour.

Hope this helps!!

I was a vegetarian for 10 years and I got up to over 270 pounds at one time. I transitioned back to meat after developing iron-deficiency anemia. I am currently testing it out again now that I have lost the weight. I may transition into 80% veg 20% meat permenantly. BLAH BLAH BLAH, I created a Pinterest page that has lots of healthy options. You can see some of the good stuff that's out there on the page below. You don't have to follow me or anything, but you can see some of the goodies that are available.

http://www.pinterest.com/missyahall2/

I've been a vegetarian for about 8 years.. For most of that time I mostly ate bread, pizza, and other processed and junky foods. For some reason people assume that being a vegetarian means instantly being healthier, but that is the farthest thing from the truth! Now, my meals each day usually follow the same structure and have been working awesome for me. I've been staying at a steady low weight and have lots of energy.I find eating carb heavy (with fruits) in the mornings keep my full all day.

Breakfast: oatmeal with protein powder and fruit, fruit smoothie w/ protein powder, or egg/tofu scramble w/ toast and veggies

luch: salad w/protein, 3 ingredient pancake (30g of protein and barely 300 calories!!), soup, cauliflower rice

dinner: salad or stri fry with/ veggie meat or some sort of protein

Some low calorie/carb foods I've found and love to eat: pb2 (45 calories and 5g of protein!!!), mushroom or zuchini noodles, Joseph's Flax Pita Bread (50 calories w/ 5g of protein)