Vegetarianish Diet?!
Vegetarianish Diet?
Hey guys, I'm thinking on cutting down on meat/junk for fitness reasons, since I've been eating alot of meat the past year and I'm trying to cut down on it since my swimming season starts again in september, and too much meat is not very healthy. What other stuff could I substitute meat with? By the way, I dont like any of the fake meat stuff. Im just looking for a good healthy diet with mainly vegetables. I dont mind eating dairies by the way.
Answers:
Good idea. Being veg is so much better for you! I did it for volleyball season last year and decided to continue it for life. Back then, I started out with a lot of the fake meat stuff, but figured out that that's not exactly the best for you either. So I started eating more veggies. Beans are a lifesaver, I probably eat some sort of bean dish at least once every 2 days. They're pretty versatile, tasty, and loaded with the protein you need for swimming.
Also, load up on vegetables. Everyone will tell you so, but it's true. You will feel a lot more energetic after eating veggies than you will a power bar or some beef jerkey. My favorites are asparagus and broccoli, but make sure you eat more than just a few different ones. You can pack cooked veggies (mmm) in a lunchbox in some tupperwear and put raw veggies in a bag and eat them as snacks througout the day.
At first, you probably won't be too happy eating vegetables when you could have meat, but after a while your tastebuds will change, and you won't have to bother with "substitutes" for meat, you'll just want fruits, veggies, grains, legumes, etc...
Grains rock for sports. Make sure you don't leave them out. Again, when your tastes have changed, you won't miss the meat and then you can focus on a more balanced diet w/ the grains and plants and so on.
As for now, when you still need a meat sub, beans, as I said, and tofu. You can do anything with tofu. I'd recommend Mori-Nu silken tofu, because it tastes good, is relatively cheap, and you can get it at "normal" grocery stores. Drain the tofu before you use it. You can crumble it into sauces or tacos for ground beef subs, slice it into cubes and bread it for chicken, the list goes on.
Some good recipe websites for meat subs:
http://www.emilyskinner.com/food/pretend...
http://www.recipegoldmine.com/tofu/tofu....
http://www.tastyandmeatless.com/recipes_...
http://www.foodreference.com/html/tofu-r...
Hope this helps! Cutting out meat is so much better for you, and you will notice a difference in your swimming too. Good luck this season! :-)