What to eat on vegetarian diet

Do you know what to eat on a vegetarian diet and what to avoid ? See the different types of vegetarian diets, tips , and recipes.

Vegetarianism is one of the easiest ways to increase your intake of plant foods. A plant-based diet has many benefits, including reducing the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and other health problems, but not all vegetarian diets are plant-based.

If you are considering a vegetarian diet, this article can help you understand the health benefits and concerns it brings to consideration.

What to eat on vegetarian diet

A healthy vegetarian diet doesn’t include most animal foods, but includes more legumes, soy products, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.

Lacto-vegetarians consume dairy products and plant-based foods

Ovo vegetarians eat eggs and plant foods

Lacto-ovo vegetarians eat eggs, dairy products, and plant foods

Lacto-ovo vegetarians are one of the most popular of this way of eating.

Compliant Foods

• vegetable

To maintain good nutrition in a vegetarian diet, you will feed on a wide variety of vegetables. Many vegetarian recipes replace meat with hearty vegetables such as eggplant, mushrooms, and cauliflower (as well as legumes and legumes).

Vegetables can be easily used in traditional dishes, including soups or pasta dishes (such as lasagna).

You can increase your protein intake by adding vegetables like spinach, brussels sprouts, and kale to your diet.

Vegetables like kale and okra are rich in calcium, which is an important nutrient for vegetarians who don’t eat dairy

• fruit

Fruits provide healthy fiber and are important nutrients for vegetarians.

For example, strawberries, figs, and oranges contain some calcium.

Prunes can provide iron, dried fruits such as apricots, raisins, and prunes can also help you meet your daily iron needs. Mixing dried fruit and nuts together makes it a protein-rich snack.

Fruit can also be used as a substitute for other sweets that may contain non-vegetarian ingredients. For example, bananas can replace eggs to make pancakes. Frozen fruit can be mashed, whipped, and frozen as a substitute for ice cream.

• cereals

Grains play an important role in a healthy vegetarian diet. Choosing whole grains instead of refined grains will help you reach recommended intake of protein and other nutrients, including B vitamins, iron, magnesium, and selenium.

For example, quinoa, which contains all nine essential amino acids. These amino acids must be consumed in the diet because your body cannot make them. Other high-protein cereals include amaranth, oats, wild rice, and buckwheat.

A grain-based diet will also make you feel full and satisfied after eating. Whole grains are rich in soluble and insoluble fiber, and your body takes longer to digest. A fiber-rich diet also has health benefits, including reducing the risk of coronary artery disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and other health problems

• legume

Legumes, including peas, broad beans and small lentils, are an important part of vegetarian diets because they are nutritious, inexpensive, versatile and easy to store. Legumes are naturally low in fat and provide fiber, protein, and other nutrients, including folic acid, magnesium, potassium, and iron.

Legumes also contain resistant starch — a starch that can’t be digested in the small intestine, but goes directly into the large intestine to provide nutrients for healthy bacteria.

Because beans can be cooked ahead of time and added to soups, salads, and other dishes, they are a meat substitute if you follow a vegetarian diet. When choosing beans, consider buying dried beans (bagged or bulk) or canned beans without added sodium.

• Nuts and seeds

Nuts and seeds are a good source of protein and healthy fats. Chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, and flax seeds can be added to smoothies, milkless yogurt, salads, and other dishes to add flavor and texture.

In addition, foods made from nuts and seeds are good staples to take with you. Nut butter, such as peanut butter or almond butter, can easily replace dairy butter or cheese sauce. There are also vegetarian cheese products made from nuts.

If you’re a vegetarian who doesn’t drink milk, you can substitute milk with almonds, cashews, and other nuts.

• Pulse products

Soy and soy products, such as tofu, tempeh and soy milk, are often good foods for vegetarians. Hard tofu can be cut into slices or chunks, just as you would with lean meats, such as chicken breast. Grill, fry, or add sauté to increase your protein intake. Soft or creamy tofu can be added to smoothies, custard, and even as a substitute for eggs.

Edamame — an unripe soybean — is usually cooked, pickled, and eaten directly. Mature soybeans can be roasted, eaten as a snack, or used as an ingredient in other foods. You can also find soy yogurt products, soy ice cream, soy protein powder and soy protein bars

• Vegetable oils and fats

Vegetable oils include olive oil, avocado oil, peanut oil, flaxseed oil, sesame oil, sunflower oil, etc. These oils remain liquid at room temperature, providing polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, which are associated with a number of health benefits, including lowering triglyceride levels and reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke

Because these oils contain 9 calories per gram like other fats, they should be consumed in moderation. However, because you don’t eat animal products (and may not eat dairy) on a vegetarian diet, your total fat intake may be lower than on a traditional omnivorous diet. Therefore, the intake of healthy fats has become particularly important.

• Eggs and dairy products

If your vegetarian diet includes eggs and dairy products, it may be easier for you to meet your protein needs. A large egg provides 6 grams of protein and vitamin D (important for the absorption of calcium), phosphorus, vitamin A.

Eggs also provide vitamin B-12, which is difficult for vegetarians to obtain because it is not found in plant foods. It may be present in some meatless fortified products, such as breakfast cereal

One cup of skim milk provides about 9 grams of protein and about 35% of the recommended daily intake of calcium. Most milk substitutes provide less protein and calcium.

If you don’t eat eggs or dairy products, it’s important to read the label to make sure you buy a product that doesn’t contain these ingredients. Eggs and dairy products are often found in baked goods, pasta, soups and other common foods.

Non-Compliant Foods

• Meat and poultry

When you become vegan, you will completely eliminate meat and poultry from your diet. This includes red meat (such as bison or beef), chicken, turkey, pork, duck and other animal meat.

Meat substitutes, including meatless burgers, sausages, chicken and turkey substitutes, are available at most grocery stores. Some products are made from vegetables, while others are made from grains, lentils or soybeans.

It’s important to note that not all meat substitutes are healthy. In some cases, meatless products contain more fat, sodium, and other additives than meat products, so it’s important to read nutrition labels when making choices.

• Fish and seafood

Vegetarians generally do not eat fish and seafood, although some consider fish vegetarians to be a variant of vegetarianism. Aqua vegetarians don’t eat meat and poultry, but make fish and seafood part of their dietary plan.

There are seafood substitutes in some markets. Like crab cakes, fillets and other alternatives are often made from textured proteins and other ingredients.

• Animal by-products

Animal by-products are foods that contain animal raw materials. For example, gelatin (often used to make fruit gels, pudding, candy, marshmallows, cakes, ice cream, and yogurt) is sometimes made by boiling the skin, tendons, ligaments, and/or bones of animals.

Other animal-based ingredients include whey, casein, lactose, egg whites, fish-derived omega-3 fatty acids, rennet and some forms of vitamin D3.

Not all vegetarians avoid animal by-products. Vegans (vegetarians who don’t eat eggs, dairy, or honey) avoid these ingredients. You decide whether or not to avoid them, depending on why you choose a vegetarian diet.

These ingredients are unlikely to have a substantial effect on your overall nutrient intake. However, if your vegetarian lifestyle is motivated by ethical treatment of animals, you may choose to avoid animal by-products.

Resources and tips

Going vegetarian at first may require more effort, as you need to be more thoughtful in your shopping, cooking, and eating habits. Eating out can also be challenging.

But as plant-based diets have become more popular, restaurants and grocery stores are increasingly adding vegetarian options. However, if you follow a strict vegetarian diet, you still need to read the labels carefully or ask questions.

Food labeling

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not mandate the use of the term “vegan” on food labels. Because there is no standard definition of vegetarian food, you may be confused when buying groceries.

The Vegetarian Resource Group provides a chart of vegetarian labels on some of the products you might see in stores. The chart provides details of the criteria used to assess food ingredients and whether food manufacturers are charged for providing labels.

Just because a food doesn’t have a vegetarian label doesn’t mean it’s not vegetarian. In some cases, adding labels is too expensive for small food manufacturers.

In most cases, eating a whole food or the food closest to its full form (such as fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds) will provide the best guarantee that your food choices are in line with a vegetarian diet style.

When buying processed or packaged foods, read the ingredient list to make sure the food you choose matches the food plan you’ve chosen.

Nutrition guidelines

Some people who have converted to vegetarians worry about whether their nutritional needs will be met when they don’t eat meat and dairy. For example, when you first exclude meat from your diet, you may have a hard time getting enough protein. If you don’t eat dairy, reaching the recommended daily calcium intake can be a challenge.

Although we know what to eat on vegetarian diet, it takes time to study the need for nutritional balance

To help ensure you’re getting the nutrients you need, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have included a healthy vegetarian diet model as part of their 2020-2025 U.S. Dietary Guidelines. The guidelines provide intake recommendations for a variety of food groups, such as leafy greens, starchy vegetables, legumes and soybeans, soy products, and others.