Protein Help!!!

Not eating meat has helped me TREMENDOUSLY. I haven’t felt this good in YEARS. Maybe since the last time I didn’t eat meat or dairy?

(look at that glow! It could also be that I’m 24 in that picture not almost 30!)

But! I’ve found that I’m so unmotivated to cook anything for myself. I’ve kind of been living on rice and beans with a little tofu thrown in. I’ve also found that I’m ravenous at night and can’t eat enough. Last night I broke down at midnight and ate:

-A GF tortilla with melted cheese and hot sauce
-A bowl of rice and beans (surprise) with melted cheese
-about 15 slices of Pepperoni-WTF?!?! It was Gluten Free but really Chelsea, really?

I then dealt with gastrointestinal issues for a good 2 hours after that. Thankfully this morning I feel okay.

Here’s my deal, a meal without protein feels so WRONG to me and doesn’t feel like a meal. BUT when my only source of protein is either tofu, beans, or nuts (which don’t really feel like protein) I feel stuck and like it’s Groundhog Day. I KNOW that there are a TON of blogs out there that are dedicated to this but I just don’t have the time to search OR I guess I haven’t made it a priority. I need to. I need to get back on the cooking band wagon and make myself some real food!

Any ideas? Suggestions?

Oh and I’ve been CRAVING a bacon cheese burger with avocado for about a week now. I’m tempted to just go get one and deal with the consequences and have that be a lesson to me to never eat it again.

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: help, protein ideas, vegan 25 comments »

25 Comments

At 2010.10.22 08:49, Amber said:

oh no Chelsea! Hearty veggies like mushrooms, zucchini and eggplant usually help me. I have actually been eating meat too and my Chrons has been acting up like crazy. I need to get back on te veggie/vegan track. Just since I have been sick and my anemia acted up I have been craving meat at least a few times a week.

[Reply]
At 2010.10.22 09:32, Mrs. Newman said:

Not vegan, but I want to help!

Remind me… does your tum have an issue with eggs? If not, those are an awesome source of protein. You can add pasteurized egg whites to almost anything for a protein boost. How about fish? Obviously that’s another great source.

If you do tofu rather than tempeh, you might want to switch it up. The latter has higher protein content. Also, if you primarily do beans, try to work in some lentils. Those have a slightly higher protein count, which can add up.

You might also want to try different variations of different kinds of nuts beans. I don’t think they’re all created equally, though I don’t know the exact nutrition science. For example, I find that if I combine something like a kidney bean with sunflower seeds, I feel more satisfied than I do with either on their own.

Not sure how much (if at all) you’ve experimented with different nut/seed butters and milks, but that’s another possible avenue.
Quinoa, if you can do that, is a good source of protein that I find pretty filling. I’ve heard good things about sprouted seeds, though I haven’t tried them.

Last and definitely least, some people swear by blue-green algae. My thoughts on the matter are *barf*, but you never know: http://www.newvitality.com/shop/spirulina.aspx?tracking_id=1346&cse=googlemerchant&utm_source=google_merchant&utm_medium=CSEs&utm_campaign=spirulina

[Reply]
- At 2010.10.22 11:47, Chelsea said:
  
  Thank you 🙂 Too bad I think Tempeh tastes like ass! 😉 Everything else sounds good though…well except blue-green algae. 🙂
  
  [Reply]
  - At 2010.10.31 14:25, Casey said:
    
    Oh no! I love tempeh! Have you tried it with different sauces? It is delicious with buffalo sauce!
    
    [Reply]
At 2010.10.22 10:11, sam said:

While mushrooms, zucchini and eggplant might be filling, if you’re going for protein they have far less than tofu.

On the quinoa, I’ve made quinoa risotto a few times and it’s really delicious:

http://etler.com/wiki/index.php?title=Wild_Rice_Risotto

Just substitute quinoa for the arborio rice. I like some wild rice in there but not sure if you can eat that or not. You can easily just use quinoa. I make it with chicken stock but to go vegan you could easily do it with celery stock or similar. (Also easy to make: http://etler.com/wiki/index.php?title=Celery_Stock ) Not sure what you can substitute for the cheese but I’m sure there’s vegan recipes out there that do something.

[Reply]
- At 2010.10.22 11:47, Chelsea said:
  
  I love quinoa and I’ve never thought to use it in risotto, that’s awesome. Thanks Sam!
  
  [Reply]
At 2010.10.22 10:28, Kath said:

Seconding fish. There shouldn’t be corn/soy/gluten in them if they are wild caught?

[Reply]
- At 2010.10.22 11:48, Chelsea said:
  
  I do do fish. I just try not to do it more than like 2 times a week because of Mercury.
  
  [Reply]
At 2010.10.22 10:52, Hsw said:

We’re vegan and corn, soy, wheat, oat, nut, sesame, grape, and melon free (we were vegetarian and then my daughter was diagnosed with all those allergies plus milk and egg allergies). Quinoa is your solution! It is a complete protein and is both fast and tasty. We use it in bean burgers, with marinara and roast veggies, in a mock tabouli, with salad and cilantro lime dressing…etc. Costco now sells huge bags but you can start small if you’re nervous. I also bake with quinoa flour.

[Reply]
- At 2010.10.22 11:49, Chelsea said:
  
  You sound like my house! I really like quinoa and I’m going to Costco this weekend-SCORE!
  
  [Reply]
  - At 2010.10.22 13:08, Hsw said:
    
    Costco also has frozen Normandy Mix veggies that are really good…my other thought is to take frozen strawberries, rice milk, bananas, ricera rice yogurt, and some ground flaxseeds (you can get them all at Costco except ricera is at Whole Foods) and make smoothies. I so relate to the food “blahs” – we made a lot of changes only 10 months ago and I was 2 months pregnant at the time with my second child. Food is social and emotional, for your burger craving there are sunflower seed bean burgers called Sunshine Burgers. Hang in there, it gets easier.
    
    [Reply]
  - At 2010.10.22 13:11, Hsw said:
    
    P.S. For cheese I use Rice Vegan american slices. Not to be congused with Vegan or Veggy slices. Ener-g makes buns per their website but I’ve never had them. Morningstar makes facon but check the ingredients.
    
    [Reply]
  - At 2010.10.22 13:13, Hsw said:
    
    Ok, one more thing, we can’t use it because it isn’t corn free but everyone raves about Daiya cheese. Amy’s makes a rice crust pizza with daiya on it. Convenience foods help sometimes.
    
    [Reply]
    - At 2010.10.22 13:36, Chelsea said:
      
      I’m also corn free. I think it’s my biggest allergy. It’s why I can’t eat meat 🙁 Thank you so much for all the suggestions.
      
      Oh and I did get the burger. It was gross. Not worth it. And I feel like puking.
      
      [Reply]
      - At 2010.10.22 15:17, Hsw said:
        
        What GF tortilla do you get? I can’t find any without xanthan gum (which is almost always corn derived). I do make my own but they’re nothing special.
        
        Sorry you’re not feeling well, if it helps I recently found your blog and enjoy it!
        
        [Reply]
        
        At 2010.10.26 11:40, Chelsea said:
        
        It’s La Tortilla brand made with Teff. Although, in looking at the ingredients again the very last one listed is corn starch 🙁 So I will not be buying those again.
At 2010.10.22 13:22, Sara (Erin from DC's Sister) said:

Eeek, no fun. I definitely go through phases where I don’t feel like cooking. I find that once I just make myself pick up a pan and dive back in I realize how much fun it is to experiment with new recipes. I made this soup http://www.nourishingmeals.com/2009/09/healing-quinoa-cabbage-soup.html
the other day after stumbling across the blog (which looks pretty interesting). I actually found the broth to taste kind of buttery or like chicken stock, even though it’s vegan. I didn’t have or know what Herbamare is so I just used salt (a lot of salt!), pepper, cayenne and some ground coriander.
Hope you’re feeling over the food blahs soon!

[Reply]
At 2010.10.22 14:58, Aunt Marci said:

I just ordered a cookbook I like for you–should be there tomorrow. Hope it helps!

[Reply]
At 2010.10.22 22:06, lynn @ the actors diet said:

what about doing what mark bittman does and be vegan before dinner?!

[Reply]
At 2010.10.23 00:11, Jill said:

My advice is to have that burger…yum 🙂

[Reply]
At 2010.10.23 13:43, RhodeyGirl said:

How about you truck over to a farm and find some completely local 100% grass feed beef if that won’t bother you?

The rest of the time..

Spend a Sunday making a huge load of veggie protein entrees… what I can think of off the top of my head is bean burgers and bean balls. Freeze them in individual portions and defrost one for dinner each night!

[Reply]
- At 2010.10.26 11:39, Chelsea said:
  
  I’ve tried local 100% grass fed and it failed miserably 🙁
  
  [Reply]
At 2010.10.23 14:43, Megan Alton said:

So I need to take you to lunch at Shangri La. Awesome vegetarian cafe near my house. Maybe their menu will give you some good ideas.

[Reply]
At 2010.10.26 11:34, Dolores said:

I found this gluten free blogger’s website and thought of you

http://cannelle-vanille.blogspot.com/2008/01/about-cannelle-et-vanille.html

[Reply]
- At 2010.10.26 11:39, Chelsea said:
  
  Wow! Thank you-this is awesome!
  
  [Reply]

↑ Back to top

Recent Posts

Archives

Protein Help!!!

25 Comments