Vegan Diet - Healthy?

Nurses General Nursing

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Today I was talking to a preteen and her mother about nutrition, and her mother explained that the family follows a strict vegan diet (no dairy, eggs, or meat). The mother was actually a raw vegan or raw foodist, and she only eats unprocessed vegan foods that have not been heated above 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Do you think a vegan diet is healthy enough for growing kids and teenagers?

P.S. I am not criticizing any type of alternative diet as I am a lacto vegetarian (no meat or eggs, yes dairy).

How do you stay full? I need something heavy like meat in order to feel satisfied

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How do you stay full? I need something heavy like meat in order to feel satisfied

To be honest I don't have much of a problem staying full and if I do feel hungry between meals I'm more likely to eat a healthy snack like an apple or a banana or carrot sicks and hummus. I love eating pasta dishes which I find filling. I also have salads that include things like boiled baby potatoes and tofu if I'm having a salad as an evening meal. I find that for me eating a meal based around beans or legumes leaves me feeling full.

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How do you stay full? I need something heavy like meat in order to feel satisfied

Its funny you should ask that. I eat ALL the time. The foods I choose to snack on are low in calories and healthy like nuts fruits, veggies, smoothies with protein powder, whole grain crackers & breads, etc. My meals though do fill me up. I have found a substitute for sour cream, cream cheese and cheese, and I can use these in my favorite recipes like enchiladas or lasagna. also, there are so many meat substitute options out there...endless possibilities.

Oh and lots of whole grain pasta with fresh pesto sauce.....

Back to what the OP was saying about the young girl who is a vegan - I would just make sure she has plenty of healthful, yummy snacks for between meals. She needs to stay full while avoiding the tempting alternatives like cookies & potato chips!:heartbeat

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This is a really interesting thread. I personally don't know any vegans, but I do know a couple of people who have done the vegetarian thing before but never stuck with it. The meat kept calling their name :D

Would you guys mind sharing your favorite vegan and vegetarian recipes? I enjoy all food and eat pretty much everything, and I LOVE to cook and would love to add some tasty vegan and vegetarian dishes to my repertoire! I'm especially interested in the raw dishes I saw some people referring to. I hate to admit it, but besides pasta, salads and rice/bean dishes, I don't know much about vegan and vegetarian cuisine. THanks!

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To be honest I don't have much of a problem staying full and if I do feel hungry between meals I'm more likely to eat a healthy snack like an apple or a banana or carrot sicks and hummus. I love eating pasta dishes which I find filling. I also have salads that include things like boiled baby potatoes and tofu if I'm having a salad as an evening meal. I find that for me eating a meal based around beans or legumes leaves me feeling full.

Fruit doesn't seem to fill me up at all, in fact it fuels my hunger even more. Does your diet include other snacks like sweet candy--snickers, reese cups, skittles or potatoe chips?

Also how long have you been eating this way? And do you ever feel temptation when you see your employees eating a Big Mac or having pizza?

I usually try to eat healthy, I use to be a health fanatic, but it became incredibly hard when everytime there was a pot luck or during the Holiday's or some special occassion there was nothing but pizza, nachos, hot dogs at the company get togethers. Sometimes I couldn't help but give into temptation. The food smelled so darn good and it made my grilled chicken and brocolli look like dog food in comparison lol

And being that I was thin, everyone would make such a big deal out of me eating healthy. I became a target, like the crazy skinny girl who eats healthy when she shouldn't. Like only eating healthy is for obese people who need to do lose weight. I am simply trying to maintain my figure.

Even when I go shopping, I buy diet soda or healthy snacks/foods and the cashiers are like "why are you buying this stuff? you don't need to lose weight." Like leave me alone! I will need to lose a bunch of weight if I cash out on cookies, donuts, and other unhealthy foods.

Its funny you should ask that. I eat ALL the time. The foods I choose to snack on are low in calories and healthy like nuts fruits, veggies, smoothies with protein powder, whole grain crackers & breads, etc. My meals though do fill me up. I have found a substitute for sour cream, cream cheese and cheese, and I can use these in my favorite recipes like enchiladas or lasagna. also, there are so many meat substitute options out there...endless possibilities.

Oh and lots of whole grain pasta with fresh pesto sauce.....

Do you also watch your portions? Because snacks like crackers can pack on the lbs (at least for me). I usually try to avoid them if I can, because if I have one cracker I want them all. So I usually try not to have them at all keyword try lol

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I'm especially interested in the raw dishes I saw some people referring to.

I am a vegan, but I lived with a roommate who is raw vegan, and here are some of my favorite dishes we ate: sprouted sunflower patties, spaghetti and tomato sauce, raw veggie casserole, tacos, raw hummus, brown rice with curry sauce. For snacks in the afternoon, we would have stuffed mushrooms, zucchini chips, lettuce wraps, and chickpea bread. If any of those sound interesting to you, I'll be happy to send you the recipes, or you might be able to find better ones online.

I am one of those people who eats all the time, too! I snack throughout the day, and dinner is the only "official" meal I have consistently every day. My usual snacks are fruits (especially apples), but other easy packable snacks are granola and vegan yogurt, raw veggies, edamame, and bread.

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Its funny you should ask that. I eat ALL the time.

Heck yeah! I get to literally eat ALL day and the weight is still going. ;D

Working on the healthy food and TOTALLY sidestepping the whole 'emotional' eating/food addiction at the same time is working out great. Being a vegan allows me to continue to feed the addiction which I have no desire to work on. :D :up:

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I'm interested in some recipes Lily, some of the dishes sound yummy--particularly what do you use for your spaghetti and taco dishes?

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sorry, that was misleading; it's not exactly spaghetti...

1 large zucchini

5 small tomatoes

1-2 cloves of garlic, depending on your preference

10 leaves of fresh basil

1-2 tblsp of olive oil

dash of cayenne pepper

pinch of sea salt

you need a food processor and i have this appliance called a saladacco, which slices veggies into spaghetti strands.

cut the zucchini in half (not lengthwise). put both halves through the saladacco. set the "spagetti" in a bowl.

quarter the tomatoes and place them along with the garlic and basil in food processor. it usually takes about 40 seconds to 1 minute. process for longer if you prefer a smoother texture. pour the mixture into a bowl and add the olive oil, sea salt and the cayenne pepper (sometimes i skip the cayenne pepper). stir gently to blend all the ingredients. pour the sauce over your "spaghetti", and eat!

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Tacos! These are spicy.

3 ripe avocados

1 large onion

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 and 1/2 tsp cumin

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup sun dried tomatoes, soaked and chopped

2-3 chopped jalapenos

1 and 1/2 tsp sea salt

large piece of romaine or leaf lettuce

Cut the avocado into chunks, and pour lemon juice over it. Chop onion in food processor, then add the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth and creamy. Spoon some of the mixture into a lettuce leaf and wrap around mixture.

This does taste very similar to "real" tacos. You can change the amount of jalapenos per your taste preference. It is pretty spicy. Sometimes I leave it a little chunky because I like the texture better.

I actually just found this other old recipe for raw spaghetti. It's a variation of the one I just posted. Let me know if you want it.

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Specializes in Medical.

Vegan lunchbox has some fantastic recipes, with photos that show how attractive meatless meals can be.

Quick meals I make include noodles with homemade satay sauce (peanut butter and sweet chili sauce) topped with diced tomato, and spaghetti or fettucini with a tomato and bail sauce. If you've got a little time tray-baked

vegie lasagna is fabulous - I like to alternate layers of thinly sliced, roasted pumpkin with a combination of spinach and 'cheese' (crumbled tofu mixed with a little cumin and paprika).

One of my favourite vegie cookbooks is The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, though I have to admit it's much more looking at than cooking from.

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Specializes in SRNA.
Vegan lunchbox has some fantastic recipes, with photos that show how attractive meatless meals can be.

I'll have to second that recommendation. If you're new to, or curious about, vegan cooking, she has a lot of fun meals that are filling, tasty, and very attractive. More recently, there aren't as many featured meals, but if you go through the archives, she used to post daily meals.

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