An adult moving into a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle may experience a craving for meat, even if there is a firm conviction to maintain a vegetarian diet. There is often insufficient knowledge of how to get proteins on a vegetarian diet.
Beans and rice prepared together is a nice combination, and there are abundant nuts and seeds. Some types of beans or seeds may work better for you than others. Urad beans, available from a good Asian store, are especially high in protein. Oats are also a good source. Hemp protein is a nice addition to the diet, and rice protein is especially easy to digest. There are spices that can be used to help with assimilation, including fennel, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and cayenne. Most people are compromised in their digestive capacity, not producing enough digestive acids. This means that they are not getting the full nutritional value from anything that they eat, including the proteins. There are some things that can be done to assist with digestion and assimilation of foods, and the production of digestive enzymes and acids. It is important to be getting enough exercise. This helps with the toning of the digestive organs, and there are some yoga poses that stimulate the digestive tract. It often helps to chew a small piece of fresh ginger root before each meal to get the digestive juices flowing. There are also many herbs and foods that promote good digestion and restore our own ability to produce digestive acids. Some of these are fringe tree root, wild cherry bark, orange peel, bitter melon, and tag alder. Some natural, organic foods support the production of digestive secretions, and these are often the ones that are high in organic sodium, such as black figs. (Not table salt!) Digestive enzyme supplements may be indicated, and even temporarily a betaine hydrochloride supplement. However, I guarantee that if you require this, you were producing digestive acids insufficiently before you made the dietary transition and were just not aware how compromised the digestion was until you made the change to a vegetarian diet. Be patient, your determination in choosing a healthy vegetarian diet will be rewarded!
