Commando Chicks know that you don’t need to skip meals, spend all your free time at the gym, or try pricey and temporary diet programs to stay in shape. Vegetarianism has consistently proved successful at taking weight off and keeping it off. Individual diets and genes vary, but study after study find vegetarians are significantly slimmer than meat-eaters.

Going vegetarian is a great way to lose unwanted pounds and to maintain normal body weight–and you can throw out your calorie counter! Vegetarian foods are naturally low in fat, so you can eat larger portions of everything on your menu without gaining weight. You’ll also have stronger bones and significantly lower risk of cancer, heart disease, and stroke to boot.

Want to eat your way to a firmer, sexier body? Here’s how:

Avoid all animal products. Fish, poultry, and other so-called "lean" meats are sky-high in fat compared to vegan foods.

Eat low-fat, high-carbohydrate foods from plant sources. Veggie casseroles, pasta with tomato sauce, and vegetable curries are hearty main courses your whole family will love.

Between meals, snack on fruit, bagels, air-popped popcorn, cereal with soy milk, or frozen fruit bars.

Keep high-fat vegan foods (vegetable oils, margarine, and fried foods) to a minimum. Spread jam on toast instead of margarine, savor a baked potato with salsa instead of fatty sour cream or greasy margarine, and sauté in water instead of frying in oil.

Stop counting calories: Quantity is not as important as quality.

Check out tasty meat substitutes like tofu, tempeh, and wheat gluten.

Eat breakfast! Soy bacon, cantaloupe, cream of wheat, oatmeal with cinnamon, fruit, or baked beans on toast will give you energy and reduce your hunger during the morning.

Craving pizza? Go ahead and order it piled high with spinach, broccoli, onions, mushrooms, artichokes, peppers, and garlic, but skip the cheese.

Scramble tofu instead of eggs. Add onions, turmeric, soy sauce, and nutritional yeast. Your taste buds–and your waistline–will love it.

When eating out, ask for what you want, the way you want it–even if it’s not on the menu. Most restaurants are happy to accommodate vegetarian diners and will prepare sumptuous, low-fat veg meals.

Get active! As little as 20 minutes of walking, cycling, hiking, climbing, jogging, or low-impact aerobic dancing three times a week will increase your metabolism and help to burn off fat. 

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. While the pasta is cooking, sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the diced tofu and sauté for 2 minutes, then add the artichokes, tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Drain the pasta and combine all the ingredients.

Mix together the soy sauce, lemon juice, and ginger. Cut the tofu into 1-inch chunks and place in the marinade. Let marinate for 45 minutes. Drain the tofu, saving the marinade. Heat the oil in a large pan and add the cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, onion, green pepper, and tofu. Stir frequently, cooking evenly. Add the snow peas, mushrooms, and green onions. Continue to stir frequently until the vegetables are cooked but still crunchy. Serve over rice, topped with the marinade.

Heat the olive oil and a little water in a large saucepan over medium heat. Sauté the onion until translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Add the bay leaf, wine, and tomato juice and stir well. Then add the garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper and mix until well blended. Cover the saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes over low heat.

Add the zucchini and peppers, stir well, cover, and simmer for another 5 minutes. Add the eggplant, tomatoes, and tomato paste and stir again. Cover and continue to simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes more.

Serve over rice or with crusty French bread.

To prepare the tofu filling, blend all the ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth.

To prepare the TVP filling, pour the boiling water over the textured vegetable protein granules and let stand for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, sauté the onion, green pepper, garlic, basil, and oregano in the olive oil. Add the hydrated granules and soy sauce and sauté for a few minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. To assemble the lasagna, cook the lasagna noodles according to the package directions and drain. Spread 1 cup marinara sauce over the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch pan. Cover the sauce with 4 cooked lasagna noodles and spread the tofu filling evenly over the noodles. Cover with 4 more cooked lasagna noodles and about 1 1/2 cups sauce, then spread the textured vegetable protein filling evenly over the layer of sauce. Cover with 4 more cooked lasagna noodles and the rest of the sauce, then cover evenly with the grated soy mozzarella cheese, if desired.

Cover and bake for about 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for 5 more minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Combine the eggplant, zucchini, onion, bell peppers, oil, vinegar, thyme, and pepper in a large baking dish and toss to mix well. Bake, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Set aside.

Place the pizza shells on baking sheets. Spread about 2 Tbsp. of the tomato sauce on each pizza shell, then top with the roasted vegetables. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the pizza shells and vegetables are heated through.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cut the tops off the peppers and scoop out the insides. Place peppers on a baking tray.

Sauté the garlic in the olive oil over medium heat. Add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Heat briefly and stir into the polenta.

Fill the peppers with the polenta mixture and sprinkle with paprika. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes.

Heat the oil in a large skillet and fry the soy sausage links until golden brown. Cut into 1-inch pieces and set aside.

In the same skillet, sauté the onions and peppers with the salt until the onions are translucent. Add the sausage pieces and the marinara sauce and stir gently. Cover and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes. Serve over the cooked noodles.

Remove the stem ends from the eggplants and cut off enough of the skin to square the sides. Slice each eggplant lengthwise into two pieces, each approximately 1/2-inch thick. Sprinkle 1 tsp. salt evenly over the slices and place in a bowl for about 20 minutes to draw out the bitterness. Rinse the eggplant well and pat dry.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a small bowl, stir together 2 Tbsp. of the oil and the hot sauce. Brush evenly over both sides of the eggplant slices. Bake on a baking sheet for 15 minutes, turning over once. Then broil for 1 minute per side or until the slices are well browned and tender.

In a small bowl, stir together the remaining oil, garlic, vinegar, parsley, and rosemary. Brush on the cooked eggplant and season with salt and pepper. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.