Vegetarian diabetics?

[sugar2]

Kind of!

Do you eat !quorn" products, they are low carb, so can be used in place of meat. The "success" or not of your diet is down to carb management, not whether it contains meat or animal slughtered products or not (I think anyway!)
I eat fish and gelatin...I think that is demi vegi? Not really bothered about the title myself.
Like others have said, teh reason why people consider vegi and diabetic as difficult is becasue of teh high carb nature of "some" vegi diets. If you are folowing a low carb approach, I guess teh easiest low carb meal is bacon and eggs...meat being carb free.
Personally, I wouldn't have thought that you will have a problem, but as other have said, it can get monotonous.

Good luck Spiral!

 

[curlyheadfreak]

hi, I have been vegetarian (no meat/fish) since I was 17 (I'm now 30) and I am now vegan 99% of the time bar the odd bit of cheese when eating out. because it's not always possible to get vegan and I don't mind the taste of some cheeses. I am type 1 rather than type 2 but my hbA1c is currently 5.9 and has always been between 5.9 and 6.3. I would never ever consider going back to eating meat!

And I do a low-er carb approach, i.e. I eat very few grains/starches and when I have them it is in small portions rather than the main basis of the meal. I eat a lot of salads with Quorn, tofu, nuts, seeds, avocados, pulses, coconut, oils eg coconut or olive, lots of fresh vegetable juices and a lot of fruit. I have the odd portion of brown rice or buckwheat or marmite rice cakes (yum!) and the odd junky treat of dark chocolate or crisps. Haven't had soya yogurt in a long while but that tastes good too if you put some fruit in it! If, like you, you're eating cheese and eggs and things as well I don't think you need to feel restricted at all doing a lower carb approach.

So yes, it's totally do-able. Apart from the diabetes I have no other medical issues, my cholesterol is around 3 and my BMI is 20, blood pressure etc all excellent.

 

[Spiral]

How lovely to meet you and how inspiring to see such good results :mrgreen: I have had quite a bit of negativity although not necessarily here.

I have reduced my carbs a lot and have dropped my HbA1c by 0.7% since diagnosis, but not enough, whatever my GP says about it being satisfactory and my cholesterol is too high, but I'm begining to think that all the carbs I used to eat were resinsible for that. But I'm gearing up to go low carb, I have eaten more eggs in the last few weeks than I have for years :shock: but overall, i am eating much better than I was.

I'm interested to find out how quickly you dropped from your numbers at diagnosis to what you have now? And how do you manage family meals?

 

[sugarless sue]

Spiral,Chocfish should be back on the board tomorrow and she will be a great help to you I hope.

 

[Spiral]

That's great. Moving the thread was the right thing to do. I was begining to think it was just me.

 

[theziggy]

Nice to meet some fellow vegetarians, also fellow diabetics (wish you weren't).

My cholesterol is not as low as my GP wants it although it has been steadily falling and my GP has given me 6 months to get it under 4. I want to avoid being put on long term meds (and their well documented side effects) if possible.

I have been put on an ACE inhibitor for lowering my blood pressure, and am in week 5 of it. They had prescribed ACE inhibitors for me before and I didn't take them and was following a breathing technique and when they tested me again (thinking I was taking the meds) they were so pleased with how well the drugs were working that they doubled the dose and I had to come clean and admit I wasn't taking any meds and instead of being happy that I had brought it down myself my GP went ballistic. So, somewhere along the line in the furore that happened I stopped the breathing exercises. Then the last time I was with the GP she took one (just one) blood pressure reading and put me on ACE inhibitors which she told me I would be on long-term. So I'm not to happy with that at the moment.

I eat quorn but not that often. I don't like tofu, or any mayonnaises or dressing and am allergic to certain nuts, so my diet has it's own inbuilt restrictions. But I am getting there. What I have learned about the Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load has helped.

Good to be here and soak up all your wisdom.

Ziggy

 

[ChocFish]

Hi lovely people, I have been a vegetarian for 36 years, used to eat the high carb stuff and loads of junk food too, diabetes taught me some sharp lessons though and I had to adapt, it was not so hard to do though, going low carb was a struggle, but finding low carb veggie meals was/is not so hard at all.

2 years ago I started eatng fish again, but am now back on track on vegtarian food only, and I feel so much better for it, though I still havent worked out whether this is because I have a clearer conscience or it really is a physical beneft? Then again mental and physical well being are linked.....

Anyway before I ramble I just wanted to say that I am a vegetarian too and it is nice to see more vegetarians in the forum.

All the best

Karen x

 

[theziggy]

Karen

Nice to hear from you. Are you Type 1 or 2, and if you're Type 2, are you on meds? How long have you had diabetes?

Where did you find your low carb veggie meals? To tell the truth I have quite a few low carb/ low GI veggie recipe books and don't like the look of any of the meals in them.

But, I'm quite happy tonight as I'm changing from my old Xceed Optimum monitor to the Aviva Nano and had one testing strip left and tested 2 hours after eating and it was 4.8 mmo/l (86 mg/dL). Funny, and a bit (well - very) sad, I've grown attached to the Xceed monitor.

Still wonderfully sunny in the town in the lough - Enniskillen.

Z

 

[Spiral]

i started off thinking about low GI, rather than low carb, but as time has passed I have found myself leaning more and more to low carb. Not quite sure whether I'd call myself a reduced carber or a low carber, as I'm not actually counting them, but I know I have significantly reduced them. I did my 7-day average today, after testing for just over a week and have come out at 6.4, lets hope this is something I cab sustain long term.

I'm not abandoning this thread, but reduced/low carb is the way I'm going, so I have started a vegetarian/vegan low carb thread downstairs, in the low carb forum, if anyone would care to join me there...

It is lovely to meet you all, and with such inspiring numbers 8) I have found this thread really supportive, it is reassuring that the scepticism can be coutered.

However, I'm still mulling over the "expense" of the veggie low carb or suitable veggie diabetic diet. My son isn't a vegetarian and he had (free range) chicken this evening with our BBQ, I was amazed at the cost :shock: . Do you think the veggie way is more expensive?

 

[JustDoIt]

Hi, I'm a new Type II (only a month ago :mrgreen: ) but I'm thrilled to see the word Vegetarian on the site. I've been a veggie for 40 years (first deciding lambs should not be eaten when out for a stroll in my push chair). It has done me no good at all (I've had terrible eating habits for years (love the bread and cheese & chocoholic)

I've got nothing to add to the chat other than my morals won't let me change so I'm trusting there is a way out of this mess veggie style. So far I'm down from 12.7 fasting to 8.4 but I must admit the carbs are reducing fast - pasta, rice and potatoes are down to tiny portion sizes now. I'm bulking out on vegetables and salads with a little protein (kidney beans, lentils and cottage cheese made into anything I fancy) and some wholemeal something (bread preferably). I'm glad

Good luck to all Diabetics (veggies or not). :roll: I'll keep reading.

 

[JustDoIt]

I am finding that the difficulty is findign healthy 'snacks' which don't get boring very quickly - any ideas?

Just spotted this. I have a favourite recipe (cup = any measure) - is this Ok for diabetics :?:

Finely chopped onion (1 cup), any veg (e.g. Grated Carrot - 2 cups +), grated mature cheese (1 cup) wholemeal flour (1/2 cup), rice 1/2 cup, sunflower seeds (roasted 1/2 cup). Add beaten eggs to make it moist, stick together and rise a little and any flavouring you like (I like Knorr veg stock cubes but curry, marmite, tomatoe or anything you fancy works). Spread in a flat baking tray, bake until set and golden. Cut into squares/slices. Makes loads, freezes, children love it and a few slices are filling.

 

[Funky Mum]

Hi All, another 'proper' veggie here

Not diabetic but have IGT so will be sticking around here for help and support
I need to revamp totally my diet, I've been doing Slimming World and being veggie it means that its mainly a high carb diet plan. So now I have to turn it all on its head, it wasn't working that well for me anyway as I can eat my bodyweight in carbs
So day 1 for me and will be collecting recipes and going through my cupboards.

As a veggie I've never felt restricted in my diet (well money being the only restriction as we eat a alot of Quorn and that can be pricey)
I tried being veggie at school but couldn't stick to it, then one day in the middle of a chinese pork steak I thought how juicy it was and how that juice once kept the animal alive So that was that, a lightbulb moment back in Feb 1990.

I just think why should an animal die for me to have a meal when there are other things I can eat.

3 of my kids are also veggie, the oldest (18) I bought up to make his own decisions and he'll eat a little but not much. The 3 littlies ( 6, 5 and 2) are all veggie and my husband converted when he met me :twisted: His choice I hasten to add!

So, nice to meet you all and look forward to sharing recipes etc!

Karen x

 

[Spiral]

I don't really like Quorn (other than the guide dog belonging to a friend a few years ago, he was a very nice dog), I only really eat it on bbqs.

I am discovering tofu at the moment. I also bought a bag of good old 1970s TVP chuncks at the weekend, I will report back once I have used them.

I was never bothered about the advice to consume rice and pasta until i cme hear and realised that I'd been misinformed. It wasn't that healthy and certainly not if you were diabetic.

 

[ave]

Hello = I'm new to these discussions. I have type 2 and was diagnosed last Jan - since then I have followed a diet and exercise regime and have lost 2 stone. I didn't eat meat before but I did and do eat fish. Just had the blood test results and my BG levels have gone from 15.7 to 5.6. In the last month, I've reduced carb intake on instructions from the nutrionist (in order to lose more weight). However, my cholesterol level is still too high - it looks like beans every day, so am going to try and bean/vegetable diet with a small amount of carbs every meal and fish once a week and see if that works. I do take a lot of supplements. I snack on Nairn oat biscuits and apples - I've tried other oaty things but I keep coming back to these. I've not found anything that says that you can't control type 2 diabetes with a vegetarian or vegan diet but I'm open to any opinions.

 

[Thirsty]

TVP chunks! I used to use those all the time in curries and casseroles but haven't seen them around here for years; they're great in the right recipies. Where did you find them, spiral?

 

[Spiral]

TVP chunks! I used to use those all the time in curries and casseroles but haven't seen them around here for years; they're great in the right recipies. Where did you find them, spiral?

ASDA!

In the ethnic aisle. They were ever so cheap. I bought them because they were in a little bag, I remember buying them years ago and getting terribly bored with them and the jar sat at the back of a cupboard for years before I chucked it out.

However, I have also seen them in Holland and Barrett, but in bigger bags.

Care to share some recipies, Thirsty?

 

[Thirsty]

They work well as a substitute in any recipe which calls for diced beef and has a strong flavour, (they have virtually no flavour of their own.) I haven't tried using TVP instead of poultry but don't think the texture would be right.

I suggest using a slow cooker to give them time to fully absorb the taste of the dish, bearing in mind that they soak up a lot of liquid and double in size once rehydrated. Or rehydrate the TVP before use, about 1 cup of boiling water to 1 cup of chunks.

A few ideas...

Beef and Mushrooms in Guinness. Try marmite with boiled water or vegetarian gravy granules instead of beef stock.

Beef Phall. Only for fire-eaters! Any beef curry recipe will do.

Beef in red wine. Lose the bacon or use vegetarian bacon, forget the caster sugar and use the same stock substitute as above. Nice with added cracked black peppercorns for extra bite.

Thanks for the tip, I'll look out for some next time I'm in Asda.

 

[FattyThinny]

Hi i'm totally veggie, no meat fish or animal products, i have type 2 and i eat carbs with no problem, my blood sugar is stable. i only have a problem if i eat lots of white bread or fatty food (i don't do it often but it happens now and then :lol: )

 

[inwales]

Type 2 almost vegan in Wales with a high raw diet too, diagnosed for a month now.

Have managed to get bood sugar levels on fasting down to the sevens.

 

[Spiral]

I am finding that the difficulty is findign healthy 'snacks' which don't get boring very quickly - any ideas?

Just spotted this. I have a favourite recipe (cup = any measure) - is this Ok for diabetics :?:

Finely chopped onion (1 cup), any veg (e.g. Grated Carrot - 2 cups +), grated mature cheese (1 cup) wholemeal flour (1/2 cup), rice 1/2 cup, sunflower seeds (roasted 1/2 cup). Add beaten eggs to make it moist, stick together and rise a little and any flavouring you like (I like Knorr veg stock cubes but curry, marmite, tomatoe or anything you fancy works). Spread in a flat baking tray, bake until set and golden. Cut into squares/slices. Makes loads, freezes, children love it and a few slices are filling.

I think I missed your post!

This recipe wouldn't work as a low carb recipe as it contains flour and rice :? However, it does look very similar to a several lentil loaf type recipes I have made over the years (and something I make fairly regularly now). I wonder if swaping the rice for something like lentils or buckwheat and the wheat flour for something like gram (chick pea) flour might work to make it lower carb?