Calling all vegetarians

mary625

I am a vegetarian and am having BMX on Feb. 6.  My husband is not a vegetarian, but eats what I cook.  If he has to cook for himself, he cooks meat.  He does not know how to cook most of the the vegetarian dishes I make.  Obviously, I will not be cooking for awhile after surgery.  I am thinking about eating meat again during the recovery period mainly because I don't see how I will get a reasonable variety of food unless I prepare everything in advance and freeze it.  It's going to be hard enough for him to do all of the grocery shopping for fresh produce and the like.  Also, I am concerned about getting enough protein during recovery on a vegetarian diet.  I am hoping some of the vegetarians on this forum would share with me how they handled their dietary needs post surgery.  Thanks. 

GatineauSurvivor

This is my concern as well, i.e. how do I make sure I get enough protein as a vegetarian now that I am not permitted to ingest soy?  I would love some help in this department!

pupmom

I was a complete vegetarian, not vegan, for 10 years. Now I eat fish and organic eggs. I also eat low fat organic cheese. If you eat cheese, rice and beans you can get enough protein, imho, to be quite healthy. I've also heard that it is only the processed soy that is a problem. Frying up raw soy is said to be ok. However, I am still cautious with how much raw soy I eat. But if you want to include some animal protein I would suggest fish. It is much lower in fat than beef, chicken and pork, and high in antioxidants.  

Kadia

It's really easy to get protein without soy. Beans, grains, quinoa, nuts, seeds, seitan...all are good protein sources.

dawny

Hi

Sustagen is a high protein drink, and the chocolate one is actually quite nice.  I eat nuts and also protein bars.  Even if you can eat just one protein bar a day, you will certainly get enough.  And if you drink orange juice with the protein, it helps your body to absorb the protein.  Also try adding beans, such as kidney beans to any soups, cassseroles, or just plain old baked beans on toast!  Could you print up a recipe for your husband to follow?  Last night I had vegetarian lasagne (with lentils) whilst the rest of my family had a traditional meat one.  When I started chemo, I made double lasagnes and pies, and put the others in the freezer for when I couldnt cook.  I have been a vegetarian for 28 years now, since I was 16, so if you need and recipes or hints, just ask!!

Take care

Dawn

wenweb

Mary625  Protein powder sourced from peas is how I have been supplementing to make sure I get enough protein.  The NOW brand has 28gm per serving which is about half of a days requirement for a woman.  Hope your surgery went well, and that you are doing well.

Kadia

Green veggies are fantastic for all sorts of things but have minimal protein.

See: Protein in the Vegan Diet 

wenweb

Kadia  Thanks for the informative info regarding protein!!

velo

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is a fabulous vegetarian source of protein - it contains all of the necessary amino acids (where most plant sources need to be combined). It is cooked like rice. Right now this is my breakfast:

Quinoa (either warm and freshly cooked or cold from leftover in the fridge) with organic almond milk, slivered almonds, oats, pumpkin seeds and thawed berries (strawberry, raspberry, blueberry or blackberry - all of these are supposed to be excellent BC-fighting) Hoping in a week or two there will be some fresh ones in the garden. If you are buying berries definitely go organic as berries are high in pesticides and of course since you don't peel them you will be getting more exposure.

Linda-n3

NOW I find this thread..... have been vegetarian for about 12 years, DH is not. Have really struggled with the protein requirements for surgery & chemo - baseline is not hard to get with regular veggie diet that includes beans & grains, but protein requirements are increased by 50-70% for surgery, chemo, radiation.



I still do yogurt (have switched to Greek yogurt although I don't really like it) and cheese that also bump up the protein. I added dried nonfat milk to puddings, casseroles, anything I could to double the protein. Generic dried milk works into regular cooking better than the expensive protein supplements that are highly processed, but it doesn't do a whole lot for the taste, so I try to cover it up with lots of seasoning. I lost about 25% of my body weight during treatment, and I am sure that my low protein intake had a lot to do with this as I just didn't have much left for healing. I am finally doing much better, gained some of my weight back, but am really trying to pay better attention to what my body needs!



There is a great cookbook that I just discovered called something like the Cancer Fighting Kitchen. It doesn't have all vegetarian recipes, but uses lots of seasonings that make food more appealing and you can substitute lentils or beans for much of the meat recipes.



I also make my own smoothies with the Greek yogurt, fresh berries, flax seed, and cinnamon, with or without ginger as the mood dictates. There are lots of smoothie recipes out there, but I just kind of toss whatever I have into it.



Eat well, live well!

bexybexy

I am a vegan and before surgery I made loads of meals and froze them plus my parents cooked stuff for me (they are meat eaters). Surely your husband could cook something for you it wouldn't be difficult for him to make a vegetable soup or curry?! If  you have a blender just shove a load of veg in and turn it on lol! You mustn't buy into the myth that vegetarians don't get enough protein. You don't need soy either ( I avoid it) just have beans, lentils, rice, quinoa, bread etc all high in protein and we don't need that much per day protein is over eaten in society and causes calcium depletion.

30DEBBIE

I a not a vegetarian. I suffer and eat steamed broccoli , cauliflower, Brussels. And on occasion sauté with garlic. Since I love tasty foods I would love healthy casserole recipes that would include the healthy vegetables with beans , kale etc.. I also make lously quinea. Any recipes to help me cook would be greatly appreciated. Since my taste buds are off food needs to be tasty. Thanks

ds9

Keeping the protein intake up on vegetarian diet is a challenge, and healing post surgery you do want to pay attention to this.

Try  things like vegetarian chili and minestrone (lots of recipes on the web) with plenty of beans.  Allrecipes also has a nice soybean succotash recipe.  Recipes are simple enough that this hubby has learned to make them   Too many vegetarian recipes skimp on the salt which leads to a rather bland taste.  Unless you have hypertension and are taking meds for blood pressure, salt intake is really not that big an issue.  Better to focus on having a satisfying meal with good nutritional value. Olive oil also adds an attractive aroma and texture although the fat content does go up.

David

onvacation

Hi ladies!  Glad i found this thread.  I've been a bad vegetarian for 4 years, cleaned up my act last year and got cancer!  But I know that isn't the reason, I actually think it has helped me get through my treatments with minimal side effects!

Have you seen Dr Fuhran's books - super immunity and eat to live?  Highly recommend them!

Cheers! 

beegee

I just gave up meat a couple months ago after my treatments were all done.  I've been doing a lot of reading, and have decided to have a 80% plant based diet.  The only animal based foods that I eat now are organic eggs, cheese, and butter.  I have been mindful of the protein, but eating cheese and eggs helps.  Bread, and beans, lentils, etc are also helpful.  It's been kind of fun looking up recipes for veggie main dishes.  Some of my favorites are:  bean burgers, veggie ruben sandwich, home made egg rolls, nachos made with re-fried beans instead of meat.  I thought it would be hard to give up meat, but it's not.  I live with my brother and he is a meat eater, and it doesn't bother me at all.  I've even gotten him to try some of my veggie meals.

My daughter bought me a rice cooker.  It's soooo easy to cook up quinoa.  YOu just put one part quinoa to two parts water and turn it on. It cooks up perfect and turns itself off when it's done.  Then look up recipes on the internet, or just add stuff you like to it, season it...voila!  Think I'll try the oats, berries, almonds with quinoa, Velo.  Thanks. 

onvacation

What kind of rice cooker did you get?  I have thought of getting one for a while, but didn't know if it would just be another gadget I never use!  I hear you can make all sorts of things in it!

beegee

Hi Kim,

I found it on Amazon and tried to copy the link to the page but it didn't work.  It's a Panasonic, it was bought at Amazon, and it cost around 30.00.  It is very easy to use, clean up is a breeze, and one advantage of this one is that you can cook small amounts and there is absolutely no sticking to the pot.  The pot is removable to wash it.  I never put it in the dishwasher--its so easy to wash its not necessary.  But I saw in the reviews that people have put it in the dishwasher.   

onvacation

thanks beegee - will check it out!

jenlee

Maybe you could teach your dh to make shakes and smoothies for you. I lost my appetite for a lot of things (including veggies, some fruits, spices, sauces) after surgery. During chemo, I had discovered Life's Basics Plant Protein chocolate shakes and fortunately I still liked them after surgery. It has pea, rice, and hemp protein, 22 grams per serving. (no soy or dairy) I like a big shake, so blended it with 16oz of organic unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 1/2 banana, and a few ice cubes. Yummy! I got it at Whole Foods the first time... After that, Amazon... If you have Amazon Prime, free two day shipping on practically anything you can imagine.

Also like a vegan shake called Shakeology.

Still looking for a great Organic vegan shake!

onvacation

jenlee - I just order perfect fit protein from the tone it up girls - it is organic and raw.  http://PerfectFitProtein.com/

It has gotten great reviews.  I've also tried Shakeology (very good) and sun warrior. 

jenlee

onvacation, thanks, sounds like it fits the bill. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the taste, ten being fabulous? Most of these, I need to add at least 1/3 banana to "doctor" the taste enough to make it pleasant.

onvacation

I should get it next week - so I will let you know!

2miraclesmom

Hi ladies! I am not vegetarian by any means, but I would like to cut meat out of my meals significantly. I love fish, so I want to incorporate more of that into my diet. Where is a good place to start? Thank you!

Wren44

2miraclesmom, We began cutting down on the amount of meat by using smaller portions. Start with fish 1 x week, then bump it to 2 x week. Have a meatless meal once a week (not counting the fish). Then we cut the amounts even more. Making a big pot of chili with 1/2 lb hamburger. Gradually we just quit putting the meat in and discovered we liked most of the dishes just as well without the meat. We still eat fish and some chicken or turkey, but haven't had red meat for a long time. We really do like vegetables and fruits which helps.

onvacation

Jenlee - i got the new protein powder and I really like it.  I think the best test is to try it just mixed with water - that's what I did and it was pretty good!

Cottontail

For those eating fish, I would really recommend avoiding fish that are higher up on the food chain, such as salmon and tuna.  Those big predatory fish are chock-full of mercury.  

Blessings2011

2miraclesmom - my husband was diagnosed with severe kidney disease, and red meat was immediately banned from his diet. He is also restricted in the amount of protein he can consume daily.

When we met, he was a huge meat-and-potatoes guy. In my earlier days, I had been a Zen Macrobiotic vegetarian.

I started slowly, like Wren said, making small substitutions here and there.

Now, I'm proud to say, he says "Think of meat as a garnish, not the main course!"

He's now allowed to have small amounts of red meat, but has lost the taste for it.

DesertMama

So what's the general consensus on consuming soy and dairy? My BS said I could have smoothies made with protein powder if they were whey rather than soy based. My MO doesn't seem to think any special type of diet is a big deal, as long as it is balanced and relatively healthy with fruit and veg included.

I would like to stop eating meat altogether, as organic meat is not available where I live. Unfortunately, very few organic foods of any kind are available. I can get tofu, and all kinds of non-organic dairy products but I am thinking I should avoid these. Any advice please?

Cottontail

My oncologist just told me (on Thursday) that I can eat soy in moderation.  I do think I am going to try to limit my intake of processed soy (items made with soy isolates, etc), but I am personally comfortable eating tofu.  I can't say I won't have the occasional Gardein burger or chik'n substitute, though.  

When I buy tofu at the store, it's organic (Trader Joe's brand).  For drinking, I prefer almond milk over soy milk.  

I'm mildly allergic to dairy proteins (whey and casein), so I try to avoid dairy where possible.  I've been eating yogurt to help stave off thrush during chemo, but will be stopping that soon.  Even if I weren't allergic to dairy proteins, I'd prefer to avoid all of the hormones that are in dairy nowadays.  

My oncologist told me that she would rather me eat moderate amounts of soy than end up with a protein deficiency.  I know that sufficient amounts of protein can be had without eating meat OR soy, but I do love Thai curry with tofu, and tofu scramble.  (I eat very few eggs, and am planning on being vegan by the end of this year.)   

onvacation

Cotton - do you like beans?  They have a lot of protein and so do dark leafy greens!

wenweb

Since becoming a vegan, I have been using pea protein rather than whey (which is dairy based).  My onc also told me to stay away from soy isolate which is what soy protein powder is made from.  I have also been told that fermented soy is better (for BC patients) than soy products which are not.  It's really hard to live by all of the rules