Hi all,
Briefly, I did low-carb (non-veggie) for about 3 years and lost very well on it. Went off and though I've gained part of the weight back, my main concern is that I'm back to the old diet/binge cycle. I'd like to go back to low-carbing, not just to lose the weight I gained but mainly because when I was low-carbing the sugar cravings and the binges were non-existant.

The problem is that I've since become a vegetarian, so I'm clueless as to where to start. I know there are some great suggestions on this board, but I'm clueless about menus and plans and the like. I know since I was low-carbing in 1997 that there have been a lot of plans to come up that are more veggie-friendly but I have no idea where to start.

I am not looking for Atkins-level carbs, as I'm pretty active and did well with 50-70 carbs/day when I lost the weight. So I'm a bit more flexible with that, though I know that too many grains are out .

I'd love to hear about experiences of other veggie LCers and especially sample menus. One thing that the LC WOL taught me was to cut out processed food and "white" grains/sugars, so I've continued to do that. I try not to eat too many processed foods so I try to stay away from a lot of the frozen and packaged veggie burgers and the like. I'd rather cook something up with lots of veggies, though I'm limited to quick one-dish items, since I'm a grad student and do not have the time to really cook up a storm (though I love cooking and would be more than happy to do this)

So any ideas would be lovely! Any books out there that could help a vegetarian low-carber (not cookbooks but actual menu plans and guides)?

Tam

When I eat veggies, I try to eat squash, green beans, broccoli, spinach, lettuce. Luckly, I like all those vegetables. They have carbs, but lots of fiber, so that reduces your net carbs.

Tam, Rose Elliot from the UK has written a book--more of a how-to than a cookbook--called 'The Vegetarian Low-Carb Diet'. Here's a link to the description on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/07...glance&n=283155

It's not the plan I use; it's actually based on an Atkins-type approach. However, it might be good for the menu ideas and 'program' style information you're looking for.

My plan of choice is Protein Power, which allows up to 40 grams effective carbs (total carbs minus fiber) right from the beginning, and which focuses on getting adequate protein (something lots of vegetarian diets lack.) I've found PP pretty vegetarian friendly over the last four years (I started the plan as someone who ate meatless--mainly vegetarian ethnic meals, with some fish.) But you don't have to eat fish, or processed foods, or vegetarian 'meats' to do PP. If you eat eggs or dairy or both, you can keep plenty of variety in your meals, get adequate protein and control your carbs.

Hope that helps.

Hi there,
Thank you for all the replies. I did order Eliot's book but it'll probably take awhile, as I'm in the States and it's coming from the UK .

I did however take another look at South Beach Diet, which I did for a short time while I was low-carbing and I'm finding it very veggie-friendly. So I'll likely start with that and read Eliot's book and see if I want to switch to that one or continue with SBD. I like the fact that SBD allows beans from Phase 1, which is a big source of protien for me, as I'm not a huge tofu/soy fan and don't typically eat a lot of it.

Tam

http://www.carb-lite.au.com/

Click on the veggie area-tons of recipes there.