Protein and fat
Okay, so here's my problem.
I can't eat gluten. I have celiac disease. I've been vegan for 6 months and feeling great. A week ago I had an allergic reaction to hazelnuts. The doc at the ER told me not to eat ANY nuts until I get allergy testing. As an ER Nurse, I know that this makes sense. However, nuts have been a huge part of my diet since going vegan. Now, I know that I can still eat beans and legumes, tofu,quinoa and various rices, etc. But my big problem is finding a source that combines protein and fat. Especially first thing in the morning and at night before bed. If I don't get the right combo I'm starving a few hours later. This hunger will even wake me up at night. I'm going to buy some hemp seed butter tomorrow, but other than that I'm all out of ideas.
Essentially, I need a protein/fat to add to my breakfast, and one for my before bed snack, okay and my mid-afternoon snack. I eat frequently....
I have been advised to start eating cheese and eggs. I'm not keen on the idea.
I found some "No Nuts" butter at the grocery store, but it contained modified food starch which I can't eat due to the gluten issue.
Do I really have to eat cheese and eggs?
If I have to I will, but I want to avoid it if at all possible.
Thanks for the help!
No one has to eat cheese or eggs, it is what people say when they aren't well informed about a nutritious vegan diet. I think you have the right idea with the hemp butter. Other seeds, like pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds. Hemp is probably the best you'll get for the combo of fat and protein, though I find when I snack on seeds they keep me satisfied for longer than, say, a piece of bread. Seeds are a very good source of zinc (random fact). It definitely makes sense to stay away from all nuts. That would be tough with my diet, they are a staple. It is doable. I don't often eat soy as my boy reacts to it. When people find out I am vegan and don't eat soy they always ask what there is left to eat at all. My point is that even eating what some consider a very restrictive diet, one can actually have a quite varied meal plan. Do what feels right to you. If you haven't read Being Vegan by Vesanto Melina, I strongly suggest you do. It has wonderful charts saying what is in many different foods and has very important nutritional information. Do you have a source of gluten free oats? I find that with some dried fruit and seeds and some rice milk really satiates my hunger. That may work for morning. Try hummus with tahini and a bit of flax oil. You could even use hemp for that! I totally hear you on the eating often. Even good ole' rice and beans, perhaps with some udo's oil and nutritional yeast (gf?). Oh yes, Udo's oil is a great source of all those good fats together. I notice that I feel more fulfilled when I regularly have it. It is tasty in smoothies and on salads. Hmmm, hemp seeds have the same affect on me, come to think of it. Anyways, hope you find what you're looking for so you can remain vegan for whatever you cause is, be it health, saving the world, compassion or even dislike of taste/texture.
For on the go, Totally Nutty Bars form Vive Le Vegan be Dreena Burton would be perfect with just a bit of tweaking to put seeds and dried fruit instead of nuts It works well, like this: http://vivelevegan.blogspot.com/2006/05/seed-power-bars.html
Where there is a will, there is a way. It is your choice which way to go.
I have the same problems.
I have wheat/gluten and nut allergy (amoung others).
My diet is mainly veggies,fruits, many different types of lentils, japanese sweet beans (red and black beans), tofu, and rice. I also take a daily vitamin plus a daily b-complex supplement.
I have to admit I do drink milk and eat eggs on occassion, but not on a daily basis. Maybe 3 times a week for milk, maybe 3 times a month for eggs. So it's really not a big factor in my diet. I don't think you'll need to consume dairy or eggs if you don't want to maintain a balanced diet.
Because of other health concerns (sugar irregularities) I do eat about 5 times a day. I think I do well by it, at least, I feel well and I don't wake up hungry. :)
You should be ok by adding alot more lentils/beans to your diet as they are "heavier" food. It's something you'll have to play around with.
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Ferret Resources: http://nippynihon.blogspot.com/
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Mahatma Gandhi:
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
If you can eat (and like) olives, they are a good source of plant-fats, as well as avocados. I don't know how much protien there is in an olive, but this is somethign you could find out on the Net I'm sure. If you don't like the salty green ones, try black olives. They lend themselves to being added into cooked veggie dishes, salads, and things like tapenade. I find them very filling and satisfying, esp. the black ones. Tapenade is something I have eaten on wholegrain toast for breakfast. Or mashed avocado with a touch of olive oil and maybe lemon.
Maybe you can make some seed butters? I read in another post that they made pepita butter, or pumpkin seed butter. All they did was wirl it in the blender or food processor with a little bit of oil or water, (don't quite remember) and sweetened it with some maple syrup. Could you make soybean butter? Maybe if you whirl the roasted soybeans in a blender could it be soy butter? I don't know. I'm sorry if this isn't much help. I hope everything gets better. Good luck!
You could make smoothies for a nice change of pace. Try adding ground flax seed (a good source of fats and fiber, and a modest source of protein), seed butters or silken tofu.
Or maybe a breakfast burrito? Scramble up some tofu/refried beans, seasonings, oil, veggies. Sometimes I have a "breakfast burrito muffin." Which is a cornbread muffin thing stuffed with beans and seasonings. (does cornmeal have gluten? you could use brown rice flour or garbanzo bean flour or spelt)
You could add seed butters/oil to oatmeal (does oatmeal have gluten?), or make some "breakfast" style quinoa (sweeten it with syrup and add in some fruit). I also found a recipe somewhere for "breakfast brown rice" which was like: brown rice, maple syrup, dried fruit, bit of saffiower oil, cinnamon, etc. I'm sure you could chuck in some seeds.
Also, you could make granola, (using oil, seeds, flax, dried fruit) or some sort of similar trail mix thing...if you can eat oats. Maybe you could use rice for this too...hmm try cooking rice and then baking it in the oven like granola? Would quinoa work like that? I know there's gluten free puffed rice cereals. You could certainly use that. There are also a lot of amaranth cereals out there high in protein (does amaranth have gluten?)
What about breakfast bars or muffins? There's a lot of recipes on this site for stuff like that. A lot of them use oats though...try using puffed rice cereal. You could add in some seed butters/seeds/silken tofu.
There's tempeh "bacon" you can make and other stuff like that too.
You could add seed butters/oil to oatmeal (does oatmeal have gluten?), or make some "breakfast" style quinoa (sweeten it with syrup and add in some fruit).
Also, you could make granola, (using oil, seeds, flax, dried fruit) or some sort of similar trail mix thing...if you can eat oats. Maybe you could use rice for this too...hmm try cooking rice and then baking it in the oven like granola? Would quinoa work like that? I know there's gluten free puffed rice cereals. You could certainly use that. There are also a lot of amaranth cereals out there high in protein (does amaranth have gluten?)
99% of oatmeal is processed in the sames plants as wheat so through that, it is also contaminated. There's one brand that is specifically gluten-free, but I can't remember the name off hand.
Amaranth is a good flour. There's actually a bunch of OTHER flours to use out there. I posted some and a good refernce book earlier. I'll post again if interested. :)
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Ferret Resources: http://nippynihon.blogspot.com/
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Mahatma Gandhi:
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
While I believe you could always just add fats to a protein food (like grains with some olive oil on top, tofu fried in oil, etc.), maybe nut-like foods are easier for you. I don't know.
Yummy seeds:
Sunflower seed butter
Toasted squash or pumpkin seed
Tahini (sesame seed butter)
Hempseed butter
Also, since peanuts are not a tree nut, and you had an allergic reaction to a tree nut, they might be ok, but I wouldn't blame you for wanting to be absolutely safe until you get tested.
Thanks for all the replies/advice!
I've been testing seed butters out slowly. I'm an ER nurse, so before I go to work I've been having toast with hemp or tahini. So far both are okay. I figure, if I am going to react, atleast I'll already be in the emergency dept!
Am currently waiting to hear from an allergist as to when an appointment can be set up.
Bought some soy protein powder today, so I'll supplement with smoothies. For now.
I've been testing seed butters out slowly. I'm an ER nurse, so before I go to work I've been having toast with hemp or tahini. So far both are okay. I figure, if I am going to react, atleast I'll already be in the emergency dept!
America is nice to live if you have food allergies because of the strict labeling laws.They just *started* enacting that when I left. :(
As long as the product is made in the US, it should be safe to eat as it must have the allergen warning. I think even imported food, too. But...we know how closely they look at that. (pet food incident) Other countries without those laws - hit or miss. They can choose to list what they want or not. Like in Japan, they might list "egg" wanring, but not "nuts" even if it's contaminated, because nut allergies are not common here.
US has nice standardized system now. So envious.
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Ferret Research: http://ferretknots.blogspot.com/
Ferret Resources: http://nippynihon.blogspot.com/
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I think any ideas I have were already suggested by the above posters. I just wanted to warn against eating peanuts. Even though they are different from hazelnuts they are the most dangerous to people with nut allergies. To be on the safer side avoid them completely until you get your test results back.
I don't know if celiacs can eat potatoes! Sheesh, I am poorly informed.
I love LOVE LOVE Udo's oil on mashed potatoes and cooked grains like quinoa and rice. To my tongue, it has a buttery rich flavor that satisfies.
It should be noted, that according to Christiana Northrup, MD about 1/3 of all women have problems with grains and digesting them, many to the point of being a celiac and simply don't know it. As you know, celiac disease can be mild or debilitating, if you don't work at your diet.
Eating eggs and milk is NOT mandatory. I am not a celiac, but I am hypoglycemic and I have much the same problem with needing to eat frequently and longing for feeling satiated for longer than a couple of hours and not eating right before bed means I can't get out of bed after 8 hours because my blood sugar is so low. As a result, I have started to allow myself fats of all kinds. In the name of not being the size of a house, I limited fat severely for years, but no longer. I put EB and/or EVOO in and on most things. The result is not weight GAIN, but weight LOSS.
Oh and I don't eat nuts because to me they have a strong taste of mold and the only ones that don't for me are raw cashews. I don't care for peanut butter because to me it also tastes moldy, always has.
You have many good suggestions and I am going to try several of them myself. Stand your ground, you don't need animal products!!!
I had Tofu Quiche with Spinach or Broccoli for breakfast today. Protein, iron and some fat in this easy, yummy dish.
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=10776.0
for those looking for the gluten-free oats there are two websites that you can go to:
www.creamhillestates.com
www.glutenfreeoats.com
Beth