Can I add a Vegetarian protein? Or switch to Vegetarian, but add fish?

[dbach]

I could stay with the Omnivore but I'd really like to use some of the Vegan Protein choices.  I started with the Omnivore because that's what I am, but I've quickly realized how few meals I was eating with meat.  I had been eating lots of fruit and vegetables with Orgain or Garden of Life's Raw Meal (I know those are off-limits - as are some of the other super stimulating bad foods I was eating).

 

Could I add hemp protein and/or organic whey powder to the omnivore choices?    

Or if I 'switched' to vegetarian, what about adding fish to the vegetarian protein choices?

[SpinSpin]

No, I am sorry--it is either Omnivore OR vegetarian. You can not do a mix of each. You need to eat meat/fish/chicken or eggs at each meal, no powders of any kind. Or if you do the vegetarian Whole 30, it is just with the Vegetarian protein choices. There is no switching back and forth. Whole 30 is all about eating real whole foods, not making shortcuts with powders that do not give you the same nutritional bang for your buck. You should also not allow fruit to push more nutritious foods off your plate. I typically have spinach and mushrooms cooked with  my morning eggs, and have raw tomatoes and or cucumbers along side. Or I do egg salad scooped up with celery for my breakfast. Large salads or left overs for lunch and then dinner. I eat upwards of 12 cups of veg a day. 

 

Here is a link to my instagram page if you would like to see what I eat https://instagram.com/azureseahorse/

[MeadowLily]

dbach - SpinSpin is correct.  Stick with this official forum, rules  and Mods/members will steer you in the right direction. There is new confusion out there ( being passed by word of mouth) that the Vege version can be stirred/mixed in with the Omni Whole 30...swapping back and forth and combining it in all kinds of variations with added dairy, too.

 

The rules will set you free from confusion.

[MeadowLily]

• Vegetarians and vegans
  • If your primary reason for becoming vegetarian or vegan was for health, the authors hope you reconsider based on the evidence they present in the book

  • If you’ll eat some animal products (eggs, fish, etc.), they recommend getting the bulk of your protein from these sources and supplementing with plant-based sources as little as possible

• If your concerns are largely ethical – animal welfare, sustainability, your local economy, or global economic factors – there are ways to responsibly, ethically source meat, seafood, and eggs and supporting these efforts sends a strong message to the large corporations invested in factory farming

If dairy is a viable source of protein, they recommend putting pastured, organic, fermented sources like yogurt or kefir at the top of your list. You could also use whey protein powder from grass-fed, organic sources

If you don’t eat any animal products, or if you find you still need to supplement your diet with plant-based protein sources, your best choices are minimally-processed, fermented soy products like tempeh or natto, or organic edamame (soybeans). You can also include nonfermented soy (like extra-firm tofu) and various legumes in rotation, making sure to soak them for 12-24 hours, rinse, and boil them for at least 5-10 minutes to reduce the anti-nutrient and inflammatory compounds. A hemp- or pea-protein powder is also an option for you

Avoid all grains and grain products, including seitan and pseudo-cereals like quinoa

There’s a vegetarian/vegan shopping list at http://whole9life.com/book/ISWF-Vegetarian-Shopping-List.pdf

[Tom Denham]

The vegetarian approach to the Whole30 is available to committed vegetarians/vegans. It is not acceptable for people who are not committed to avoiding meat because the vegetarian approach involves eating foods that are a compromise with ideal nutrition. It is a less bad approach than a typical vegetarian diet, but not ideal at all. Therefore, we do not allow mixing protocols.

 

It is okay if you are not prepared to complete a Whole30. You might want to review this article that discusses working up to eating animal protein 3 times per day: http://whole9life.com/2011/02/eating-meat-a-primer-for-the-meat-challenged/ 

[MeadowLily]

Omni 

 

• Protein
  • Seafood (fish, mollusks (squid, octopus, scallops, clams, mussels, oysters), crustaceans (crab, shrimp, prawn, lobster, crayfish)): Best: wild caught + sustainably fished. Better: wild caught and/or sustainable. Good: farm-raised
  • Poultry (chicken, turkey, duck, pheasant, etc.): Best: pastured + organic. Better: organic. Good: store-bought, skin removed
  • Ruminants (beef, buffalo, lamb, elk, venison, etc.): Best: 100% grass-fed + organic. Better: grass fed and/or organic. Good: lean, fat trimmed/drained
  • Non-ruminants (pork, wild boar, rabbit, etc.): Best: pastured + organic. Better: organic. Good: lean, fat trimmed/drained
  • Organ meats: liver, tongue, kidney, heart, sweetbreads etc.
  • Bones: marrow, bone broth
  • Eggs: Best: pastured + organic. Better: organic (omega-3 enriched optional). Good: store-bought. You can eat them every day – the number of eggs you can hold in one hand
  • Processed meats (bacon, sausage, deli meat, etc.): Best: 100% grass-fed + organic. Better: organic
  • Look for terms like grass-finished or grass-fed, pastured, certified organic, hormone- and antibiotic-free, and wild-caught
  • Vary your animal protein sources
  • Meal planning: Create each meal around your protein source. Each meal should include 1-2 palm-sized servings of protein – closer to 1 serving if you’re big and/or inactive, closer to 2 servings if you’re small and/or active. As often as possible, choose high-quality meat, seafood, and eggs.
• Vegetables
  • Best choice: acorn squash, arugula, asparagus, beets, bell peppers, bok choy, broccoli/broccolini, brussels sprouts, buttercup squash, butternut squash, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, collard greens, delicata squash, garlic, greens (beet greens, mustard greens, turnip greens), kale, leeks, lettuce (bibb, butter, red), onions, shallots, rutabaga, spinach, summer squash, sweet potato/yams, swiss chard, tomato, turnip, watercress, zucchini
  • Good/better: anise/fennel root, artichoke, broccoli rabe, celery, cucumber, eggplant, green beans, jicama, kohlrabi, mushrooms (all), okra, parsnips, potatoes (sparingly if you want to lose weight, and make sure you don’t eat them at the expense of colorful veggies), pumpkin, radish, rhubarb, snow peas, sugar snap peas, spaghetti squash, sprouts
  • Make raw fermented vegetables, like sauerkraut and kimchi, a priority
  • Eat a wide variety of vegetables
  • Meal planning: Fill the rest of your plate (after protein) with vegetables – you can include some carb-dense vegetables but (especially if you’re overweight and insulin-resistant) should concentrate on leafy greens or other fibrous vegetables
• Fruit
  • Best choice: apricots, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, grapefruit, kiwi, melon, plum, raspberries, strawberries
  • Good/better: apples (all varieties), bananas, dates, exotic fruit (star fruit, quince, etc.), figs, grapes (green/red), lemon, lime, mango, nectarines, oranges, papaya, peaches, pears (all varieties), pineapple, pomegranate, tangerines, watermelon
  • Fruits are not as nutritious as vegetables. Don’t let them push vegetables off your plate just because they are more fun to eat
  • Eat a wide variety of fruits, especially when they’re in season
  • Limit dried fruit
  • If you’re battling sugar dragons / sugar cravings, don’t rely on fruit as a crutch when you have sugar cravings – it may be better to conscientiously avoid the fruit, nut butters, health bars, or anything else that may prop up your sugar cravings
  • Meal planning: Start with 1-2 servings of fruit a day – a serving is about the size of a fist. Feel free to add some fruit either with your meals or immediately after. Fruit should not take the place of vegetables. Don’t juice or make smoothies. It’s better to eat smaller servings of fruit throughout the day than a large amount in once sitting. If you find yourself reaching for more fruit in the summer, when it’s local, fresh, and delicious, that’s okay (as long as you’re not responding to sugar cravings)
• Prioritize organic fruits and vegetables: avoid “dirty dozen” produce, or buy organic if you can’t peel it
• Fats
  • Cooking fats: animal fats* including duck fat, goat fat, lard (pig fat), and tallow (beef fat), clarified butter*, ghee* (* – must be pastured or 100% grass-fed and organic), coconut oil, extra-virgin olive oil (cook at low heat for a short time only). Unrefined red palm oil is also listed as good, but most people don’t like it as much as coconut oil
  • Eating fats and nuts: avocado oil, cashews, coconut butter, coconut meat/flakes, coconut milk (canned), hazelnuts/filberts, macadamia nuts, macadamia butter, olives (all)
  • Occasional nuts and seeds: almonds, almond butter, brazil nuts, pecans, pistachio
  • Limit nuts and seeds: flax seeds, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds/pepitas, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, sunflower seed butter, walnuts
  • Don’t use nuts, seeds, and nut butters as your primary fat source
  • Meal planning: Choose one or more fat sources per meal. Add in these quantities, per person per meal: Oils (olive oil, coconut oil, etc.): 1-2 thumb-sized portions. Butters (coconut butter, nut butters, clarified butter and ghee): 12 thumb-sized portions. Olives: 1-2 open (heaping) handfuls. Coconut (meal/flakes): 1-2 open (heaping) handfuls. Nuts and seeds: up to one closed handful. Avocado: half to one avocado. Coconut milk: between ¼ to ½ of a (14 oz.) can. Feel free to add more than these recommended quantities, but never add less – do not cut your fat intake below the low end of the range, even if you’re trying to lose weight
• You can have a cup or two of coffee – after your first meal of the day, and before noon
• A few shakes of salt is okay – alternate between iodized table salt (often the only source of valuable iodine in our diet) and sea salt
• Most varieties of vinegar, including white, balsamic, apple cider, red wine, and rice, are allowed – see exceptions below
• Minimally processed foods like canned coconut milk, applesauce, tomato sauce, chicken broth, or canned olives are acceptable
• Food choices and quality
  • Making good food choices is the most important factor in your healthy-eating transformation. Focusing on foodsourcing comes second, so think about it when you’re able.
  • Buy organic, local produce as often as possible
  • Priorities for food quality: (1) protein; (2) produce, (3) healthy fats
• Meal planning
  • Eat meals at the table, in a relaxed fashion. Do not allow distractions like TV, phone, or email during mealtime. Chew slowly and thoroughly
  • Eat three meals a day. Start with breakfast (or “Meal 1”), ideally within an hour of waking. This meal is best if it is focused on satisfying protein and fat and nutrient-rich veggies, and not overloaded with fruit. Don’t snack, if you can help it. a 4-5 hour break between meals is beneficial. Stop eating a few hours before bedtime.
  • See above for meal planning for each type of food
  • For the first few weeks, use the meal plan sizes as your baseline. See how you feel. If you’re hungry all the time, try making each meal bigger than the last / add more protein and more fat, and see if that quells your hunger – if it does, that’s your new baseline; if not, there’s something more than hunger going on. If you’re not hungry for the first few weeks, it’s part of the hormonal recalibration and you should follow the meal plan.
  • Your own personal template will change over time – as your activity level changes and you lose weight or put on muscle mass, your nutritional needs will change too

Foods to avoid with It Starts with Food – Whole30 Elimination

• Processed food  – especially if it contains MSG, sulfites, or carrageenan
• Sugars and sweeteners (fail Good Food standards 1, 2, 3, and 4)
  • Regular sugar: brown sugar, cane sugar, raw sugar, beet sugar, confectioner’s sugar, etc.
  • Syrups: high fructose corn syrup HFCS, malt syrup, refiner’s syrup, rice syrup, etc.
  • Processed sugar: dextrose, disaccharide, fructose ,glucose, galactose, lactose, maltodextrin, maltose, monosaccharide, polysaccharide, ribose, saccharose, sucrose
  • “Natural” sugars: agave nectar, coconut nectar, coconut sugar, date sugar, (evaporated) cane juice, honey, maple syrup, molasses, rice malt (extract), (sweet) sorghum, treacle
  • Fruit juice – even if you make it yourself
  • Artificial (non-nutritive) sweeteners: aspartame, acesulfame-k/potassium, Equal, Nutra-Sweet, saccharin, Splenda, stevia, sucralose, SweetLeaf, Sweet ‘n Low, Truvia
  • Sugar alcohols: arabitol, dulcitol, erythritol, glycol, glycerol, hydrogenated starch hydrosylate (hsh), iditol, isomalt, lactitol, maltitol, mannitol, polyglycitol, ribitol, sorbitol, threitol, xylitol
• Alcohol (fails Good Food standards 1, 2, 3, and 4)
  • All wines, beers, spirits; anything else containing alcohol
• Seed oils (fail Good Food standard 4)
  • Canola (rapeseed) oil, chia oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, flax (linseed) oil, grapeseed oil, hemp oil, palm kernel oil, peanut oil, rice bran oil, safflower oil, sesame oil, soybean (soy) oil (also known as vegetable oil), sunflower oil
• Trans fats
• Grains (fail Good Food standards 1, 2, 3, and 4)
  • Don’t include grains of any kind – no breads, cereals, pasta, rice, not even gluten-free grains or pseudo-cereals like quinoa; not even whole grains
  • Seeds of plants in the grass family: barley, corn (maize), kamut, millet, oats, rice (including wild rice, rye, sorghum, spelt, teff, triticale, wheat
  • Seeds that are not technically grains: amaranth, buckwheat, chia, quinoa
• Legumes (fail Good Food standards 3 and 4)
  • Black beans, kidney beans, lentils, soy, and other above-ground legumes, whole or processed
  • Peanuts
• Dairy (fails Good Food standard 2)
  • From cows, sheep, or goat milk
  • Milk, cheese, cream, butter (unless clarified), yogurt, kefir, etc.
  • Even if it’s pastured, raw, or fermented
• Processed meats that are factory-farmed, or those with added sugar, MSG, sulfites or carrageenan
• Vinegars with added sugar or sulfites; malt vinegar (which generally contains gluten)
• Do not try to recreate junk foods or desserts (pizza, pancakes, brownies, ice cream, etc.) by using “approved” ingredients
• Don’t cheat! One splash of milk in your coffee, one brownie corner… could short-circuit your “reset” button, forcing you to start the entire process over from day one