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I am a vegetarian and am wondering what to do about having a healthy amount of protein and calcium in my diet. I am training for a half-marathon and am fairly active.

Does anyone have a good suggestion about what I could eat? I've been eating nuts, peanut butter and eggs for protein and I know they are a no-no (my body knew it a long time before my brain!!)
I don't want to use supplements--just good, natural non-processed food.
Also, is there a link between an IBS flare-up and processed food? Like graham crackers, popcorn, etc?
Thank you all in advance!!

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The IBS diet is pretty close to vegetarian - have you read Eating for IBS? There's tofu, beans, etc. Nuts aren't all that bad, either, if they're taken in moderation and ground up or made into butters. Don't know what I'd do without peanut butter!

Popcorn is bad, bad, bad. Personally, even a handful will give me horrid cramps. Again, this is explained elsewhere on the site and in Eating for IBS in greater detail.

Other processed food: I think the closer you get to organic and less processed, the better. This does not mean that you should not eat the very safe foods made with white rice, white wheat flour, etc! It does mean that artificial colors and flavors, high-fructose corn syrup, and other cheap add-ins should be avoided.

Look around the site a bit more, and you can learn a lot. I keep re-reading Eating for IBS - I learn something new each time!

--AC (contemplating her fresh organic sourdough bread with peanut butter)

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