Vegan who's always hungry... what are the most filling vegan foods?!
Vegan who's always hungry... what are the most filling vegan foods?
i always seem to be hungry, i include alot of nuts and occasionally beans and lentils but i'm also trying to lose weight so i'm keeping my calories low. what foods should i include
Answers:
Protein is the thing that fills you up and stops you feeling hungry- mostly. It also takes more energy to eat, digest and convert than both carbohydrates and fats. so if you eat equal kilojoules of any of these you will end up with less energy/ put on less weight from the protein.
so, what foods?- tofu, tempeh, beans , lentils, nuts, meat substitute stuff if you can tolerate it (gluten etc). chickpeas. i sometimes live entirely off minestrone, dhal and lentil soup.
you should really be having a decent amount of protein with lunch and dinner every day (oh dear... i sound like my mother but its true :))
If trying to lose weight, dont always have a seperate carbohydrate source at main meals (rice, pasta...) i often just live off tofu and vegies or dhal (lentil stuff) all not meat sources of protein as far as i know have a fair amount of carbohydrate in them anyway. you dont need extra on top of that. :)
drink a lot of water. complex whole grains will really help you stay full longer. oatmeal, whole grain bread and pasta, etc. and have smaller meals more often to keep your energy up and not train your stomach with big meals.
Eating a good balance of protein, carbs, and some fats will help keep you feeling fuller for longer. Have you tried protein alternatives like tempeh and seitan? You can make great stir-fries with these things, incorporating other veggies and rice. That will keep you full a long time!
If you're only occassionally eating beans and lentils, try eating more of them, in larger quantities at mealtime. Both of those things are great in soups, stews, curries, and hearty salads. Nuts are better as a snack or garnish in your meals, not as something to keep you full for a long time.
Since going vegetarian, and especially since cutting out almost all my dairy products, I came to realize I wasn't eating enough calories and had to up how much I ate through the day in order to be satisfied (each meal as well as at least 2, sometimes 3 snacks). Maybe you shouldn't be cutting calories (even though you're trying to lose weight), but upping them since you're not filling up on unnescasary saturated fats! And the calories you are consuming (assuming you're eating a well balanced nutritional diet), are really good for you, so the cutting calorie thing doesn't factor for you the same way it does for someone eating any type of meat or animal by-product. And what the prior woman said about water, to add on: some people think they are hungry when in fact the are severely thirsty and this is your body telling you so. Try drinking a cup of water and waiting 10 minutes or so to see if that hunger pain is still afloat, if so eat!!
Close the doors and curtains and have a good but small steak.
Seriously......... Bakes beans on toast and an egg if you are allowed, on top. one