As you might have guessed by the thread title, I’m thinking about becoming a vegetarian. I’ve tried this before, years ago, back when I had a terrible diet, and both times I finally broke down and had a burger.
Over the last couple of years I’ve been eating more whole foods and significantly less meat – maybe 3-4 oz. per serving and usually only chicken, turkey or deli ham. I’m beginning to wonder if I’m at a point where I could painlessly transition to a vegetarian diet.
One reason I figure I might succeed this time is because I have different motivations than I had before, and multiple reasons instead of a single reason. I also happen to have about four months off from my usual hectic schedule, which doesn’t hurt when you’re trying to make a lifestyle change.
Nonetheless, I’m more than a little timid, and somewhat worried about becoming malnourished. I currently get most of my protein from meat, though beans are a pretty regular staple of my diet at this point. I don’t have a big appetite, so sometimes I feel like I have to really cram in a lot of nutrients as it is. And while I have a ton of free time now, that definitely won’t last forever, so I need to adapt a nutrition plan that will fit into my crazy busy schedule.
I’m just hoping for some insight from veteran vegetarians as to what I should be looking into, what resources I might access, things I need to look out for, supplements I’ll need to take, cooking tips and secrets, shopping tips and secrets, good recipes, and help getting through the withdrawal period. I plan to go shopping today and I’m not even really sure where to begin.
Oh, two things I should add–
First, while I fell off the wagon over this last couple of months, I plan to return to a very active lifestyle, daily exercise up to one hour, running, etc. So whatever I eat will have to sustain a high level of activity.
Second, my diet is already somewhat restricted due to IBS. I must generally avoid foods that are high in sugar, highly processed, or dairy. I can make some exceptions. I’m not going to turn down an ice cream sundae every once in a while, and I regularly eat cheese, for example, but not milk or yogurt.
Caveat: IANA strict vegetarian, though I cook like one.
My opinion: if you don’t eat tofu OR much dairy, protein can be a little harder to get in good amounts, but it’s definitely possible. How do you feel about eggs?
Do you eat whole grains already? If so, adding legumes (lentils are one of my favorites as not only do I like the taste, they’re really fast) will be even more productive, nutritionally speaking.
ETA: Also, do you want to avoid tofu for taste reasons or IBS-related reasons? 'Cause if it’s for taste, there are lots of ways to sneak it in things such that it doesn’t affect taste or texture noticeably – ways you won’t be interested in hearing about if it irritates your system.
I meant that more as a joke because it’s the stereotypical vegetarian staple, but I do have some reason to believe the soy products might be a trigger for IBS. I currently drink rice milk instead of soy milk and try not to eat products with soy in them, but I don’t know if it’s the soy itself or some other ingredient in processed food that bothers me so much.
IOW, I’m willing to try tofu, not too worried about the taste, but I have to have other alternatives at the ready.
On preview: I like eggs. I have to eat them with something, like a whole grain or leafy green, in order to avoid stomach problems. I eat whole grains frequently – brown rice, quinoa, brown rice and kamut pasta, as well as 100% whole grain bread. I try to eat a minimum of 25g fiber daily. And I track what I eat, both calorically and nutritionally, using an online tool.
Without hearing your replies to my questions above, here are a couple of tips I think might be helpful.
Invest in spices and bottled sauces that you love, and keep them handy. Now, while you have a little extra time, you can try things and stock up on what works for you if you don’t already have an arsenal. I keep shakers of high-quality garlic powder, lemon pepper, and ground chipotle; jars or bottles of Thai hot pepper sauce (sriacha), my favorite soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, good brown mustard, balsamic vinegar, pomegranate concentrate, ginger paste, and Chinese black bean sauce handy – a stir-fry or hot dish that turns out depressingly bland, or even plain brown rice, can be made pretty tasty with one or more of these.
Re rice: a good automatic rice cooker that does brown rice well is our household’s greatest nutritional weapon. It makes it ridiculously easy to have brown rice available 24/7. Many people also use one for other whole grains, like coarse oatmeal. When whole grains are your foundation, everything else healthy is just easier. We have a Zojirushi “Neuro Fuzzy” model circa 2004 or so, which tewtelly rawks, but I’m sure there are other good models out there now.
Discover www.nutsonline.com. they have lots and lots of yummy ways to serve nuts and soy beans. Honey roasted soy beans ferinstance. I have become accustomed to keeping a large variety of nuts in the house, and tossing a few in to the pot whenever possible.
Get to know edamame. Fresh soy beans, available in frozen form at Trader Joes and some super markets, are about the size and texture of large lima beans, with a similar taste if you added a touch of egg yolk to the flavor. Any time I’m making mixed vegetables I throw a few in there. Likewise with soups or casseroles. If you slice them open they’ll pick up the flavors around them - otherwise I find them a bit too “yolky.”
Another great source is http://www.glutenfree.com/index.cfm . Gluten free baking mixes are largely based upon almond flour. Yummy muffins, high protein, high fiber. Can’t beat it! I have been successful in substituting 1/2 of the flour in any recipe for almond meal. You can also try 1 pt almond, 1 pt lentil, 2pts regular wheat flour. Lentil flour is another great way to eat what you love while increasing nutrition.
As for tofu - have you tried using the extra firm variety? A lot lf people get put off by the texture of soft tofu, and just never try it again. Tofu will pick up the flavor of whatever you cook it in, so it’s easy to blend into things. Like if I want a Peanut butter sandwich, I’ll mix a tablespoon each of PB and soft tofu.
Or if I’m making soup, I’ll slice up firm tofu into matchsticks and toss it in. Ditto if I’m sauteing onions.
It’s just a matter of thinking about adding a bit of protein into everything. What is hard to get as a vegetarian is a “slug” of protein. That big steak feeling, although not necessarily pleasant, is nonetheless satisfying. I find that if I keep my protein and iron levels high enough, I don’t get the craving. If I let it go 3-4 days in a row, well, let’s just say you’d best not stand between me and the Prime Rib. . .
I have a theory that this is why the “bacteria tea” (sorry, I’ve forgotten the name of it) is becoming so popular. My theory is that the people are mostly vegetarians, and the tea contains amino acids they are craving. I just can’t think of any other explanation. . .
ETA: Barilla Plus pasta is also great. It is part semolina, lentil flour, so it’s higher in protein than most.
MHO: why bother being completely strictly vegetarian? It’s not like quitting smoking or heroin or something where one taste of flesh is going to push your into a spiral of decay until you’re shooting up $300 of pure steak tartare a day. If you can eat a lot of vegetables, beans, low-fat, small amounts of chicken or fish and an occasional steak, that’s perfectly healthy. And maybe allowing yourself an occasional burger will let you keep on the long-term healthy eating track the rest of the time. (And, again in my ever-so-humble opinion, using your self-discipline resources on exercising is more important than making sure you don’t have a sip of chicken broth).
That said, eating more yummy beans is almost always good (and if you do a search here, there are lots of threads). One piece of quick advice: go to a sushi/Japanese place (see, pleasant advice!), and order cold tofu. It should come with soy sauce and sesame oil, maybe some scallions, and be delicious. That’s four ingredients and about 15 seconds of preparation for you once you know what it’s supposed to be like. In fact, that’s my advice for any new ingredient – go eat some made by someone who’s already figured out how to make it taste good, so now you know what you’re shooting for at home. And that doesn’t necessarily mean going to Vegetarian Restaurants. The Italian place probably has a good minestrone, the falafel stand doesn’t care if you get the lamb or the falafel & hummus roll-up, and the taqueria may even have lard in their beans, but you can make them yourself without lard, etc.
I have to second Barilla Plus pasta. It doesn’t taste anything like the average “not quite” pasta, and it’s got a ton of protein in it.
Also agreed on getting only the extra-firm tofu, and not the stuff in the “juice box” (aseptic/shelf-stable) packaging, either, but the kind in the refrigerator case that comes in a tub of water with plastic over the top. (That is never anything resembling “firm” regardless of what the label says.) If you’re worried, start with the pre-cut, pre-flavored kinds and go from there. Or try the “fake meat” products and see if you like them. Boca, Morningstar, and Quorn are good brands to start with.
One way I like using tofu is to freeze it (even as-is in the tub of water), then thaw, press the water out like you’re pushing on a sponge (wrap it in clean paper towels/clean dish towel, place a heavy-ish weight of some kind on top), cube it small, and soak in some kind of flavoring. It turns the tofu into a more chewy sort of a protein rather than more crumbly. (Make the cubes smallish and flavor well or you might think it’s more like a sponge - it needs something to soak up!) If you’re long-cooking a bean-based chili dish, you can add in the tofu and let it soak up all the good spicy/tomatoey flavor. If you don’t long-cook it, soak the tofu ahead.
I eat a fair amount of beans, too. Besides soybeans/edamame (which also come in a handy frozen form, either in the pod or out), I eat mostly chickpeas/garbanzos and black beans. For a fast, super protein meal I mix cooked black beans with cooked Barilla Plus pasta, use a mild or medium good-flavored salsa as the sauce, and add whatever other veggies in that I might want. I either keep canned beans on hand, or make beans from dried to freeze over the weekend. Overnight I’ll soak the dried beans in water in the fridge, then drain them the next morning, add new water and the beans to a crockpot, and cook a few hours until they’re done (to taste). Then I drain again, let cool, and scoop by one-cup measures into freezer bags. They take very little time to thaw out for meals.
Re eggs: you should probably do your own research and come to your own conclusions about this issue, since the scientific consensus is definitely still evolving, but I am currently of the opinion that egg cholesterol is not to be worried about by folks that don’t get much cholesterol elsewhere. Eggs, especially with a little cheese, show up in lots of delicious healthy recipes, and have lots of very digestible protein.
Re tofu: it’s very easy to dice up and add to other things, like stir-fry, lentil salad, spaghetti sauce, etc. I personally also love it as part of a hot sandwich – we call them Yummy Tofu Sandwiches at our house – my husband marinates slices of tofu, cooks them in a skillet with a little safflower oil, and piles them up with tomatoes, lettuce or other leafy greens, and whatever other goodies we have around (avocado is my favorite) with mustard and horseradish on our favorite seedy bread, toasted. Good lord, I’m drooling.
Unless it’s gone bad, tofu doesn’t taste like much, and soaks up the flavors you add to it. If you don’t like the texture, you can still mash it or dice it and add it in small amounts if you want to. It’s also cheap and a container lasts for several weeks in the fridge before you open it. But it’s not a super-food all on its own; it’s not hugely more nutritious than regular beans and lentils. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a convenience food that conveniently hasn’t had the nutrition processed out of it.
Totally overgeneralized rule of thumb: Roughly one part legumes to two parts whole grains optimizes protein yield. I base this on the classic but probably outdated Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe. The companion book, * Recipes for a Small Planet* by Ellen Buchman Ewald, covers Lappe’s nutrition basics (“protein complementarity”) at the beginning in easy-to-follow format… and then gives recipes that all too often taste like you’d expect vegetarian hippie food to taste like.
To go with my previous post, another tip…
A good pressure-cooker is wonderful for impromptu legumes. All beans benefit from soaking before cooking, but you don’t have to soak if you have a pressure cooker. (Soaking, and discarding the soak water, also helps remove the farty compounds – 'scuse me, “oligosaccharides”-- so if you think of it enough ahead of time, it’s still worth it.)
I’m also going vegetarian (right now I eat chicken since it’s the least environmentally taxing of the meats), but next year I’ll probably have access to less funds so I won’t be able to buy chicken, tofu, or much dairy (all three of which are expensive here). My co-workers and I eat a pretty healthy diet with a lot of variety. It’s difficult to figure out ways to get enough protein at first, and I recommend supplementing your diet with protein shakes and/or power bars during the beginning, but over time, you’ll learn how to fix yourself amazing meals. I work an extremely demanding job where I spend a lot of my time running around and climbing up and down hills with a huge pack on my back in 95+ weather. If I can remain healthy on a veggie diet doing this job, you should be fine with your job.
First, get some good veggie cookbooks. I normally use allrecipes.com when planning meals, although the veggie section isn’t the best it could be. Luckily, I live with a bunch of veggie cooks, so I can ask my coworkers for help. We use beans to make yummy chilies, delicious soups, and all sorts of good dishes like hummus and falafel, black bean burgers, gallo pinto, and salads.
The soft tofu is best for the deserts and the hard tofu can be marinated and cooked in spices so it is delicious. When planning a meal, I’ll go to a site like allrecipes and look up basic veggie dishes and just add more. For example, this Sweet and Spicy Green beans is excellent if you add tofu and a few other veggies and serve over a high quality starch.
I also try to get my protein in my deserts. I eat a lot of desert because my activity level is so high, and I like to make things like oatmeal peanut butter cookies or silken tofu pie. In addition to peanut butter, you can get types of nuts prepared like peanut butter which can add flavor to your dishes and make interesting sandwiches.
Thanks all, this is excellent advice. I’m going to buy a rice cooker today, because damn, cooking real, quality rice is a PITA.
And I guess I will forage into the world of tofu.
Just curious–are there any non-soy meat alternatives or common recipe additives? I ask because my husband is allergic to soy, and it would be cool if I could share some of my new tasty recipes with him.
Well, the answer to this question is largely dependent on my reason for becoming vegetarian. I’ve been a meat-eating Buddhist for approximately 9 years now, rationalizing my decision with the fact that if something’s already dead, I might as well eat it. Lately I’ve been watching a series of documentaries that has influenced a re-thinking of this rationale. The first (*Examined Life*–link to the badass trailer) was a series of philosophical discussions which included an interview with the philosopher Peter Singer, one of the most influential animal rights activists of all time, who made an off-the-cuff remark that I haven’t been able to get out of my head. The second film (Food, Inc.) raised the important, and I guess, obvious point, that production of meat is driven by consumer demand. As the film put it, we have the chance to vote on issues of food production 3x per day.
So I have made the decision not to be a consumer of meat. I’ve got no problem with eating meat at a guest’s house, or consuming whatever meat is left in my house, because it has already been consumed–the vote has already been cast, so to speak. Even Buddhist monks will eat meat if it is offered to them.
But I think when I have a direct influence over decisions of consumption, choosing not to purchase meat is more in line with the spiritual framework I have chosen to live by.
And no, lest anyone feel themselves bristle, that’s not a judgment against anyone else. I don’t push my beliefs on others. I just think this is best for me.
Seitan is a wheat-based “fake meat”; it’s pretty much pure wheat gluten with flavoring, so obviously not a choice for someone with celiac disease. Sometimes you can find it in the same kind of water-packed tub as tofu.
Quorn is a “mushroom” (read: fungus) based product that’s really pretty yummy. They contain a small amount of egg and/or dairy in each, but I haven’t seen any soy ingredients. My favorite is their “naked” chik’n cutlet which is similar to a chicken breast in taste/texture. It has a chewy, decent flavor. I cut it into cubes or bits and mix it into other food where chicken might be used, like stir fry and the like.
Soup is easy to make, easy to freeze, hard to mess up, and easy to adjust the taste if you don’t like how it turns out. I would echo **Quercus **in adding that if you crave meat taste (rather than meat texture or the whole meat experience), try a meat broth base for a batch of soup full of healthy veggies.
My favorite of these is hot borscht. If my husband makes it, he adds chunks of lean beef, too, which I mostly avoid when ladling up a bowl.
Borscht, adapted from 1975 ed. Joy of Cooking, p. 175
All amounts approximate, especially the veggies.
Grate or chop fine and put in a big stock pot:
[ul]
[li]1 c. carrots[/li][li]2 c. sweet onions[/li][li]4 c. pared **beets **(about 1.5 - 2 pounds)[/li][/ul]
Barely cover with boiling water; simmer 20 min. Add:
[ul]
[li]1/4 c. **butter **[/li][li]2 c. beef broth (or vegetable broth or even plain water, if you prefer. I use “Better than Bouillon” brand paste dissolved in water.)[/li][li]3/4 c. red wine[/li][li]1/3 c. balsamic vinegar[/li][li]2 c. shredded cabbage [/li][li]1 tablespoon dried dill weed (or more or less to taste – fresh works too)[/li][/ul]
Simmer 15 min.
Taste; may need salt, depending on the broth you used.
May also benefit from a tablespoon of sugar, depending on how sweet your root vegetables were.
I also like to add a dash of Tabasco.
When serving, optionally add a tablespoon or two of sour cream (“light” sour cream tastes just as good, to me at least, while “fat free” tastes different and doesn’t blend in the soup as well).
Also optionally add grated cucumber.
Especially good with **pumpernickel **bread.
If you want to add beef, use a pound or two of stew beef; cut into 1" - 1.5" chunks and add them with the beets. Optionally, first dredge the chunks in flour and black pepper and brown in a skillet.
ETA: I’m slow today – just read your reasons for going vegetarian. I have often made the above recipe with vegetable broth, and it is good that way, too.
As for meat alternatives, someone has already mentioned seitan so I will mention tempeh. This is usually made from soybeans, but some non-soy varieties are becoming available.
If you have any Ethiopian restaurants near you by all means try them out for ideas. The two I’ve been to most recently, we got the vegetarian platters. They included wonderfully spiced dishes of legumes, and some nice kale and cabbage dishes. As I said to Prince Charming at the time, if all vegetarian food tasted that good, it would be much easier to be vegetarian.
Also, try out some veggie “meats”. At least one of the fake bacons I tried would have been perfectly acceptable on a blt. Of course, one of the other brands tasted like it had been rubbed against every carburetor at NASCAR. Try them and see if any work for you.
Re: IBD you may find that it’s the fermented soy products that get to you (in which case seitan is a bad idea.)
When others are doing burgers on the grill, a big thick portabella mushroom cap is a great substitute. I usually marinate in cheap Italian salad dressing bfor about an hour fist, then pop it on the grill.
Anyhoo, the reason I came back is that I forgot to mention chick peas! Anything that can be done with soy, chick peas can be substiuted.
As someone who hasn’t eaten any meat in many, many years (though I eat dairy and seafood) I second this—I generally LOATHE vegetarian restaurants, and eat out all the time. It is not some huge chore to find meatless options (some without any dairy products if that is what you are looking for) in almost any Italian, Mexican, Thai, Chinese, Indian or Greek place, (though some ethnic traditions are a challange—Der Bratwurst Chalet may be a challange) and of course any diner or deli can whip up an omlette and hash browns or a veggie and provalone sub among any other number of choices.
This dosent mean the end of eating out, or being forced to exclusively patronize a tofu and seaweed specality place.
You will be suprised about how not a big deal this will be—Happy eating!!!
One of my favorite dinner staples is stir-fried or curried mixed vegetables. (Always broccoli, carrots, and onions, often bell pepper and/or green beans, sometimes okra, cauliflower, potatoes, or whatever.) Sometimes I’ll throw in some marinated tofu or meat substitute (like the Beefless Strips from Trader Joe’s), but more often I add a handful of whole cashews, which I find fill the same role quite tastily.
If you are craving meaty things, vegetarian substitutes are often fairly close, though of course, this means they are highly processed. You don’t have to eat tofu. Tofu is just edamame beans. You can eat other beans or other protein. The main thing nutrition wise is to eat lots of greens. I recommend the book Eat to Live, which is a primarily vegetarian menu, but not for animal rights reasons, it’s based on The China Study and other nutritional studies and is based on scientific findings about nutrition and health.
So many thanks for these great resources. jack I will look into that book. I have a great recipe book called ‘‘Glorious Greens’’ that is all about the leafy veggies.
Biffy your stir-fry description is making me hungry. I can’t wait to try a recipe like that.
I’m not so hung up on eating things that are like meat, I’m mostly just concerned about getting my protein.
MPB and Quercus your advice is awesome, I now have a great excuse to go out to eat and try new dishes.
I think I may try protein powder and protein flakes at first to boost my protein a bit. I struggle with that regardless of whether I eat meat.
I’m thinking about trying Greek Yogurt. I strongly suspect my regular yogurt problem is related to all the sugar more than the dairy, and I’ve heard the Greek stuff is delicious. I at least have to give it a shot.
Agreed–tofu is tasteless if you don’t do something with it. Also, I dislike the texture unless it’s the soft variety, when placed in a hot and sour soup, for example…Unless it’s stir fried in a Thai or other dish and needs to be firmer.
Oh HORRORS!!!. No, seriously - why was that a problem? There’s nothing wrong with being a “flexitarian” - that is, mostly vegetarian with occassional animal flesh being eaten. It’s not like there’s a Vegetarian Compliance Patrol!
Think about why you want to be vegetarian. If it’s for a healthier diet then absolute compliance is not required. If it’s for ethical reason, well, maybe you don’t want to backslide in that case.
Most people don’t need as much protein as they think they do. For an adult human who is neither pregnant nor lactating protein requirement is 40-60 grams per day (based on a range of normal bodyweights), or 1-2 ounces per day. So if you’re eating 3-4 ounces per meal you’re getting ample protein and then some. If you ate only 4 ounces of protein per day, barring unusual physical circumstances, you’re still getting twice the amount your body absolutely needs.
That’s not going to hurt you (outside of uncommon medical conditions) but insisting on a needlessly high protein content may needlessly complicate your diet.
A balanced vegetarian diet will be able to do that, without having to add gobs and gobs of protein. What you need is proper amounts of ALL nutrients, not just one or two.
No, you don’t have to eat tofu. You don’t have to eat dairy. However, anything you do to restrict your diet means that you must be careful to get those nutrients from another source. Fortunately, getting a wide variety of stuff is much easier these days than in past generations.
It’s also a good idea to keep your diet as varied as possible. Over reliance on any one thing is usually not a good thing.
No problem. Don’t hesitate to mix eggs in with other stuff. Put them in bread, baked goods, cassaroles, soups, various other dishes.
Excellent!
Are you aware quinoa is considered very high in protein among whole grains?
Also - does your online calculator take into account that a whole grain + legume = a whole protein? The combination yields more usable protein than you would think looking at each one individually because of the way their amino acids match up. Basically, each has what the other lacks, so that you body converts more of the food into protein, hence the term “usuable protein”.
If you are eating legumes + whole grains then supplementing with “protein shakes” and “power bars” is completely unnecessary. As most of those shakes and bars are loaded with sugar (either as sugar or as various other sweeteners) this is not a good thing for weight control or anyone who has issues with sugar.
Why? Seitan is not soy and it’s not fermented.
Now, if you have problems with gluten that’s a different matter entirely and yes, the gluten intolerant should definitely avoid seitan, as it’s pure gluten!
Here’s how you get your protein as a vegetarian:
Legume + whole grain. That’s any legume paired with any whole grain. Some are traditional, such as red beans and rice, or pintos and tortillas, but any combination works. Legumes include all the beans, but also lentils, peas, chickpeas… there are a LOT of different legumes in a dizzying number of varieties.
Seeds and nuts. The great thing is that you can add these to a lot of things as extra flavoring and texture. There are nut butters, which are basically ground nuts (the best ones, I think, are the ones with the least additives) from the familar peanut butter to almond, cashew, and other butters.
Tofu - except - tofu is really covered by #1 because it’s made from soybeans which are a legume. Restricting yourself to just tofu is silly, given how many other legumes are out there.
Seitan - which is just the purified protein found in wheat. If you want, you can make this yourself. Although “processed” it’s not as processed as a lot of other meat substitutes. Tofu is processed. Tempeh is processed. Cheese is processed. Processed isn’t always bad, you just have to be thoughtful about what sort of processed stuff you eat.
Eggs
Dairy - don’t forget, there’s more than just cow’s milk out there! It’s not that hard to find products made of sheep and goat’s milk. (Some cultures have used camel and horse milk, too, but those are not so common globally)