Posts by kiwiberry

I've been lacto-ovo vegetarian for over 3 years and I looked EVERYWHERE for a good "daily recommendations"-type chart to keep my diet balanced. The one I've found the most useful and comprehensive is the "Vegetarian Food Guide Rainbow" from the New Food Guide for North American Vegetarians, which can be found here: http://www.metabolicdiet.com/pdfs/veg_food_gu ide.pdf

It's the most helpful article I've found so far, and the daily recommendations work for a vegan diet, too. Hope this is helpful to any new vegetarians out there.  

Try brushing your teeth/using mouthwash. Often I've realized that "mouth-hunger" can be caused by a leftover flavor of food in the mouth or a weird taste that makes me want to eat something else. Plus, I find that a fresh-tasting mouth is almost a better feeling than a crunchy, salty snack! Also try drinking a glass of ice water or seltzer water (I like the naturally-flavored, no-calorie polar seltzers), or a cup of tea--not much crunch but your mouth will be doing SOMETHING. Hope this helps. 

I think I know how you're feeling. I'm recovering from an ED and also ending a weight-loss diet (to get rid of the "freshman 15" and return to my normal weight), and I'd been restricting my calories pretty low. Even increasing a little makes me feel nervous and want to to restrict again (probably my ED talking more than my logical brain...). Try to look at increasing calories as something you deserve, having reached a weight-loss goal, or something your body needs, to maintain your weight, or even as a fun way to experiment with more varied foods. Make your foods interesting and change up what you eat, and if you feel full, by all means stop eating! Getting your body used to something new can be uncomfortable, but eventually you will adjust to the change in eating and the desire to restrict will dissipate once you see that you aren't gaining a lot of weight. I also agree that nut butters and other high-calorie-density foods will help you increase calories without adding more meals to your day or more bulk to your meals. Try energy bars as well, which can feel more like a snack and, if you choose good ones, like Luna or Larabars, can add nutrition and calories without a lot of bulk.

I have a serious cereal problem. Haha, not really anymore, although it used to be a pretty bad binge food for me (think bowls and bowls of honey bunches of oats and cinnamon toast crunch and golden grahams), but now I stick to pretty healthy & natural stuff that really gets me off to a good start in the morning--and I always measure out portions now! I love Kashi GoLean Crunch, Uncle Sam Cereal (it's outrageously healthy, satisfyingly crunchy, and with a banana and some strawberries it's the perfect sweetness), original Grape Nuts (sometimes I like to microwave them in skim milk and eat them with chopsticks--weird, I know, but that's me), Post Trail Mix Crunch (now they make a cranberry vanilla flavor), pretty much any kind of Muesli (Bob's Red Mill or Udi's especially) soaked in milk & yogurt with raisins and a banana, Granola (again, Bob's Red Mill makes some killer low-fat granolas) with yogurt, Multigrain Cheerios, and the new banana nut Cheerio's are heavenly, but I've never bought then myself since I know I'd eat the whole box... I really could go on (and I haven't even gotten into hot cereals!). There are also a bunch of cereals I used to eat a lot as a kid like Post Selects Great Grains and Cranberry Almond Crunch, Cracklin' Oat Bran, and Berry Berry Kix, but I never buy them now since they've got too much sugar and not nearly enough fiber... Alas! 

So yes, I am a lover of cereal as well. 

I'm a vegetarian, so I usually get the 6" Veggie Delight (it's the cheapest item on the menu, too!) on wheat with just about every veggie they have (tomatoes, lettuce, cukes, pickles, black olives, green peppers) and dijon or honey mustard, and sometimes provolone cheese. When I ate meat, though, I always went to Blimpie instead (I swear the meat is better there) and got the grilled chicken breast. The veggie patty is OK too (I used to think that the veggie delight meant the veggie patty and once I stood there for like 10 minutes staring at the guy wondering why he wasn't finished making my sandwich yet!) but they don't always have it and I've been unable to find consistent nutritional information on it anywhere... all the sites say different things, some giving it a pretty high count for cals/fat/sodium... it's just not worth it in my mind. 

5 Most Memorable Meals of my Childhood:

1. Scrambled Eggs with melted American Cheese & Jam on Toast

2. Annie's Pasta (the one and only mac n' cheese in my childhood)

3. Peanut Butter & Banana (or Marshmallow Fluff or Jam) Sandwiches with Banilla or Lemon Stonyfield Yogurt

4. Spaghetti & Meatballs & Italian Sausage

5. Meatloaf Sandwiches with Ketchup

I also ate a lot of liverwurst...

And now I'm a vegetarian... haha.

I usually mix up the following in a food processor:

• 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed (reserve some of the liquid to add in while mixing)
• 2 tbsp Sesame Tahini (I suppose if you really don't like tahini you could halve this or omit it, but tahini is actually really healthy and a good source of calcium, and to me hummus is just not complete without it... perhaps adding enough lemon juice, olive oil, and seasonings could mute the taste a bit?) 
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup of lemon juice (I like it tangy, but do it to taste, starting with 1 tbsp) 
• 2 tbsp minced garlic (I'm Italian, so I can't get enough garlic) 
• plenty of pepper and salt to taste

Process until smooth, adding in reserved chickpea-water or purified water if you prefer.

 Sometimes I like to add roasted red peppers (the kind that come in a jar, or I suppose you could roast your own) or tomatoes, or jarred tomato bruschetta (if you can find a good bruschetta it makes an absolutely delicious hummus). My college's dining hall makes a wicked basil hummus, and although I haven't tried to make it myself I assume you'd just add enough fresh or sauteed basil to the food-processor mix to get a good flavor, and I suppose spinach could work equally well--hummus is all about improvisation for me! 

Favorites:

1. Plain Yogurt! I love Stonyfield's and I've even started making it myself. It makes a great breakfast or lunch with fruit or granola or cereal... I believe it may be the perfect food. 
2. Bananas (and strawberries and pretty much any other fruit under the sun) 
3. Cereal - Kashi, Uncle Sam, Hot Cereal, Trail Mix Crunch, Grape Nuts... I can't start my day without it 
4. Bread - especially natural multigrain bread or fresh biscuits 
5. Basmati Brown Rice - it smells like popcorn while it's cooking! Any other brown rice is good too 
6. Muffins - I love making my own bran muffins 
7. Granola Bars/Granola - I'm a big snacker so these are perfect for me 
8. Sweet Peppers, Green Beans  & Sugar Snap Peas - I refuse to have a boring salad
9. Eggplant, Steamed Broccoli & Sweet Potatoes - they're full-meal vegetables 
10. Cottage Cheese - it's loaded with tons of protein and it goes with everything from apples to baked potatoes 

(Wow what a short list! I didn't get to Currant Scones or Rice Pudding or Carrot Cake... or even Carrots!) 

Least Favorites:

1. Meat - I am yet another vegetarian posting on this thread... I guess I don't really hate meat, but as I haven't had it in three years I don't suppose I'd find it palatable
2. Fried Food - it makes me feel sick 
3. Beets - they taste like dirt! there's no other way to describe it 
4. Jicama - I know it's healthy, but it just tastes so WEIRD to me... maybe it's the texture? 
5. Sesame Seed Oil - the vegetarian station at my college's dining hall puts it in EVERYTHING and it totally ruins any dish for me 
6. Salty Vegetarian Food - just because there's no meat doesn't mean you have to add a ton of salt!
7. Iceberg Lettuce - it's mostly water, has no taste, and always seems to be slimy...
8. Raw Broccoli - I have to steam it, raw broccoli just has a repulsive smell to it
9. Fake Chicken - God knows what's in that stuff....
10. Tofurkey - to be honest, I've never tried it, but it really smells just like canned dog food to me.