If you eschew meat, your dietary landscape is still plentiful and filled with good-for-you treats. Because meat contains important minerals like iron and protein, it's important for you to find other sources of these nutrients. According to MayoClinic.com, plant-based sources of iron aren't absorbed as easily, so you'll need to ingest twice as much to get your recommended allowance.
Beans, Lentils & Nuts
According to the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada, these foods offer protein, minerals and B-vitamins. In a vegetarian-specific food pyramid, they recommend five servings per day of these protein-rich foods. Common choices include beans, peas, lentils, soy products, tofu, nuts, tahini or almond butter. The U.S. Dry Bean Council concurs, praising beans as a low-calorie, low-sodium, low-sugar, low-fat and cholesterol-free food. In fact, just ½ cup of cooked beans provides iron, folate, magnesium, fiber, protein, copper and potassium.
Fruits & Veggies
For vegetarians, veggies should take precedence over fruit because they offer more crucial nutrients you can't get from other sources. The ADA and Dieticians of Canada recommend four vegetable servings per day, which you can get from raw veggies, cooked veggies, veggie juice or a combination of all of them. They stress the importance of choosing calcium-rich veggies like bok choy, broccoli, collard greens and okra. As for fruits, aim for two servings per day from fresh fruit, cooked fruit, dried fruit or fruit juice.
Grains
According to the ADA and Dietitians of Canada, grains should be the "foundation of the diet." They give you fiber, iron, carbs, zinc, B vitamins and more. The vegetarian food pyramid recommends six servings of grains per day, from foods like bread, fortified cereal or cooked oatmeal. If you're looking for grains you can serve for lunch or dinner, consider quinoa, an often-overlooked seed native to South America. The George Mateljan Foundation reports that quinoa includes all nine essential amino acids as well as manganese, iron, copper and phosphorus.
Dairy Products
Vegan diets exclude dairy products as well as meat; vegetarian diets do not. If you're following the latter, dairy products such as milk, yogurt and cheese remain rich sources of calcium. Eggs offer a healthy dose of protein. In addition, according to the U.K.'s Vegetarian Society, dairy products and eggs are "the only reliable unfortified sources of vitamin B12." They suggest free-range eggs, reduced fat milk, vegetarian cheese and boiled eggs.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Vegetarian diet: How to get the best nutrition
- American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada: A New Food Guide for North American Vegetarians
- U.S. Dry Bean Council: 12 Key Nutrients in Beans
- The George Mataljan Foundation's World's Healthiest Foods: Quinoa
- The Vegetarian Society: B12 Information Sheet
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