Filling Vegetarian Food

It is a difficulty as protein is the best filling option. Best sources of protein for vegetarians (assuming your doing it full vege and not eating fish) are in three groups. Nuts and seeds, pulses (ie beans and lentils) and grains (your pasta and rice. If you have any two of those groups in one meal you're getting complete protein (i.e all the protein groups). That's not too difficult if you think about it - peanut butter sandwiches, baked beans on toast, throwing some lentils or chickpeas into a pasta sauce. also including cheese and any sort of egg dish - omelettes, poached eggs, that sort of thing, can help.

As for staying full, though, try cutting down on the carbs as much as you can and fill up on the vegetables instead. A plate of cauliflower sprinkled with some feta and relish can be a good replacement for pasta, and a nice soup or two can really help without pushing your calories up too much.

You might also try checking out the vegetarian options at the supermarket - there are lots of vegetarian sausages around. Tofu's good too (check out the internet for recipes for this - it's delicious if you know what to do with it!) and quorn as well. Some of these products are ghastly though so I suggest just trying one or two a week and not getting put off if you don't like one!

I've been vegetarian going on 20 years now, and my husband his entire life - it can be great if you do it sensibly! Best of luck.

It can be a real problem, especially as you're still settling into being a vegetarian. I can recommend three things.

1. You might see if your vegetables and vegetarian proteins are the physical bulk of your meals. If they're not, that might explain the carb dependence, and maybe you can try to shift your ratios instead of dropping the carby things. My pasta dinner tonight was a mix of a few cups of cooked onions, peppers, spinach, and broccoli, some white beans, some tomato sauce, and a small portion of whole wheat noodles, with a sprinkle of cheese. It was really filling, still had the carbs I wanted, and was arguably "good" for me. Play with your own ratios when cooking?

2. While nutrition and what will make you feel full and good is always personal, for *me* it's been important to make sure I'm including enough ("good") fat to also feel full. I skipped this a lot when I was first trying to lose weight and also found myself reaching for more rice, another piece of bread, etc. Now I try to add a bit of something slightly fatty to every meal: some avocado, a bit of good cheese, a fried egg, some sriracha mayo, light cream cheese, etc.

3. So what you really wanted was to know about other foods. Have you tried out: spaghetti squash, roasting vegetables you maybe haven't always liked (eggplant, Brussels sprouts, parsnips, cauliflower), using cauliflower to make "rice"/couscous? I find stuffed things pretty filling: stuffed peppers, stuffed eggplant, and stuffed zucchini go over well. Easiest thing you might try is also simple substitution for things that might feel more satiating: sweet potatoes/yams instead of regular potatoes, buy only whole wheat versions of breads and pastas, try out protein-fortified granola or cereal.

HollywoodXL wrote: »

I have been vegetarian for 4 months now. I went cold turkey vegetarian and weighed 290lbs. I've been doing great staying vegetarian HOWEVER, in order to remain "full" at times I find myself eating lots of carbs (bread, pasta, potatoes) because they sit well and kill my hunger. Any suggestions on "filling" vegetarian foods that aren't as heavy or carb loaded as these options??

What wrong with Pasta, bread and potatoes. All good foods especially of your going wholgrain pasta and bread

Avocado or other fat sources in a salad.
Adding some healthy fats that you have to chew (so not oil) will help you stay full for longer.
Also some protein will fill you up (feta, tempeh or tofu in salads tastes great too).

Since it sounds like gluten agrees with you, I highly recommend seitan as a protein source! You can make it yourself pretty easily, but is also available premade. I find it as satisfying and filling as meat.

Quinoa is very filling, look for recipes with this, you can make quinoa burgers and they're pretty good. Hummus is also pretty filling. I sometimes have hummus for lunch and it keeps me full until dinner.

I'm not a vegetarian, but I eat a decent amount of meatless meals. Some of my favorites that are really filling are chickpeas, lentils and beans. Tonight I'm actually doing a chickpea and kale stew, I do a lot of curries with these items too.

My favorite meat substitutes are made by Gardein. My non-vegetarian husband loves the 3 grain chik n strips. Some meat substitutes are terrible, though, so try different things and don't be put off by it. You'll find some things you love! Vegetables and beans are also very filling. Have you tried peanut butter with bananas or apples? Delicious! I also add hard boiled eggs and a sprinkle of cheese to my salads.