Vegetarian low-carbing - calling all veggie low carbers for moral support!

[ghosteditor]

I'm going back on the veggie low carb bandwagon after putting back on 8-10lbs in the last few months, following an injury. I lost 30lb+ last year (post-natally) but could do with getting rid of this sneaky half stone.

I need some more recipe inspiration so please share!

Lurking - am veggie but not low carbing and have always thought it would be pretty impossible.

I like things like veggie chilli or curries with just a big salad, chutneys, salsas etc, so no need for rice.

Baked sweet potatoes are lovely - filled with some diced red onion, red pepper, mango, coriander and lime juice they are fab.

Fritatta v good.

Roasted asparagus (a bit of oil and a bit of balsamic vinegar) is lovely and tastes really 'special.' Nice with an omelette, or maybe a poached egg and some salad leaves.

AKiss - oh god, no, not at all. You didn't sound the slightest bit smug and I genuinely meant 'lucky you' :) I wasn't being in the slightest bit sarcastic or 'off'. Sorry if it sounded that way :(

perplexedpirate - it is defintely 'do able' as a (non egg eating) vegetarian, but it is harder than doing it as a meat eater. I have made great friends with the Cauldron pre marintated and 'cooked' tofu pieces and the 'Quorn' small chicken pieces (the lowest carb per 100g things in those ranges - some of the other things are MUCH higher carb per 100g).

Ghost - that sounds nice if you like that kind of thing :) I can't stand walnuts or brazil nuts and don't use stevia.... so probably not for me

I have the Celia Brown Brooks book out from the library at the moment, it has some good things in it (if I could be bothered to cook them!!) but it has some odd things in it and it is very egg heavy.

Whose 'divine cauliflower bake' did you make and was it good??

Downfall - Link to latest Bootcamp thread There are lots of threads because there have been lots of Bootcamps. They make good 'background reading'. We are about to start week 9 of this 10 week Bootcamp, but it doesn't matter at all, join this weeks one and keep going. There's always a chat thread between Bootcamps. I'm in week 22 now I think... and there is a spreadsheet for weight loss, but you don't have to put yourself on it if you don't want to, I haven't. You'll have to excuse my major whinging on it today - don't let that put you off!!

Remus - it's not impossible, you just have to decide whether it's what you want to do or not :)

I've not had much luck with stevia. It looks like pond weed. I tried to make a low carb cake with it. So disgusting even DP wouldn't eat it.

Ah, chipping, it's not so much that I like it, but that it is very filling and all the nuts are good for my nails
The divine cauliflower bake is Rose Elliot - boil cauliflower for 7-10 mins, mash a bit, add sour cream, cheese, Tabasco, spring onion, then bake for 35 mins.

What's the carb in baked sweet potato? Sounds delicious

You couldn't pay me to eat walnuts and brazil nuts - bleurghhhhhhhh and I'm in serious danger of looking like a sodding almond already

That bake does sound good - I might try that tomorrow night - even though I'm trying to avoid cheese. Oops. LOL.

Dh has a low carb muesli make from seeds - sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seed, with ground vanilla and cinnamon. He has this with berries and Total yoghurt for breakfast.

Somethings I have learned about stevia. The best stevia product on a supermarket shelf is probably Truvia, but cooking with it is not good, the flavour is awful, dh likes the crunchy sugar texture. I use NuNaturals stevia solution which I get from amazon because i avoid sugar alcohols - they do funny things to my digestion. It's expensive but you only use a tiny amount so it lasts a long time. Cinnamon helps to hide the odd liquorice flavour you sometimes taste. Stevia and coconut milk are a disaster together.

Love this thread! Yesterday I had Halloumi Skewers with red onion, cherry tomatos, mushrooms, red/green peppers and a mahoosive salad for my evening meal and is was lush!

Tonight I had quorn chicken pieces, red onion, mushrooms and peppers mixed with 1/2 can of tinned tomatos, garlic and chilli flakes then smothered in cheddar cheese and baked in the oven - so yummy! It was like a pasta free pasta bake.

I am loving low carb eating. I had forgot just how lovely vegetables are. I feel full all of the time too. I had two rashers of quorn bacon and two fried eggs for breakfast at 8am, and still wasnt hungry until about 2pm - completely unheard of for me!

Best of all, I lost 5lb last week! I know some of that will be water but, still, 5lb!!!

Mamabear - 5lbs is great for a week, and those recipes sound delicious.

Thanks! I forgot to add: wholegrain peanut butter on chunks of celery are like little drops of snack heaven!

Thanks chipping, I've been and read the veggie rules. Crickey, I've been eating alot of hidden carbs! Sweet and sour red and yellow peppers and cashews with noodles...... oops :-/

I'll try and back read the threads. At the moment I'm concerned about eating enough protein, I enjoy lots of chick peas, cannellini, kidney beans etc but they seem to be too high carb.

Also, how do you integrate it into family meal planning? I've been using lots of meat substitute products to satisfy non veggie DH and DS' s. I can imagine it being hard to stick to if it feels faddy or unusual. Is there any point starting if I can't get round the notion of preparing separate meals for me?

MamaBear I love peanut butter on celery too! Which was quite a revelation as I think it's the work of the devil in any other form (celery that is, not peanut butter!!).

5lbs is great - regardless of what it is!

Downfall - I do eat red & yellow peppers in moderation, but not cashews no - they are hugely carby. If you are in doubt about anything check check check and if it doesn't come in a packet I find the easiest way to check is to use sainsburys online :)

All of those beans are a no-no :( I eat the Cauldron tofu that's premarinated and pre-cooked (not the one that's still soft) and Quorn - but only the 'chicken pieces' as they are both 1g per 100g whereas other things in both of those ranges are much higher (even weirdly the 'chicken fillets' - which in the past i'd assumed were the same thing but bigger - apparently not?!

You really don't need to cook separate meals - think of it the other way, cook a meal you would normally cook, but leave the 'carbs' off of your serving. For example you could make spagetti bolognaise but don't have the pasta (courgette in ribbons cooked quickly works well instead), or a roast without the pots & yorkies etc. I'm sure most of your family meals would be able to be made good for you and them, BUT be warned, seeing the results will make you encourage them over to the 'Dark side' :)

chipping I love your positivity (you once chatted to me when I came in from a night shift to a kapputted washing machine and was feeling very fed up. I was under another name then).

Oh you name-changers! One never knows who one is conversing with!

I'm mostly quite positive - though you might not think it if you read this weeks Bootcamp thread

Ok, 2 days in and 2lbs off. Phew! Have to get by at work today - it always makes me hungry!

How is everyone doing??

I am in my 6th month of this and having a serious wobble. Depsite being really good, I have started putting weight on!!

I am also getting very fed up of eating the same things and not being able to eat out :(

I have a day off today and thought I might go out for breakfast or lunch - but I really can't think of anywhere to go or anything to have that's appealing. Fed up :(

Don't give up! Have you tried the low carb pizza I suggested above? It's lovely.

AKiss I don't eat eggs.

Has anyone for the actual recipe for the pizza base?
Also, cauliflower rice; do I cook first then grate? Or grate first?
Confused.
Thanks!

Oh sorry chipping, I missed that bit.
My diet has become very dependent on eggs since I started low carbing so I can see why you are finding it hard.

Aw chipping are you in the maintainance phase now or still doing low carb at 50-70g?

Could you try to have a week full of tasty curries various, most of which will be low carb?

Cauliflower rice, pretty sure you grate then boil. I can't stand it though!

I've lost 3.5lbs since I started up again on Saturday, which thankfully is pretty motivating. I'm feeling quite grumpy and a bit shaky, even though I'm not staying under 20g. My mouth is really dry too - had forgotten about that bit!

Fatty: I follow this recipe for the base (works just as well without the Parmesan.

I grate then fry for cauli rice, boiling turns it all to mush.

Thank you! The pizza looks good!
Not sure about the cauliflower now, we'll see how desperate I get for ideas! Would it only work with fresh? Not frozen?

Fatty - there are a lot of recipes for low carbing, including those, on the Bootcamp Recipe thread :) Lots of the LCers love the cauli rice and if made properly I think it sounds good (haven't tried it yet).

AKiss - it would be easiser if I ate eggs, but I just can't bring myself to do it.

Ghost - definitely not maintenace - if only!! I don't know how many carbs I eat, but they all come from veg & tofu/quorn (and really only the 1g per 100g versions of those), I put everything I ate into MFP for a little while and I was at about 30g most days.