Sample meal plans & suggestions.

Hello everyone,

I've been on CC for a while now & i've always wanted to become a vegetarian. It's very difficult for me because my husband loves eating meat, but now that he's not around [military] i would love to give it a whirl. I know i will be all around more healthy & even lose some weight. However, i need a dummy proof diet sample for maybe a weekly diet. Any links to some site where i can get these?

I am not interested in eating meat at all. But i do want to continue eating & drinking dairy products as they are produced naturally by the animals.

A little bit of background in case anyone is wondering. I'd like to become a vegetarian for  moral reasons [my parents owned a farm & i grew rather fond of the animals] & because i would just like to be healthier all around. I am willing to make the commitment & my husband is willing to support me although he will continue to eat meat.

Thank You in advance for all your suggestions. I really need the help.

Check out the book Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman.  It has a complete meal guide.  It's a vegan meal guide, but you could probably add some dairy to it if you really wanted to.

Thank you mikelane. I will look in to the book. I woulndn't want to give up dairy all together but i the only thing i really have that has dairy is cream cheese & milk. I can always switch to soy milk.

Thanks again!

Hey a sample menu from Me :) (been a vegetarian for about 12 years, was a vegan for a sample of it, and now i'm a vegetarian+fish that excludes dairy, wheat AND soy...when I gace up wheat/dairy/soy I dropped 10 pounds without trying...)

Wake UP! (6am) eat goat yogurt (mm)-- sometimes with Peace Brand (Wheat Free) granola, sometimes with fresh berries, sometimes by itself

11 AM-- Scrambled organic egg+ whole rye toast with veggie or goat butter
...or if i'm in a hurry a sliced organic apple with goat cheddar

2 (ish) raw unsalted almonds or fruit or fresh veggies (peppers, snow peas, carrots etc.) and hummus or baba ganoush

Dinner: Salad + roasted yams or squash
Buckwheat (or rice or quinoa) noodles+ veggies or some delicious sauce
sushi, miso soup
roasted salmon
All different kinds of soups
etc.

Dessert: dried papaya etc., fresh pineapple, sorbet, goat ice cream :)

good luck, its all about thinking about food ahead, alot of self preparation etc.

also I want to note, I don't count calories or anything--- I just eat whole, organic, healthy fufilling foods--- regularly-- and my body has adjusted my weight on its own! I always eat until I'm full :)

+ workout.... but i am NOT a rigorous gym-junkie or anything...

Thanks for your reply! Half the stuff your diet consists of i know nothing about. *sigh* anything more simple that i can follow without having to go too crazy cooking?

Thanks

http://vegcooking.com/veganMenus-1.asp

 

try that (: 

Hi agape,

Try this site http://www.eatingwell.com/

It has a great advanced search option (includes a vegetarian checkbox) and all the nutritional info is listed for every recipe. 

Best of all, most of the ingredients are regular grocery store items. (;

stef 

Thank you so much ladies! This friday i will go grocery shopping & take my time to find a lot veggie friendly items. Also, my flaxseed oil. Any particular supplement i should be taking since i am reducing my meat? Besides B-12 that i've heard i need.

Not really.  If you are eating a balanced diet containing lots of fresh fruits and veggies and not just a bunch of processed "vegetarian" foods, you should be meeting all of your nutritional requirements without the need of supplements.

I was reading that we use such a very, very small amount of B-12 in our bodies, that even strict vegans don't need a supplement for it for 20-30 years after "going vegan".  And it is actually bacteria so you probably already get enough of it anyway - accidentally through cross-contamination.

oh thanks i didn't know that. ok so even better, i dread the thought of adding more supplements in to my diet besides what i take now. so that's a sigh of relief on my part.

one thing i know i am horrible at is buying & actually eating fruits. any alternatives to the "fresh" part without hurting my body too much. i would like to consume fruits but the thought of seeing them go to waste after i don't eat them kills me. i need a routine at first to get used to & then i will change up the meal plan a bit. but for now i need the whole

monday

-cereal

etc etc

If you're quitting seafood remember your flax seeds and walnuts for omega 3. I know you mentioned flaxseedoil, but sometimes it looses alot of it nutrients when it stands around for a time. I bought a coffee grinder that I use to grind flax seeds (with a bit of sesame seeds and sunflower seeds for maximum health benefits). Once ground up I keep them in a small container in the fridge (I've heard that once they're ground up you have to keep them in the fridge and freezer to avoid loosing the nutrients). I eat about two teaspoons a day, by mixing in it with smoothies, soups, stews, oatmeal, yoghurt.. you name it. You can just drizzle it over pizza or do what you like with it. It tastes good, but doesn't taste much if the seeds aren't toasted.

So many options!  I make pretty much everything I eat and have been vegetarian my whole life.  My only "issue" at least according to other people is that I eat a lot of carbs, but for me as long as I stay in my caloric limit it doesn't seem to matter much.  I'm not a breakfast fan so what I make there is very basic.

Breakfast:  Lenders egg bagel (230 cals) with either a little cheese of any sort, a pat of butter or peanut butter.  I'm not too into cereal but I do have cereal with skim milk every once in a while.  Or, whole wheat/grain toast with cream cheese or peanut butter. 

Snacks:  Raw vegetables (red peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, celery) with low fat dip or on their own.  Dried fruits (peaches and apples are my favorite) or fresh fruit (apple, orange, banana, grapes...any and all)

Lunch:  Cheese sandwich with lettuce, tomato and low fat mayo, cottage cheese.  Sometimes a baked or microwaved potato with cottage cheese or sour cream and a seasoning salt or chives.  Or "fried" egg sandwich - use cooking spray or minimal olive oil - with lettuce, tomato and low fat mayo.  Salads with avocado or hardboiled egg or chick peas added to the veg for substance.

Dinner:  1 cup of rice with a sauce of some sort (if you want some ideas email me direct) and oftentimes a hard boiled egg chopped on top.  Or 1 cup noodles with a red sauce, a garlic olive oil sauce, thai peanut sauce, etc.    Or 1 cup couscous with sauteed onion & garlic, some lima beans and corn and made in vegetable broth/buillion.  Tacos made to order with refried black beans (no lard variety), small tortillas and sauteed vegetables.  ETC. ETC. ETC.

There are soooooo many things you can do!  Enjoy

Here is a typical (and easy) vegetarian list of things I often eat. Lunch often has frozen or canned options due to being on the go. Lunch and dinner are quite interchangeable depending on the day- salads make great summer dinners. Most of the dinner options can be put in the fridge for the next day, and anything that is mixed up can generally be frozen. I top all my salads with homemade dressings- Balsamic vinaigrette is very easy and takes little time. Search for a recipe that you find appeals to you- there are a million ways to do it.

Breakfast: Kashi GoLean with unsweetened Almond milk and a banana, Grapefruit and Multigrain toast with organic nut butter (standard peanut butter is awful for you), Cantaloupe and soy or almond milk caffeine free latte or Cocoa Camino dark hot chocolate.

Lunch: Mixed greens salad with peppers and chickpeas (just toss it all together), Mixed greens salad with red pepper Avocado and pinenuts, Amy's organic Lentil soup, Amy's organic chickenless noodle soup, any of Amy's frozen meals- the black bean enchilada dinner is great and the teriyaki rice bowls are good too.

Dinner: Roasted Sweet potato topped with organic black bean chili, Tofu and vegetable stir fry, Pad Thai with no egg and no fish sauce, Roasted mixed root vegetables, roasted eggplant and red peppers seasoned with cilantro, cumin and chili powder (use a tbsp of olive oil to toss it together in a pan and add herbs AFTER roasting)

Snacks or desserts: Starbucks vegan brownie, kashi granola bars, apples, bananas, asian pears, any in season fruits, Cocoa Camino dark chocolate 40g bars... 

I know I'm really late on this, but I've been a vegetarian for about 12 years now, and my husband isn't.  I'm in the same boat.  Here's some of my meals:

 Breakfast:

Cereal with Silk Soymilk [I'm not vegan, I just have issues with dairy milk]

Fiber One / Special K bars

Eggs / Pancakes / Waffles, etc.

 

Lunch:

Usually some combination of the following:

Almonds or some other kind of nuts [I like almonds because they are low-cal, low-sodium, and I read a study that they help you lose weight!]

Yogurt [I don't care so much about gelatin--some do, but I am more concerned about aspartame]

Cottage Cheese or Cheese Cubes

Fresh Fruit

100 Calorie Packs

Propel Fit Water Powder Packets

Peanut Butter and Jelly

Pitas with Garlic Hummus and Feta Cheese, you can add Olives if you like...

 

Dinner:

Here is where the veggie meals for me and meat meals for him come in.

Tacos [you make fake meat or refried beans for yours, he makes real meat for his]

Pasta Dishes [manicotti and tortelloni are good without meat, or you can make spaghetti with real meat for him and fake meat or squash or artichoke hearts or something for you]

"Real Meal" [this means a meat dish with side dishes, like corn on the cob and green beans...I eat fake chicken nuggets with mine, my husband eats real chicken breast strips with his]

Breakfast for Dinner [we both eat eggs, but I have fake sausage / cheese biscuits with mine and he has turkey bacon with his]

Burgers [there is a plethora of fake burgers out there, or you can make your own with tofu or fake ground beef, and make real ones for him]

Chili [this is a quick one--you *can* make two different types of chili, one with fake ground beef and one with real, but if you are in a hurry, they make vegetarian chili in cans and sell them in the grocery store right next to the real chili]

 As far as recommendations, my husband and I work a lot, so I buy a lot of pre-packaged fake meat.  I love Morningstar Farms--their chicken nuggets, sausage patties, and corn dogs all taste like the real thing.  Boca, Garden Burger, and Morningstar Farms all have like 12 types of burgers each.  They also sell pre-made breakfast burritos, buffalo wings, etc.  If you are easing into vegetarianism, and you have a meat-eating partner, I highly suggest starting off with fake meat.  I'm sure you will eventually learn to expand your horizons, but the first step is getting the meat out of your diet.  Also, I am the pickiest eater on the planet, and everyone tells me I am a horrible vegetarian because I love cheese and breads but won't touch a salad.  However, according to this site, which I follow religiously, I am right where I need to be in the protein / fat / carbohydrate ratio scale.  My sodium is *slightly* high, my fiber is *slightly* low, but other than that I am good.

ditto on the "Eat to Live" recommendation.  It has overhauled the way I eat (and I was a long time veggie/vegan 10+ years).

I usually have a green smoothie (fruit and greens like kale or spinach - you can't taste them with the fruit) for breakfast (with flaxseed).

salad with lots of veggies, beans and nuts for lunch

dinner is more salad and cooked veggies and beans.  Sometimes I will have soup, or a grain of some sort (rice, quinoa, etc.).

Desert is either another green smoothie or fruit.

On this you really can eat however much you want!  The key is to fill up on raw veggie - especially green leafy veggies.