is it possible for me to be a veggie?

[Spiderwoman!]

hi all,

i am interested in vegetarianism, or at the very least more of a vegetarian diet than the one i already eat... but i have a bit of a dilemma. i am allergic to dairy and soy, and because of a medical problem i have trouble digesting glutenous grains (wheat, barley, etc), oats, or beans of any kind (including garbanzo and lentil), and i can only eat nuts in small amounts. i have been poking around the board and i have found several threads about protien, but most of the foods suggested i can't eat! no beans, no tofu, no seitan, and i cant eat enough nuts to get proper protien without making myself sick. is there any hope for me?

my current diet consists of tons of fruits and veggies, in the starch catagory i can eat potatos, rice, quinoa, corn, and millet, and i eat a moderate amount of sustainably farmed lean meats. (please dont hate me for this, i am here to learn). i also eat the occasional organic egg.

before i had digestive problems i ate a lot more vegetarian foods, tofu and bean dishes and all that, but i have found myself stuck eating meat ever since i learned which foods i cannot tolerate. i feel much better physically without all those foods, but i wanna be more veggie!

any help would be appreciated.

[Tom]

Have you consulted a dietitian? Over the years my diet has become more strictly vegetarian (nearly vegan), and each restriction I've taken on has made things a bit tougher, although not unbearable. If your diet would be that restricted, perhaps a visit with a professional dietitian would be a good idea. Long ago, I consulted one in a local hospital and the cost was not high.

[MEM]

I am in no way a nutritional expert of any sort what so ever, but I would guess that you can still have a vegetarian diet. I noticed that you can eat some grains. Quinoa popped out at me since it's really high in protein. I believe you can get the protein you need from certain veggies as well. If I remember correctly, rice milk has some protein in it as well (not a lot, but some).
Other folks on here can give you much better advice (in fact, i believe that at least one person has experience with soy allergies). You might want to try and find a veggie friendly nutritionist in your area to get an experts opinion on a vegetarian diet with your specific circumstances....

[Spiderwoman!]

thanks for the replys! i am actually in the process of seeking out a dietician, but i thought i might be able to get some advice here, as well. i try to eat well but i am woefully uneducated about nutrition and i really have no idea how much protien is in things and how much i need... i am picturing myself eating a huge mixing bowl full of quinoa every day, hah hah. hope i can learn something here until i can see a professional (it looks like i might have to wait awhile, yikes). the darn soy allergy makes things really difficult. im gonna go check the protien content on my rice milk right now, i live off of that stuff!

[Hummusisyummus]

It isn't all enormously difficult to get enough protein (assuming a healthful diet), albeit you will probably have more problems than others. Potatos, rice and the other starches you mentioned are decent sources of protein. Vegetables have a pretty high protein content in terms of the fraction of calories, but you probably don't eat so much veggies that they will have a hugely significant impact on your protein intake. I suggest taking a detailed dietary dirary for a week or so and calculating how much protein you actually consume (the nutritional information should be readily available on the internet). Based on that extrapolate how much protein you would get assuming you stopped eating meat and eggs (remember your portions of the veggie stuff should increase). If you come short you could eat the difference in organic eggs. Honestly I'm a bit more worried about vitamin and minerals like iron and zinc. It might be worthwhile to see a professional for advice. Good luck.

[Mskedi]

I think as you expanded your recipe base including foods you can eat, you would be able to lower your dependence on meat. What you don't want to do is end up eating the same thing all the time because of your limitations and end up deficient in something (or many things). A slow transition sounds best as you learn more about how to plan your food.

I do think it's entirely possible, but as with any diet change, be careful. :)

[Tofu-N-Sprouts]

Definitely the services of a professional will help you. Have your allergies and sensitivities been diagnosed by a doctor or allergist? (NOT meaning to doubt you in ANY way... just asking so I understand the whole picture...).

Resources online can track your day's nutrition... www.fitday.com is an easy one to use and has lots of good information... keep a "food diary" there or elsewhere for a week and see what seems to be lacking...

What about seeds (sesame and sunflower) - they are often not allergenic and have quite a bit of protein... also tempeh, because it's aged/fermented/whatever it is, (I don't know, sorry) it is usually much less allergenic than other protein sources... have you tried that?

Spelt is often agreeable to people who are allergic to gluten or wheat, as is millet, teff and rye. (You might have to special order some of these, but it may be worth it.) There's a red quinoa that is absolutely WONDERFUL!!!

I'd suggest a good rice cooker... you can do ANY grain quickly and easily with no worries about scorching or undercooking... and it's ready whenever you are... I have one and use it almost every day.

It does sound like, if you take it slow and are educated (through lots of your own research or with a dietition/nutritionist) you can manage a vegetarian lifestyle with no ill effects.

There ARE many people on this board who are much more knowledgable about this than I am, hopefully you'll get lots of great ideas!
Good luck.

[CharityAJO]

Look into raw foodism; I'm not exactly suggesting you go raw, but you might get some menu ideas. That's a vegetarian diet without the use of cooked grains or beans. Or try some tex-mex dishes - a potato burrito with quinoa/rice/corn pilaf, and a side of guacamole seems just your speed. :) Or something like ratatouille over polenta? Anyway, I definetely think it can be done.

Don't concentrate too hard on protein. If you're eating enough food period, you'll get enough protein in your system.

[Irizary]

Have your allergies and sensitivities been diagnosed by a doctor or allergist? (NOT meaning to doubt you in ANY way... just asking so I understand the whole picture...)

Yes, can you talk more about the diagnosis, who did it, and how it was made (only if you want to)? There is much disagreement in the medical profession, among both alternative and conventional practitioners. It's possible someone here has experience with your disease (if it is one), and ways to handle it. Or, if there's any question in your mind, maybe see another practitioner.

[Spiderwoman!]

wow, thank you for all of the replies. okay, to be more specific, i have been allergic to dairy since i was a child. i break out in a rash when i eat it. more recently, the same thing has happened to me with soy. i have seen several doctors about this, and i was recently re-tested by a kinesiologist. either way, it is pretty obvious to me that i am allergic because when i eat these things bad stuff happens! in addition to this, i have an incredibly sensitive stomach and i am seeing a GI doc to figure out why... so far they have done several tests and apparently ruled out most of the "really bad stuff". after cutting caffiene and all of the obvious things out of my diet with no luck, i started keeping a food diary at the suggestion of my doc where i kept track of what foods were easy to digest and what foods were not. soon it became pretty clear that every time i ate wheat bread or pasta i would get a tummy ache, that my digestion would be affected. same with beans, same with nuts, and so on. the really crappy thing is that i am a total foodie and i love to cook and eat. i love bread.:cry: the foods i listed are some of the things that i know i can eat with no problem. oh, i am also seeing a holistic doctor.

thanks for the food suggestions... i am having such a hard time finding something to eat. hopefully they figure out what is wrong with my stomach i will be able to eat beans and bread and peanut butter again someday.

[abc123]

I'm not very experienced but I have a few ideas...

1. Try organic versions of the foods that bother your stomach. You may find that they react differently with your body.

2. Try thoroughly cooking the foods that you are usually unable to eat. There is an allergy thing called "oak ____" or "____ oak" where raw vegetables and fruits upset you, but cooked ones are no problem.

My piece of advice that may actually be useful: check out www.nutritiondata.com It's full of detailed nutritional info for thousands of foods. You can look up different things that you can eat and see what you are actually getting from them.

I like the raw food idea as well. They go without grains and beans all the time. Lots of sprouts instead...

[Alicia]

i have been allergic to dairy since i was a child. i break out in a rash when i eat it. more recently, the same thing has happened to me with soy. i have seen several doctors about this, and i was recently re-tested by a kinesiologist. either way, it is pretty obvious to me that i am allergic because when i eat these things bad stuff happens!
Becoming allergic to soy after a dairy allergy is very common. My son was allergic to milk when only a few days old (very bloody stoole and projectile vomiting across the room) and was put on soy for his first year. When he turned one, the doctor put him back on dairy because he said it was very common for infants allergic to milk to become alergic to soy. Since most foods these days contain some soy, it's not an allergy easily managed. Some people simply can't go back on dairy -- or they weren't switched back to dairy soon enough.

Have you tried the other millk product alternatives? Rice milk and such?

[Spiderwoman!]

again, thank you for taking the time to reply.

abc123, i am with you on the organic. i went as organic as possible about three years ago, i am lucky enough to live in a place where this is EASY to do! it might just be my active imagination but it seems to help... though it could just be that the quality of the food that i am eating is better.

Alicia, rice milk is my best friend! to be perfectly honest, i am SOOOO over the dairy thing, i have been allergic for so long that i dont even like the taste anymore... all dairy tastes and smells slightly rotten to me. weird? i have always prefered rice milk to soy milk and im not really into soy cheeses (hard to digest) but i miss tofu!

i will go browse around in the raw food section, thanks for the idea!

[JackPumpkinhead]

Most people only 50-60 grams of protein a day. This is more difficult to get without beans/soy, but not all that hard.

You said you eat eggs sometimes? A large hard-boiled egg and cup of cooked oatmeal will give you about 11 grams of protein to start you day.

Three 1 oz servings of nuts (an ounce of nuts is a pretty small amount) would give you around another 15 grams (or a little more, depending on the nuts). You can toss an ounce in your salad at lunch, an ounce in a whole grain pilaf at dinner and eat an ounce with a piece of fruit as a mid-morning snack.

1 cup of cooked quinoa has about 11 grams of protein. 2 cups will give you almost half your daily protein.

1 cup of cooked brown rice has about 5 grams.

1 cup of cooked spinach has about 5 grams and a cup of cooked broccoli has nearly 4 grams.

You might try either nutrition.gov or nutritiondata.com for the protein content of foods. Nutirion.gov is the USDA's webside. Nutritiondata.com is a bit more user-friendly.

You mentioned that you can't eat beans. I don't know the exact nature/severity of your problem, but have you thought about small servings of beans? A half-cup tossed into your salad/veggies/etc at lunch and/or dinner would give you an extra protein boost and might not exacerbate your problems.

But really, anything you do to eat less meat is great. Even if you never get there, you're still way ahead of most other people.:nana:

[zoebird]

i think that if you can eat eggs, and you can eat some protien rich grains (such as quinoa), then you probably could manage as a vegetarian.

if, after becoming vegetarian, you discover that you can't, then i would recommend returning to meat.

i also want to echo the concept of the raw foodist for ideas. while they eat sprouted beans and grains (does sprouting make a difference, can you eat sprouted beans? or sprouted seeds--these have protien with them too), they also have other ways of getting protien (what about almond or other nut milks? do those work for you?) Again, not so much that you 'should' be a raw foodist, but it could be some way of branching out and getting good ideas for food sources.

[naturalsusta]

I wish i liked oatmeat :(

It makes my gag. I can't stand it. It's so healthy though. Awww mannnnnnnn. Why do i have to not like it :(.

One question. Do raw foodies eat bread? I don't think so. It's cooked.

[Tofu-N-Sprouts]

I wish i liked oatmeat :(

It makes my gag. I can't stand it. It's so healthy though. Awww mannnnnnnn. Why do i have to not like it :(.

One question. Do raw foodies eat bread? I don't think so. It's cooked.

Raw foodists do have recipes for different types of "bread" products. Look in the Raw Foods recipe section here on VB.

(btw, I'm not familier with "oatmeat"? Is it a meat analogue/faux meat of some sort?)

[shineonyou]

i can't be a big help, but i think it's great that you are eating sustainabley farmed meat and organic eggs. if you can't go completely vegetarian, you're still ahead of everyone else if you only eat meat from farms where the treatment standards are relatively high.

[naturalsusta]

Raw foodists do have recipes for different types of "bread" products. Look in the Raw Foods recipe section here on VB.

(btw, I'm not familier with "oatmeat"? Is it a meat analogue/faux meat of some sort?)



You caught me again Tofu. Another misspelt word. Sorry ok. I'm not perfect.


Monika

[naturalsusta]

I meant oatmeal.

[Tofu-N-Sprouts]

Oh my word, get over it. No one's perfect.
I seriously was asking a question. It simply sounded like you were making reference to a meat analogue I wasn't familiar with.

[naturalsusta]

Oh ok Tofu. Sorry. Forgive me. No I meant oatmeal. It makes me gage. Are you meal or female?

[naturalsusta]

*male.

[Tofu-N-Sprouts]

Are you meal or female?

I'm an alien from the planet ToFroggyFu. :wall:

[naturalsusta]

Ok :)