I'm glad to see some low carb veggie action -- I hadn't checked or posted here in a while, since "low carb vegetarian" seemed like an oxymoron to many on the rest of the board.

Since last visiting here, I transitioned from the Zone WOE to Atkins, and I have to say it’s much easier as a veggie. Only problem for me (as some of you may remember) is that the meat substitutes are very high in sodium – something I need to watch.

mctrish, please share with me exactly how you melt cheese into chip-like things to pile on the salsa and stuff. I’ve tried it in the frying pan with mixed results. What kind of cheese do you use, how long to heat, cool, etc?

Best to all
Rhu

I'm not new to LC or vegetarian, but I am to LC AND vegetarian! I just switched to a LC lacto-Ova vegetarian WOE. I'm enjoying it tremendously! Oh, I missed my beans, but now if I'm careful I can add them sometimes!! YUMMY.

mctrish... yes, how do you melt cheese into chip-like things to pile on the salsa and stuff? Enquiring minds wants to know... hummmm? It sounds very good!

My favorite vegetarian product is Boca Burgers. When I first tasted them I thought how much BETTER they tasted than meat! Not many carbs either.

I'm so pleased to see so many vegetarian LCer's

Here is a sample of my menu. I just upped the calories, but basicly this IS how I eat. If you'll notice I only get 23 ecc. [effective carb count] I normally only eat about 1/2 this amount, but thought upping the calories would help me... will have to see. I am always tweating [messing with] my WOE, trying to get it were I want it...

BREAKFAST
Omelette made with
2 eggs
3 oz cheese
MID-MORNING
Dice and mix together for salad;
1 oz cheese
1.5 oz tofu
1 oz walnuts
2 hard boiled eggs
2Tbs mayonaise
LUNCH
8 Brussels Sprouts
1.5 oz tofu
3 oz cheese melted over the tofu and sprouts
MID-AFTERNOON
2 oz cheese
2 eggs
DINNER
Casserole made with [maybe like a quiche];
3 oz cheese
2 eggs
1 cup spinach
½ cup soybeans
1 oz walnuts
Very the type of Cheese, nuts and veggies.

Fitday's Food Values:
Calories: 2314
Fat: 179 - 71%
Carbs: 43 - 4%
Fiber: 20
Protein: 142 - 25%
Ecc: 23

Linda –

I came up with a pretty good system for making chips from cheese over the weekend. Here it is:

Start with an ounce slice of cheese that’s about ¼” thick and cut that in half. Place the half ounce on a flat plate – not plastic – in the micro, and microwave for one minute. Remove from the micro and peel the cheese from the plate with a spatula or pancake flipper, working the edges up first, and getting to the middle part last. Let cool. (It’s worth mentioning that the plate gets pretty hot, and I needed to use pot holders for this process.)

I had the best results when making multiple chips by alternating between two plates. I was actually washing one plate with cool water while the other was in use in the micro. This prevented the plate from overheating, and got rid the residue from the last piece of cheese, both of which kept the “chip” from melting out to the edges of the dish, and made it a manageable size for dipping!

Yes, it was quite the “mad scientist” weekend! I tried a lot of methods before I figured out what was working and what wasn’t.

The funniest thing about my pursuit of the perfect “chip” is that I never liked chips and things when I was eating high carb! (If it wasn’t chocolate, I usually didn’t give it a second look.)

Hope this helps …
Rhu

I was away on vacation so I finally got back on the computer. Sorry for the delay in responding.....I always use the microwave and spray the no-stick spray on the plate. That is important because the cheese sticks really bad without it! I use munster and american and another one, usually swiss. One of each and I top it with a half of an avacado. It melts in about 30 seconds. I all salsa and sour cream, when I have it in the house. It isn't hard or anything but it is good. I will also do this alone or put it on top a veggie burger from Morningstar, the best one of the bunch. I'm sorry it has too much salt, I have low blood pressure so it isn't a concern for me at all, but if you have to watch it, it will be a concern. Good luck!

Thanks mctrish, can't wait to try them...

Here is a menu that is lower in the cheeses and eggs. I just didn't list the seperate meals. A little less calories too.

1 cup soybeans cooked
1 oz pecans, raw
1 oz sunflower seeds, raw
6 cooked whole eggs
4 oz cheese, natural
3 tbs mayonnaise
6 oz extra-firm tofu
1 tsp butter
1 cup broccoli, chopped frozen [yeilds about ½ cup cooked]
6 asparagus spears, canned

FITDAY TOTALS:
Calories: 2059
Fat: 149 – 71%
Carbs: 44 – 4%
Fiber: 21
Protein: 126 – 25%
Ecc: 23

I thought that soy beans by themselves were high in carbs? I looked at them at the store and was surprised when tofu is all soy bean and there are no carbs in it??? I like your receipe and will be glad to try it out! Thanks!

Here is Fitdays totals for 1 cup soybeans cooked, plain... As you can see they have 17 carbs per 1 cup... BUT, the effective carb count is only 7.
Calories: 298
Fat: 15 - 50%
Sat: 2 - 7%
Poly: 9 - 28%
Mono: 3 - 11%
Carbs: 17 - 10%
Fiber: 10 - 0%
Protein: 29 - 41%
Ecc: 7

And Nori-Nu extra-firm tofu per 1 slice, about 3 oz.
Calories: 46
Fat: 2 - 31%
Sat: 0 - 5%
Poly: 1 - 18%
Mono: 0 - 6%
Carbs: 2 - 14%
Fiber: 0
Protein: 6 - 55%
Ecc: 2

Enjoy

That is the confusing thing about the "effective carbs". I certainly wouldn't know what to do about them nor how to figure that all out. I just try to read and hope that they say the truth on the labels!

All you do is read the label and then subtract the fiber from the carb count and that gives you the ecc [effective carbohydrate count] Hope that is helpful. Something else you may want to try is www.fitday.com It is a great way to keep track of your food, plan menu's, enter custom food... etc. A lot of other stuff as well. Have a great LC day!!!

expain why you should deduct fiber from your carb count... Dietary fiber is made up of complex carbohydrates that humans lack the enzymes to digest. So if you only allow yourself say 20 carbs and you get them from, say, broccoli, [2.5 cups broccoli has 19.73 carbs and 11.31 fiber]... you are not getting 20 grams of carbs, you in reality are only getting something like 9 carbs instead of 20. Just thought I'd made that clear as MUD... Even Atkins agrees with that these days...

It was my birthday last week and my husband wanted to take me to dinner, probably more for him than me! We went for Mexican food and I ordered something that I had forgotten about. It was so good that I made it a few days later and thought I would share it with you.
It is an Atkins Enchilada. I ordered a large plate of shredded lettuce topped with enchilada sauce and lots and lots of cheese, all put under the heat so it was nice and melted. Of course, I splurged and got the sides of avocado and sour cream. When I made it at home, I popped everything, except the avocado and sour cream, in the microwave for at least 3 minutes to get it all bubbly. It was so good that my family wanted some of it.
The enchilada sauce was 3 gr. for 1/4 cup and I tried to keep it right around there. The cheese and lettuce is a big 0 gr. The salsa is 1 gr. per 2 Tbs. The sour cream is like 2 gr. and the avocado might be 3 or 4, depending on how much you use. All in all, a very satisfying meal with very little grams and very vegetarian!
The waiter wasn't too upset about the change of menu and said it looked better than I had described it.

Here is another link which some of you may find helpful

http://www.holdthetoast.com/cgi-bin...96098208124faq.




Scarlet

OK, I'm a trader... I'm not doing vegetarian at the moment... I just want to concentrate on getting this weight off... ya'all continue on... I know vegetarian works with this WOE, I just don't want to worry about it at the moment. I wish you all success... Keep up, keeping on...

I will be going back on the vegetarian WOL in the very near future. I have to work some things out for myself.

Thanks for that great site!


Trish