Hi all, I'm new to these boards. I was on a couple others, but all they did was argue. I'm looking for a place that I can chat in peace without the vegan vs vegetarian debate. Hopefully this is the place. Anyways, I need help with some new ideas as far as my menu goes. I'm lacto-vegetarian. BUT I'm also resticted on what I can eat. I am on a low sodium-high potassium diet per doctors orders (high blood pressure and pancreas problems). I'm concerned about my protein (need it for the pancreas thing), but I can't eat beans of any sort (black, red, kidney, chick peas, ect). What I eat normally is a lot of frozen veg like green beans, corn, peas, artichokes, and lots of spinach. The fresh veg that I eat is potatoes, bell peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, mushrooms, and onions. I make vegetable mixes/stir-fries, soups, ect out of these or just eat them as is. I also eat lots of tofu and Boca (vegan burgers and "chicken" patties). I make tofu "steaks" and potatoes, beanless chili, and I sometimes add them to soups and stews. I also eat pasta, pizza (which isn't a good thing for my sodium ), veggie subs, grilled cheese, and low sodium chips. Oh and I drink low sodium V8 like it's going out of style .... love the stuff. My menu is getting old. Any suggestions? P.S. Eventhough I'm lacto-vegetarian, there's a few things that I buy that HAVE to be vegan, thanks to a friend of mine who is vegan. They are Boca, Earth Balance .... basically any packaged food that is not a veg of some sort, except for frozen cheese pizza. I cook everything vegan (incase she pops in for dinner) and freeze it. I put cheese on some stuff later when I re-heat it.
Have you tried(can you eat ) seitan, or "wheat meat" ? I love that stuff and have a few recipes for meaty alt stuff(ribz and wingz).. Why can't you eat beans, can you eat peanut butter? Do you have a dehydrator? You could make some raw food crepes (pretty much made of bananas and strawberries) that would be really high in potassium.
I've never tried seitan. Can you BBQ it? I love to BBQ tofu and veggies in the summer. I can't eat beans, because they give me terrible gas and bloating. I mean, to the point that I'm doubled over in pain. I've had that problem since I was a kid. My dad was the same way. Yes, I can eat peanut butter, and I do. I don't have a problem with nuts. I eat a fair amount of them. Unfortunately, I don't have a dehydrator. I wish I did. We do "pickle" and can stuff though. Zap me back
To lower the sodium on pizza, make it homemade! Frozen processed foods have a ton of sodium in them, sadly. But premade or homemade crust, pizza sause(you can buy low sodium tomato sauce), cheese, and other toppings.
Hiya! Welcome to the boards! I've got a few fun diet issues too, but eventually they seem to work themselves out. I know a little about low sodium because of my dad, but don't need to worry myself (I have really LOW BP) so I might be a bit off here... but here are a few things that come to mind. * Nutritional Yeast - I sprinkle it on popcorn; 2 "heaping" Tbsp. have 9g protein, and only 5mg sodium. It also makes a really decent "cheese" sauce that tastes NOTHING like cheese, but is pretty yummy all the same. * Rice - I eat rice all the time, with veggies, tofu, fruit... you name it. Using different spices it could be Mexican, Asian, Indian... or dessert. * lettuce or wrap-sandwiches... put the same goodies in the sandwich, just use a huge leaf of romaine or a tortilla shell instead of bread. My favorite is hummus, avocado, tomato & sprouts * and smoothies - especially when it's hot out, I'll make up a smoothie. Toss in soft tofu & a banana to mask the flavor, and you've got a high-protein "milkshake" I'm sure you already know this, but you can usually cut or eliminate salt from just about every recipe. Another "trick" I know is to substitute a little lemon &/or mixed herbs for salt... it changes the recipe, but in a good way rather than just making it "bland." And I know that Dad loves his veggies, and only really watches the tomatoes since he says they've got more sodium than other veggies. Don't know how that would help if you like V8... I'm partial to it myself, but maybe in your other cooking you could add more of the other veggies? Good luck! love, mom
seitain ribz are a fav of mine - I have done a few dif reipies.. this is closest to the one I use http://www.veganchef.com/bbseitan.htm and hotwingz but those are probably high in sodium. mine is on the bottom of this blog entry http://babyhellfire.blogspot.com/2009/03/drrorys-sing-long-blogand-some-of-our.html
Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I'll definitely give them a try. homeschoolmama, I do eliminate salt from every recipe. I use spice mixes that I either make up or get from the internet (minus the salt). I even found a no-salt version of Old Bay, which is great. I love the stuff. Oh and I love lettuce wraps, also. I don't make them as much as I like to, but they are great non the less. And I can't give up my tomatoes. I love them too much. I just buy the canned tomatoes with no salt added, low or no sodium V8, and buy/grow fresh tomatoes. Thanks again for you suggestions
Does it go against the whole idea to take a protein shake, like body builders do? It's all whey protein, usually.
I figured you knew about cutting salt from recipes - most people do these days. Can't blame you for liking tomatoes... I live with perpetual canker-sores during the harvest season from them myself! I asked my dad which foods were supposed to be particularly good for him, and he said the low-sodium, high-potassium ones he could remember were bananas, cantaloupe, honeydew & oranges, and avocados, spinach, pumpkin, potatoes and... FRESH tomatoes! Guess those tomatoes are a good thing after all, huh? love, mom
quinoa is really good! umm i normally add whatever fresh vegtables are around! its is an extremely good source of protien! also you should try wheat germ that also is an amazing source of protien! here is my recipe for quinoa 2 cups quinoa (measure before cooking) parsley chives caramalized onions raw mushrooms sundried tomatoes (they can be fresh to but sundried last longer) spinach olive oil for drizziling salt/pepper to taste half a halepeno if u like spice and whatever other veggies you need to use up! i hope this helps!
homeschoolmama, I should have a chat with your dad He sounds like he knows his stuff. goingtocalifornia, I never heard of quinoa. I'm going to have to Google that one.
I tried those. To me, they are pretty gross. I'd rather get my protein from food sources. Thanks for the suggestion, though.
Oh, ok. I order one called Hot Stuff, which is very low in sugars and fats and calories, but has 40 grams of protein per serving. The chocolate is not good...but the banana is ok. I just down it, and it works well for me. I suppose that's something to keep in mind if you find yourself having difficulty with food sources. Thanks for your response, though. I get the idea that using this sort of thing is looked down upon in some circles?
