HELP! I'm STARVING

[Katia]

OK not to be so melodramatic but I am really hungry!

Honestly I don't know where to turn so please help before I spend $150.00 on
dietitian who will have no clue what I need.

I have a severe allergy to animal protein so I am vegan. Now I am not a cook so this is hard enough for me to follow and i fall off the vegan wagon a few times a year which IS NOT good!.

In January they found I have a horrible reaction to Gluten - Gluten Ataxia so off the gluten. Add in a sensitivity to yeast and sugar and 40 lbs too heavy so now i have to cut calories and diet and you have the makings of a nutritional nightmare.

I have read all the books, I know what I should NOT be eating the issue is what CAN I eat?

I mean it when I say I am really hungry. My hair is falling out, im tired and i need some guidance. I am thinking its time for a dietitian what do you think ?

Thanks so much I really appreciate the time.

katia

[Rosie]

Katia maybe you want to get a second opinion- sounds like you are really struggling and I would imagine that changing your diet- if done properly- would not cause this problem. There are many options that are healthy and do not contain gluten! Can you get a second opinion?

[Katia]

Rosie,

Thanks for the advice. I have had 9 years of opinions on the vegan aspect and a whole year of specialists on the gluten aspect. My issue is I have no idea how to combine the two food plans and still get all my vitamins and nutrients I need in a day.

I do need someone to guide me and teach me. I was hoping someone here would have the answers.

Thanks
Kat

[lisac957]

What are you eating now?

Have you tried looking up recipies online? There is a vegan/gluten free section on this site with recipies and a TON more you will find with a simple Google search. I hate to tell you, but you're going to HAVE to become a cook of some sort if you want to eat and be healthy!

Just off the top of my head, here are some safe things you can start with:

Larabars
Soy Joy bars
Amy's products - there is a spinach rice crust pizza, and a bunch of frozen 'dinner' type meals that are both vegan and gluten free. And canned soups.
Cereals - lots of gluten free brands. Put rice or almond milk on it.
Salads - add kidney beans or chick peas for protein
Fruit
Rice (top with tons of veggies)
Rice noodles or any GF pasta (top with tons of veggies and a pesto sauce or red tomato sauce)
Hummus - dip veggies in it
Applesauce
Nuts
NutThin crackers
Quinoa

[Katia]

Thanks Lisa,

Yes I have read a ton of cookbooks but I seem to have a block when it comes to cooking. It brings on so much stress its not worth it to me. But I am going to have to get over this if I am going to ever be healthy.

Thanks for the food list. I have been looking around the site and compiling a list of foods that everyone seems to eat. I just don't know what goes together, what is nutritionally dense, what will or will not put on the weight any worse than it is now.

At this stage I can't afford to be a chubby vegan.

Thanks for the help. I really appreciate it!

[Valerie]

If you don't like to cook and want to eat healthy try eating only whole foods. By whole I mean unprocessed in any way, with the exception of possibly cooking them.

Breakfast - fruit of any kind, maybe as a smoothie. Combinations we like at our house are:
-vanilla or chocolate hemp milk with banana and peanut butter
-oj, pineapple, mango (add leafy greens such as kale, collards or romaine as you like)
-oj, banana, peach, carrots, cashew butter.
-vanilla hemp milk and peaches or mango and carrots.
-chocolate hemp milk and frozen cherries (and greens if you like)
-vanilla hemp milk, blueberries, grapes.

Lunch & Dinner: store bought gluten free bread with peanut butter and raisins OR mashed avocado, tomato and sprouts, OR hummus, olives and spinach.
-steamed or sprouted quinoa with your choice of store bought topping (tomato sauce & chick peas; steamed greens and kidney beans; whatever veggies you like)

Just go to the produce section, buy what you like and eat it as minimally processed as you can. I like a giant salad.

[xvegangirlx]

You can cook any vegan recipe, only substitute gf ingrediants. for example, use rice pasta, and gf soy sauce. follow any and all vegan recepes and use gf substitutes. This has been my diet for years, and it is possible. Whether or not it is easy is not important. Sometimes in life we need to do what we need to do, and get on with life.

[Katia]

Thank you all for the replies. I spent the day searching for appropriate foods on this site and then sat down and read The China Study. It was a real blessing as it gave me hope and it was a real eye opener. It really helped me sort through the vitamins and nutrients I may be missing and gave me other options for food.

I realized my menu was boring and so of course I was hungry.. I wanted something different.

Then I pulled out some cook books and just resolved to get my stuff together and start cooking. So i made a grocery list based on your suggestions and I will go from here.

Also someone on the board said they eat 5-6 small meals a day. I did that today making sure I ate when I was hungry and stopped when I was done and it really satisfied me and gave me more energy.

So thanks for all the help. I have hope now. This doesn't feel so bad anymore

Kat

[Fairleighcalm]

I enjoy stir frying vegetable for a few minutes and then tossing in a combo of beans and add spices or a healthy sauce.

[xvegangirlx]

Try shopping at a natural food store...this is very important. you can not find gf vegan food at a regular grocery store.

Pasta and jar sauce is always a good option. There are many jar sauces on the market without gluten or sugar. I like Del Amore brand, and also Lucini brand. Again, u must go to a natural food store for these. There are several brands of gf pasta....I like Tinkyada the best.

It is very easy to boil pasta, heat the sauce and then saute a veggie like Kale, spinach or bok choy. I also like to fry some tofu or tempeh, and then put the pasta sauce on it and serve it next to the pasta on the same dish.