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The evidence keeps mounting that a vegetarian diet (diet built
around whole-plant foods) is superior to a meat-based diet. Meat is high in fat and cholesterol. It
lacks the fiber found in vegetables and fruits as grown and it has none of the antioxidants and
phytochemicals needed for good nutrition and health. Around the world, people on
vegetarian diets have better health, are thinner, and live longer.
Going to a Vegetarian Diet
Many who have made meat and dairy products the center of their meals feel at a loss when trying to
change to a vegetarian diet. For a while meals seem incomplete without flesh foods.
You can satisfy your appetite on a vegetarian diet. It may take a
while to adjust, but eventually this way of eating becomes acceptable, and then preferable. Here is
a sample menu to get you started planning delicious vegetarian diet selections:
|
Sample Meat-Less Menu |
| Breakfast |
As you are planning your vegetarian
diet, build your meals around the food categories listed below.
- Cooked cereal (seven-grain cereal) or cold
cereal (Shredded Wheat, Nutrigrain) with milk substitute, and half of a banana or
other fresh fruit sliced on top.
- Citrus fruit: orange or grapefruit—peel and eat
the whole fruit.
Three slices of whole-wheat toast with "mashed" banana topped with pineapple ring or
slice of kiwi.
- Herbal tea.
|
| Lunch |
- Two whole-wheat pita (pocket) breads
stuffed with lettuce, sprouts, cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes and a tofu
equivalent to low-fat cottage cheese.
- Split-pea soup with pearl barley or
rice.
- Fresh fruit such as papaya, pear,
apple, or mango.
|
| Dinner |
- Whole-wheat spaghetti and
tomato sauce.
- Tossed salad with a low-calorie
Italian dressing.
- Slice of whole-grain bread
- For dessert: baked apple with date and a walnut.
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| Your Challenge |
As you are
planning a more natural vegetarian diet, build your meals around
the food categories listed below. |
|
Selection
Suggestions |
| Optimal
Foods for Vegetarian Diet |
| Fruit: all fresh
fruit (use avocadoes and olives sparingly) |
| Vegetables:
vegetables, greens, herbs, and squash |
| Legumes: all
beans, peas, lentils, garbanzoz |
| Tubers:
potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes |
| Grains: all
whole grains, bread, pasta |
| Nuts: eat
sparingly |
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Optional Foods
(if you insist on using dairy, fish, fowl, or beef meat) |
| Dairy: nonfat
milk, plain yogurt, skim milk, cheeses, buttermilk, and
low-fat cottage cheese in moderation. |
| Eggs: whites
only--or replace with Ener-G powder for binding. |
| Meats: small
amounts only of skinless fowl, fish fillet,
or lean beef. |
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