Vegetarian Eating

 

 

Vegetarian Smarter Science of Slim reader Cristina Hanganu-Bresch reversed her diabetes and lost 45lbs. in ~3 months. In this post, Cristina expands on her inspirational smarter success story with some SANE tips for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. – Jonathan Bailor

13 Simple Tips for SANE Vegetarian Eating

by Cristina Hanganu-Bresch, http://www.lipomachia.wordpress.com

1. Empty your pantry of starches and sugars immediately. There’s no way around it. Better do it now before you lose your resolve. Your skinny friends or neighbors can have your surplus.
2. Be ready to cook. You can’t go SANE and be a vegetarian without expecting to prepare some meals. Invest in some good vegetarian and vegan cookbooks—you’ll need several since you need to eliminate any recipes that require dough, rice, sugar, dairy, etc. (which is A LOT!).
3. Make sure you only get UNSWEETEENED veggie milks (this is an easy mistake to make) – and use Splenda if you need to sweeten the deal. I replaced my unsweetened soymilk (80 cals/cup) with unsweetened almond milk (35-40 cals/cup) or unsweetened flaxseed milk (25 cals/cup, lots of Omega 3).
4. Have a collection of good vegetable oils to cook with. I typically have at least 4-5 types on hand: a good organic canola oil (rich in Omega 3, unlike olive oil) for regular sautéing; a good (expensive, but worth it!) olive oil to drizzle over salads; a bottle of sesame oil (excellent in Asian-inspired dishes); a good truffle oil (olive oil infused with truffles, great for a finishing touch); and some oil sprays (like Pam, preferably the organic canola or olive oil sprays) – keeps your calories in check at times, easier to deal with in certain dishes or recipes. Have some good vinegars around, as well – but go easy on the balsamic or just eliminate it altogether.
5. Have a good collection of spices to work with—flavored salts (I love, love LOVE flavored salts, especially smoked sea salt, which I use all the time), peppers (cayenne, red, black, etc.), and herbs, dried or not. I keep a small herb garden on my kitchen windowsill—basil, parsley, oregano, rosemary, nothing spectacular, but very useful in a pinch.
6. Keep your refrigerator stocked with good dips: baba ghanoush (try a lighter version); hummus (there are some hummuses lower in calories – figure out which ones you like, or make your own); harissa (very spicy, excellent Middle-Eastern pepper dip); guacamole (buy a good, fresh version, like the one sold at Whole Foods—anything heavily processed is lousy; or make your own); tzatziki (which you can make yourself with fat free Greek yogurt, cucumber, and dill); chimichurri; salsa; pesto (especially the vegan pesto—again, you can make this yourself if you have a food processor); etc. Make sure you keep some condiments around as well (soy sauce, lemon and/or lime juice, mustard. Get rid of the ketchup. Too much sugar!).
7. Keep some cut veggies around for a quick snack or impromptu meal when you have no time to cook—a bag of baby carrots, celery sticks, pepper strips, broccoli and cauliflower florets, snap peas, cherry tomatoes, you get the idea. You can buy these pre-cut from your grocery store, if you’re short on time. Eat them with any of the previously mentioned dips.
8. Keep your pantry stocked with nuts and flaxseed. Buy some of those small plastic snack baggies and weigh 1-oz bags of nuts (mixed or not) ahead of time, perhaps on a weekend, so you can grab them on the fly during the week for a mid-afternoon snack.
9. Keep healthy snacks around—I am partial to Brad’s Raw Leafy Kale and I haven’t met a seaweed snack I don’t like.
10. Get a cold-brewing tea pitcher and prepare your green tea ahead of time. I make a quart, and when it’s nice and cool, I pour it into a water bottle (BPA free, naturally), and make another. This way I can grab the bottle of cold green tea whenever for quick hydration!
11. Keep your pantry supplied with protein powder (whey or soy-based, and flavored is ok—I order mine in 5 or 10-lb bags from Amazon) and cocoa powder, and experiment with things like chia and hemp seeds (milled).
12. Consider investing in some kitchen equipment if you haven’t done so already: a food mill (a simple coffee mill will do the job just fine), possibly an herb mill if you like blending herbs, a good blender, a food processor, a kitchen scale, and some non-stick frying and baking dishes.
13. Hit the farmers’ markets—learn when and where they are and stock up on fresh veggies and fruits. Even try new things. Why not! Variety is the spice of life.

–  Cristina Hanganu-Bresch, http://www.lipomachia.wordpress.com

A SANE Success Story by Ryan Mangipano

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of spending a few days in New Orleans with my family for my awesome brother’s wedding. The drive from Dallas to New Orleans takes me about 10 hours (or 8 if my wife is driving!). However, past road trips have often resulted in me gaining a lot of non-muscular weight. In the weeks leading up to the trip, I started planning ways to try to increase the SANEity of my trip. I have a large family and we enjoy eating on the rare occasions that we are all able to get together. Therefore, I figured that I would eat out several times during the trip. However, I suspected that with a bit of planning, I might be able to improve the ratio of SANE vs. inSANE foods consumed.

I purchased an ice chest and filled it full of SANE foods. I bought plastic cups, spoons, and paper towels. I ordered several healthy snack selections online and had them shipped to my door. I filled up 2 thermoses with black coffee, bought a case of bottled water, and 4 jugs of unsweetened tea. I booked a hotel that had a full kitchen with a refrigerator, a workout machine that had a heavy weight stack, and a pool in case the weather was nice. Along the way, me and Justin recorded a short video showing all the SANE foods we brought along.

Day 1: We left on Wednesday. Before the road trip, I consumed all SANE meals at home and at work. I left in the evening. It was about a ten hour drive from Dallas to New Orleans. I was able to avoid eating out during the entire day. Every 3 hours, we snacked on the veggies and healthy fats in the ice chest. To get my 30 grams of protein each meal, I consumed whey, Greek yogurt, Quest Bars, and Nicks Sticks (grass fed beef jerky sticks). At night when we arrived we made a meal that contained only SANE foods. However, after preparing the plates (see the attached picture), I realized that I didn’t include any veggies in this meal (don’t tell Jonathan!). SANITY grade for the day: A+

Want To Stay SANE On The Road?

Day 2: I woke up and ate some celery and kale. I headed downstairs for the hotel breakfast. I wasn’t sure how well this would work out since the selection of SANE foods is often limited at hotel buffets. I ate a hard boiled egg, a cheese omelet, an orange, ½ an apple, and a black coffee. I’m not sure if the omelet had any insane oil (or even flour) in it. After this, we swam in the pool for a while. I ate a SANE lunch full of lots of Kale, broccoli, natural peanut butter, whey protein, flax, etc. My brother had a rehearsal dinner that night at a very nice restaurant. I figured this would be my first inSANE meal of the trip. When the menu arrived, I felt like it was a quiz asking me to select the SANEst option. The menu is pictured below. Can you guess what I ordered?

 

I had the Filet. Unfortunately, I did eat each course including the bread pudding desert and the Parmesan Risotto. I also drank half a beer and a very small glass of Wine. Those crab cakes were so good! That night, I used the hotel fitness center to lift some heavy weights. I followed this up with one last SANE meal post-workout meal. SANITY grade for the day: B- (since I went pretty inSANE during one meal and all other meals were sane)

Day3: I skipped the hotel breakfast buffet (actually overslept through it!) and ate a SANE breakfast from the foods I brought along.

 

The hotel puts oranges out so I supplemented my meals with an orange at times. We had plans to meet for lunch at a seafood restaurant. I went totally inSANE and had a fried shrimp and oyster 12” po-boy.

This was due to the fact that I grew up in New Orleans and that was one of my favorite foods. And now that I live in Texas, you simply cannot get the same type of sandwich where I live. For a side, I got the steamed veggies. I also had an unsweetened tea. All of my other meals were SANE for this day. We also spent a lot of time at the hotel pool. Justin gave me a C- SANE grade for the day: (due to the po-boy and breaded/fried seafood being so inSANE)

Day4: After a SANE breakfast (made up of more of the foods that were in the ice chest video), I decided to return to the seafood restaurant again for lunch. However, this time I ordered a dozen raw oysters, an unsweetened tea, and a side of steamed veggies. This helped me to stay SANE.

 

This was also the day of the wedding. My brother must have been thinking of me when planning the menu. There was brisket, pork, and an assortment of raw vegetables. I had 1 beer on this day also. After the wedding, we ate at waffle house. I got my usual inSANE order of a 3 egg greasy cheesesteak omelet, grits, and a side of wheat toast, coffee, 2% milk. What do you think my SANEity grade should be for this day? I gave myself a D+; Justin gives me a B+.

Day5: I showed up at a my parents’ house with a bouquet of Kale.

 

My mom wasn’t sure what I had, so I took a bit of it. She wasn’t sure what to make of me eating a bunch of strange greens. I tried to give some tiny pieces of kale to my brother’s young children, but they complained that it was too bitter (and then ran for the cookies). My mom still makes fun of me walking around with a bouquet of kale. Mom, I took this picture just for you! We had plans to eat out with my Uncle that night at a restaurant. I was able to get a Steak, salad without dressing, and cabbage. They agreed to hold the sauce and butter off any meals. So, I stayed SANE during this meal. I worked out again and snacked on foods from my SANE stash back at the hotel. A+ for a totally SANE day.

Day6: We travelled back on Monday. I ate SANE all day except for when we stopped at a gas station. The best option was to get a small link of sausage and then snack on some blueberries and other sane foods in the truck. Almost every meal this day had quest bars, raw nuts, and nick’s beef sticks. Chewing kale and celery often takes a long time, but when driving, you can eat a lot of it. SANE Grade A-

Overall, I feel the trip was a success. I ate out several times; however, only three occasions were very inSANE. Considering that I eat every 3 hours whenever possible, this is a large percentage of the meals. I consumed very little alcohol, visited the hotel weight room, and ate a fair amount of veggies. Most meals had 30+ grams of protein. I ate frequently; I avoided fast food. I feel that this was worth the effort. We are in the process of planning a family vacation. I will try this stategy again for that trip. However, I will be taking a flight tomorrow to Washington for a few days of training. This will surely be more difficult and I have yet to do any planning!