Beginners Guide To Vegetariansim

Protein: Beans, seeds, nuts, eggs and a modest amount of dairy. You get animal fat from dairy so don't go nuts there. Lots of fresh fruits and veggies. Whole grains. Go to the library and bookstores.

Search on Amazon.

Try Indian vegetarian cuisine, Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese, Mexican, Cuban, and so on.

NO one is going to present you the perfect diet, get to work.

Honestly, I'd consider eating a bit of fish or seafood too.

Read Barnard or McDougall.

Quinoa

LOOF wrote:

Protein: Beans, seeds, [..] Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese, Mexican, Cuban, and so on.

Beans and seeds contain plenty of anti nutrients - STAY AWAY!

Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese, Cuban are heavy on meat, that's why they are so good.

Chinese is full with cheap refined vegetable oils and MSGs, stay away.

Mexican is full of beans, which is why they are the fattest people on earth.

Welcome to hell.

Thank goodness stone-age man wasn’t vegetarian or we all wouldn’t be around now to deliberate such nonsense.

Gene Tunney wrote:

Thank goodness stone-age man wasn’t vegetarian or we all wouldn’t be around now to deliberate such nonsense.

The biggest and strongest men in history (Greeks and Romans) somehow flourished on a low meat diet. There has to be something in either the food or the 12hour per day for life physical labor lol

Gene Tunney wrote:

Thank goodness stone-age man wasn’t vegetarian or we all wouldn’t be around now to deliberate such nonsense.

Thank goodness stone-age man was smarter than you. Otherwise we all wouldn't be around to deliberate such nonsense.

What does the diet of pre-historic humans have to do with the OP's diet today? There are significant differences between prehistoric humans and us (life span and level of activity, to name a couple) which support rethinking dietary choices.

But you didn't really want to think about the issue right? Just wanted to hear yourself talk.

What do you suggest??? Best reading/books?? It seems by your post that you know the answers, but failed to provide any answer top the OP...many of us would like to know your thoughts without searching everywhere...

I'm not vege or vegan, but my missus is. So that means I am most of the time.

I'm 46 and I weigh less than 140 pounds (Especially after a long run on a hot day. ;-). I'm running 70 miles a week (working up to 90+ on the way to Boston). I'm in the "not slow, but certainly not elite" masters category. My calorie requirements seem to be ~3000-4000 a day. Most of that information is for comparison: it's genetic, for the most part; not a by-product of diet or running or anything else.

I do very little breads, zero pastas, and no milk. A bit of cheese with wine and a bit of ice-cream is about it for dairy for me.

Staples are eggs, beans, sweet potatoes, broccoli, asparagus, kale, spinach, bokchoi, potatoes, carrots, oranges, apples, bananas, and some grains like buckwheat and rice - mostly in "vegan protein powder" versus any other way. Used to do quinoa and rice, but didn't get enough benefit from them versus the grain-factor issues; and I like the legumes and tubers stuff better.

Breakfast is always 2-3 eggs plus sauteed vegetables. Easy alternative is a big fritatta (or little ones in cupcake pans), then eat it for a week. Gets all the veges stirred in and makes it fast and easy.

Lunch for me is often "out" because I like the time alone. Indian is the only reliable quality vegetarian food I've found. Thai can work, but vege is not their specialty - you have to ask the right questions, which can be uncomfortable with a language barrier.

Dinner out is Indian or Thai. At home, it's various soups - mixed beans, lentils, chili, etc. Lots of tasty options that are "make a big batch and eat for a week" stuff.

I keep Kind or other bars around all the time for mid-meal snacks. I stick to raw vegan bars and avoid the sugary chocolate stuff.

I also do about a gallon a day of blended fruits and veges, kale and vegan protein powder. Blended every morning, then take it with me in 32oz jars for after / in-between meals. This adds about another 1000 calories and ~120+ grams of protein.

Without the last two, I get light-headed a bit. I run a crazy-high metabolism of these types of foods. With the bars and protein / food shakes, I keep solid energy all day.

FTR, I will also eat meat for lunch or dinner - ideally fish, but also some chicken or pork if that's what's around. As I said, I am not vege or vegan; but I've spent many days without any meat and I feel just as good - typically a little better energy - without the meat as with it. I'm just too lazy to do it all the time.

HTH.

Easiest method: Just eat what you normally eat, without the meat part, then to replace the protein drink whey protein (optimum nutrition brand from GNC is fine).

I have been a vegetarian for 5 months. It's not hard at all. In the mornings it's usually eggs, quinoa or oatmeal, and a piece of healthy whole wheat toast with a hefty layer of peanut butter on top. For lunch I eat a peanut butter and honey sandwich, banana and/or apples, clif bar, carrots, trail mix, and other things I may have leftover. For dinner I usually eat a variety of beans, green vegetables, sweet potatoes, nuts, soup, squash etc etc (lots of other foods I eat). Dinner is usually where I get my green vegetables for the day, which is important. I should probably eat more throughout the day. I like what another poster said about taking fruit/vegetable shakes with vegan protein powder to work. I think I'll try this. My diet definitely needs improving and it will be easier once I get my own place. I could make it even more healthy, and plan to soon. Hope this helps. If you have any other questions just ask.

breakfast. oatmeal with sliced banana and scoop of peanut butter.

Lunch. veggie soup(easy to make) 1. saute garlic, onion, and cilantro or parsley in olive oil for 3-5 min. Then add about 6-8 cups water, 2-3 cubed potatoes, chopped carrots, cup of lentil beans, cup of brown rice, and chopped up kale, salt/pepper. Bring to boil and simmer for about 20-30 minutes.

Dinner- salad(spinach, tomato, onion). Saute asparagus with chopped almonds

This is just a easy sample of good tasting food... I didn't even go easy with eggs or beans and rice or pb&j.....

If you have the following on hand you will be able to make something healthy and cheap. Peanut butter, Bread, Eggs, Beans(chickpeas, lentils, black), Brown Rice, Potatoes (any kind) Bananas, Oatmeal, and basic veggies(spinach, carrots, tomatoes).

I'd highly recommend getting a copy of Mark Bittman's 'How to Cook Everything Vegetarian'. Many recipes are ridiculously easy to prepare, even for people who don't cook much, and the index is as exhaustive as you're going to find from a single sourse.

Also check out the No Meat Athlete website.

I've been a vegetarian for nearly 2 decades now and I have never eaten like the above posters. I can't image vege protein, eating quinoa regularly, having Indian all the time, or any of that other hipster vegetarian stuff. I'm a regular guy who likes regular American food.

It was tough when I first started I didn't know what to do. I basically survived on a diet of rice and peanuts. Yes I lost 30 pounds that first year but a lot of it was weight I didn't need. Eventually a vegetarian friend exposed me to the world of vegetarian meat products. In every grocery freezer aisle there is a section for them. These are usually produced by either Boca or Morning Stars. I am particularly fond of veggie... corn dogs, chicken nuggets, burgers, chicken patties, and soy crumbles (a replacement for ground beef). With the last item you can make almost any of your old favorite meat items including some that I frequently eat like tacos and meat lasagna.

Similar to the above poster I am a vegetarian but my wife is not. She has come not to care for the fake meat products (textures aren't perfect and when you go back and forth you see the difference) so we don't do them much for meals anymore. We are really carbatarians as we eat a lot of pasta and rice. Another way to think of it is being a side-item-atarian, basically what we eat for meals are what other people have on the side with their meat. You don't have to go into this crazy health nut world to be a vegetarian.

I eat lunch out frequently at work and really like sandwich shops. I am perfectly content with a cheese sandwich. Lots of places including Burger King have fake meat patties too.

My advice is to not waste your time trying to be vegetarian unless you have a real reason to do it. If your reason is you want to be a health nut than by all means ignore me. Otherwise if you are into something like PETA then you will be a strong committed vegetarian but if it is just something you think May be beneficial you'll have no will power to overcome meat cravings or social pressures.

Good luck either way. Hope this was a little more insightful than the general list of nuts beans and veggies.

Hard to say what you are getting today when you buy meat. Sludge mixed in, cows feed weird diets and pumped full of drugs. I have moved towards a veggie diet not because I think meat is bad for you, but because what they are selling now may not even be meat! Unless you want to spend crazy money on organic grass feed(used to be normal, right?) meats. It's just a moral bonus that the factory farms that mistreat the animals(and the employees!) are getting less of my money. But on a side note... all that soy pretending to be meat.... probably healthier to eat a real corn dog than a fake one!

Here's a link to some information about what foods to include in your diet:

http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/healthy-food-gombbs-greens-onions-mushrooms-berries-beans-and-seeds.html

I've been on a plant-based diet for almost 4 years and eating the GOMBBS food types will help you eat a balanced diet. A book that has many plant-based recipes in it (many of them are super easy to prepare is "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease" by Caldwell Esselstyn.