Tosca Reno--What about vegetarians??!!!!

B

BeautyandGrace

Cathlete
I've been reading Tosca Reno's Clean Eating book, and I am shocked that it gives no consideration to vegetarians!

And it's just strange that every time she lists all the protein you need to eat, it's always "chicken, bison, pork, fish, and eggs." Why the heck aren't things like beans, tofu, and tempeh in that list?????

Anyone else notice this? Or is it because I am not finished reading it and she will mention vegetarians later in the book?
 
She doesn't really address vegetarians. I am a vegetarian and I emailed her the other day to ask what to replace the meat and eggs for but she hasn't replied yet. If she does I will post if you like.

Kim:)
 
There are a few vegetarian receipes in the book though. Hopefully she will respond back to Kim. There is a soybean meatloaf that DS said looked good! LOL. He thought it was a chocolate chip cake!
LD
 
I can understand (I suppose) if her recipes do not cover the vegetarian/vegan readers. But It makes no sense at all that she excludes vegetarian/vegan interests when she gives all the lists of protein choices.

It will be interesting to see whether the cookbook coming out next fall has veg recipes. I will be non-plussed if everything has meat/fish/chicken and eggs!

In addition, I found it strange that no where in her book (so far at least) does she indicate how much of anything you are supposed to eat. Like how many grams of protein per meal / per day, etc. Have I just not read enough of the book yet, or is it true that the book is not as thorough as it could/should be?
 
As a vegetarian, you probably know this. But one of the best sources of protein out there are beans and lentils. Really you have a world of options out there for you. Granted there aren't that many precooked, frozen and prepared foods, but that is one of the reasons vegetarians are so healthy. You probably eat a very colorful diet, full of dark greens, oranges, yellows and reds, huh. Throw in some rice, beans and lentils you're good to go. The human body only needs .8 grams of protein a day. So, don't kill yourself looking for protein options. You're probably getting them already and don't even know it. For a regular healthy human one 8 oz steak, which is small is all they need. Protein is a repairing enzyme. It's not meant to give you energy, that comes for calories, carbohydrates are the best source. If you eat too much protein your body will just convert it to carbohydrates anyway, and if you don't need those it'll store it as fat after it's converted the protein down to a carb. Protein does not build muscle, lifting weights, and working out does. Protein repairs the small tears in the muscle that you've done by working out and that is what builds the muscle. So, don't beat yourself up trying to add more protein to your diet.

Kathy

Edited to add .8 grams of protein per pound of body weight, sorry.
 
BeautyandGrace, unfortunately you are definitely on to something there. As much as I think she's on the right track, she definitely leaves out important info, and even contradicts herself in places.

It's a great start but I think the editing was sloppy or nonexistent. The book feels like it was put out in a hurry and, as such, is lacking information and continuity.

I hope that the cookbook contains some veggie recipes. I'm not a vegetarian currently but I have been one in the past. Hippie tendencies.

I would like to see much more specific info. She does state to shoot for 5oz. of lean protein at each mini-meal.

Like so many other things I guess we just have to take what we can from it and educate ourselves on the missing pieces.

S
 
Her new book is coming out soon, maybe she will have vegetarian recipes. I notice she has a large amount of protein in her diet. 6 egg whites in the morning?!! I recently saw an egg white drink mix at the Vitamin Shop. Has anyone tried this?? Does it taste any good? Also, I have gotten sick from Soy Milk in the past, was wondering if rice milk is any good? I hate diary (force myself to have 2 a day for protein), eggs, tofu, fish (allergic) and meat in general, but force myself to eat chicken (feel sorry for the animals :-( ), Do you need such a large amount of protein from animal sources to get defined muscles?
 
I paged through Clean Eating at the book store today. I did not buy it because I was afraid it was going to forget about the veggies and after reading your post I am happy I skipped it.


Most of the time you can just add tofu or whatever works in a recipe rather than meat. It does not always work but it works well for some recipes.
 
I also noticed that she contradicts in the book. Just one example is when she will say on one page that you need to lift weights at least 4-5 times a week. Then on another page she says you need to lift weights at least 2-3 times a week.

Not that whatever Tosca Reno says I need is really what I need. I know enough about health and fitness to not take anything she is saying as the end-all gospel. But still...it would have been nice if she had filled out her information, to include such things as overtraining, how fitness is individual, etc.

I guess her book should be taken as just one out of hundreds of presentations about clean-eating ... and it should be taken more for it being a presentation of the concept of clean-eating, rather than "follow this exact plan" to see the results you are looking for.

So, I guess I will take the book as a reinforcement of what is already known about clean eating, appreciate some bits of new information that tell the "why" and "how" of things, and use the food/menu options as more of a general template and then custom tailor it to my own needs and tastes.

Then, I guess I'll check out the cookbook when it comes out to see what I think.

And by the way, not sure if anyone else subscribes, but I find Prevention magazine to be the best source of health and fitness information ... without all the obscene marketing and ads, etc. ANd while Prevention does print generalizations and stuff we've heard a million times, they are one of the only pubs I've ever found that also prints lots of NEW information, and also prints beyond the generalizations and gets to specific details, etc.
 
There are a number of vegetarian options available in every store. Like one poster said, you can substitute tofu for almost anything. I really like her book. I don't need her to spell out what protein sources I need. When she calls for some kind of protein, I choose veggie options. There really are so many. Also, there are many more non-vegetarians than vegetarians. Just like we have to find menu options at a restaraunt, I think they can easily be substituted in her book.

IMO, the main point of her book is eating clean foods, cutting out sugar, eating six times a day, getting rid of processed foods, water intake, basically all the clean eating principles. As far as what to eat, it's up to the individual.
 
Thanks for saving me some money! This was on my list, but since I'm a pseudo veggie, I'll skip it. :)
 
I have this book and I'm not really impressed. I don't really view her way as true clean eating. She talks about Hoodia and stuff like that - how clean can Hoodia be and who knows what taking that crap will do to you in the long run?

I know a lot of people like it and it works for them - but she uses the same principals as BFFM - and I think that one is much better written.
 
I started another thread about this but I think I will also mention it here. There is a book called Skinny Bitch which is about a vegan lifestyle. I was wondering if anyone has it? I keep thinking about buying it but have requested it from my library. I am about number 50 waiting for 2 copies! The authors are also coming out with a cookbook in December. You can read about the book at amazon. It is becoming a big seller according to the NY Times who have written 2 separate articles about it. Before I purchase it I was just wondering if anyone had read it. I am afraid few people will open the other post because of the title and think its just a troll. Should have added "the Book" but when I went back to edit it said the time for editing had expired.
 
I do not have the book. Is it based on hard science or does it only cover what type of diet has worked for her?
 
>>>>>Throw in some rice, beans and lentils you're good to go. The human body only needs .8 grams of protein a day.

I'm wondering where you're getting this .8 grams of protein from?
 
>>>>>>Throw in some rice, beans and lentils you're good to go.
>The human body only needs .8 grams of protein a day.
>
>I'm wondering where you're getting this .8 grams of protein
>from?
>
She edited to say .8 grams per pound of body weight. HTH
 
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