Plant based eating...

[catlover]

Hi guys I recently switched to a (mainly ) plant based diet. I still enjoy the occasional chicken balti curry or Thai chicken curry, but mainly stick to non meat meals now.  I have felt so much better since changing my diet, more energy, less brain fog, less fatigue, and lost a few lbs too woohoo.

Does any one else follow a plant based diet, and  how do you find it? Do you miss meat? My husband was very sceptical as he loves his meat, but I have fed him meat free meals last 6 days, and he has no complaints,  enjoyed everything I have cooked and also says he feels better.

 

[Sazerac]

I don't eat red/white meat every day, sometimes not for weeks/months.

I eat a lot of beans, tofu, fresh veg, fruit, nuts, some grains. Not much cheese.  I always have eggs, rarely pasta, never white rice (Black rice is the ticket ! )

I also eat fish, mostly local redfish and shrimp.

 

Then, I must make a Gumbo or a Chicken Liver Pate or a big ol pork chop and when I do, I try to source locally raised and organic meats.  It tastes so much better.

 

You have to be mindful of nutrition eating a completely plant based diet.

Which is important to know about anyway.

 

yum Thai curries !  also good with tofu.

 

 

[catlover]

Thanks I have never tried Tofu, I wouldnt have a clue what to do with it?  I like the sound of the organic meat, i'm sure it tastes heaps better than the pre packed stuff you get in the supermarkets. I am eating lots of lentils, black beans and chick peas which I read are good and high in protein and fibre.  I do eat cheese and a few eggs, so not a complete vegan. 

So far i am feeling lots better.

Yeah we love our balti's and Thai curries. Its my birthday very soon, so will going for a Thai meal, cant wait    

I also eat porridge oats, and am really into Quinoa at the moment.

Edited February 29, 2020 by catlover

[Sazerac]

Tofu is great.  It doesn't really taste of anything but, picks up flavors from the saute or the soup or the gravy etc.

Here is a decent description and some pretty good recipes from the BBC

and some things I do with it.

 

Firm Tofu,

drain, pat dry, sauté in olive oil with some garlic until hot put into a bowl

then put some good soy sauce in the hot pan.....sizzle sizzle...a little balsamic vinegar maybe, reduce it for a minute

Put into the bowl of sautéd tofu and sprinkle a bunch of nutritional yeast over it.  Good with quinoa.  Some veg.

 

 

 

or cube it, sauté a bit and put it into a soup or stew.  sauté-ing helps it hold together better.

 

I use soft tofu and throw it in a smoothie for a protein punch

or

put in in a blender with a little stock for a protein packed thickened gravy, the whizzed up tofu does the thickening in a creamy way.

 

I love my steel cut oats.  Nut butters. Complex carbs.

 

OMG have your tried Forbidden, Black Rice ?  Protein packed, super nutritious and puts white and brown rice to shame. 

 

yep, organic meats are really good, really really good

and since I don't indulge that often the price works out.

 

I love all the beans.  Sometimes I cook my lentils in coconut milk. Have you had the Black 'caviar' Lentils ?  OMG, they are amazing !

 

Sorry, I am going on.  Must be HUNGRY.

 

Oh !  Happy Birthday !  Hope you have a great celebration and a delicious curry, @catlover

 

 

 

[notsmokinjo]

I can give or take meat...although love me lamb roasts...I couldn't give up fish and seafood though..I love me veg and fruit and legumes but it's hard when your the only one in the house.

Have to say I agree with @Sazerac...black rice is sh1t hot and makes all other rices seem bland and tasteless and lacking in texture. 

Love salads.

 

Tempeh is a good meat substitute, I tend to prefer it over tofu and some of the Quorn products are not too bad.

 

Love chickpeas....love Black beans.

 

I have a simple chickpea salad a few days a week...all I do is change the herbs and seasoning to switch it up....it's just chickpeas, cubed cucumber, cubed tomato, fresh basil or coriander leaves and then taco seasoning, or Thai spices, or Greek spices or so dukah .... And then a squeeze of lemon juice... bangin'. I have switched out the chickpeas for black beans when doing Mexican flavours.

 

 

[catlover]

Thank you Saz and Jo. Lots of good ideas there and I will look out for the black rice and give it a go. will also try tofu and tempeh and see how it go's, as I dont want to be stuck with just 3 or 4 recipes lol. I made a lovely lentil dahl last week and it freezes great too. I'm also going to try some chickpea meatballs.

[Sazerac]

Ooh, would love the recipe for chick pea balls...like falafel ? or with cooked chickpea ?

I make nut balls often, chopped fine nuts of choice, caramelized onion/garlic, parmesean or aseago or ? egg,  bread crumbs if needed,  also makes a fine nut loaf.

 

Do try those black 'caviar' lentils, they are incredible.

 

White beans are my fav lately.  I love my newish instant cooker/pressure cooker.  Raw beans come out incredibly creamy in short time. 

[BAT]

Check this out on Netflix. ... The Game Changers ... It's a very interesting piece about plant based diets.

 

 

 

Edited March 2, 2020 by BAT

[catlover]

Thank you Bat, I like watching documentaries on food, so will be sure to check that one out.

i watched What the health on Netflix the other day, that was very interesting.

 

Saz I will look up the chickpea meatball recipe, I got it online somewhere. I am hoping to make them this week so will let you know what I thought of them.

 

[notsmokinjo]

In the meat section of our supermarkets we have a plant based minced meat available. I have been using this for a while now to make all my mince dishes (meat balls, burgers, Sauvage rolls, pies, spag Bol, lasagne, pastitse, cobblers, cottage pie, savoury mince, chevaps, chowmin, San choy bow, spring rolls, larb salad). .none of the anti veggie carnivores in my house have picked the switch. Texturally it is the same so there is correction needed for your recipes.

 

Oh...have an awesome birthday...Thai is one of my faves.

 

[catlover]

Thanks Jo, we have plant based mince meat here too, and i also saw plant based bacon, sausage, sausage rolls. The sausage looked a bit green lol, not tried them as yet. I do try to cook from scratch where I can, sO i know what it is in the food, I dont like too much processed food. 

We tried a vegan store bought pie the other day, it was quite peppery but ok.

We just had a chick pea curry for our evening meal tonight, did,nt think hubby would like it, as he loves his chicken curry, but he said he would have it again...win win, so glad he is liking this veggie based food, saves me doing 2 lots of cooking.

 

Saz...here is a recipe for meatballs, maybe there are better out there!!! google chickpea meatballs. 

http://www.napolina.com/recipes/30-minute/vegetarian-chickpea-meatballs

[Sazerac]

thanks, @catlover.  May not do them Italian, may do more Middle Eastern and have with a raita.

 

I make hummus so often, these shapes will be nice for a change.

 

I don't buy plant based meat products.  

[catlover]

Please share if you find a nice recipe

[Sazerac]

 I'll use your formula for making the balls and just substitute Za'atar spice to the mix instead of Ital and use yogurt  instead of a tomato sauce.

 

I want to recommend making your own beans from dried.  It is easy in a slow cooker or easy/quick/superior texture in an instant cooker.

The citric acid and other preservatives in canned beans tastes awful to me and rinsing doesn't quite remove it. 

Plus, I want to keep as many chemical preservatives out of my bod as I can.  

 

I love the line in the movie clip from @BAT,  "People say I am strong as a bull.  Never seen a bull eat meat"

[catlover]

Great I will try that. I watched the film last night that BAT recommended, and Yes that was a great line about the bull : -) sooo true!

[Sazerac]

I also recommend sourcing the freshest beans possible.  This makes a huge difference.

I go to my Latin markets for Black and Pinto Beans.

Mid Eastern markets for Chick Peas, lentils. Italian markets for White Beans, Chick Peas too.  

Red Beans and Black-eyes are popular here so, the 'normal' market's supplies tend to be fresh.

 

You can also sprout all these beans for salads etc.

[catlover]

Are the dried beans better then? I get dried lentils, but my chick peas and black beans are canned.

[Sazerac]

22 minutes ago, catlover said:

Are the dried beans better then? I get dried lentils, but my chick peas and black beans are canned.

 

I think dried are far superior to canned, as long as they haven't been sitting on the shelf since The Dark Ages.

 

That is why I make purchases at  ethnic food shops, people that consider dried beans staples will have the freshest dried products.

[catlover]

Thanks for the info. I will check our local indian shop, as I know they do some fresh ingredients there. I'm not sure if we have any world food markets local, will look around online.

[Reciprocity]

I've gone plant based too!

 

Grain, hops, yeast & water  

Has not done a thing for my brain fog though?

 

[Mona]

@catlover, are you still following a plant based diet?  I tried this way of eating 5 or 6 years ago for 6 months or so.  I felt fabulous but I craved meat constantly!  It drove me wild when I walked past a hot food bar in a grocery store.  The cooked meat dishes smelled so, so good.  One of my doctors commented on my weight loss.  He asked is this a good thing that you have gotten so skinny?  I said yeah, look how nice and thin I am!  lol  For years, I have been trying to figure out what is the healthiest diet.  I think vegetarian is good for some people but I feel like a ketogenic diet is better for me.  I feel just as good as I did on the vegetarian diet but I can eat meat which I really enjoy.

[jillar]

Interesting.........

 

[Reciprocity]

I don't know. Hard to resist a nice rack of baby back ribs done outdoors on the slow cooker! 

It's probably not the healthiest thing for you but OMG, the taste of those fall-off-the-bone ribs 

Edited September 2, 2020 by reciprocity

[Mona]

1 hour ago, reciprocity said:

I don't know. Hard to resist a nice rack of baby back ribs done outdoors on the slow cooker! 

It's probably not the healthiest thing for you but OMG, the taste of those fall-off-the-bone ribs 

 

Ribs are A-OK with the ketogenic diet.  Just need a sugar-free BBQ sauce which is totally doable.

[catlover]

2 hours ago, Mona said:

@catlover, are you still following a plant based diet?  I tried this way of eating 5 or 6 years ago for 6 months or so.  I felt fabulous but I craved meat constantly!  It drove me wild when I walked past a hot food bar in a grocery store.  The cooked meat dishes smelled so, so good.  One of my doctors commented on my weight loss.  He asked is this a good thing that you have gotten so skinny?  I said yeah, look how nice and thin I am!  lol  For years, I have been trying to figure out what is the healthiest diet.  I think vegetarian is good for some people but I feel like a ketogenic diet is better for me.  I feel just as good as I did on the vegetarian diet but I can eat meat which I really enjoy.

Yes I’m still following this diet most of the time. I eat a lot of grains, beans, lentils, vegetables and fruit. But I do like chicken now and again,  and a bit of gammon.  I feel a lot healthier reducing my meat meals.  
what is ketogenic diet, will have to look that up lol.