Bad vegetarian

[HappiPuberty]

We should all eat healthily.I'm a vegetarian but, ashamedly, I'm a bit of a rubbish one!!!Does anybody have any ideas on how to get me eating better? All I need is to like more fruit and veg!

[BadHare]

I've been vegetarian for a long time, & vegan on & off. I know several people who tried it & struggled as they don't cook, then feel unhealthy as they're opting for veggie junk food.

Do you have any basic veggie cookery books you can dip into? Pick which veg you like the most, then look up some recipes. There are lots of excellent sites including one with a phone app from the One Green Planet website. I've posted links from this, & a few other websites that send out emails.

A good mindset to have for everyone is to try to have at least 80% of their diet from unprocessed food, & <20% processed. I almost always eat clean food at home, & relax on what I eat when I'm out. However, when I eat out, I choose places that I know will serve fresh ingredients. At home, I always have fruit that I like for vitamin C to take with my daily iron tablet, as well as for snacks. Oranges & grapefruits are also good for folate. I keep a couple of huge jars filled with almonds, walnuts, & brazils, & one of chia & linseeds. The 100g or so I eat of these each day provide me with about 25% of my protein intake. The rest I get from beans, lentils & kefir (a type of superprobiotic yoghurt). A tub or snack bag of nuts, a piece of dark choci;ate & some dried & fresh fruit is a filling snack to keep in your bag or pocket. Being prepared with these has made me avoid eating c**p on hundreds of occasions.

As the weather gets colder, I swap from wanting salads to wanting warming foods like soups & stews. They're usually simple, many have less than 6 ingredients, but are just right for this time of year. I have a hand blender, so they're also quick to prepare. Even starting off usuing pre chopped veg with lentils, & a spoon of herbs or stock cubes might inspire you to get adventurous.

Have a look at some of my past recipe posts, & peruse the Green Monster app for ideas before you go shopping: onegreenplanet.org/foodmons....

Zest & Hidden aren't veggie, but regularly post fab veggie meals.

A tub of nutritional yeast is a good investment for B vitamins, as well as adding a nice flavour. Go for the blue tub version with vitamin B12 as veg*ns can get a bit short on this. Kitten-whiskers recently posted a recipe with this added to sunflower seeds for a vegan cheesey topping.

[Kitten-whiskers Administrator Vegan star in reply to BadHare]

Good evening BadHare,

It sounds like iyou have all areas covered - I will be looking out for your veggie/vegab recipes. What is the difference between the Nutritional Yeast in the Blue and the one in the Brown - I have one of each in my cupboard xx

Best wishes

Debs

[BadHare in reply to Kitten-whiskers]

As yet, I've only bought blue for the B12, more recently from habit.

Having both in your cupboard, you're in a far better position to tell me what the difference is! Think blue is a tad more expensive, but I'm not sure.

Would you please let me know when you find out? I'm taking sublingual methylcobalamin now, so would opt for brown in future if that's otherwise better.

Mel

[Kitten-whiskers Administrator Vegan star in reply to BadHare]

Good evening Badhare,

I can't see any difference between the two but to be fair I do need to go to the optitons (I Keep putting it off) I have not tried Methylcobalanin - I will look in to that, ususally I take Lamberts Methyl B Complex.

I used to have two beautiful cats but sadly they are in heaven now and I haven't got new ones, I would feel like I was trying to replace them, I didn't know that fact though - Kitty Crack - made me smile

Best wishes

Debs

[BadHare in reply to Kitten-whiskers]

Hi Debs,

I have a STRONGER pair of specs just for tiny labels.

If you have no absorption issues, your B's will be fine. I've just noticed needing a lot more from about 15 months ago. My B12 was low despite high dietary intake & a reputable multi-B. Next up is self-injecting as it's cheaper.

I found out about the kitty crack after offering to doggy sit two critters for a new friend. A sick cat was a surprise once I'd got there, & think I have an allergy to them. Fortunately, I was saved from being mauled by the angry cat by the nutritional yeast, so a win, win situation! I inherited a few tubs from another friend who used it on her last cat when he was poorly. It seems an excellent way to get them to eat something nasty as they love the taste of the flakes so much. Probably does them some good, too.

Mel

[Kitten-whiskers Administrator Vegan star in reply to BadHare]

I think I need new eyes please : >

I do have absorbtion issues sadly, my vitamin D and Iron are always low despite my diet and supplements but oddly my vitamin B12 is often very high even when I leave off the B Complex.

I would have never thought to give a kitty nutritional yeast - maybe its like a treat to them, When I used to buy my cats those capnip easter eggs from pets at home, they never ate them, I should have got out the nutritional yeast : >

[BadHare in reply to Kitten-whiskers]

Me too!

You must have good absorption, which is fab!

Are you taking vitamin D3, cholecalciferol? Mine plummeted when I ate solely vegan as i'd relied on soya milk that contains dodgy D2. The Vitamin D council recommends 5,000mcg a day, though I aim for 4,000 as I'm smaller than average.

I'm cranky with my iron intake, so take 1 iron sulphate, which gives me ok'ish levels, but my ferritin wasn't optimal. I added single Floradix biglycinate to top up. This has B12, C & a few other B's in. I always take it away from food other than fruit, to improve absorption.

[Kitten-whiskers Administrator Vegan star in reply to BadHare]

Good afternoon Badhare,

I do take a liquid D3 with vitamin K but not that often anymore, I think I do need to get my levels checked. Iron is a tricky one, I think also I need to get this tested.

I have soya milk but wondering about trying to cut it out - its not good for the thyroid and with my health issues, it's probably best but I love my cup of tea

[BadHare in reply to Kitten-whiskers]

Good evening!

Both vitamin D & K2 are essential for bone health, Magnesium & boron too. I did a posts on these a while back, & Hidden posted one on magnesium. Kefir is my source for K2, also boron. Nuts & seeds are good for the latter.

Soya milk was the reason my expensive thyroid meds didn't work well, though fermented soy products are fine. I love tea, & drink two pots a day of green or white tea. I add lemon for increased catechins, & a spoon of elderberry to boost my immune system in winter (that's my excuse as I like the taste). I rarely drink black teas, but found oat milk was the least unpleasant dairy substitute.My favourite saying is: better three days without food, than a day without tea!

[Kitten-whiskers Administrator Vegan star in reply to BadHare]

What a fantastic Idea - putting Elderberry - is that powder form? I will try that, thats a great idea. I am trying to give up soya milk but it's a challenge.

I will be looking into boron as well, I am due to have my testerone levels tested privately and if its low I can use that.

I used to like oat milk but since being Gluten free I have not touched it, I use Koko coconut milk x

[BadHare in reply to Kitten-whiskers]

ps Assuming you have a cat Kitten-whiskers ? Did you know nutritional yeast is like kitty crack, & can be used to give them medication? x

[HappiPuberty in reply to BadHare]

Thanks, BadHare, Good idea!

I have been veggie for roughly a year now, but have run a bit slack on the meal ideas recently.I'll look at your recipe posts, definitely.

Thanks again,

Lil

[Zest]

Hi HappiPuberty ,

Welcome to the Healthy Eating forum. I see you've got a great reply already from BadHare and in addition to that I'd like to suggest maybe looking at the NHS Choices information page about Vegetarian & Vegan food:

nhs.uk/livewell/vegetarianh...

There are so many lovely vegetables and fruits to try - so I hope very much that you will enjoy trying them and finding out what combinations you particularly enjoy.

Have a great week.

Zest

[andyswarbs]

I would follow someone like Chef AJ on youtube youtube.com/user/therealchefaj

She halted lots of serious health issues in her own body through a whole-food plant based diet, so she is talking from personal experience. She has lots of videos on cooking for free. They are all very cheap and quick to prepare and are some of the healthiest meals on the planet. She has what she calls the ultimate weight loss program, though I think there is so much good information on her channel that is good for anyone wanting to put on weight as well.

[Hidden]

All this advice is fab! I would only add that it might help you to have a weekly plan, if there are less than perfect foods you enjoy for dinner you could still have those on 3 days and try new recipes on another 3 or 4.