vegetarian/vegan health

I've been eating low-carb for almost a year. I'm no longer a vegetarian, but I'm certainly not a meat-lover, either. I'm trying to keep my meat intake to as little as possible. In order to keep the carbs down in a vegetarian diet, there are two things you need to do:

1. eat enough protein

2. eat enough fat

The first can be covered by eating soy products. These are extremely rich in protein and will keep you satiated for much longer than easy-burning carbs. They also allow you to still build and maintain muscle mass, which could be an issue if you rely on carbs only to keep you from getting hungry. Ovo-lacto vegetarianism is considered the healthiest kind - you can still eat eggs and cheese / dairy products - these also contain a lot of protein and fat so you don't go hungry all day.

The second is also done rather easily - there are plenty of veggies that are quite high in fat. Avocados, for example - these are very healthy and are known to not suck up pesticides too easily. Another good source of non-animal fat are nuts of any kind.

If you go vegetarian and / or vegan, it's not enough to simply eat more veggies. If you don't check where these come from, you could do yourself a major disservice. Pesticides and other chemicals in plants can cause cancers, wreak havoc on your central nervous system, cause allergies etc. A good way to get started is reading this:

https://globalnews.ca/news/3296249/the-dirty-dozen-and-clean-15-2017s-list-of-fruits-vegetables-with-the-most-pesticides/

Veggies and fruit that are listed on the dirty dozen list should only be consumed if you can obtain them organic.

Some of them (e.g. Kale) can be insanely healthy if you eat the organic variants, or extremely unhealthy if you just consume the standard high-pesticide version. Leafy greens in general suck up pollutants and chemicals to a worrisome degree.


From my personal experience, I'd not go vegan. It's not the healthiest lifestyle and it also means a massive cut into your quality of life if eating is one of your passions. I'm not saying you can't live well as a vegan, it's just that a lot of people aren't capable of maintaining a highly specialised diet without sooner or later ending up deficient. Both my cousin and brother-in-law are ER regulars because of their vegan diet. It something I'd never be able to sustain.

I went vegetarian years ago with my partner. We went through the same phase with carbs. My advice is to stay away from high processed carbohydrates like white breads. Go for complex carbohydrates like carrots, whole grains, and potatoes.. you know, things with fiber in them. Make sure to drink water with them and the fiber will absorb it and help make you feel full. That way you can eat less carbohydrates and fee l like you ate a lot.

Remember someone can be vegetarian or vegan and eat nothing but popcorn, potato chips, and soda and will be unhealthy. Whole foods and a large variety is key to going down this path in a healthy manner.

As for cooking, as some noted before, steaming is excellent and easy. But steaming can easily result in mushy vegetables. Try learning how to blanch vegetables (great for broccoli among other vegetables). Basically it is boiling for just a few minutes and cooling the food with cold water. The food maintains firmness and nutrients, the color is a also tends to deepen and become more vivid.

Carbs are great for you, just not simple carbs. USDA.Gov has a lot of information on this too.

I tookma quick run through this thread, so pardon if I missed a response that covered this. Legumes! Beans my friends! They're tasty, filling, and full of protein. Paired with whole grains, very complete. Many good recipes for making meat substitutes with beans. Lots of good veg and vegan products on the market now that can add lots of variety to your daily diet. Vegan isn't unhealthy and truly not hard to maintain. It does help if you learn some basic cooking. Don't fer crbs, just try to pick the most whole and unprocesed ones.

Here's a darn tasty tuna substitute for you.

CHICKPEA OF THE SEA

Drain 1can garbanzo beans.
Lightly pulse in food processor or hand mash. It should be coarse, not like hummus.
Add a tablespoon of kelp powder or more to taste
Add 1 tsp celery salt, 1/2 tsp dried mustard, any other herbs you like. Mix well.
Chop any raw veggies you enjoy in tuna. I use onion, bell pepper, carrots, cucumber, celery, and pickles. Add to chickpea mash and mix
Add mayo (if vegan use vegan kind) mix all together, voila!

I like mine in rice wrapper, but a tortilla or bread will do. I blanch collard, kale, or cabbage leaves, lay that inside my wrap, add above Chickpea mix, throw on a sliced tomato... pure delish. If you want to leave out the carb, use large blanched noted leaves above. Enjoy!

Dont boil vegetables more.
Refer more dishes on http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/19334/cooking-methods-styles/quick-easy/dinner/vegetable/