How to Go Vegetarian

Veggie Month

Vegetarianism is basically eating more plant based foods and less animal produce. Plant based diets are ‘growing’ in popularity and below outlines some of the rationale behind this:

1.      There are some wonderful health benefits  from reducing meat consumption

2.      Ethical and moral reasons, this may or may not be related to cultural and religious reasons.

3.      It is becoming increasingly fashionable, yes that is right, it is cool to eat less meat

If you are interested in vegetarian month, I have put below a few potential options you could consider

Flexitarian – this is a very popular approach as it basically means you are flexible, sometimes you eat meat products, dairy and eggs and sometimes you don’t, it is a gentle way to ease in to a stricter vegetarian diet

Lacto vegetarian – you consume dairy and eggs but eliminate all meat and fish. This style of vegetarian diet has recently become one of the most popular diets.

Pollo vegetarian - Eliminating red meat and fish but still consuming poultry (chicken), dairy and eggs

Pesco pollo vegetarian – Eating poultry, fish, dairy and eggs but not consuming red meat.

Potential Health Benefits from reducing meat consumption

·         Too much red meat has been linked to potential inflammation, therefore as with everything, moderation is key

·         Plant food is rich in soluble and insoluble fibre to encourage bowel movement. Regularity in bowel movement is key to managing weight, bloating and reducing toxic load on the body.

·         You digest meat with stomach acid and digestive juices. Digestive juices also support the immune system. Therefore reducing meat or animal produce consumption allows the digestive juices to busy themselves on other jobs they need to do

Some considerations to bare-in mind with a vegetarian diet

·         Iron levels are a common deficiency with all diets, vegetarian diets means you have limited sources of iron. To aim at supporting iron levels mix iron rich foods with foods rich in vitamin C. Vitamin C encourages iron to be absorbed in the body. Some combinations could be egg and orange juice, falafel and tomatoes or hummus and lemon juice.

·         If you aren’t consuming meat, fish, dairy and eggs speak with your doctor or a nutritionist about managing your vitamin B12 levels.  Vitamin B12 deficiency has been linked to low mood and energy, a sore tongue, numbness and tingling. There are no plant foods that provide this essential vitamin. Contrary to believe marmite and sea greens do not contain vitamin B12 in a form that we can use.

·         Including combination of beans, pulses and seeds in meat free meals and snacks throughout the day will provide a good source of protein.

Have fun exploring all the great flavoursome foods that a vegetarian diet has to offer. If you make any wild and wonderful dishes we would love to hear about them.