The 7 Day Vegetarian Diet and Me:
The importance of meat in a diet has been debated by carnivores and herbivores for decades. We meat eaters pretty much think most vegetarians are crazy hippies that don’t get enough protein, and the vegetarians think we just don’t care enough about animals. It doesn’t really matter what side of the fence you are on, what matters is knowing and doing what is best for you when it comes to your health. So today I put my bias aside and we cover the 7 Day Vegetarian Diet.
This 7 day diet isn’t just for vegetarians, in fact I know many meat lovers that have done short term vegetarian diets before because the increased amount of vegetables in their diet and the removal of many fats from meat can help you lose weight quickly. So instead of focusing on a long term plan to become a vegetarian this diet focuses on creating 7 days worth of healthy and balanced vegetarian meals that will satisfy your hunger and help you lose weight.
About the 7 Day Vegetarian Diet:
The information in this article is referenced from ivillage.co.uk where they have a 5 page guide to Dr. Wynnie Chan’s 7-day vegetarian diet plan. Instead of rewriting their entire article I am going to summarize some of the main points and highlight a few of the meals that sound most delicious to me. If you would like to read the entire article follow this link.
The 7 Day Vegetarian Diet, is not a strict meal plan, in fact it is quite relaxed. To begin the diet you should peruse the list of menu items and sit down with a pen and decide which ones sound best to you and then “mix and match” meals that peak your interest. As long as you reach the recommended 1400 calories per day and eat items listed on the menu you are doing it correctly.
Like most well balanced and thought out diets the 7 day vegetarian diet suggests eating 3 meals and 2 snacks a day. Many nutritionist believe it is easier to control portions and hunger with 5 small meals than it is with 2 or 3 large ones.
Outside of the foods suggested the author of the diet have room for some slip ups which she calls allowances. So if you are really itching for a treat have one of the follow “allowances” per week.
- 2 glasses of wine (93cals, 0g fat)
- 48g chocolate bar (e.g. milk chocolate: 250cals, 15g fat; plain chocolate 245cals, 13g fat)
- 70g slice of cake (e.g. fruit cake: 254cals, 11g fat; chocolate cake: 319cals, 20.1g fat; Swiss roll 193cal)
My Favorite 7 Day Vegetarian Diet Breakfast:
We all know breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but we tend to overlook it. But here is one I think we will agree upon because it is quick and delicious.
1 bowl of instant porridge (made with 1/4 pint skimmed milk) topped with 60g fresh chopped strawberries, followed by a bowl of fig, melon and banana salad with crystallised ginger (mix 100g sliced banana, 55g halved figs, 100g chopped honeydew melon and 10g chopped crystallised ginger together; chill until ready to eat).(307cals, 2.5g fat)
My Favorite 7 Day Vegetarian Diet Lunch:
Most of us working full time jobs in the US are lucky to get 30 minutes in a crowded break room for lunch, so it is imperative that we have something easy to eat quickly that doesn’t cost a lot of money. The following lunch does exactly that.
1 bowl (300g) canned lentil soup, followed by 1 plain toasted bagel (70g) filled with 30g hummus and 40g grated carrots.(352cals, 5.8g fat)
My Favorite 7 Day Vegetarian Diet Dinner:
I am not a gourmet chef, but I love good food and don’t mind taking my time to cook it. So I picked something a little more over the top because after a long hard day of work I would like to open that bottle of wine and sit down with a fine dinner.
Vegetable moussaka, plus yoghurt dessert
1 portion of vegetable moussaka, followed by 1 pot (125g) of diet bio yoghurt with 120g stewed prunes. For the vegetable moussaka you’ll need 500g aubergines, thinly sliced, 120g corn oil, 225g onions, thinly sliced, 5g garlic, crushed, 225 chopped mushrooms, 280g cooked red split lentils, a handful of torn basil leaves, 2 bay leaves, 25g tomato puree, 250g tomatoes, sliced, 500g boiled potatoes, 500g white sauce made with skimmed milk, 2 small eggs and 150g grated mature cheddar cheese. Fry the aubergines with half of the oil and drain. Fry the onions and garlic in the remaining oil and add the mushrooms, lentils and tomato puree. Now add the bay leaves and basil leaves, season, cook for 5 minutes and spread onto the bottom of an ovenproof dish. Layer with aubergines, followed by the tomatoes and then the potatoes. Beat the eggs into the white sauce and pour over the potatoes; sprinkle over the cheese and bake at 180C/350F/gas mark 4 for 25-30 minutes. (Serves 4).(560cals, 21.2g fat)
My Favorite 7 Day Vegetarin Diet Snacks:
To me this is just to obvious. A snack is small and healthy and filling. Almonds will always be my snack of choice whether they are on the diet or not.
So there you have it. A brief intro to the 7 day vegetarian diet, would you try it?
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