Going Veggie

Discussion in 'Miscellaneous' started by Amaris, Jan 16, 2013.

  1. Amaris

    Amaris Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I think you'll like it.
     
  2. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    ^ The chili, or the ballpark? :D

    (srsly, GABP looks very nice. Much better than that dump the Reds used to play in....Unfortunately it'll be at least a year before I can go there. But it's on my list!)
     
  3. Shazam!

    Shazam! Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I've eliminated a fair bit of meat recently. I always have quorn instead of mince and quorn pieces in curry / stir-fry etc

    Tried some veggie sausages recently which were really nice.

    I'm not sure I'll give up meat entirely, but my own home cooked meals are pretty much all meat free now.
     
  4. Relayer1

    Relayer1 Admiral Admiral

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    Nonsense.

    I eat whatever I like with no planning at all. It automatically includes stuff I like such as eggs, cheese, milk, marmite (for b vits) and vegetables. I pop an occasional vitamin pill too, and never worry about it.

    Being vegan is harder to do, but not exactly rocket science.
     
  5. Amaris

    Amaris Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Both! And I've only been to GABP once, but it is something I haven't forgotten. My friend and I were only 4 rows back, and behind the shortstop, which is a great place to be, because all of the really good action happens there. :D
     
  6. Tora Ziyal

    Tora Ziyal Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Hmm. I thought she said they'd lived in Constantinople, but maybe she really said "Klingon Home World". ;)
     
  7. trampledamage

    trampledamage Clone Admiral

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    Oh, do you have a recipe? That does sound nice!

    :lol: That's what home cooking's for. I love the taste of chilli but I can't take the spiciness so when I make mine I leave out half of the chili powder :D


    J. - this is my favourite thread right now - I love reading about food, so a thread on healthy eating is going to be very good for me :)
     
  8. thestrangequark

    thestrangequark Admiral Admiral

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    On the contrary, m'dear, there are those who would say that anything that has beans is not chili! So you prefer an all veggie chili-esque stew? So what, make what you like! Another healthful, but non-vegetarian creative spin would be to use ground turkey breast or chicken breast and make a bean-free chili.

    I am also a big fan of making soups. They allow for endless variation and creativity, it is easy to keep them healthful, they are cheap, and easy.

    I don't know if they sell Better Than Bouillon in your area, but I'd highly recommend it. It comes in vegetable, not-chicken, chicken, beef, and lobster. The quality is top-notch, and unlike dry bouillon it doesn't leave that obvious, bouillon-y taste. It makes soup-making so easy! And when I'm sick, there is nothing better than boiling a kettle of hot water and pouring it over a spoonful of Better Than Bouillon.

    I made a really nice tarragon chicken and veg soup a couple days ago, myself.
     
  9. CorporalClegg

    CorporalClegg Admiral Admiral

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    +1

    Not really.

    I can only assume by "weaker" and "sick" he's talking about the protein misnomer.

    As it is, the daily protein requirement is probably biggest falsehood in Western nutrition. Protein isn't nearly as important as some like to suggest it is. A little common sense and any culinary anthropologist can prove this. If not, there are more than enough studies out there that do.

    But the fact of the matter is, for the vast majority of human history, meat has only been a very small part of our diet.

    And now, most westerns (especially Americans) consume way more protein a day than they actually need. The average human male gets all the protein he needs in about a half a piece of chicken breast. Everything else he eats that day is excess.

    It's been known for awhile that too much protein is just as bad for you than not enough, because your body doesn't know what to do with it all. But recent studies have suggested it might actually be worse.

    Another thing people don't realize is that everything provides protein. In fact, pound for pound, green vegetables like spinach (Think Popeye.) provide more protein than red meat. Of course, a flank steak's weight in uncooked spinach (or broccoli, kale, etc.) is a helluva lot of spinach. But like I said, you really don't need that much.

    Some like to try to play the incomplete protein argument, which at the very basic level is true. However, all it really means is that plant-based proteins don't provide all the amino acids of animal proteins. However, you can find all the amino acids in plants (How would the animals get them otherwise?), and the necessary ratio is so small that one would have to consciously go out of his way over a significant amount of time to actually be deficient in one or two.

    In reality though, if I have a small bowl of grape nuts with almond milk and a berry along with a piece of whole grain toast with peanut butter for breakfast, I've met half of my daily need for protein. If I have one of teacake's bean tacos and a green smoothie for lunch, I'm done and don't even have to worry about dinner.

    The ultimate thing about meat though is, everything it can do, beans can do better. More importantly, they do so without the cholesterol and saturated fats--and especially the synthetic toxins and steroids that are found in most prepackaged meats these days. Beans truly are a "magical fruit."

    As for the "time consuming" part that's just bogus. Now, if he's talking about preparing a nice veggie dinner instead of running up to McDonald's for a shit-burger, he might have a point. Otherwise, it doesn't take any longer to prepare a vegetarian meal than one with meat. Does it take longer for tsq to make her chili than it would if she put meat in it? I don't think so. Heck, since you don't have to stand around with a meat thermometer, it's probably usually quicker.
     
  10. thestrangequark

    thestrangequark Admiral Admiral

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    ^Gotta agree with that. In fact, I tend to go vegetarian when I'm in a hurry, because meat is, frankly, a hassle.
     
  11. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

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    I could never do it because of the protein thing. True, you may not need that much to survive, but I'm a weightlifter, and my protein requirements tend to be a lot higher than the average human. Meat is annoying sometimes, because it usually requires a lot more time and preparation, but that's why I tend to cook in bulk (big roasts, pots of chili, giant meatloaves, etc).
     
  12. thestrangequark

    thestrangequark Admiral Admiral

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    ^My roommate is a body builder. Also a vegetarian. Doesn't seem to have any problems.
     
  13. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

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    I'm not saying it can't be done, but it sounds awful. :p
     
  14. CorporalClegg

    CorporalClegg Admiral Admiral

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    By "awful" you really mean you just don't want to give up meat. ;)

    I bet if you took everything I said above into consideration and did the math yourself, I bet you'd find that it wouldn't take much supplementing beans, broccoli, and nuts to meet your workout needs. And if you just give up meat, there's always eggs and milk. Eggs worked for Rocky, after all. :p

    If you're still not convinced, remember that almost all protein supplements are either whey (vegetarian) or plant-based (vegan).
     
  15. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

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    I'll just stop you there. :lol:
     
  16. Amaris

    Amaris Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Indeed. I'm finding that my energy levels have been boosted significantly just in the past few days. If this keeps up, I'm going to have to start jogging around the house just to burn some of it off!
     
  17. Kenbushway

    Kenbushway Captain Captain

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    Congrats on the improvement, best of luck.
     
  18. Sector 7

    Sector 7 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    J., I can identify with the "country cooking diet". I grew up on it, too! Unfortunately, when I became disabled, I still ate that kind of food. Now, I'm not only ill, but overweight.

    Part of the difficulty taking care of my mother, is that SHE still wants to eat that way. Last night was a breakthrough (I hope!). I explained to Mom (one...:brickwall: more...:brickwall: time...:brickwall:) why she needed to diet. [She has been bedridden for 4 years now. She refuses to diet, or even eat healthy, and has gained enough weight that our aide/friend and I are having back problems moving her.]

    This time she seemed to be listening. Last week my lab results showed: diabetes under control, can stop taking cholesterol medications, etc.

    I showed her how I count carbs instead of calories, from my Nutrition class. She seems to be catching on and I think she likes being in control of her diet, too.

    I like Carb Counting rather than dieting or veggie-ism:
    First, I could never be a vegetarian and vegans I've met are too preachy for me to ever follow their way.
    Second, I grew up an Ohio farm boy, raising beef cattle, a few hogs for eating, corn and wheat. Except for corn, veggie people tell me all that is evil.:devil:
    Third, vegetables are like Chinese food... I can eat forever and not feel full... and an hour later I'm hungry again.
    Last, people with Fibromyalgia (me!) crave protein because their bodies need more protein than most people. (Possibly to repair damaged nerve endings, I read recently.)

    Carb Counting is something I can get into... I've always loved reading, including labels. Lean meat is free Carbs (LOVE that!), so are most veggies (I love veggies, but not solely). Since it seems to be working for me, I'll stick to Omnivore Carb Counting. "What works best is what works for you.":techman:

    I've seen couscous, but didn't know anything about it. After reading this, I'll check it out. Also, some other foods you have all posted will be checked out.
     
  19. thestrangequark

    thestrangequark Admiral Admiral

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    Oh, man, Sector7, please don't take any offense or insult at this, because I don't mean it that way at all, but I personally find your attitude towards carb counting hilarious! It's just that I am a type 1 diabetic; I've been carb counting since I was 12, using carb counts to calculate boluses. The thought of carb counting as fun rather than "IF YOU DON'T DO THIS CORRECTLY, YOU WILL DIE IN YOUR SLEEP!" is so mind-bogglingly foreign to me that it made me laugh! It's awesome that you like it though, and that it's working so well for you. Very cool!
     
  20. CorporalClegg

    CorporalClegg Admiral Admiral

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    Yeah it's definitely not easy. I admit the one thing I could absolutely not give up was sushi. Granted, I can count on one hand the number of pieces I've had in the last three years, but I could never permanently say "no" to it.

    The other thing is pizza. While I do usually opt for a cheeseless, I'm usually left with the feeling that it misses the point. Sometimes I have to splurge and soy cheese is just too expensive. So what I do is take a small bag of shredded mozzarella and mix it with a bag of soy mozz. I can usually get two pizzas out of that (if I go light). But if I know others will be sharing I just bite the bullet and skip the soy stuff. That way I can get fresh mozz which is so much better, anyways.

    Incidentally, people always initially scoff at the idea of a vegetarian pizza, but after they try it decide they like it better because there's so much less grease.