A vegetarian lifestyle can help you maintain a healthy weight and reduce risk factors for certain diseases. With proper planning and cooking techniques, you can enjoy a balanced and delicious diet based on plant foods, such as produce, whole grains, nuts and seeds -- and for ovo-lacto vegetarians, eggs and dairy. Healthy vegetarian cooking includes more than just salads and white pasta.
Protein and Vitamin Needs
Although a vegetarian diet can provide all the nutrients you need for health, you must plan your cooking carefully to make sure you do not become deficient in certain nutrients. Include vegetarian protein sources, such as soy, hemp seeds, nuts, beans, legumes and quinoa at most meals. Fortified soy milk, cereals and dairy products can help you get requisite amounts of vitamin D, in addition to sunlight. Vegetarian cooking should also include sources of vitamin B12 such as nutritional yeast, fortified cereals and grains, and eggs, if you eat them.
Mineral Considerations
Focus on calcium-rich alternatives to dairy if you are a vegan, such as fortified soy milk and juices, leafy greens and rhubarb. For iron, experiment with cooking with sea vegetables such as nori and dulse, legumes, dried fruit and blackstrap molasses. Cooking with dairy products helps you obtain adequate amounts of zinc. If you do not eat dairy, your cooking should feature dried beans, nuts and tofu as sources of this trace mineral.
Cooking Pitfalls
Do not rely on refined pasta, white rice, white bread and iceberg lettuce salads for all your vegetarian cooking. Refined carbohydrates offer little nutrition and can be unsatisfying. Sticking to the same vegetables and fruits all the time limits the number of nutrients to which you are exposed. In addition, the same foods over and over again can lead to dietary boredom. If you eat dairy, be judicious with the use of cheese in your cooking as too much may cause you to consume high amounts of saturated fat, a risk factor for heart disease. Although snack crackers and mixes, baked goods and french fries are vegetarian, these foods should play a limited role in your vegetarian meal planning.
What to Cook
Many ethnic cuisines include healthy and flavorful options for vegetarian cooking. Indian lentil or chick pea stews, Thai coconut vegetable curries, Japanese sea vegetable salads and Chinese stir fries utilizing bean curd -- tofu -- are just a few options. Cook a healthy vegetarian breakfast cereal with quinoa or millet, soy milk, dried fruit and nuts sweetened with maple syrup or agave nectar. Familiar foods may be prepared with vegetarian ingredients. Create a healthy pizza with whole-grain crust, soy cheese and a variety of vegetables such as peppers, eggplant, artichoke hearts and mushrooms. Make chili with black beans and zucchini or pinto beans and sweet potatoes for hearty, protein-rich options. Fill tacos with stewed beans and grilled vegetables.
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