Morning all.

Going veggy for 6 weeks for lent to support the mrs (don't ask – no moral or political veggy aspirations)

Currently trying to train up a little though after 6 months off, putting in a fair few road miles etc.

Any advice? Things to eat? Things to miss?

In fact any good veggy dishes you'd reccomend? Im off shopping tonight!

I did it for 6 weeks prior to xmas. It was very interesting actually.

I lost count of how many times I went into the kitchen looking for something to eat and coming away empty-handed. It wasn't meat per se I was after – but I couldn't find what I wanted – I didn't know what I wanted!

I think the protein/nutrients thing is the key. Next time, if there is one, I'll stock up on nuts and veggie-based nutrients to try and solve that riddle.

Look at getting a wide range of types of food, vegetarian food encompasses an enormous amount of different types, textures, tastes etc etc.
As a simple notion just think – a colourful meal is a healthy meal.

Dont knock the lentil munchers 🙂

Heres 1 to try:

Soften some mushrooms in a pan
Add some wilted spinach, curry powder and some red peppers in oil from a jar that Sainsburys have above the fish fingers and give this another minute
Take off the heat and stir through some mango chutney
Mix in some drained lentils youve had boiling for 20 mins
Roll out some puff pastry to make a pie/pasty shape
Put the lentil/mushroom/spinach slop on it
Grate some cheese on top
Make it into a pasty/pie
Bake for 20-40 minutes till it looks about done
Serve with salad

Ta-da

a colourful meal is a healthy meal.

M&Ms?

sporticus that sounds random as hell! but im game for trying it.

tried to cut out ALL snacking in my life over the last few months, no longer eat salted peanuts (used to get through A LOT), crisps etc or beer in the house.

just though veggy might help me to keep a proper eye on what i eat…

i havent started yet! so thats not even remotely tempting.

looks like cheap and greasy bacon. and mighty white. rubbish!

I kind of found myself eating veggie in support of a partner last year and even though we are no longer together, I've found myself sticking with it. If anything, it has made me think more about what I eat and I now make more interesting meals. I'm not 'precious' about the whole veggie thing and if I go to a restaurant and the veggie option is rubbish I'll eat meat and enjoy it.

I seem to eat/drink more dairy than I ever did – protein?

You may struggle as your palate changes when you are a veggie so you may not find "proper veggie" food appealing, maybe filling stuff like pies etc may help.

allthegear, that is PRECISELY why im doing it, and what i hope will happen.

im quite a big lad 6ft3 / 13 stone, and eat like an effing horse, so just wanna pay a bit more attention to diet i guess.

been doing a few more road miles of late, and i think the effect of weight/diet out there has made me think about it a lot more.

I'm not 'precious' about the whole veggie thing and if I go to a restaurant and the veggie option is rubbish I'll eat meat and enjoy it.

Same here. Rarely cook red/white meat at home now. Fish – yes. Ham for sandwiches occasionally – yes too. I keep my appetite for meat for when I'm eating in a (good) restaurant.

Generally finding my constitution far better, weight seems to stay off, and has broadened my food horizons quite a bit.

Karyatis roasted red pepper

I dare you to cook my lentil thing tonight!
And please report back

I have been part time veggie for years and appreciate red meat a lot more now its once or twice a week instead of every day

Its debatable if I feel any different but the big thing is putting more thought into what you eat

Heres tomorrows dinner after youve had my lentils tonight!

that link doesnt work. might try your veggy pie on wed night if thats ok. not starting till shrove tuesday!

Oooh…onion and mushrooms, add stock, reduce till stock quite thick…add cream (or creme fraiche if watching the cals), parcel of puff pastry (screw the cals I guess), bake. Crusty bread, beer. Nom nom.

Here's another curry type one if you like spicy food.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/chickpeacurry_2213.shtml
This is easy to make and good with chapatis or just lob some pittas in the toaster

Not a veggie but i like good veggie food

i bought good food guides 101 Vegie dishes.

Its a book with about 101 dishes that take bout half an hour to prepare and cook and are tasty to boot

i also have a book called vegetables for vitality which not only has dishes but tells you what you actually gain from these dishes

I also mix in chicken and fish with my dishes i make.

If im having folk round for dinner i pull out my world food cafe book and people dont realise they are eating wholely vegi meals , quite amaizing some times

not wholey veggy food with chicken mixed in then? 😉

not with world food cafe stuff no. I only use the chicken and fish in my day to day food because i dont much like takin protein shakes but need a hefty ammount of the stuff.

Being as you'll mostly be wanting low GI carbs (wholemeal pasta, baked potatoes, whole grain rice) it shouldn't impact on your training too much – as I understand most people put far more emphasis on protein than is required, even for weight training – the amount you can use is probably more than you're comfortable eating (unless of course it comes in curried form).

As a 'full timer' it's dhal that does it for me I coul eat that every day all day with the odd arribiata pasta break.

God I'm hungry now!

Veggie cooking does not have to be hard or from some special recipe. Veggie chillies are easy to make just substitue the meat for something like bulgar wheat rather than soya mince or try lasagne with roasted vegetables. Protein is found in pulses (kidney beans, chick peas, borlotti beans etc etc), cerals (wheat, oats, rice), nuts and dairy products. It really isn't difficult just to cut out meat/fish.

Have been a veggie for over 20 years, running, road and mtb biking, has never compromised my training.
Would highly recommend cranks cookbook, cheap and excellent recipies to start with and expand on.

Always amazes me this when people start talking about veggie food, what exactly do you think you will be missing whilst not eating meat apart from a bit of low quality protein ?

I was pescetarian for years, stopped a year or so ago. Now weigh more than I think I ever have.

I think there's probably a link there.

My top tip for veggie cooking is to add quinoa to stews, tasty and good for protein apparently.

I'm not veggie but the missus & I try and eat more veggie meals these days, we often make this…
http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/Main/Pasta/recipe.html?dishid=7627

http://vegbox-recipes.co.uk/recipes/aubergine-recipe-1.php

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1397/spiced-vegetable-biryani

All very tasty!

Been veggie for years, race in Elite so can't be doing too much harm.

Kate P is veggie too, doesn't seem to slow her down, probably many more but she must be the fastest.

advice? If eating out go for Indian or Chinese/Thai, usually a very good choice and lots of good stuff.
Will you still be eating eggs? Excellent sourse of the things you can't get much of from plants, some B vits are rare in plants, and iron only in some (spinach is good for that).
Only thing the body needs and can't get at all from plants or make itself is vit B12, eggs or fungus for this (marmite is excellent, being just the best bits of the fungus)