I've just started a vegetaian menu

[adnil53]

I've been LCing for quit some time and am now trying to do it vegetarian. I have lots of beans on hand and oatmeal. My budget is very limited...Here's a sample of my menu's. Any suggestions would be helpful and appreciated...

BREAKFAST
½ cup oatmeal
¼ cup cream
½ tsp cinnamon
1 tbs butter
LUNCH
½ cup whole wheat noodles
2 eggs
½ cup peas
2 tbs pecans
½ tsp cinnamon
1 tbs butter
DINNER
½ cup pinto beans
2 eggs
½ cup broccoli
½ cup spinach
1 tbs butter
2 tbs pecans
½ tsp cinnamon

My Food Values from fitday:
Calories: 1428
Fat: 104 - 68%
Carbs: 82 - 17%
Fiber: 25 - 0%
Protein: 52 - 15%
Ecc: 57

No matter how I tweek this vegetarian WOE, I can't seem to get below a little under 60 carbs... I do still seem to be losing though. Thanks for any suggestions ... :wave:

[Dandi]

My experience has been that it doesn't cost us any more to eat the LC way than it did to eat a lot of fast acting carbs. The fast acting carbs appear cheaper. Look at what a package of oatmeal costs compared to vegetables or meat.

But when we ate fast acting carbs I was always hungry. And both my husband and I wanted sweets a lot and overate of them.

When we stopped eating the fast acting carbs, our appetites went down. We still eat often through the day, but when we eat we don't eat nearly as much as we did before. A small handful of nuts is a favorite snack for each of us.

Our grocery bill has not gone up. In fact, it is running about $10.00 to $15.00 less per week. No a hugh difference I know, but we are eating healthier. In fact a goodly per centage of the food we buy is organic. And we're still spending a little less on groceries. Plus we are walking so much that our gas bill has dropped to about one-third of what it was before. It will probably come back up in the winter but we are saving money right now and will throughout the summer and fall.

Dandi

[adnil53]

I do understand that meat and veggies are more filling in the long run...But right now I'm tweaking my WOE and am doing Lacto-Ovo-vegetarian. I don't want to use processed foods. Well mostly not. I'm trying this because right now I don't have the money to buy meat and I do have pinto beans, oatmeal, rice [haven't tried that yet], and most of the other foods I have listed in my last post... and now that I'm doing it, well... I want to see if it works and so far [it has only been a few days] it seems to be working. I'm not new to LC, I've been doing it for a long time. It is just every time I've gotten in this position, well I've always quit, thinking it wouldn't work being a vegetarian. But not this time...it is going to work and I'm not quitting! So thank you very much and I wish you the best! Any more suggestions out there? I can use all I can get...:lol:

[Karen]

Why don't you have a look at CALP? Do ovo-lacto for your 2 LC meals and have beans and rice as part of your reward meal?

Karen

[adnil53]

Could you tell me about CALP and/or direct me to a site that would explain it? I don't really know much about it except, I think there is a time of day you can eat what you want for one hour only??? I really don't know...but does sound interesting. I also was under the impression that there was a % of food you were suppose to eat during the reward meal??? Thanks again, Karen

[Karen]

This is the link, but the site is currently unavailable.

www.carbohydrateaddicts.com/

There is a CAD/CALP section of this forum that you can peruse through to find out what CAD/CALP is like to follow and ask questions. It's not as active as other parts of the forum, but thriving nonetheless.

Like we say to everyone who wants to follow a LC WOE, the best way to get the initial information if to read the book. You can get it through the library. And then use the forum for support.

Karen

[adnil53]

thank you

[clwydd]

If the Hellers' site isn't working, you might check out CADIS (http://www.cadis.org/). It's the original CAD/CALP support group, and there might be some vegetarian members there.

Susan

[adnil53]

I was thinking about The Insulin-Resistance Diet too, does anyone know much about that diet?

[adnil53]

... This comes from Atkins, carbogramcounter, not fitday's. But it sounds like some good possibilities. I am having a hard time getting and keeping my protein up, without upping my carbs to much. Anybody have any more you know of?

Protein Sources
Tofu, firm, ½ cup = 2.2 ecc – 9.9 fat – 17.9 protein – 164 calories
Soybeans, ½ cup = 6.2 ecc – 5.8 fat – 11.1 protein – 127 calories
Soy milk, 1 cup = 1.2 ecc – 4.7 fat – 6.7 protein – 81 calories
Peanut butter, natural, 2 tbs = 4.8 ecc – 15.9 fat – 7.7 protein – 187 calories
TOTAL FOR ITEMS LISTED :
14.40 ECC
13.60 FAT
43.4O PROTEIN
559 CALORIES

[Karen]

Don't forget about miso, tempeh and edamame (green soya beans) in the pod!

Other nut butters too like macadamia, soya-nut and sesame.

Karen

[adnil53]

How do you use the green soya beans in the pod?

[Karen]

Cook them in boiling, salted water until hot all the way through and bright green, about 5 minutes. Then you pop them out of the husk and eat the bean.

They're most commonly eaten as a snack but you can take the beans out of the pod and put thrm into things like soups and salads.

Karen

[DewTal]

It can be difficult to do low-carb as a veggie but certainly not impossible. While it's true that vegetarian proteins have more carbs (like tofu, meat substitutes, etc.), they also have a high protein and fiber content so it's not as bad as a high-carb thing.

First of all, definitely go for the tofu! I personally prefer Soy Deli's Nigari Firm Tofu. It's the firmest I've found, even firmer than the extra firm kind of other brands (and I'm damn picky about my tofu! ;) ). If you marinade it and grill it it's quite delicious (even my meat-eating sister grudgingly admits it!). Search these forums for "tofu" for recipes, and also these two for veggie-friendly low-carb recipes:

www.immuneweb.org/lowcarb
www.geocities.com/msweathe/veggie.html

I never cared for tempeh myself, although Karen's other suggestions sound wonderful (our cooking guru). Also check out meat substitutes, i.e., Boca burgers, Morningstar sausages, Lightlife turkey slices, etc. Not too high in carbs and good sources of protein.

Legumes aren't bad, it's just that you have to watch the carb count. Eggs and cheese are good too. How about a hunk of cheese in a big salad? Or are you counting carbs in veggies too, i.e., the Atkins way?

Have you checked out The Schwarzbein Principle? Her plan is different from Atkins in many ways, but she has a menu plan especially for vegetarians and her philosophy about low-carbing is a little more lenient (i.e., don't count carbs in non-starchy veggies, cream, cheese, etc.). You might want to check out her website:

www.schwarzbeinprinciple.com

As for the cost of low-carbing, I confess that I spend more each week in groceries because I cook more. At least, I think I do. Tofu runs about $2 per 12 oz pack (though I've seen it in health food stores for $3). I usually have half that (6 oz) at mealtime, so if I'm making lunch and dinner for 5 days a week, that's $1 per meal. Hmm, not bad, if you look at it that way... ;)

HTH,

Tal

[adnil53]

:D Thank you for the links! That is great!!! I am going to check out The Schwarzbein Principle as well. Thank you! :) :) :)

[adnil53]

;) I think I will stay with this vegetarian LCWOL, I have figured how to get the protein up and keep the carbs down :D I eat a lot of cheese, eggs, tofu and nuts, including soy nuts... I eat fruit as well as green vegetables. I am not eating much beans lately, but want to add them again later. I really like this! I have to admit, it has taken a lot of tweeking to get the protein up there and I only have gotten it up to around 60 grams. I would like it to be around at least 70, but 60 will do for now. I will keep working on it. Adding Soy Protein Isolate, would probably get it up there for me... :)

Thank you again for all your help... :wave:

[DewTal]

That's terrific!

:clap:

Dew

[Scarlet]

Hi

The Insulin Resistance Diet would suit you very well because the plan counts dairy produce, beans etc. to be protein sources.

[ http://www.soulcysters.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4903&perpage=15&highlight=insulin%20resistance%20diet&pagenumber=2]

Here's a synopsis of the plan:

--For every 15gm carbs you eat you must eat at least 7gm protein with it.
--Don't eat more than 30gm carbs in one sitting
--Once you've eaten carbs, don't eat any more for at least 2hrs. If you do, those extra carbs go right to fat!

Extra tips:
--Drink 8-8oz glasses of water a day, PLUS another 8oz glass for every 25lbs you are overweight. Water is very important to metabolism.
--Get plenty of fiber. It's also very important to metabolism.
--You can snack, just remember to combine carbs with protein and follow the two hour rule.
--Apples and Oranges don't effect glycemic response, which means they don't dump a bunch of insulin in your system despite the sugar they have. You can eat them without protein if you like.
--I find ways to "cheat" but stay on diet, so I don't feel at all deprived. For instance, I eat Snickers for breakfast practically every day. Common sense tells us we can't be on a diet if we are eating candy, but I drink a pint (16oz) of milk (skim, if anyone is interested) with it so I'm actually following the diet. I also eat a lot of fast food. A McDonald's cheeseburger has 35gm carbs and plenty of protein. I get a Double cheeseburger, no fries, no pop. Just the burger and water. I thought I'd feel deprived because I love fries and pop so much, but I don't. I do cheat and have fries the week of my period to kind of celebrate, but I find that I don't really even want to pop anymore. And it was something I drank almost every day!


You can also read 38 sample pages at http://www.amazon.com


Scarlet

[byutiful]

Hi there

Since you mentioned you were eating beans, you may want to consider sprouting the beans instead of cooking them. Sprouted beans have a lower glycemic index than cooked beans, which means less impact on your blood sugar.

1 cup sprouted lentils has 17 g carbs but I'm sure a lot of it is fiber.

Leti

[Scarlet]

A really good book that Dana Carpenter reccomends is "Baking Low Carb" By Diana Lee. There are tons of high protein baked goods in it so it is a lifesaver for veggies.

[nsmith4366]

I have recently started a whole new track on a KISS Veggie low carb diet. I eat :

Eggs
Cheese
All fats
All Nonstartch lc veggies
(infrequently small amounts of chicken/fish)

I'm very happy eating this way.
Digestion good.
Hair good.
Weight good.
Skin good.
Everything good.

I might eat a piece or two of chicken if it's on
a salad at a restaurant for example, but I do
eat alot of eggs and cheese. I never count carbs -
and my appetite seems to limit the carbs
automatically for me...I get full fast.

NO processed foods (cheese is not really processed)
By processed I mean machine/mechanically produced,
in a cardboard box or contains additives and preservatives.
I think you know what I mean without getting nitpicky.

It's possible. Vegan low carb is primarily wonderful veggies, salads, lots of favorite fats (healthy of course, not trans or hydrog) and good protein sources...eggs, cheese (very rarely some fish/chicken) but mostly vegan meals.

It can be done. Dairy products do not stall me, cheese does not constipate or stall me/I'm convinced all the veggies I eat prevent that. Lots of water - and success. :)

[adnil53]

WOW!!! I haven't been over here for a long time! I thought I would drop in and see... WOW!!! thanks for all the extra info... I went off the vegetarian diet for a little while, but I am pretty much back on it. I never seem to stay on a meat diet very long. I much more enjoy this LC vegetarian diet more! :wave:

[KLD65]

Could you give me some examples of non-starch, low-carb vegetables? I am trying to get started on this vegetarian, low-carb way of eating.

[KLD65]

I have recently started a whole new track on a KISS Veggie low carb diet. I eat :

Eggs
Cheese
All fats
All Nonstartch lc veggies
(infrequently small amounts of chicken/fish)

I'm very happy eating this way.
Digestion good.
Hair good.
Weight good.
Skin good.
Everything good.

I might eat a piece or two of chicken if it's on
a salad at a restaurant for example, but I do
eat alot of eggs and cheese. I never count carbs -
and my appetite seems to limit the carbs
automatically for me...I get full fast.

NO processed foods (cheese is not really processed)
By processed I mean machine/mechanically produced,
in a cardboard box or contains additives and preservatives.
I think you know what I mean without getting nitpicky.

It's possible. Vegan low carb is primarily wonderful veggies, salads, lots of favorite fats (healthy of course, not trans or hydrog) and good protein sources...eggs, cheese (very rarely some fish/chicken) but mostly vegan meals.

It can be done. Dairy products do not stall me, cheese does not constipate or stall me/I'm convinced all the veggies I eat prevent that. Lots of water - and success. :)
Also, do you have any trouble getting enoughprotein eating this way?