Can My Child Be Safe on a Vegetarian Diet?

By Daniel J Lesser

If you are a vegetarian parent you have probably considered putting your child on a vegetarian diet. Not only would it save you time and make meal planning easier, but for dietary reasons or ethical reasons you may believe it is the best choice for your child.

Conversely, you may not be a vegetarian but you may have a child who is at a vegetarian phase where he or she is rejecting meat but doesn't eat enough healthy foods to compensate for the nutritional gap.

Whatever the case may be, you may be wondering if a vegetarian diet is a sustainable, healthy choice for your child. Or, perhaps you have heard that a vegetarian diet could potentially stunt the growth of your child.
These concerns probably prevented you from putting your child on a vegetarian diet up to this point.
You should be aware that these concerns are in-fact legitimate issues and that if a vegetarian diet is poorly planned, it can cause serious long term and short term deficiencies especially in children who do not have sufficient stores of vitamins and minerals in their bodies as yet.

If you have not done sufficient research and are not well-prepared for the task of putting your child on a vegetarian diet, then you probably should not. However, if you've done your research and are aware of the kind of nutrients that vegetarian diets lack, then you know that these problems can easily be over-come with some meal planning.

You will probably be aware that putting your child on a vegetarian diet can greatly improve his or her health and limit the exposure to animal products that are often linked to hormones and preservatives.

To begin your child on a vegetarian diet you should make sure that you your meal-planning ensures enough of the following elements that vegetarian diets lack:

1) Protein - make sure that your child is getting enough protein from additional sources such as nuts and soybeans.
2) Calcium - ensure that your child is getting enough calcium in his diet by including lots of green leafy vegetables to his diet.
3) Iron - add more iron to your child's diet by increasing beans, soybeans, tofu and cereals.
4) Zinc - enhance your child's Zinc intake by increasing, nuts, peanut butter, and mushrooms.
If you concentrate on compensating for all of these common deficiencies that vegetarian diets lack, then, you can absolutely put your child on a vegetarian diet without any negative consequences.

Become A Vegetarian With These 3 Simple Steps

-By Vegetarian EJ

We are all striving to lead healthier lifestyles.  It is not always easy and what usually separates the ones who are actually healthy from the ones who only dream about being healthy are two things; knowledge and a plan.  As you may have heard, becoming a vegetarian or vegan is the fastest way to achieve optimal health and if you are a vegetarian or may be thinking about eliminating meat from your life then let me congratulate you in making this decision and committing to finding information to help you leverage this healthy lifestyle.  It is by far the wisest choice you have ever made in your life regarding your health. For those of you switching to a vegetarian way of life, you are focusing a change through the number one factor why so many people have developed certain kinds of illnesses and that's our dietary routines. Truth be told, you don't have to be afraid if this new decision will or won't work and it doesn't matter if this is your first time trying to go meatless. There is that great chance that this dietary change will work and change your life forever. Transition in everything works with a gradual and progressive way of dealing with something. It can also be applied for a vegetarian change.  Let me show you how to successfully switch to a vegetarian lifestyle with these 3 simple steps.

Add Vegetarian Recipes To Your Meals Gradually
This is the gradual way of handling the big change in your life;   this approach helps ensure that you stick with the new meatless life you committed to.   In this case you don't have to prepare a feast of varied vegetarian recipes right away. You can start by adding one vegetarian meal a day or even once a week.  From there you gradually start to add more meatless meals to your routine.   Not only would you know what you like best but you can create your own vegetarian recipes that are not only healthy but are also delicious as well.   It will be much easier as you progress, in replacing your meat based meals with a variety of vegetarian cuisines. Select several meals that you like that are vegetarian and you can start adding replacing these meals for the meat filled meals you eat now.  Always strive to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables too.  Do this and your body will notice the difference and love you for reducing your meat consumption.  From there, it will be easy to eliminate meat entirely.

Substitution is a Big Factor
A big factor in transitioning to a vegetarian lifestyle is pleasing your senses.  Your taste buds and mouth have to be having and will have become used to "meat substitutions."  I have often asked people if they have ever tried tofu and I always get the same response, "Yes I have tried it and I will never try it again."  Most people do not like the "soft" texture of tofu.  The beauty of meat alternatives is that there are more options available then just tofu.  Tempeh, TVP, and Seitan are just an example of the variety of meat substitutions that are available.  Most supermarkets carry these in the produce or "natural foods" aisle.

Identify Your Vegetarian Resources & Support
Now that you have decided to go meatless, you want to make sure you commit to your plan and diligently be aware of the food choices you are making.  Don't know where to start?  Having vegetarian resources available at your fingertips to help you with your transition and improve your "vegetarian" success rate.  Get yourself a couple of vegetarian cookbooks (you can never have just one), surf the internet for downloadable recipes that you can print from your computer, and even seek out vegetarian online communities, blogs, and forums to get your questions answered and for support!

It may difficult for you at first, but remember the long-term benefits of adapting a vegetarian lifestyle.  Once you have your vegetarian regimen and you start to experience the impact that healthy eating has on your mind, body, and soul, your meat eating days will become a distant memory that you will want more than ever to forget.

Article Courtasy: Article Base

Vegetarian variety

By ALANA LISTOE

The reasons so many people attended a recent class on vegetarian cooking varied, but they all left with new ideas about meatless meals.

Staff from the Real Food Store gave a vegetarian cooking demonstration last week in the second of a four-part series about vegetarianism at St. Peter’s Hospital.

Adelle Klungland, with the Real Food Store, said although the Helena health food store carries a wide variety of meat, the store caters to people who chose a vegetarian diet.

“It’s a myth that it’s bad for young people or pregnant women, you just have to know a lot and eat broad varieties of food,” Klungland said.

Opinions on other health benefits vary depending on who you talk to.

Klungland says a vegetarian friend once told her that meat eaters have an odor those with a plant based diet don’t have.

She prepared a frozen bag of Seapoint Farms veggie blends. The colorful dish included pea pods, edamame (soybeans), baby corn, carrots, mushrooms, water chestnuts and bamboo shoots. This particular selection was the “Oriental Blend,” which costs about $3.20 a bag at the Real Food Store.

Liz Knatterud, 19, enjoyed a sample of the dish and said she’ll try it at home sometime in the near future. She is familiar with foods containing unhealthy amounts sugar and saturated fats and attended the demonstration to get new cooking ideas.

“(The demonstration) was interesting and the food was really yummy,” she said.
Knatterud recently converted to vegetarianism.

“I was sick of an animal having to sacrifice its life for me to get a hamburger,” she said.
Her family still serves meat at the dinner table, but she just skips that part.

“It takes some getting use to,” Knatterud said.

There were nearly three dozen people at the community education class, but that’s no surprise to Peggy Stebbins, spokesperson for St. Peter’s.

“We came up with the series because people are interested in diet and fitness,” she said.
Stebbins was pleased with the turnout and says it was well attended in part because people have recently made New Year’s resolutions and because vegetarian eating has become more popular in recent years.

Deb Kirley came to the class to get new meal ideas for her clients. Kirley is a health coach for diabetics who works for Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Kirley takes vegetarian to another level, eating a raw food diet.

The raw food diet is based on unprocessed and uncooked plant foods, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, sprouts, seeds, nuts, grains, beans, dried fruit or seaweed. Those who following the lifestyle typically believe that heating food above 116 degrees destroys enzymes in that can assist in the digestion and absorption.

Vegans abstain from eating or using all animal products including milk, cheese, eggs, wool, silk and leather.

Kirley doesn’t eat or use those products, but she says her reasoning is more about her general sense of health than a philosophical one.

“It came about because the more fresh food I ate, the better I felt,” she said.

Kirley struggled with health issues since she was a teenager, and now at 50, she feels better than ever.

“I feel like I have a second life,” she said.

The more you process and cook food the more nutrients are lost, Kirley said.

Many nights she eats a huge salad that includes nuts and avocados.

The process didn’t happen overnight for Kirley.

“I grew up in Alberta eating meat and potatoes, so it was a long process,” she said. “You have to set up your kitchen (a certain way) when you don’t eat cooked food.”

There’s an oven in Kirley’s kitchen, but it’s been a couple years since she used it, and she doesn’t own a microwave.

“We really don’t cook, but we have delicious foods,” she said.

During the presentation Klungland also spoke about ways to eat healthier overall. One suggestion included using agave nectar to replace sugar.

“It’s a substitute with sugar and you need a quarter less,” she said.

“The Real Food Store doesn’t carry anything with corn syrup,” she added.

Jennifer Colegrove, registered dietician with the hospital, said all nutritional needs can be met with a vegetarian diet.

“You still need to have some protein but it can be vegetarian sources such as beans, nuts, eggs and dairy products or soy,” Colegrove said.

“It can actually be healthier because it’s plant based.”

Generally speaking, nonvegetarian eaters have a base meal of meats and starches, she said. But, she notes, both can be unhealthy.

“A Mountain Dew and French fries is vegetarian but not healthy,” Colegrove said.

The key, she went on to say, is balance and getting all the food groups daily.

Colegrove said the average adult should get five cups of fruits or vegetables, six ounces of grains, five to six ounces of protein and three cups of dairy.

“Portion control always remains a key factor,” she added.

Beginning a vegetarian lifestyle takes planning.

The Mayo Clinic suggests starting with what you know and making a list of meatless meals you already prepare regularly. Then, select meals that could easily become meat-free. For example, vegetarian chili can be made by leaving out the ground beef and adding an extra can of black beans or soy crumbles. And finally, experiment by borrowing or buying vegetarian cookbooks.
Food professionals can argue about the philosophical, ethical and nutritional pros and cons of not eating meat, but they all agree that, no matter what your diet, the more variety the better chance you have of meeting your nutritional needs.

Reporter Alana Listoe: 447-4081 or alanalistoe@helenair.com