The Veggies!

[sterre]

Since there was some demand for it in the veg*an forum, I've taken the initiative to make a new accountability squad for vegetarians and vegans (and if any reduced meat eaters want to come along, they're welcome too as well)! We shall call ourselves:
 

The Veggies!

 
Anyway, the sign up for the squad is here (you might have to scroll down a bit), but if you introduce yourself and provide a link to your challenge thread, I'll put a list in the OP so we can all pop into each other's threads to say hi and lend support.
 
If there's some enthusiasm for mini-challenges, we can try some of those as well. I was thinking that week 1 could be a good time to try a new (to you) vegetable.
 
 
Members - Challenge thread
Sterre - Sterre strikes a balance
Brekketechie - Brekktechie takes flight!
Tzippie Longstockings - Tzippie | Adapting to Arborea - A Ranger enters the forest
yllwrssr4me - Slow Recovery From Evil Curse
Raxie - Raxie's Holiday Calm
Ocelot - Simplicity's Strength
kaelvan

Side Challenges
Week 1 - Try a new (to you) veggie!
Week 2 - Post one of your favourite meals from your cookbook (or wherever you store your recipes)!
Week 3 - No challenge.
Week 4 - Try a new recipe!

[sterre]

Hi! I'm sterre, I've been vegetarian for about 15 years (about four of those years, I was practically vegan, but not quite). I currently live in Japan and have pretty lousy Japanese so it's been a bit more of a challenge lately, but I've still managed to get by.
 
Anyway, I look forward to hanging out with you guys and my challenge thread is here.

[Brekketechie]

I really hope this group stays lively!

 

I'm Brekke, have been a vegetarian (with a short relapse into meat-eating, followed by a period as a guilt-ridden vegan) for about 12 years. I'll be happy to have fellow vegetarians to share ideas with as we bust through this next 6 week challenge!

 

My challenge thread is HERE with the Adventurers. 

 

Allons-y! 

 

[Tzippi Longstockings]

I am so into this! My challenge thread is here: http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/55831-tzippi-adapting-to-arborea-a-ranger-enters-the-forest/

[sterre]

Yay! OP is updated with members and challenges.

[Tzippi Longstockings]

 

If there's some enthusiasm for mini-challenges, we can try some of those as well. I was thinking that week 1 could be a good time to try a new (to you) vegetable.

 

 

I intend to purchase one of the giant mystery . . .tubers(?) at the supermarket and figure out how to cook it. If I fail, I will fail spectacularly!

 

 

[sterre]

Okay, so I made it official! Our first side challenge is to try a new veggie!
 
I'm not actually sure what I'm going to do here. I've lived in Japan for a year and have tried all kinds of random stuff. I think I might try cooking with kabocha. I've eaten it before, but I've never tried cooking with it and that's probably going to be the closest I'll get unless I spot something really weird at the market tomorrow.

[Brekketechie]

So, I've already batch-cooked for this week. And I fly out Thursday for a weekend weeding. BUT, I will see if I can try a new food I've never had before. Or, try this challenge next week (since I can meal-plan to add something in).

[sterre]

Postponing side quests by a week is totally fine. New veggies aren't going to go anywhere and will be there next week.

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Okay, so I made it official! Our first side challenge is to try a new veggie!

 

I'm not actually sure what I'm going to do here. I've lived in Japan for a year and have tried all kinds of random stuff. I think I might try cooking with kabocha. I've eaten it before, but I've never tried cooking with it and that's probably going to be the closest I'll get unless I spot something really weird at the market tomorrow.

 

Bake it with a marinade of usuguchi shoyu, mirin, and just a touch of brown sugar.

 

[Brekketechie]

So... favorite veg snacks? I need to have a stash of snacks at the office on hand for when hunger strikes. I'm kinda over carrot sticks and apple w peanut butter. Any yummy alternatives? I have a fridge, microwave AND small toaster oven to warm things up.

[sterre]

So... favorite veg snacks? I need to have a stash of snacks at the office on hand for when hunger strikes. I'm kinda over carrot sticks and apple w peanut butter. Any yummy alternatives? I have a fridge, microwave AND small toaster oven to warm things up.

 

Hummus. My favourite snack is definitely hummus. *drool*

[sterre]

I made some roasted kabocha and adzuki bean soup with my kambocha.

 

I also toasted the seeds in just a bit of olive oil and salt.

[Brekketechie]

OKAY so I tried to use a new veggie today!

 

I bought some of those not-orange carrots (a mixed bag of purple and white). I roasted most of them - they;re okay. The white ones are like a milder flavor of the orange carrots. But the purple ones are a bit sour - they have a sharper flavor and the inside is a greenish-white color (yeah - weird). Not sure if I like them, to be honest. But, I did try something new! 

 

QUESTION:

I decided to track my Protein/Carbs/Fats today, just to get an idea of what my average consumption is. While I'm fine as far as Fats go, and only a moderate amount over my daily carb allotment (within 10-15 grams), and I SUPER under the protein allotment. All my recipes which have high protein counts have equally high (usually more) carbs. Everything I've read suggests a higher protein to carb ration for folks doing weight-lifting routines. Now, I'm not lifting heavy at the moment, but I am doing body weight circuits with the goal of gaining muscle. With all this in mind...

 

How do y'all get enough protein? I've been a veggie for 12ish years, so I'm fine at getting non-working out levels of protein. I have a protein smoothie every morning. I eat eggs and cheese, nuts and tofu. I love black beans & rice. But in an average day, I am under my protein goals by almost 100g!! (Assuming you take your body weight X 1.2 for daily protein intake; though, even with just X1, I'm still about 70g under). How do y'all up your protein without your carbs & fats skyrocketing?

 

(I might cross post this on the general forum for more responses...)

[Tzippi Longstockings]

OKAY so I tried to use a new veggie today!

 

I bought some of those not-orange carrots (a mixed bag of purple and white). I roasted most of them - they;re okay. The white ones are like a milder flavor of the orange carrots. But the purple ones are a bit sour - they have a sharper flavor and the inside is a greenish-white color (yeah - weird). Not sure if I like them, to be honest. But, I did try something new! 

 

QUESTION:

I decided to track my Protein/Carbs/Fats today, just to get an idea of what my average consumption is. While I'm fine as far as Fats go, and only a moderate amount over my daily carb allotment (within 10-15 grams), and I SUPER under the protein allotment. All my recipes which have high protein counts have equally high (usually more) carbs. Everything I've read suggests a higher protein to carb ration for folks doing weight-lifting routines. Now, I'm not lifting heavy at the moment, but I am doing body weight circuits with the goal of gaining muscle. With all this in mind...

 

How do y'all get enough protein? I've been a veggie for 12ish years, so I'm fine at getting non-working out levels of protein. I have a protein smoothie every morning. I eat eggs and cheese, nuts and tofu. I love black beans & rice. But in an average day, I am under my protein goals by almost 100g!! (Assuming you take your body weight X 1.2 for daily protein intake; though, even with just X1, I'm still about 70g under). How do y'all up your protein without your carbs & fats skyrocketing?

 

(I might cross post this on the general forum for more responses...)

I have this problem, too. When I prepare eggs as a scramble or omelette, I try to use half eggs, half egg whites. I also buff out my smoothies with greek yogurt (when available) or silken tofu. My problem is fats, though - I go way over on fats when trying for high protein. 

[Tzippi Longstockings]

I tried new (to me) veggies, too, but I really want to post pictures! I'll edit later to add them.

 

I made a pot of nabemono in my brand-new nabe pot! I made a dashi stock (not veg, because I used fish, but vegan dashi recipes are here) I used udon noodles, fried tofu, napa cabbage, carrots, some sweet peppers, shungiku (chrysanthemum greens), mushrooms, green onion, and daikon radish.

 

I have never cooked with daikon before, and it tastes different than when you're eating out at a japanese restaurant. More bitter. I also was excited to try cooking with mushrooms. I never liked them, so I never cooked with them. In this hot pot dish, they were nice. By no means my favorite, but pretty good. The shungiku was pretty cool - I hope to use it again as a "flavoring" green.

[yllwrssr4me]

Hi Veggies,

I LOVE veggies, if possible i would eat a side of veggies with every meal. Also i'm one of those food intolerant/allergy people = gluten, full servings of dairy, more than a bit of soy or any thing that has perservatives in it -> sulfates, messes me up pretty bad.

 

I'm am a meat eater but pefer most of my meals to consist of veggies or alternative protiens. Right now Id like to eat more veggies, but my family doesnt always apreciate my love of veggies (or how i cook them).  

 

THis is my first challange, so I'm a level 1 rebel.

 

http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/56402-slow-recovery-from-evil-curse/

[Brekketechie]

Hi Veggies,

I LOVE veggies, if possible i would eat a side of veggies with every meal. Also i'm one of those food intolerant/allergy people = gluten, full servings of dairy, more than a bit of soy or any thing that has perservatives in it -> sulfates, messes me up pretty bad.

 

I'm am a meat eater but pefer most of my meals to consist of veggies or alternative protiens. Right now Id like to eat more veggies, but my family doesnt always apreciate my love of veggies (or how i cook them).  

 

THis is my first challange, so I'm a level 1 rebel.

 

http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/56402-slow-recovery-from-evil-curse/

 

Welcome to the veggies!

 

 

WEEK 2 QUEST: we look through our cookbooks and post 1 of our favorite veggie meals

[sterre]

I tried new (to me) veggies, too, but I really want to post pictures! I'll edit later to add them.

 

I made a pot of nabemono in my brand-new nabe pot! I made a dashi stock (not veg, because I used fish, but vegan dashi recipes are here) I used udon noodles, fried tofu, napa cabbage, carrots, some sweet peppers, shungiku (chrysanthemum greens), mushrooms, green onion, and daikon radish.

 

I have never cooked with daikon before, and it tastes different than when you're eating out at a japanese restaurant. More bitter. I also was excited to try cooking with mushrooms. I never liked them, so I never cooked with them. In this hot pot dish, they were nice. By no means my favorite, but pretty good. The shungiku was pretty cool - I hope to use it again as a "flavoring" green.

 

Nabemono is tasty business. We went camping for a music festival in September and made a giant pot of it over the course of the weekend. For our broth we just used about a litre of homemade veggie stock (using cuttings we kept in our freezer and then boiled and strained) maybe 1/4 cup of soy sauce and a whole bunch of kombu, plus whatever leeched out of the veggies as we cooked it.

 

We ended up giving away a bunch because we ended up making way too much to eat it all (and also discovered a stand selling falafel which we got way too excited about).

 

But yeah, daikon can be a bit tricky. I think part of the deal is that you have to cook it until it becomes a bit transparent before it becomes super tasty, but it also causes a foam when you boil it that you should remove when cooking.

 

Hi Veggies,

I LOVE veggies, if possible i would eat a side of veggies with every meal. Also i'm one of those food intolerant/allergy people = gluten, full servings of dairy, more than a bit of soy or any thing that has perservatives in it -> sulfates, messes me up pretty bad.

 

I'm am a meat eater but pefer most of my meals to consist of veggies or alternative protiens. Right now Id like to eat more veggies, but my family doesnt always apreciate my love of veggies (or how i cook them).  

 

THis is my first challange, so I'm a level 1 rebel.

 

http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/56402-slow-recovery-from-evil-curse/

 

Welcome aboard! I'll add you to the OP.

 

Welcome to the veggies!

 

 

WEEK 2 QUEST: we look through our cookbooks and post 1 of our favorite veggie meals

 

I don't exactly keep a cookbook so much as I keep a series of bookmarks to websites, but this is a good quest.

[Brekketechie]

Hi Veggies! I'm going to post this link on my personal log, but HERE is my recipe for this Quest.

I subbed veggie stock for chicken stock, and soy sausage for meat sausage. And it is DELICIOUS! It's been my lunch every day this week, and I am still in love with it. The kale cooks down nicely, and it is a warming soup (it's getting colder here, so that's exactly what's needed!).

[Raxie]

Oh hey! Is it too late to join this group? I do have a hard time relating to everyone else's food adventures here so it's great to have a veggie group

 

I actually just recently (like 3 months ago) started eating fish (don't hate me!) after being a vegetarian for about 10 years.  Basically, I was a lacto/ovo vegetarian... but since my real issue is with factory farming I decided to change over to a dairy free pescearian since the dairy industry is definitely wayyyy worse than the fish for that. And I make sure to only eat sustainable/nonenvironmentally impacting fish. But probably 90% of my meals are still vegetarian... an really mostly vegan since I don't do the dairy thing any more now.

 

Anywayyyy, these side quests are super awesome and if you don't mind having a not 100% vegetarian in the group I'd love to join! And, bonus, I come baring gifs!

 

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Oh hey! Is it too late to join this group? I do have a hard time relating to everyone else's food adventures here so it's great to have a veggie group

 

I actually just recently (like 3 months ago) started eating fish (don't hate me!) after being a vegetarian for about 10 years.  Basically, I was a lacto/ovo vegetarian... but since my real issue is with factory farming I decided to change over to a dairy free pescearian since the dairy industry is definitely wayyyy worse than the fish for that. And I make sure to only eat sustainable/nonenvironmentally impacting fish. But probably 90% of my meals are still vegetarian... an really mostly vegan since I don't do the dairy thing any more now.

 

Anywayyyy, these side quests are super awesome and if you don't mind having a not 100% vegetarian in the group I'd love to join! And, bonus, I come baring gifs!

 

Don't sweat it - I eat fish as well, and we even have some flexitarians who do eat meat but are looking for vegetarian inspiration and recipes because they want t cut back, etc. the great thing about Nerd Fitness is the diversity. 

[sterre]

Oh hey! Is it too late to join this group? I do have a hard time relating to everyone else's food adventures here so it's great to have a veggie group

 

I actually just recently (like 3 months ago) started eating fish (don't hate me!) after being a vegetarian for about 10 years.  Basically, I was a lacto/ovo vegetarian... but since my real issue is with factory farming I decided to change over to a dairy free pescearian since the dairy industry is definitely wayyyy worse than the fish for that. And I make sure to only eat sustainable/nonenvironmentally impacting fish. But probably 90% of my meals are still vegetarian... an really mostly vegan since I don't do the dairy thing any more now.

 

Anywayyyy, these side quests are super awesome and if you don't mind having a not 100% vegetarian in the group I'd love to join! And, bonus, I come baring gifs!

 

 

It's definitely not too late (especially when you come bearing Picard .gifs). I'll add you to the OP.

[sterre]

Oh, and I couldn't pick just one recipe to post so I'll do two (sorta three). Here's a recipe for Snobby Joes, which are like Sloppy Joes, except with lentils and deliciousness. I usually use red lentils to get a mushier mixture and I don't generally add maple syrup.

This one is a recipe for mushroom paprikash, which is also tasty business, especially when paired with spaetzle.

[Brekketechie]

Oh hey! Is it too late to join this group? I do have a hard time relating to everyone else's food adventures here so it's great to have a veggie group

 

I actually just recently (like 3 months ago) started eating fish (don't hate me!) after being a vegetarian for about 10 years.  Basically, I was a lacto/ovo vegetarian... but since my real issue is with factory farming I decided to change over to a dairy free pescearian since the dairy industry is definitely wayyyy worse than the fish for that. And I make sure to only eat sustainable/nonenvironmentally impacting fish. But probably 90% of my meals are still vegetarian... an really mostly vegan since I don't do the dairy thing any more now.

 

Anywayyyy, these side quests are super awesome and if you don't mind having a not 100% vegetarian in the group I'd love to join! And, bonus, I come baring gifs!

 

 

Welcome fellow Veggie!!