|
|
| Hi All,
I am new to the board and new to yoga...Took my first Bikram class today and loved it...This is also giving me the desire to eat more healthy. I have been reading a lot and notice yoga also preaches a 'vegan or vegatarian' diet...Any of you switch over to vegatarian after you started yoga? |
|
| |
|
| You know, I don't really remember which came first, yoga, or vegetarianism. I do remember eating meat once upon a time as I was born into a family of carnivores, but both yoga and vegetarianism have been a part of my life for such a long time, I can't quite recall! Was it because of yoga I became a vegetarian, or was it because of vegetarianism I became a yogini? I guess you have the chicken and egg phenomenon w/ me.
Anyway, vegetarianism is a yogic practice, so if you are a vegetarian, but don't practice asana work, technically, you can be considered a yogi or yogini. That is considered doing yoga (to me anyway). |
|
| |
|
Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
  
Location: A Blue State | Yoga has moved me a few steps closer to vegetarianism. Since yoga, I've given
up on eating beef (not hard to do, by the way...beef is disgusting...) and I've
given up pork (which means being careful of Chinese food and other sundry concoctions).
I do find that I like the the protein that I get from [almost daily] chicken, but the
real barrier is that it's hard to find a nourishing vegetarian meal when I'm at work.
Everything is fast food! At home, we don't eat much meat.
|
|
| |
|
| I want to become vegetarian but hate beans/pulses/lentils. And I need some recipes for very fast easy to cook meals. Any vegetarians out there with ideas ? |
|
| |
|
| bomberpig - 2004-11-19 8:20 PM
I want to become vegetarian but hate beans/pulses/lentils. And I need some recipes for very fast easy to cook meals. Any vegetarians out there with ideas ?
have you tried cooking with tsp (textured soy protein)? use it in place of meat in recipes. you can be a veg without eating pulses. you can get protein from many other sources.
what are the things you do like to eat? start from there and try to veganize those recipes.
tell us what you eat now and maybe we can come up with some "fast veg" recipes for you.
|
|
| |
|
| I'm an ovo-lacto vegetarian which I believe is the most common type - folks who eat eggs & dairy products but no meat. On the rare occasion I'll eat seafood so as not to inconvenience people too much, but on a daily basis I usually opt for fruits, salads, veggie chili, soups, baked potatoes, quiche, yogurts, etc.
I've noticed that some people like to cook meat-like meals with substitutes, i.e. tofu, tempeh, saitan, etc. and others like to make full-on veggie meals that aren't based on traditional meat based recipies. You should try to figure out which way you lean and buy a cook book that caters to your tastes. Of course, there's plenty of great recipes online. |
|
| |
|
| "I need some recipes for very fast easy to cook meals. Any vegetarians out there with ideas ?"
I'm not a vegetarian but several members of my family and many of my friends are, so I've had to learn to adapt many of my recipes with them in mind. Americanized style italian and mexican foods are very easy to adapt, as well as quick to prepare. Especially when I'm making a meal where I've got some of each over. It probably helps that the vegetarians in the group do eat dairy and eggs. Anyways, something like quesadeas(sp?) goes over well with our group. Just take some fajita shells, add butter to the pan, put the shell in, add whatever ingredients you like, spinach, mushrooms, onions, olives, cheese...fold in half and lightly brown. Kinda like an omelet. Add some refried beans on the side and you've got a quick meal. For italian, you can make a basic marinara sauce that's very useful for just about any italian meal. Pizza, for example, is another easy one, that way everyone can customize their own. Asparagus is quite yummy on a pizza, for the record. You can also use that same marinara sauce to make all sorts of other things, from eggplant parmesan, to veggie lasagna(try adding shredded carrots and spinach in place of meat), ravioli, manicotti... Just about all those can be done without meat. Then of course there is always stir fry's, just let your imagination run wild with different combinations of sauces and ingredients. Oh and don't forget soups, lot's and lot's of options there. Tomato soup, corn/potato chowder, cream soups(zucchini, mushroom, celery...), french onion...
Just trying to give ya some ideas, it's not as hard as you think once you get started. But you don't like beans? With so many different varieties and methods of preperation, surely there is something you could find that you'd like?
Geez, I'm starting to feel like Martha Stewart or something...I'd better get out of here!!
Be Well |
|
| |
|
|
i was ovo/lacto vegetarian before yoga, but i've definitely taken to noticing what i put in my body much more often than before yoga. since i practice at night, it's totally affected my dinners- i've gone from having a large meal dinner to a small snack w/ protien & /or carbs 2-3 hours before class and then a light snack after class. i've noticed many of my friends who have been veggie for years have become grazers who just snack constantly throughout the day from the various food groups instead of having large meals at all.
bomberpig there are tons of wonderful internet resources for the vegetarian curious- try vegweb.com to start.  i suggest talking to your doctor and doing some research on nutritional needs for vegetarians also- you'll be better off than me- i started on a solid diet of bagels, pizza, pasta, mexican fast food, tofu and friench fries. totally clueless. i felt awful and quit several times before i figured out what i needed to be healthy. |
|
| |
|
| Thanks sirensong, that website is pretty interesting. I eat chicken mostly because when I am tired from work and hungry I can usually whip up some chicken dish without thinking too much. My standard is chicken fillet coated with Cajun spice fried on a griddle on a bed of salad - takes less than 10 minutes to cook. I think I just need some stock vegetarian recipes in my head but shall keep looking. |
|
| |
|
Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
Location: A Blue State |
Seems like my biggest meal of the day is usually lunch. Then nada
till I finish my practice in the evening, followed by a light dinner.
That's all yoga feeding back into my eating habits.
|
|
| |
|
| There are many questions new vegetarians need sensible answers to. There is an excellent article which answers many of the "whys" and "hows" of vegetarianism and spiritual life. The address is: http://www.atmajyoti.org/sw_spir_benefits_veg_diet.asp I highly recommend this. |
|
| |
|
| Welcome to the forums Swami Tarakananda--look forward to your future postings--all the vegetarian talk has me wanting a big ole salad now--with a beer of course. |
|
| |
|
| i was wondering what the us veggies on this forum had for thanksgiving dinner??
|
|
| |
|
| TOFURKEY  |
|
| |
|
| I haven't eaten beef or pork in over 8 years although I do eat poultry and fish a lot. I would probably eat more vegi meals if it was easier. It seems that if you want something other than a salad or pasta it takes a lot more time. What I need is a cookbook for time starved vegetarians. Something that maybe uses frozen vegetables and simple store bought sauces for tofu. (Alas, my tofu dishes never taste good). I know there are frozen dinners out there but I'm talking quick home cooked meals. |
|
| |
|
| dear caselyn:
If you eat frozen veges, you are not going to get the benefit of being vegetarian. Let me send you a simple recipe and you can make hundreds of variations using this idea.
take any ONE grain, say brown rice or barley or oat groats or sprouted wheat or quinoa or whatever
add 1/3rd of above any ONE bean, say black or lima or brown lentil or yellow lentil or mung bean, etc.
add water 1 inch above the grain level
heat to boil and then reduce heat to min and cover with a lead. Wait until fully cooked.
Add sufficient spices, already prepared, a mixture you get in Indian Grocery Store, salt, raw olive oil, and enjoy this with salad.
Neel Kulkarni
www.authenticyoga.org
|
|
| |
|
| Yum! That sounds pretty good, Neel. Maybe I'll make some tonight to have alongside my turkey burger! |
|
| |
|
| Neel you mentioned you don't get the same benefits with frozen veges. I am confused because there is a lot of stuff in the news here about how the vitamin content of frozen veges may in fact be higher than fresh veges, because they were frozen fresh whereas the 'fresh veges' in the store may actually have been sitting around in back of trucks for days. What do you think of that argument ?
Anyway off shopping for grains and beans...  |
|
| |
|
Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
Location: A Blue State | Neel --- That sounds great!
Give us some more recipes!
|
|
| |
|
Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
Location: A Blue State | caseylane - 2004-11-30 3:35 PM
I haven't eaten beef or pork in over 8 years although I do eat poultry and fish a lot. I would probably eat more vegi meals if it was easier. It seems that if you want something other than a salad or pasta it takes a lot more time. What I need is a cookbook for time starved vegetarians. Something that maybe uses frozen vegetables and simple store bought sauces for tofu. (Alas, my tofu dishes never taste good). I know there are frozen dinners out there but I'm talking quick home cooked meals.
Your diet and problem finding food sounds like mine! |
|
| |
|
| More Recipes:
Actually, I wanted to reduce the time for food preparation. But, in case you want more recepies:
soak the garbanzo beans in water overnight to make the soft. Then throw the water and eat them with diced tomato and onions if you like them. If you want to add spices, or condiments, sprinkle them on this while eating.
Arguement about Frozen VS Non-Frozen Veges Value:
Veges when frozen can have more value when compared with the Stale non frozen veges. That was the original reason why they started freezing them. However, when compared with the freshly picked veges, there is NOTHING which can compare after they are processed in any way including cooking, cutting, baking, freezing, frying/sauting, drying, whatever.
Now, when one buys frozen veges, one shall notice that the actual veges content is more expensive. In fact, frozen veges are also transported in the same way as the fresh veges, I mean adding to the cost of transportation. Also, Frozen Veges many times contain preservatives such as salt making it worse for health.
Thus, considering a certain budget, one should fresh veges as compared to the Frozen of the same price. Frozen Veges Industry makes more money than the Fresh Veges Industry. And, that is Unfortunate.
Neel Kulkarni
www.authenticyoga.org |
|
| |
|
| yoga is, in many ways, about cultivating prana (lifeforce) in the body, a yogic approach to eating would be to eat food that is as "alive" as possible--immediately after harvesting, for example, and not after freezing or storing.
this is from yoga journal.
this article is also useful :
http://www.yogajournal.com/health/1188_1.cfm?ctsrc=nlv128
|
|
| |
|
| so here is a recipe i love - it is not low fat but it is delicious!
1 cake "silken" tofu
3 tbsp grated giant white radish (daikon)
1/4 red pepper
2-3 chives
cornstarch
oil for deep frying
1/7 cup vegetable stock
2 tsps light soy sauce
1 tsp mirin sweet cooking sake
1) wrap the tofu in kitchen paper, place on a tray. ( i put weight on mine (complete works of william shakespeare works great!) leave it in the fridge for thirty minutes to eliminate moisture.
2) chop the pepper finely and mix with the daikon.
3) chop the chives.
4) cut the tofu in half, coat with cornstarch and deep fry in preheated oil. (after you coat the tofu you need to fry it immediately.)
5) place stock, soy sauce, and mirin in a pot and bring to a boil to make sauce.
6) place golden tofu in a bowl, pour on the sauce, garnish with daikon/pepper adn chives.
enjoy!!
or try this:
1 cake "cotton" tofu
salt & pepper
10 cherry tomatoes
1/4 onion
parsley
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp olive oil
basil leaves
1 tbsp olive oil
1) wrap the tofu in kitchen paper, place on a tray. ( i put weight on mine (complete works of william shakespeare works great!) leave it in the fridge for thirty minutes to eliminate moisture.
2) wash tomatoes and cut into halves, then quarters. pluck parsley leaves (you can just chop it), chop the onion fine and add the parsley.
3) put balsamic, soy sauce and 3 tbsp olive oil, tomatoes, and onion/parsley in a bowl and mix well.
4) cut the tofu in halves, season with salt and pepper.
5) heat 1 tbsp olive oil in skillet and fry both sides of tofu on medium heat until brown.
6) place tofu on a plate, pour on sauce and garnish with fresh basil leaves.
this one is yummy and it looks pretty too!
both recipes serve two people or one hungry one!
enjoy!
|
|
| |
|
| kulkarnn - 2004-11-30 8:05 PM
Arguement about Frozen VS Non-Frozen Veges Value:
Veges when frozen can have more value when compared with the Stale non frozen veges. That was the original reason why they started freezing them. However, when compared with the freshly picked veges, there is NOTHING which can compare after they are processed in any way including cooking, cutting, baking, freezing, frying/sauting, drying, whatever.
Neel Kulkarni
www.authenticyoga.org
Yes, I do buy from a local fruit stand on the way home in the summer. Still, when in a hurry, already sliced frozen veggies are great. Not to mention in the winter time (Michigan here) any fresh fruit or vegitables come from hundreds of miles away so they really aren't fresh at all.
I will try out your recipies though because they sound fairly easy and fast.
Edited by caseylane 2004-12-01 11:27 AM
|
|
| |
|
| I think EasternSun makes a great point about cooking with tofu. I, too, try to add more tofu to my diet but find that mastering the consistency is the main problem for me. I have had much more successful tofu enjoyment since I started really ringing out my tofu. I wrap mine in a kitchen towel, and place my big old Biochemistry book on it. I knew that class would be useful later in life
Amy |
|
| |
Vegetarians??
