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posted by [personal profile] selkie at 09:21pm on 16/08/2008
So for various reasons (the environment, ethical concerns, hechsher v'tzedek, N likes tasty carbs) we're exploring the shift from omnivorism to vegetarianism, or at least mindful, extremely reduced meat consumption.

(I think it was Ghandi who said that if you give up something and don't really want to give it up, there's no point, because you'll be spending all your time hyperfocusing on what you gave up. He didn't say hyperfocusing, but. Insert salmon/chicken livers/filet here.)

I know how to cook for vegetarians. I know how to make tasty meatless fare. None of that is the problem, and you don't have to sell us on the benefits of a vegetarian diet.

It's that I seem to be designed for honking great amounts of animal protein -- I think it happened a hundred years ago when my Ashkenazi forebears only had enough scratch for one set of dishes -- and even the complete protein combos of rice-and-beans, tofu-and-noodles-and-peanut butter, don't seem to fill me up. Half an hour later, having consumed three-quarter pound of vegetable matter, I'm grazing again. It's like I never ate. Worse, I feel shaky and horrible and my mood drops and I want to kill people. Line them up and kill them so I can EAT THEM COS THEY'RE MADE OF MEAT.

Mycoprotein, seitan, tempeh -- the Mats o' Matter style of faux meat -- seems to do the trick for me, but it's pricey, completely negating the economic benefits, and requires specialized shopping trips to Whole Wallet, and besides I don't know the carbon footprint of Quorn. N's allergic to mycoprotein and indeed most UnMeats. In any case, she can live on breadrolls, pasta, rice pilaf and salads.

So. Any suggestions on how to be a wiser, healthier consumer without twelve ounces of beast per day?
There are 3 comments on this entry. (Reply.)
 
posted by [identity profile] debka-notion.livejournal.com at 03:50am on 17/08/2008
I find that dairy products (if you can eat them) are good for filling one up such that you're not hungry again fairly soon thereafter. My other suggestion for staying full involves lots of liquids. But then, I live pretty happily on beans, dairy, carbs, fruits and veggies much of the time.
 
posted by [identity profile] oddmonster.livejournal.com at 04:46am on 17/08/2008
Not to be too personal, but do you have an idea of how much protein you need, per day?

For instance, I know i need to be around 90g protein/day, but I'm vegan, so I try to set a baseline with rice-protein based smoothies. Is that something that might work for you? The protein smoothie?
 
posted by [identity profile] autiger23.livejournal.com at 06:55am on 17/08/2008
Yeah, I'm with oddmonster in thinking that possibly you just aren't getting an equal amount of the 'other' proteins. I'd add up the meat protein amounts that you actually eat in a normal day and then work on the substitution. I'm not a vegetarian myself, but have been heading that way just because I get sick of most meat. Oh, and what about wild caught fish? I've been eating a lot more fish and there are many kinds that are eco-friendly and such. Tis very healthy and because there are so many kinds I don't get sick of it as much. Other than that, have you tried starting your day with fake eggs? I'm a huge fan of a big plate of them with a little salsa. Lots of protein in the morning keeps me from being hungry all day. I also like Morning Star's little breakfast nugget thingees. They aren't cheap, but they are tasty and pretty filling, though I tend to eat three of them along with something else like the fake eggs. Oh, and I second the protein smoothies, but make sure you don't get those psycho calorie laden ones. Yikes, no more Smoothie King for me.

Also, are you positive that it's actually the protein that you aren't getting enough of and not the carbs that you happen to also be taking in along with the protein that are messing things up? I've found that when I eat carb heavy foods for a few days, it takes a few more protein heavy, super low carb days to get them out of my system. After that, the proteins keep me not feeling hungry for much larger stretches of time.

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