Vegan low carb?

[mamabear6]

Any other vegans out there? I went from an animal based diet, to an animal-free diet a month ago. I have made the transition smoothly but now want to drop the carbs a good amount as it appears wheat and a lot of grains are still not my friend! I am looking into supplementing with soy protein powder, and have yet to incorporate tofu but those are things I'm planning to try in moderation.
Does anyone have examples of balanced lower carb meal plans or any ideas to share? It would be greatly appreciated!

[TaDa!]

Check out nuts and seeds especially .. quinoa is a high protein seed that can be used like a grain .. my dh really likes it in place of brown rice or anything like that. Check out products like hemp milk and almond milk in place of soy milk. Check out Biochem Vegan Protein Powder made of pea protein .. 7-8 net carbs for 2 scoops .. etc etc. If you are already vegan, all you do is cut out your grains, emphasize vegan proteins and vegetables.

Vegan proteins to include: Nuts and seeds, Seitan, Soy, and beans. As far as meals - just cut out your grains. I would personally be doing things like stirfries with tofu, or wheat seitan, any of the casseroles calling for ground meat, using tvp or some other plant meat replacement, salads with copious amounts of dressing, nuts and seeds .. sunflower, pine nuts (yummmm!). I was going to try and make stuffed grape leaves using traditional vegan recipes, simply substituting quinoa for rice, and using pine nuts as per usual .. haven't done it yet, but really all you would have to do would be to use your usual vegan cooking skills and alter your ingredients a little.

hth!!



Pauline

[TaDa!]

Also check out all the seeds people have been excited about on the boards lately .. they are great protein sources ... so check for the threads on the recipe board about:

chia seeds
quinoa
ground flax!

Also you can get a lot of your protein from baked goods you make with almond flour and/or ground flax .. coconut oil is a great substitute for butter in those recipes .. really the recipe suggestion board here can be a great resource for vegan protein-rich foods, if you just read around the animal product use, lol!! That is what I do to sort out vegetarian foods for myself .. flax muffins, flaxbread, almond flour cookies and crusts and things, then you can focus on vegetables in your meals like you probably do now ..

anyhow, just some other thoughts on proteins ..

[Nigel]

If you have a little time to look thru the other threads on this forum, there are lots of recipes and ideas.
I don't actually count up my carbs daily, as I know what I can and cannot eat.

I eat a boca burger or a morningstar farms burger with a salad and some green beans or squash, etc. That's a very filling meal for me.

I use the ground vegan crumbles (all of them or any of them) in place of hamburger meat on a regular basis to make chili, tacos, taco salad, spaghetti, etc. A lot of times I just leave the meat substitute out, but I don't mind not having the meat element.

I am going to give tofu a try, but as of yet, I have not. I have it in my fridge...if that counts...lol......I will post after I experiment with it a bit.

TVP is great too for many things. Also, on the recipe help and suggestions forum, there is a vegetarian recipe thread and other threads on chia, tvp, etc. that might be helpful. It can be a lot of reading, but it's worthwhile in my opinion.

Welcome to the club!!

[mamabear6]

Thanks for your advice

[Hatewashingup]

I'm a vegan! I find the best way to incorporate protein is with soy products, particularly tvp. Unseasoned tvp is great, I even make granola and porridge with it! My other main staples are nuts and greens and protein powders.
Sounds limiting but since going from veggie to vegan 4 years ago I have come up with alternative recipes for just about everything, and am gradually adapting them all to low carb. If you think of anything specific you crave which needs veganising and low carbing let me know and I can share some tips.

[Nigel]

Originally Posted by Hatewashingup

I'm a vegan! I find the best way to incorporate protein is with soy products, particularly tvp. Unseasoned tvp is great, I even make granola and porridge with it! My other main staples are nuts and greens and protein powders.
Sounds limiting but since going from veggie to vegan 4 years ago I have come up with alternative recipes for just about everything, and am gradually adapting them all to low carb. If you think of anything specific you crave which needs veganising and low carbing let me know and I can share some tips.

Do you have a recipe for a TVP "steak" by chance? I've been looking for something to make like a steak but no luck. Any help would be greatly appreciated here.

[Sherril]

Please add some vegan low carb recipes here in the recipe section. I want to try vegan a day or two a week.

[Hatewashingup]

Nigel, I saw your post and tried out a seitan steak tonight, and it was delicious! I didn't think tvp would work very well as the texture would be a bit too burger like.

I'm so happy you gave me the idea of a vegan steak as weirdly, in 8 years of being veggie, I've never thought about substituting a steak. I had it with sauteed kohlrabi and griddled little gem lettuce and it was the best meal I've had in ages!

I just want to tweak it a little and check the carbs/cals, but I will certainly be making it again this week so will post the recipe up then!

And Sherril, I will definately post some recipes up, I just need to measure weights, times and temps next time I make things as I never usually do.

[Nigel]

Originally Posted by Hatewashingup

Nigel, I saw your post and tried out a seitan steak tonight, and it was delicious! I didn't think tvp would work very well as the texture would be a bit too burger like.

I'm so happy you gave me the idea of a vegan steak as weirdly, in 8 years of being veggie, I've never thought about substituting a steak. I had it with sauteed kohlrabi and griddled little gem lettuce and it was the best meal I've had in ages!

I just want to tweak it a little and check the carbs/cals, but I will certainly be making it again this week so will post the recipe up then!

And Sherril, I will definately post some recipes up, I just need to measure weights, times and temps next time I make things as I never usually do.

Did you make homemade seitan or is there a brand you buy? I've had a hard time finding any locally.

[Hatewashingup]

Originally Posted by Nigel

Did you make homemade seitan or is there a brand you buy? I've had a hard time finding any locally.

I make it from wheat gluten powder, also called vital wheat gluten. Its much easier and faster to prepare than from flour, and you know they've got all the starch out properly! I'm in the uk and order it online, but I think it is easier to get hold of in the us.

[Nigel]

Thank you. I have some vital wheat gluten and here you can buy it at Walmart in small boxes for a reasonable price.

[VeryVeganVictoria]

Hello !

I am a vegan lower carber !
Not having any problems at all. I have a large protein shake after my morning workout made with unsweetened almond milk and either straight brown rice protein powder or Vega, which is brilliant, but a bit too expensive for me right now, so won't be buying again.

I eat a lot of vegetables, some soy nuts most days, extra virgin olive oil, lots of fresh lime juice in dressings over raw veggies, and Tofurky and Field Roast sausages, plus seitan. FR is very good, high protein and no soy, Tofurky is half soy, half seitan, but no isolates.

While I love brown rice, split peas, bread, and all that, they are not loving me back and was compelled to go lower carb to make the scale move. I am now just over 50 and every ounce is a major struggle, even with 7-10 hours of cardio weekly.
Sigh .......

[Nigel]

Could you post some of your menus for us? Or even a typical day. A lot of people have trouble adjusting to low carb vegetarian, so it might help them. It would help me too.

I am just lower carb and not 100% vegetarian, but I am working on that too. I still eat too much cheese most of the time. There is also a thread about what we ate today if you would rather post on there. It's interesting to see how we all plan our meals out.

I'm pretty boring and live mostly on pre-made meat substititues and lots of salad and veggies and I make my own v-8+ juice that I have most days. I eat some fruit, but not every day. I have been maintaining my weight but I'm a bit tired, so I'm trying to do lower carb and see if I feel more energetic. The v-8 juice gave me energy, but I think I'm too used to it now, so I don't notice. It's also very hot here already and the heat gets to me a lot.

[VeryVeganVictoria]

Hi Nigel :

How about my starting two new threads now ?

I will make one called ' a vegan receipe a day ' and then the other with what I eat, where I get the items, their benefits, etc.

I am not much of a cook as you know, so there will be nothing elaborate or fancy, and I do not bake at all, but I love to eat and I love good hearty healthy fare, so I will post and try to help others on their own paths to wellness, weight loss and veganism if they so choose to go that route.

Vickie