Plant-based Diet Questions

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

2 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

I'd call that discipline.

my wife used to run marathons. the thought of running makes me want to cry. i hate it. one time i asked her how she's able to do it. her answer:

it's easy, you just put one foot in front of the other.

 

[SydneyCarton 48130]

12 minutes ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

my wife used to run marathons. the thought of running makes me want to cry. i hate it. one time i asked her how she's able to do it. her answer:

it's easy, you just put one foot in front of the other.

 

Shit man, I'd call making a change to one's routine a big shift in discipline to be sure. Good fucking luck to ask my wife to wake up in the morning and work out, or wake up before 7 am on a weekend. She'll literally try to tell you it's fucking impossible. This is kind of what I was trying to say earlier, humans are all different on what they can and cannot do easily. Most folks would call what you're doing a serious life change and massive, massive discipline being required. But it doesn't seem that big a deal to you, so congrats on being lucky. 

I'm not all that big into sweets (rather have a 2nd burger than a slice of cake) and I have friends for whom this is an incomprehensible and borderline face-punch worthy trait. 

[SimonBolivar 10958]

15 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Shit man, I'd call making a change to one's routine a big shift in discipline to be sure. Good fucking luck to ask my wife to wake up in the morning and work out, or wake up before 7 am on a weekend. She'll literally try to tell you it's fucking impossible. This is kind of what I was trying to say earlier, humans are all different on what they can and cannot do easily. Most folks would call what you're doing a serious life change and massive, massive discipline being required. But it doesn't seem that big a deal to you, so congrats on being lucky. 

I'm not all that big into sweets (rather have a 2nd burger than a slice of cake) and I have friends for whom this is an incomprehensible and borderline face-punch worthy trait. 

What if want the cake and the 2nd burger?

[SydneyCarton 48130]

Just now, SimonBolivar said:

What if want the cake and the 2nd burger?

I can point you towards the Steel Shank thread. 

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

37 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

I'd call that discipline.

Maybe. But I prefer this kind of discipline.

[SydneyCarton 48130]

1 minute ago, Walden Ponderer said:

Maybe. But I prefer this kind of discipline.

Listen dude, this isn't the time of the place, but it's the first time I've seen it...so I have to say...WHY DID YOU CHANGE YOUR AVATAR?!?! I don't like change. 

[BabaYaga 15302]

1 hour ago, SydneyCarton said:

I agree it's about discipline. Oddly enough, some things that are very difficult for me are easy for others, and vice versa. Things other folks struggle with that I can do with relative ease: Wake up at 4:30 am to workout, any day I don't have a hangover. Eat the same food (typically healthy, over and over and over) all week for weeks on end. Not eating fast food. Not eating sweets. Not drinking soda. By the same token, things that drive me fucking insane and I can't do: Log food journals, do macros, count calories (I eyeball it all), workout in the evenings, etc. In short, humans are fucking weirdly different.

Yeah, same here.  Biggest difference is the training.  I have do something.  "Get the demons out" - whatever you want to call it.  Mainly pushups/pullups and kettlebell stuff now.  Lots of rucking (helps so much with hunting).

Especially the same foods over and over.  That's me.  I get into a mode of eating and that's that.  

Thing about the potato hack is they are empty calories.  The molecular composition of the 'tater changes when heated, then cooled.  The starches become insoluble fiber.  Fantastic for gut biom.  With no sugar-spike after eating.  Why potato salad and pickles are the worlds two best BBQ sides.  Both are absolutely fantastic for digestion and promoting a healthy gut.  Just watch your portions.  

I'll reverse sear a backstrap and eat it with kimche and roasted japs or a side of sauerkraut.  Maybe half an avacado later if I get hungry,  Lots of eggs.  But I had to go through SO MANY iterations to find what worked for me (hence the journal).  You'll get frustrated and quit because you are working hard, but not eating the right things.  Happens all the time.  

[BabaYaga 15302]

1 hour ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

my wife used to run marathons. the thought of running makes me want to cry. i hate it. one time i asked her how she's able to do it. her answer:

it's easy, you just put one foot in front of the other.

 

Same here - hence the rucking.  Hate running, but a fast walk with a decent amount of weight on your back is a game changer.  Lower back pain went away (6'5 207, so long torso, always had it), feel better all around and I can do it anywhere.  Just have to find your thing.  Had a friend that went everywhere with a jump rope.  He did it at the airport even.  Just his things.  Lost a shit ton of weight doing it and his legs were like iron.  

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

42 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Listen dude, this isn't the time of the place, but it's the first time I've seen it...so I have to say...WHY DID YOU CHANGE YOUR AVATAR?!?! I don't like change. 

I made the change because I just feel like as a fan, I ought to represent a full manifestation of how soft, cute and cuddly our athletic programs have become. Ain't he ferocious?

[SydneyCarton 48130]

4 minutes ago, Walden Ponderer said:

I made the change because I just feel like as a fan, I ought to represent a full manifestation of how soft, cute and cuddly our athletic programs have become. Ain't he ferocious?

Didn’t want to go with a scat pic, eh? Well thanks for that. 

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

14 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Didn’t want to go with a scat pic, eh? Well thanks for that. 

Nah. People'd be afraid to touch us if we were scat. That's clearly not the case.

[midtown 3346]

I know I'm rehashing a lot of what has been said.

 

I tried to go vegetarian a few years ago cold turkey for health reasons.   It is brutally hard.   I did manage to cut almost all red meat from my diet.   I generally only eat red meat when I travel and I take myself to the best steak house in whatever town Im in and holy shit does it takes phenomenal.    Every once in a while Ill buy a steak or burgers and cook that at home for my kids and I but thats twice a year.   My non-veg protein is 80% seafood.   I still eat chicken esp when my kids are here and Im making them something with chicken.  It helps that I love seafood and I have also earned to eat just vegetables for meals.    My go to is broccoli, mushrooms, onions, ,and jalapeno stir fry.   Half the time I add some scrimps. 

I think the reason most people don't eat more plant based meals is that they always think of their parents jamming steamed plain brussel sprouts down their throat vs that Ratatouille posted above.  I can't wait to make that.  When you learn to cook vegetables and season them it makes a huge difference to it being a meal and not a side and it becomes easy to make your meal/plate 80% vegetables and 20% protein.    I do think we are starting to figure out that the meats aren't what is killing us, its the sugars, carbs and processed crap and portions.   

 

Half the time I go out to eat and they tell me my meal comes with 8 sides and two loafs of bread.   Just bring me the green beans.   But sir you have to choose more.  I literally say...Just bring me one freaking vegetable and they don't know what to do. 

 

Edited October 29, 2019 by midtown

[Bartles 769]

That's two cold turkey references in the vegan thread

I used to be addicted to cold turkey, but I quit. That's right, I...    (h/t Z.Galifinakis)

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

22 minutes ago, Bartles said:

That's two cold turkey references in the vegan thread

I used to be addicted to cold turkey, but I quit. That's right, I...    (h/t Z.Galifinakis)

[SydneyCarton 48130]

Cross posting from the Instant Pot thread because, while not plant based, it can easily be modified as such and it is a perfect example of what I was trying to illustrate earlier about hearty soups. All this recipe would need to substitute to be solely vegetarian is to remove the 1 lb of Italian Sausage (although 1b for 6-8 big servings is pretty minuscule if you want the flavor). Sub out the chicken stock for veggie stock, and viola. And if you really wanted to try and add that meaty flavor, I'd maybe double or triple the Lea and Perrins, add a dash or 2 of fish sauce, or use some capsules of the fake chicken bouillon cubes or try a vegetarian italian sausage. 

https://www.amazon.com/Orrington-Farms-Vegan-Flavored-Broth/dp/B009G2RJAC
https://tofurky.com/what-we-make/sausages/italian/#flavormenu

Honestly, if it crumbles ok (big if) the tofurkey probably does the trick. 

Quote

Cooked an Instant Pot version of this last night, and it's fucking perfect for the incoming cold weather. It turned out WAY better than I expected, mostly because vegetable soups in general to me are hard to get past a solid 6-7 in the excitement scale. No one has ever eaten a hearty vegetable soup and had their nethers tingle. That being said, this was a solid 7-7.5, which for my own personal tastes is a hell of a vegetable soup. Anyway, the recipe was more of a general guide than what I actually followed. Details below.

https://www.realfoodwithjessica.com/2019/06/30/paleo-whole30-sausage-summer-vegetable-soup/

So, my modifications here were:

Only 1 lb of italian sausage, since I only had 1 lb. But this worked out perfectly, since it's packed with flavor in every bite (the italian sausage I used really broke down well into tiny pieces and the flavor is in every bite). 
Only used 4 (2 each) zuchini and yellow squash
1 small bag of HEB organic baby carrots chopped into halves and thirds
7 cups of organic chicken stock (costco)
4 cans of organic diced tomatoes (costco)
3 small onions, diced thick
2 Green Bell Peppers (fuck that recipe)
2 red bell peppers
4-5 Generous few splashes or Lea and Perrins
2-3 Generous Splashes of Braggs Coconut Aminos
Generous (not measured, but probably a couple teaspoons) apiece of: Salt, Pepper, Italian Seasoning (dried basil, oregano, rosemary, etc), smoked paprika, red cayenne pepper

Pretty damn good and probably makes 6-8 VERY big bowls of soup. I tossed everything except the zuchini in the instant pot on manual for 7 minutes, released it, then set it to saute, threw in the zuchini and let that all boil until the zuchini was cooked, probably 10 minutes. 

Will make again. 

 

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

a week in...it's becoming clear to me that the key here is healthy snacking throughout the day. nuts, fruit, veggies, grains. it's nice not feeling like i need to nap after eating. 

[High Plains Drifter 11050]

I'm on a sea food diet. I see food, and I eat it.

[tokamak 6432]

I almost always eat vegetarian for lunch. Whoever mentioned ethnic recipes, especially Indian, was correct. Other cultures have this shit figured out.

I bought an Indian vegetarian slow cooker cookbook and I'm working my way through it. Throw a bunch of stuff in the slow cooker on Sunday and I have my lunch for the entire week. Sometimes you get a dud and that's when shitloads of hot sauce comes in handy, but I always make notes so that I don't make a bad one twice.

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

of note: these are fucking delicious.

[SydneyCarton 48130]

Just now, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

of note: these are fucking delicious.

Yeah they sell the regular version in Giant bags at costco. Fucking danger. 

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

A couple of unexpected things from this diet change:

1) the regularity and quality of my shits is unreal. This is me walking out of the bathroom these days.

2) fear of withering away was unfounded. Interestingly, I’ve put on weight. Did not see that coming.

3) energy levels are wayyyy up. I’ve only eaten meat a couple of times and the ensuing energy crash was insane. We ate lamb chops last night and I immediately crashed...wife said “I think you’re allergic to meat.”

all in all I’ve really been enjoying the change and not feeling stuffed or lethargic. I don’t really find myself craving animal protein which is crazy.

[bernorange 8362]

Yeah, that mirrors my experience when I first eliminated meats from my diet too.  My stamina levels were off the charts.  I could run all day long whether on a track, bike or playing soccer/basketball.  Of course, I was a teenager back then.  I also remember one of my classmates did a science fair project where she had subjects do some simple stair stepping exercises to raise the heart rate and stop.  She then measured how quickly heart rate and breathing normalized.  I remember being there with a bunch of guys from the school's soccer team as we had all volunteered to be guinea pigs for her experiment.  Soccer bros were flummoxed that I outperformed them in every measure. 

I also found that cravings for meats faded very fast. Within a few weeks of changing my diet, the smell of a steak, hamburger, etc. did nothing for me.  I was completely neutral on it, which really surprised me at the time.  Now cheese on the other hand was a different story.  I went full vegan at the time and the cravings for cheese took over half a year to fade.  Cheese really is like crack cocaine for the brain. 

[Bone3421 716]

Read the whole thread and think i saw only 2 chickpea/hummus recs....1 cup of chickpeas provides roughly 33% of your protein needs for the day.

One of my standards is a can of chickpeas tossed in some evoo and red curry spice then pan roasted in cast iron...add in some onion, bell pepper and dig in

[Buzzrock 14935]

Be careful you don’t break out in vaginas

[SydneyCarton 48130]

I'm somewhat fascinated by the concept of a HS kid choosing, not just vegetarianism, but full on Vegan. That blows my mind, unless there was a strong parental/hippie/granola influence. It just seems so foreign for 16 year old me to say "Fuck this burger, gimme that lettuce!" Plus HS isn't exactly the peak of my culinary creativity in terms of finding good recipes to be a vegan. 

 

[bernorange 8362]

There were extenuating circumstances in my case.  My mother had an issue with her thyroid and docs told her she had to have surgery.  She did some independent reading and decided to try out a vegan diet first.  My folks bought/read a lot of books and such before making that decision.  They approached me (and my siblings) and told us, this is what we are going to do (eat vegan), this is why (see if it mitigates need for surgery), and this is what we've learned about it (they handed us a bunch of books).  They said, you are free to eat what you want, but we're cooking/eating this way at home.  I read the books and decided to try it out.  It's been an interesting journey.

Oh, my mother still has issues with her thyroid and takes meds for it, but she never did have to have that surgery.  Her docs back in the day were amazed at the improvements she realized after the diet change.

[Neonmoon 38129]

I switched to Pescatarian a couple months ago to help with running training. I honestly feel a lot lighter now during runs and feel healthier overall. It could be a placebo effect for all I know but I don’t give a shit. I love fish, tofu, and there are some really good meat replacements like Pure Farmland. We made some spaghetti with some of their Italian flavored ground “meat” and it was delicious. Also I never feel bad after a meal like sometimes when I’d eat BBQ or a big burger. Going to keep doing it for now. We will see how it goes. 

[bernorange 8362]

Go easy on the soy based meat replacements unless you really don't mind a high estrogen diet.  

[Horn Draoi 255]

16 hours ago, bernorange said:

Go easy on the soy based meat replacements unless you really don't mind a high estrogen diet.  

Yes, soy isoflavones are mild stimulators of estrogen receptors; also, some studies show a higher incidence of thyroid problems in those on high soy diets.  I avoid the stuff as much as possible.

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

On 1/7/2020 at 6:29 PM, Neonmoon said:

Also I never feel bad after a meal like sometimes when I’d eat BBQ or a big burger. Going to keep doing it for now. We will see how it goes. 

that's where i'm at. not eating animal proteins is just making me feel better. prior to this diet change, i would tolerate vegetables. now i eagerly consume them..i can just tell the impact they're having on my overall well-being so i enjoy putting them into my body.

[SubliminalHorn 6809]

Husband and I decided to go plant based like a month ago. With the holidays, decided to be flexible since prime rib was on the menu at my brother’s for xmas dinner. Had some fish at dinner on NYE and tiny bit of eggs, but other than that, have completely cut out meat proteins. 

My parents got us an instantpot and a cookbook for it and it has a bunch of vegetarian recipes in it. It’s awesome. We also signed up for Green Chef and chose the vegan option and the meals have been really good. Not gonna do that forever, just collect more recipes and ideas for the future. 

I cant say I feel that much of a difference since making the switch, but I already ate, what I consider, a very healthy diet. So we’ll see as we get into it more. We’ve hit a few struggles though. Like, in the past when I got home from work, I could easily cook up some eggs or eat some of the rotisserie chicken we got from the grocery store, or whatever. But if we haven’t cooked something, it’s like, I feel like the only options are eating fucking hummus or vegan puff things and guac. It’s frustrating when you’re really tired after a long day of work. I don’t want to resort to fake meat shit because that’s just processed anyway, but it can be pretty tough sometimes figuring out what to eat

[SubliminalHorn 6809]

20 hours ago, bernorange said:

Go easy on the soy based meat replacements unless you really don't mind a high estrogen diet.  

I’ve seen some stuff that claims that eating meat actually raises your estrogen levels more than soy protein, would have to do more research 

[SydneyCarton 48130]

1 hour ago, SubliminalHorn said:

Husband and I decided to go plant based like a month ago. With the holidays, decided to be flexible since prime rib was on the menu at my brother’s for xmas dinner. Had some fish at dinner on NYE and tiny bit of eggs, but other than that, have completely cut out meat proteins. 

My parents got us an instantpot and a cookbook for it and it has a bunch of vegetarian recipes in it. It’s awesome. We also signed up for Green Chef and chose the vegan option and the meals have been really good. Not gonna do that forever, just collect more recipes and ideas for the future. 

I cant say I feel that much of a difference since making the switch, but I already ate, what I consider, a very healthy diet. So we’ll see as we get into it more. We’ve hit a few struggles though. Like, in the past when I got home from work, I could easily cook up some eggs or eat some of the rotisserie chicken we got from the grocery store, or whatever. But if we haven’t cooked something, it’s like, I feel like the only options are eating fucking hummus or vegan puff things and guac. It’s frustrating when you’re really tired after a long day of work. I don’t want to resort to fake meat shit because that’s just processed anyway, but it can be pretty tough sometimes figuring out what to eat

Meal prep, man. It's a PITA but it's the general solution to loves of folks new diet selections. You've got to take out a chunk of time on the weekends and plan ahead. I made a huge batch of asian style ground meat and cauliflower this weekend, and I've been using it in salads and whatnot all week. You can prop and freeze a couple meals ahead of time each week, or use the instant pot and make big batches of soups and stews and those are what gets you through the rough evenings. 

[HenryJames 66134]

Indian, imo. Lots of curries with legumes and lentils. Even better the second day.

[workswithseed 2109]

On 10/29/2019 at 2:51 PM, BabaYaga said:

Same here - hence the rucking.  Hate running, but a fast walk with a decent amount of weight on your back is a game changer.  Lower back pain went away (6'5 207, so long torso, always had it), feel better all around and I can do it anywhere.  Just have to find your thing.  Had a friend that went everywhere with a jump rope.  He did it at the airport even.  Just his things.  Lost a shit ton of weight doing it and his legs were like iron.  

This is a great idea. What weights, or did you just use a backpack that you loaded up?

[SydneyCarton 48130]

30 minutes ago, workswithseed said:

This is a great idea. What weights, or did you just use a backpack that you loaded up?

I’d be an adjustable weight vest, personally. 

[Wiler77 1567]

5 hours ago, SydneyCarton said:

 or use the instant pot and make big batches of soups and stews and those are what gets you through the rough evenings. 

Quoted for truth.  We know MWF is going to be a rush to get food on the table, bathe the kids, and get them to bed at a reasonable hour, and I can't tell you how many times we've been saved by having leftover soups or beans from the Instant Pot.  We keep it in the pot and use the saute feature, and it heats back up in no time.  Soups peak a few days after anyway, so it's really perfect.

 

[BabaYaga 15302]

12 hours ago, workswithseed said:

This is a great idea. What weights, or did you just use a backpack that you loaded up?

I have an old Oakley backpack that is fairly robust,  Loaded down with paver bricks.  Use my airport luggage scale to keep it right @ 45 lbs.  Pack has padded straps and a torso strap, so the weight is stable.  I keep it in the back floorboards in the cab of my truck.  Walking the dog.  Either or both kids out door soccer practices (5 days a week between them).  I get in a good 45-60 minutes.  Combined with a ton of body weight exercises, I basically quit the gym and feel better than ever.  

[Neonmoon 38129]

On 1/8/2020 at 4:49 PM, bernorange said:

Go easy on the soy based meat replacements unless you really don't mind a high estrogen diet.  

Not that I eat ton of meat replacement alternatives, but even if I did...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20378106

Quote

RESULT(S):

In contrast to the results of some rodent studies, findings from a recently published metaanalysis and subsequently published studies show that neither isoflavone supplements nor isoflavone-rich soy affect total or free testosterone (T) levels. Similarly, there is essentially no evidence from the nine identified clinical studies that isoflavone exposure affects circulating estrogen levels in men. Clinical evidence also indicates that isoflavones have no effect on sperm or semen parameters, although only three intervention studies were identified and none were longer than 3 months in duration. Finally, findings from animal studies suggesting that isoflavones increase the risk of erectile dysfunction are not applicable to men, because of differences in isoflavone metabolism between rodents and humans and the excessively high amount of isoflavones to which the animals were exposed.

 

On 1/9/2020 at 9:38 AM, Horn Draoi said:

Yes, soy isoflavones are mild stimulators of estrogen receptors; also, some studies show a higher incidence of thyroid problems in those on high soy diets.  I avoid the stuff as much as possible.

From the American Cancer Society

http://www.cancer.org/latest-news/soy-and-cancer-risk-our-experts-advice.html

Quote

Some of the misunderstandings come from the fact that studies in people and studies in animals may show different results. In some animal studies, rodents that were exposed to high doses of compounds found in soy called isoflavones showed an increased risk of breast cancer. This is thought to be because the isoflavones in soy can act like estrogen in the body, and increased estrogen has been linked to certain types of breast cancer.

But rodents process soy differently from people, and the same results have not been seen in people. Also, doses of isoflavones in the animal studies are much higher than in humans. In fact, in human studies, the estrogen effects of soy seem to either have no effect at all, or to reduce breast cancer risk (especially in Asian countries, where lifelong intake is higher than the US). This may be because the isoflavones can actually block the more potent natural estrogens in the blood.

As for Thyroid problems, the scare started from this study. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21325465

Quote

CONCLUSION:

There is a 3-fold increased risk of developing overt hypothyroidism with dietary supplementation of 16 mg soy phytoestrogens with subclinical hypothyroidism. However, 16-mg soy phytoestrogen supplementation significantly reduces the insulin resistance, hsCRP, and blood pressure in these patients.

Which in turn had anti-soy websites like this one https://www.westonaprice.org/soy-alert/

Saying things like 

Quote

Soy phytoestrogens are potent antithyroid agents that cause hypothyroidism and may cause thyroid cancer. In infants, consumption of soy formula has been linked to autoimmune thyroid disease.

Pro-soy websites have responded saying

Quote

Antisoy websites claim that soy phytoestrogens are “potent anti-thyroid agents that cause hypothyroidism.”8 Indeed, in the May 2011 issue of Clinical Thyroidology, a randomized, double-blind crossover study by Sathyapalan and colleagues found that six of 60 women with subclinical hypothyroidism converted to clinical hypothyroidism after eight weeks of supplementation with soy protein containing 16 mg of phytoestrogen per day. To mimic a typical Western diet, the study authors also gave women daily soy protein supplements with 2 mg of phytoestrogen. The women in this lower-dose group showed no change in thyroid function.9

In his commentary on the published study, Jorge Mestman, MD, reviewed other research in the area and concluded that “only very high doses of soy phytoestrogen supplementation may induce clinical hypothyroidism in a minority of patients with subclinical hypothyroidism.”9

For those individuals already being treated for hypothyroidism, it’s important to note that soy consumption decreases absorption of replacement thyroid hormone, so clients should be reminded to take such medications on an empty stomach as directed. Interestingly, in the same study by Sathyapalan, the high-dose soy phytoestrogens significantly reduced insulin resistance, blood pressure, and inflammation markers.9

I think it's a little premature to avoid soy but it's always smart to use moderation when consuming anything. 

[Horn Draoi 255]

No problem at all with the various stated studies—just saying, moderation in all things.  I don’t do soy milk (rice instead) or opt for soy burgers; there’s plenty of soy, like hidden sugars, in foods we don’t really examine closely.  It’s just not really a historical human food, and as (still, dammit) a practicing pharmacist, i deal with literally 100+ patients with clinical and subclinical hypothyroidism monthly; soy intake is just one more risk factor it’s easy to avoid in my already risk-filled life.  Also, i recommend soy isoflavones all the time for menopausal and perimenopausal symptoms  with good results, so I know it’s hitting the estrogen receptors.  YMMV

[Jack Straw 2954]

On 1/9/2020 at 5:11 PM, HenryJames said:

Indian, imo. Lots of curries with legumes and lentils. Even better the second day.

this for sure.

for the past couple years or so i have had salad or a vegetarian meal for lunch on work days at least 4 of 5 days of the week, and mostly ate what i wanted for dinner and sort of figured i was doing well.  my doctor put me on a high fiber diet last year and in the past few months my GF has been on a plant based / vegan friendly diet, which i have done my best to join in.  (btw, its hard to get 30-40g of a fiber a day, ha). we try to have at least 60-70% of our total food intake be plants, and shoot for as much upwards from there as possible, without going cold turkey on anything.  limiting dairy has been hard because i love cheese and ice cream, but i've ditched milk and creamer for soy and almond milk, and there are some decent coconut milk and cashew milk ice creams out there.  

what has made it easy for me is beans and lentils.  i started getting Indian take out once a week and making two meals out of that, then found that there are shitloads of dal recipes out there and i can make most at home as good or better than the Indian places in town (in my opinion anyway).  making some dal makhani tonight.  

the OP asked for recipes - I was thinking we should have a "plant based/whole food / vegetarian shit i've cooked lately" thread where folks can post their dishes, recipes, ideas, successes, etc.  

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

17 hours ago, Jack Straw said:

this for sure.

for the past couple years or so i have had salad or a vegetarian meal for lunch on work days at least 4 of 5 days of the week, and mostly ate what i wanted for dinner and sort of figured i was doing well.  my doctor put me on a high fiber diet last year and in the past few months my GF has been on a plant based / vegan friendly diet, which i have done my best to join in.  (btw, its hard to get 30-40g of a fiber a day, ha). we try to have at least 60-70% of our total food intake be plants, and shoot for as much upwards from there as possible, without going cold turkey on anything.  limiting dairy has been hard because i love cheese and ice cream, but i've ditched milk and creamer for soy and almond milk, and there are some decent coconut milk and cashew milk ice creams out there.  

what has made it easy for me is beans and lentils.  i started getting Indian take out once a week and making two meals out of that, then found that there are shitloads of dal recipes out there and i can make most at home as good or better than the Indian places in town (in my opinion anyway).  making some dal makhani tonight.  

the OP asked for recipes - I was thinking we should have a "plant based/whole food / vegetarian shit i've cooked lately" thread where folks can post their dishes, recipes, ideas, successes, etc.  

probably better than my title idea of 'I pledge to post more pictures of this PLANT'. i'll fire it up in the event others are interested.

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

what's your go-to breakfast meal? i've been making steel cut oats (cook in milk in a rice cooker with cinnamon then add mixed berries and a little maple syrup) and it's been a really solid start to my day. outside of that, i'll mix in avocado toast and occasionally take an evol burrito to work on the go.

[Hank_Hill 18891]

Breakfast is for the weak

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3868]

On 2/10/2020 at 12:54 PM, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

what's your go-to breakfast meal? i've been making steel cut oats (cook in milk in a rice cooker with cinnamon then add mixed berries and a little maple syrup) and it's been a really solid start to my day. outside of that, i'll mix in avocado toast and occasionally take an evol burrito to work on the go.

Switch it to oat milk for plant based.

Edited February 15, 2020 by ShaggyBevo RIP

[Neonmoon 38129]

Anyone have a great Tofu recipe? I never feel like I can cook it as good as Whole Foods. I’m probably not squeezing the moisture out long enough. (Type of food doesn’t matter) 

 

[workswithseed 2109]

I made falafels for the first time, they were so good.

[Chewbacca 7780]

On 2/15/2020 at 7:47 AM, ShaggyBevo RIP said:

Switch it to oat milk for plant based.

Soak oats in their own milk?  What kind of sicko are you?

[Hank_Hill 18891]

Read How Not To Die by Dr. Greger this weekend. Pretty great read. Making the move. Starting slow with 2-3 days a week. 

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

14 hours ago, Hank_Hill said:

Read How Not To Die by Dr. Greger this weekend. Pretty great read. Making the move. Starting slow with 2-3 days a week. 

let me know what you decide for breakfast!