Brand new to vegetarian diet
Posted by jeffreyd on Oct 31, 2009 · Member since Oct 2009 · 3 posts
Hello all, i am hoping to find some help with my new diet choice. Due to a health issue, i have opted to move to a no meat type diet. Being a red meat person all of my life, this is new and going to be tough. My biggest concern is finding enough food that offers protein. Any suggestions and thoughts are greatly appreciated.
Kind Regards,
Jeff
with a vegan or vegetarian diet protein will never be a problem like many believe!!! google it i swear u can find it in vegan meat substitutes (tofu, tempeh, seitan), beans and even some veggies!!! this site is a life saver with so many awesome recipes as well as awesome people to help... do not rule things out u haven't liked before because for the most part it is all about how u cook it (tofu for example)... good luck u will def not have a problem with protein TRUST ME! total myth!
Welcome, Jeff! As Amy said you'll have no trouble getting your protein. And I bet you'll find all kinds of amazing new dishes to try. May I suggest you start small by adding red lentils to a tomato pasta sauce? :)
Thanks for the replies, the one issue i have is a strong acid based such as tomato sauce. I am just starting to come off of clear and noodle soup with small amounts of chicken, not my favorite. i went out this am and bought several "new" veggies and will locate some recipes to see what i can come up with for them. I do agree the the recipes are seamlessly endless so it is just taking the time to do some research and find out what i like the most. i have tried tofu, not my favorite but one thing is that it will absorb the flavor that you put with it. Baby steps are what i am looking at, i went from a 2000 cal diet to just over 1200 somedays not that much. I appreciate your support and thoughts.
Regards,
Jeff
Hi Jeff. Welcome to VegWeb!
I think baby steps in your case sounds like a good approach and I'm happy that you are staying open minded to new things.
Once your health is up to par, the "golden rule" for vegetarians and protein is that "if you're eating enough calories from a wide variety of foods, you're getting enough protein".
Two key ideas "adequate calories" and "variety". So get your nutrition from whole grains (whole grain cereal, breads, and pastas, as well as brown rice, try quinoa which is a 'complete' protein by itself), fruits and vegetables (variety, variety, variety to include green leafies and fruit like berries), legumes (beans of all sorts, including lentils), nuts and seeds (enjoy a wide variety, but in moderation, nuts are some of the most healthy vegetarians foods there are) soy products (not overly processed meat analogs(which have their place, but shouldn't be a staple) but tofu, miso, soy milk (unsweetened and in moderation) and tempeh) and finally healthy fats like avacodo, olive oil, hemp oil, flax and nuts/seeds.
For extra protein boosts try non-soy powders found in health food stores such as rice protein or hemp protein.
It's a process. The above diet describes me, but certainly not me 20 years ago when I started. I also enjoy junk food from time to time (see my avatar of me eating coconut ice cream).
I'm quite confident that if you eat a variety of whole foods, you'll not only get enough protein but you'll thrive and your health problems will diminish.
Great advice from Tweety as usual :)
thanks for the reply, i did try a soy veggie burger tonight, was not too bad. had some asparagus with it along with some dried cranberries and half an avacado. for snack had soy milk (not too bad) with some whole grain cereal and a banana. in the am i have soy sausage with fake eggs some yorgurt and granola with fruit. i enjoy all of it so it might not be too bad. thanks for the advise. jeff
Jeff -- good for you, looking to get healthier! An easy tip I learned when I first went veggie was to look for lots of different colors in my diet. If everything is GBD (golden brown and delicious) then way too much is deep fried! Nowadays, a lot of my protein comes from the organic canned beans from Whole Foods -- I make sure to rinse them before I add them to whatever I'm making, like kidney beans in my salads, or garbanzo beans steamed with kale and onions, or adding black beans to salsa. --ss
Its fun to try new things! Keep up the great work!