the vegetarian experience (day1)
There was some important information I added to my previous blog. When considering a vegetarian diet it is important to get the vitamins and minerals somewhere when the normal sources are no longer being eaten. Of course !!!
If anyone is a vegetarian and doing it right, please feel free to make suggestions. Today was a hectic day, but I did the best I could. It is pretty good because I have fairly good foods to grab. But I welcome helpful suggestions.
Monday:
Breakfast: 1 t. Chlorella (2 grams of protein) and water
½ c. oatmeal (5 grams of protein)
1 c. soymilk (8 grams of protein)
5 pecan halves (.7 grams of protein)
Vitamins
Snack: Pumpkin Seed Crunch snacks (9 grams)
Apple
Lunch: Large veggie salad w/ ½ c. quinoa & ½ c. Edamame beans (12.5 grams), 1 t. olive oil and balsamic vinegar
1/6 c. protein powder- pea/rice/soy (12 grams)
½ c. chocolate mousse w/ Splenda (? grams)
Calcium
Snack: ½ c. strawberries
1/6 c. protein powder (12 grams)
1 can of V8 (3 grams)
Supper: Large whole wheat veggie pita with hummus and cheese and tons of veggies/pineapple (20.7 grams – I was shocked at how much protein, but I did a double check.), Calcium
So, I was all worried about protein. I had a great deal. My total protein for the day came to 84.9 grams !!! The World Health Organization recommends 67 grams as a minimum and the US Recommended Daily Allowance recommends 120 grams as a maximum for my ideal weight. So I feel good. I hope my math is correct. I was too busy to work on the proper combining - My Bad! But I feel good. I am up to a work out tonight after a crazy day so that is something. I have plenty of energy and may have raspberries after. Oh, I had 8 servings of veggies and fruits not counting the potential berries….hehe And also for shits and giggles, I had about 1300 calories. I am aiming for 30 minutes on the elliptical with stretching after. (I only did 20) and I had a nice yogurt and raspberry snack. A good day and I feel I will sleep well. Sweet dreams to all.
P.S.: I know I need iron rich foods. I will work on this. My multivitamin is low in iron on purpose, but I will find some iron along the way. LOL…. I am such a geek, but the first and best thing is admitting it. Anyways, I see I can get enough protein. I think I will change the focus for this week, but I will have to think more about that. I am really shocked to see how much protein one can get on a vegetarian diet. Anyways…. too tired. Must sleep. 11:15 PM is late for me.
SO I got 89.9 grams of protein yesterday.
Tuesday thoughts:
http://www.ivu.org/faq/protein.html ……Well that is just good information from the IVU. Clearly protein is not my concern. I am just going to concern myself with getting the vitamins and minerals I need to feel healthy. It is a great AM. The rain has stopped for what I am sure is just a break. I wish us all a happy and healthy week. Tea Cheers…..
Looks like a good day 1. You mentioned vitamins. I’m not a vegetarian, but I DO take vitamins. Back in the 80’s (before I had a life with child and husband LOL) I was an avid gym enthusiast, cardio, weight machines, and that’s when I fell in love with free weights. My trainer who taught me how to use free weights correctly turned me onto a vitamin that I still take to this day. He recommended it over any other vitamin on the market. He told me that the daily vitamins you buy over the counter you would have to take a multitude of to get what these vitamins can give you in 3 pills a day. I was skeptical at first, but now a firm believer in them. When I was pregnant with my son, I showed them to my doctor and asked if I could continue to take these vitamins instead of the prenatal. He read the label and said it was an excellent vitamin and wouldn’t have a problem with it except that he wanted me to get more folic acid. They are “source of life” vitamins. Here’s the ingredients. I would recommend this vitamin to anyone, with the exception of some who have severe allergies (check with your doctor). I now have my son taking them (he hates vegetables) and I made a believer out of my dad (recovering alcoholic and stroke victim). He could tell the difference in just 2 days in his energy level. Anyway, just a suggestion…
Nature’s Plus Source of Life Vitamins
Supplement Facts Serving Size: 3 Tablets
Servings Per Container: 60
Amount Per Serving % Daily Value*
Calories 20
Protein 1 g -
Carbohydrates 3 g 1%
Fiber 1 g 6%
Vitamin A (as beta carotene) 10,000 IU 200%
Vitamin C (as ascorbic acid) 1,000 IU 1667%
Vitamin D (as ergocalciferol) 400 IU 100%
Vitamin E (as d-alpha tocopheryl acetate) 200 IU 667%
Vitamin B-1 (as thiamine HCL) 25 mg 1667%
Vitamin B-2(as riboflavin) 25 mg 1471%
Niacin (as niacinamide) 40 mg 200%
Vitamin B-6 (as pyridoxine HCL) 25mg 1250%
Folate (as folic acid) 400 mcg 100%
Vitamin B-12 (as cyanocobalamin) 200 mcg 3333%
Biotin 100 mcg 33%
Pantothenic Acid (as calcium pantothenate) 60 mg 600%
Iron (as aminoate complex, ascorbate) 18 mg 100%
Iodine (from kelp) 150 mcg 100%
Magnesium (as aminoate complex) 100 mg 25%
Zinc (as aminoate complex, picolinate) 15 mg 100%
Selenium (as aminoate complex) 25 mcg 36%
Copper (as aminoate complex) 0.5 mg 25%
Manganese (as aminoate complex) 4 mg 200%
Chromium (as aminoate complex) 20 mcg 17%
Potassium (as aminoate complex) 50 mg 1%
Spirulina 1000 mg **
Bee Pollen (Spanish) 100 mg **
Sunflower Oil (supplying linoleic acid (54.1mg), oleic acid (9.3mg), palmitic acid (4.4mg), stearic acid (2.2mg) 70 mg **
Bioflavonoids (from Citrus limon exocarp)(active flavonols, flavonones, flavones & naringen (26) 60 mg **
Black Currant Seed Oil 50 mg **
Ginseng Root (Korean) 50 mg **
Bromelain (from pineapple fruit)(24 gelatin digesting units) 40 mg **
Choline (as bitartrate) 30 mg **
Inositol 30 mg **
Queercetin (from Saphora Japonica leaf) 30 mg **
Papain (from papaya fruit) 30 mg **
Rutin (from Saphora japonica leaf) 25 mg **
Betaine HCL (from beet molasses) 25 mg **
RNA (ribonucleic acid) 21 mg **
Apple Pectin 20 mg **
PABA (para-aminobenzoic acid) 15 mg **
Hesperidin (from Citrus limon exocarp) 10 mg **
Chlorophyll (from spirulina) 7.5 mg **
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) 6 mg **
Amylase (from brown rice fermentation) 5 mg **
Lipase (from brown rice fermentation) 5 mg **
Carotenoids 4 mg **
Eriocitrin (from Citrus limon exocarp) 3 mg **
Octacosanol 200 mcg **
* Based on a 2,000 calorie diet
** Daily Values not established
I am a vegetarian for three years now and the one thing I have learned is protein is overrated. You get protein everywhere. The one thing I am careful to do is combine foods like vitamin C to obsorb iron in foods. I know Fortified OJ has vitamin D3 which is an animal product but m,y kdis drink it for the calcuim. I am always learning new places they put animals in it is so gross. For crying out loud even sugar is filtered through bone char. You are so right about the veggie diet you do need to be aware of things I think.
I love the way you keep track of everything!
For the past few months, I have been plugging all of my food into Fitday’s free account and they do all of the keeping track of things like how much protein and fat and carbs and vitamins and minerals I get.
I just push the “reports” button and it shows me if anything comes up short and from there I try to adjust from there. Vitamin K and one of the trace minerals are the things that keeps coming up short for me.
Does the food log here work like that? I don’t use the one here, because I was already using that one when I came to this site.