Checking your vegetarian meals are wholesome

Press, 13 April 1989, Page 10

Checking your vegetarian meals are wholesome

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JANICE BREMER

DIETITIAN

Menus in the vegetarian style require the substitution of meat, fish, and poultry with vegetable sources of protein, or frequent use of dairy products. For the strict vegetarian, or “vegan,” who avoids use of dairy products and eggs, replacement protein choices are very important. Not all proteins are of equal quality, so the choice becomes more complex. Two other critical nutritional issues must be considered. First, many vegetarian diet patterns do not allow sufficient calories or energy. Energy is required not only to keep up one’s vitality but also to aid the use of protein, vitamins, and minerals in the human body. Second, the food eaten is, over all, less dense in nutrients than meat, so more whole, less refined versions of plant foods need to be eaten. If you impose even more restrctions on the eating style — no processed foods at all, overemphasis on raw foods, or limitations on what foods are believed to be harmonious — attaining a nutritious diet becomes even more complex.

The adequacy of a vegetarian diet depends on nutrients, in addition to protein. • Including milk and/or eggs greatly reduces the risk of nutritional inadequacies. • Very restrictive diets excluding food groups other than meat, e.g. starchy foods (grains/root vegetables) can endanger health. • Enough protein (there-

fore enough total food) is important as well as adequate quality of protein.

• Calcium, iron, zinc and riboflavin are the nutrients most at risk for marginal supply in a meatless diet; however, all can be supplied by plant foods.

• Vitamin 812 is the single nutrient most difficult to supply from an allplant diet. For vegetarians, fortified soybean milk, tempeh, or a supplement seem to be the most sure sources.

• The nutrient content of a mostly-plant diet is greatly improved by limiting the “empty-calorie” foods — high-fat and/or high-sugar foods, and excessive alcohol. It is greatly improved with a minimum of two daily servings of high protein meat alternatives — lowfat dairy products, soybeans, soybean milk, tofu, other beans mixed with peanuts or sesame seeds

and use of liberal servings of dark-green leafy vegetables. • The very worst scenario for vegetarian eating occurs when people embark on a no-animal-food-diet, and they don’t like vegetables. Some teenage, born-again “pure-foodists” or animalsentimentalists have this no-so-unique nutritional problem.

Vegetarian eating pattern The various published vegetarian patterns have been evaluated. One that is practical and easy-to-remember is the Chaij pattern. This was formulated for vegan Seventh Day Adventists in 1980. The following pattern is an adaptation of that concept. The original was evaluated as being too low in energy and too low in protein for men, but adequate in all other nutrients. This guide will be adequate for adults, providing it is multiplied up to individual energy needs. Most men will need twice or more than this amount. Active women will need one and a half or more times this amount. This plan suggests you keep your food servings in this simple 1-2-3-4-5 ratio.

Daily (1) Serving Nuts/seeds/ beans e.g., y 2 CU P cooked kidney beans/2 Tbsp nuts/seeds. (2) Servings Milk/soy products/eggs 1 serving equal y 2 CU P curd cheese or tofu; 300 ml milk or yoghurt or soy milk, 2 eggs or % cup cooked soybeans. (3) Servings vegetables — include at least one dark green and 1 yellow daily. (4) Servings fruit — include at least one citrus or berry daily. (5) Or more servings unrefined grains, cereals, and breads daily. 1 serving equals 1 slice bread, y 3 cup cooked grain/cereal/muesli, % cup other breakfast cereals. A little margarine on bread and a tablespoon

of oil in cooking every now and then can be included in this diet plan. Making the diet most effective There are three important combinations to making plant protein effective in our diets. This is essential if you eat no dairy products or eggs, and are vegetarian. It becomes important too if you don’t have more than one daily dairy serving. At least once per day do one of these: Take a grain and mix it with beans at the same meal. Examples: Rice and bean casserole or stirfry; baked beans on toast; tortillas and beans; soybread; brown rice and bean patties or loaf; pasta and lima beans or peas. Take A Grain And Top It With Nuts/Seeds at the same meal. Examples: Bread and peanut butter; rice and seasame seed risotto; oats and seeds muesli; pasta with walnut sauce; bulghur wheat and sunflower salad. Remember, only a sprinkling of nuts or seeds is needed — too many are “fattening.” Take A Bean And Flavour It With Nuts/Seeds at the same meal. Examples: Soy and nut

loaf; bean and sesame patties; bean salad with walnuts or cashews; roasted beans and peanuts as a snack; hummus on sesame or poppyseed bread; lentil and walnut casserole. Note that most of these dishes include other vegetables. These provide colour and flavour to these relatively bland basics.

Achieving an optimal diet Whatever degree of vegetarianism you practise — whether it is vegan, lacto-vegetarian-ism, or you just have vegetarian style meals on some days — it is important to consider the following nutritional pointers to keep your diet in line with that advocated for all New Zealanders. Keep To Low-Fat Dairy Products— trim milk; buttermilk; skim milk; low fat yoghurt; cottage, chevre, ricotta or quark cheeses; (and occasional medium fat cheeses, cotto, francette, edam, feta, mozarella, brie). Have Vitamin C Rich Foods With Your Wholegrains— citrus or berry fruits; tamarillos, kiwifruit; plenty of vegetables only lightly cooked help iron absorption. Avoid Excessively Processed Foods—Most are high salt (e.g. textured vegetable protein, canned vegetarian pseudo meats, some breakfast foods, many packaged prepared meals). Some high in fat are—toasted muesli, pastries, cakes, cookies, confectionary bars, chips, crisps, croissants, milkshakes, icecream, salty cracker biscuits, quiche, croquettes, doughnuts.

Remember: Take Grain (wheat, rice, barley, rye, oats, corn) and add Beans (dried peas, lentils, kidney, lima, mung, pinto, soy, black, haricot, garbanzo beans) or Nuts/Seeds or Dairy Prodcuts.

In my next columnspecial needs for children, pregnancy, and the elderly.