Vegetarians?

[silversurfer]

I read food blogs and remembered this one when I saw this thread. I like it because it's quite creative and the recipes are not particularly involved. Here's the section on low carb recipes. I'm not sure when she started getting so much advertising on her site. Anyway hope it's of interest: http://www.101cookbooks.com/low_carb_recipes/

[Muirenn]

I read food blogs and remembered this one when I saw this thread. I like it because it's quite creative and the recipes are not particularly involved. Here's the section on low carb recipes. I'm not sure when she started getting so much advertising on her site. Anyway hope it's of interest: http://www.101cookbooks.com/low_carb_recipes/

These all look wonderful!

Thanks!

I was a vegetarian all through high school. I think I ate mostly chocolate.

[OakLeaf]

Here's the other thing ... more vegetables.

It's time consuming. It can be expensive. But if you can do it, it's one of the healthiest things you can do. Every nutrition guide you read tells you not to make a concentrated protein the star of a meal, but how many of us actually do that?

If there are CSA's available in your area, they should be starting up soon ... I found that's a great way to make myself eat my veggies. Plus it's less expensive than buying produce ad hoc, you get to try things you might not have tried otherwise, learn new ways to prepare veggies that might not be your favorites, and support a local farmer too.

[shootingstar]

The dairy I seem to ingest daily is skim milk. Occasionally I have some cheese, which sometimes includes soy cheese. I just cut a finger size slice for myself. I don't cook with cheese, it's not my style of cooking (without a recipe).

I buy egg whites and make scrambled egg or omelet like things with veggie 3-4 times per month.

The carb has been drastically cut back --only light Asian noodle. 3-4 times per month, a whole wheat Mediterranean flatbread with hummus. I used to have white rice regularily but not good for my blood sugar levels now.

Really and truly expand your repetoire of veggies. I read a foodie magazine which had photos of 20 different fresh veggies. But no Asian fresh veggies: bok choy, shangai choy, toy san, gai lan, fuzzy melon, bitter melon, Chinese cabbage/lettuce, lotus root, daikon (white radish), water chestnuts, Chinese eggplant and there's about 3 other types I don't know the English translation. Alot of this stuff is fast, light stir fry dishes.

Brussel sprouts are fine....and to me, pretty tame after all the other stuff I listed above. I have to go through my frozen butternut squash. I leave red beets to dearie to prepare. I love the low prices of fresh fennel bulb. Wonderful saute with tomatoes and light pasta.

[katluvr]

I have been an a lacto-ovo vegetarian for about 2 years. I go thru periods of struggling with lowering carbs and ensuring enough protein. I think like any "healthy" eating you have to plan and be prepared and it is not always easy. I would support much of what is said here and vary your protein sources. So I mix it up. If I do "soy" protein for breakfast I look towards beans/legumes as my protein source in next meal. If I am doing egg/dairy as a protein source then my next meal is plant based. I find stir frying tofu cubed in a little oils an mixing it w/ veggies or putting it in a wrap as a taco is great. I also enjoy seitin in a stir fry. Lentils in a soup or chile are awesome. Drop some legumes (love fresh soy beans frozen then thawed or chick peas) on a salad. Hummus is a great spread on a wrap--so are refried beans (vegetarian).

As for processed...I keep veggie burgers and veggie sausage on hand a as quick fix when a need as protein to go w/ my veggies (like meat & veggies).

I admit a still struggle...but I feel like I have managed. Some days I am heavy on the dairy (cheese) protein --other days its carbs. But I think if you look at full week of eating and try to be varied --it all evens out.

K

[Crankin]

Every time I see the word seitan, I think of this story.
I was making a recipe from the Moosewood "healthy" cookbook and it called for seitan, which I knew wouldn't be found at the regular grocery store. So, I called my younger son, who was working in our local natural foods store. All I remember is explaining to him what I needed and him yelling, "Hey, my mom wants me to bring Satan home."

[Muirenn]

This is good advice Katluvr. I do have a tendency to gravitate towards certain foods. I'll just have to keep working on it.

Thanks all

[OakLeaf]

I don't have How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, haven't even seen it, just read about it. But I'm a big fan of Mark Bittman's column and recipes in the NYT. They're usually simple and very flavorful (one of his columns is titled "The Minimalist"). So you might look for it.

[Muirenn]

Thanks Oak. It's not so much what to cook and eat, it's how to put it all together, how to maintain that lifestyle. When you leave out such a broad food source from your choices, it creates some unexpected obstacles. I remember this problem from before, when I was a strict vegetarian in the 1980's.

[Blueberry]

I don't have How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, haven't even seen it, just read about it. But I'm a big fan of Mark Bittman's column and recipes in the NYT. They're usually simple and very flavorful (one of his columns is titled "The Minimalist"). So you might look for it.

I have this book, and it's my go to for recipes most of the time now. I adore it.

It might actually help on how to put it all together. Bittman includes some nutritional information, and frequently has lots of "variations" for recipes to help keep things interesting.

[Muirenn]

I have this book, and it's my go to for recipes most of the time now. I adore it.

It might actually help on how to put it all together. Bittman includes some nutritional information, and frequently has lots of "variations" for recipes to help keep things interesting.

That's nice to know, books with over-complicated recipes are useless to me.

[tealtreak]

I bake my own bread too and always sub a fourth to a third of the flour for almond or spelt flour (yeah! more protein) Also putting hummus on everything as a spread adds up too (:

[Muirenn]

I bake my own bread too and always sub a fourth to a third of the flour for almond or spelt flour (yeah! more protein) Also putting hummus on everything as a spread adds up too (:

I bake my own bread too. Have for about 5 years now. I like 3/4 wheat to 1/4 corn. Texture is very nice.

Actually, I'm a lot better at baking than regular cooking.