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Vegetarian and Low carbing

lucylocket61

lucylocket61

Expert
Messages
6,394
Location
Wrexham
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Would others please share their experiences of a low carb diet as a vegetarian, and how successful it is for them? I am not that keen on meat, and love cheese and eggs and green veg.

any ideas, suggestions, success stories please?
 
I am pesceratian ( eat fish) as I also do not much like meat (although I will very occasionally eat a steak or bacon ) I am also dairy intolerant so I only very occasionally have any dairy which rules out LCHF staples like cheese and cream
I find it fairly easy to do low carb within these constraints, but then again Ive been doing it a long time and would admit it wasnt so easy to start with - took quite a bit of research and experimentation
.In terms of what I eat:-
I use eggs quite a lot - omelettes, frittatas, crustless quiches etc
I include soya in my diet - unsweetened soya milk, Smoked Tofu, Natto ( Japanese fermented soya beans) Im aware tho that soy has question marks against it for some people who find it inteferes with thyroid function - have a thyroid function test coming up so Ill see then if theres anything amiss
I eat a lot of nuts and nut butters - mainly almods, almond butter, brazils and hazelnuts. I also use nut flours in baking - mainly almond, hazelnut and coconut flours
I incorporate the following into dishes chia seeds, shiritaki / konjac rice & noodles, psyllium , and heba pap (south african LCHF staple) as low carb high fibre sources of (mainly) soluble fibre
I also eat a lot of berries, avocados and green veg so also make things like berry and chia seed puddings, jams, compotes etc as well as veg curries with shiritaki rice etc
I also use low carb pittas / wraps (josephs brand- and carbzone low carb bread so things like scrambled eggs, smoked salmon and 1 slice low carb toast appear on the menu
I eat Korean kimchi too - spicy fremented white radish or cabbage.
Also quite a few seeds - pumpkin, sunflower and toasted sesame seeds in particular. You can also make a flour from sunflower seeds
 
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Although not a vegetarian, through the long hot summer we just experienced, the first meal of my day was usually a big salad, boiled eggs, cheese, mixed salad, tomatoes, celery, radish, beetroot - just open the fridge and fill up a big bowl with everything - then add coleslaw or olive oil and vinegar dressing.
I am now going more for stir fries with mushrooms, sweet peppers courgettes or other low carb veges, with scrambled eggs with cheese grated into it then thinly sliced tomato put on top an covered over so it is warmed up as I drain off the veges - I eat my food very dry so most things with any juice get sieved before serving.
Another thing I like is half a cauliflower, steamed, then put into a dish, covered with cream cheese and then grated cheese - I like red Leicester. Place in the oven on a low heat to melt the cheese, but allow to cool before attempting to eat as it can be very hot inside.
 
Tofu is low carb and versatile.
@Mel dCP has a meat allergy and low carbs.
 
I eat pretty much all the stuff @Boo1979 does, although I’ve not tried natto or heba pap yet! I don’t have much soya, I prefer almond milk, and go through phases with tofu. I stick to 30g of carbs a day or less. I’m also allergic to cow dairy but sheep, goat and buffalo cheeses, cream and butter are fine. I get most of my protein from fish and eggs.
 
Where do you all sit with oil? I am somewhat new to oils in salad dressings, but I keep reading some people saying that olive oil heightens their BS numbers. I've never heard this until recently until the popularity of whole plant based diets but not sure if I just missed it earlier or not?
 
New2ThisType2 said:
Where do you all sit with oil? I am somewhat new to oils in salad dressings, but I keep reading some people saying that olive oil heightens their BS numbers. I've never heard this until recently until the popularity of whole plant based diets but not sure if I just missed it earlier or not?
Click to expand...
not heard of olive oil raising blood sugar levels before. It doesnt hurt mine. I have olive oil, butter, suet and thats about it.

link to info here:https://www.diabetes.co.uk/News/201...se-and-cholesterol,-study-finds-98468022.html
 
New2ThisType2 said:
Where do you all sit with oil? I am somewhat new to oils in salad dressings, but I keep reading some people saying that olive oil heightens their BS numbers. I've never heard this until recently until the popularity of whole plant based diets but not sure if I just missed it earlier or not?
Click to expand...
I mostly use olive oil for shallow frying and dressings or rapeseed for deep fat frying. For roast potatoes and veg etc I use a mix of rapeseed oil and dripping or, if I have some in the fridge, duck or goose fat.
 
Mel dCP said:
I eat pretty much all the stuff @Boo1979 does, although I’ve not tried natto or heba pap yet! I don’t have much soya, I prefer almond milk, and go through phases with tofu. I stick to 30g of carbs a day or less. I’m also allergic to cow dairy but sheep, goat and buffalo cheeses, cream and butter are fine. I get most of my protein from fish and eggs.
Click to expand...

Mel - I hate to be a bit of a potential harbinger, but have you done much reading on soy, with thyroid issues?

I must admit I avoid it, but then, I don't have anything like the allegies and the array of intolerances you do, so I could appreciate it if you felt you were in an "enough already" situation witht ehstuff you have to swerve.
 
DCUKMod said:
Mel - I hate to be a bit of a potential harbinger, but have you done much reading on soy, with thyroid issues?

I must admit I avoid it, but then, I don't have anything like the allegies and the array of intolerances you do, so I could appreciate it if you felt you were in an "enough already" situation witht ehstuff you have to swerve.
Click to expand...
I have borderline low thyroid, for years the tests have come back as low, but not low enough to treat. So when I went to see my GP again armed with a list of all my symptoms, including losing my hair, he agreed to “treat the patient, not the biochemistry” and prescribed me a low dose of thyroxine. It’s working a treat, I feel great and my hair is growing back :)

I don’t consume a great deal of soy, tbh. Tofu maybe once a month? I’ve knocked off all the Linda McCartney stuff as it wasn’t worth the carbs taste-wise. I’ll have the very occasional vegan burger or sausage, but again less than once a week - and they seem to be more pea protein based rather than soya. I tend to eat mainly fish, eggs, avocado and leaves :)
 
@lucylocket61 greetings! I am very new here and have only done LC since late August. I’ve been “mainly vegetarian, lacto-ovo-pesce variety” for 45 of my 66 years. I’ve also learned that cow dairy isn’t the best for my asthma. When my autistic son was an adolescent, I tried GFCF. I hadn’t eaten white bread EVER, my mother was “agin it” on principal, but baked desserts are one of the things I’ve had to say goodbye to for LC. I do the complementary protein thing with grains/seeds and nuts/cheese, and eat an egg for breakfast and egg whites with supper. I learned some good low carb bread recipes on here, and found La Tortilla Factory low carb tortillas on a place called Diatribe, where the editor, a wise 22-yr-old T1D, blogs cheerfully about his experiences.
I drink unadulterated soy milk but don’t go above 8 oz a day (and no tofu) because my mom’s breast cancer was estrogen receptor positive.
I looooove vegetables and fruit immoderately! I’ve had to restrict the starchy veg, and 5 fruits/day had to go too. Now each meal includes a veg (avocado for bfast is YUMMY!!) or 5, and I’m learning slowly through organized BG testing, what food does what, when. I’ve also reluctantly eaten more cheese, but the cream in my coffee is no problem at all! :hilarious:
I do eat turkey at American Thanksgiving, and chicken if I’m eating out and the fish on the menu doesn’t suit. I’ve discovered tinned sardines are delicious. And so convenient!

All that to say, I’ve yet to break my own type of vegetarian mode, and am feeling physically very well (and lost 20 lbs in just a few months) on LC Somewhat HF eating. Best of luck, Merry Christmas and Happy All Holidays!
 
lucylocket61 said:
not heard of olive oil raising blood sugar levels before. It doesnt hurt mine. I have olive oil, butter, suet and thats about it.

link to info here:https://www.diabetes.co.uk/News/201...se-and-cholesterol,-study-finds-98468022.html
Click to expand...


I have only just started using it in salad dressings and like yourself, I haven't yet noticed a spike from it but have seen so many people claim that it does, I had to question. Whether or not those people are just pushing an anti oil agenda, or are even diabetic themselves, I have not yet determined. I haven't any need for oils otherwise, nor even coconut oil so it's good to have others with low A1Cs confirm that it, in this case specifically, olive oil, isn't hurting them either.
 
I mostly use olive oil or avocado oil,. I occasionally use rice bran oil or coconut oil in cooking and hazelnut oil for a change in salad dressings . None of them have any impact on my sugars.
 
I use olive oil (usually extra virgin) all the time (salads and pouring over veg) to boost my calorie intake. I use a Libre and have never noticed a rise that I can attribute to the oil.
 
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