All diets must be appropriately planned in order to be healthy and nutritionally adequate. The following nutrients are those that people most often have questions about or that need some specific attention in total vegetarian diets (i.e., diets that exclude all animal-derived products).
Protein Virginia Messina, MPH, RD and Mark Messina, PhD, recommend that total vegetarians receive .4 g of protein per day for every pound of healthy body weight.12 If a vegetarian consumes adequate calories and eats a variety of foods, it is very difficult not to get enough protein. This is true for athletes as well. One need not combine foods at each meal to get "complete protein."12 The most important plant sources of protein are legumes, soyfoods, and nuts; but grains and vegetables also make significant contributions to protein intake.
All foods have different amounts of each of the essential amino acids, so a variety of protein sources should be consumed throughout the day. High-protein meals include vegetarian burgers, hot dogs, and cold cuts; and legumes (e.g., beans, tofu, peanuts) combined with grains (e.g., rice, corn, whole wheat bread).
Calcium Adequate Intakes (set by the National Academy of Sciences) are: 1200 mg (over age 50), 1000 mg (ages 19—50), 1300 mg (ages 9—18), 800 mg (ages 4—8), and 500 mg (ages 1—3). See chart (at left) for high calcium foods.
Iron RDA is 10 mg for adult men and postmenopausal women, and 15 mg for premenopausal women. Vegetarians are no more likely to have iron deficiency anemia than non-vegetarians.12 Iron from plants is generally not absorbed as well as iron from other sources, but vitamin C helps iron absorption (they must be eaten at the same meal), and strict vegetarians tend to have very high intakes of iron and vitamin C.12
Zinc RDA is 15 mg for adult men, 12 mg for adult women. Bran flakes and other cereals have 1—5.0 mg/C. Most legumes, corn, and peas have about 1.0 mg per 1Ú2 C. Cashews, peanuts, peanut butter, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds all have about 1 mg per 2 T.
Vitamin D Vitamin D is produced by sunshine on bare skin (without sunscreen). Light-skinned people need 15 to 20 minutes of sunshine on their hands, arms, and face, 2 to 3 times a week. People living in cloudy climates need somewhat more than this, and dark-skinned people need up to 6 times this amount of sun. Extra amounts are stored for over the winter. People who do not get this exposure can get vitamin D in fortified soymilk and other foods, and supplements.12
Vitamin B-12 No plants are reliable sources of B-12. Strict vegetarians need to get B-12 through fortified foods or supplements. Pregnant and lactating women, children, and older adults need to pay careful attention to this. RDA is 2.4 µg.
Fats Higher fat foods like soy products, nuts, seeds, nut and seed butters, avocados, and small amounts of vegetable oils (especially canola and olive) should be part of a healthy diet. These foods are especially important to help children meet nutrient and calorie needs.12
Vegetarians should be sure to include a daily source of linolenic acid (the omega-3 essential fatty acid). The biological requirement is about 1 g for a 2,000 calorie / day diet.13 It is in walnuts (1.9 g/oz), tofu and soybeans (.8—1.0 g/C), canola oil (1.6 g/T), and flax seeds (2.1 g/T; grind and add to other dishes, or use flaxseed oil).
Iodine Strict vegetarians who do not regularly eat commercial baked goods or iodized salt, which are significant sources of iodine for most Americans, should consider including an iodine supplement in their diet.
12 Mark Messina and Virginia Messina, The Dietitian’s Guide to Vegetarian Diets: Issues and Applications (Aspen Publishers, 1996).
13 Am J Clin Nutr, 1987;045:66.
Some high-protein plant foods:
serving prot (g)
tofu, firm 1Ú2 C 20
soybeans 1Ú2 C 15
texturized
soy protein 1Ú2 C 11
veggie dog/
burger 1 6—18
soymilk 1 C 5—10
lentils 1Ú2 C 9.0
peanut butter 2 T 8.0
chickpeas 1Ú2 C 7.5
sunflower seeds 2 T 5.0
brown rice 1 C 4.9
potato 1 med 4.5
Some high-calcium plant foods:
serving Ca (mg)
tofu, calcium-set 1Ú2 C 120—350
soymilk, fortified 1 C 200—300
figs, dried 5 258
orange juice,
fortified 1 C 250
blackstrap
molasses 1 T 187
collard greens* 1Ú2 C 178
sesame seeds 2 T 176
veg baked beans 1 C 128
navy beans 1 C 128
broccoli* 1Ú2 C 89
kidney beans 1 C 50
almonds 2 T 50
Some high-iron plant foods:
serving Fe (mg)
bran flakes 1 C 11
tofu* 1Ú2 C 6.6
chickpeas 1Ú2 C 3.4
pumpkin seeds 2 T 2.5
pinto beans 1Ú2 C 2.2
apricots, dried 1Ú4 C 1.5
raisins 1Ú4 C 1.1
*cooked
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Veganism has given me a higher level of awareness and spirituality.
Dexter Scott King
son of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Vegetarian Times, 10/95
When changing your diet, it may take some time to find new foods and develop a routine. With experience and adequate motivation, new habits become easy to form and follow.
Vegetarian selections are available in supermarkets as well as pizza places, Taco Bell, Subway, and other restaurants, including Mexican, Indian, Thai, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Italian, and Ethiopian.
Natural food stores carry vegetarian cookbooks as well as foods that replace meats and dairy products.
Baked goods requiring eggs can be made using Ener-G® Egg Replacer, corn starch (2 T per egg), or one banana per egg in cakes. Soy, rice, and nut milks can be used in recipes calling for milk.
Other dairy substitutes – including dairy-free cheeses, yogurts, and frozen desserts – can be purchased or prepared at home with recipes like those in The Uncheese Cookbook (available, $14).
"Traditional" recipes, and an excellent section on seitan ("wheat meat") and other meat substitutes, can be found in Vegan Vittles ($14). Our starter pack includes a variety of substitutes and other recipes (see page 15).
Starting the day with a bowl of fortified cereal and enriched non-dairy milk, sprinkled with walnuts and almonds, along with a glass of calcium-fortified orange juice, can go a long way towards meeting your daily nutrient requirements.
Simple meal ideas include:
Breakfast
Cereal or granola with soy / rice milk
Oatmeal or other hot cereal
Bagel / toast with jelly
Pancakes
Fruit smoothie
Lunch / Dinner
Peanut butter and jelly
Grain / soy burger
Vegetarian hotdog
Vegetarian lunchmeat sandwich
Baked tempeh or tofu sandwich
Soup or chili (over pasta or rice)
Baked / mashed potatoes or french fries
Tofu or tempeh stir fry
Pasta and tomato sauce
Bean burrito
Seitan casserole
Tofu lasagna
Snacks / Dessert
Pretzels, popcorn
Peanuts, almonds, walnuts
Chips and salsa
Banana, apple, orange
Raisins, figs, dried apricots
Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds
Clif Bar®
Pie, cookies, cake
We are the living graves of murdered beasts, slaughtered to satisfy our appetites… How can we hope in this world to attain the peace we say we are so anxious for?
George Bernard Shaw
Living Graves, published 1951
When I first started looking into vegetarianism, I chose to explore a new type of cooking or a new type of food every week. Indian one week, recipes for this strange grain called "quinoa" the next. Thai, seitan, Middle Eastern, nutritional yeast. Soon, I had a menu that far exceeded my previous, omnivorous diet, in both diversity and taste.
Erik Marcus
Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating, 1998
Animals are God’s creatures, not human property, nor utilities, nor resources,
nor commodities, but precious beings in God’s sight.
Rev. Andrew Linzey
Oxford University
Animal Theology, 1995
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