Calling all vegetarians/vegans/helpful people...
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I am vegan for about two years now and my last blood test was excellent, the best so far. I don't even take B12 supplements. I eat nutritional yeast and lots of roots and greens and from time to time add a mix of spirulina and chlorella to salads and shakes. My B12 level is over 400, never was lower than 300 which is the minimum ( It was when I was a vegetarian).
I don't eat a lot of chemically processed substitutes but try to eat home made stuff and natural foods as much as possible. Most of my recent diet is even raw or semi raw.
My regeneration from an injury was very fast and this winter I was sick only twice and even than it wasn't serious.
I don't eat a lot of chemically processed substitutes but try to eat home made stuff and natural foods as much as possible. Most of my recent diet is even raw or semi raw.
My regeneration from an injury was very fast and this winter I was sick only twice and even than it wasn't serious.
I'm a vegetarian 
One of my favourite things to make is a coconut, spinach and sweet potato curry. Simply prepare your veggies (I also use peas, red peppers, onions and whatever's in my fridge), add a can of coconut milk, add spices and chillies as well as curry powder, and add flour (but not too much- a little at a time) as it has the potential to go watery, especially if you use frozen veggies. I also like to pre-boil my sweet potatoes and add them to the curry at the last minute so that they're nice and tender. Serve with a garlic naan!
Choose wholemeal if you must eat carbs. They've got more iron and "goodness" in them than white carbs!
Another good way of getting protein, and one of your five-a-day, is with Nakd bars. They're raw treats and depending on what flavour you have, they four or five ingredients in them. They might not look very pretty, but I love them!
I also made some sweet potato wedges today. Just take a half a large sweet potato, cut it into rough wedges, thoroughly coat them in a few teaspoons of oil (I use rapeseed), season to your taste, roast in a pre-heated oven (200 degrees C) for 20 minutes, and serve with a salad and whatever you like!
A secret to getting all of your iron absorbed from greenery and cereals is to eat it with a source of Vitamin C. I always have something like a kiwi, a few tomatoes or an orange just after eating something like that, as Vit C boosts your iron absorption.
Carry around a healthy, iron-boosting snack with you. I like to carry around a tub of pumpkin seeds or a bag of prunes or raisins just in case I get the munchies while out and about.
One of my favourite things to make is a coconut, spinach and sweet potato curry. Simply prepare your veggies (I also use peas, red peppers, onions and whatever's in my fridge), add a can of coconut milk, add spices and chillies as well as curry powder, and add flour (but not too much- a little at a time) as it has the potential to go watery, especially if you use frozen veggies. I also like to pre-boil my sweet potatoes and add them to the curry at the last minute so that they're nice and tender. Serve with a garlic naan! Choose wholemeal if you must eat carbs. They've got more iron and "goodness" in them than white carbs!
Another good way of getting protein, and one of your five-a-day, is with Nakd bars. They're raw treats and depending on what flavour you have, they four or five ingredients in them. They might not look very pretty, but I love them!
I also made some sweet potato wedges today. Just take a half a large sweet potato, cut it into rough wedges, thoroughly coat them in a few teaspoons of oil (I use rapeseed), season to your taste, roast in a pre-heated oven (200 degrees C) for 20 minutes, and serve with a salad and whatever you like!
A secret to getting all of your iron absorbed from greenery and cereals is to eat it with a source of Vitamin C. I always have something like a kiwi, a few tomatoes or an orange just after eating something like that, as Vit C boosts your iron absorption.
Carry around a healthy, iron-boosting snack with you. I like to carry around a tub of pumpkin seeds or a bag of prunes or raisins just in case I get the munchies while out and about.
Original post by ChemicalBond
I'm a vegetarian One of my favourite things to make is a coconut, spinach and sweet potato curry. Simply prepare your veggies (I also use peas, red peppers, onions and whatever's in my fridge), add a can of coconut milk, add spices and chillies as well as curry powder, and add flour (but not too much- a little at a time) as it has the potential to go watery, especially if you use frozen veggies. I also like to pre-boil my sweet potatoes and add them to the curry at the last minute so that they're nice and tender. Serve with a garlic naan!
Choose wholemeal if you must eat carbs. They've got more iron and "goodness" in them than white carbs!
Another good way of getting protein, and one of your five-a-day, is with Nakd bars. They're raw treats and depending on what flavour you have, they four or five ingredients in them. They might not look very pretty, but I love them!
I also made some sweet potato wedges today. Just take a half a large sweet potato, cut it into rough wedges, thoroughly coat them in a few teaspoons of oil (I use rapeseed), season to your taste, roast in a pre-heated oven (200 degrees C) for 20 minutes, and serve with a salad and whatever you like!
A secret to getting all of your iron absorbed from greenery and cereals is to eat it with a source of Vitamin C. I always have something like a kiwi, a few tomatoes or an orange just after eating something like that, as Vit C boosts your iron absorption.
Carry around a healthy, iron-boosting snack with you. I like to carry around a tub of pumpkin seeds or a bag of prunes or raisins just in case I get the munchies while out and about.
One of my favourite things to make is a coconut, spinach and sweet potato curry. Simply prepare your veggies (I also use peas, red peppers, onions and whatever's in my fridge), add a can of coconut milk, add spices and chillies as well as curry powder, and add flour (but not too much- a little at a time) as it has the potential to go watery, especially if you use frozen veggies. I also like to pre-boil my sweet potatoes and add them to the curry at the last minute so that they're nice and tender. Serve with a garlic naan! Choose wholemeal if you must eat carbs. They've got more iron and "goodness" in them than white carbs!
Another good way of getting protein, and one of your five-a-day, is with Nakd bars. They're raw treats and depending on what flavour you have, they four or five ingredients in them. They might not look very pretty, but I love them!
I also made some sweet potato wedges today. Just take a half a large sweet potato, cut it into rough wedges, thoroughly coat them in a few teaspoons of oil (I use rapeseed), season to your taste, roast in a pre-heated oven (200 degrees C) for 20 minutes, and serve with a salad and whatever you like!
A secret to getting all of your iron absorbed from greenery and cereals is to eat it with a source of Vitamin C. I always have something like a kiwi, a few tomatoes or an orange just after eating something like that, as Vit C boosts your iron absorption.
Carry around a healthy, iron-boosting snack with you. I like to carry around a tub of pumpkin seeds or a bag of prunes or raisins just in case I get the munchies while out and about.
that coconut curry sounds sooo good
is there any alternative to sweetpotatoe?
i went shopping today and bought some healthy things
one thign i discovered is brown wholemeal baguette microwaved, spread with avocado and sprinkled with salt and pepper...delicious!
never knew about vitamin C, will bear in mind
Original post by number23
that coconut curry sounds sooo good
is there any alternative to sweetpotatoe?
i went shopping today and bought some healthy things
one thign i discovered is brown wholemeal baguette microwaved, spread with avocado and sprinkled with salt and pepper...delicious!
never knew about vitamin C, will bear in mind
is there any alternative to sweetpotatoe?
i went shopping today and bought some healthy things
one thign i discovered is brown wholemeal baguette microwaved, spread with avocado and sprinkled with salt and pepper...delicious!
never knew about vitamin C, will bear in mind
I've never tried it with anything other than a sweet potato, but I suppose you could use butternut squash or pumpkin or something like that
Wow, I've never tried that before, it sounds lush!
Yeah I didn't know about the vitamin C thing until my GP told me when I was very anaemic last year (not related to the vegetarianism). Quite a handy one to know of I think! Also, speaking of iron absorption, try not to consume too much dairy with iron-rich foods, as there is something to do with the calcium hindering the absorption of iron.
Good luck!
Original post by ChemicalBond
Also, speaking of iron absorption, try not to consume too much dairy with iron-rich foods, as there is something to do with the calcium hindering the absorption of iron.
And less caffeine.
Original post by ChemicalBond
One of my favourite things to make is a coconut, spinach and sweet potato curry. Simply prepare your veggies (I also use peas, red peppers, onions and whatever's in my fridge), add a can of coconut milk, add spices and chillies as well as curry powder, and add flour (but not too much- a little at a time) as it has the potential to go watery, especially if you use frozen veggies. I also like to pre-boil my sweet potatoes and add them to the curry at the last minute so that they're nice and tender. Serve with a garlic naan! WOW that sounds really yummy
Being indian, i love curry and a little bit of spice
wow i deffo will be trying that
Thanks
Thanks guys it's going well
I'm becoming a huge fan of the green smoothies, with oats nuts spinach and tasty fruit
Hardly eat meat except chicken about once a week
Also I boil some quinoa and put it in a tupplewate container in the fridge, then add it to stuff... Love it
Definitely staying away from packaged foods and processed meats
Any more tips welcome
I'm becoming a huge fan of the green smoothies, with oats nuts spinach and tasty fruit
Hardly eat meat except chicken about once a week
Also I boil some quinoa and put it in a tupplewate container in the fridge, then add it to stuff... Love it
Definitely staying away from packaged foods and processed meats
Any more tips welcome
It really depends on the sort of thing you want to eat.
Traditional English type meat and veg dinners are more difficult - you'd have to rely on Quorn etc. I'd say those kind of things can be OK if you want something easy and simple but they're not the same as meat. Try a few different brands of veggie sausages (supermarket own brand have not been very nice in my experience, but Linda McCartney and Cauldron ones were better). For a junk food type thing, I quite like the Quorn lemon and pepper breaded escalopes with chips and peas - not something to eat all the time, but handy to keep in the freezer for emergencies.
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4382/veggie-shepherds-pie-with-sweet-potato-mash This shepherd's pie is good.
Going down a more Italian/Mediterranean route, it gets easier. Ratatouille is tasty, healthy and not too difficult to make. It's a nice accompaniment to fish if you're pescatarian for the time being. Melanzane Parmigiana is time consuming but soooo good. You can make bolognese type sauces/lasagne using veggie mince (I've found the supermarket own-brand frozen stuff OK, so long as you're adding lots of veg and chopped tomatoes - a good splash of red wine doesn't hurt either!), or just using lots of finely diced vegetables and a tin of lentils. A really easy pasta dish I sometimes do is courgette and lemon linguine - just grate a courgette, some lemon zest and a clove of garlic, then toss through cooked linguine with a splash of olive oil.
You can do tagines easily enough with ras el hanout spice mix, dried fruit, and a range of vegetables - something sweet like butternut squash works well, along with a tin of chickpeas for protein. Falafel are great if you have a food processor and if you do then it's easy to make home-made hummous too with a tin of chickpeas, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice.
Curries are good for getting plenty of veg and pulses - I like sweet potato, spinach and chickpeas in a curry made with a bought paste, chopped tomatoes and some coconut milk. Something like this would be fine too - http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/lentil-sweet-potato-curry
Thai green curry with tofu, asparagus, red onion, red pepper and frozen edamame beans is good.
BBC Good Food has a recipe called "Ginger sweet tofu" which I really like. But any veggie stir fry is an easy option. Egg noodles have a bit of protein anyway and are quite filling, and cashew nuts are a good addition.
It's really not that difficult - I'm not vegetarian but I eat plenty of these things on a regular basis. BBC Good Food is a good source of inspiration, but don't be afraid to swap ingredients and adapt things to suit your tastes.
Traditional English type meat and veg dinners are more difficult - you'd have to rely on Quorn etc. I'd say those kind of things can be OK if you want something easy and simple but they're not the same as meat. Try a few different brands of veggie sausages (supermarket own brand have not been very nice in my experience, but Linda McCartney and Cauldron ones were better). For a junk food type thing, I quite like the Quorn lemon and pepper breaded escalopes with chips and peas - not something to eat all the time, but handy to keep in the freezer for emergencies.
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4382/veggie-shepherds-pie-with-sweet-potato-mash This shepherd's pie is good.
Going down a more Italian/Mediterranean route, it gets easier. Ratatouille is tasty, healthy and not too difficult to make. It's a nice accompaniment to fish if you're pescatarian for the time being. Melanzane Parmigiana is time consuming but soooo good. You can make bolognese type sauces/lasagne using veggie mince (I've found the supermarket own-brand frozen stuff OK, so long as you're adding lots of veg and chopped tomatoes - a good splash of red wine doesn't hurt either!), or just using lots of finely diced vegetables and a tin of lentils. A really easy pasta dish I sometimes do is courgette and lemon linguine - just grate a courgette, some lemon zest and a clove of garlic, then toss through cooked linguine with a splash of olive oil.
You can do tagines easily enough with ras el hanout spice mix, dried fruit, and a range of vegetables - something sweet like butternut squash works well, along with a tin of chickpeas for protein. Falafel are great if you have a food processor and if you do then it's easy to make home-made hummous too with a tin of chickpeas, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice.
Curries are good for getting plenty of veg and pulses - I like sweet potato, spinach and chickpeas in a curry made with a bought paste, chopped tomatoes and some coconut milk. Something like this would be fine too - http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/lentil-sweet-potato-curry
Thai green curry with tofu, asparagus, red onion, red pepper and frozen edamame beans is good.
BBC Good Food has a recipe called "Ginger sweet tofu" which I really like. But any veggie stir fry is an easy option. Egg noodles have a bit of protein anyway and are quite filling, and cashew nuts are a good addition.
It's really not that difficult - I'm not vegetarian but I eat plenty of these things on a regular basis. BBC Good Food is a good source of inspiration, but don't be afraid to swap ingredients and adapt things to suit your tastes.
Bad idea OP, bad bad idea. As a former vegetarian for my whole life who started eating meat a few months ago, I do not recommend vegetarianism.
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