Share and Voice: A Healthy Vegetarian Diet

All the discussions we’ve been having about how our food choices impact the environment have gotten me thinking. It seems a lot of us – myself included – were raised to believe that having animal products in our diet is a necessity! Personally, my level of meat consumption is low, but I do consume a large amount of dairy products. Because of the new knowledge I have gained from some of our readings and documentaries, I thought it would be interesting to try to cut back a little now that I know the toll these livestock take on the earth.

Animal products provide a variety of nutrients that our body needs, but cutting back on them doesn’t mean missing out on proper nutrition! In order to make sure we are still giving our body the proper nutrition it deserves, I found some facts about how to get these key nutrients from non-animal sources:


Protein
Function: maintain healthy skin, bones, muscles, and organs
Sources: soy products, legumes, lentils, nuts, seeds, mushrooms, and whole grains

Calcium
Function: build and maintain strong teeth and bones
Sources: spinach, turnip and collard greens, kale, broccoli, and almonds. Also, tofu, soy milk, and fruit juices may be calcium-fortified.

Vitamin B-12
Function: production of red blood cells
Sources: enriched cereals and fortified soy products, and dietary supplements

Iron
Function: component of red blood cells
Sources: dried beans and peas, lentils, enriched cereals, whole-grains, dark leafy green vegetables (collard greens, spinach, kale), dried fruit. In order to efficiently absorb iron from these foods, eat vitamin C-rich foods (strawberries, citrus fruits, tomatoes, cabbage, broccoli) at the same time.

Zinc
Function: enzyme component, role in cell division and formation of proteins
Sources: whole grains, soy products, nuts, wheat germ, white beans, kidney beans, chickpeas

Reducing consumption of animal products doesn’t mean having to give up favorite foods!

• Being Minnesotans, I’m sure we all love our occasional hotdish, right? Try putting a new spin on that old recipe by substituting tofu, tempeh, or even some beans instead of the ground beef.

• Love that bowl of cereal in the morning? I know I do! Try substituting soy milk for cow’s milk.

• Worried about missing out on summer grill-outs? Throw a veggie burger on the grill instead, your friends might not even notice the difference. :)

• Used to chicken or pork in your stir-fry? Switch in some cashews instead!

For anyone who thinks a meatless diet is boring and bland, check out these delicious meatless recipes! Yum!

Another fun way to branch out is try to try different ethnic dishes that use grains and vegetables as the main ingredients.

Obviously, I'm not trying to persuade anyone to be a vegetarian - I don't consider myself to be one - but we've all been learning about the huge reduction in resources that would occur if Americans cut back on animal products in our diet. I hope this information was useful for anyone who is attempting to make some dietary changes!

After all, variety is the spice of life!

(Some nutritional information and the food pyramid image was gathered from the Mayo Clinic website.)