Switching to a vegetarian diet
October 31, 2019 10:06 AM Subscribe
I'm interested in (slowly) testing a low-meat and/or vegetarian diet and looking for resources, books, tips. More context and list of complications below.
I am becoming increasingly uncomfortable with eating meat for moral reasons (mostly animal personhood and climate change), and am seriously considering testing a low-meat diet with an eventual goal of eating entirely vegetarian. I would most likely cut out beef and pork to start, but I currently eat chicken as a main course dinner almost every day. I am an American and grew up with a working class white person food culture. I eat buttered rice way too often.
1) I have Crohn's disease so any dietary changes need to happen sloooooowly.
2) I eat a mostly low-FODMAP diet which complicates things as beans are pretty much off-limits.
3) I hate tofu. I just hate it. I've had it prepared all kinds of ways at all kinds of restaurants and it never matters, it always tastes like disappointment.
4) I do not like seafood, although I have eaten it. I do like sushi/sashimi, weirdly enough. I am open to trying to incorporate more fish into my diet but I have no idea where to start.
5) Not interested in eating bugs. Please don't suggest I start snacking on cricket chips. I will literally vomit.
Do you have any recs for low-FODMAP friendly vegetarian resources?
Do you have any recs for transitioning to eating less meat in general?
What sources of protein are big ones these days? I am NOT looking to go vegan, so eggs are fine (for instance.)
I am becoming increasingly uncomfortable with eating meat for moral reasons (mostly animal personhood and climate change), and am seriously considering testing a low-meat diet with an eventual goal of eating entirely vegetarian. I would most likely cut out beef and pork to start, but I currently eat chicken as a main course dinner almost every day. I am an American and grew up with a working class white person food culture. I eat buttered rice way too often.
1) I have Crohn's disease so any dietary changes need to happen sloooooowly.
2) I eat a mostly low-FODMAP diet which complicates things as beans are pretty much off-limits.
3) I hate tofu. I just hate it. I've had it prepared all kinds of ways at all kinds of restaurants and it never matters, it always tastes like disappointment.
4) I do not like seafood, although I have eaten it. I do like sushi/sashimi, weirdly enough. I am open to trying to incorporate more fish into my diet but I have no idea where to start.
5) Not interested in eating bugs. Please don't suggest I start snacking on cricket chips. I will literally vomit.
Do you have any recs for low-FODMAP friendly vegetarian resources?
Do you have any recs for transitioning to eating less meat in general?
What sources of protein are big ones these days? I am NOT looking to go vegan, so eggs are fine (for instance.)
I would start with this cookbook: Mark Bittman - How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, because it has such a big range of recipes and variations that it's great for tweaking what you eat.
Some other standby cookbook in our house are
Jeanne Lemlin - Quick Vegetarian Pleasures
Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home
Carla Kelly - Quick and Easy Vegan Slow Cooking
posted by medusa at 10:59 AM on October 31, 2019 [2 favorites]
Some other standby cookbook in our house are
Jeanne Lemlin - Quick Vegetarian Pleasures
Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home
Carla Kelly - Quick and Easy Vegan Slow Cooking
posted by medusa at 10:59 AM on October 31, 2019 [2 favorites]
I can't help on the low-FODMAP part, but as someone who grew up white in the Midwest and used to eat beef multiple times a day: I started cutting back on red meat a few years ago. (I was always ethically torn on pork, so for me it was mostly giving up beef.) I found that once I stopped eating it so often, I stopped craving it. "Fancy dinner night" switched from steak to salmon, just because I found myself craving salmon (and crab) more often.
I recently switched to pescetarian, with the goal of vegetarian and maybe vegan, and I'm finding the same thing true of seafood -- the less I eat it, the less I crave it. And I would have said six months ago that I couldn't live without turkey, but I just... don't want it anymore.
I obviously can't guarantee the same will be true for you, but maybe it's helpful to know that it may not be all that hard to switch, in terms of cravings.
posted by lazuli at 11:01 AM on October 31, 2019
I recently switched to pescetarian, with the goal of vegetarian and maybe vegan, and I'm finding the same thing true of seafood -- the less I eat it, the less I crave it. And I would have said six months ago that I couldn't live without turkey, but I just... don't want it anymore.
I obviously can't guarantee the same will be true for you, but maybe it's helpful to know that it may not be all that hard to switch, in terms of cravings.
posted by lazuli at 11:01 AM on October 31, 2019
Beans might be worth a try. There's evidence the preparation method is a big variable, with canned/rinsed beans and sprouted beans being much lower FODMAP
Other ideas: tempeh, beyond & impossible plant-meat products, grain-like seeds like quinoa & amaranth, cottage cheese
posted by veery at 11:06 AM on October 31, 2019 [1 favorite]
Other ideas: tempeh, beyond & impossible plant-meat products, grain-like seeds like quinoa & amaranth, cottage cheese
posted by veery at 11:06 AM on October 31, 2019 [1 favorite]
The average American protein intake is almost double the recommended amount. Culturally, we don't feel a meal is "complete" unless there is a large hunk of protein on the plate. It'll take time to adjust, but start thinking about how you eat way more protein than you need, you're already getting protein from sources other than meat, and cutting out meat doesn't require a 1-to-1 substitution with a hunk of something else. It might feel a little freeing to expand your idea of what a complete meal looks like.
posted by missmary6 at 11:11 AM on October 31, 2019 [13 favorites]
posted by missmary6 at 11:11 AM on October 31, 2019 [13 favorites]
It's good that you're doing your homework, but if you eat a variety of healthy foods you don't need to worry too much about nutrition. Being vegetarian is not especially challenging. Unless you are an athlete, a few eggs a week, beans and rice now and again, some nuts, you're good for protein. A B12 supplement is not a bad idea, B12 is one thing that's hard to get in a veg diet.
But really, all you have to do is not eat meat. It's that simple. Think of an American Thanksgiving. Everything on the table but the turkey can easily be made veg. Just skip the turkey. Done.
I hit 35 years veg this year (I grew up on a farm and was forced to do a lot of butchering, so "cravings" were really a non-issue for me when I escaped that scene). Staying healthy has never been a special challenge. Just don't eat junk food.
posted by quarterframer at 11:15 AM on October 31, 2019 [3 favorites]
But really, all you have to do is not eat meat. It's that simple. Think of an American Thanksgiving. Everything on the table but the turkey can easily be made veg. Just skip the turkey. Done.
I hit 35 years veg this year (I grew up on a farm and was forced to do a lot of butchering, so "cravings" were really a non-issue for me when I escaped that scene). Staying healthy has never been a special challenge. Just don't eat junk food.
posted by quarterframer at 11:15 AM on October 31, 2019 [3 favorites]
I was vegetarian for a while and then for a few decades didn't eat much meat beyond chicken and fish (because of environmental reasons; eating chicken was a compromise with my then-partner, who did most of the cooking). I found that finding a substitute for meat as a sort of replacement dish isn't the best approach, which is, I think, part of the problem with tofu for meat eaters. If you're used to think of starch-veggie-meat, maybe it's time to shift that thinking a bit.
I've recently started eating pork and beef again, but I'm approaching it very differently now. I eat a small amount of very high quality, sustainably-produced meat. The idea here (from an animal ethics perspective) is that the problem is not so much that we eat meat, but large-scale agriculture and factory farms. A friend of mine described this as eating animals that have "one bad day."
For example, I recently bought some pork from a local farm where the pigs snack on the plants growing in the ground (which were sown for them) in addition to some high-quality feed. The live outside and in a little shelter together. They aren't given antibiotics or crappy food.
Similarly, I'm buying grass-fed beef, usually local. This also means a lower climate impact because the meat isn't being shipped in from halfway across the world. I'm also trying to buy grass-fed dairy or at least organic.
This has felt a lot healthier to me, and better for the climate, because I'm also creating more demand for meat from animals raised in more sustainable, more ethical ways. It costs a bit more, but if you eat less (which is your goal, it sounds like), you might still save money. Also, you'll probably find it tastes a lot better.
When I'm healthiest in my eating, I start with the vegetables and try to eat as many of those as possible. I fill up on tasty vegetables and fill around everything else.
posted by bluedaisy at 11:27 AM on October 31, 2019 [4 favorites]
I've recently started eating pork and beef again, but I'm approaching it very differently now. I eat a small amount of very high quality, sustainably-produced meat. The idea here (from an animal ethics perspective) is that the problem is not so much that we eat meat, but large-scale agriculture and factory farms. A friend of mine described this as eating animals that have "one bad day."
For example, I recently bought some pork from a local farm where the pigs snack on the plants growing in the ground (which were sown for them) in addition to some high-quality feed. The live outside and in a little shelter together. They aren't given antibiotics or crappy food.
Similarly, I'm buying grass-fed beef, usually local. This also means a lower climate impact because the meat isn't being shipped in from halfway across the world. I'm also trying to buy grass-fed dairy or at least organic.
This has felt a lot healthier to me, and better for the climate, because I'm also creating more demand for meat from animals raised in more sustainable, more ethical ways. It costs a bit more, but if you eat less (which is your goal, it sounds like), you might still save money. Also, you'll probably find it tastes a lot better.
When I'm healthiest in my eating, I start with the vegetables and try to eat as many of those as possible. I fill up on tasty vegetables and fill around everything else.
posted by bluedaisy at 11:27 AM on October 31, 2019 [4 favorites]
In terms of blogs, check out The Wild Gut Project, The FODMAP Friendly Vegan, and IBS Vegan. If you like that last blog, she also has a book.
Another recipe strategy: If you like browsing cookbooks, because of the particular challenges of FODMAP, I'd suggest if you have secondhand bookstores at hand you can visit, that you might like to look for cookbooks from what could be called the eggs-and-cheese era of U.S. vegetarianism - 1970s-1980s. One like that is The Vegetarian Gourmet, by Paul Southey. The reasons I suggest that are twofold: Though you will certainly find legumes in books from that era, you'll also generally find more of a focus on eggs and cheese than in books published later, and secondarily, later vegetarian cookbooks tend toward longer ingredient lists and thus more items that might rule out each particular recipe.
Source: I collect cookbooks, was vegetarian for from 1990-2005, had to give it with regret because of chronic illness, and have done a stretch of FODMAP since late last year because of new challenges to my digestive system.
posted by jocelmeow at 11:46 AM on October 31, 2019 [4 favorites]
Another recipe strategy: If you like browsing cookbooks, because of the particular challenges of FODMAP, I'd suggest if you have secondhand bookstores at hand you can visit, that you might like to look for cookbooks from what could be called the eggs-and-cheese era of U.S. vegetarianism - 1970s-1980s. One like that is The Vegetarian Gourmet, by Paul Southey. The reasons I suggest that are twofold: Though you will certainly find legumes in books from that era, you'll also generally find more of a focus on eggs and cheese than in books published later, and secondarily, later vegetarian cookbooks tend toward longer ingredient lists and thus more items that might rule out each particular recipe.
Source: I collect cookbooks, was vegetarian for from 1990-2005, had to give it with regret because of chronic illness, and have done a stretch of FODMAP since late last year because of new challenges to my digestive system.
posted by jocelmeow at 11:46 AM on October 31, 2019 [4 favorites]
As a single point of reference, I have Crohn's, and I did find that my ability to cope with fibre improved beyond all recognition when I stopped eating meat. There's still quite a lot that's off the list, but well cooked white beans and lentils are fine now and weren't before.
But also, tempeh is delicious and should be fine for you, no matter what.
posted by ambrosen at 11:55 AM on October 31, 2019 [1 favorite]
But also, tempeh is delicious and should be fine for you, no matter what.
posted by ambrosen at 11:55 AM on October 31, 2019 [1 favorite]
I took years to transition to vegan. People do this in all kinds of ways. I started with individual meals - breakfast, then lunch, then dinner. Then I was completely vegan at home. Then I was vegan outside my house. One blogger (No Meat Athlete) first removed all four-legged animals, then two-legged animals, then fish. There is no wrong way to reduce or eliminate meat consumption.
One tip is that some people end up hungry because they don't eat enough food. In general, plant foods have fewer calories than animal foods, so you may need to eat what looks like a lot of food to you. Potatoes and sweet potatoes are you friends, but you may need to eat what looks like a lot to get enough calories.
There are two common dietary beliefs that may get in your way, especially if people you know start giving you dietary advice (which can happen when you eat in a less standard way). The first is that you need to make sure you're getting enough protein. You don't. If you're eating enough calories and not eating junk, it is virtually impossible to be protein deficient. The second is that carbs are bad. This is a half-truth. If by carbs, you mean white bread, donuts, and potato chips, those aren't very good for you and you're better off avoiding them (and the calories from donuts and potato chips are more from fat than anything else). But if by carbs, you mean potatoes, carrots, and fruit, there is no problem with eating as much of those as you want. In fact, those should probably be your main source of calories.
Good luck. Go at your own pace, and you can get wherever you want to be.
posted by FencingGal at 11:58 AM on October 31, 2019 [6 favorites]
One tip is that some people end up hungry because they don't eat enough food. In general, plant foods have fewer calories than animal foods, so you may need to eat what looks like a lot of food to you. Potatoes and sweet potatoes are you friends, but you may need to eat what looks like a lot to get enough calories.
There are two common dietary beliefs that may get in your way, especially if people you know start giving you dietary advice (which can happen when you eat in a less standard way). The first is that you need to make sure you're getting enough protein. You don't. If you're eating enough calories and not eating junk, it is virtually impossible to be protein deficient. The second is that carbs are bad. This is a half-truth. If by carbs, you mean white bread, donuts, and potato chips, those aren't very good for you and you're better off avoiding them (and the calories from donuts and potato chips are more from fat than anything else). But if by carbs, you mean potatoes, carrots, and fruit, there is no problem with eating as much of those as you want. In fact, those should probably be your main source of calories.
Good luck. Go at your own pace, and you can get wherever you want to be.
posted by FencingGal at 11:58 AM on October 31, 2019 [6 favorites]
Quinoa and nuts could be helpful to you.
If you can't develop a taste for tofu, you may have success hiding it in smoothies and puddings; Google "tofu chocolate mousse" for some ideas. I've also found that some people who don't like cooked tofu don't mind it as a base for tuna-like salads; I mash it with curry powder, mustard, and mayo.
posted by metasarah at 12:22 PM on October 31, 2019
If you can't develop a taste for tofu, you may have success hiding it in smoothies and puddings; Google "tofu chocolate mousse" for some ideas. I've also found that some people who don't like cooked tofu don't mind it as a base for tuna-like salads; I mash it with curry powder, mustard, and mayo.
posted by metasarah at 12:22 PM on October 31, 2019
eggs (as you note) are great, and not just for breakfast. Scrambled eggs (scrambled up with a lot of vegetables) makes a great FAST dinner with almost no work. I like to make a big batch of deviled eggs to snack on all week, as well as a big spinach+cheese+egg frittata to cut squares off for snacks/lunch, eaten hot or cold; fast & filling.
posted by fingersandtoes at 12:30 PM on October 31, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by fingersandtoes at 12:30 PM on October 31, 2019 [1 favorite]
You don’t have to eat tofu, but treating it as a food in its own right (like the cultures that eat it regularly) rather than a meat replacement product will go a long way.
posted by stoneandstar at 12:42 PM on October 31, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by stoneandstar at 12:42 PM on October 31, 2019 [6 favorites]
Response by poster: You don’t have to eat tofu, but treating it as a food in its own right (like the cultures that eat it regularly) rather than a meat replacement product will go a long way.
This is interesting to me! Although I'm not sure I understand what you mean. If you wouldn't mind, would you extrapolate?
posted by Automocar at 1:37 PM on October 31, 2019
This is interesting to me! Although I'm not sure I understand what you mean. If you wouldn't mind, would you extrapolate?
posted by Automocar at 1:37 PM on October 31, 2019
I think what stoneandstar means is to explore the cuisines of cultures where tofu is not a meat replacement and often appears in dishes right alongside meat (the very famous dish mapo tofu traditionally has ground pork in it). Chinese and Korean food are the cuisines that are top of mind for me here.
posted by soren_lorensen at 2:24 PM on October 31, 2019
posted by soren_lorensen at 2:24 PM on October 31, 2019
I think what stoneandstar is pointing out is that tofu has the identity it does in the U.S. because it made its way into the mainstream here largely through vegetarianism as part of the counterculture movement of the 1960s and 1970s, Frances Moore Lappé's Diet for a Small Planet, and the macrobiotic craze, rather than more organically from the food traditions in which it originated. Because of that, it began to be used in a different way than it is in those food traditions, which are the ones to look to for that approach. One example that you might have encountered is the classic Sichuan dish mapo doufu, which includes both bean curd and meat.
posted by jocelmeow at 2:25 PM on October 31, 2019
posted by jocelmeow at 2:25 PM on October 31, 2019
Regarding tofu as tofu:
If you grill a slab of tofu and serve it with A1 sauce, it'll taste watery and mushy and disappointing.
You're trying to make a steak out of tofu, and correctly complaining that steak makes better steaks.
This is like going vegan by boiling your oatmeal in orange juice. Your disappointment is self inflicted.
Try stir frying some extra firm five spice tofu batonnet with chili garlic sauce and celery. Or something.
posted by meaty shoe puppet at 2:46 PM on October 31, 2019 [1 favorite]
If you grill a slab of tofu and serve it with A1 sauce, it'll taste watery and mushy and disappointing.
You're trying to make a steak out of tofu, and correctly complaining that steak makes better steaks.
This is like going vegan by boiling your oatmeal in orange juice. Your disappointment is self inflicted.
Try stir frying some extra firm five spice tofu batonnet with chili garlic sauce and celery. Or something.
posted by meaty shoe puppet at 2:46 PM on October 31, 2019 [1 favorite]
Also consider tofu recipes in which it is a simply a component and not a star - mapo tofu like mentioned above, curries in which there are vegetables and also some tofu, and crumbled into chunky sauces like bolognese or shepherd's pie (soypherd's pie? gardener's pie?) or pot pie.
But also, there's a bunch of soy-based meat subs out there that are much more recognizable to a North American meat eater, and they taste very good and have good texture - and more and more often now, they're quite modest in carbs which may also be a concern. We are not vegetarian in any way, and eat low carb, but I do periodically use Beefy Crumbles, some of the Morningstar Farms sausage, Field Roast sausages, Soy Curls, Beyond meat etc. If you're not so worried about carbs there's a lot of breaded products - Gardein, Quorn, and if you are in Aldi territory they have *amazing* burgers and chickun type patties - that's an option too. For the most part, serving-for-serving, the pricing on fake meat is reasonably comparable to meat options.
Don't be afraid to use those products, especially as you're first getting used to it all. Like, yes, you should get more comfortable with vegetables, so work on that first and know it's cool to have fake meat with it. As you get more comfortable with more vegetables on your plate every meal, you will probably lose interest in eating it so much. Most of my vegan friends don't bother with them unless it's a barbecue or they've just got a craving for fish and chips or a chicken sandwich or something.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:52 PM on October 31, 2019
But also, there's a bunch of soy-based meat subs out there that are much more recognizable to a North American meat eater, and they taste very good and have good texture - and more and more often now, they're quite modest in carbs which may also be a concern. We are not vegetarian in any way, and eat low carb, but I do periodically use Beefy Crumbles, some of the Morningstar Farms sausage, Field Roast sausages, Soy Curls, Beyond meat etc. If you're not so worried about carbs there's a lot of breaded products - Gardein, Quorn, and if you are in Aldi territory they have *amazing* burgers and chickun type patties - that's an option too. For the most part, serving-for-serving, the pricing on fake meat is reasonably comparable to meat options.
Don't be afraid to use those products, especially as you're first getting used to it all. Like, yes, you should get more comfortable with vegetables, so work on that first and know it's cool to have fake meat with it. As you get more comfortable with more vegetables on your plate every meal, you will probably lose interest in eating it so much. Most of my vegan friends don't bother with them unless it's a barbecue or they've just got a craving for fish and chips or a chicken sandwich or something.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:52 PM on October 31, 2019
Another thought, if you do end up finding some vegan FODMAP sources you like, that might make them more broadly usable: Most things you can do with firm or extra-firm tofu you can also do with paneer.
posted by jocelmeow at 6:45 PM on October 31, 2019
posted by jocelmeow at 6:45 PM on October 31, 2019
We decided about 18 months ago to change up our diets and reduce animal products and landed on a meal kit service. It covers meal planning and variety for three meals a week and we take it from there.
We use Green Chef, which has Vegan and Vegetarian options and lots more diet choices besides. They build a suggested meal plan, but you can switch it up a little if you need or want to make substitutions. Just about everything we’ve gotten has been wholesome and delicious. It’s about $72 a week for three dinners for two.
It’s made the switch to a mostly animal free diet easy.
Memail me an email address and I’ll send you a coupon for a free week.
posted by notyou at 7:33 PM on October 31, 2019 [1 favorite]
We use Green Chef, which has Vegan and Vegetarian options and lots more diet choices besides. They build a suggested meal plan, but you can switch it up a little if you need or want to make substitutions. Just about everything we’ve gotten has been wholesome and delicious. It’s about $72 a week for three dinners for two.
It’s made the switch to a mostly animal free diet easy.
Memail me an email address and I’ll send you a coupon for a free week.
posted by notyou at 7:33 PM on October 31, 2019 [1 favorite]
On the tofu thing, I grew up around a lot of (white/hispanic) vegetarians of the ascetic variety, and they sucked at tofu. Tofu is fucking genius, but needs waaaaay too much work as a meat substitute, if your idea of meat is something like a steak. Properly-cooked tofu is incredibly versatile, but best treated as its own thing.
posted by aspersioncast at 9:19 PM on October 31, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by aspersioncast at 9:19 PM on October 31, 2019 [1 favorite]
I'm mostly vegan and have been for years for non moral reasons, i just think its healthier. I never eat tofu or lentils. You can do this! I'd suggest not trying to make meat or dairy containing meals with a substitute but looking to vegetarian focused cultures and cuisines for variety and FODMAP friendly options. Traditional sides make good vegetarian dishes too. Or just omit the meat: rice and bean burritos can be just as tasty as burritos with meat, beef strogonoff can be made without meat, so can most stews, soups and chili. Dont get sucked into using a ton of oil, salt or processed nut milk or whatever though. If the recipe can't be made with mostly whole foods it's probably not great. You're going to feel great eating an unprocessed plant based diet. Lighter and cleaner. When I do eat fish or broth or whatever it's noticeable that i feel like a nap after. I've been talked into trying keto twice now while struggling with some allergies and felt like crap both times. Never again.
And don't worry about protein, there are vegan NFL players and body builders. You'll be fine.
posted by fshgrl at 10:41 PM on October 31, 2019
And don't worry about protein, there are vegan NFL players and body builders. You'll be fine.
posted by fshgrl at 10:41 PM on October 31, 2019
A member of our family went vegetarian for climate reasons for a year, and the rest of us went along (but ate meat when we were out without her or she was out without us). Still now, we are 80-90% vegetarian and we make an effort to source the meat/fish we eat from sustainable farming and fishing. We've learnt a lot of new recipes and cooking techniques! We save a lot of money! We look better! We have all enjoyed the proces, too.
I hate tofu. Well that's not entirely true, I've had freshly made tofu in Kyoto and it was delicious, but I am not in Kyoto, and the tofu I can get here is horrible. The girls tried meat substitutes once when I was traveling and I can only say it is not on the table here, ever. So we had to try another approach to eating.
Like others are saying, we've looked at food traditions where it is normal to eat only vegetables. Jain food is an obvious choice, though you can't have dal. But we weren't happy with eating Jain food always, for different reasons. We've had an increasing amount of Thai, Chinese and Japanese food -- the concept of a bowl of rice with some different sides is easily adaptable to vegetarian options. I just use my "normal" cookbooks and blogs and only choose the vegetarian dishes from those. These are also good now when we've started to eat a little meat again, now I'll use one or two chicken breasts for four people in a stir fry, rather than one for each person. I'm thinking you could do this in the reverse, just cut down on the amount of meat in your diet gradually?
Italian food has a huge number of vegan and vegetarian options that are delicious and probably easier for you to adapt to low-FODMAP restrictions than Asian cooking. Specially if you follow the traditional style of eating, with an antipasto, a primo (in your case a soup or risotto), a secondo (like eggplant parmesan, it's much better without the breading IMO) with a side salad and a fruit for desert. Like with the Asian foods, this is a cuisine of small plates, and you can have some things on hand for the antipasti, like marinated vegs, frozen soups and fresh fruit, so you only need to cook the main/secondo.
We eat a lot of Middle Eastern food, but I'm not sure how that works with your diet? They use a lot of legumes, onions, grain and dairy, but something like shakshuka is a good meal (you can skip/substitute any ingredients except the egg and tomato, there is no fixed recipe).
Eggplants are our friends, they are used in all the above-mentioned food cultures, and they are filling and tasty in a way we feel echos meat while still being something good in its own right. Same with mushrooms. AFAIK, you can eat fresh legumes, like peas, French beans and edemame. These are some of the few things that are really good frozen, so always have them in the freezer, there are so many good uses for them. Yesterday we had a stew with very little meat in it, with a good portion of potato mash with peas in it. Nuts and almonds are good to have too, and they provide a crunchy contrast when used in stirfrys, for instance. Tahini packs a lot of protein and is good in many dishes. A bowl of soba noodles with a tahini dressing, some greens and a sprinkling of roasted cashews is a good simple meal -- in a lunch box, too. There are so many egg dishes out there, a Spanish tortilla is a good start.
I mainly use Serious Eats, The Guardian and Woks of Life for online recipes. Books I'd recommend are The Vegetarian Option by Simon Hopkinson, River Cottage Veg Every Day!, Elizabeth David's Italian Food, Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery, and Japanese Cooking - A Simple Art, by Shizuo Tsuji. I don't have my Chinese cookbook here right now, so I'm mainly using the blogs.
BTW, I have struggled with IBS for years after taking anti-anxiety medicine, and was discussing the low-FODMAP diet with my doctor when he suggested I try something else first: now every morning, I make myself a tall glass of a mix of kefir, sparkling water and psyllium powder. It works like magic for me. If I've done something stupid like drink alcohol at a party, I can do it twice a day for a while and the balance is regained. Obviously you shouldn't try this without consulting your doctor, since it goes directly against the low-FODMAP diet if you aren't eating dairy.
posted by mumimor at 1:42 AM on November 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
I hate tofu. Well that's not entirely true, I've had freshly made tofu in Kyoto and it was delicious, but I am not in Kyoto, and the tofu I can get here is horrible. The girls tried meat substitutes once when I was traveling and I can only say it is not on the table here, ever. So we had to try another approach to eating.
Like others are saying, we've looked at food traditions where it is normal to eat only vegetables. Jain food is an obvious choice, though you can't have dal. But we weren't happy with eating Jain food always, for different reasons. We've had an increasing amount of Thai, Chinese and Japanese food -- the concept of a bowl of rice with some different sides is easily adaptable to vegetarian options. I just use my "normal" cookbooks and blogs and only choose the vegetarian dishes from those. These are also good now when we've started to eat a little meat again, now I'll use one or two chicken breasts for four people in a stir fry, rather than one for each person. I'm thinking you could do this in the reverse, just cut down on the amount of meat in your diet gradually?
Italian food has a huge number of vegan and vegetarian options that are delicious and probably easier for you to adapt to low-FODMAP restrictions than Asian cooking. Specially if you follow the traditional style of eating, with an antipasto, a primo (in your case a soup or risotto), a secondo (like eggplant parmesan, it's much better without the breading IMO) with a side salad and a fruit for desert. Like with the Asian foods, this is a cuisine of small plates, and you can have some things on hand for the antipasti, like marinated vegs, frozen soups and fresh fruit, so you only need to cook the main/secondo.
We eat a lot of Middle Eastern food, but I'm not sure how that works with your diet? They use a lot of legumes, onions, grain and dairy, but something like shakshuka is a good meal (you can skip/substitute any ingredients except the egg and tomato, there is no fixed recipe).
Eggplants are our friends, they are used in all the above-mentioned food cultures, and they are filling and tasty in a way we feel echos meat while still being something good in its own right. Same with mushrooms. AFAIK, you can eat fresh legumes, like peas, French beans and edemame. These are some of the few things that are really good frozen, so always have them in the freezer, there are so many good uses for them. Yesterday we had a stew with very little meat in it, with a good portion of potato mash with peas in it. Nuts and almonds are good to have too, and they provide a crunchy contrast when used in stirfrys, for instance. Tahini packs a lot of protein and is good in many dishes. A bowl of soba noodles with a tahini dressing, some greens and a sprinkling of roasted cashews is a good simple meal -- in a lunch box, too. There are so many egg dishes out there, a Spanish tortilla is a good start.
I mainly use Serious Eats, The Guardian and Woks of Life for online recipes. Books I'd recommend are The Vegetarian Option by Simon Hopkinson, River Cottage Veg Every Day!, Elizabeth David's Italian Food, Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery, and Japanese Cooking - A Simple Art, by Shizuo Tsuji. I don't have my Chinese cookbook here right now, so I'm mainly using the blogs.
BTW, I have struggled with IBS for years after taking anti-anxiety medicine, and was discussing the low-FODMAP diet with my doctor when he suggested I try something else first: now every morning, I make myself a tall glass of a mix of kefir, sparkling water and psyllium powder. It works like magic for me. If I've done something stupid like drink alcohol at a party, I can do it twice a day for a while and the balance is regained. Obviously you shouldn't try this without consulting your doctor, since it goes directly against the low-FODMAP diet if you aren't eating dairy.
posted by mumimor at 1:42 AM on November 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
Tofu - not a substitute - its own thing! This meat eater finally found out how to make tofu non-gross, and I hope you can too!
1) Buy firm or extra firm tofu - not in a carton or box, and not silken - that's sitting in water (usually in the fridge)
2) Drain the tofu and portion it up and freeze it (this changes the texture dramatically)
3) Defrost the tofu and then press it between your hands/kitchen paper/dishcloth to remove any excess liquid
4) Either a) shallow-ish fry as a block then cut into pieces b) shallow-ish fry in strips then cut into pieces c) cut into pieces
5) Use as you would with cooked chicken - so add a few minutes before the end in stir fries, thai curries, soups, stews etc. I would recommend chinese stir fries and thai curries as great entry tofu dishes with this method
When I went to veggie I realised the key is not to be substituting anything - it's never going to be meat. Give up your old recipes and find new! Look to enjoy it on its own merits!
posted by london explorer girl at 4:59 AM on November 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
1) Buy firm or extra firm tofu - not in a carton or box, and not silken - that's sitting in water (usually in the fridge)
2) Drain the tofu and portion it up and freeze it (this changes the texture dramatically)
3) Defrost the tofu and then press it between your hands/kitchen paper/dishcloth to remove any excess liquid
4) Either a) shallow-ish fry as a block then cut into pieces b) shallow-ish fry in strips then cut into pieces c) cut into pieces
5) Use as you would with cooked chicken - so add a few minutes before the end in stir fries, thai curries, soups, stews etc. I would recommend chinese stir fries and thai curries as great entry tofu dishes with this method
When I went to veggie I realised the key is not to be substituting anything - it's never going to be meat. Give up your old recipes and find new! Look to enjoy it on its own merits!
posted by london explorer girl at 4:59 AM on November 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
To ensure you have enough B vitamins when reducing meat consumption, nutritional yeast (aka "nooch") is excellent. Think of it as a replacement for when you'd sprinkle parmesan cheese on stuff. Or by itself.
posted by jillithd at 8:30 AM on November 1, 2019
posted by jillithd at 8:30 AM on November 1, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
Years later, I eat meat about three times a month. I like that it's a treat. Most days, I get a lot of my protein from fish (mostly sardines and shellfish).
posted by minervous at 10:53 AM on October 31, 2019 [10 favorites]