Good Question: Can I Go Vegetarian Without Nuts or Soy?

Here's a good question from Anne, who is trying to eat more vegetarian food, but needs to avoid nuts and soy.

I have been trying to lean more vegetarian in my diet, but was recently told by an allergist that it would be in my best interests (breathing-wise) to avoid nuts and soy. I am starting to feel like I should just throw in the towel and go eat steak every night. Can you recommend any good cookbooks or resources for an aspiring vegetarian who can't just replace meats with tree nuts and legumes? Thanks!

Anne, do you need to avoid all legumes, or just soy? If you can still eat regular beans, then there is still a world of vegetarian possibilities! Take, for instance, the recipe pictured above:

• Enchiladas in an Instant from Vegetarian Times

You just mix up some black beans, corn, and chopped vegetables and roll up in a tortilla. Easy! We love all sorts of beans, too, for their different flavors and textures. Simple rice and beans is still an easy menu, and inexpensive too. Rice on its own with braised or sauteéd vegetables is also an excellent meal. In fact, you may want to check out some resources or cookbooks on Southern Indian cooking; there aren't any soy or peanut ingredients used in it, and most of it is vegetarian and even vegan. Lots of healthy tomato-based soups and vegetable curries, cheese-based dishes, and wonderful rice.

Here are a few more posts that might be of use:
• Recipes for Vegetarians (and Vegans Too)
• Good Question: Resources for Going Vegetarian?
• Good Cookbooks: The New Vegetarian Epicure
• Book Review: More-With-Less Cookbook

Readers, what advice would you give Anne on eating vegetarian while still avoiding nuts and soy?

(Image: Vegetarian Times)

Comments (23)

You should probably look for VEGAN cook books and not vegetarian. They offer less nut/soy recipes. Try vegan italiano and mediterranean vegan by Klein. If you don't want to go straight vegetarian/vegan keep some fish in your diet for variety.

i think you definitely can. i am vegetarian and don't eat soy very often. i do consume nuts as a source of fats, but this is something you can easily get from oils as well. i'd consult a nutritionist just to make sure you wouldn't be losing any vital nutrients but from my experience, you wouldn't.

Quorn meat substitutes are mycoprotein, not soy/tofu. They're some of the best I've ever had, as well. www.quorn.com

I found a link about the allergy information on their website: http://www.quorn.us/cmpage.aspx?pageid=490

You'll probably want to explore the more protein-packed grains, like quinoa.

Avocados have a surprising amount of protein and, of course, lovely satiating fat.

For book recommendations, I highly suggest anything in the Moosewood series of books. I absolutely hate soy, and was very pleased that their books weren't full of soy products. Their recipes mostly focus on beans, grains and vegetables although there are a few soy-based recipes. I especially like The Daily Special, New Classics and Simple Suppers.

As for what to eat... Eggs are a lovely, wonderful source of protein. You can use cheese too to boost your intake. Also, don't forget about beans. You can use protein powder shakes to add some protein to your diet if you're worried about it. Generally, a woman needs 50-60 g protein/day. Of course, this varies with body size but it's a general estimate.

Finally, if your body is telling you to eat steak, than eat steak. There are many wonderful points of a vegetarian lifestyle, but the diet isn't suitable for everyone. Some people just do better when they eat more meat.

I disagree about the vegan cookbooks -- I've found vegan-oriented books to be way more soy heavy than (lacto-ovo) vegetarian books.

Yes! Track your protein grams for a week and you'll be amazed. Look up EVERYTHING. Eggs, obviously, contain a lot of protein. So does whole wheat pasta. Even broccoli contains protein. Look up every single item you eat in a day. When you track it ALL for a week, you'll see that you have many, many ways to meet your needs. I've been a vegetarian for 30 years and have never had a problem with protein deficiency of anemia. (But then, I'm quite an eater.)

If you're going vegetarian but not vegan, there are still eggs and milk products which both can be good sources of protein.

I'll echo heather77 and suggest quinoa - you can buy it cheaply in grocery stores which service a reasonably sized Hispanic community.

You specified tree nuts as forbidden but didn't mention peanuts which are ground nuts - are they completely off the table as well?

A friend of mine recently found out that she's severely (epi-pen kind of thing) allergic to legumes, beef and squash. I know it isn't much fun to redesign your diet to suit your immune system. Good luck.

Hi !! Yes, you can. Most Indian vegetarians don't usually use the two ingredients you mentioned. But Indian food is always accompanied with Dal and that's where the daily protein comes from.

For a compendium of Indian food with any Indian Ingredient, just type the ingredient in this page, that Indira has so generously created:
http://www.nandyala.org/mahanandi/about/mahanandis-food-blog-list/

I use the above almost daily before cooking to research what I should make. Have fun.

Oops, I should have said "For a compendium of Indian food with any ingredient", not "Indian Ingredient".

another vote for quinoa and other grains.

and I would make sure it's only soy that is going to give you a problem -- it would be tragic to eliminate the entire family of legumes just because of one that gives you trouble (just as most people are not allergic to ALL nuts -- I would do the same thing there)

as for a cookbook recommendation -- mark bittman's "how to cook everything vegetarian" is quite a bible.

oh! and let's not forget seitan and tempeh as meat replacements or what have you since tofu is off the table. seitan is super easy to make yourself.

Beans are full o'protein. I eat more beans than soy because they're versatile, cheap and delicious. Quinoa and beans together are awesome.

Back when I was a vegetarian, there was no soy or tofu (early '80s) and we ate nuts only in desserts (definitely something that can be skipped). Protein came through cheese and eggs, as well as other legumes.

Besides the Moosewood books, check out The Vegetarian Epicure, volumes 1 and 2. I think they have been updated, but I do not know whether that means they added soy.

Yes it's entirely possible to get by without those ingredients -- as much as I enjoy tofu there are lots of problems associated with soy consumption. It sounds like you may be avoiding them due to phlegm and inflammation. Personally I eat a lot of dairy and eggs, however too much dairy is also hard on asthmatics so it's important to be careful with one's intake. Also I've heard a nutritionist talk about 'new vegetarian syndrome', where new veggies depend on dairy too much and end up with high cholesterol. One way to deal is to go with more digestible forms (yoghurt and non-homogenized milk) or goats milk (most palatable in chevre form..).
I'd agree that legumes are a great source of protein, as is seitan. There are also some amazing non-soy misos out there.. (check out the Miso Master brand..). The fermentation process makes the protein more available for absorption. The most helpful book for me in the early years was Becoming Vegetarian: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Vegetarian Diet. It provides a great overall picture of all the different needs the body has (protein, fat, fibre etc.) and how to meet them with the vegetarian diet.

Quinoa is a great suggestion. Others mentioned is it high in protein, which is good, but better than that, it is considered a COMPLETE protein (containing all of the essential amino acids). It also contains good amounts of calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, fiber, b vitamins, phosphorous.

If you eat a variety of foods, it's really unlikely that you'll lack protein even if you avoid soy and nuts. Most people eat too much protein.

If you really want look into nutrition, I found it quite interesting too look at hundred calorie portions of different foods and compare the nutritionals. When comparing against meats or other foods, 100 cals of veggies contain a great deal of macro and micronutrients.

Thanks so much for all the help, it looks like I've got plenty of options! The allergist specified tree nuts, as well as peanuts, soy and peas (I thought that was interesting). I do carry an Epi-pen now as well, just in case.

I will have to check out the South Indian stuff and the Moosewood books. I try and eat reasonable amounts of eggs, shellfish and dairy so I will have to look into more beans. I'll look up some quinoa and tempeh options, and I've never even heard of seitan! Thanks so much for all the suggestions!

Look to Heidi Swanson's cookbook and her great web site, http://www.101cookbooks.com, for some ideas. Many of her dishes do not include soy or nuts and you can easily modify the ones that do.

I'm a vegetarian and don't eat much soy or nuts. Protein comes from eggs and cheese. Seitan, which is wheat glutan, is versatile. I do eat a protein bar (which may or may not contain soy depending on which package I purchase for the week) on a daily basis.

Don't forget lentils!! Another good legume for proteins.

Given your set of restrictions, you should probably talk to a nutritionist/dietician about figuring out a diet that will get you everything you need for good health.

any bean or legume would provide tons of protein, and are delicious. quinoa and seitan are great too!

the cookbook veganomicon, has some soy free recipes and marks every recipe that is soy free. maybe a subscription to vegetarian times would work too.

good luck!

Check out Sarah Kramer's vegan cookbooks! One of my favorites is La Dolce Vegan. I am a huge fan of hers :)

I have the same allergy! How cool is that?
Anyway...I'm a soy free, nut free (still a little nutty myself...) lactose intolerant vegetarian health freak.
It's very possible-like all things, it just takes a little added awareness and effort.

I'm a vegetarian and can't eat soy, legumes, tomatoes, and a lot of other food. But the food I cook is delicious! My advice is to try and be creative at the kitchen, adapting recipes for your needs. Also, going to a nutricionist doesn't hurt. And try mushrooms for the protein.