Is a vegetarian diet possible if....

[Matthew3590]

I think we can safely say no. It isn't possible.

 

[Mountain Man Jim]

Quote:
I know I'm late to this thread but, I'll chime in anyway. It's going to be tough to be vegetarian with those restrictions. I'm a vegetarian so, I'm not going to discourage you. But, it's hard for me to imagine a veggie diet, in this day and age, without legumes or soy. That said, it's not impossible.

The thing about going veggie is that you don't need to switch your diet in an instant. There are still lots foods that you can eat.

Protein: One thing to note, the quantity of protein that people think they need is far greater than what you really need; just ask the RDA. I found that out when I did a food diary. If all beans (legumes) are out of picture, most of your protein is going to come from grains. There are a lot of them out there and you probably should mix it up; multi-grain bread, semolina pasta, rice (sushi, brown, wild, etc.), oats, ancient grains, etc. Obviously the occasional egg would be great. Least I forget, if you would like a great meat substitute, try to find seitan. It is made of wheat gluten and cooks like chicken or beef in stirfrys, stews or gryos. In regards to cheese alternatives, I can’t recommend one that doesn’t have some soy, sorry.

Veggies: It sounds like most vegetables are safe which is GREAT news. With our diet you can live on what millions of people on the planet live on, veggies and rice; stirfry for dinner it is. How about grilled or fried veggies over pasta? Or, roasted pepper sandwich with whole grain bread? How able a pesto (check labels. Many pesto sauces have cheese.) pizza with lots of your favorite veggies?

Fruit: I'm not a big fruit person. As a vegetarian, fruit is dessert. In other words fluffy. Except for bananas, how did we ever live without bananas?

Salads: In my option, salads are more fluffy for a vegetarian. Just too little calories for the effort and most of the calories are from the dressing.

So, having written this, I now think it's really doable. I would pull from Chinese and Thai styles for recipes. Maybe, even Japanese. Check out the hundreds of “going veggie” website and start copying recipes.

Good luck and Blessed Be You,

Jim

 

[squeakyballs]

Quote:
I came to say this. I'd talk to a nutritionist about it too, though, just because you are kind of a special case.

Also, I just re-discovered (after a few years) these. http://store.nomeatathlete.com/ I'm still in love!

 

[Mountain Man Jim]

Quote:
Not sure about your selection of stores, but if you can find coconut milk ice cream ... Wow, it's great. It should fit into your diet.

Jim

PS. Didn't see the laxative comment. Though this ice cream might be worth it

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

I'm gonna say no. You just pretty much eliminated everything you NEED to eat to get a balanced diet when being a vegetarian. You can't live off tofu and potatoes. You could MAYBE find enough pre-packaged vegetarian food to hold you over for a little while (think morningstar) but that stuff has so many chemicals and ingredients in it I doubt it's any healthier than regular pre-packaged food.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

It's possible, but I don't have the experience to tell you if it is healthy or not. But, here are some veg friendly foods I really like:

-Cauliflower 'steaks' (thick cut and roasted, recipes abound online)
-Meaty, delicious mushrooms. Soooo many shrooms out there. It's a whole world to explore. Some have very meaty tastes. Mmm, some morels with asparagus, soaked in wine and with fiddlehead fern... I use a lot of mushrooms when cooking, because we don't eat very much meat. I can't believe I used to eat button mushrooms. XP Never again. Bonus points: can join a group and hunt for them locally.
-More mushrooms
-Can you eat avocado? Avocado coupled with tomato allows you to process more nutrients than eating either alone (something about the type of fat the avocado contains, I forget). Poor some balsamic vinegar and olive oil over that, and while you don't have a tricolori, you have a bicolori at least.
-How do goat dairy products treat you by the way?
-A lot of raw food pages might have recipes that will work with your restrictions. They always have them in the free flyer at one of our local grocers, and there are a lot of recipes in there made completely from vegetables, so give it a look see
-The bean one is tough. We make a lot of dishes using legumes.

-Things like bamboo shoot and cactus are a bit different, but add a lot of tang and flavor to dishes. MMmmmmm, cactus.

 

[dewey]

For some reason I thought many meats were hard on the system under the Dx and that a somewhat restricted vegetarian diet (and not vegan diet) was easier on it.

How do you fair with the softer cheeses (or homemade) and limited amounts of other fruits/veggies (I consider those a snack, anyway, even when able to eat them)? Just about everybody eating that many cherries at one sitting would have issues.

Have you tried mixing less offending veggies in with others? Sometime that can make a difference.

Hoping you can get with a reputable nutritionist for assistance.

I don't have your Dx...mine is from the fallout of 2nd & 3rd degree total digestive system burns and scarring from radiation...some cooked veggies & fruits are ok (cooked only), but all fresh veggies & greens can be a major issue, especially squashes, lettuces and other dark greens, and even many cooked ones....not to mention having had pre-existing allergies to most raw veggies, fruits, grains, and nuts.

If you're willing to cook what you can eat along side of what DH likes, I think it can be worked out just fine.

It's not really that hard to do. White bread & eggs, cheese, meat & potatoes have sustained generations...a diet focusing on those with a little tweeking on the veggie/fruit side can be very healthy.

 

[featherz]

I'm also a veggie so I won't say you CAN'T do it, but I have to say, even with my veggie convictions, I'd have a really tough time staying veggie with those dietary restrictions. I can eat pretty much anything, so being a veggie for me is no big deal.

However, I see you say that meat also makes you queasy so that could be out anyways. Have you tried Quorn? It's a non-soy meat substitute that's extremely close to 'the real thing', however I've heard some have issues with it since it's a fungus.

However, they make burgers/chicken/etc and they are really yummy, even better than the soy stuff.

 

[welsummerchicks]

Yes, a vegetarian diet is possible and healthy with a restricted list of foods one can eat.

Can you eat peanut butter?

Can you eat dairy products?

Can you eat small amounts of beans and other legumes?

Could you eat small amounts of lean meats, occasionally? I would ask, why are you interested in becoming a vegetarian too...ie, what's the goal?

 

[mom'sfolly]

I also thought that I would mention a pasta I've started buying. I don't know if it you work with your restrictions, but it is a high protein pasta. It is Barilla Plus pasta, and the ingredients are Semolina, grain and legume flour with lentils chickpeas, flaxseed, barley, spelt and oats; egg whites, oat fiber, and durum flour. Two servings of the pasta has as much protein as 3oz of shrimp, and a little less protein than 3 oz of 90% lean ground beef.