[drgenie]

Not necessarily vegan either, I'm open to eggs and cheese and stuff. My body is weird, I'm hypoglycemic and very reactive to a high amount of carbs, which is what I always see my veggie friends eating. I really do better on a diet that is higher in protein. I don't think I am ready to give up meat altogether, but I'm feeling like I want to try more veg options as a means of balance. What are your favorites??? I'm pretty adventurous and I love to cook when I have time, so I'd probably try most anything at least once.

 

[merigayle]

BEANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br>
bean salads, bean burritos, "mock tuna salad" made with white beans, chickpeas on my salad, bean loaf, lentils and rice, lentil loaf. OMG.<br><br>
And then there is soy- soy sausages, tofu, tempeh, soy burgers, soy dogs, soy deli.

 

[altoids]

In addition, small amounts of nuts and seeds seem to help with the blood sugar swings.<br><br>
For example:<br>
Oatmeal with a spoonful of peanut butter stirred in<br>
Oatmeal topped with walnuts or slivered almonds<br>
Walnuts sprinkled on a salad<br>
Handful of almonds as an afternoon snack<br>
Apple slices with peanut butter<br><br>
If you are trying to lose weight, you have to make sure not to overdo the portions!<br><br>
I try to not rely too heavily on pre-packaged vegetarian options, but that's life sometimes! I have veggie burgers a lot and the Amy's organic frozen entrees to pack along to lunch. <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif">

 

[altoids]

doh! I just re-read your post. Here is a very easy lunch or supper I like:<br><br>
Make a baked potato, either in the oven or microwave<br><br>
Saute green or red peppers and onions in a small bit of olive oil<br>
Stir in about 1/4 -1/2 cup canned black beans (drained and rinsed)<br>
Stir in a bit of salsa to taste and finish heating<br><br>
Top the baked potato with the mixture, very good. If you eat cheese, you can sprinkle a bit of cheese on top.<br><br>
I'll think of more later.

 

[merigayle]

Mock Tuna Salad:<br><br>
1 can great northern white beans, drained, mashed in a bowl<br>
add to that:<br>
1/2 c mayo (light or vegannaise)<br>
1/2 onion diced<br>
2-3 stalks celery diced<br>
squirt of mustard<br>
1/4 cup (or more!) of sweet pickle relish<br>
salt and pepper to taste<br><br>
let it sit overnight. Eat on bread or pita.<br>
---------------<br>
Lentil & rice:<br>
1 cup dried lentils, rinsed, cooked<br>
1 cup rice (dry), cooked<br><br><br>
Carmelize 1-2 onions in pan, add lentils and rice, mix to gether. Add some butter, salt and pepper to taste

 

[altoids]

Another suggestion: for pasta, instead of using regular pasta, try Barilla Plus pasta.. it has legume flours in it, so it is high in protein.<br><br><img alt="" src="http://www.barillaus.com/images/Plus_protein_chart_V2.gif" style="border:0px solid;">

 

[Durt]

i dunno how it stacks up for carbs, but quinoa is a miracle grain. high in protein, and i can never stop eating it. good hippie food.

 

[merigayle]

yes!<br>
i make a quinoa salad<br><br>
1 cup quinoa (dry) cooked<br>
1 can chickpeas rinsed and drained<br>
1-2 toms diced<br>
1 cuke diced<br>
1/2-1 onion diced (usually red or purple)<br>
red bell pepper diced<br><br>
mix all together with a splash of soy sauce and a healthy dose of balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste

 

[diablita]

Wow! This thread looks like my weekly menu. Genie, I'm hypoglycemic, too, and a veg for 15 years. As long as I don't eat huge portions and keep my weight down, my diet doesn't spike my blood sugar.<br><br>
One thing I cannot eat: yogurt with fruit. Even the unrefined sugar types (Stoneyfield) and soy-based ones. The only yogurt I can handle well is Greek yogurt.

 

[drgenie]

Wow, you guys have been busy!! This is great stuff!!! Thanks...keep it coming.<br><br>
Altoids, I do use the Barilla Plus, almost exclusively other than another whole wheat pasta I discovered at Whole Foods. I like the texture of the Barilla better. And honestly, the weight loss works better for me if I cut the carbs for some reason. Probably just from the amount of calorie reduction. When I did South Beach last year, mainly to keep a friend company and also to see if it would help regulate my blood sugar (it did) I lost 27 lbs without really trying. I was thinking of doing a modified version of that again but I wanted some more veg options to increase the variety. Salad, a veg and chicken or fish every night gets old really fast. I use egg beaters so breakfasts are OK, and I do like my homemade buckwheat & whole wheat pastry flour pancakes. I have about a dozen variations I made up with different ingredients in it: pumpkin, homemade apple butter made with Splenda, blueberry, stuff like that. I make a big batch on Sunday and freeze the rest for toast-and-go during the week. The wheat flour combination seems to work as long as I don't eat them every day.<br><br>
I have in the crockpot for tonight my version of a lentil dahl. It's basically my recipe for lentil and smoked sausage soup without the sausage and trading curry and turmeric for the thyme and rosemary. It smelled yummy just mixing it up.<br><br>
I am dying to try quinoa and bulgur, I bought some bulgur last time I was at WF, what can I do with it?? Can't you make a pilaf type thing with it, or is that wheat berries??

 

[drgenie]

Ooh, and I LOOOVE veggie burgers, I actually got the recipe from Chef Al at Barlee's restaurant in Columbus for his (who is it here that lives in Columbus again??) and they rock. I posted the recipe at CR a couple years ago and I remember a bunch of people tried it and said how awesome they were. When I get home tonight I will post it if you guys want.<br><br>
Meri, bean loaf/lentil loaf? Is that kinda the veggie take on meatloaf??? That sounds tasty too<br><br>
Grizzly turned me on to tofu when I visited them a couple years ago, I do use that sometimes in salads and I just tried stir frying it for the first time not too long ago. I still can't get "in love" with it unless I marinate it for a long time before I use it.

 

[altoids]

I'm not a big "straight tofu" fan just yet.<br><br>
I made a lentil loaf by mistake.<br><br>
First I tried making lentil/rice pilaf. This involved sauteeing minced onion, carrots, celery in olive oil, then adding veggie broth, lentils and rice. Apparently the lentils weren't done enough for my taste (nasty!), so I put it in a freezer baggie and tossed it in the freezer for a while, thinking I'd eventually add it to a soup to cook it further.<br><br>
Months later I defrosted the lentil/rice mixture. On a whim, I mixed it with a beaten egg, a handful of shredded cheddar cheese, some Pepperige Farms herbed stuffing crumbs, and some barbeque sauce. I packed this into a loaf pan that I sprayed with Pam and "dusted" with some of the extra stuffing crumbs. I baked it at 350 for a while.<br><br>
And it was good! I've been eating this with ketchup. Wouldn't fool a meat lover, but it's made for some good suppers.<br><br>
This may give you more insight into my haphazard cooking style than I should admit. *blush*

 

[drgenie]

Nah, I cook like that too. I have a tough time posting recipes cuz I can give you an ingredient list but I just toss stuff in and taste til I like it. I think I may try the lentil loaf this weekend. I'm on a lentil kick. That thing I made tonight was pretty good....but I think I can do without the tomatoes next time and maybe some brown rice instead.<br><br>
Speaking of which, here is the veggie burger recipe, it's more exact because it's not mine <img alt="wink.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/wink.gif"><br><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">Chef Al’s Veggie Burgers</span></span><br><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">3 lg Portabellas or ½ pkg small, chopped</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">2 cups cooked brown rice</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">1 can black beans, rinsed and drained</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">1 carrot, peeled and diced</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">1 red pepper, diced</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">1/2 onion, finely diced</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">1 pkg drained chopped spinach</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">1-2 cloves garlic, minced</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">1/2 cup egg beaters</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">couple shakes Cajun seasoning</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">1 tsp cayenne pepper</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">1 tsp cumin</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">2 cups fine bread crumbs (add 1 cup at a time to see how moist mixture is)</span></span><br><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">Combine all ingredients but eggs in large mixing bowl. Add egg beaters ¼ cup at a time to see how moist mix is. Adjust breadcrumbs as necessary. Form into patties and grill or fry in a small bit of olive oil.</span></span><br><br>
I never tried mixing cheese in but I bet it would be tasty. These are really good on a good whole grain roll, or you can break them up to make burritos. I'm not sure what you would substitute for the egg beaters to make it vegan though.

 

[diablita]

Thank you for that recipe! It sounds delicious.<br><br>
One thing to point out: the Worcestershire sauce is not vegetarian; it has anchovy in it. They do sell vegetarian versions at veg grocery stores, though.

 

[drgenie]

Hmm, I didn't know that!! Thanks for the catch. I'm probably not going strictly veg anytime soon but that's good for the others to know. Does the veg version taste a lot different??<br><br>
I just ate one, I forgot I had some frozen from the last time I made them. This makes a good sized batch, and they freeze really well if you separate them with wax paper. I froze them uncooked and just nuke or grill them when I want one. YUM!!!! Next time I make them I am going to mix in some cheese, and I may even saute some mushrooms and put some swiss cheese on top like they do at Applebee's.

 

[diablita]

genie, it's been so long since I've had Worcestershire sauce, that I have no idea what the difference is. But it's a tasty alternative.