Vegetarians?

[RossGurlie]

Okay, so the protein bar has been on here for a while....so I started a new thread. Any of you awesomely cool people vegetarians?? Cuz vegetarians are pretty much the coolest...and I think not eating red meat is good for your heart?

 

[Nan]

Hi RossGurlie, and congratulations on doing so well after your OHS!!!

Yes, I am a vegetarian and have been one for about 18 years. It is a lot easier these days to be a vegetarian as most restaurants have veggie choices and the health food stores (or sections in the supermarkets) now have all kinds of wonderful veggie choices.

I am a lacto ovo vegetarian. What kind of vegetarian are you? And what are your favorite foods? I like ethnic foods,Italian, Mexican, Indian and Chinese have lots of veggie offerings. But I also have to watch my sodium intake so have to be careful of that, especially with Chinese. I get Buddha's Delight without soy sauce a lot at Chinese restaurants...that's Tofu stir fried with veggies.

At home I make a lot of stir fries with tofu or other proteins such as Morning Star Farms "chicken" or "beef" strips and what ever veggies I have around.

Nice to know there are other vegetarians on VR.com!

Take care.

 

[Kate]

I'm not quite a vegetarian - more what some people call a "flexatarian." I don't cook with meat, but I'll eat it at someone else's house and sometimes order it in restaurants. So, I'd guess I end up eating meat a couple of times a month. I eat a lot of burritos, salads, pizzas and veggie soups - they are easy to make, cheap and good for you (as long as you don't go overboard with the cheese!). Kate

 

[Cooker]

Cows eat grass...grass is a veggie.....you are what you eat....I eat cows....I must be a vegetarian

 

[LUVMyBirman]

Converted...........

Converted...........

Nan...good to see you around. Hope all is well. Can I ask how you manage your INR with all of the veggies? Your dose? Do you fluctuate frequently. I would love nothing more to get back to my veggie diet. Though, for the protein I would have to adjust to tofu. Have not met one that I like so far.

In my 20's...I did consider myself a vegetarian. Did not eat meat for close to 8 years. No weight management issues either! Was healthy. Became pregnant and decided to add some beef, etc for protein and iron. That was pretty much the end of my veggie experience. Though...I only eat red meat, maybe twice a month. Chicken and veggies more frequently.

Would love to hear more on INR management of the vegetarian. And you are correct Nan...it is real easy to find options when eating out!

 

[Mary]

Cows eat grass...grass is a veggie.....you are what you eat....I eat cows....I must be a vegetarian

I am going to do us all a favor, and not add the R-rated comment I would like to add to your post, Cooker!

 

[Cooker]

I am going to do us all a favor, and not add the R-rated comment I would like to add to your post, Cooker!

Thank you.....Our new member is quite young and I would not want you to be bad influence......

 

[PJmomrunner]

Hey Rossgurlie! You are such a breath of fresh air! It's good to have you around. I'm an Ornish vegetarian, which means I eat very little fat--20g max/day approximately. Contrary to what the others have said, I find it pretty difficult to eat well in restaurants, although I do manage. I do best in restaurants that cook to order and find that most other restaurants have no lowfat (</=10g) choices, or maybe one choice (besides a boring salad). Consequently, I cook a lot. My darling daughter (15) eats almost nothing I make , so one of her chores (her main one, actually) is cooking for herself. My son (14) loves most of what I cook and gets a second choice of whatever his sister cooks lots of the time! Are you a lone veggie in your family?

 

[Gnusgal]

Can I ask how you manage your INR with all of the veggies? Your dose? Do you fluctuate frequently. I would love nothing more to get back to my veggie diet.

I'm not a vegitarian, but I do eat a lot of veggies. To answer your question, it's all about consistancy with any diet. If you want to eat veggies, don't let coumadin stop you. Just adjust your dose to the diet and be aware of which foods have vit. K in them so you can try to be consistant about how much you have each week.

 

[Natanni]

GREAT Thread!

We are NOT vegetarians...yet....

My hubby was brought up vegetarian for many years of his childhood, and I think started eating meat when he was maybe 10 ( I would need to clarify for sure). We did try once about 5 years ago, and we got off meat but did eat ground turkey so we didn't quite make it. I am hoping to go this route again very gradually. We started by force feeding ourselves fish. We HATE fish, but we are doing it! Grilled Tuna is not bad! Halibut is good. I am very excited to see coumadin users that are vegetarian! Nathan does eat alot of greens and we are now adding some soy (the fake bacon, sausages and soy crumble by Morning Star). We have been very lucky with his INR. For whatever reason, he doesn't seem to move from 2.6 for the last several months. The Mayo figured if we did go vegetarian, hubby would need approx 15mg of Warfarin.

Favorite Dinner-Protein Loaf

6 Cups Kellogs Special K
16 oz Cottage Cheese
4 eggs
1/2 stick of melted butter (I have found no substitue)
Salt, Pepper, and Sage

Mix and form into loaf pan and bake 1 hour.

Can anyone add more family friendly recipies?

 

[Nan]

HI Gina, re: INR and being a vegetarian. Now it is not so much of a problem as I have learned about consistency in Vt. K foods. Initially I spent a lot of my time in tears over the INR issue as no one had given me any information about coumadin at all, not to mention the part about being a vegetarian.

I home test, which also helps a lot. Usually if I am out of range it is for something other than vit. K as in illness or antibiotic etc.

Ah, sounds like a good recipe, Natanni! But 1/2 stick of butter is a lot! but you say you haven't been able to substitute. Hmmm. Some olive oil with a small amt of btter for flavor?

I just got this off the net today:
3 carrots sliced
1 large zuchinni, sliced
1 large yellow squash, sliced
1 red onion, 1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 c spaghetti sauce (I would looke for LS or no S0
PInch garlic salt, black pepper to taste
1 1/2 shreded mozzarella (I would look for LF)
1/2 c grated Parmesan
1 18 ounce package prepared polenta

saute veggies with small amt of olive oil (could use veggie broth). Then add spaghetti sauce. Slice polenta into 1/2" circles and springle with garlic salt and pepper. Saute in small amt. of olive oil. Layer slices in a large casserole. Sppon veggie mixture over polenta and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 30 min. at 350. Let cool 5 minutes before serving. (from allrecipes)

Hey RossGurlie, look what you have started! Do you have any faves?

We may have to move this to small talk or recipes to exchange more goodies!

 

[RossGurlie]

Whoa!!

Whoa!!

I'm glad to see that there are other veggies our there!! To answer some of y'all's questions, me and my two brothers are all veggies. My 16 yr. old brother and I are lacto ovo vegetarians (I think) and my oldest brother is a vegan. My mom kinda is....that flexiatrian thing I guess. Usually she is a vegetarian, but not always. Mmmmm...I LOVE Mexican food!! And it's easy to find around here (Texas!) Pretty much, you can't beat TexMex!! And we eat a lot of stir-fry with tofu (yuck) and spagetti and Mexican at my house. And our newest addition, chili!! Mmmm...I'll add the recipe. It is SO good! Except no one in my house will let me make it anymore...I messed up last night and added too much tomato! And my borthers love those morning star chicken nugget things. Even my lil bro who is nine and defiantely NOT a vegetarian!! We have the morning star grillers a lot too! Those are the best yo! We have that and corn when we BBQ! Yups...so that is my veggie life for ya! Oh, and since my oldest brother is a vegan, we have Silk soymilk for our cereal. My lil bro doesn't reall like it...but he deals with it. And when we happen to have "real milk" he goes nuts! Okay...not nuts...but whatever! Yeah...so here's the chili recipe!

Ingredients:
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1 cup chopped onions
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
* 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
* 3/4 cup chopped celery
* 1 tablespoon chili powder
* 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh mushrooms
* 1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes with liquid, chopped
* 1 (19 ounce) can black beans with liquid
* 1 (11 ounce) can whole kernel corn, undrained
* 1 tablespoon ground cumin
* 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
* 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute onions, carrots, and garlic until tender. Stir in green pepper, red pepper, celery, and chili powder. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes.
2. Stir in mushrooms, and cook 4 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, kidney beans, and corn. Season with cumin, oregano, and basil. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to medium. Cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

We have it with fritos or tostitos chips!!!

 

[catwoman]

RossGurlie:

The chili recipe looks great. What's the serving size and how many servings does this make?
I'd like to make it, using canola oil instead of vegetable (canola is better for the heart). After making it, I'd like to share it with my Weight Watcher buddies to get point value/serving.

I'm not a vegetarian, but I've eaten far less meat since my MVR -- only a couple of times a week and only 3-4 oz. in a serving.

 

[ClickerTicker]

Hi RossGurlie - I've been a lacto-veggie for about 23 years. Can't say I have the healthiest diet though - I do eat lots of veggies and fruit, but am rather too fond of the cheese and potato crisps (chips to you US folks). Not quite what Dean Ornish has in mind...

My favourite is Indian food (and Pizza), but good vegetarian Indian restaurants are few and far between. Most "Indian" restaurants here are run by people from Bangladesh (CIA World Fact Book says it's 83% Muslim) rather than Indians, making the veggie options all somewhat of an afterthought or as something a carnivore has on the side.

Still, I'm fairly consistent in my diet and have noticed no effects on my INR.

 

[freeleroy]

bat bites

bat bites

hi there wickerticker it's freeleroy, north of montreal .I saw a progam on vermont public TV about vampiers,but it was about bats,tices,leeches, mosquitos.They showed the anticoagulating effect of bat spit and leeches spit also the bats have a natural antibiotic so you don't get infected when they bite. Then why are we taking this rat poison? when my #'s were yoyoing,they wanted to know if I was eating raw garlic or exercizeing Imagine two cleansers that will effect your IRN. please get back to me when you can LOVE LEROY.

 

[Annilou]

Watching out for GREEN veggies

Watching out for GREEN veggies

Hiho,
I'm a vegetarian, have been for 53 years. The hospital idea of a vegetarian diet generally involved chicken. As far as the heart-smart diet goes....all that white food and margarine could kill you! I talked to the hospital dietitian while I was in and she agreed that the heart diet left a lot to be desired but it was the best they could do at the time. It must be due to the veggies but my INR is usually low,2.3 to 2.9 this past month. It should be between 3-4 but the nurse is reluctant to raise the warfarin to 15. This does seem like a lot but I've cut out everything green, and some not so green- and still can't get the INR out of the basement. One nurse says its because of the heat? Can the weather affect one's INR? I'm verging on a "white" diet now, trying to avoid brightly colored fruits and veggies. I'm not a soy fan- it can do nasty things to your thyroid. I found that soy foods made my arthritis flare up. Since I stay away from them, I no longer have arthritis. But I do MISS my broccoli and spinach. Any foods that raise the INR?

 

[Nan]

Hi Annilou,

Yes, there are some foods that will raise your INR.....follow some of the Coumadin links and you will find them.. But most notably are garlic and ginger (well, they are spices, not food..). But there are others, there has been some talk of the possible impact of cranberry juice/cranberries, but conflicting reports.

If you can't find any others, let me know and I"ll see if I can find them!

 

[PJmomrunner]

but the nurse is reluctant to raise the warfarin to 15

Ummm...why? I'm not a warfarin user, but if you hang around VR.com you pick up some stuff. One oft-repeated phrase goes, "dose the diet, don't diet the dose." In other words eat what you like--green, orange, red, or whatever (without binging). Consistency over the course of, say, a week, not daily, is the key. If your INR is consistently low your dose should be raised. Am I right, experts?

 

[Ross]

Hiho,
I'm a vegetarian, have been for 53 years. The hospital idea of a vegetarian diet generally involved chicken. As far as the heart-smart diet goes....all that white food and margarine could kill you! I talked to the hospital dietitian while I was in and she agreed that the heart diet left a lot to be desired but it was the best they could do at the time. It must be due to the veggies but my INR is usually low,2.3 to 2.9 this past month. It should be between 3-4 but the nurse is reluctant to raise the warfarin to 15. This does seem like a lot but I've cut out everything green, and some not so green- and still can't get the INR out of the basement. One nurse says its because of the heat? Can the weather affect one's INR? I'm verging on a "white" diet now, trying to avoid brightly colored fruits and veggies. I'm not a soy fan- it can do nasty things to your thyroid. I found that soy foods made my arthritis flare up. Since I stay away from them, I no longer have arthritis. But I do MISS my broccoli and spinach. Any foods that raise the INR?

Annilou you need to find someone else to manage your Coumadin. Dose the diet you eat, do not diet the dose of the drug. Your body needs those vegetables and there is no reason why you cannot have them. The proper amount of Coumadin is that which keeps you in range. For some people that's up to 20mg per day! For others, 5-7.5-10 per day. It doesn't matter how much you take so long as your in range.

For some reason, heat does seem to play a role in INR. I don't know if it's because we stay inside more and excercise less or just what, but others of said the same thing.

Many foods lower INR, Soy will lower your INR too, but I can only think of one or two that raise it and they are Japanese and not at all liked by most people.

 

[Ross]

Ummm...why? I'm not a warfarin user, but if you hang around VR.com you pick up some stuff. One oft-repeated phrase goes, "dose the diet, don't diet the dose." In other words eat what you like--green, orange, red, or whatever (without binging). Consistency over the course of, say, a week, not daily, is the key. If your INR is consistently low your dose should be raised. Am I right, experts?

100% Correct!