Vegetarians i need your help

[Debater Slayer]

I can't come up with an answer to how slaughtering animals to eat them is justified if the main thing that should matter is their consent (which they aren't able to give), so I've been considering vegetarianism as of late.

Given the reason for my becoming a vegetarian (if I ever become one, that is), I wouldn't mind drinking milk, but I suspect that I'd need to go on a balanced vegetarian diet for proteins and fats, etc. Does anyone here know of a good place to look for someone who is just getting started on this?

 

[Me Myself]

I can't come up with an answer to how slaughtering animals to eat them is justified if the main thing that should matter is their consent (which they aren't able to give), so I've been considering vegetarianism as of late.

Given the reason for my becoming a vegetarian (if I ever become one, that is), I wouldn't mind drinking milk, but I suspect that I'd need to go on a balanced vegetarian diet for proteins and fats, etc. Does anyone here know of a good place to look for someone who is just getting started on this?

My very first starting point when I started to seriously consider it was googling it and going to wiki to see the most common health risks.

It is very important that you know them so that you can be specially aware to not fall on them.

This are:

Eating enough iron
Getting b12
Getting complete protein

Least from the top of my head. Also, I would advice a date with a nutriotionist after some time being a vegetarian (if you can do this both before and after so much better! . Then again, it may be expensive for you, for me it was >.< )

The idea would be to take blood samples and check everything is under control after a time of being veg. I did it after 6 months. (everything was great I ascribe this to my obsessive googling and active awareness of what I ate xD)

For iron:

Anemia is one of the risks on vegetarianism and it happens in this cases for insuficient iron. This is because the iron that comes from plants (called "non hemic" iron) is not so easily absorved by the body as iron coming from meat.

to be sure to have good iron is important that you take both iron sources and sources of VITAMIN C each time you eat iron. For example, an orange juice (vitamin C) with your lentils (iron) . The best of all worlds for this is simply to eat a little bowl of brocolli or tomato daily, given that this have both vitamin c and iron, so they are the most easily absorved source of iron in a veg diet. Also, after time of being a veg, your body will improve it´s absorption of this form of iron

For protein it tends to be simple, eat: lentils, beans, cheese, milk, eggs, etc and also eat some seeds rice or wheat. Cheese and milk and eggs are sources of complete protein in an on themselves, but some vegetable sources of complete protein also exist in: soy and quinoa. For other source sI mentioned like lentils and beans, they give you 7 of 8 aminoacids that form a complete protein, so in other moment of the day you will want to eat something that gives you the missing aminoacid. Which in the case of lentils and beans would be rice or wheat.

So, options of complete veggy meals:

Cheese sandwich with mushrooms (mushrooms are overall awesome, but mostly for pleasure cause they taste awesome ) and some tomato

Pasta with Pesto, parmessan tomatto and vegetables that you wish

Rice with lentils and carrot pieces

Soy with peanut butter and rice with some nuts (one of my favorites! ) and a bowl of brocolli

Falafel sandwich with some fruits ( falafel has similar texture than meat. What I and others tend to miss the most is the texture really, so falafels rock on this)

Veggy burrito: avocado, cheese, beans, tomato and some soy meat if you like

4 cheese spinach ravioli with tomato and vegetables as you like

so those are some options I tend to eat a lot and enjoy and each of those has all you need for the day.

Exception might be Vitamin D which you get from Milk that has been added vitamin D or if you can, you dont have to eat anything to get it but depending on where you live, you may just go out to the sun for say 15 mins of arms and legs exposure at some hours between 12 and 3 and the sunrays will be used by your body to produce all the vit D you need

Hope that washelpful. Oh, also something that helped me a lot: listen to your body.

One time I woke up very hungry and nothing placated the hunger. I wikied the common health risks and saw I had forgoten iron. a bowl of brocolli and my body went at ease.

You probably already know this, but also remember it is not an alll or nothing thing. Evenif you choose to only be veggy on 1 day a week you are sitll cutting your consume of animals a lot in a year . If you can do more, then great! but I would advice going on the pase you feel comfortable with so to have no or as little as possible of regressions.

:namaste

 

[Jainarayan]

I find that vegetarians eat more often then meat eaters, my husband who eats meat doesn't get as hungry as me. We have a saying and it is that I'm always starving... unless I'm stuffed.

So I think that you might want to eat more often than you usually do because vegetarian protein goes through your system faster.

Sounds reasonable. Animal protein foods are more filling, maybe because of the fat. Weight Watchers calls them Power Foods. There are other Power Foods, of course, many being plant based. For the hunger factor, I can certainly eat more fruit. Bananas are one of the very few that, while they have 0 Points Plus Value, they are sugary.

Combining grains and vegetarian protein is very important so that you get complete protein and if you do that (don't have to do it with every meal, but be somewhat aware of it) then you might last a little longer.

It's true that it's a myth (is that an oxymoron? ) about combining at every meal. Totally unnecessary. As long as all the aminos are gotten within a 24-36 hour period (it takes at least that long to fully process food), you are good to go.

Beans, there are lots of different kinds, both frozen and in cans. Lentils, (Lentils too come in lots of different kinds, especially if you go to an Indian store, the ones from American supermarkets are usually just french and they are not as tasty in my opinion.) nuts, quonia (that is the only grain I think that has complete protein).

If you combine these different ways it does not get as boring as it sounds.
Also think of each dish that you use to eat, and just replace the meat with a bean or lentil dish.
I add tomato sauce and spices to almost all my dishes, it makes a difference and then it's easy to add veggies, nuts and other things into it to make it tasty.

I do like beans and rice, "pasta fazool", lentils, split pea soup. I found red quinoa which is pretty good. It's more interesting than the white. I make a version of saag paneer using queso blanco because it doesn't melt. There is something that uses chick peas and paneer in a spicy pink sauce, served with naan. I can certainly make a version of that.

Also add nuts to oatmeal in the morning, or a table spoon of Almond or Peanut butter, that makes it complete protein and you wont get so hungry.

Let me know how it goes.

Oh and don't forget all the fake meat products you can buy, they are not the healthiest but they do spruce up a dish now and then.

Maya

I think these are all things to think of outside the box. We get so ingrained (no pun intended ) with our old habits. And keep in mind I hate to cook unless it's in one pot or the rice cooker.

 

[Jainarayan]

Do you exercise? are you sure you are not eating more of the carbs than what you actually need for the protein balance?

I'm kind of sidelined now because of my shoulder injury, but yes, I do exercise. I weight lifted power lifting style, but that's a thing of the past. I'm taking to a more fitness and athletic routine than heavy weights. I'm too old for that.

Given you (I assume) do eat cheese, simply drinking more milk (the one without the fatteniing stuff) and putting way more cheese on the same cheese sandwich can help a lot ( hopefully )

Eggs are very good too for protein as I am sure you know, just limit them a bit cause of cholesterol. Quinoa as I guessyou know is a compete protein source so you also have that.

You could also check out vegetarian journal I did a while back to see what I and other veggs eat, maybe that will give you ideas or you can tell if you have a bigger carbs sensitivity than most people.



m: Namaha Shivaya :namaste

I aim for non- and low-fat dairy products mostly because I have another 15-20 lbs to lose. I've lost about 40 lbs since the middle of 2011. I did not abide by the unofficial rule "Powerlifting is No Excuse to Get Fat", so I did (get fat ).

 

[Jainarayan]

Thanks again for all the tips, I'm sure there are lots more I can learn from the "vegetarian veterans".

Let me explain about the points I'm referring to. Weight Watchers assigns a Daily Points Plus value to each person based on age, gender, weight to lose, and a few other algorithmic factors that are beyond my ken (remember, I'm not the brightest diya at Diwali), as well as Activity Points for exercise, and "overdraft protection" Weekly Points. My DPs (Daily Points) are 34.

So far today I have a Muscle Milk shake (6 pp), a hummus/pita combo (8 pp), a Chobani low-fat yogurt (4 pp), fruit. I'll make a salad to go along with the hummus. Some olive oil and a little cheese in the salad will probably use up 4-5 pp. Out of 34 DP I still have about 15-16 after these. That's way more than enough for a decent veg. dinner, and maybe a snack, which may include another shake.

I wish the cafeteria at work offered vegetarian meals. After all, half of the warehouse employees are Indian. I know not all Indians are vegetarian, but jeez, the other half are Hispanic, and everything is beans, rice and pork. I could get the beans and rice and add vegs. from the salad bar.

Note to self: "Think outside the box, boy, think outside the box."

 

[Me Myself]

Isn´t Olive oil pure and practically useless fat?

Beans and rice already have most of what you need btw to add something from salad sounds perfect. Just remember that lettuce is almost useless. Any vegetable is better than lettuce (by all means have it if you like it, I am talking nutritionaly, almost useless)

 

[Jainarayan]

Olive oil has lots of healthful properties: Olive oil - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I hate lettuce, at least Iceberg lettuce. I call it crunchy water. I prefer Romaine lettuce, escarole (sauteed, it's bitter when raw), green and red leaf lettuce, and Boston lettuce. They at least have more color and nutrients.

 

[Maya3]

Crunchy water

I love it!

Maya

 

[Jainarayan]

I hate it.

Oh, you mean you love the term!

:slap:

 

[Maya3]

I hate it.

Oh, you mean you love the term!

:slap:

Yup!

I don´t like lettuce either, unless it´s the darker mesculin kind.

Maya

 

[Jainarayan]

Ah yes, mixed baby and spring greens... "aye, I can do that" (Gimli to Legolas about fighting next to a new friend and former enemy... I must get out more ).

 

[Me Myself]

Olive oil has lots of healthful properties: Olive oil - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I hate lettuce, at least Iceberg lettuce. I call it crunchy water. I prefer Romaine lettuce, escarole (sauteed, it's bitter when raw), green and red leaf lettuce, and Boston lettuce. They at least have more color and nutrients.

but if you are close to a veg diet, why eating something for the heart? It´s very very hard your heart gts any problems by what you eat as an almost veg

By all means take OO if you like it, but if you want to lose weight, olive oil adds A LOT of fat with almost no nutrients of any kind. Just check the label. Almost everything is "0" and the DV% of fat is ridiculous Have you checked it?

 

[Jainarayan]

Even on a veg. diet you stil do cardio exercise, right? Fat carries vitamins A, D, and E. They are fat soluble. It's actually very easy to get the wrong kind of fats if you use full-fat dairy products. And you really only use no more than a teaspoon or so of olive oil on a salad. One tablespoon is 14 g of fat, and about 140 calories. That's way more than I'd use.

 

[Maya3]

Fat is essential for our bodies. For example to lubricate the joints, give food to the brain and to absorb vitamins.
A non fat diet is dangerous.

Maya

 

[Jainarayan]

I don't know if there is a vegetarian thread already, with ideas, comments, suggestions, pitfalls, etc. Maybe we could make a sticky. If there is one already this post could be merged into it.

Anyhoo...I am re-embarking on an attempt to eliminate animal flesh and products from my diet. For now I'll have eggs and some fish and other seafood. But to the extent I am conscious of it, I'm eschewing anything that had fur, hair or feathers when it was alive. I know there are things we can't get away from... leather for one, hydrolyzed collagen as I posted in another thread. One can only do the best one can in this adharmic age. That said can anything be easier than dishes made with daal? To punch it up, how about some varieties of brown and wild rice? Contrary to popular belief, brown rice has a negligible nutritional advantage over white rice. Brown rice's only true claim to fame is its fiber. So don't feel like the scum of the earth eating white rice.

I am sooo going to find an Indian market, or a Whole Foods that has varieties of daal. I love regular Italian-American lentil soup with rice, like Mother Used To Make® but it's boring. I once made red split lentils, which I guess qualify as daal. They were the only variety in the supermarket. This weekend I made a brown lentils and brown and wild rice "conkooktion" (I make kooky things up as I go along); I made something that I have no idea what you'd call it, maybe saag paneer? It has no legumes, so I can have it today on Ekadashi; rather it is pureed spinach and cubes of Queso Blanco, a firm, non-melting Spanish white cheese that is as close to paneer as I can find. I'm going to make a variation of pasta e fagioli ("pasta fazool" for the southern Italians ) for this week; pasta, cannellini beans, and instead of tomato sauce, a basil pesto sauce. Another easy thing to make is escarole and (cannellini) beans. Sautee the escarole in garlic and olive oil, let the water evaporate (escarole cooks down like spinach), add the beans, and whatever kind of sauce and seasoning you like. But I'm digressing from the daal subject.

I am just now thinking that when making daal or any other kind of beans, much like the escarole and beans, use any kind of finely chopped greens: mustard, spinach, turnip, kale, collards and add. How about butternut squash, acorn squash, diced turnips? Even the canned and frozen varieties can be used. All these can be combined in any way for a filling (if not gassy ) meal. Add some whole wheat flat bread, and it's off to the races. I use lots of spices.. garam masala, chili powder, black pepper, curry powder, turmeric, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, etc.

All this germinated because I was looking up soybeans to see if they are also a legume (and therefore contraindicated on Ekadashi... they are legumes, so no-go today). From the soybeans article on Wiki I jumped to daal and thought about all this.

 

[illykitty]

Mmmm paneer. I do like that! We only have one at our shop but it was lovely. I don't eat it too often (any kind of cheese really) since its not good for trying to lose weight.

I admit, I use oils too much, but I hate scrubbing pans for too long.

 

[Jainarayan]

This cheese, Queso Blacno is the light version. Very low in fat.

 

[England my lionheart]

I would like some help with a Mushroom recipe,i like Chesnut Mushrooms fried in Butter with a little Garlic,when they attain a nice colour and are cooked add some cream and eat on a piece of toasted Bread,what can i use to replace the cream?,thanks for any answers.

 

[Maya3]

I would like some help with a Mushroom recipe,i like Chesnut Mushrooms fried in Butter with a little Garlic,when they attain a nice colour and are cooked add some cream and eat on a piece of toasted Bread,what can i use to replace the cream?,thanks for any answers.

Possibly coconut milk?

Maya

 

[England my lionheart]

Possibly coconut milk?

Maya

I think the flavour could be a problem,worth trying though so thanks .