Very interesting thread!
I'm headed that way myself-but slowly!
I'm headed that way myself-but slowly!
Vegetarian & Low Carb Recipes And Discussion
- Thread starter PurpleChicken
- Start date
Quote:
Oh, I'm well aware--way way way back, my wonderful doctor at the time often lamented about "care packages" for chemo patients often being loaded with sugary snacks, which he felt were just "adding fuel to the fire."
But I do believe that caffeine is a culprit in certain cancers. And no, I'll probably never be able to give it up entirely. But believe you me, I have plenty of room for improvement, even if I don't give it all up!
Oh, I'm well aware--way way way back, my wonderful doctor at the time often lamented about "care packages" for chemo patients often being loaded with sugary snacks, which he felt were just "adding fuel to the fire."
But I do believe that caffeine is a culprit in certain cancers. And no, I'll probably never be able to give it up entirely. But believe you me, I have plenty of room for improvement, even if I don't give it all up!
I went vegetarian for a whole summer then my dad found out and I got in trouble. How stupid is that? Its much healthier for you anyway, and the only reason he wouldn't let me because he thinks its stupid.
Quote:
"Because he thinks it's stupid" IS a really bad reason not to allow you to make certain food choices, you're right. But vegetarianism (been there, done that) is only "much healthier for you" if the choices you made as an omnivore were really, really bad. Your body assimilates animal proteins more easily and efficiently than any other food source, just because that's how we're made.
That's not to say you can't or shouldn't be a vegetarian, if you have personal convictions that lead you in that direction. If it's something you feel very strongly about from an ethical standpoint (and I TOTALLY get, and respect that), then do some research and show your dad that you can make smart choices that support your growing body. Maybe ease into it, and keep, say, fish in your diet at first? At this stage in your life, your body (and especially your brain) NEEDS high-quality proteins and fats. The simple fact is that those are easier to get from meat, but that's certainly not the only way to go.
The reason I gave up vegetarianism (and even veganism, which I did for quite some time), was because of the lack of quality proteins. Beans were too carb-loaded, dairy was too fatty (or so I thought then), and soy just became too dangerous. In hindsight, I'm sure that I exacerbated my estrogen-driven disease with all that soy--tempeh, tofu, soymilk...it's what I lived on.
Again, while I completely respect people making an ethical choice to go veg, I just feel that the propaganda out there about it being "healthier" for humans is loaded with misinformation. Just look at the last 30 years in America: As a nation, we've lowered our meat and fat consumption dramatically, and greatly increased our consumption of whole grains and soy products...and as a nation, we've gotten fatter and sicker.
All that said, I believe you have every right to make food choices for yourself, based on your beliefs. Just do your research, from unbiased sources, and play it smart. More power to you!
"Because he thinks it's stupid" IS a really bad reason not to allow you to make certain food choices, you're right. But vegetarianism (been there, done that) is only "much healthier for you" if the choices you made as an omnivore were really, really bad. Your body assimilates animal proteins more easily and efficiently than any other food source, just because that's how we're made.
That's not to say you can't or shouldn't be a vegetarian, if you have personal convictions that lead you in that direction. If it's something you feel very strongly about from an ethical standpoint (and I TOTALLY get, and respect that), then do some research and show your dad that you can make smart choices that support your growing body. Maybe ease into it, and keep, say, fish in your diet at first? At this stage in your life, your body (and especially your brain) NEEDS high-quality proteins and fats. The simple fact is that those are easier to get from meat, but that's certainly not the only way to go.
The reason I gave up vegetarianism (and even veganism, which I did for quite some time), was because of the lack of quality proteins. Beans were too carb-loaded, dairy was too fatty (or so I thought then), and soy just became too dangerous. In hindsight, I'm sure that I exacerbated my estrogen-driven disease with all that soy--tempeh, tofu, soymilk...it's what I lived on.
Again, while I completely respect people making an ethical choice to go veg, I just feel that the propaganda out there about it being "healthier" for humans is loaded with misinformation. Just look at the last 30 years in America: As a nation, we've lowered our meat and fat consumption dramatically, and greatly increased our consumption of whole grains and soy products...and as a nation, we've gotten fatter and sicker.
All that said, I believe you have every right to make food choices for yourself, based on your beliefs. Just do your research, from unbiased sources, and play it smart. More power to you!
- Thread starter
- #57
Very nicely said NinjaP.
- Mar 25, 2007
- 1,310
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The thing is, it seems to be a lot easier for people to lose weight if their directions for Good Food and Bad Food are clearly drawn. When you start getting into refined details, or things that require a lot of self-awareness and serious discipline (like eating exactly five potato chips), then most people don't stick with it. Losing weight as a vegetarian is easy for most people (I'm talking clinical trials here, not individual experiences) simply because the "what am I gonna eat" choices are so straightforward. Lots of restaurants, if you're eating vegetarian, you're eating a salad and an appetizer, and that helps with portion control too.
PC: The only meat I eat is venison (from friends and relatives who hunt and dress it themselves) and fish. Which means that most of the time, I'm effectively vegetarian.
Stuff that is easy and vegetarian:
Stir-fry. DH is the king of stir-fry. For stir-fry tofu, marinate sliced firm tofu overnight in a mix of equal parts cider vinegar, maple syrup (real stuff, not the fake kind) & water, mixed with a generous amount of finely chopped fresh ginger and garlic. Take the tofu slices out of the marinade (save the marinade), then dip them in cornstarch and pan-fry them in peanut oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Then, add the leftover marinade to the pan and let it simmer to cook down for 20-30 minutes. Add soy sauce & hot red peppers to taste. Thicken the sauce with a couple tsp. cornstarch you've got left over. Microwave some veggies and put the veggies and tofu over brown rice, pour sauce on top.
Potatoes smothered in steamed broccoli and cheddar. Easiest thing on earth, you just microwave a potato, microwave some broccoli. grate cheese on top--it melts from the heat of the veggies. I usually poach an egg and mash it into the middle of the baked potato, which DH says looks disgusting but tastes wonderful.
Quesadillas: cheddar or jack cheese with baked beans is my fave.
This time of year, I'm using up stuff from the pantry & root cellar, so we're eating a lot of bean soups: Mix 3 tbsp. oil and 2 tbsp. flour in the bottom of a soup pot on med. heat. Gradually add veggie bouillon until the soup gets rather thin. Then add whatever you've got for frozen veggies and rinsed canned beans, mixed herbs to taste. I put in Quorn chicken tenders, which seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it thing for meat substitute, but it does have a reasonable amount of protein and I think it tastes OK. Maybe not like real meat, but OK.
Chowda: Do the oil & flour thing again, but this time use 1 1/2 c. stock and 1 1/2 c. milk to make the soup instead of all stock. Add chopped fried onion & celery, frozen corn, chopped red pepper, cubed potatoes, cheddar cheese, mixed herbs, cook till done. DH is fond of yeast extract (Marmite) in his soups, but I am not a fan.
PC: The only meat I eat is venison (from friends and relatives who hunt and dress it themselves) and fish. Which means that most of the time, I'm effectively vegetarian.
Stuff that is easy and vegetarian:
Stir-fry. DH is the king of stir-fry. For stir-fry tofu, marinate sliced firm tofu overnight in a mix of equal parts cider vinegar, maple syrup (real stuff, not the fake kind) & water, mixed with a generous amount of finely chopped fresh ginger and garlic. Take the tofu slices out of the marinade (save the marinade), then dip them in cornstarch and pan-fry them in peanut oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Then, add the leftover marinade to the pan and let it simmer to cook down for 20-30 minutes. Add soy sauce & hot red peppers to taste. Thicken the sauce with a couple tsp. cornstarch you've got left over. Microwave some veggies and put the veggies and tofu over brown rice, pour sauce on top.
Potatoes smothered in steamed broccoli and cheddar. Easiest thing on earth, you just microwave a potato, microwave some broccoli. grate cheese on top--it melts from the heat of the veggies. I usually poach an egg and mash it into the middle of the baked potato, which DH says looks disgusting but tastes wonderful.
Quesadillas: cheddar or jack cheese with baked beans is my fave.
This time of year, I'm using up stuff from the pantry & root cellar, so we're eating a lot of bean soups: Mix 3 tbsp. oil and 2 tbsp. flour in the bottom of a soup pot on med. heat. Gradually add veggie bouillon until the soup gets rather thin. Then add whatever you've got for frozen veggies and rinsed canned beans, mixed herbs to taste. I put in Quorn chicken tenders, which seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it thing for meat substitute, but it does have a reasonable amount of protein and I think it tastes OK. Maybe not like real meat, but OK.
Chowda: Do the oil & flour thing again, but this time use 1 1/2 c. stock and 1 1/2 c. milk to make the soup instead of all stock. Add chopped fried onion & celery, frozen corn, chopped red pepper, cubed potatoes, cheddar cheese, mixed herbs, cook till done. DH is fond of yeast extract (Marmite) in his soups, but I am not a fan.
Portobello Mushroom Burger - link to recipe
This has a nice texture and great flavor. If you don't like that recipe, simply search on the title of the recipe for all kinds of variations.
Now here is my thing - When I do veggie, I am not tring to make it "like meat" if it is veggie then it should be good because it is veggie. So I like the bean meatloaf idea, but tofurky sounds revolting.
Good luck with your healthy diet.
This has a nice texture and great flavor. If you don't like that recipe, simply search on the title of the recipe for all kinds of variations.
Now here is my thing - When I do veggie, I am not tring to make it "like meat" if it is veggie then it should be good because it is veggie. So I like the bean meatloaf idea, but tofurky sounds revolting.
Good luck with your healthy diet.
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