What are some good meat alternatives for a vegetarian?!
Answers: i seriously eat too much tofu and eggplant....
Meat alternative??? tofu and eggplant??? dude you need to look up some erious recepies..big time. Try eating veggies for a change....stir fry form carrots zuchini squash bell peppers onions in some olive oil and add your pasta sauce ot it along with salt and pepper...start with that..its delicious. Also try cookin Indian food.....tons of veggie stuff and its mouthwatering. Try a good veggie frozen pizza sometimes. Make your self a burger with a patty from Morningstar farms...specially try their Black Bean Patty or their asian vegetable patty...they are really good. Learn to cook lentils....they taste great are really high in protene and easy to make....lentil soup...sounds good!
try soyrizo! its really good in beans and eggs (unless you dont eat eggs) (: btw, eggplant tofu from Panda Express is BOMB!
i like peanut butter. ^.^ yum. Specify what kind of vegitarian you are. There's vegan, lacto-vegitarion, egg-lacto-vegitarian, and I'm pollo-veggie, even though that really means I only eat plants, and chicken.
I like TVP, (textured vegetable protein). It's a soy product. It comes dry and has a long shelf life. You can reconstitute it in whatever you like the flavor of. It's kind of chewy. I like the texture. I love to soak it in vegetable broth with lots of chili powder -then sautee it in a frying pan and eat it w/corn salsa and tortillas. You could soak it in soy sauce, garlic and ginger and put it in a stir fry too.
beans
quinoa
Amy's burrittos
nut butters
Some people like Tempeh
And if you eat eggs...
Edemame
* beans (they taste awesome with spicy salsa)
* lentils (nice in soup)
* eggs (good by themselves, on toast, in sandwiches and in salads)
* Vegetarian sausages (usually made from chickpeas, spinach and vegetables)
* Nuts (lots of protein)
Here's a list of popular faux meat products that are vegan:
http://www.vegcooking.com/guide-favs.asp
Hope this helps!
well come to the world of vegetarian because of you more and more animals will save their lives thanks :)
Proteins: Body's protein needs can be provided by either animal or plant sources. Mixed protein diet obtained from various plant sources is better than animal protein and is recommended in diabetes, renal diseases and liver diseases. Mixed protein diet from different plant sources has been the pattern of diet in India for all vegetarians.
Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are mainly found in plant foods; like cereals, grains, fresh and dry fruits, legumes, vegetable, greens, nuts etc. plant carbohydrates include' large amounts of starches, sugar and fibers which are important for gut functions. The body is better suited to a high carbohydrate diet than a low carbohydrate diet. In fact 55% of the food intake should be carbohydrate. All animal products do not contain carbohydrate which is essential for body.
Fat: Plant fats differ from animal fats in two different ways 1) they are cholesterol free 2) they generally contain more polyunsaturated fat and less saturated fats. Plant fats usually have higher polyunsaturated fat value than animal fats.
A diet which is low in cholesterol and which contains fat of a high PIS value is associated with a lower incident of coronary health disease.
Vitamins and Minerals: plant foods are rich in many vitamins and minerals.
Vitamin D: Vitamin D is obtained by exposure of skin to sun light and this is not a problem in India.
Calcium: The vegetarians can meet their needs for calcium from dairy products. Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) Dark green vegetables are good sources of Riboflavin as are legumes and whole grain cereal.
Iron: The problem of iron deficiency is relatively common but vitamin C significantly enhances absorption of iron hence it is advisable for vegetarians to include with each meal a food high in vitamin C which as lime, citrus fruits or juices.
Zinc: Zinc is found in large number of plant foods.
Fiber: Fiber is found only in vegetarian food like whole grain cereals, legumes, greens, fruits, vegetable etc.
Thus in vegetarian foods all requirement of nutrition for body growth and maintenance is fulfilled. One can have a complete and balanced diet provided we take enough food which is as close to nature as possible in maintaining sturdy and disease free body. It is equally helpful in curing many diseases.
ADVANTAGES OF VEGETARIAN DIET:
More & more evidence is surfacing that directly links a prolonged non- vegetarian diet to diseases as cancers, heart diseases, diabetes, asthma just to name a few.
1. LOGEVITY: Vegetarian can expect to live 4-10 years longer then the non-vegetarians.
" Source: Seventh day Adventists study
2. LESS HEART DISEASE: Because of low fat, saturated fat and cholesterol content of the vegetarian diet the risk of heart disease is lowered. High blood cholesterol levels are associated with increased risk of heart disease.
3. LESS CANCER: Up to 40% of all cancers are diet related. Cancer death rates have been associated with obesity and high fat / low fiber diet. Vitamin A & C are thought to be protective against colon cancer. Low fat diets protect against prostrate and breast cancer. Indoles, lignans, isoflavones, protease inhibitors which are present in plant foods and shown to be potent anti carcinogens.
4. LESS BOWEL DISEASE: Diverticular disease and appendicitis occur more frequently with low fiber intake as in meat diet.
5. LEES OBESITY & LESS INCIDENCE OF DIABETES: It is easier to plan a low fat diet for a vegetarian then for a meat eater. The fiber in plant food dilutes the energy & provides a satisfying meal without all the calories. Diabetes over the age of 40 seems to be related to obesity.
When you say tofu do you mean soy as well? There are many meat alternatives but most have soy in them. There is seitan which is made from wheat gluten and is really good. Quorn is a product that is soy free but it has eggs it. If soy is okay try tempeh, fermented soy beans, it can be fried, baked and steamed.
Now I am really hungry...