Healthy vegetarian diet

Guidelines on a healthy diet program using vegetarian dishes

We have been discussing vegetarian diets for those who wish to lose weight by going vegetarian and for those vegetarians who want to make sure that they eat right and get all the nutrients that they need to stay healthy.  In the second part, we focused on what all should you include in a vegetarian diet so that you can have a balanced meal.  On this page, we talk about other guidelines related to vegetarian dieting.

A bad vegetarian diet It is possible to be a vegetarian and eat unhealthy. This is actually very common and this is the reason, Dr. Perricone has written in his books that vegetarian diets are not good for the skin.   French fries, refried beans, pasta with processed cheese, sugar, sodas, salt, processed cold cereals rich in sugar are low in nutrients, and some pizzas are all vegetarian. Many of the processed food is vegetarian and a lot of junk food is also vegetarian.  The same foods that make a diet unhealthy make a vegetarian diet unhealthy.

Eating the same vegetables all the time

This is a major problem for some vegetarians; in many places there are not enough veggies to eat. Try to have a lot of variety in your diet even if you have to use frozen veggies.  If you eat the same food all the time, you are not having a balanced meal for which diversity and variety are key.

Processed vegetarian foods

If you want to eat the same foods as non-vegetarians, perhaps you should become a flexitarian (or flexetarian). A flexitarian is someone who can be almost vegetarian but eats animal products once in a while. Most processed foods are not healthy so if you want a hot dog, hamburger or chicken dish, it is better to have the real thing than buying imitations.

Tastes like meat, but it is not meat

You do not need to buy especial foods unless you want to. These foods are expensive and they may contain ingredients you do not want to eat. 

The fun of being vegetarian. Do you have to eat tofu?

To follow a healthy vegetarian diet it is important to understand the nutrients in each food and portion sizes. This is important in any diet.  The fun of becoming a healthy vegetarian or a healthy flexitarian is to get in touch with your body’s needs, foods and learn to cook. There are many wonderful vegetarian recipes especially if you look at Indian cuisine. There are forgotten recipes from the Adventists and you can always modify your own recipes to make them vegetarian.

You do not have to eat any special foods. Low fat tofu is healthy, but if you do not like it, it is not going to work for you. Eat foods that you like, but keep your mind open and try all foods in different ways and you will find amazing new veggies and new dishes. 

Can you lose weight with a vegetarian diet? 

Cruelty free

The way chicken and all farm animals are treated these days is inhuman, grotesque, awful and too painful to describe. Animals are also treated with antibiotics and lots of hormones. These substances may affect your own health. But they are still considered safe by the FDA. 

Natural free-range chicken’s eggs are better than the very cheap regular eggs. Whole food supermarkets sell these eggs at a good price.   There are also organic eggs. The difference is that the chickens are fed with organic foods.

Organic milk

Cows are typically treated with hormones and other medicines. These substances may affect your body, but just like the eggs they are considered safe by the FDA.   Organic milk is more expensive than regular milk – about three times the price. You can also buy milk from cows raised in the natural way and fed with grains. 

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