CFS and diet

Hi Jadakink,

Do you mean totally vegan ? Quorn have a vegan range now that has all kinds of meat alternatives. You can get pretend chicken nuggets, hot and spicy chickenless burgers, pretend beef burgers and there are lots of sausage alternatives. I never liked meat even as a child and its been 30 years since i had it so, hard to say how like animal it is really but, quorn had many atheletes advertising it's products a couple of years ago. The pretend mince is a good alternative and makes chilli, shepherd's pie etc the same as usual mince. My daughter is just cooking herself pretend hosin duck by Linda mcartney.

Cheese wise, i like Sainsbury's alternative to cheese very much. The cheddar with onion is good.

There is so much choice these days, i went to a vegan restaurant yesterday and that was amazing. They even had gluten free options which were great for me!

I guess it depends where you live as well as what tastes you're usually happier with. I like oriental food such as Japanese and chinese who use tofu in recipes which i really like.

Hope that helps

Beverley

I don't think a plant-based diet is expensive if you avoid dairy, meats, processed food, and prepared food. Another tip is to buy dry beans rather than canned beans.  

Hi Jadakink,

I converted to being a vegetarian about 10 months ago and I can say that a lot of the quorn vegetarian meat tastes just like real meat (some of my favourites are the southern fried nuggets, chicken pieces and the vegan "fish" fingers). Eating vegetarian is also cheaper than a meat diet. For example, I used to buy chicken breast/pieces for about £4-6 per bag, but a bag of Quorn chicken pieces costs £2, so it's cheaper by some distance and doesn't require a chicken to be killed either. Some people complain about tofu being too bland, but it can be made nice by adding herbs and spices and also depends on the way you cook it (boiling or frying etc.). I particularly like the vegetarian sausage mix too, which works really well for making meat balls or meat loaf.

Something that me and my wife started doing a year or so ago was to get a local veg box. You get several random veg items; most that you know of and sometimes 1 or 2 that you've never seen before, which is good for trying new things. Because it's local it cuts out the middle man, so for example, we get an organic veg box for £7.50 per box and there are about 7-8 items/portions in there, so it's really cheap for us and gets us to try new vegetables.

Hi jadakink,  one way to introduce greens into your diet is with salads. Try a organic spring mix. They come prepackaged. You can try strawberries or a chopped up apple and use your favorite dressing. I use extra virgin olive oil and vinegar. You can add crushed walnuts or chia for more benefits. Also when I experiment with veggies I stir fry them. Salt pepper and garlic over organic rice is always good. I don’t use to many bottled dressings or stir fry sauces as they tend to have a lot of sodium in them. Start off small. Try a search for easy vegetable lunches or dinner.  Many savory things to choose from. Good luck. Hope you feel better. 

Hi , I think that a plant based diet is much cheaper especially if you stay away from vegan junk food like queen nuggets etc , cook yourself bean burgers , lentils and loads of veggies and stay away from any process foods , I think this is the key . If you make stuff in batches and freeze then you’ll have smoke quick ready meals that are healthy. If you look on Pinterest there are loads of great recipes. Plant based diets don’t help at all if you are still eating processed foods. There is a real food blog on face book that is great ..or google it. She doesn’t buy anything packaged that has more than four ingredients , or if she knows it’s a baddy. Hope this helps , good on you for looking for ways to nourish your body to help the healing process.