Thursday, May 28, 2009

Tips for going veg

People often tell me that they have thought about going veg, but aren't sure how to do it. I had trouble at first, too. Like many, I ended up eating a bunch of pizza and pasta and (obviously) feeling really bad. I now know how to cook veg and I eat a wider variety of foods than I did before (no, really!) but looking back, I would have been better off following these tips:
  1. Spend a few weeks trying out lots of vegetarian foods you may never have tried before: tofu, hummus, and edamame were a few of mine.
  2. You don't have to go cold Tofurky (he he). Try starting with a few meatless meals per week, then go veg for a few days in a row.
  3. Think about how to change up the meals that you already eat. For example, if you like grilled chicken on top of your salad, try hard boiled eggs or throw a handful of garbanzo beans (chickpeas) on intead. You'll be adding meatless protein.
  4. Eliminate one type of meat at a time. For example, I rarely ate pork, so that would have been easy for me to eliminate.
  5. Take note of the meatless meals you're already enjoying all the time anyway... you might be surprized!

Everyone is different so what works for some won't work for all, but these are some ideas to try. Above all-- have fun with it!

Lunch - Thursday May 28


Leftovers from last night's dinner

Breakfast - Thurs. May 28


Whole wheat English Muffin
Egg
Reduced-fat Colby Jack cheese
Red grapes

Protein Punch: 15g

(Used a great tip I read once - crack an egg in a coffee mug and zap it in the microwave for less than a minute - fits perfectly on an English muffin)

Total meals and nutrition - Wed. May 27

Lunch: Leftover stir-fry (protein: 18g--see pic from Tues.)
Dinner: Veggie fajitas (tortilla, onion, stoplight bell peppers, reduced fat shredded cheese, low fat sour cream) and black bean dip w/tortilla chips (protein: 22g)
Total daily protein: 53g

Breakfast-- Wed. May 27

Whole wheat English muffin
Peanut butter
Watermelon
Red grapes

Protein Punch: 13g

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Total daily nutrition

Including (sorry, no pics):
Breakfast burrito: tortilla, reduced fat shredded cheese, 2 eggs, salsa (protein 23g)
Lowfat cottage cheese (protein 14g)
Wheat thins, red grapes, and watermelon

I have had about 85 grams of protein today

Dinner: Panini















Ciabatta bread
Spinach
Feta cheese
Roasted red peppers

Raw broccoli
Raw cauliflower
Hummus

Protein Punch: 26g

Lunch: tofu and veggie stir-fry















Brown rice
Baked tofu
Broccoli
Carrots
Stoplight bell peppers
Peanut oil
Soy sauce

Protein Punch: 18g