59 replies to this topic

[Morrhigan]

Hi, guys - long time no see! :-)

So, Hambil and I have made a major lifestyle change: we're now on a strict vegan diet with no added oils (that includes vegetable oils of any kind, and no nuts or seeds are allowed because they're high in fat). This is based on the book "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease" by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, who is one of the doctors advising Bill Clinton on his new diet. Clinical research shows that it actually does reverse cholesterol build-up and prevent heart trouble, which isn't the same thing as just managing the problem, or trying to stop it from getting worse. This is the first time I've seen Hambil so determined to stick with a change in eating habits. The idea that it will actually make him better instead of just slowing down the progress of the heart disease is a HUGE incentive.

Is anyone else out there trying something like this? Or are there any vegans around? We'd love to talk about recipes.

And can anyone tell me when I'm going to start *liking* vegetables???

-Morrhigan

[Raina]

^Can you eat soy products? There are lots of vegetarian soy products that replicate meat, and I honestly like them better than regular meat. They're good for adding variety for a vegetarian diet, or for when you find a recipe that calls for ground beef that you really, really want to try. Plus if you need to cook for meat eaters, they may not know the difference if you substitute soy ground "beef" for regular.

[Hambil]

We are not allowed any oil, seeds or nuts. That makes things like store bought tofu burgers or what-not hard to find

[Morrhigan]

I don't think tofu has oil in it, though - does it? Maybe we could try something with that. :-)

[Datalyss]

The hell wit' all 'at.  I still eat what I want...both veggies and meat...I just eat less of it.

[Raina]

Yikes that no oil and nuts thing is a toughie. I looked at the ingredients of a couple of those veggie soy products I like, and they have oil in them. These companies make a lot of products, though, so it might be worth having a look when you have some time. I just had a quick look at the ground beef substitute and some of the burgers.

Amy's
Yves

I also looked at some of my vegetarian burger patty recipes, and they all call for eggs and/or nuts. They all have beans as the primary ingredient, either beadcrumbs and/or nuts as a filler, and eggs to bind them together. So maybe you could find a recipe for bean burgers with another binder? I zeroed in on the burger patties because I have a couple of vegetarian cookbooks (I'm vegetarian), and I recall them generally being the recipes with the least ingredients.

Are beans ok for you?

Edited by Raina, 05 October 2011 - 12:27 AM.

[Raina]

I was curious as to whether you can even get vegan, oil and nut free burger buns, and found this recipe. You could put a portabello mushroom on it (with any kind of sauce or marinade you want), and make a burger out of it.

I once had a vegan roommate, and as I recall, she ate primarily veggies, rice (some pastas have eggs), beans, and lentils.

[Alica]

blimming heck....good luck with that!

I honestly have no idea....as you may have figured, this girl is obsessed with making cake. I'm not so good with main meals, so I don't know. But I shall read this thread with interest - maybe I need to learn more about this type of thing?

[Morrhigan]

Raina, on 05 October 2011 - 12:46 AM, said:

I was curious as to whether you can even get vegan, oil and nut free burger buns, and found this recipe. You could put a portabello mushroom on it (with any kind of sauce or marinade you want), and make a burger out of it.

I once had a vegan roommate, and as I recall, she ate primarily veggies, rice (some pastas have eggs), beans, and lentils.

Hey, thanks for that recipe - I've never made bread before, so it'll be an adventure, LOL. We've had Portabello mushrooms with barbecue sauce before, and those were pretty good. I bet they'd be even better on a bun.

Fortunately, we have found a good bakery nearby that makes two different kinds of vegan, oil-free bread. One is a honey spelt, which Hambil likes, and the other is Ezekiel bread, which is my favorite. BTW, fresh Ezekiel bread from a good bakery is a totally different experience from the crap you find in a grocery store.

[Morrhigan]

Alica, on 05 October 2011 - 03:37 AM, said:

blimming heck....good luck with that!

I honestly have no idea....as you may have figured, this girl is obsessed with making cake. I'm not so good with main meals, so I don't know. But I shall read this thread with interest - maybe I need to learn more about this type of thing?

I have a major sweet tooth, so this diet is quite a challenge for me. Cookies and cakes with no oil, no egg? Yikes! I have had some success with ginger cookies, and have modified that recipe to make chocolate cookies. And I've found that I like spelt much better for baking than whole wheat flour.

I think the biggest challenge right now is having things to eat on the fly. Everything has to be cooked from scratch, and that takes time. I'm lazy, LOL. I want to grab something out of the 'fridge and pop it in the microwave. Hambil's working on making stuff that will keep, and can easily be reheated.

[Morrhigan]

Raina, on 05 October 2011 - 12:26 AM, said:

Yikes that no oil and nuts thing is a toughie. I looked at the ingredients of a couple of those veggie soy products I like, and they have oil in them. These companies make a lot of products, though, so it might be worth having a look when you have some time. I just had a quick look at the ground beef substitute and some of the burgers.

Amy's
Yves

I also looked at some of my vegetarian burger patty recipes, and they all call for eggs and/or nuts. They all have beans as the primary ingredient, either beadcrumbs and/or nuts as a filler, and eggs to bind them together. So maybe you could find a recipe for bean burgers with another binder? I zeroed in on the burger patties because I have a couple of vegetarian cookbooks (I'm vegetarian), and I recall them generally being the recipes with the least ingredients.

Are beans ok for you?

Yes, beans are definitely OK. We're eating lots of beans and lentils for protein. Hambil is big on hummus (without oil or tahini), but I hate garbanzo beans. I'm going to try my own version of hummus with lima beans. Wish me luck. :-P

[Tricia]

Sounds mighty restrictive and those type of diets and I don't mix.  

I will have to go see if they have that book at the library.  Sounds interesting and if it works or at least helps...(or I can borrow a few ideas from it)




Not sure what to tell you about when you'll start liking veggies though.  I love them and practically live off the garden during the summer months and all the kids do too but maybe that is a parental influence thing?  

One thing I have read is that planting a garden tends to make children start liking veggies more.  I've seen it at one of the kids former schools where they planted and tended a garden in 4th or 5th grade science class.  The kids who hated veggies at least liked them after that and ate their harvested bounty like it was the best thing in the world.  I don't like radishes and my son loved them after that class.

Maybe that would work for adults as well?  Do you have space or time to have a garden?

[Hambil]

I'll put some coco powder is soy silk and sweeten to taste and then maybe freeze it for you if you want to try that.. home made fudge-sickles!

Edited by Hambil, 05 October 2011 - 11:25 AM.

[Morrhigan]

Tricia, on 05 October 2011 - 07:38 AM, said:

Sounds mighty restrictive and those type of diets and I don't mix.  

I will have to go see if they have that book at the library.  Sounds interesting and if it works or at least helps...(or I can borrow a few ideas from it)




Not sure what to tell you about when you'll start liking veggies though.  I love them and practically live off the garden during the summer months and all the kids do too but maybe that is a parental influence thing?  

One thing I have read is that planting a garden tends to make children start liking veggies more.  I've seen it at one of the kids former schools where they planted and tended a garden in 4th or 5th grade science class.  The kids who hated veggies at least liked them after that and ate their harvested bounty like it was the best thing in the world.  I don't like radishes and my son loved them after that class.

Maybe that would work for adults as well?  Do you have space or time to have a garden?

That's interesting about people who grow their own vegetables liking them more. It kind of makes sense. I don't know if that's in the cards right now, as we live in an apartment complex, but maybe we can try some small veggies in a container garden. Thanks for the idea!

[Morrhigan]

Hambil, on 05 October 2011 - 11:23 AM, said:

I'll put some coco powder is soy silk and sweeten to taste and then maybe freeze it for you if you want to try that.. home made fudge-sickles!

Hehe, worth a try!

[Sci-Fi Girl]

Does your diet make any provisions for good fats versus bad fats?  Obviously too much overall fat is bad, and specific types of oils are harmful, but certain other types of oils are not only beneficial, but actually necessary for the body to function.  Something for you to look into.  

SFG

[Morrhigan]

Sci-Fi Girl, on 05 October 2011 - 11:10 PM, said:

Does your diet make any provisions for good fats versus bad fats?  Obviously too much overall fat is bad, and specific types of oils are harmful, but certain other types of oils are not only beneficial, but actually necessary for the body to function.  Something for you to look into.  

SFG

There are fats that naturally occur in whole grains and vegetables, so by eating whole grains and veggies we get a small amount of fat in our diet. We're just not allowed to *add* any fat, including vegetables oils.

[Sci-Fi Girl]

Ok, that makes sense.  It sounds interesting.  

SFG

[Captain Jack]

Veggies are great, but humans are not made to be dedicated herbivores.  Some meat is needed for a healthy body.  Otherwise there will be hair loss and brittle bones over time.

You could try soup.  There are a lot of really good soups out there, and if you don't want them from a can, you can make them fresh from soup cookbooks.  I'm confident that there is something out there that would be good for you.

Drinking a lot of water will help flush out fat as well, which will help keep it low, as well as exercise.  Pilates is one that might be good as it works the core which is where fat is usually stored for many people.

[Orpheus]

I'm no vegan. I have been in the past, but I don't care for the philosophical baggage, and I refuse to restrict what I eat on PC lines. I've been on exactly one diet in my life (with frankly outstanding results, but it wasn't low-fat)

I have, however, found that my diet has grown steadily and ridiculously 'healthier' against my will. My time on a low carb diet about 6 years ago permanently reduced the (desired) size of my average meal from over a pound to 4-5 oz, with no sense of deprivation. As I tweeted last night, I spent the first half of Starship Troopers (on SyFy last night) tearing up e subflooring in my living room (so I get to keep my man-card), and the second half curled up around a tray of raw veggies with a spicy, zesty yogurt dip. Though my freezer/fridge are still full of late summer steaks and other tasty entrees and snack foods, I don't think anything could have satisfied me more.

Today, I had a delightful khichuri (a northern Indian dal/veg/rice dish, prepared, as it happened, with almost no oil) and a lovely lentil soup (with mirepoix or trinity) -- and nothing else. It was great and I didn't want anything else. You might try looking into Indian vegetarian foods. I've never been an especial fan of Indian veggie dishes (many are quite excellent, but I love Indian meat, fish and poultry dishes more), but I think you may find the spiciness very appealing. In fact I could really go for a lentil, spinach and tofu (in lieu of the traditional indian paneer) saag. Curse you for that craving! You may have to learn how to cook indian foods to your own personal tastes, but once you do, the traditional Indian techniques can easily be reduced to quick'n'easy 30-minute meals.

I've had great results with Central/South American dishes (Mexican is a bit fat-heavy) like spicy bean/rice burritos (discover to the creative use of spices like cumin, mexican oregano, bay and coriander) and Asian stirfrys. An oilless stir fry works very well, with lots of onion seared with the veggies early, a hefty dose of fresh ginger and garlic added late, and a cornstarch-thickened veggie stock. Extra-firm Tofu is freakily lovely if properly prepared -- but I'm sorry to say that I'm not evolved enough for Seitan. The first time I heard of it, I thought they said "grilled Satan" and I'm still pretty sure I was right.

I also have a serious love of a thick pasty green-pea soup with a double dose of bay leaf and some onion. I can eat that day after day as a liquid soup or solid slurry -- or mixed with spiced rice in a burrito

BTW, western tongues often don't realize what a complex citrusy note coriander seed can add to food, whether steak or curry -- but it's well worth learning. It really adds a lot of depth. An Indian dish called Murgh makhani (literally: "butter chicken") which Lyric once asked about here, actually contains NO butter, but just coriander-flavored tomato, but I've had Indians gape at me in disbelief when I've told them that after I've served it too them (Indian grad students and residents in the US often don't have much experience with cooking their own cuisine) Coriander seed is often the missing mystery ingredient in Latin American cuisine as well.

BTW Mexican oregano is NOTHING like the (italian) oregano sold in stores. I don't know why they even call it oregano. Epazote is the closest equivalent in most US stores (if you can even find that) and goes a long way in curbing bean flatulence. For veggie dishes, I GREATLY prefer whole cumin to ground cumin. Likewise, if an Indian/veggie recipe lists cinnamon, try whole cinnamon curls. Ground cinnamon is for desserts and Mideast meat dishes like lamajune.