Any vegetarians or vegan's out there?

[rajagra]

There are 20+ sources here, including a little story from the woman who started it. :)
...
Protein combining (also protein complementing) is the theory that vegetarians, particularly vegans, must eat certain complementary foods like beans and rice together in the same meal,

I did my own search on "complete protein myth". Yes, there are tons of hits. Guess what. They are all pro-vegetarian sites, and they all follow the same chain of logic back to Frances Moore Lappé.
Just because her protein combining theory ( on the need to combine essential amino acids in the same meal) was wrong and she mostly retracted it, that doesn't affect the complete protein concept's validity.

"Protein combining" theory ≠ "Need to eat all essential amino" acids theory.

Seems to me they are just replacing one myth with an (anti-) myth of their own.

Body cells are made using amino acids, humans can't create the essential amino acids, so they must be eaten from one source or another. Meat - all meat - contains all the essential amino acids in appropriate ratios for the body's needs. Most vegetables do not. These facts don't seem to be disputed.

Those sites claiming that there is a myth surrounding complete protein still accept that you do need all the essential amino acids. They say you can get that from a balanced diet based on vegetables. Can you spot the flaw in that line of reasoning?

Spoiler:

Of course you can get all the essential amino acids from (any) truly balanced diet, because it wouldn't be a balanced diet if it was lacking in essential amino acids.

Given the choice of eating foods that guarantee all the amino acids I must eat, or a diet that makes it highly likely I get them (if it is varied), I will stick with the guaranteed option.

[goby]

Given the choice of eating foods that guarantee all the amino acids I must eat, or a diet that makes it highly likely I get them (if it is varied), I will stick with the guaranteed option.

Then why are you posting in this thread?

DougieB asked for advice. I've been a vegetarian for 11 years and NEVER "combined proteins." My son has been a vegetarian his entire life and never combined proteins. We are both very, very healthy.

[pdillon]

Just so we're all clear, nobody is suggesting that laco-ovo vegetarians (eggs & milk) lack needed nutrition. If you eat a fairly normal vegetarian diet, you will not need to give special consideration to your nutrition/protein/amino acids. Just eat what you like, no meat, and you'll be fine.

[rajagra]

Then why are you posting in this thread?

To help the OP.

I have been steadily increasing my vegetable intake with a corresponding decrease in meat.... My main concern is personal health. ... Any pointer's.

[Commander Quan]

A question for you guys whom have made the switch, did you do it for health reason, or personal beliefs?

[wolfmanxiii]

A question for you guys whom have made the switch, did you do it for health reason, or personal beliefs?

I just got tired of meat, I was practically raised on it. One nice result was losing a lot of weight initially though, however the lack of something or other did eventually make me start to feel kind of cloudy upstairs and a little slow at times. I switched back to a normal omnivore diet after about four years (this was about two years ago I think) and it helped with that quite a bit though I'm sure if I had researched enough I could have figured out what exactly I was missing. The results of being a vegetarian at one point have however taught me how to eat healthier even with meat. I had my first steak in probably about a year a couple of weeks ago and didn't even realize it until I had ordered it.

[DougieB]

I am leaning toward health reason's. What I have been doing over the last 3-4 months is upping my fruit / veg intake and lowering my meat/fish...etc intake.
Really in the winter I like a lot of soups. When I am cooking them I have been concentrating on beans, greens and grains. All whole Dried beans or lentils... vegetables and Kale in everything and brown rice, barley or kamut. I will throw in some chicken sometimes... It's getting to the point of the meat portion would be looked at more as an amount of a side dish. I am curious about whether full vegetarian is a good option for me. I have also cut back on salt. A steak will really sit hard on me now. Whenever I talk with someone they always say the first couple or 3 weeks are rough then you reach a point with more energy... I do worry about the B complex vitamins.

I am thinking of making a soup tonight or tomorrow. I'm thinking a pound pureed carrots with some onion, celery and garlic, some sort of stock add garbanzo beans ( i already cooked the beans and will precook the brown rice, add cut up kale and a touch of wasabi?

We'll see. not from recipe. sometimes these concoctions really work for me and sometimes not.

[pdillon]

I'm thinking a pound pureed carrots with some onion, celery and garlic, some sort of stock add garbanzo beans ( i already cooked the beans and will precook the brown rice, add cut up kale and a touch of wasabi?

This sounds not dissimilar to a stew I make from the book I recommended above, Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi.

The book is based on his column for the guardian. Here is a link to the article, unfortunately everything is in metric. Of course, the book converts to US measurements:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandsty...tam-ottolenghi

Consider adding some (Greek) yogurt into it at the very end and then serve the stew over rice. I laugh with my wife, because Yotam adds yogurt to pretty much every recipe. But we love yogurt!

[DougieB]

Looks good. I keep greek yogurt on hand for snacks.

[rajagra]

Have you heard of kefir? I stumbled on it while reading about yogurt making. Apparently it has B12 (though I don't know how much of that is just from the milk you use to make the kefir.) It has more probiotics than yogurt, and they last longer because some actually populate your gut. (Forever?)

I've just bought some kefir grains, but I haven't brewed a drinking batch yet - the instructions said to give it time to recover before making a full batch.

[DougieB]

I made my carrot soup.
1.5 - 2 lbs carrots
one red onion
one stalk celery
2 cups dried garbanzo beans
1.5 cups brown rice
2 cans chicken broth.
1 bunch Kale

Did garbanzo beans the day before. Cooked brown rice seperate.
Cut carrots onion celery and simmer in chicken broth till tender
Blend
Pour back into pot
Add garbanzo beans and brown rice
Add rough chopped kale
Season with salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder.
Simmer till kale wilts.
serve.

Was good but missing something.

[goby]

It will seem like something is missing for a while. Then you get used to it. Think of being a vegetarian as eating Thanksgiving Dinner without the turkey. Lots of little dishes without the big slab of dead animal.

BTW, very small portions of meat is not harmful to you (only the cow). Think of the way traditional people from third world countries eat. Where meat is expensive, they have very little meat in their diet and have almost no heart disease. Perhaps if your entire soup had one sliced chicken breast it would be more appealing?

[DougieB]

It wasn't missing meat. It was a spice of some sort and fat. I didn't add any oil at all. I think a little olive oil is probably healthier than none. But I spiced it with cumin and chili powder,m salt and pepper. needed something else.

[pdillon]

You could try the coriander and caraway seeds from that recipe I suggested. Are you using ground cumin in a bottle? It's better to use the seeds, toast them in a skillet and then grind them up yourself. If where you live has a good international grocery store, you can find giant bags of whole spices for very affordable prices compared to super markets, especially in the Indian sections.

[DougieB]

Thanks for the suggestions. I have a limited spice rack. Very good for black bean soup... but not well rounded.

[mikeschu]

Vegetarian for over two years and gluten-free for four years. Corn-free for three years. Once in a great while I'll have a piece of bacon or a pinch of turkey if it's offered, but that's in rare circumstances.

I switched to a gluten-free diet once I was confirmed with Celiac disease. Once I started eating gluten-free my cholesterol shot up significantly, so I moved to a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet. My cholesterol dropped about 40 points in eight weeks.

For me, the key was getting lots of high quality fats in the diet to replace the craving for meat. I started eating more avocado and nuts and that helped with keeping satiated and away from eating meat. Finding recipes that work is pretty easy, and I agree with those who say it's easier to think of a meal as multiple side dishes. Also consider eating less Americanized food; my typical diet includes a lot of Thai and Indian food, which tend to be very easy to cook as vegetarian.

I'd like to go vegan, but gluten-free veganism is quite a bit more difficult. If I had someone else who could take care of the logistics behind it I would try going vegan; as it is now I'm okay with being vegetarian.

[devorenm]

I think the second point is an important one. I really enjoy meat and have no intentions of giving it up - but I have significantly cut down on meat over the last year- generally only a couple - three meals a week contain meat and even then in small portions. As annoying as they can be sometimes (we all know that one vegan guy who just can't figure out how to not be patronizing) there are some very real health benefits to being veggie - but when you compare only veggies or vegans and those that eat meat infrequently the differences are pretty much a wash.

Also, when it comes to tasty veg food the Indians are your friends.

It will seem like something is missing for a while. Then you get used to it. Think of being a vegetarian as eating Thanksgiving Dinner without the turkey. Lots of little dishes without the big slab of dead animal.

BTW, very small portions of meat is not harmful to you (only the cow). Think of the way traditional people from third world countries eat. Where meat is expensive, they have very little meat in their diet and have almost no heart disease. Perhaps if your entire soup had one sliced chicken breast it would be more appealing?

[goby]

Thanks for the suggestions. I have a limited spice rack. Very good for black bean soup... but not well rounded.

BTW, you may know this already, but check out bulk spices in If you have a limited spice rack, bottles of spices are crazy expensive ($5.00 a bottle).

Get little 50 cent portions and keep them in a bag, or buy empty spice bottles for about $1 a piece.

[Wcoppage]

My main concern is personal health. I'm not sure that I feel the need to completely quit eating meat... etc. Not sure I don't feel the need.

Any pointer's.

As a vegan of almost three years, I would never push the diet on others. I can say that I had some health problems also and it oddly enough was a cure all for me. As far as ethics and what not, eat meat or dont eat meat, just know what you are putting into your body, eat less processed foods, and respect portion control.

If you are going to a more plant based diet, please research as much as possible. Make sure you are getting your vitamins. And it might be beneficial at first to add a supplement to your diet. After awhile, you will start to learn about which foods give you which vitamins and mineral.

My wife runs a website with vegan recipes and reviews: Vegan-In

+++

On the shaving side of things, I started a thread a few days ago: Any Vegan Shavers Out There? Everyone has been super helpful and supportive.

Cheers

[DougieB]

I'll check out the web site. Thanks