A Balanced Vegetarian Diet - Is It Possible?
When you plan the main dish for your meal, do you immediately think of meat? If so, you reflect the dietary habits of most people in our western culture. We tend to think of salads and vegetables as mere accessories to an entree that features meat.
The entree is important, but so are vegetables and salads. These do more than diversify the meal or enhance a main dish; they make essential contributions of vitamins, minerals, and unrefined carbohydrates, and furnish a good quality protein in small amounts.
Main dishes take many forms: hearty soups, protein-rich salads, loaves, patties, croquettes, and casseroles. Simple dishes should not be bypassed. Nicely flavored home made beans and whole-wheat bread have been described by the late Dr. H. C. Sherman, an eminent nutrition scientist, as a " 'main dish' which ranks with meat as a source of nutritionally good proteins.
It is Easier Than You Think
Fortunately, planning a vegetarian diet is not a difficult process. In fact, the single most important principle to keep in mind when planning a vegetarian diet is to choose a wide variety of foods with a minimum of refined products. Both variety and quality are important. When a wide selection of mainly unrefined food is eaten, there is a greater likelihoood of getting enough of the many different nutrients required by the body. Then, too, nutrients often "help" one another. The amino acids (building blocks) of proteins coming from different types of food usually make a better combination than do the amino acids found in as single food.
In planning a well-balanced diet it is also essential to remember that the energy value of the food eaten must be balanced against the energy expenditure. Vigorous exercise allows the intake of a quantity of wholesome food sufficient to provide the essential nutrients without the risk of obesity.
Becoming A Vegetarian : How You Can Make The Switch
Does switching to a meatless diet seem frightening? It needn't be. If you follow these simple steps you will discover that the switch to a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet is not nearly as difficult as you supposed.
- Use a variety of foods in as unrefined and unprocessed a form as practical. More than half of the calories the average American eats are from refined and processed foods.
- Use nonmeat proteins. Choose a generous variety of legumes, meat analogs (alternates) made from wheat and/or soy proteins, and other vegetable proteins. These will not only supply the protein but also contribute the calories, vitamins (except vitamin B12), and minerals that meat furnishes. Although commercially prepared plant proteins are not essential to a well balanced vegetarian diet, they are convinient. (A number of canned, dehydrated, and frozen meat analogs available in a growing number of markets). Eggs and milk are excellent protein sources and supply vitamin B12. Since eggs are high in cholesterol, only two to four a week are recommended.
- Use nonfat or low-fat milk products, cottage cheese, fortified soy milk, et cetera. These foods contribute protein and a number of other nutrients, such as calcium, riboflavin (a B vitamin), and vitamin B12.
- Use whole-grain cereals and breads. Whole grains provide a fair amount of protein and are good sources of some minerals, certain vitamins of the B complex, and complex carbohydrates, including fiber.
- Use plenty of fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables deserve a prominent place in any good diet. They are the least concentrated in calories of any food group but provide essential minerals and vitamins. Dark green leafy and deep yellow vegetables are particularly plentiful in vitamin A. Citrus fruits, melons, strawberries, tomatoes, and cabbage are excellent sources of vitamin C.
- Use nuts, but be careful - they are concentrated! Nuts add unsaturated fats, protein, minerals, and vitamins, but are high in calories.
How About a Total Vegetarian or Vegan Diet
Can you dispense with animal products altogether? Yes, you can, but these are some things to keep in mind:
In a change from a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet to a total vegetarian or vegan diet (one free from all animal foods), all of the factors we have just considered are important. To get sufficient calories, there must be an increased use of each of the food groups.
The milk group requires special attention. In the typical lacto ovovegetarian diet this group supplies more than three fourths of the calcium and over one half of the riboflavin, more than one fifth of the protein, and practically 100 percent of the vitamin B12. One way to get an adequate intake of these nutrients when milk is not used is the use of fortified soy milk. For an adult this would mean a minimum of two eight-ounce glasses a day.
Since there is no practical plant source of vitamin B12, if you become a total vegetarian you will need a B12 supplement or enough fortified soy milk to meet the body's requirement of this nutrient.
Some green leafy vegetables, on a weight basis, supply as much calcium and riboflavin as milk does. A large serving (at least one full cup) of cooked dark green leafy vegetables (such as collards, kale, turnip tops, and mustard greens) provides as much calcium as does one cup of milk. Broccoli is also a good vegetable source Other foods contributing calcium include legumes, particularly soybeans, some of the nuts such as almonds, and certain dried fruits such as figs. Fortunately, green leafy vegetables, legumes, and dried fruits are also good sources of iron. When a generous amount of these foods are used, your body's iron need will be more easily met.
When a meal is no longer considered just a "meat-potato-vegetable" affair, many new and exciting culinary experiences become possible. You may find foods new to you in this blog and others. When you think of new combinations, shopping and cooking will no longer be a monotonous routine, but a real adventure. You will find delicious ways of using the product of the earth in your everyday meals.
