New Vegetarian Type Diet...thingie?

if you're a cook, you shouldn't have to worry about your protein intake. vegetables have all the protein we need. you're not going to get a disease from not enough protein if you're not starving. don't be scared, we've been brainwashed to think we need so much but we don't. you'll be fine.

i eat tofu, oatmeal, beans, lentils, peanutbutter, and lots of nuts, besides the green veggies i eat all the time. brown rice has protein too.

just search vegetarian recipies...there is so much out there. Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is a grain with a lot of protein. It is good to.

If you have a decent health food store around check out the frozen foods section. Tons of vegan and vegetarian meat substitutes. Try not to go strictly for soy though. Beans and lentils are an awesome protein source and they are super cheap!

I would suggest watching a few episodes of an online vegan cooking show at http://www.theppk.com/

That was my first experience with vegan cooking and the PPK's cookbook was the first cookbook I purchased... you'll learn a lot of versatile and delicious ways to enjoy your veggies and grains, believe me.

Also, here's some suggestions:

PROTEIN SOURCES - tofu, bean curd, bean sprouts, beans and legumes, nuts, seeds, any whole grain, some vegetables, and if you choose, eggs and dairy.

It's fine if you don't like pasta, I'm not a huge pasta eater, either. I like a type of bread called "Ezekiel 4:9", it is not only delicious but is a complete protein source as well.

Extra pointers:

1. Tofu needs to be prepared, sometimes it needs to be pressed or at least drained of the liquid it is packaged in.

2. Tofu marinates easily and can be baked, fried, used in soups and stews, it is as versatile and more than meat.

3. Nutritional yeast is rich in vitamins that vegans and vegetarians MIGHT fall short in, like B12; you can stir a few tablespoons of it into soups, casseroles, pasta dishes, etc. It has a pleasant, cheesy texture and taste.

4. You can make an easy and versatile egg-less egg salad by crumbling tofu, stirring in vegan eggless mayo substitute, adding some lemon juice, spices and herbs... it's a five-minute prep and it stores for a few days in the fridge. A huge bonus is that it has none of the cholesterol of real egg salad, and can even halve the calories.

Recipe: http://www.chooseveg.com/eggless-egg-salad.asp

5. Don't be discouraged by people that are negative towards you because of your dietary choices, and don't be hard on yourself if you slip up, either. I was an on and off vegetarian since I was a teen, but was always somewhat unmotivated; I transitioned to a vegan diet when I was pregnant because I tried to eat meat as per a doctor's reccomendations and it made me extremely ill - not a typical consequence of eating meat when you're pregnant, but it motivated me to change.

Try some of the products, initially, before declaring a set meal schedule. Once you have some of your favorite meat alternative brands down, the rest of the food that you eat will fall into place. I

BOCA brands: excellent faux ground meat, griller's (burgers), faux) chicken patties....all excellent

Morningstar: not always my fave, but a lot of people like it. They have good faux bacon strips for BLT's

Yvees, Nates, Veggie Patch (faux meatballs), are all great. Try them!

Protiens are needed but you need to make sure you get all of your amino acids.

While you will not get all of your essential amino acids by going vegetarian, you can get close.

I know legumes (beans) and rice can be a great source of protein. Soy also has a great amount of protein.

Just ask your local grocer/organic market.

Get yourself a 100 lb sack of rice and a 100 lb sack of beans and a case of hot sauce and make red beans and rice and you never have to worry.

Vegetarian sources of protein include almonds, black beans, brown rice, cashews, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), kidney beans, lentils, lima beans, peanut butter, pinto beans, seitan, soybeans, soymilk, sunflower seeds, textured vegetable protein (TVP), tofu, and faux meats. (See http://vegcooking.com/guide-favs.asp for a list of good faux meats).

Recipes:

http://vegcooking.com/searchRecipes.asp

http://www.chooseveg.com/vegan-recipes.asp

You can also use your favorite recipes from before you went veg, and use the faux meats to turn them into veg versions.

Good luck!

How much protein do you need? Oh, you mean you don't know? You should find that out before you go around parroting what you hear.

http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2007nl/apr/dairy.h...

This is a super article on Veggie sources of protien.

Sign up for Dr. John McDougall's newsletter(free) Has plenty of educational info & recipes.

Look in the archives chock full of recipes & his opinion of different health issues.

http://www.drmcdougall.com/

Slainté(to your health)

subscribe to vegetarian times mag. tons of recipies each month, or just go to their website.

vegetariantimes.com