I don't get it. I look on this site every day. All it ever says is "any vegies out there?" No answer. Well here's an answer for ya....Yes!Yes! Come out of the closet...unless this means that vegies don't do well on the zone...a fear I have. Those bocas get old. I could use some inspiration. I've been a veg for 25 yr. Of course this was not so good for my health or weight. It's a carb based way of life. I am working at being in the zone, and if there are others out there we could learn from each other. ....anyone?

hi i have been a vegetarian( in my view i do eat fish) for over 30 years. I generally do not like imitation meat products so I only eat them on occasion. I use soy products in mexican, chili and stir fry recipes. I do eat eggs and cheese and will combine these with black, garbanzo and kidney beans. I too started gaining weight basically from lack of protein.

Hello everyone. I'm a lacto-ovo vegetarian...(no fish, chicken, turkey, meat...but do eat dairy). I've been this way for over 15 years and it's only been the past 5 years or so that I have gained a lot of weight (30 pounds). I've always had to watch my weight, but by eating tons of carbs and hardly any protein, it has not helped lately. Plus, I'm getting older! :? I love tofu and I buy it prepared at a store near me. It's not the cheapest, but it's worth it for me if it is going to keep me in the Zone.

I was wondering what can be done with whey. It's a good quality protein...has anyone used it in soup? smoothies are great but what about those cold days? And then you have to get a type without vanilla...?

Hi. I'm a veg, too. Almost a vegan, but I do eat eggs and string cheese occasionally. I've been a vegetarian for 22 years now, and have steadily gained "a little" weight each year. I've also had heart palpatations all my life and last year they got much worse - frighteningly so. I went to the doctor for tests and they determined that they were not life threatening, but could put me on beta blockers if they bothered me. I read the side effects and said "no way". A friend told me about the Zone (later my doctor said "yeah, that's the one I was talking about at your last physical" but she never said the Z word! *sigh*). I never would have bought the book "A Week in the Zone" because the back said HOTTEST DIET IN HOLLYWOOD! but because my friend had gotten the original Zone book, I read a little and thought "what the heck". I started on it last Christmas. By April I was down 20 pounds and near my high school weight and had had no palpatations in months. I started using my Nordic track daily and although I've not had any bloodwork yet, my resting heart rate is in the 50's, my BP was down to 98/60 at my last blood donation, and I've lost 5 more pounds. I've since turned on two of my sisters and several friends to the Zone. Most of them are impressed by the weight loss, but learn how good you feel by eating the right mix of food. As a veg, I've tried many of the soy "meats" and like a few, but my staple is tofu, and very much tempeh, with protein powder for my oatmeal in the morning. It's easy to veg in the Zone!

Tofu is my staple too, although I love the morningstar farms chik nuggets. I think 6 of them is a complete balance of carb and protein. They are yummy! Thanksgiving is tough though because there are so many carbs on our dinner table. No tofu there. It scares the rest of the family.... :?

My usual holiday meal is a lentil casserole that I got from the More With Less Mennonite cookbook. This year I added some baked tofu from the Tofu Cookery by Louise Hagler (it was a little salty) and some vegan gravy (oh how I missed gravy!). A scant 1/4 cup of mashed potatoes, a little dressing, and ..... oops, cherry pie! Maybe I was a *little* unbalanced :-) Robbinh

BTW, I make a couple of pieces of tofu for me and whoever wants to be brave, so I have mine and they have theirs. No big deal. Some of the carnivores actually like to be adventurous! Robbin

Hi! I'm a fellow veggie (lacto ovo) who has been gone for a while. I'm back and will write again later, when I'm not at work. Hi everyone! Let's keep this veggie board going!!!

I got one of the new recipe Tofurkys for Christmas dinner. Not bad, about .7 ratio. And it was actually said, at the table of meat eaters (except me :-) that the "Tofurky saved the day" (several people didn't like lasagne, the other main dish, and did like the Tofurky) and that "turkey is never this moist and tender". Robbin

[color=darkblue:85f29da828][/color:85f29da828]Hi everyone! :) I don't really know what to label myself, since I do each fish sometimes and red meat and fowl are not a part of my diet. I've eaten soy-based imitation meats and some tofu. However, I have to mention that I've been getting more worried about eating soy because of it's supposed bad influence on the thyroid. From what I've read, it doesn't seem that it is definite, but some are saying it can contribute to having a malfunctioning thyroid. I can't wait to hear for sure, so I can be at ease about this. Because of this, I've used beans as a good source of protein/carb (using the proper Zone blocks, of course). Nice to see you all here... PS ~ I was "Soyzoner" before; but, since I changed my e-mail address that wasn't working anymore. I had to use another Username.

[quote:8a7f9972df="Courageous"] I have to mention that I've been getting more worried about eating soy because of it's supposed bad influence on the thyroid.[/quote:8a7f9972df] Hi Courageous, I am also a lacto-ovo. I don't eat fish (unless you count PGFO), but I do eat sea insects (shrimp). Everyone draws the line where they are comfortable for taste, health, moral, or religious reasons. I have also been concerned with relying too much on soy protein, so I try to balance the protein from several sources. Some soy, rice protein powder, nonfat dairy, egg whites, and cheese made from rice or almonds. I recently posted about the non-dairy cheese that I have found to be the best for zoning, but I will post some of it again here for you in case you did not see it. My favorite cheeses are made by Lisanatti in OR (503) 652-1988. They are made from Almonds, Rice, or Soy. I like the Almond best because it only has 1g of mono-saturated fat and 2g of carbs for 7g of protein, so I can have nuts with it. The Rice cheese has 6g protein, 3g fat (2g mono-, 1g polyun-), and 1g carb. It tastes a bit smoother and makes a good 1 block protein+fat, just add half an apple. They have Cheddar, and Mozzarella "style" flavors. Both are very mild. I like the Mozzarella the best, but I eat both for variety. Their Soy versions are also good, but they just have too many carbs for me (I want my apple). They also have flavored (Jalapeno, etc) versions. I was buying these at my local health food supermarket, but they stopped carrying the flavors I liked, so I contacted the company directly. Because I can't get them locally, they sell to me at the retail price, but ship 1-2 days for free in a cold case. They do have a minimum orders size (not large), but I order a lot more than that and often, because I eat a lot of their products. I am real happy with their product and customer service. The only inconvenience is that they only accept orders through the mail with a check (no credit cards). Call them for an order form if you can't get them locally.

Gofish/Dennis ~ Thanks so much for that suggestion!:) Sorry, I just came back in here today (I've been busy) or I would have responded earlier. You make that cheese sound so delicious. I'll have to check with our local health food stores first and if they don't carry it, then I'll have to get in touch with them. I wonder if they'd be willing to ship to Canada. Another thought just came to me, if worse comes to worst, I'll ask the health food store if they'd be willing to order it for me. I would love to taste that almond-based one (I love me some almonds! :D ). Egg whites, legumes, soy-based/rice/whey proteins and some fish are the protein sources I use. But, I'm seriously considering cutting out the fish. Thanks again for your input ~ I love reading others' ideas.

Another lacto ovo veggie here... New to the zone. Lovin it so far!

Hi Courageous,

There is nothing wrong with soy. The lastest news is to eat it in a fermented state like the Asians do. Try tempeh, miso ect..

ladonm

Howdy all. I'm a newbie vegan zoner. Been vegan for about 12 years and was vegetarian for 4 years before that. For as long as I can remember, I've always felt pretty tired and sluggish. Somehow I happened upon the Soy Zone book while searching Amazon or perusing a bookstore (can't remember which). I read a little bit of the introduction and was intrigued by how it might be able to help me feel better as I've tried lots of different things (supplements, eating less junk food, eating more protein) but nothing has really worked. But at the time, I didn't buy the book. A couple months later I thought about the book again. I did a little more research, bought the book and decided to take the plunge.

So far, in general I am really enjoying the zone. The first week or so, I felt pretty good, but the last couple days I've been getting headaches and feeling a little funky from time to time, so I am doing some adjusting here and there to try to get the balance right. It's definitely a shift for me as I didn't eat a lot of fresh veggies before and didn't really cook at all. But now, I'm cooking everyday with lots of fresh veggies and I'm getting really creative — perhaps I'll share some of my more successful recipes if anyone is interested.

-kristopher

I am not a vegetarian, but I know there are some members out there who are, so we will all enjoy seeing your recipes!

kristopher,

I did the veggie version of the Zone for a few years and it worked well. The reason I switched back to including some meat (mostly poultry and fish) is because I have hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism and soy don't mix that well.

The funky headachy feeling could very well be the initial release of AA as you first begin burning fat in the Zone. It happens to about 25% of people when they begin the Zone diet. It goes away in a week or two. You can get rid of it immediately by temporarily increasing your fish oil dose.

Would love to see your recipes!