I got this question a couple of times in the city today as I was manning the Go Veg table (I’m absent in this photo but you see Angela for the first time :).
Basically, legumes mostly replace meat when you’re going veg. Omnivores (meat eaters) rarely eat these, but they actually provide the same nutrition in a healthier package. The rest of the diet changes little. Legumes are tastiest as ‘mock meat’ but can be eaten in a variety of fashions…
I met some fantastic people in the city today by the way, including Jace who just left a recipe for all of you on another post!
Firstly, don’t panic. A vegetarian easily meets all of their nutrition requirements if, like everyone else, they have some basic concept of meal planning. Vegetarians and Vegans can easily be healthy, full bodied, or fat as they like. Many people who switch from an omnivorous diet to a plant-based diet report changes in body type - both ways - almost always towards what they feel is their natural optimum for health.
The Four Food Groups
PCRM (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) lists “four new food groups” (as opposed to the one the government pushes in order to prop up politically significant livestock industries). These are:
- Fruit
(3 or more servings a day)
Serving size: 1 medium piece of fruit • 1/2 cup cooked fruit • 4 ounces juice - Whole Grains
(5 or more servings a day)
Serving size: 1/2 cup rice or other grain • 1 ounce dry cereal • 1 slice bread - Legumes
(2 or more servings a day)
Serving size: 1 cup cooked beans • 4 ounces tofu or tempeh • 8 ounces soymilk [also lentils and peas] - Vegetables
(4 or more servings a day)
Serving size: 1 cup raw vegetables • 1/2 cup cooked vegetables
Download The New Four
Food Groups Handout or Poster (PDF)
So what do we do with this info? The issue most people have is with legumes - the food group that replaces meat.
(God it’s hard to write a post when School of Rock’s on)
Legumes are beans, lentils, peas (chick peas, green and yellow peas). From here the thing is to know how to cook each of these properly, then what to do with them.
I like to eat lentils and peas in soups, with a few veggies and seasoning. Beans go well for me in salads (and not much else). There we go - the essence of going vegetarian is revealed. If you ever doubt your diet is giving you what you need get a blood test done, and get one done every five years or so like everyone should anyhow (not that I ever have - I’m planning to do so soon to shut certain relatives up).
If that make you say to yourself - “that’s it, the game’s up. I’m not doing it” - wait a second. From these basic foods can be concocted many meat substitutes and delicious recipes besides. This website is aimed at people more interested in quick nutritious food, with taste and appearance as a secondary concern, but you could explore the links at the bottom of the left sidebar for more delicate and delicious recipes.
Meal Planning
I do know people who live largely on brown rice and sesame, but I’m yet to try that. Until then…
Meal planning for a plant-based diet adherent means getting enough for yourself from the four food groups mentioned above. More simply, it means (what you used to eat) minus (meat) plus (legumes) (or legume derived foods such as many meat substitutes - stocked more and more supermarkets now).
(Jack Black’s stage dive and emotional high).
Examples of Meat-replacing Legume Based Meal Parts
Here’s one example of a healthy plant-based legume dish to make up the legume part of the food group. It’s a variety soup mix the kind of which of which you can buy almost anywhere.
If there’s one thing to keep cooked in bulk in your fridge for quick reheating it’s this type of soup. Cooked with some well chosen vegetables such as squashes, and garnished with shallots, and joined with some lightly fried spices, it can confidently replace whatever used to be the highlight of your dinner.
The soup without the extras can be cooked in bulk once a week and the veggies and flavours can be added on the night for freshness. The next post will go through the steps.
The Chinese Breakfast Soup posted about previously is also a good example.
Thank you for this email, I feel isolated in this Montana town, Bozeman, I will try to speak up to save the planet, we need to all become vegetarians asap, Many relatives and local ranchers just laugh at me, what! Stop eating meat! We have eaten meat forever! What do they do with all their cows and way of life? What do we feed our 2 cats? What does Supreme Master Ching Hai feed her dogs? I know as humans we can stop, but we need to feed our pets, would anyone ever come to Bozeman,MT to have a veggie gathering of some kind and have a speaker to listen to? I am trying to show people in my church about cooking vegie this fall when classes start up again, well, thanks again and Peace to you, Lila
Hi Lila.
Don’t be disheartened. Of course we all sometimes feel low as veggies in an (as yet) non-veggie world. But don’t, anyway.
One day I was talking to a stranger and she mentioned her father was a cattle rancher for most of his life. Now he is pretty much a vegetarian. She said that one day he was overcome by the crying of the cows when they were separated from their calves. You never know when the reality of the situation will suddenly strike someone.
I just wrote something on the blog about every effort having effects even if we don’t witness them. Sometimes, they will come back to us.
I guess you’re in an area that’s a real challenge. Still, eventually you will knock one over, then the rest will be influenced by that first one.
I think I could have been a cattle rancher if my teacher had not come into my life. How many poor chickens have I sold? I hope many of the cattle ranchers around you can be as lucky as me.
This audio file will inspire you.
To Lila,
Hi! I’m also a Bozeman Resident, glad to know someone local also trying to save our earth. Supreme Master Ching Hai’s dogs are on veggie diet: http://www.thecelestialshop.com/pets.html
If u search for vegetarian pet food, u can find many sites carry vegan pet food.