Questions for Vegetarians

[Kaere]

Yeah, fruit has sugar in it - but I think the fact that it's not refined sugar makes a difference. I don't know for sure though - diabetics have to be careful of eating fruit so ??? I figure if you can pick it off a tree or vine and eat it, how bad can it be for you?

But jeepers the amount of salt and sugar in processed foods is just insane. Especially fat-free stuff - take out the fat and load it up with salt and sugar to make it palatable. Blech.

today in my juicer i put broccoli carrots apples and cucumber. mmmmmm it was so good i drank it in about 10 minutes. if you put an apple or carrots in with some leafy greens it tastes very good too. a good way to get a large dose of raw veggies and fix your sweet tooth at the same time, not to mention how good it is for your digestive system to have juiced veggies.

today in my juicer i put broccoli carrots apples and cucumber. mmmmmm it was so good i drank it in about 10 minutes. if you put an apple or carrots in with some leafy greens it tastes very good too. a good way to get a large dose of raw veggies and fix your sweet tooth at the same time, not to mention how good it is for your digestive system to have juiced veggies.

I've been thinking about a juicer these last couple of days but was wondering how leafy greens would actually taste juiced, and whether a juicer would be worth the investment (some are very expensive). Your description of greens and fruit to sweeten it up sounds interesting. Thanks!

I had a veggie burger first the first time last night, grilled it while I grilled my wife's chicken. Other than being a bit bland it was actually ok and filling, especially with all the regular condiments I usually have on a burger like tomato, onion and lettuce.

Kaere, I agree. It seems like something picked off a tree could only be good for you. I recently had bloodwork done (annual company health fair) and all was good including blood sugar count so I wont worry too much about eating too much fruit for now.

Cal

[BlueSky]

If you get some time find a recipe for Homemade hummus veggies burgers. They are the bomb!

[innerlight]

Originally Posted by Cal

I've been thinking about a juicer these last couple of days but was wondering how leafy greens would actually taste juiced, and whether a juicer would be worth the investment (some are very expensive). Your description of greens and fruit to sweeten it up sounds interesting. Thanks!

I had a veggie burger first the first time last night, grilled it while I grilled my wife's chicken. Other than being a bit bland it was actually ok and filling, especially with all the regular condiments I usually have on a burger like tomato, onion and lettuce.

Kaere, I agree. It seems like something picked off a tree could only be good for you. I recently had bloodwork done (annual company health fair) and all was good including blood sugar count so I wont worry too much about eating too much fruit for now.

Cal

Juicing is fantastic, and I highly recommend it. It is a great way to get your servings of juice and veggies. Would veggies taste good juiced? It's a matter of how you feel about the whole veggie before you juice it that will help with that answer. I also think many will tell you to add in an apple. Carrots can be strong alone.

The only downside to juicing is that it can be expensive as you can go through a lot of fruit making one glass.

Cal, I can only speak for myself. I used to be a pure vegetarian for eight years, but I gradually introduced fish and it improved my quality of life greatly. On the other hand, I did not know then what I know now about nutrition, so maybe being a vegetarian again would be more plausible. The thing about fish is that it contains a lot of good fats. You can find those fats in alternatives, like hemp seeds for example, but most of the alternatives are more pricey or they offer amounts so negligible that you would have to consume greater quantities of the food item in order to get the proper daily dosage.

In my case, the blood-type diet fits my constitution perfectly. I am a protein-oriented person and I must integrate at least some animal protein or I will begin to suffer health problems. For some people though, the blood-type diet does not accurately reflect their needs.

I tend to have a little bit of fish every day or every second day now, and once or twice a week I will also consume some cooked, organic chicken. I do not need animal protein every day or in large quantities, but I do need it. The need becomes even greater in the winter.

I'm someone who is open to trying different dietary plans. Recently I tried going raw vegan for a couple of weeks. It definitely cleaned out my system, but I lost weight and my body's metabolism switched to a lower equilibrium, which is not something I enjoy over the long-term.

My advice for you would be to experiment. You can read a tonne of books and get opinions from others but ultimately you must listen to what your body is telling you, and be open to experimenting with different approaches to meet those needs. For example, I definitely have a high protein requirement, but that does not mean 100% of my protein comes from meat. Most of it comes from whole grains, nuts/seeds, and vegetables.

No matter what you end up doing, the key to overall success will be to know and understand individual food items... like the vegetables, fruits, etc., and what they can do for your body. Then you can consume them, and see for yourself if the theory applies to you or not. Over time, you build up a repertoire of knowledge of each individual food and how it works for you, and you can start to plan meals based on that.

Originally Posted by WhiteShaman

If you get some time find a recipe for Homemade hummus veggies burgers. They are the bomb!

i actually wanted to mention veg burgers and there are hundreds of recipes for them, if you Google it it will tell you witch ones can be grilled as some tend to dry out. and as for the juicer, i like drinking strait carrot juice and they are really cheep, a big bag is like $2.50 and it will make several glasses and turns out less than buying tropicana juice. apples are about $3. a bag and some veggies make less juice than others which can get expensive, but i look for whats on sale and sweeten it with an apple. i read to change it up as its not good to drink the same juice every day. if you want to start with a less expensive juicer to see if you like it then maybe you can try a hamilton beach one that is not so bad but i lucked out and found one used at a thrift store.

I have never tried hummus before but I did search the internet for veggie burger recipes and found quite a few interesting ones. I was thinking I needed a vegetarian cookbook but there's a lot on the internet.

Juicer sounds interesting and so does the apple idea to sweeten it up. I never was big on greens but I'm going to have to experiment a little. I had a mediterranean pizza last night that was really good with just cheese, spinach and olives.

I've only had meat once so far in the past 5 days. I had a few pieces of chicken with some pasta on Monday night. I actually felt really good the day after I had a little chicken and it's been the only day in the past 5 days I was 'normal' Things have been a bit loose, not sure if my body needs to take time to adjust or what. So far I haven't noticed any strength or wieght loss. I don't want to lose wieght.

Divine, you bring up some interesting points. I didn't think about blood types. I think I'm O positive. I noticed that doesn't show up on my results, just blood sugar, colosteral, prostate, and few other things. Very good advice about listening to our bodies. I also know I need to learn some nutrition 101.

Thanks to all for your suggestions and support. I really appreciate it.

Cal

your welcome cal, i wanted to add that you can make carrot cake out of the pulp left over from juicing, just another idea.

Yummy, I like carrot cake. Thanks again Mahakali

I was wondering lately what would happen if a majority of humans decided to become vegetarians. Would there be enough fruits and veggies in the world to cover that much need?