Veggie nutrition

[glub]

I'm looking to eat less meat (think barbecues, birthdays, christmas only). But obviously I don't want to lose out on protein. I don't want to rely on processed stuff either. We will eat fish two nights a week, eggs for lunch/breakfast once or twice a week and a bit of cheese, but not too much as I've got a bit of flab to lose.

On the days I eat just pulses am I supposed to eat two portions per day to get the protein equivalent of one meal with a regular portion of meat? I think I read this once somewhere...

Also, what are your opinions on tofu? I heard once that the stuff we buy here is nothing like the proper stuff they have in Japan and not worth eating. And isn't it mostly water? Been a long time since I read a tofu label though.

I know I can google but would really like to hear from some vegetarians here. Are there any rules you follow? I should say that this is not just for me but also for my children, one of whom is still a bit fussy with beans. I can just top him up with a chunk of cheese for snack on the pulse days can't i?

Think of your diet over a week rather than over a day. Fish, eggs and some cheese sounds fine, just allow that babies and toddlers need more fat than grown ups do so more cheese for them is ok.

You don't need to eat two protions of pulses. Protein is present in a lot of different foods. If you're getting one or two portions of fish, occasional meat plus dairy, eggs and pulses that's plenty. Besides those, protein is also present in nuts, seeds, and foods where the whole grain has been used e.g. oats, wholemeal bread, wholegrain cereal. Firm tofu - found in the chiller cabinet near things like Quorn - is different to the 'silken' type sold in ambient boxes. It's a good way to add variety

The nutrients you lose when you cut out red meat are mostly iron and some B vitamins. Iron is present in pulses, egg yolks, lentils, beans. Make this up with things like dark green vegetables, dried apricots, quinoa, fortified breakfast cereals, wholemeal foods.... some of which also contain B vitamins. Vitamin C is required to enable the body to absorb the iron so a regular intake of things like kiwifruit, citrus fruit, berries and fresh vegetables ever day is important.

Most people in the west eat way more protein than they need to start with. If you include some beans, lentils, tofu, nuts etc in your diet, plus cheese, yoghurt, and a few eggs, then make sure you eat a wide variety of vegetables and grains, that should give you more than enough protein.

I've been vegetarian for nearly 30 years, and my children are vegetarian from birth, and I have never stressed over planning the protein content of our meals, except when DD was going through a stage of turning her nose up at everything but carbs. Even then, pasta has a certain amount of protein in it. And so do things like pancakes and yorkshire puddings (made with eggs and milk).

I've lived in East Asia a lot, and the tofu there is certainly nicer than the kind you get in supermarkets here, but the Cauldron tofu is really not bad for stir-fries and so on. If you have a Chinese or Korean grocery anywhere near you they will have nicer, fresher stuff.

I think the advice is to have non-dairy protein once a day, if you aren't going vegan and off milk, cheese, yoghurt, etc. That'll include eggs, pulses, nuts and tofu. (We don't eat that quorn micro-organism thing). We eat meat about half the week. But since we eat dairy and also fish and chicken for the other half of the week, I'm not worried if I don't have protein on veggie days. For example sometimes I just have a pasta or risotto.

As for tofu, I'm from HK so I know what the real stuff tastes like. I usually get mine from the chinese shop. They do the fresh tofu in water, along with silken tofu and firm tofu. (In chinese they are normal tofu, smooth/soft tofu and dried tofu). If I order from the supermarkets, I get this one. It's like the fresh tofu, and it's not half bad!

As for your little one, how about omelettes? Though mine also like chillies (the bean stew type, not the red/green veg).

I mean the blue dragon is like the normal tofu, not the fresh! Btw, I found the firm tofu easiest to stir fry. The normal stuff, you have to be careful, or the whole thing disintegrate, unless ofc you are after scrambled tofu.

thanks everyone, especially the tips on tofu