Vegetarianism and Performing at a top level of dance, skating

[Violet Bliss]

I would also caution against products and meals intended to mimic things you are eliminating. Products often have additives a lot less healthy than what you are trying to eliminate. For example, we are cautioned against salt substitutes. In all cases, read labels!

I find it interesting that when many people try to eat better, they still want to eat the same things, just with a different label, e.g. low fat/carb/sugar/whatever, organic, vegan, etc. so they eat substitutes. But junk is junk, worse if chemical substitutes are used, such as fake sugars and artificial flavours. Labeling is just a marketing tool by the same junk producers and promoters. Better to learn to eat healthy and delicious by learning about and eating different foods and cuisines.

Listen to your body. When making big changes, odd symptoms may mean you have inadvertently given yourself some kind of diet deficiency. If it feels bad, something is not right. Talk to your doctor or nutritionist. But sometimes initial symptoms may not be painful, just odd, like excess fatigue, changes in hair or nails, or such. Don't ignore changes. Again, talk to your doctor or nutritionist.

If you change your diet to a really healthy one, you may experience healing crises, especially if you also lose body fat. A lot of toxins you have consumed are stored in your fat cells, which function as a warehouse to keep these toxins from circulating and harming you. That's why many people get fat, and they can't get rid off of the fat no matter how they try to lose weight by eating less but not better. When your health improves, your intelligent body knows it's safe to release some of the stored toxins because your body can now handle and eliminate them. Your skin may break out or a healing crisis occurs when you feel discomfort or ill, usually for just a few days. Basically you may reverse the journey and symptoms to poor health and/or weight gain. Learn about healing crises and how they feel different from actual illnesses and don't get off a healthy diet and way of life. Well, first learn what is really a healthy diet and way of life, which is most likely not just substituting a certain ingredient in your current diet unless it's an allergy.

Eat better, eat less. You and the world will be better off.

 

[fuzzymarmot]

This thread got me interested in rereading Steph Davis's blog (she's the vegan rock climber I mentioned earlier).
http://www.highinfatuation.com/blog/category/veganism/

It turns out that she recommends Matt Frasier's No Meat Athlete site.
http://www.nomeatathlete.com/vegetarian-diet-athletes/

Their level of athleticism and performance go well beyond anything I do, so I can't personally vouch for their approaches to diet and high-level training. But I admire Steph Davis, and she admires Matt Frasier, so you might want to have a look at their websites. (Like I said, I'm active, but not at a level where I have dietary requirements that are any different from those of a normal, healthy person. I get enough protein simply by eating the foods I happen to like. But a high-level athlete might need to be much more conscious about this than I am, especially one who's still a teenager.)

 

[Buttercup]

I think we're on the same page, Buttercup. :agree:

The kind of "picky" eating I had intended to flag was the kind where people eliminate way too many food sources. For example, I've known vegetarians who don't like vegetables.

I am a big fan of one-pot dishes. Unlike your grandmother (and mine), I guess I am too lazy to put in a huge effort on a daily basis, but I like my food fresh. Salads and soups are also a big part of my diet.

How people can dislike all vegetables is a mystery to me. I'm Israeli, and most of us get miserable without access to good produce; I don't think there are many other countries where salads are a breakfast food (also a lunch food, and a dinner food ). It's very easy to eat well as a vegetarian/vegan here.

 

[thoakun]

I am a big fan of one-pot dishes. Unlike your grandmother (and mine), I guess I am too lazy to put in a huge effort on a daily basis, but I like my food fresh. Salads and soups are also a big part of my diet.

How people can dislike all vegetables is a mystery to me. I'm Israeli, and most of us get miserable without access to good produce; I don't think there are many other countries where salads are a breakfast food (also a lunch food, and a dinner food ). It's very easy to eat well as a vegetarian/vegan here.

People can be very conservative about what they cook and eat. How do I teach my Vietnamese parents to eat hummus ? I wasn't a fan of vegetables and didn't know that there're more than one way to cook veggies until I was introduced ti Middle Eastern cuisine. Just looking at the photos of Israeli breakfast make me drool. I'm not a cereal or oatmeal kind of person so this look awsome, bright and fresh-looking.

 

[Buttercup]

I'm a very bad Israeli: I don't like humus. Chickpeas, yes, but not the spread. Also no to tahini. But falafel and salad are delicious and the breakfast really is pretty great!

 

[fuzzymarmot]

My husband is Jewish, I'm Chinese-American, and our cooking at home tends to be a mashup. Like, if we have kids, they'll grow up thinking it's normal to make matzo ball soup in a shiitake-ginger broth. I feel like there's a lost generation in between our food-is-love grandmothers and our working (or dieting) moms. We gained way more than we lost by having working moms, but we're also having to rebuild on our own a food culture that's compatible with modern lifestyles. So... yeah. There's a lot we won't be able to pass on, but hopefully what we do pass on will be sustainable.

 

[Buttercup]

My husband is Jewish, I'm Chinese-American, and our cooking at home tends to be a mashup. Like, if we have kids, they'll grow up thinking it's normal to make matzo ball soup in a shiitake-ginger broth. I feel like there's a lost generation in between our food-is-love grandmothers and our working (or dieting) moms. We gained way more than we lost by having working moms, but we're also having to rebuild on our own a food culture that's compatible with modern lifestyles. So... yeah. There's a lot we won't be able to pass on, but hopefully what we do pass on will be sustainable.

Fusion is fun

GS doesn't have a like option, but I've really enjoyed your posts in this thread!

 

[anyanka]

I just want to thank all the contributors who follow a vegan / vegetarian diet for all of the great tips, insights and recommendations. I love coming to a place that's a knowledgeable group and not a dumping ground for knee-jerk opinions on social media. Also, I'm really craving curries right now so I'm lifting ideas from you guys.

 

[Violet Bliss]

I just want to thank all the contributors who follow a vegan / vegetarian diet for all of the great tips, insights and recommendations. I love coming to a place that's a knowledgeable group and not a dumping ground for knee-jerk opinions on social media. Also, I'm really craving curries right now so I'm lifting ideas from you guys.

Great idea. Curcumin in curry is great for your health and weight control. :agree:

I put apples in my curry. Unorhtodox but tasty. I used to also make a salad with carrots, apples and raisins with some mayonnaise/yogurt and curry powder.

 

[peg]

Great idea. Curcumin in curry is great for your health and weight control. :agree:

I put apples in my curry. Unorhtodox but tasty. I used to also make a salad with carrots, apples and raisins with some mayonnaise/yogurt and curry powder.

Curry and apples are great together! I'm not vegetarian, but a lunch really like is mixing tuna with yogurt and curry and then dicing apples and putting it all into a wrap.

 

[Mrs. P]

Great idea. Curcumin in curry is great for your health and weight control. :agree:

I put apples in my curry. Unorhtodox but tasty. I used to also make a salad with carrots, apples and raisins with some mayonnaise/yogurt and curry powder.

I made an apple beer cheese soup once. It was DELICIOUS!

Count me in with the curry crowd. The local lunch spot/bakery around the corner from my work makes a delicious Kaboca squash vegan curry. Super handy when you're Catholic and you don't feel like Fish on Fridays during Lent.

 

[anyanka]

Great idea. Curcumin in curry is great for your health and weight control. :agree:

I put apples in my curry. Unorhtodox but tasty. I used to also make a salad with carrots, apples and raisins with some mayonnaise/yogurt and curry powder.

I'm not actually a vegetarian but I do like incorporating non-meat options since it varies my diet and palette, and I like eating cleaner whenever possible. Apples with curry is fantastic. I actually use it as a potato substitute since so many curries are made with potato and then served with rice or naan. That's too many carbs and I find I get bloated and sleepy (plus my trainer, who is all about the Paleo, makes me suffer for it afterward). Apples react similarly I find if slow-cooked so that it takes on the flavour of the spices it's immersed in, it's more nutritious, and it adds a little extra sweetness to the sauce without resorting to refined sugars. I like gala or ambrosia apples in my curry. A splash of chili oil works well with it too!

I like your idea of the salad with those fruits with yogurt.

I've just added all these to my weekend grocery shopping list. Huzzah!!

 

[Mrs. P]

I'm not actually a vegetarian but I do like incorporating non-meat options since it varies my diet and palette, and I like eating cleaner whenever possible. Apples with curry is fantastic. I actually use it as a potato substitute since so many curries are made with potato and then served with rice or naan. That's too many carbs and I find I get bloated and sleepy (plus my trainer, who is all about the Paleo, makes me suffer for it afterward). Apples react similarly I find if slow-cooked so that it takes on the flavour of the spices it's immersed in, it's more nutritious, and it adds a little extra sweetness to the sauce without resorting to refined sugars. I like gala or ambrosia apples in my curry. A splash of chili oil works well with it too!

I like your idea of the salad with those fruits with yogurt.

I've just added all these to my weekend grocery shopping list. Huzzah!!

Also thankfully in Washington state we've moved on from those wormy Red Delicious varieties (It used to be like 60 percent of the apples grown here, yikes!!). I love the variety of apples at my supermarket. My personal fave is Pink Lady/Cripps Pink for a more tart flavor and Fujis when I'm feeling like something on the sweeter side.

 

[dorispulaski]

I love Cortlands and Russets in the fall. They don't have a super shelf life, so this time of year, I buy other varieties. Come November, Jonagolds are quite good. McIntosh are better this time of year than they are in the fall. Believe it or not, there are quite a few apple orchards here in CT, so I tend to put local apples in many dishes where they don't necessarily seem to fit. They are great in curries and salads and also in oatmeal.

 

[fuzzymarmot]

GS doesn't have a like option, but I've really enjoyed your posts in this thread!

Likewise, Buttercup!

As for curry and apples... my husband makes a great dish of apples, onions, and kale sauteed in olive oil with curry powder. Simple yet delicious. One of my fondest memories as a kid growing up in CT was picking apples at a local orchard. We'd spend all day outdoors, eating and picking, and come home with these huge bags of apples. I loved it.

 

[dorispulaski]

We do something similar with cabbage, garam masala, onions, celery, and apples.

Apples also work well with homemade sauerkraut and onions.

 

[matcha]

Great idea. Curcumin in curry is great for your health and weight control. :agree:

I put apples in my curry. Unorhtodox but tasty. I used to also make a salad with carrots, apples and raisins with some mayonnaise/yogurt and curry powder.

Dates and curries are a match made in heaven, particularly the medjool variety. What a treat.

 

[dorispulaski]

Dates and curries are a match made in heaven, particularly the medjool variety. What a treat.

We will have to try that

 

[Violet Bliss]

Dates and curries are a match made in heaven, particularly the medjool variety. What a treat.

Hmmm, I haven't tried dates but I do use raisins. I guess I like some sweetness in my curry even though I don't have a sweet tooth.

I separate the raisins from my trail mix because I avoid eating fat and simple carbs together. And raisins in trail mixes are not so great. So I soak them in red wine, a deviation from the arthritis cure of golden raisins in gin. It's a treat from raisins and wine that I don't like.

 

[el henry]

We do something similar with cabbage, garam masala, onions, celery, and apples.

Apples also work well with homemade sauerkraut and onions.

One of the best ever, fast, veggie (even vegan) meals: sauerkraut, apple chunks and golden raisins simmered with tofurkey beer brats. Carrots and green beans on the side. Aaaah. (One advantage to living in quasi-Pennsylvania Dutch country is there is no need to make sauerkraut. The "fresh" sauerkraut for sale here is excellent, approved even by my mother-in-law who remembered going out to the sauerkraut barrel at her family farm in North Dakota to fetch the kraut).

Also thankfully in Washington state we've moved on from those wormy Red Delicious varieties (It used to be like 60 percent of the apples grown here, yikes!!). I love the variety of apples at my supermarket. My personal fave is Pink Lady/Cripps Pink for a more tart flavor and Fujis when I'm feeling like something on the sweeter side.

You are so lucky to be in Washington state for apples. Sweetangos: best hybird ever. Lady Alice/Ambrosia (I think Pink Lady is part of their ancestry) not far behind.