Eating a balanced vegetarian diet
Eating a healthy and balanced vegetarian diet is easier than you may think and it doesn't have to be just lettuce leaves and baked beans! Contrary to the perception that plant-based diets are dull and boring, this style of eating permits the enjoyment of a wide variety of foods, flavours and textures, while enhancing energy levels and overall health. There are a wide variety of nutritious plant foods to choose from – and the right combination of foods helps to ensure you meet your nutrition requirements. Use the information below as a guide to following a healthy well balanced plant based diet.
Choose mostly from:
Wholegrain foods:
Wholegrain cereal foods contain a powerful combination of vitamins, minerals, fibre, protein, carbohydrate and hundreds of naturally occurring antioxidants and phytonutrients. These work synergistically within the body to promote health and protect against disease.
Wholegrains contain all three parts of the grain - the outer bran layer, germ and endosperm.
Types of wholegrains include whole wheat, oats, barley, rice, millet and buckwheat. These grains are found in wholegrain breads, breakfast cereals, crackers, pastas and noodles. It is important to include wholegrain foods in your diet each day.
Try to include at least two serves of wholegrain foods a day. One serve of wholegrains is equal to 2 slices of wholegrain bread, 1 cup cooked wholegrain pasta or brown rice, 1 cup cooked porridge, ½ cup untoasted muesli or 1/3 cup wholemeal flour.
Healthy Tips to include more wholegrains in your diet:
- Choose cereals made of wholegrains e.g. Sanitarium Weet-Bix, muesli or porridge made from rolled oats.
- Replace white rice with brown rice.
- Use wholemeal flours in baking.
- Try adding brown rice to homemade burgers or rissoles.
- Add oats in baking, such as muffins, slices and cakes.
Colourful fruits and vegetables:
Fruits and vegetables are an essential part of any diet. Fruits and vegetables provide carbohydrate for energy, fibre for digestive health and a wide variety of vitamins and minerals such as vitamin C, folate, riboflavin and beta-carotene. Like wholegrains, fruits and vegetables also provide antioxidants and phytochemicals.
Aim for 2 serves of fruit each day. One serve of fruit is equal to one medium sized piece of fruit (e.g. apple, banana) or 2 small pieces of fruit (e.g. apricots, plums), 2 tablespoons of dried fruit or 1 cup of chopped fresh or canned fruit.
Aim for 5 serves of vegetables each day. One serve of vegetables is equal to ½ cup of cooked vegetables, 1 small potato, 1 cup of fresh salad vegetables or ½ cup of cooked legumes (beans, lentils).
Healthy Tips to include more fruit in your diet:
- Add chopped fresh fruit or dried fruit to breakfast cereals.
- Try adding various fruits to smoothies, such as bananas, mangoes and berries.
- Opt for fruit when craving a sugar fix, rather than cakes and biscuits that are high in sugar and fat.
- When baking breads, muffins or cakes, try adding fresh or dried fruits such as bananas, pineapple, sultanas, dates or figs.
Healthy Tips to include more vegetables in your diet:
- Add Asian greens to a quick stir-fry
- Try various combinations of vegetables in curries, casseroles and stews, like parsnips, carrots, celery, spinach and cabbage
- Eat raw vegetables as an afternoon snack with or without a dip such as hummus. Try using carrots, celery, snow peas and cucumber.
- Add vegetables on pizza or in pasta dishes.
- Enjoy vegetable based soups for lunches.
Choose moderate amounts of:
Dairy foods and Alternatives:
Dairy foods include milk, yoghurt and cheese and provide a good source of calcium and protein. If you don't include dairy foods in your diet it is important to include alternatives such as fortified soymilk and soy yoghurts. Fortified soymilk such as Sanitarium So Good are fortified with calcium and other essential nutrients found in dairy milk like vitamin B12, riboflavin and vitamin A.
Aim for 2 - 3 serves of low fat dairy or soy products daily. This may include milk, cheese and yoghurt. Soy alternatives most suitable for vegetarians are those that have been fortified with calcium and vitamin B12, such as Sanitarium So Good.
Healthy Tips to include dairy foods and/or alternatives in your diet:
- Enjoy milk or soymilk on your breakfast cereal.
- Add milk or cheese to cooking.
- Try yoghurt as a quick and easy afternoon snack or dessert.
- Try fruit and milk based smoothies for something different at breakfast or as an afternoon snack.
Legumes:
Legumes, also known as pulses or beans, offer a powerful combination of nutrients and are a great meat alternative for vegetarians. Legumes provide carbohydrate, protein, iron, zinc, folate and fibre.
There are many different types of legumes including kidney beans, lentils, chickpeas, baked beans, soybeans and foods containing these such as burgers, felafel, soups, curries, dhal, dips and spreads.
Aim for 1 - 2 serves of legumes per day. One serve of legumes is equal to ½ cup cooked legumes.
Healthy Tips to include legumes in your diet:
- Use lentils and beans in cooking, for example lentils instead of mince in dishes like lasagne or pasta and beans in soups and salads.
- Include vegetarian options at lunch – why not try a lentil or vegetable burger or add felafels to a salad sandwich.
- Tofu is made from soybeans so this is a different way to enjoy legumes. You can add tofu to a vegetable stir-fry or grill on the BBQ with some vegetables for a warm vegetable salad.
- Hummus is a tasty and easy way to eat more legumes. Enjoy hummus as a dip with wholegrain crackers and vegetable sticks or spread on sandwiches.
Eggs:
Eggs can be included in a healthy lacto-ovo vegetarian diet and offer protein as well as vitamins and minerals. Today, you can choose free-range eggs that have been fortified with essential nutrients like omega 3.
Eggs can be included regularly in the diet as a meat alternative.
Healthy Tips to include eggs in your diet:
- For a quick and easy dinner whip up a vegetable omelette.
- For a tasty lunch why not try a vegetable quiche.
- Simply enjoy a hard boiled egg with wholegrain toast fingers for a tasty Sunday breakfast.
Nut and Seeds:
Nuts and seeds are a source of healthy or “good” fats and also provide essential nutrients like vitamin E, magnesium, selenium, protein and fibre. Types of nuts and seeds include walnuts, cashews, almonds, brazil nuts, pistachios, hazel nuts, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and nut spreads such as peanut butter, almond paste and tahini.
Eating a handful of nuts (30g – 50g) most days is beneficial for a healthy heart.
Tips to include nuts and seeds in your diet:
- Simply enjoy as a snack.
- Sprinkle nuts and seeds over salads and stir-fries.
- Enjoy peanut butter on toast.
- Use in cooking, for example, add pecans or almonds to muffins and cakes and sprinkle sunflower seeds over the top of quiches or pasta bakes.
Vegetarian foods:
Foods that have been prepared for vegetarians include soy sausages, vegetable burgers and textured vegetable protein mince and meal bases. For example, the Sanitarium Vegie Delights range, click here for more information www.vegiedelights.com.au
These vegetarian foods are good sources of protein and are often fortified with essential nutrients such as iron, zinc and vitamin B12.
Eat small amounts of:
Extra Foods:
- Limit added fats or fatty foods such as chips, cakes, biscuits, pastries and fast food. Avoid using oils and spreads high in saturated and trans-fats like butter and lard, instead try using monounsaturated and polyunsaturated oils and spreads such as olive oil, canola oil, almond, macadamia and avocado oil. It is important to include these healthy fats in your diet in small amounts– so it is ok to use margarine and a small amount of oil in cooking.
- Limit sugary sweets and drinks. These offer no nutrients and are often referred to as "empty kilojoules" because they only provide kilojoules or energy to the diet and no nutrients.
Key Nutrients For Vegetarian Diets
Following a balanced and well-planned vegetarian diet can provide essential nutrients important for maintaining health and wellbeing and may also reduce your risk of certain diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, overweight and obesity and some forms of cancer.
However, there are key nutrients that will need special attention when planning vegetarian meals to ensure you meet your daily requirement. These include protein, vitamin B12, calcium, zinc, iron and omega 3 fatty acids.
Protein:
Protein is essential for the growth and maintenance of body cells and the formation of DNA. Hormones and enzymes are made of proteins, which also play important roles in the body. Most plant foods are good sources of protein so as long as vegetarians are consuming moderate amounts of food each day to maintain a healthy weight, it is easy to get enough protein.
Tips for adding protein to your diet
- Eat foods containing legumes daily such as chickpeas, kidney beans, split peas, lentils, baked beans and soybeans.
- Enjoy a variety of nuts frequently, either by themselves or sprinkled over salads and stir-fries.
- Include a variety of grains daily in your diet (particularly wholegrains) these include wheat, oats, millet, rice, barley and quinoa.
- Dairy products and alternatives such as soymilk also provide protein.
- Lacto-ovo vegetarians may also obtain protein from eggs in their diet.
Vitamin B12:
Vitamin B12 plays an important role in the production of red blood cells and the synthesis of DNA. Vitamin B12 is also important for normal functioning of our brain, spinal cord and nerves.
Sources of vitamin B12 are found in animal based products such as dairy products, meat, seafood and eggs. Therefore, it is important that vegetarians include foods in their diet that have been fortified with vitamin B12 such as soymilk and vegetarian meals or obtain their intake of vitamin B12 by use of a supplement.
Tips for adding Vitamin B12 in your diet
- Include milk and other dairy products or fortified soymilk daily in your diet. Just two cups of So Good soymilk provides the recommended dietary intake of vitamin B12 for adults.
- Include plant foods that have been fortified with vitamin B12 such as soy burgers, sausages and Sanitarium marmite.
- Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding may need to take a supplement, if fortified foods are not regularly consumed.
Calcium:
Calcium is an important mineral required to maintain strong, healthy bones and teeth, therefore reducing the risk of developing osteoporosis. Calcium is also involved in blood clotting and muscle contraction and the transmission of nerve signals in the body. Sources of calcium include dairy products, calcium enriched soymilk, almonds, figs, tofu and Asian greens.
Tips for adding Calcium in your diet
- Add calcium enriched soymilk or low fat milk on cereal and in cooking.
- Use legumes in meals, they make excellent fillers in soups and casseroles. Navy beans, green soybeans and tofu are a good source of calcium.
- Limit your intake of foods containing oxalates such as spinach and rhubarb as these inhibit the absorption of calcium.
- Loss of calcium by the kidneys can occur in diets containing too much caffeine and salty foods. These foods should therefore be limited in the diet.
- Dried fruits and nuts such as figs, apricots, almonds and Brazil nuts are sources of calcium. Enjoy these as a snack or try them with your favourite breakfast cereal.
- A calcium supplement may be useful for those whose diets are insufficient in calcium, particularly older people. Vitamin D may also be taken as this aids in the absorption of calcium.
Zinc:
Zinc is involved in various roles in the body including reproduction, growth, sexual maturation, wound healing and maintenance of a strong immune system.
Tips for adding zinc to your diet
- Foods containing zinc include wholegrain breads and cereals, wheat germ, legumes, tofu, tempeh, nuts, seeds and fortified breakfast cereals. Enjoy these on a daily bases.
- Snack on pumpkin seeds, almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds or pecans, or add to salads and muesli.
- Enjoy a variety of grains, nuts and sprouts such as alfalfa and mung beans in salads or in sandwiches.
Iron
Iron assists in the transport of oxygen around the body, as it is a component of haemoglobin found in red blood cells. Iron is also involved in building a healthy immune system.
There are two types of iron in the diet, haem iron and non-haem iron. Haem iron is found in animal products and is highest in red meat. Non-haem iron is found in eggs and plant foods.
Vitamin C, vitamin A, beat-carotene and organic acids all enhance the absorption of non-haem iron. These components are found in many fruits and vegetables.
Tips for adding Iron to your diet
- Enjoy iron-rich foods regularly such as wholegrain breads, iron-fortified cereals, legumes, tofu, nuts and seeds
- Add foods containing vitamin C, such as citrus fruits, berries, tomatoes, capsicum and broccoli, to enhance iron absorption.
- Also include beta-carotene foods to assist in iron absorption, these include yellow, orange and dark green vegetables
- Reduce consumption of tea and coffee, particularly at meal times, as tannins found in tea and coffee reduce the absorption of iron.
- Include sprouted beans such as mung beans, grains and seeds in salads or in sandwiches to increase your intake of iron.
Omega 3:
Omega 3 fats are "good fats" and are essential in the diet. Omega 3 fats are important for the structure of the body's cell membranes and are precursors to hormone like compounds known as eicosanoids, which play a role in numerous bodily processes such as reproduction, blood pressure and inflammation.
There are different types of omega 3 fats in the diet. ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) found in plant foods and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) found in marine foods like fish.
All omega 3 fats are beneficial to our health due to their anti-inflammatory properties. However, EPA and DHA have been studied widely and are beneficial for heart health as they can help to lower blood pressure and triglycerides, regulate heart rhythm and help prevent the formation of a blood clot. EPA and DHA are also important for the development of a healthy brain and eyes in infants and children.
Tips for adding omega 3 to your diet:
- If you include fish in your diet choose oily fish like salmon, tuna and sardines as these contain the highest concentration of EPA and DHA.
- If you don't eat fish, that's ok, as there are plant sources of omega 3 that contain high amounts of ALA. Include walnuts, linseeds, soybeans, canola oil and foods that are fortified with omega 3 such as bread and eggs.
- Enjoy dried fruit and walnuts as an afternoon snack.
- Try adding ground linseeds or LSA to your breakfast cereal.
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