Anna, a seventh-grader, has decided to become a vegetarian. She told her mom about it. Her mom wasn't too excited, because she's a meat-and-potatoes kind of cook.
"I really don't want to make two separate dinners every night," Anna's mom said.
"I'll just eat the vegetables you fix, and skip the meat or the chicken," Anna said.
"No, you need a plan. You're growing fast right now, and you need to nourish your body," her mom said. "I expect you to eat a healthful vegetarian diet -- not just leftover mashed potatoes, raw celery, and handfuls of Cheerios. That means finding out about good nutrition for people who are vegetarians."
So Anna talked with her school dietitian. She talked with her Aunt Jane, who has been a vegetarian for years. She also looked at some cookbooks at a local bookstore. The bookstore she went to had a whole section of books about how to cook vegetarian food -- from simple meals to gourmet feasts, from American soups and salads to Indian curries.
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Here are some of the things Anna found out:
There are several different kinds of vegetarians. The strictest vegetarians, called vegans, don't eat any animal products at all, including eggs and dairy products. Lacto-ovo vegetarians avoid meat, poultry and fish, but do eat dairy products and eggs. (Lacto means milk; ovo means egg.) Lacto vegetarians avoid meat, fish, poultry, and eggs -- but eat dairy products. Then there are people dietitians call semi-vegetarians, who eat vegetarian food most of the time and avoid red meat but occasionally add fish or chicken to their meals.
People have different reasons for being vegetarians. Many vegetarians are members of religious groups that encourage them to not eat meat. Others do it to be healthy. Others do it because they don't believe in exploiting animals in any way. Some vegetarians just don't like meat.
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Anna wants to be a vegetarian because she loves animals. She didn't know it until she read about it in a cookbook, but she's an "ovo-lacto" vegetarian. Because she eats eggs and dairy products, it's easy for her to get the protein she needs for a balanced diet. She can also get protein from beans, peas, lentils, nuts, peanut butter and tofu.
For any vegetarian, the trick is to eat a wide variety of fresh foods including vegetables, grains, fruits and beans. A varied diet provides adequate amounts of calories, protein, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins and other nutrients.
For example, to get enough calcium -- a mineral that promotes strong bones -- Anna needs to eat plenty of milk products. She could also choose calcium-enriched orange juice. For iron, a mineral that keeps her blood healthy, Anna should choose dark green leafy vegetables such as kale, mustard greens, collard greens, broccoli and bok choy (Chinese cabbage). She also can get iron from dried fruits, prune juice and iron-fortified breads or cereals. When she eats iron-rich foods, Anna needs to combine them with foods that contain vitamin C, which helps the body absorb and use iron. (Many fruits -- especially citrus fruits -- are rich sources of vitamin C.) To get enough B vitamins, she needs to eat legumes such as lentils, whole grains and dark, leafy vegetables.
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As she did her research, Anna discovered that a vegetarian diet can be nutritionally balanced. She shared her newfound knowledge about healthful vegetarian eating with her mom.
"That sounds pretty good," Anna's mom said. "It'll be fun to have your help in planning meals."
Anna agreed. Then she laughed. "I've thought of one really good thing about my becoming a vegetarian," she said.
"What's that?" said Anna's mom. "You'll be able to stop saying, Finish your vegetables!' " Tips for Parents
If someone in your family is making the switch to a vegetarian or modified-vegetarian diet, you can obtain useful information from the Vegetarian Resource Group (410-366-VEGE) or the American Dietetic Association (800-877-1600). Many vegetarian cookbooks -- such as "Almost Vegetarian: A Primer for Cooks Who Are Eating Vegetarian Most of the Time, Chicken and Fish Some of the Time and Altogether Well All of the Time" by Diana Shaw (Clarkson Potter; $18) -- also contain information on how to eat a healthful vegetarian diet. For You to Do
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To reduce the chance of getting too much fat in your vegetarian diet, you can use substitutes for some dairy foods. Here's a recipe for yogurt cheese, a nonfat alternative to cream cheese, from "Almost Vegetarian" by Diana Shaw.
1. Line a large strainer with a coffee filter and prop the strainer over a bowl.
2. Pour a container of plain, nonfat yogurt into the strainer. Put the strainer and the bowl in the refrigerator overnight.
3. In the morning, scoop your yogurt cheese out of the filter. Spread it on your breakfast bagel.
Yogurt cheese keeps for about three days in the refrigerator. You can use it as a spread, stuff celery with it, or as a substitute for cream or cream cheese.
