Vegetarian and Vegan HCG Diets
The original HCG diet protocol was designed for people who would be able to choose a meat or fish option at every meal as their protein option. The original diet plan did allow the substitution of 100 grams of cottage cheese for the protein option, and it also suggested that if the dieter was suffering from intolerance to the meat in the protocol, they could substitute an egg, combined with the whites of three other eggs, for the meat option.
However, even with these substitutions, the original HCG protocol did not appeal to vegetarians and it was impossible for vegans to follow. A new variation on the diet was, therefore, created in order to enable vegetarians and vegans to use HCG to lose weight.
During the 500 calorie a day phase, a vegetarian or vegan has three categories of foods to choose from, rather than the four in the original diet protocol. This is because, for the vegetarian or vegan, the protein and carbohydrate options are combined, so they only choose one food rather than choosing a meat or fish option and a breadstick or Melba toast. The vegetarian or vegan chooses a protein/carbohydrate option from the list, and one option each from the fruit and vegetable categories, at each meal, for both lunch and dinner. This means that they must choose six different options every day.
The protein option may be a serving of Ezekiel bread, half a cup of cooked quinoa or 28 grams of uncooked brown rice protein powder.
The vegetarian and vegan diet includes the same fruit and vegetable options as the original protocol. As a vegetable option, the dieter may choose to eat spinach, beet greens, celery, onions, fennel, tomatoes, red radishes, chard, cucumber, cabbage, chicory or asparagus. For the fruit option, the dieter may choose an apple, an orange, half of a grapefruit or some strawberries.
The vegetarian or vegan dieter can also use the same seasonings that are available in the original diet protocol, including salt and pepper, herbs, the juice of a lemon, vinegar and mustard powder. They may drink as much tea, coffee and water as they want, although only one tablespoon of milk can be used every day.