Eating habit puzzler

[goldfinch]

I started my weight loss effort back last January when I went to Texas for a few months without the spouse, who now prefers to stay north in the winter. Before beginning to lose weight we were both long time vegetarians. My husband is a religious vegetarian, coming from a Hindu tradition that does not eat meat or eggs. However, dairy products are a big part of his diet. I am not from the same tradition but I was always fine with eating vegetarian.

I decided while alone to experiment with low carb and eating meat. At first I didn't feel well on that kind of diet and I added in fruits, mostly blueberries. I ate plenty of meat, even experimenting with beef which I had not eaten in years. I settled into eating a fair amount of bacon and eggs, chicken, and seafood.

I lost about 15 pounds in three months and returned home. I stopped eating very low carb and modified my diet somewhat so that I would have one meal a day with the spouse. We always have lunch together. He goes out in the mornings so I would have breakfast, which often was an egg, sometimes with meat like bacon or sausage. Lunch would be vegetarian, usually soup with lots of vegetables and some beans, like mung daal, and then we would be on our own for supper. I often would have cold chicken on salad or some other type of cold chicken dish, to avoid cooking the meat while the spouse was around, as I knew that was bothersome to him.

Now he tells me he is really bothered by the meat in the house. He says he has accommodated me by not cooking things like bread, which he used to bake frequently and I find as a difficult temptation. He says please accommodate him by not having meat in the house.

I understand, even if it does rub me the wrong way. This is a religious issue with him and our religious differences are a long standing tension between us. I will accommodate him. But now I am at a loss of what to eat. December through March I will be in Texas alone, as he does not travel south anymore. I can eat what I want then. But for the next month or so and again when we are back together I have to figure out what to eat.

One thing I thought to add was whey powder. I had that with milk for breakfast today. High protein, low fat. Last night I had apple and cheese and a naked salad. Kind of uninspiring. I don't want to eat all the rice and breads that I used to eat. Refined carbs are very addictive to me. I still will be making my own breakfast and supper.

I never was much of a cook. My spouse is the cook in the household. That makes it even harder. I hardly know where to start. Milk and cheese does get a bit tiresome.

Food ideas for a reluctant vegetarian who will not be eating eggs?

[jessmarimba]

I wish you could compromise by having a mini fridge in your own space somewhere. I'm wracking my brain for a vegetarian compromise to the paleo diet and it just isn't getting very far. Unless you were both ok with eating bugs, which I doubt.

I did some googling, and even the vegetarian paleo diet suggestions rely heavily on eggs. :( I'll keep thinking.

[lph]

How about beans, peas, lentils, aren't they pretty high in protein? There a zillion kinds, so you can get quite creative.

I have a similar problem. I'd like to eat more vegetarian food, like once or twice a week, but my dh can't eat dairy, and my son will only eat beans or peas when forced to. Vegetarian recipes seem to be pretty heavy on dairy and beans...

eta: nuts, you can make a whole lot of stuff with chopped nuts. Healthy fat and protein. Someone here is bound to know more.

[goldfinch]

Nuts! I forgot about nuts! Good suggestion.

[tangentgirl]

If you are on your own for breakfast and dinner, could you eat one of those meals outside the house, just for the time you are living in the same place? It might be a little pricey, but if it's only for the next month or so, it could work. It doesn't even have to be restaurant food - some healthy markets make hot meals and you could take it to the local park or what have you. The outside meal could be your bigger meal, so you don't find yourself too hungry or dissatisfied at lunch.

Do the fake meats work for your diet? Morningstar bacon and sausage (or as we call them in my house, fakon and fauxsage) are dang good substitutes.* Or pre-seasoned tofu?


He says he has accommodated me by not cooking things like bread, which he used to bake frequently and I find as a difficult temptation.

This is super-nice of him. I love me some bread, and if I could bake worth a gosh darn golly, I'd be sad to give up homemade bread.

*No, nothing actually beats bacon.

[tangentgirl]

Also, even if you can't eat out once a day every day, maybe treat yourself to something nice that you like to eat (outside the home) once a week.

Enjoying food is important.

[Dannielle]

First of all, I'm (happily!) surprised that I'm not the only person who eats primal/paleo and rides a bike lol. :)

Do you eat dairy at all? You mentioned whey protein powder so I'm wondering if Greek yogurt or cottage cheese would work for you as well. (those 3 things pretty much define the dairy I do consume)

I've been on a huge soup kick and have found that Jarrow unflavored whey protein powder works really well stirred into soups. It's only flavor is kind of milky and it turns a brothy soup into a creamy soup. Greek yogurt stirred in does the same.

I blend cottage cheese until smooth, add a little parmesan and garlic and it makes a nice alfredo sauce to top sauteed cabbage or spiral cut zucchini noodles or broccoli. I've also grated raw cauliflower into "rice" and stir fried it with onion and well chopped mushrooms...then added either Greek yogurt or my cottage cheese alfredo for a risotto-esque dish.

I'm guessing fish would be offensive as well?

[tangentgirl]

I also just remembered, the South Beach Diet folks have a quick guidebook to foods and their fat/carb/sugar value. Even if you aren't doing SBD specifically, something like that might be handy when you are searching for non-meat options.

[goldfinch]

Lunch is satisfying. My spouse's soups he makes are delicious and pretty filing. He is the master of spicing food. I get my dose of beans/rice at lunch, plus lots and lots of vegetables.

But I will miss my eggs and meat. (Fish is out too).

Dairy is fine. I almost feel like I am being dairied to death. I do like Dannielle's cottage cheese suggestion though. I also like the idea of eating out a time or two a week. I confess that I have gone to the local Chinese food buffet and got take out chicken sticks, which I freeze and eat later. But to be true to my agreement I don't think that I should be hiding food in the freezer. :)

[Blueberry]

A very odd suggestion: Do you have a close neighbor who might allow you to have a small refrigerator if you can't have one in your home? Do you have a garage where a refrigerator could live? Or do you think the issue really bothering him is that you actually eat those foods (not just that they're in the house)?

Would he be willing to compromise on eggs? If you eliminate meat? (and perhaps let him bake once in a while, hard as it is)

This is a tough one - and you have my sympathies!

Another high protein whole grain to look into is quinoa - but that's still a grain.

[goldfinch]

A very odd suggestion: Do you have a close neighbor who might allow you to have a small refrigerator if you can't have one in your home? Do you have a garage where a refrigerator could live? Or do you think the issue really bothering him is that you actually eat those foods (not just that they're in the house)?

Would he be willing to compromise on eggs? If you eliminate meat? (and perhaps let him bake once in a while, hard as it is)

This is a tough one - and you have my sympathies!

Another high protein whole grain to look into is quinoa - but that's still a grain.


I think it does bother him a lot that I eat meat and eggs and he very much would rather I did not. He believes in living a life of non-violence and me eating animals is violence. When the issue is religious it is hard to compromise, so eggs are out even if I could make an argument that eating unfertilized eggs is not any more violent than milking a cow. Tradition. I am disrespecting his tradition.

Even I try to avoid factory farm meat, but do eat it anyway when going out to eat. Cognitive dissonance!

My spouse does use quinoa in some of his cooking.

[indysteel]

Do you/can you eat soy? Tempeh, dry roasted and steamed soybeans, and tofu come to mind.

[goldfinch]

Do you/can you eat soy? Tempeh, dry roasted and steamed soybeans, and tofu come to mind.

Meh. I used to eat quite a bit of tofu but I have drifted away from it over the years. I think it is more an issue of how crappy a cook I am. Making tofu and tempeh tasty is not my strong suite. I'll revist some recipes.

[Biciclista]

please forgive me, but i can't understand why you can't eat eggs. It would be very hard to find an egg commercially that was NOT infertile, as those hens never see a rooster their whole lives. What is the difference btween the terrible way milk cows are treated and laying hens are treated?
I suggest you get a note from your doctor stating that you need meat or eggs for your health. And let him bake bread.

[goldfinch]

please forgive me, but i can't understand why you can't eat eggs. It would be very hard to find an egg commercially that was NOT infertile, as those hens never see a rooster their whole lives. What is the difference btween the terrible way milk cows are treated and laying hens are treated?
I suggest you get a note from your doctor stating that you need meat or eggs for your health. And let him bake bread.

Religion and tradition has nothing to do with logic.

He can bake bread, he simply volunteered some time ago not to bake bread. I've appreciated it.

I'll be fine. I don't need eggs and meat for my health. I used to be vegetarian. I just want to watch the carbs.

[shootingstar]

I am not vegetarian but eat meat 3-4 times per month. I have egg replacement various cooked forms 2-3 times per month. Or less.

Because I no longer feel well when I eat lots of white rice, because of it's high glycemic (which would tip me closer to diabetes 2...And I am a small, slim person), I found light dried Asian pasta (not rice vermicelli) or very light fresh steamed Asian pasta a solution for me. I have drastically cut back my bread consumption. I will eat a very thin, flat type of pita bread that doesn't use much flour and it has no eggs, fat nor sugar. I'm not referring to the pita breads that are thicker and smaller. These are like the size of pizza circumference.

I don't have the heavier Italian style dried pasta. Of course, I love freshly made Italian pasta ..and will go after a ravioli or torellini dish at a restaurant.

So I have white rice..um..maybe once every 3-4 months, when I have to have my lovable sushi and sashimi!! :D

Also having couscous would be a light alternative several times per month.

I actually rarely make salads for myself. He's the salad maker and does a much better job with so much more tasty creativity than I can do it.

So the veggie dishes I do make tend to be stir fried/sauteed, steamed or roasted. I can make up a stir fried dish that is tasty on the fly whereas he has to think about it to make it taste right.

Most likely you are good a with certain type of cooking techniques or certain types of dishes.

You might consider more Asian veggie consomme noodle dishes which are filling, yet reasonably healthy. But squash soups, beet, tomato soups are great too.

[carolync]

Lunch is satisfying. My spouse's soups he makes are delicious and pretty filing. He is the master of spicing food. I get my dose of beans/rice at lunch, plus lots and lots of vegetables.

But I will miss my eggs and meat. (Fish is out too).

Dairy is fine. I almost feel like I am being dairied to death. I do like Dannielle's cottage cheese suggestion though. I also like the idea of eating out a time or two a week. I confess that I have gone to the local Chinese food buffet and got take out chicken sticks, which I freeze and eat later. But to be true to my agreement I don't think that I should be hiding food in the freezer. :)

I've found a recipe for scrambled tofu that is a great subsitute for scrambled eggs, doesn't taste like tofu at all, and the texture is spot on. It can be found on the The Post Punk Kitchen website. (http://www.theppk.com/2009/10/tof-u-and-tof-me-scrambled-tofu-revisited/) You may want to look at some of her other recipes, they are vegan, so no problem with the hubby. I'm eat partially vegetarian (I eat fish and chicken occasionally) and I've found many of her recipes very satisfying.

Good Luck!

[goldfinch]

Thanks Carolyn and everyone else for the ideas!

[Becky]

+1 for the Post Punk Kitchen. Neither DH nor I are vegetarian/vegan, but we've found some amazing recipes on there!

[goldfinch]

I would never have guessed mushrooms were high in protein. Thanks! I love mushrooms.

We toast pumpkin seeds in an iron pan for snacks. I have to watch myself--love those things.

[goldfinch]

Potatoes are my nemesis. I can't eat them. I've got to stay away from too much starch.