New Vegetarian

I'd like some help with this too!

I can quite easily match the calories/carbs/fat - but I find I'm only getting about 50% of my protein. Any ideas on how to boost my protein intake?

For a meat replacement try the Gardein products. I swear they must be made with magic, they are that amazing. Especially the "beef tips".

This! Gardein products are fantastic. They'll also get you the protein you need every day. Boca also has some great products, like meatless chicken nuggets, meatless chicken patties, and veggie burgers.

Also, Smart Bacon - Veggie Bacon Strips. Amazing. They taste so much like bacon!

Good luck! Feel free to add me if you need some vegetarian support!

I am a vegetarian and my diary is open. I don't always make the best choices, and I am seriously due for a good shopping trip, but hopefully you can get some ideas. I never have a problem with protein, and go over on most days.

My basic staple shopping:

Carbs- Quinoa, Brown rice, Barilla plus pasta. orowheat thins, Ezekial 4:9 bread
Fats- raw nuts- cashews/almonds, nut butters, olive oil, coconut oil, avocado, earth balance
Protein- tofu, tempeh, seitan, veggie burgers, (quinoa/nuts again), beans (black, kidney, garbanzo)
Fruit- apples, oranges, pears, prunes, raisins
Fresh Veggies: Spinach, kale, spring mix, onions, bell pepper, cauliflower, asparagus, baby carrots, mushrooms
Frozen veggies- broccoli, spinach, edamame
Snacks: Clif bars, Kashi Go lean Bars, kashi go lean cereal
Dairy/alternatives-Skim milk/soy milk/almond milk, soy yogurt/Fat free greek yogurt, finlandia reduced fat cheeses, parmesan cheese, feta.


Also check out the vegetarian resource group. Great place http://www.vrg.org/

We eat lots of beans. Quinoa, raw nuts, I use cheese and eggs. I don't do tofu or meat replacements that often, but they are good for when you are first making the switch. I use them maybe once or twice a week.

If you are new to it, it takes a little time to get used to. Some suggest gradually giving up meat instead of giving it up cold turkey.

Quorn products are great (tastes like chicken - or at least I think so...but its been a while since I ate real chicken!!0 and they have quite a few different meals/products. its best to go to more organic or 'vegetarian friendly' stores to get the best variety as more mainstream supermarkets only carry a couple of of the items in the produect line, if at all.

happyherbivore.com

lots of great ideas, and really good homemade veggie burgers.

I eat a lot of Eggs, Silk Soy Milk, Greek Yogurt, Cottage Cheese, Edamame (frozen, raw, or dried), Hummus, Post Shredded Wheat, Old Fashioned Oatmeal, Dates, Peanut Butter, Arctic Zero ice cream replacement (actually has quite a bit of protein), and lots of fruits/veggies.

i'm a veggie and almost sorta kinda sometimes vegan I was vegan for 11 years.

Think of it this way- how many animals are there to eat? cow. chicken. fish. pig. lamb.

How many vegetables are there? broccoli. cauliflower. spinach. cabbage. eggplant. tomato. etc. etc. etc.

That is the first thing I think when someone says they are getting bored....

Now my thoughts on what to eat when vegetarian- Mexican food (burritos, nachos, tamales, enchiladas, tortas); African food (peanut yam stew, gomen, misser wat, injera); Indian food (dal, rice, spinach naan, saag); chinese food (veggie fried rice, broccoli and tofu in garlic sauce, veggie dumplings, veggie tempura); japanese food (california rolls, miso soup, edamame beans); American food (corn on the cob, mashed potatoes), italian food (mushroom ravioli, eggplant paremesean, pasta marinera, pasta primavera, pasta aglia y olio), Thai food (pad thai! spring rolls, rad na, tom kah, etc); Vietnamese food (pho!)....

I'm sure there's more.

For protein on a vegan diet it is hard to get 30% of your calories from protein (which is my personal goal, though I do eat eggs). The only way I have seen it happen is to eat lots of soy products- shoot for things like tempeh or sprouted tofu and go organic because non organic soy can be mucho bad for you (so I hear and so I believe). Another option is to use protein powders- you can get non soy protein powders (like Vega's hemp protein powder, or others based on peas and what not) for diversity. I happen to like GNC's soy protein powder the most tho.

And of course there's all those nuts we can eat: hemp seeds, almond butter, peanut butter, hazel nuts, etc.

There's also some good vegan products like soy yogurt which are pretty yummy.

Those are my thoughts!

If you can cook, get some TVP and Vital Wheat Gluten and make your own veggie burgers by adding just about anything you can think of. You can message me for a recipe its really pretty easy though.
If you are vegan this won't work but I've learned that eggs are one of my best friends. I also love quinoa and beans. I don't want to start any argument, but just personal preference I try to stay away from a lot of the processed "meats" like the fake meats there's some questionable ingredients and i'm just not into eating those things. The only ones I do eat regularly are Field Roast wheat protein sausages 23-26g protein per sausage, there's no questions in the ingredient list, and is basically the vital wheat gluten and vegetables and spices. Hope it works out for you, it is hard to stay on a healthy vegetarian diet. It takes some work, you can't just eat non animal products and expect to get the nutrition you need.

My diary is open. Feel free to browse for ideas.

Arctic Zero ice cream replacement (actually has quite a bit of protein)

amazingly delicious

You can't go wrong with brown rice and beans! I'm vegan and this is a staple. It doesn't get boring cause I find yummy ways to jazz it up.
Mexican of course, add some corn avacado cilantro and salsa
Mediteranean add some pine nuts olives sundried tomato and artichoke
Asian add broccoli carrot bean sprouts mushroom and hoisin sauce
Indian use chickpeas and add some cauliflower yam curry powder and coconut milk

So many options it helps if you like beans and rice

I recently started eating more black eyed peas...so good!

Check out my recipes at www.cultavegan.tumblr.com

Vegetarian/vegan groups on MFP:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/search?error_user_id=1362324&error_username=yesthistime&order=0&page=2&phrase=VegetariaN

When I first became a vegetarian I struggled with getting bored as well, now that I've had some experience I rarely ever get bored. There are literally tons and tons of options. I very rarely ever use "fake" meat products. These are some of my go-to meals:

Portobello burgers w/ sweet potato fries
Spicy Okra and Tomatoes over quinoa or brown rice
Black bean and butternut squash chili w/ cornbread waffles
Sweet potato burritos
Refried bean tacos
Eggs benedict with roasted asparagus
Baked potatoes (easy easy easy in the crockpot) with various toppings
Pizza w/ various toppings
Stir fry
Black bean burgers
Lentil soup
Gnocci w/ mushroom and spinach sauce
White bean enchiladas

Just some ideas.

There are soooo many different tasty meals you can have. I was a Vegetarian from 6 - 26 years old and now i'm a Vegan!

I would advise getting yourself a Vegetarian or Vegan cookbook.

Basically you can eat any 'normal' meal you like but just substitute the meat for a meat free alternative eg; Quorn, Tofu, Quinoa and many more that have already been mentioned.

Cottage Pie
Lasagna
Any pasta dishes
Burgers
Sausages
Salads Hot & cold
Wraps / sandwiches
Stir fry
Curry
Vegetable tarts / quiche
Loads more...

Protein shouldn't be an issue for any Vegetarian or Vegan as long as they have balance diet.

The only thing i would say is you are likely to take in more carbs on a Veggie diet

I have oatmeal with berries soya yogurt, dried cranberries and flax seeds for breakfast
Today i had a whole wheat wrap with avocado, herbed tofu, spinach, carrot and lemon for Lunch
Even having whole wheat toast with natural peanut butter as a snack will give you good fats and protein.

Be creative - think outside the box!! :happy: