sample menus please?

[lilmisssunshine]

i have serious doubts that phase I can be successfully done by vegetarians without getting hungry.
i was getting all psyched to start this monday (after a trip to the grocery store), but then when i found out that i had to count the carbs in my protein sources, well...i got a bit discouraged.
actually, the truth is that i do have faith that it can be done...i'm just not sure that there are enough phase I friendly recipes out there for vegetarians currently.
maybe especially recipes that use protein powder?
can anyone share their daily menus?
love,
shannon

[Mitra]

This is something Gaelen posted on the previous board - I hope she doesn't mind my copying it here. There's a week of sample veggie menus, and some ideas for festive days at the end. I hope it helps. It does include some fish, but you can easily switch the protein around from non-fish meals:Day 1 (86g protein, 29g ECC)
Breakfast: mocha kefir protein shake--8g ECC, 27g protein (8 oz. cold coffee, 4 oz. low fat kefir, 1/3 c. chocolate protein isolate or shake powder)

Lunch: avocado half stuffed with egg/olive/cottage cheese, baby spinach & walnut salad w/lemon/olive oil vinagrette, cup of miso soup (26g protein, 7g ECC)

Dinner: 4-8 oz. white fish baked in herb cream sauce w/wheat germ crumb topping, steamed broccoli w/roasted red peppers, slice of cantalope (25-40g protein, 10g ECC)

Snack: 1 oz. roasted pumpkin or squash seeds (8g protein, 4g ECC)

DAY 2 (93g protein, 39gECC)
Breakfast: 3 Fluffy Cinnamon pancakes layered w/2 T. berry sauce and 1/4 c. kefir (18g protein, 11g ECC)...these are the pancake recipe in the original PP book, using soy flour for the lowest possible ECC. Splurge on real maple syrup!

Lunch: Roasted vegetable soup with 3 oz of baked tofu 'croutons', wilted kale salad with red onions & crumbled blue cheese (25g protein, 12g ECC)

Dinner: seitan cutlets* braised in mushroom gravy, mandarin dressed greens with 1/2 oz toasted almonds, 3 lemon wafer cookies (store bought) (34g protein, 9g ECC)

Snack: 1/4 c. nut trail mix--1/2 oz. each of roasted almonds, walnut or pecan pieces, brazil nuts and macadamia nuts (16g protein, 7g ECC)

DAY 3 (81-110g protein, 37-39g ECC)
Breakfast: breakfast burrito (2-4 eggs/egg whites scrambled with 1/2 c. chopped veggies...sweet peppers, mushrooms, green onions...2 T. sour cream, 1 T. salsa and 2 T. shredded jack cheese, rolled up in a 6" diameter fat-free flour tortilla (18-30g protein, 10-12g ECC)

Lunch: pumped up pumpkin soup (made with pureed soft tofu) with parmesan frico, tossed mesclun greens salad (24g protein, 10g ECC)

snack: 1/4 pink grapefruit or 5g ECC serving of fruit of your choice with 1-2 oz. smoked gouda (5-10g protein, 5g ECC)

Dinner: Grilled salmon, hot broccoli slaw with lime-tequila dressing, mango-tofu cheesecake (34-46g protein, 12g ECC)

DAY 4 (77-101g protein, 24-32g ECC)
Breakfast: 2 homemade protein bars or an Atkins bar (20-30g protein, 4-8g ECC)

Lunch: cold baked tofu sticks (2-5 oz.commercial brands like Nasoya or Pete's Tofu2Go, or your own recipe--marinated, sliced into dip sticks & baked), fresh veggie sticks, 2 oz gouda cheese & your favorite dipping sauce (30-46g protein, 6-10g ECC)

Dinner: 1 pkg Tasty Bites Kashmir Spinach, 2 hard boiled eggs (32g protein, 12g ECC)

snack: 1 oz roasted almonds (5g protein, 2g ECC) or one of these on-the-go, no or low carb snacks: salmon jerky, saki ika (dried squid), cheese fricos, peanut butter with celery sticks...

DAY 5 (91g protein, 35-39g ECC)
Breakfast: fruit/bran parfait--1c curd cheese, 1/4c berries & 1/4c all-bran extra fiber (24g protein, 8-12g ECC)

Lunch: cauliflower/cheese soup, refried black soybeans w/pappadum chips (25g protein, 12g ECC)
Snack: veggie sticks & egg/olive salad (12g protein, 5g ECC)

Dinner: curried tempeh & vegetables in coconut milk, cucumber salad, coffee granita (30g protein, 10g ECC)

DAY 6 (98g protein, 38g ECC)
Breakfast: fruit smoothie--4 oz. kefir, 1/4c ricotta, 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder, 2T cranberry no-sugar jam or 1/3c. fresh cranberries, 8 oz. water (33g protein, 13g ECC)

Lunch: yuba w/red lentils & black soybeans in peanut sauce, vegetable boullion (25g protein, 10g ECC)

Snack: sugar free popsicle (5g ECC)

Dinner: sweet peppers w/tuna stuffing--tuna, minced veggies, egg, steamed pureed cauliflower, topped w/wheat germ crumbs & sour cream, green salad, chocolate cheesecake (40g protein, 12g ECC)

DAY 7 (87-103g protein, 36-39g ECC)
Breakfast: tuscan frittata--3 eggs, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, olives, asagio cheese (22g protein, 7g ECC)

Lunch: black soybean chili & cheese stuffed potato skins (26g protein, 10g ECC)

Snack: tomato broth w/soy crisps (5g protein, 7g ECC)

Dinner: ricotta stuffed squid in garlic butter--4-6 oz w/2 T ricotta/squid, asparagus w/lemon, broiled orange half (34-50g protein, 12-15g ECC)

Holiday menus
MENU #1: 22-32g protein, 9g ECC
-stuffed button mushrooms with assorted fillings: palek paneer (commercially prepared, or make your own...); ground walnuts & blue cheese; chopped roasted red peppers, cream cheese & wheat germ (~1g ECC, 2g protein for 3 mushrooms 1" in diameter)
-ruby broth with sour cream--any clear beet broth/borscht recipe, with a dollop of sour cream. I like the one in Anna Thomas' 'Vegetarian Epicure' the best (5g ECC)
-whole smoked lake trout (or snapper, salmon, etc.) with wilted greens in balsamic vinagrette (20-30g protein, 2g ECC)
-coffee granita with vanilla whipped cream (1g ECC) from Fran McCullough's 'Low Carb Cookbook'

MENU #2 38g protein, 14g ECC
-assorted appetizers: tapenade, herbed cream cheese, macadamia nuts, endive, cucumber & celery spears
-Greek egg lemon soup
-pumpkin stuffed with TVP, mushrooms & onion and broiled herbed grape tomatos (22g protein, 10g ECC)--see the recipe I posted for TVP stuffing in the recipes forum, and stuff that into a small (about 6-8" diameter) whole, seeded pumpkin. Bake the pumpkin and stuffing approximate 30 minutes per pound, in a pan filled 1/3 full with water and covered with foil, until pumpkin is tender. One 6-8" pumpkin will serve 6-8; if you can't get pumpkin, use 2 halved and seeded acorn squash, stuff the halves, bake as above and slice each half into quarters.
-ricotta puffs with cranberry coulis (16.5g protein, 4g ECC). These puffs are also from Fran McCullough 'Low Carb Cookbook.' The Cranberry coulis is mine: 1/2c cranberries, poached in 2T red wine or lemon juice until the berries burst, then pureed...drizzle about 1T on each puff.

HOLIDAY MENU #3...(29g protein, up to 18g ECC, depending on ingredients and courses included)
--Bitter greens with Goat cheese, pine nuts and pears (7g protein, 5g ECC). ECC can be reduced by using melon or avocado instead of the pear in this salad, if necessary. From 'LWTSL/CW' by Bettina Newman, RD
--Chickpea crepes stuffed with sauteed marinated tofu and spicy vegetables
Adding tofu to the stuffing increases the protein to about 22g per pancake, 8g ECC.
--Mushrooms provencale (3g protein/3g ECC per serving). From 'LWTSL/CW' by Bettina Newman, RD
--Berry gelatin layered with whipped cream (use unflavored gelatin, fresh berries and whipped cream, or SF gelatin and whipped cream. (about 2g ECC)

[Gaelen]

Mitra, I don't mind at all...in fact, glad you found that thread, and sorry I didn't post it here myself.

[lilmisssunshine]

thank you!
that really helps.
i think that before i jump into it, i'm going to do some experiements with different high protein recipes. after all, it's hard when you've planned a meal and it turns out disgusting. haha. so for now, more protein, but not restricting carbs.
once i get a better handle on the "what i can eat" aspect, then i'll be good to go. i've never been much of a tofu or cottage cheese eater, so i want to play around with them first.
love,
shannon

[Gaelen]

Shannon, the other thing that will help a lot is for you to make a list of the things you DO like to eat. Then you can figure out protein and carb appropriate portions of them.

I am not really into plain tofu either--but I really like baked, marinated, pressed or fried tofu. If it's flavored with a little heat and citrus, asian flavors or caribbean flavors, I'm all there. Yuba (dried soymilk 'skin', like the skin that forms on pudding) is amazing. Seitan is a good thing, and it's easy to make at home. I don't really *love* cottage cheese but I *love* ricotta! Nut flour pancakes, scones and muffins are an easy way to give myself a hit of protein in a portable food. And a lot of people who don't like eggs think that an egg custard (pudding) is a whole different taste experience.

You can use this method with any kind of food. That way, I know that 1/4 cup of any kind of fresh fruit is usually a safe bet, but 1/4 cup of dried fruit is something I have to plan for in my day.