Before I started a lowcarb diet (Protein Power, Feb. 2002), most of my meals were meatless--my cookbooks focused on vegetarian ethnic specialties. I knew that maintaining any diet over the long haul meant including favorite flavors in my menus. But while many lowcarb authors claimed a vegetarian could follow their plans, menu ideas were limited to a handful of egg and tofu recipes.

I turned to the internet and local bookstores for suggestions--but whole foods lowcarb information for vegetarians was scarce. My pre-lowcarb meals never included much processed 'I-can't-believe-it's-not-meat' food products--I wanted to cook! So armed with recipe software, I analyzed my favorite foods, boosting protein grams and reducing carbohydrates. I identified high-protein carbohydrate bargains among meatless ingredients, and shopped Asian and Indian grocers for fresh and fermented tofu, yuba (dried soy milk skin), pappadums (lentil flatbreads), kefir (fermented milk) and black soybeans. In the process I sifted through internet and bookstore searches, adding some solid references to my library.

Two vegetarian lowcarb cookbooks have moved onto my bookshelf:

' The Protein-Powered Vegetarian: From Meat to Vegetable Protein ,' Bo Sebastian, (c) 2000; published by IUniverse.com, Inc. ISBN 0-595-13274-X, and ' The Schwarzbein Principle Vegetarian Cookbook ,' Diana Schwarzbein, M.D., Nancy Deville and Evelyn Jacob Jaffe, (c) 2000, published by Health Communications, Inc.

Of all the books that discuss vegetarian lowcarb options, these have the most new ideas for tofu, tempeh, seitan, textured vegetable protein (TVP), nuts, seeds and legumes, as well as eggs and dairy products.

Other prospects for the lowcarb vegetarian bookshelf include " The Soy Zone " by Barry Sears, Ph.D. and " The Schwarzbein Principle II-the Transition. " Sears offers additional recipes for soy protein products and Schwarzbein's newest work provides vegetarian adaptations/menu plans.

Cookbooks I already owned with recipes that easily fit lowcarb plans include:

' The Moosewood Cookbook ,' Molly Katzen, (c) 1977, Ten Speed Press, re-issued recently for its 25th anniversary;

' The Vegetarian Epicure ' Anna Thomas, (c) 1972, Vintage Books;
' The Quick and Easy Vegetarian Cookbook ,' Ruth Ann and William Manners, (c) 1978, M. Evans & Co.; and ' The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook ' edited by Louise Hagler.

Sorting through the electronic links to vegetarian lowcarb information took more effort. Websites change frequently, although all of these addresses were active as of January, 2003. But like all internet searching, finding the unique information can be a challenge.

The most complete site (and the one to which many others link) is maintained by Cyndi Norman, herself a lowcarb vegetarian who (like me) also eats seafood. 'LowCarb Vegetarian' at http://www.immuneweb.org/lowcarb has separate pages that include strategies, recipes and explanations of different vegetarians protein sources. Also at the site is subscription information for LCVeg, a lowcarb vegetarian discussion list. All of the information available at the site is accessible without subscription.

In September, 2002, the Protein Power website at http://www.eatprotein.com added a vegetarian forum to the discussion board. Vegetarian recipes are in the board's Recipes forum, and vegetarian tips, sample menus, resources and general discussion are in the Protein Power for Vegetarians forum. Registration and a valid email address are required to post to the board, but the entire site is readable without registration.

'Mary's Vegetarian Lowcarb Page' at http://www.geocities.com/msweathe/veggie.html features recipes, links and sample menus. Although Dana Carpender advised me that the information in the FAQ at her site is in revision, she offers tips and encouragement for lowcarb vegetarians at http://www.holdthetoast.com . See FAQ #6, "...I'm a vegetarian. Can I still go on a lowcarb diet?" for information. Carpender also maintains a discussion list, htt-vegetarian, at this url: http://www.webbalah.net/mailman/listinfo/htt-vegetarian . The list archives are available only to list members. 'Low Carb Luxury' is a non-vegetarian site with a small but unique vegetarian recipe section, found at http:///www.lowcarbluxury.com/lowcarb-entrees.html .

Yahoo!Groups has a lowcarb vegetarian club at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/veggielowcarb (open archive.)

These days, I choose meatless dishes because I enjoy the variety in ethnic vegetarian food--and keeping variety in lowcarb menus. Most vegetarian dishes adapt easily to lowcarb plans, making it possible to choose to follow a vegetarian version of popular lowcarb plans.