Vegetarian Diet

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meganewarren
meganewarren Posts: 3 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Made the decision to go vegetarian this weekend! I plan on keeping dairy in my diet and eggs on occasion (only I'll try to just use egg beaters). I was wonder how other vegetarians keep their calories, protein, and all other levels up. Is it difficult? I'm trying to maintain my weight and I don't want this switch to cause me to be deficient in these areas. I think I really just need a plan to stick to daily (things that are good for breakfast, lunch, and dinner) so everything is maintained.

Thanks bunches!

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  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
    edited November 2014
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    I'm not a vegetarian, but will vouch for the Morning Star veggie burgers as being edible, which is more than I'd say for the Boca ones. Good source of protein! Soy is also an excellent and complete source of protein.

    Check out vegetarian boards for great complementary proteins.

    You may have people tell you that you cannot be a healthy vegetarian. It's BS. Your diet can be as healthy or even healthier than a meat eaters'. If you keep an eye on it, you'll be fine.

    If you eat animal products like eggs and dairy, it's unlikely that you'll have B-12 issues, but let the doctor know during your next check-up that you've changed your diet. :)
  • thistimeimgonnamakeit
    thistimeimgonnamakeit Posts: 8
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    If you're keeping dairy in your diet, it shouldn't be that hard (I don't eat dairy, but I eat eggs). The main thing is to really focus on eating vegetables and beans, rather than starches to fill up. You may find that you need to eat more than you did before to stay satiated between meals, but the extra volume should definitely come from vegetables - the calories from extra rice or potatoes add up quickly.

    I try to avoid processed food, including meat substitutes, which means that I spend a fair amount of time on food prep. I do a lot of chopping and roasting on the weekend to speed things up during the week. Now that it is getting cold, soups are great (and make for great leftovers). I also make a pot of lentils, which I eat for breakfast (which sounds weird, but it's like eating oatmeal) - this way I get a big chunk of the day's protein, iron, and fiber in with the first meal of the day.
  • twinkfran
    twinkfran Posts: 54 Member
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    Lentils and beans are really good for protein too - check out Happy Herbivore as she has some good recipes for spicy bean burgers. I also use lentils in cottage pie or chilli. Quionoa is good too - I add to salads. But you should be fine if eating diary/eggs

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