Healthy Eating Guide: Eating Healthy For Vegetarians
The vegetarian way of eating can be quite healthy and can be done in steps, or stages. In this way, you provide some benefit to your body initially, yet don’t shock your system too much. The same rules apply – you should have balance, variety, and moderation.
A vegetarian is someone who avoids all kinds of meat; it doesn’t matter if it is fish, burger, pork sausage, hot dogs, or poultry. Vegetarians are sometimes classified by the type of food they are or aren’t willing to eat. For instance, Lacto-ovo vegetarians will avoid animal flesh although they’re willing to consume most dairy products.
Important: A strict vegan, on the other hand, will not partake of any food which has a trace of animal origin.
Curious Note – How Can The Vegetarian Get Proper Protein?
Due to this fact (they don’t eat meat), people may wonder how the vegetarian can maintain enough protein in their diet. Well, though it’s not well known — many Americans actually consume extra protein – more than he/she actually needs! For the lacto-ovo vegetarian, dairy products are an excellent source of protein. Vegans on the other hand, maintain by getting their protein from seeds and nuts (& soy products).
Healthy Eating Guide: Make No “Beans” About it
As to beans, there are several to choose from, including green or red lentils, peanuts, split peas, pinto, soy, kidney, and many more. Some of them you are already familiar, such as kidney beans in chili, refried beans in Mexican dishes, red beans and rice, and pinto beans. Although some beans taste good as they are, others are available with different flavors to help enhance their taste.
*Nuts are high in protein – but, hey, since they’ve a greater volume of fat than beans eat “in moderation”. By having one cup of cooked beans, you’ll get the same amount of protein as you would if you consumed 2 ounces of Red meat. The nutrients of concern for vegans, who avoid all types of animal food, are vitamin B12, calcium, and vitamin D. On the average, in the North Americans diet animals are the primary source for B12. To have an adequate intake of B12, vegans should reguarly consume vitamin B12 supplements or foods that contain vitamin B12, such as soy products or milk. For calcium, vegans can rely on orange juice or soy milk, as they are rich in calcium. Leafy green vegetables also have some calcium content. New Topic – Healthy Eating and SeedsThe seeds rich in CALCIUM are:
- Sesame Seeds provide the most Calcium
- Flax seed (milled or whole – not flaxseed oil)
- Almonds are a great source of calcium – whether made into butter, or roasted
- Brazil nuts are a good source, too
Although all types of vegetarians rely on simple food groups, controlling your calcium intake is important & something you should always try to do.
Make mealtime fun; you can do Food Selection (& gain ideas) from this Healthy Eating website. I like it a lot. This is very important for eating healthy, as well as staying healthy. If you control what you eat, you’ll have many years of healthy eating ahead of you.
Healthy Kids Food Articles: Healthy Eating For Your Heart + Healthy Habits: Healthy Eating Guide Articles
More Helpful Resources – Summer Fruit Ideas for a Healthy Diet and Increased Immune Function with THIS Fruit (Article) plus FRUITS Guide (a Chart)
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