Is it really possible to be vegan and low carb? I don't know much about cooking and during times when I want to eat vegan I have used the prepared foods like Boca Burgers or canned vegan chili or lots of potatos, grains and pasta. I know tofu can be used but I don't have a clue what to do with the stuff. Is it possible for a culinary challenged guy to get rid of the high carb foods and still have a chance at eating vegan?

Hi, stonefiddl. It IS possible to be low carb and vegan, but you may want to develop at least a couple of kitchen skills along the way to enhance the digestibility of the protein sources that will be available. You can use soy protein isolate, all types of soyfoods (many prepared vegan and low carb versions are available), seitan (wheat gluten 'meat'), nuts and seeds, and limited quantities of lentils and some beans (1/4-1/3 cup servings at a time; in general no more than one of these per day.)

You can also buy marinated extra firm tofu in packages in the dairy case, and slice it on top of greens for a protein boost with limited cooking.

Try this page for more resources (and some simple, build up your skills cooking that won't scare you out of the kitchen...)

Cyndi Norwitz is a low carb vegetarian who has a lot of low carb vegan recipes: http://www.immuneweb.org/lowcarb/

There are some good ideas there, but, is she now really a vegetarian or does she still eat sea animals? It's confusing because she has a site about "vegetarianism" but states she eats seafood and then lists other flesh on her site too.

Regarding Cyndi Norwitz's site:

With all due respect, does it really matter what/how Cyndi personally eats?
Although she lost her weight following Protein Power, making vegetarian, mainly vegan choices with occasional use of seafood, and is now maintaining and eating maintenance levels of carbs, none of that makes her vegetarian or vegan recipes, analysis lists, sources and references inherently less vegetarian or vegan...does it?

Or does someone have to ethically and culturally fit your personal standards of vegetarianism in order to have otherwise intelligent information be taken seriously?

The bottom line is that vegan, and even vegetarian low carb is a tiny niche area of low carbing. A smart person who wants to eat vegan or vegetarian and low carb is going to get as much information and get food and menu ideas from as many sources as possible...whether the sources are as vegetarian or vegan as you personally are, or not--for that matter, whether the sources are overall as low carb as you personally are, or not. Why? Because frankly, there is no single source of vegetarian or vegan low carbing that fits every person's idea of how those things should be accomplished.

As people who want to apply specially restricted choices to low carbing, the best bet is to pick a low carb plan, and then try to follow it within the limits of your personal menu choices...whether those are vegetarian, or vegan, kosher, or you're just a picky eater who only likes prime rib and SF cheesecake and doesn't like eating green food and refuses all vegetables. Life is all about choices...

IMO, it's a waste of time and energy to get caught up in whether someone eats seafood and therefore isn't in your opinion a 'true vegetarian' who has eliminated all meat from his/her dietary experience. It takes the focus off whether that person has any valuable vegetarian/vegan recipes and perspectives to contribute and broaden your own resource list and recipe box. Just because a person may eat some amount of things you wouldn't eat doesn't mean that the veg/vegan things they enjoy and recommend might not also fit into your menus. To do this in reverse, I know that Cyndi deals with food sensitivities and multiple chemical sensitivities, and avoids things like onion and garlic, but does eat a lot of prepared soy foods. My personal kitchen would cease to exist without onions and garlic, and I only use a limited amount of prepared 'fake meats.' Those differences haven't stopped us sharing recipes for the last six years that I've been low carbing--we just make substitutions where needed. If our interaction had stopped because we have some minor food preference differences, that would be the equivalent of tossing out a perfectly good vegetarian cookbook because some part of the book uses grains and legumes outside of the limits of low carbing. That seems at best foolish and wasteful, and at worst, narrow-minded. It's certainly not the way any decent kitchen operates.

I have a half-dozen Moosewood cookbooks, and probably three of Madhur Jaffrey's cookbooks...all wonderful vegetarian references that I've used for years. Some of the stuff is vegan, some ovo-lacto vegetarian, and one of my favorites ('Sundays at Moosewood') actually includes some recipes that use fish. All of them have chapters about using grains, legumes, making bread, making desserts that include sugar. Oh dear. Should I ignore all of the recipes that I *can* fit into my menus because some (by no means all) of the recipes are things I can't use? If that were the case, nobody would ever buy a cookbook...most people never make half the recipes in any given cookbook. Getting rid of cookbooks because they contain more recipes I haven't made than ones I have is tossing the baby out with the bathwater...why ignore all of the good information because there are a few things in the same package that you can't personally figure out how to use?

How Cyndi eats shouldn't make any difference at all if the information she presents about being vegetarian or vegan low carb is accurate and helpful--and it is. Her recipes are still tested and excellent, her charts of nutrition counts of grains and legumes are still dead on accurate and combine a lot of information in one place, and her resource links all still work. Seems a little narrow to discount using her site because she may eat things you choose not to eat...but I guess YMMV.

It was a question that naturally arose, I mean it's natural to wonder why a person would label a list "vegetarian" when it's not. There's no judgment, just curiosity. Inconsistency and illogical thinking is bizarre to me, especially when it is coming from an intelligent, experienced person.




Nope, not at all. That would be pathetic, narrow minded and backwards. Many of the people whom I hold in high esteem are from diverse backgrounds with lifestyle practices, cultures, values and ideals that are VERY different from my own, even ones that I do not feel are good choices. I mean, even JFK cheated on his wife! Does that mean he was a "bad" man, through and through?


With all due respect, fish is "meat", made of flesh. I realize your religion says the opposite is true, but religion often says and supports (or disallows) many things that aren't relevant today, true, logical, science based or even kind. Fish are in the animal kingdom, not the plant kingdom. An animal dies when a fish or other sea creature is killed to be eaten for food.




I never said I was discounting using her site because she's not vegetarian. In fact, what I DID say was that she had "some very good ideas". My mileage does NOT vary. I know firsthand that some of the best vegan dishes are made by people who aren't!

The 'list' I think you're talking about is the LC-Veg list Cyndi maintains...and if that's the case, there's no inconsistency. It's a vegetarian focused list and is correctly named. It exists to discuss and exchange tips about accomplishing vegetarian low carb. There are no requirements that you be vegetarian to participate--only that you respect the intent of the list to provide one of the few resources generally available to vegetarian and vegan low carbers. Even meat eaters occasionally need a meatless meal, and as such, are welcome to participate and broaden their understanding of meatlessness beyond mac and cheese and fries--perfectly vegetarian, but not low carb. LC-Veg is intended to be that kind of a resource, whether you need one meatless meal or a lifetime's worth, or something in between. Cyndi saw a need, and started LC-Veg. I saw a similar need on another board, and became the vegetarian moderator when the admins created a vegetarian-focused forum, based on 25 years of experience with vegetarian and vegan cooking. How is providing that kind of resource inconsistent or illogical thinking? Just because someone may not conform to your personal standards of vegetarianism doesn't mean that they don't understand or can't provide resources about the subject...



Okay...now I'm mystified. If you know that 'some of the best vegan dishes are made by people who aren't,' then we're back to my question...why does it matter what Cyndi (or anyone else) eats if they've created recipes and resources that have the potential to help low carb vegetarians?

To paraphrase..."It's a question that naturally arises, I mean it's natural to wonder why a person would care what a resource/author personally eats when the author is clearly capable of 'some very good ideas.' There's no judgment, just curiosity."

Inconsistency and illogical thinking aren't really bizarre to me--I see both often. We're human beings, not sci-fi logic creatures. So I can cope easily with the inconsistency that even Anthony Bourdain, a chef who's repeatedly broadcast his disdain for vegetarianism, could appreciate the excellence of a vegan Buddhist meal when executed to its best effect. He's never going to endorse veganism, but he could definitely recognize good food when it was served. That's not inconsistent...that's recognizing that there is more than one way to the same result...and respect for ones just as successful as your own.

Flax Seed certainly would be a good choice for a proein for a vegan low carber, no?

It'd be tough. If you could find an ethical source of animal protein, for example organic free-ranger eggs (not sure how available these are), that would help a lot.

Tough, but possible. I think the only challenge you might come up against is variety. I don't know how many carbs you're planning on incorporating, but you may want to consider adding beans to your diet, as they carry a good amount of protein and fiber, but more carbs.

You may also have to rely on packaged food a bit more than someone who eats dairy and eggs. For example, using vegan burgers, vegan hot dogs, etc., as well as tofu might become your staples in terms of protein, as well as veggies and good fats.

Here's a protein shake I make every morning that you can easily make vegan. It's a nice way to start the day.

Chocolate Protein Shake
1 cup cold water
1/2 cup soy or almond milk (soy has more protein)
3-4 oz silken tofu
2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp natural nut butter (peanut or almond are good)
1 tsp psyllium husk powder (for fiber and it also thickens the shake)
sweetener to taste (I like it sweet, so I use 2 tsp xylitol, a bit of stevial, and 1 packet splenda)
1 scoop vegan protein power (like soy powder - I use Nature's Way Energy unsweetened, unflavored protein powder, which, I think is vegan)
Ice

Hope that helps!

Tam

I think a vegan can get down to 40% carbs and still take in a huge variety of foods. Below that it gets restrictive, or you are eating a ton of nuts and seeds.

Low(er) Carb... my mom (a vegan) cut out a lot of simple starches from her diet and shed quite a bit. She stuck with proteins (tofu, seitan (sp?), wheat gluten) and veggies. She drinks unsweetened soy and almond milks.

It's really not that bad! I am down to 10-15% carbs though I've only been on this diet for a few days to try it out. So far everything has been really positive though. I am eating a lot of nuts and seeds, but the mock meats and cheeses area also really low carb.

I do usually have a couple slices of bread during the day, and some non-green veggies add a few more carbs, but other than that, with almond milk/butter, soy, wheat gluten, and stevia to make things sweet, it hasn't been that bad. I've also been adding coconut milk, tahini, and of course canola/olive oil to things. NOW Soy Protein powder is devoid of carbs as well.

Good luck to those vegans doing low-carb! It is challenging but fun.

I am pretty stoked that a lot of the Tofutti products are acceptable such as the sour cream and cream cheese.

I think it is possible to add beans, that is what i am going to have to do. Judy

I finally remembered a low carb vegan diet that I went on about 14 years ago. I think it is completely doable. I was going thru some past diet materials that I had stored away. It was a take on the old weight watchers, I just substituted vege protein for the animal protein. I lost 35 pounds on it, so I found my answer

Care to share the plan, Born2run?