considering vegetarian eating

Hey all, hubby and I have been reading about people who are going vegetarian and gluten free, they are feeling better, loosing weight and decreasing the inflammation in their bodies, so we're going to try it (we both have inflammation issues).

Anybody out there vegetarian???  How do you keep your protein levels up?  Is there anything that I need to be aware of?  I imagine I'll really need to be more diligent with my vitamins (especially iron for me). 

I'd love to hear any suggestions and recipes.

Thanks,

Edie

From: http://www.theveggietable.com/articles/protein.html

Vegetarian Protein

There is a popular misconception that meat is the only real source of protein, and thus that a vegetarian diet is inherently unhealthy due to a lack of protein. It is impossible to overstress how untrue this is.

First of all, the Recommended Daily Allowance of protein is not as high as one might think, and many people - vegetarian or not - eat more protein than their bodies actually need. The approximate RDA of protein is only 47 grams for women and 54 grams for men.

Secondly, there are many sources of vegetarian protein. The only problem is that most* vegetable sources of protein are incomplete, so you need to eat a combination of foods to get the complete protein.

Vegan sources of protein

• Amaranth*
• Cereals and grains - buckwheat*, rye, corn, rice, pasta...
• Leafy green vegetables, including spinach
• Legumes - beans, lentils, peas, peanuts
• Nutritional yeast*
• Nuts - almonds, walnuts, cashews...
• Quinoa*
• Seaweed - spirulina*, kelp ...
• Seeds - hemp*, sesame, sunflower...
• Soy* products -  tofu, tempeh, soy milk...
• Vegetables - Brussel sprouts, potatoes, yuca

Ovo-lacto sources of protein

• Eggs*
• Cheese*
• Milk*
• Yogurt*

* indicates a complete protein

As long as vegetarians (and everyone else, for that matter) eat a wide variety of foods, they will easily manage to eat enough protein - not to mention other nutrients.

If you want to be absolutely certain that you are getting enough protein, you should eat food combinations which form a complete protein, such as:

• Legumes + seeds
• Legumes + nuts
• Legumes + grains

Chances are you already eat complete proteins without even trying. Here are some tasty and healthy complete protein combinations:

• Beans on toast
• Corn and beans
• Hummus and pita bread
• Nut butter on whole grain bread
• Pasta with beans
• Rice and beans, peas, or lentils
• Split pea soup with whole grain or seeded crackers or bread
• Tortillas with refried beans
• Veggie burgers on bread

Note that these combinations don't necessarily have to be eaten at the same time; you can eat one several hours after the other and still benefit from the complete protein.

As you can see, there are plenty of vegetarian sources of protein, so the next time some "carnivore" ;-) says your diet is unhealthy, you'll know how to respond.

I have been toying with the idea myself. Not completely vegan, but only having dairy and eggs.

Thank you so much, I really appreciate it,  this should be pretty easy, I love most of the things listed!

Edie

I've been a vegetarian since I was 14.  You won't need any different vitamins than what you already take (or should take).

My protein is fine.  I get about 70-80 grams a day.  I do eat dairy products which makes it easy but I could do it vegan too if I wanted.  I just like dairy and I'm lazy.

I eat a lot of greek yogurt, cheese, beans, veggie burgers, other meat substitute products, occasionally cottage cheese or tofu.

Kelly

Do you find yourself having to think about making your proteins complete?  IE rice and beans....  Do you choose low fat dairy?  Do you ever have meat?, if so how does it make you feel?  I've heard some people say it makes them feel nauseated or bloated, I'm just wondering with the holidays coming up what to expect.

Thanks,

Edie

I don't really worry about making complete proteins.  That's an old way of thinking.  Current thinking is that as long as you eat them all over the course of the day, you don't have to eat them in one meal.  So maybe I'll have a bunch of beans for lunch and for dinner a stir fry with rice and veggies and some of the Morningstar Farms fake chicken stuff (it's really made of soy).  I'm getting all the protein that way.

Mostly I use low fat dairy unless low fat is not available or just doesn't taste as good.  Like, I like low fat swiss cheese.  But sometimes my grocery store is out of it.  Then I buy regular.  We actually need some fat in our diet.

I have not had meat in about 25 years.  I expect it would make me sick but I don't really know and do not plan to find out.

Kelly

Great link, thanks!
We aren't big meat-eaters in general here, pre-op it was about once or twice a week or so. When I told that to my Nut pre-op, she said I would find it difficult to get my protein in without meat.  And I really have found it difficult, so we are now eating meat almost daily. But I'm not very happy about it, and my younger one has been pushing for us to return to vegetarian eating. (Before the 'once or twice a week' phase, we were a vegetarian household for about four years, which, to her, is as long as she can remember).
But I need to get my protein intake up to speed, it's really bad. I'm probably only averaging about 30-45 grams a day. I need easy recipes, I don't get home until about 6:30pm.
But it's good to know that if I can ever get my kitchen act together, there are some options that may allow me to move us away from meat again.