How can I be a healthy vegetarian?

I am alone for this one, currently.

My girlfriend is a vegetarian (and was vegan for 8 years) but she doesn't eat the best. She has a lot of carbs in her diet and I dont think she gets enough protein.



My parents are both meat eaters and arent really helping me. They arent dissing the idea, but they won't make the change with me.



I tried this a few months back but I wasnt prepared enough and started losing a lot of weight because i wasnt getting any protein.



Basically, Im going to cook for myself on nights that my family serves meat. I have no idea how to cook Tofu, and its something I only receintly began to like, in Thai dishes. My mom said that something (i forget what) in tofu can cause breast cancer if its eaten too much? Does anyone know what this is?



What can you teach me about being healthy and being vegetarian at the same time? Meat, especially recently, has begun to disgust me to the point of gagging on it.



Once I move in with my girlfriend in June this problem will be solved because meat wont be served and we will both be able to contribute to the food bill, thus providing better food options.



Help?How can I be a healthy vegetarian?
Well, if you know how to cook saucy meat dishes, you can use texturized vegetable protein (in place of ground meat) or defatted soya chunks (in place of cubes of meat) as easy replacements for meat. These are very high in whole protein (has all the essential amino acids and put chicken breast to shame for protein content), low in fat, and absorb flavour easily.



Lentil and chickpea dishes can be good if you like Indian; I basically live off of these now. These are also whole proteins and red lentils have more protein than chicken breast. Most nuts are whole or nearly whole proteins as well.



Tofu is not linked to increased incidence of breast cancer, by the way, but it's really icky IMO :P



So, in short, nuts, lentils, soy, chickpeas are win. Indian food is a solid choice for vegetarianism if you dig it.



http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;鈥?/a> Here's a question of mine a while back that made good vegetarian butter chicken once I substituted milk for sour cream (it's a bit sour with sour cream, try yoghurt or milk or cream - oh, that's if you eat dairy. If not I'm not sure what to put in there :( ). It's easy and cheap to make, high in protein, and tasty.



Basically, with all those ideas, I'm eating far more protein than I would on a meatetarian diet because I can actually afford this stuff!



The controversy related to soy and cancer is whether it PREVENTS cancer; one aspect of it should theoretically do so. There is no food we currently eat widely which has not been majorly modified by humans.How can I be a healthy vegetarian?
me and my best friend have been veggies since february and we have lasted healthily so far. Just dont eat to much cheese or pastry. here are some veggie ideas:

-Vegetable Korma with rice and naan bread

-Spag bol with quarn mince

-Vegetarian Lasagne (vegetables instead of meat)

-Spinach, feta and potatoes pie with roasted pine nuts

-Veggie pizza (mozzarella or pineapple or mushroom etc...)

Puddings are easy, but remember no jelly because it contains gelatine wich is made of pig or cows feet. =(

have fun being veggie and have fun with your food. if you need more info go to: http://www.goveg.com/
Eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. A head of spinach has 10 grams of complete protein. I would steer clear of soy as in my opinion it's not a natural or safe food - it's been farmed by humans (not found naturally in the wild), indeed there is much debate about it's cancer-causing potential, and it's just not the best food to eat if you are vegetarian. I get all the protein I need from fresh fruits, vegetables, and grains. Just try to stay away from processed vegetarian food like chips, ice cream, refined flour breads, etc. The most nutritious foods are raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, and sprouts. Try to get some sprouts in your diet. They are loaded with nutrients. A cup of milk has 8 grams of protein. Eat your leafy green vegetables. You will be just fine. Good luck!
Get this starter kit

http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/i鈥?/a>

Pay attention to the protein myth section. It sounds like you may be overestimating the amount of protein you need. You didn't lose weight because you didn't get enough protein. You didn't get enough calories.

Just try to avoid white flour and sugar and eat a wide variety of fruits veggies, nuts, beans, and whole grains and you will be fine. Cooking tofu either is great or awful. It depends on learning how to cook it properly. You have to press out any excess fluid. It's one of those things you have to experiment with.
Steffen is so right. Actually proteins from tofu (soybeans) are better than animal proteins. And its a myth that tofu can cause cancer - no such thing. But if you have to, for a start, you might wanna consider supplements. It takes skill to become a vegetarian and you're family should support you. Without skill and support, you either tend to lose or to gain weight and thus become unhealthy. And supplements can help during this adjustment phase.
Occasionally eat some red meat, and you will get all the protein you need!
You probably cannot be a healthy Vege person.