what other source is there for a good amt of protein, without adding too many calories to get there. I know nuts are good, but too caloric to get all my protein from them. I am lacto ovo for now, i am brand spanking new to the life, i love it so far. just wish i liked tofu. thanks for any help! glad to have found you guys!

Seitan (wheat protein) is a good source of veggie protein, as are many of the various meat analogs on the market. The old standby beans are high in protein and whole grains such as quinoa and brown rice also have a good amount.



What is it that you don't like about tofu? I find that it's a pretty maleable product and issues of flavor or texture can be overcome in the preparation. I might be able to give you some tips.

I hardly ever eat tofu--probably not even once a month. I do eat a lot of beans, though. And, if you eat dairy, cheese has plenty of protein. No need for tofu if you don't like it!

Dear CabbageButt,



Tofu is impossible to hate; it is the food equivalent of a blank canvas. You can paint whatever picture you like on it, using whatever paints you prefer, but the canvas is completely neutral.



What do you like? Do you like hot & spicy? Then saute chunks of firm tofu with some jalapeno peppers, garlic and onions, tomato sauce -- serve over brown rice, and voila, Spicy Mexican Tofu!



If instead you're looking for dessert, get some silken tofu. Blend it with the pulp of a ripe mango, one small lime, a vanilla bean and a quarter cup of honey. Mix it all up and serve in little cups -- heaven!



Tofu can be protein, whipped cream, milk, you name it. Give it a chance.



best,

BeanLady

There's beans, lentils, soybased "meat" analogues (like veggie burgers, veggie hot dogs, etc), edamame, whole grains, soymilk, seitan (wheat "meat"--made from gluten), and of course nuts. Basically, as long as a diet is well-balanced and has enough calories, it's impossible not to get enough protein.



There's lots of different ways to make tofu that you might not have tried that you might like--soft tofu blended in a smoothie, pressed, marinaded and baked tofu, pressed, marinaded, breaded, and fried tofu, etc. Tofu is pretty versatile--it's like meat in a lot of ways, you can flavor it however you want it and tweak it to have a texture like you like it by pressing it or freezing it. You don't have to like it to be a healthy vegetarian, though--but there are lots of ways to try it.



A common mistake made by new vegetarians is to eat too much dairy and eggs to compensate for not eating meat (I know I did it when I was new at all this). That could be more costly calorie-wise than eating nuts.

I like Seitan

I don't eat much tofu or seitan or anything specifically geared towards protein every day... You don't need tons of protein... though you should make sure you're getting sufficient B vitamins and iron.

Don't like tofu? Blashphemy! I have recipes from Deb that are fabu that use the 'fu if you are interested....

As the others have said, you can eat beans....

I love Seitan.

I have another recipe from Veg-City Diner for fabu bean and rice burgers.

Tofurkey Slices, Yves and Lightlife are all good.

Yves makes the best veggie hot dog.

I have been meaning to try the brats.

Lighlife makes the best Gimmie Lean Sausage.

Gardenburger Riblets are really good, along with the Flame Grilled Hamburger and Chicken Patty. My fave chicken patty is the breaded one by Health is Wealth but being you are lacto-ovo you have more choices in the meat analog department.

Shannon

How about good old beans and corn? (Also available as soft corn tacos with refried beans.)

Can't add much to everyone else, but I'm curious how did you have tofu prepared? Was it soft or firm? Did it come in a asceptic or water pack? All of this makes a difference. I suggest locating some Nigari tofu, it has a nice firm bite and not as "beany" other varieties.

I don't like tofu much either. Well, I just don't like big chunks of it. Something about the texture... but I have tried it in deserts, soft silken kind, and it's OK. Like others have said, try cooking it different ways and you might find something you like



I usu. eat soy-based meat analogs... These are probably best if you're still in that new transition phase. Look for them in the freezer section of your grocery store.



I often eat beans too... There are also things you can add to food to boost the protein content. Like Vital Wheat Gluten, add this to baked goods...if you're into baking and such



But like RabidChild said- you really don't need that much protein every day, make sure you watch your other vitamin content!!

Did someone mention couscuous? I love that stuff. Edamame is good for protein, too.

I am a big fan of veggie ground round. You can make tacos and spaghetti w/"meat" sauce, chili, anything you would normally use ground beef for.



What type of tofu did you try? I am not a big fan of Silken (non-refrigerated), except to make smoothies with. It has a weird, slippery smooth texture that is too funky. I only buy the cold stuff in water. It took me a while to get used to tofu myself because the texture reminded me of eggs (and I hate eggs). But BeanLady was right, tofu is like a blank canvas and once you practice with it, you can make it taste like just about anything. Now I love tofu and my kitchen is never without it.



Tempeh is another favorite of mine. It's kinda nutty and is very firm compared to tofu. I love making Indian dishes with it, or tempeh fajitas (one of my favorites).

I'm a vegan, and my sources of protein are legumes (beans, peas, lentils, nuts), peanut butter, humus, soy foods (and tofu). Whole grains and corn are also good secondary sources.

I used to think I didn't like tofu, cause the few times I've had it in restarants, it was gross. It was too soft, the texture was weird. I've now come to the conclusion that they just don't know how to make it right. If you get firm tofu, it's the texture of hard boiled eggs. So you can make any type of fake egg type of things (fake egg salad, tofu scramble), you can make dips with Silken tofu...if you put firm tofu in the freezer it comes out more chewier, which is good. I suggest getting the herb tofu's, I bought one the other day and it's yummy.



Personally I get most of my protein from veggie burgers, tofu, hummus, peanut butter, soy milk...and other stuff I can't think of right now. I don't usually have a problem not getting enough. And that's even without eating beans.

I'm still new to the whole vegetarian thing, but have been doing great since changing over from an all crap food diet last Sunday. :-) Anyway, I was wondering where to find the "veggie ground round" you mentioned in your post? I've looked around at a two places but can't find it - or don't know where to find it. I really want to buy some because of the numerous things you can do with it.



If you could point me in the right direction, or let me know of a brand name(?), that would be great.

Thanks!

Whole grains and legumes!

Grains. 1 cup of pasta has nine grams of protein, a half cup of oatmeal has five, your average slice of white bread has 3, any heartier, grainier bread has more.



Protein isn't something to worry over. You're getting enough, so long as you're eating enough good stuff.



But I like: Tempeh, TVP (used in places like chili, or sandwich spreads, such as "chicken salad").



You can get unflavored soy protein powder, if you really want, to bake into or sprinkle on your dishes. Soymilk, or reduced fat peanut butter.

It's Yves Veggie Ground Round. LightLife also makes a similar product, I forget what it's called though.



You should be able to find it in a Health Food Store, or someplace like Wild Oats or Whole Foods.



Oh yea, and kudos, Steven. Awesome switch you made!

Thanks... everyone here is so encouraging It makes it easier to stick with it when you have others on your side pulling for you. This change has been a lot easier than other diet changes I've tried. I think it's because it's not as complicated - you just eat right. I know it's only been 5 days, but it seems like I'm starting to feel a lot better than I use to. My stomach isn't upset and I seem to have a little bit more energy than I use to. I'm assuming it's from eating better. *shrug*

glad you were able to find some anwers



Hope it works out for ya!

Hi CabbageButt;



Welcome to VB.



The USRDA for protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight ( divide pounds by 2.2 )



Tofu is one of several soyfoods out there: tempeh, soymilk and all sorts of things.



Tofu is all about the recipie. Saying you don't like tofu is like trying white flour from the bag then deciding you don't like pasta, bread and cookies.



I would encourage you to get a good recipie book for tofu and giving tofu 1 more chance. It is an old book, probably in your library, called THE BOOK OF TOFU





There is also wheat gluten (seitan) which is an old form of fake meat. There are also many kinds of veggieburgers in many markets as well. All of these have a decent protein/calorie ratio.



Then there are beans. Again, it is all about the recipe:



Bean Cuisine by Janet Horsley

ISBN: 089529446X

( vegetarian, but mostly vegan )



More Fabulous Beans by Barb Bloomfield

ISBN: 157067146X

(vegan, don't bother with the original, this book is a reprint -

of it with new recipes added )







Vegan Outreach has a stellar starter kit.



Please do not let the word "vegan" in it scare you.



The information applies just as much to vegetarians as

vegans. Just add milk and eggs if that is what you are into.



Vegan Outreach will mail you a very nice printed copy for

free. You can also download a pdf version for free or read

it on the web for free.



The kit includes unique and thoughtful essays by

Vegan Outreach founder Matt Ball that will help you

make vegetarianism a rewarding and lasting committment.



It has a better recipe section than most starter kits that

I have seen. Best of all it also has an up to date,

complete, easy to understand, and brief nutrition section by

Jack Norris, a vegan Registered Dietician.



Assuming you have a solid reason for starting veg*nism

the two best things you can do to make your commitment to it

last is to learn good nutrition and to learn to cook a small

set of recipes you really like.



Here is the url:

http://www.veganoutreach.org/starterpack



Vegan Outreach also hosts a web site of health articles

for people on plant based diets:



http://www.veganhealth.org



I would ignore the nutrition advice from other veg*n sites

on the web.



There are a number of web mavens who sound as if they know what

they are talking about and they really don't. There are also people

who I call "food cultists" who recommend certain types of vegetarian

diets for reasons that have nothing to do with ethics or

nutritional science. Unfortunately some "food cult" advice can

also be found on some of the Animal Rights sites on the internet.



Animal Rights sites also frequently give incomplete nutrition

information because they believe if they give people too much

information it will turn them away from trying vegetarianism. Many of

these sites also have out of date information.



Vegan Outreach takes the philosophy that if they tell people what

they need to know to be vegan and feel healthy that these

people will not quit being vegans thus increasing the number of vegetarians.



They research what they say and on of their founders is a registered dietician

who keeps up with the latest research.



HTH

Couscous is a type of pasta.

Hi Steven!! Congrats!!



I am just curious, what other diet changes have you tried?



Best of luck!

What does pressing or freezing tofu do? I noticed there is soft, firm and extra firm available.. but I haven't heard of pressing or freezing it. Just curious

Thanks



Well I've tried a blood type diet called "Eat Right 4 Your Type," and I've tried going low-carb, then all organic. I enjoy vegetarian a lot better because with most of the diet changes I've tried, it involved a lot of point counting, carb counting, hours upon end of grocery shopping to find stuff, and the price was outrageous for some things.



After my first week of successfully being vegetarian, it has become tremendously easier to shop, and prepare meals. I actually find it fun instead of annoying like past diet changes. I feel like with vegetarian, I eliminated meat from my diet, but also find better quality things to eat that aren't full of fats. The cookbook I have and the recipes here have been of GREAT HELP. :-) I doubt I could do it without all of your advice and support.

Thanks again everyone!

Freezing tofu must change the chemical make-up or something...



<-- not a science major



But it alters the texture for the better, and makes it easier to use when doing things like deep frying it. Mm. Deep-fried tofu is a very good thing. (I used to hate tofu, like you... until I found my local Chinese joint that deep-fries it. )

quoting a friend, when someone asked us both how we get any protein... "Oh please! There's protein in practically everything. I'd get protein from this potholder if I ate it!"

Oooh, I'll have to look that book up too. I've tried many recipies with tofu in them, and have enjoyed them. I just have yet to actually buy a block of it, and incorporate it into recipies for myself.

I got some veggie bugers the other day that have NO soy in them at all. (I can't have soy because of Gall bladder problems) it tasted really good.

I'll have to try freezing it before use. I've only had tofu once, when I was a young teenager, and hated it. I'm definitely willing to give it another chance, and try preparing it for myself. I noticed as I get older that I like things I use to hate. Plus, I figure the person that made it could have done a crappy job lol