Vegan meals ?

[iccanui]

Well i been tinkering with the idea of going vegetarian for a while now and i think im gonna give it a go. Now i dont expect to hold right away to a pure vegan diet. In fact, from what i have heard its unhealthy to just go straight vegan ( no meat at all ) with out proper vitamin supplements and since i dont know a think about that, i figured i would start poking around on just light weight food.

Now, one meal that i am sticking to right now is fish ( love that mahi mahi ) and broccoli or lettuce for my main stay of food. I figure im getting my omega-3's and staying light on the fat intake cause a side goal here is to loose weight, but the main goal is to over all change my eating habits. So first question is, is a diet of mostly fish and lettuce and broccoli healthy or am i going over board and starving myself of important vitamins and whatever else.

Secondly, is there is super healthy meals that you enjoy? Like i said, im trying to get back in shape, im exercising and im just trying to match healthy eating with the physical aspect. So im looking for reasonable portioned meals and if you can a short break down as to why what your eating is healthy ( not a requirement though )

I know i should be on a veggie forum or a health fitness forum, but its a bit daunting atm, so i thought i would start here first :)

Thnx a bunch !

[masherscf]

You go for it, dude. BTW, a Vegan diet contains no animal derived food whatsoever. This includes diary, eggs, animal fats, toenails... nothing.

I could never do it myself. Good luck.

[tokenuser]

Very few vegetarians are totally vegan, and to be honest it not something I could do ... however I have cut red meat out of my diet, except the occassional steak/prime rib when I go out. Protein for me tend to be turkey, chicken, or fish - each of which are lean, high quality protein sources that the body either uses for muscle or just "eliminates".

Tonight we had a barely risotto with pan grilled chicken pieces. Very low fat, barley is a great high fibre grain, and it was loaded with garlic, peas, leeks, and onion (and a generous dose of white wine).

Low cal, low fat, hih fibre... everything your nutritionist tells you is good.

[iccanui]

Yea, i dont know if i can make the full vegan swing. But hey, never know till you try right ? It might turn out to be just what my body has been seeking.

That sounds like a good meal Token. Where did you get your knowledge on nutrition? I wanna really learn a lot about it so i know what im putting in my body when i eat it. I already find myself measuring out things in what its worth, not how it tastes. Like this morning i had fish and broccoli and as i sprinkled pepper on i found myself thinking " and theres some antioxidants ", not " pepper mmm " or something.

So yea, where did you learn all you know ?

[tokenuser]

Yea, i dont know if i can make the full vegan swing. But hey, never know till you try right ? It might turn out to be just what my body has been seeking.

That sounds like a good meal Token. Where did you get your knowledge on nutrition? I wanna really learn a lot about it so i know what im putting in my body when i eat it. I already find myself measuring out things in what its worth, not how it tastes. Like this morning i had fish and broccoli and as i sprinkled pepper on i found myself thinking " and theres some antioxidants ", not " pepper mmm " or something.

So yea, where did you learn all you know ?Not so much "learning" as "experiences". My brain is a sponge, and I soak up useless trivia. Cooking is something I enjoy, and over time I have learnt a lot of food facts and healthy eating habits (which I unfortunately ignore most of the time).

I do have a number of cookbooks I refer to frequently though, and they have been a great source of culinary inspiration - specifically any cookbook produced by The Australian Women's Weekly. Seriously, they have been producing cookbooks since my mother was a girl, and they are really really good. Current favourite is the "Slim" cookbook (thats the one where I got the Barely Risotto recipe from). The titles rotate in and out based on popularity and culinary and diet trends, but here is the current list (http://www.magshop.com.au/Australian_Womens_Weekly_Cookbooks_Books.htm).