Simple vegetarian high protein low carb meal ideas for menopause

[Monr0e]

I'm trying to up my protein and reduce my carbs but as a vegetarian I'm finding it quite difficult and not sure what I should be focusing on.

I'm 51 and thanks to menopause I've gained around 3 stone over the past few years and even with a low calorie diet I'm struggling to lose anything. I've heard high protein low carb is good for menopausal weight gain so I'm keen to give it a go but struggling.

If anyone can offer ideas for simple straightforward meals or how to increase the protein in my diet I would really appreciate it, thank you

Eggs! Frittata, use what ever veg you like (leave out potatoes), increase protein further by including cheese.
Shakshuka, again feta sprinkled across the top to up the protein.
Stir fried fried veg with tofu, a sauce made with peanut butter, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar and additional nut sprinkled over the top.
Caprese salad
Panfried Haloumi and salad.

I think it depends how low carb you are aiming for. Beans and pulses are a great source of protein but do also contain carbs.

Thank you!

I'm not aiming to go carb free, but definitely looking to reduce them and up my protein.

I'm hoping for a bit if a life reshuffle and making a few healthier changes, diet being ine if them. I know if I am too drastic I won't stick into it, but if a find a few reliable tasty meals I can keep coming back to I'm more likely to make them part if my regular habits.

I take a packed lunch to work and generally cook from scratch most (ish) nights

I struggle with this as I dont like eggs or yogurt etc.
Ive added a clear protein drink to my diet to help.
Lentils/beans/pulses are great, and Quorn.

I’ve got more protein in by adding more beans/pulses. Things like: 3 bean chilli, lentil Dahl, butter bean mash, chicken with lentils instead of rice/potatoes.

It may be helpful to speak with a registered dietitian or your GP, especially as menopause can affect weight, appetite and metabolism differently for everyone. A personalised approach can help you increase protein safely while taking allergies, intolerances and any health conditions into account.

Swapping out carbs for pulses raises protein. Look at every option - wholegrain brown basmati is higher in protein than white long grain rice. Quinoa is another good choice for protein. Lots of pasta available made with lentil or chickpea flour. Even my tiny local tesco have an own brand version in stock. You can buy high protein cheddar and I'd imagine some cheeses are naturally higher in protein for the calories consumed. Keto bread is increasingly available. Lots of recipes on diet doctor but my brain won't cooperate with me right now....

Also look at high volume eating and HRT if you're not on it.

Stuffed peppers https://www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/recipes/mains/spanakopita-stuffed-peppers
Tofu scramble https://createmindfully.com/tofu-scramble/
Egg fried cauliflower rice https://sugarfreelondoner.com/keto-fried-rice/

I saw a recommendation for this book and instagram account on here the other day and it looks promising.

Lindsay Wilson - Online Coach (@fillingmeals) • Instagram photos and videos

The premise is that you eat two high protein 500 calorie meals (this is aimed at 50 YO women with 10-20 kg lose) earlier in the day and it will mean you won't want to snack or eat a large dinner, so will naturally limit your calorie intake and lose weight.

I've bought the book and there are quite a lot of egg, oat, yogurt and pulse based meals with plenty of fruit and veg, so might be worth a look. The high fruit and veg components helps with the 'volume eating' mentioned above.

I'm really loving savoury Greek yoghurt bowls at the moment. I tend to add egg or cottage cheese for extra protein.

I love air fried tofu. I eat a whole block of it at a time.

You can also add protein powder to things like porridge and greek yoghurt.

Cut up Mediterranean vegetables such as red onions, mixed peppers, courgettes & aubergines. Roast with peeled garlic cloves, herbs, seasoning & olive oil for 25 minutes at 200c. Nestle salmon fillets & cherry tomatoes amongst them & roast for 10-15 minutes more.

I don’t think salmon is vegetarian.

Low cal Cottage cheese, eggs and beans/lentils have been my most successful upgrades

I put requirements into chatgpt! So calorie amount and also how much protein i want to eat and what sort of food I like!

I've found fancier cottage cheese to be better (not a fan really but its functional! )

Think i read somewhere. 0.75g of protein per kg of weight if u do office job.. more if very active..

@FamousGreenDresssorry, I missed that detail! Could substitute tofu which has been marinated in olive oil & herbs such as thyme, oregano, herbes de Provence.

A block of firm tofu or tempeh, cut into chunks brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with seasonings and air fried till crispy and golden on the outside.
Served with mushroom risotto made with pearl barley instead of rice.

I make this dish quite a lot, serve it with goat’s cheese. Sorry I don’t know how to make the photos the right way up!

Thank you very much

I love traybakes.

Roasted vegetables, tofu, tempeh, chickpeas or butterbeans wirh a tiny bit of oil and herbs and spices.

Tonight we're having roasted broad beans, green pepper, tomatoes and courgette with zataar, lemon juice and olive oil.

Tofu is delicious broken into pieces, dusted with paprika and roasted. So are butterbeans.

Beans! I batch cook a bean chilli or a cannelini bean in tomato sauce thing with bread regularly.. oh and cheese on everything for extra protein! Even rice!

I absolutely love daal and we cook it very often in our household as an easy, aromatic and very comforting meal. My favourite is Sri Lankan daal with coconut, and I’ve added the recipe here. My daughter loves it for breakfast with fried eggs on top of there are leftovers!

However, if you want to avoid coconut milk which is probably quite calorific, you can just leave it out and maybe use stock. It is also delicious to add spinach or some cubes of fried paneer on top. And if you are looking to up your protein, a couple of tablespoons of Greek yoghurt on the side makes it even more lovely. www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/sri_lankan_dal_with_59252

Thank you, the recipe looks delicious.

And I'm quite happy adding cheese to everything, I probably already do!

I am not always a fan of the texture of cottage cheese, but find adding it to scrambled eggs really good as then the texture "matches", IYSWIM.

I bump up the protein in a lot of dishes by adding nutritional yeast - salads, stir-frys, sprinkled on pasta dishes. Same with chia seeds, adding to Greek yoghurt or smoothies gives a protein boost.

Lots of lentil ragu here too.

Tofu, eggs, cheeses, cottage cheese, Greek yoghurt, nuts, chia seeds are all part of my low carb diet (although I do eat meat too). Plus fats like avocado.

eggs you can do in lots of ways but I love a shakshuka type thing like this: https://www.themediterraneandish.com/shakshuka-recipe/

I like a tablespoon of chia seeds, splash of milk, Greek yoghurt, bit of vanilla protein powder for taste and a few blueberries for breakfast. You leave it in the fridge for a bit for the chia seeds to swell up.

you could also add some of the higher fibre beans and pulses like black beans and callelini beans to offset the carbs.