How to know what to eat if vegan is the goal?

This was a very interesting post, (well most of it ;) ). Thanks so much for your responses rcbinmichigan and Kathryn. I'm looking up the sites that you listed rcbin, but been having a hard time as my computer is sooooo slow. I looked for a vegan/weightlifting site for pregnant woman last pregnancy and couldn't find anything and I'm hoping that I can find something on this site.

I've been calling myself a vegan as I absolutely eat no meat/dairy and I guess this isn't completely accurate as I do use honey (through pregnancy I've added some sardines sometimes). I was so frustrated when I subscribed to vegetarian times and most of the recipes had dairy in them, that's when I learned that vegatarians are different from vegan's. Now I'm not sure what to call what I eat. Oh well. Just wanted to say that I really appreciated this thread and the sites you listed!!

Briee

Edited to add that being vegan has given me a whole new experience in pregnancy. The first four were horrible with all the complaints of normal preg's such as backaches, heartburn, water retention, leg cramps (supposedly due to lack of calcium), and mega weight gain, these last two as a vegan have been a breeze with no problems and only half the weight gain of the first four. That alone has made me very thankful!!
 
I'm thinking that maybe rather than focus on getting enough protein, maybe there are two "levels" in a fitness context. All of us surely get enough protein for basic health and metabolism, but maybe by increasing the amount it is easier to lose weight, or easier to avoid food cravings, or easier to put on muscle or other benefits. Then of course, we don't want to eat so much protein that we create kidney problems.

But maybe, what I'm saying is, the question is not what is the amount for health and are we getting enough, but what is the amount for optimum body shaping that most of us appear to be interested in.

For eating a high protein diet, beans and rice and potatoes are not enough. But you can supplement with many soy/spirulina protein powders. There is also soy flour for baking, soy milk, texturized vegetable protein nuggets and such, bee pollen (not vegan).

I eat a mostly vegan diet but do eat free range eggs from the farmer's market and occasional organic cheese. By increasing protein I have had good results, although I'm sure I got "enough" before. I hope this wasn't confusing.
 
Agreed. Still, from experience I know many people take in at least 20% protein w/out even trying to do so.
Sometimes more than ususal is needed, and it's best for everyone to experiment to find what works for them, as the jury will remain out on this one--probably forever.
One thing we do know is that is is pretty darn hard to induce kidney damage just from eating a lot of protein. Unless kidney disease is already present, eating more protein is not harmful (provided hydration needs are met).
Some athletes--elite and recreational-- get by on a Food Pyramid-type diet, while others swear by 40-30-30 or other higher-protein diets.

I have personally seen better results when I up my protein intake, though, by doing so, I also decrease carbs, so for me it's a combo approach.

To each her own!!
 
I'm vegan and just wanted to throw out some ideas/sites:

good recipe site:
www.vegweb.com

protein powders:
Genisoy
NutriBiotic (Rice protein - no soy)

other protein sources:
nuts/seeds (sunflower, sesame, almond butter, etc)
beans (chickpea, navy, kidney, lentils, pinto etc...) recipes include Hummus
tofu
wheat gluten (seitan - tastes like chicken)
tempeh

General Veg*n sites:
www.vegfamily.com
www.vrg.org
www.vegan.com
www.goveg.com (PETA site)

Here's the supplements I take if you are interested:
DHA (this is not vegan but I've read it is essential and not available yet in vegan form)
Zinc
multi with B12
calcium

I'm of the mind set that while being vegan is good for me, I know it doesn't work for everyone.

:) Kelli
 
There are some fabulous faux meats on the market now. Boca Burgers are delicious. So are the Morningstar Farms sausage links, patties, and corn dogs. I don't know if you eat tofu or not but there are a million ways to fix it that are great. You might take a look at book called "This Can't Be Tofu" by Deborah Madison (an inexpensive paperback book) which has terrific recipes.

Of course if you are adventurous, Indian food is the best. There are a number of things made from a combination of ground rice and urad dal which are good in protein, albeit probably incomplete proteins (idlis, dosai, uttappam - my favorite).

I also love black beans cooked with onions, garlic and some chipotle chiles. They make a good meal with some jalapeno cornbread and a green salad.

Don't be dissuaded by the brainless crap you'll hear from some unenlightened people (I see we have one here on this thread). It's a mindful and compassionate stance to take and there is no sacrifice in eating enjoyment.

Good luck.
 
>Here's the supplements I take if you are interested:
>DHA (this is not vegan but I've read it is essential and not
>available yet in vegan form)


Kelli,
If your interested in a vegan form of DHA (from marine microalgae), I take a supplement called "O-Mega-Zen" which is available from either www.veganessentials.com or www.veganstore.com 300 mg DHA per veggie gel cap.
 
>Of course if you are adventurous, Indian food is the best.
>There are a number of things made from a combination of ground
>rice and urad dal which are good in protein, albeit probably
>incomplete proteins (idlis, dosai, uttappam - my favorite).
>


Dahls, being combos of legumes (lentils or mung) and rice would be examples of complementary proteins (rice + beans or legumes). :7
 
"I also love black beans cooked with onions, garlic and some chipotle chiles. They make a good meal with some jalapeno cornbread and a green salad."

K60, you're making my mouth water!!! This sounds YUMMMMY!!!!! :7

Hollie
 
>I also love black beans cooked with onions, garlic and some
>chipotle chiles. They make a good meal with some jalapeno
>cornbread and a green salad.
>

I LOVE black beans! When I want a quick-to-make, nutritious salad, I toss together a can of black beans (rinsed), some frozen corn, some drained chunky salsa (save the liquid for cooking rice) and some spices. I also sometimes substitute black soybeans (not the regular canned yellow ones, which taste different) for black beans. The taste is similar (not "soyish") and the nutritional benefits are bumped up a bit. Or I mix black soy and black beans. Whatever happens to be around!
 
Got this email from the troll on this thread. There really should be a mechanism for removing people like this from the discussion boards. It's one thing to have a differing opinion. It's quite another to be borderline psychotic about it:
************************************************************
Mindless?? Just because I eat meat and don't care for holier than thou
vegetarians who preach and push doesn't mean I'm uncouth. Also, you
really, really want to know what makes me laugh about you veggies is most
of you from what I've seen are not slim. Not even on the thin side.
Why? Perhaps you guys eat more than a share of desserts. Also, another
ridiculous thing about you veggies are you guys don't like meat because we
kill animals to eat meat, right?? You guys kill plants to eat them.
Don't even call me mindless. I think you guys are more gone than usual.
You all say animals have feelings...Well, plants have feelings, too. I
have quite a few friends who are veggies and a lot of them are jackasses
especially the ones in virginia. Maybe you live there?

My only comment: Sad

P.S. Throw some diced Muir Glen tomatoes (fire roasted) into those beans too. Yummy.
 
Hey K60, I haven't seen you post in a while (but maybe I haven't checked all too many threads lately as it's been busy). Your recipes sound fantastic, feel free to list any more you happen to have!!!!

So tell me here....I know you lift really heavy....do you feel the need to up your protein quite a bit? I've been interested to know how other vegan's respond with heavy lifting.

Briee
 
I add a lot more protein than I used to eat and I feel better, more satisfied, and I think it helps with muscle building too. I just eat more beans, TVP, soy-spirulina protein shakes, tofu, and less carbs. I also put ground flax and walnuts on morning cereal and in oatmeal and salads.

I find the low carb high protein diet works better for me too, without eating any animal products. I do eat some animal products, but very little.
 
I haven't read all the posts, so I apologize if this is duplicate info, but if you're looking for alternate protein sources, you might want to consider vital wheat gluten. There are tons of recipes on the Internet. For me, it was a lifesaver--protein disguised as bread! Whoopee!

Shari
 
>Got this email from the troll on this thread.

Please report this to Cathe. Maybe this time they'll finally ban this person from the forum. I had a similar e-mail attack from this person a while ago, and it seems to be her modus operanda to accost people with personal e-mail attacks.

If SNM can't or won't ban this person, we could, as a community, shun her. Do not reply to her posts. Act as if she is dead to us. That's what the Amish would do (though they wouldn't use computers!). And be on the lookout for any "new members" who will appear with a similar tone of post.

On VF, there is a function to put another person on your "ignore" list so that you don't have to read any of their messages, and they can't send messages to you on the board. Anything like that here?
 
>I haven't read all the posts, so I apologize if this is
>duplicate info, but if you're looking for alternate protein
>sources, you might want to consider vital wheat gluten. There
>are tons of recipes on the Internet. For me, it was a
>lifesaver--protein disguised as bread! Whoopee!
>
>Shari

Seitan (or "wheat meat") is a good protein source that is made from wheat gluten. It doesn't resemble bread at all, but has a "meaty" texture. I've used some in chili, and one of my guests kept insisting that it "must be meat!"
 
I think some people on this forum should be banned as well.
 
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