Vegetarian Diet Advise ?

[Jenelle327]

So I just started doing the "vegan diet" and was wondering if anyone else has done it, what you experienced and if theres any dos or don'ts. And any meal ideas would be cool. Iam pretty much doing nothing but fruit, veggies, salad,rice ,beans, almond butter, oatmeal, and soy milk. And doing cardio 5 days a week for about 45 min.

[Ambiguous]

I didn't understand if you mean you are going vegan or just for a period of time as maybe a weight-loss plan, but I did find this:
http://www.peta.org/living/food/two-week-vegan-meal-plan/

I would only advise that you pay attention to how many calories you are eating as it's easy to eat much less than you should while on a vegan diet without even noticing...

I've been a vegetarian since I was 14 and am going vegan right now, but slowly
I'm a fan of the microwave recipes that you can find all over the internet as I'm a lazy college student, but some of them are really healthy and tasty.

I have this site bookmarked:
http://www.yummly.com/recipes/easy-microwave-vegan

[DriftingCrow]

I was vegetarian for many years. My best advice is to get a good cook book or find a great recipe website.

Nothing will screw up a diet (whether short-term or long-term) than getting bored with the same recipes and feeling like you're limiting yourself.

While this recipe book isn't vegan, there is lots of vegan dishes, and yum. . . every recipe looks delicious! Madhur Jaffrey's World of the East Vegetarian Cooking . The back of the book has sample menus.

[LordKAT]

Vegetarian for 40+ years. I never needed a cook book of any type, just a bit of knowledge on how ingredients affect other ingredients.

[Jenelle327]

Ambiguous:
Iam just doin the vegan thing as a diet Ive seen ppl talking about it and
OMG I never knew you could cook stuff like that in the microwave.
And yea FT job plus FT student equals no time to cook

[ana]

I would not say that I am fully vegan, as I do eat some meat for protein but for the most part I eat a rich vegetarian and fruit diet. My favorite is my morning soya, blueberry, greek yogurt, nuts smoothie. For lunch, since I am too lazy I usually have a big summer greens salad with walnuts, cranberries, seeds, and for dressing a bit of olive oil and red wine vinaigrette. For snack I like ryvita brand multigrain crackers with humus. Basically I try to eat a low carb diet rich in antioxidants, nutrients and fiber.

I do try to augment my diet with a good cardio workout. I am 5'10 1/2"  and weigh 152 lbs, but I don't at all look under weight or gaunt.

best of luck hugs !

[LordKAT]

Vegan and vegetarian are two different things. Eating meat at any time is neither.

[Jenelle327]

Thanks Ana
Yea I am not vegan or vegetarian but I figured a micronutrient rich diet with low carbs and almost no sat fat would help with my body recomp workouts to loose bulk and drop down to a more petite build. At 5'7" its pretty hard so I'm trying to take advantage of whatever I can

[Jill F]

I was vegetarian for many years. My best advice is to get a good cook book or find a great recipe website.

Nothing will screw up a diet (whether short-term or long-term) than getting bored with the same recipes and feeling like you're limiting yourself.

While this recipe book isn't vegan, there is lots of vegan dishes, and yum. . . every recipe looks delicious! Madhur Jaffrey's World of the East Vegetarian Cooking . The back of the book has sample menus.

This^  You can't go wrong with Madhur Jaffrey.  I made 4 of her recipes just yesterday and can't wait for the leftovers.   I'm 3 weeks into a mostly vegetarian diet plan, and it's working out great for me so far.   The whole deal is that you displace a lot of calories by eating foods that are nutrient-rich and not very dense calorie-wise.  Now I need to motivate to do my cardio for the other part of the equation... 

I miss chocolate more than I do meat.

[JustEmily]

I cook for our family on most days, and Vegan is cheaper if you do it right.

We avoid pre-made items since one of my housemates is gluten intolerant a lot of the stuff has to be vegan and gluten free.  Pain in the butt.

The right tools and ingredients make a world of difference.  Earth Balance spread and coconut oil are my best cooking buddies.

Buy a ninja food processor or the like... cheap but effective.  The ninja is my best friend (but it hides sometimes. )

The right recipes make a huge difference.  Surf the web, there are LOTS of great things to try. 

I use a lot of tofu, chick peas, rice, lentils, and garlic.  Find recipes.  Humus is a lot cheaper and better if you make it yourself.

I am not an ethical vegan, I really don't care if you eat Bambi, just keep him off of my plate and out of my pots and pans.

[Ambiguous]

This^  You can't go wrong with Madhur Jaffrey.  I made 4 of her recipes just yesterday and can't wait for the leftovers.   I'm 3 weeks into a mostly vegetarian diet plan, and it's working out great for me so far.   The whole deal is that you displace a lot of calories by eating foods that are nutrient-rich and not very dense calorie-wise.  Now I need to motivate to do my cardio for the other part of the equation... 

I miss chocolate more than I do meat.

Jill, that used to be me too haha
I just hate the vegan "chocolates" that are for sale, they are so strange taste and texture wise.
Until I found out I could just melt dark chocolate with milk (soy, almond, rice, you chose) + any nuts or anything I want and pour into molds and tada! instant delicious chocolates

[SunKat]

And yea FT job plus FT student equals no time to cook

Three Words...  Electric Rice Cooker. 
It cooks white rice, brown rice, oatmeal, garbanzo beans for hummus, porridge, pilafs, risotto, polenta, chili, soups, pudding... and all I have to do is toss in the ingredients and let it do it's thing.
The best part is I can fill it up overnight and set the timer for when I want it start cooking.  The food is done when I wake up and the rice cooker will hold it at a hot temperature for hours, just like a slow cooker.
If you want to eat vegetarian or vegan but you have no time to cook, this is the essential kitchen appliance.

[Jenelle327]

SunKat
I just got a rice cooker like a week ago and I LOVE IT... but I never thought about cooking other non rice foods in it

[SunKat]

If you can pickup a copy of 'The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook',  that's where I started.  Or you can find recipes on the net and at the manufacturer's sites.  Zojirushi has a number of great recipes.  They even have a recipe for a Whole Wheat Sponge Cake.

[Jenelle327]

Thanks SunKat I bought the book cant wait for it arrive

[ritual-object]

If it's for health reasons I would definitely say to stay away from prepackaged and processed foods, although you could probably figure that out yourself! Fritos are vegan but eating a whole bag isn't good for you!

The rice cooker will be a great friend to you, doubly so if it's one that can double as a slow-cooker. Slow-cookers are a great time-saver and there are zillions of recipes you can find for them.

As for cookbooks, I love Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook and Isa Does It. I don't know if all the recipes in them would fit in with your schedule, but there are many that don't take much time. Isa Does It is specifically a "weekday cookbook" and the Veganomicon has a special marker for recipes that take less than 45 minutes. The author/co-author of these books has posted lots of recipes online if you would like to take a look at them. (http://www.theppk.com/recipes/)

As a vegetarian who is trying to "make the switch" (albeit very slowly), my favorite foods right now are bok choy, chick peas, black beans, zucchini, lentils, onions, broccoli, sunflower seeds...there is so much to choose from! As for what I have experienced, well, as a vegetarian at least I can say that my stomach works better than ever before (I previously had a lot of stomach issues) and I feel much healthier. Don't really have anything to say for weight loss but I became a vegetarian for different reasons. I have been a vegetarian for a little over a year now, for reference.

[DiDi]

The trick to changing your eating onto a healthier path is not to purposefully give up things (which can cause cravings) but consider adding new things that discover that you really enjoy that are healthier for you. If you are concerned about getting the right balance of carbs, fats and protein, consider the benefits of a simple and straightforward app like myfitnesspal. At the end of every day I can see how I did in terms of the three main components of solid nutrition. It is helping me get on the path to more protein and fewer carbs.

Good Luck though on the vegetarian path.

[Jill F]

Be careful with fats and high-glycemic index carbs. 

White bread, white rice and potatoes will cause a blood sugar spike, a rush of insulin and BAM- if you're not already working it off it gets stored quickly as body fat.

Fats have 9 calories per gram, so spend them wisely.  You want HDL, not LDL.  Margarine, butter and cheese work against you.  Fish, olive oil and nuts don't.  I still eat fish once or twice a week for the Omega-3s.

Calories in should be less than calories spent, so the more you eat, the more exercise you will need.

[Ms Grace]

I've been veto for about 26 years now, occasionally full core vegan and these days mostly veganish but I still have a bit of dairy - usually animal rennet free cheese - during the week. One thing I found about being hard core vegan (and, as I was doing it for ethical reason, it was really hard core) is that there is a remarkable amount of processed foods that for some god unknown reason have animal products in them, even if it's fish bladder or other exotic items! Anyway, everyone has already said everything I'd say - but essentially stick with whole foods, avoid processed grains and sugars, eat a variety of everything, make sure you are getting good natural protein, calcium and iron... and chew your food really well!

[VeryGnawty]

I don't think links are allowed on these forums.  But, you might want to search YouTube for someone named "Freelee The Banana Girl" and her boyfriend who's channel name is "durianriders"

Both of them make a lot of videos talking about high carb (mostly fruit) diets.