There is a little "nutrition quiz" in the book that
>says you don't have to combine anything. That goes against
>what you learn in FON 101.
>
>Kathryn.. I am going to go to Trader Joes and
>Sprouts this weekend here in PHX. Can you give me some
>recommendations for your favorite vegan fare?? Give me an
>example of what your diet is like, including dressings for
>your salad, if any....thanks!
I also think he doesn't address the "complete/incomplete" protein question very well. Complete proteins from the plant kingdom are soy, quinoa, and hemp. All others are usually lacking or low in some amino acid. As far as food combining, he's correct in that you don't have to eat beans and rice together to get the benefit of the synergistic combining of the amino acids, but he should have mentioned that these different foods should be eaten within a day or so of each other. I guess he's just assuming that people will eat a varied enough diet that includes both beans and grain, for example.
Some vegan stuff I like (I'm not into complicated fare, and often am a very lazy cook, but I just cook for myself for the most part)!
Yams (microwave one for 5-7 minutes, depending on size).
Lentil soup (I'm lazy, so buy canned, but it can be pretty high in sodium, so I've recently been buying the unsalted stuff. It can be pretty bland, but I decided to mix in some miso (a salty paste made from soybeans). Just be sure when you use miso to never boil it (it contains beneficial enzymes and acidophilus, like yogurt). I wait until I've heated the soup, then mix some miso in with some of the liquid that I scoop out, then add the combo to the soup.
Stir "fried" (I usually sauté in some cooking sherry or mirin--a rice wine--sometimes with a little bit of oil) veggies (some favorites are red peppers, onion, broccoli, mushooms) and seitan (a high protein food made from wheat gluten). Sometimes with tofu as well. You can find seitan in several forms, from the cheapest "make it yourself" version starting with gluten flour, to boxed mixes, to the more expensive prepared seitan, either frozen or in a jar. I like to keep a couple of packages in the freezer. Seitan has a very "meaty" texure, and if you make your own, you can vary the texture from very dense (if cooked longer at a simmer) to "puffier" (if cooked at a low boil). I once made chili with seitan, and one of my office mates was convinced that I used meat!
I like a "can-opener salad" made from one can each black beans (or black soybeans), garbanzos, green beans, kidney beans (I love beans!). I small jar pimentos. You can also add artichoke hearts, or sliced olives, or various pastas. I put a little bit of zesty Italian dressing on it (just enough to moisten). With most other salads, I don't use dressing.
I also just "invented" (!) a bean salsa: 1 can black soy, 1 can chopped tomatoes, with liquid reserved, 1 can corn (optional), 1 large or two small avocados, in chunks. Mix about 1/2 of the reserved tomato liquid with salsa seasoning. I use it as a dip with black bean or red or blue corn chips, or as a filling for tacos or wraps.
For breakfast, I like "GoLean Crunch" (The main ingredients are whole grains, not flour) with blueberries (sometimes almost equal amounts of both!) and Silk Enriched Soy Milk.
In winter, I like oat groats (whole oats chopped in half) with ground flax, maple syrup, and soy milk.
In summer, I like to make a huge fruit salad for breakfast: 1 mango, 1/2 cup blueberries, 1/2 cup other berries, 3/4 cup soy vanilla pudding. (Measurements approximate: as with all my "recipes," since I live alone and can pretty much just eat whatever I want, I just kind of throw together whatever amount looks/tastes good to me!)
For snacks, I've recently been into sliced cucumbers dipped in spinach hummus. I've also made my own hummus, using either sprouted garbanzos (sprout for about 3 days--you won't see an actual sprout, but the sprouting process has begun) mixed with hummus ingredient, but cutting down on the oils (no tahini, for example).
As for bodybuilder mentality vs. veganism, I know there is one guy who is a vegan and a registered dieticien (In fact, I've met him) who's written a bit on veganism and bodybuilding. Jack Norris is his name. He has a web site with lots of info on vegan nutrition, but I don't know the URL (there may be a link to it from
www.veganoutreach.org , of which he is one of the founding members).