Vegetarian teens eat balanced diet.

Raising vegan and vegetarian children.

Nutrition and Parents

Face it: your parents want you to be healthy. You won't get there being a fast-food vegetarian who chomps down on potato chips, french fries, veggie pizzas, sour cream dip, then chugs soft drinks for an encore. Besides, remember that Ol' McDonald sprays french fries with beef juices at the factory and who needs that?

Of course, you eat at least three servings of fruits and three servings of vegetables each day. Even the most dense parent can see that you finally eat your vegetables. Isn't that what they begged you to do for years? Aren't they still begging your siblings to eat their veggies?!?

Even when you lay off the fast food and dairy products, add fruits and vegetables galore, and switch to whole grain foods, non-vegetarian parents still seem to worry about your protein.

Get protein from whole grains at breakfast, brown rice, whole-wheat bread, quinoa, soy or almond milk, seeds, nuts, and legumes. Legumes are better known as beans to most of the world and they are an absolutely rocking source of protein.

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Vegetarian teen.

Peanut butter and whole wheat bread for lunch with carrot sticks, soy milk, almonds, and fruit provide a well-balanced meal with ample protein.

Or visit a local Indian or Asian store and buy some peeled and sliced mung beans--called moong dahl in an Indian store. These beans have more protein than meat. Cook your beans in about 20 minutes with no advance soaking. Mash one cup of beans with a fork or blender, then season with:

1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

Spread on a corn or whole wheat tortilla with salsa and avocado, then add some romaine lettuce, chopped onions and peppers, even some fresh tomatoes if you have them. You have another balanced meal with ample protein. Check the tortilla ingredients, though. You DO NOT want to buy tortillas that have lard or hydrogenated fat in them!

The truth is that almost every plant food except fruit has some protein, although the amount varies.

Soy

Your parents hear the good news about soy and health from multiple media. Add some soy to your diet for them and for you.

Try tofu. Tofu is not poisonous but it can be mushy and slimy.

If you want a tougher consistency with no slime, buy the firm, non-silken variety from an Asian or health-food store, slice about 1/2 inch thick, rinse, season with salt, pepper, and whatever, then bake one-layer deep on a cookie sheet in 325 degree oven until the tofu browns and gets a crust. You will need to turn it over, season, and brown the other side.

This baked tofu keeps at least a week refrigerated in a tightly covered container. Slice or cube it to use in any dish in place of meat. Baked tofu also makes a high-protein sandwich.

Last but not least, study the following table so you can show your parents where you are getting the components of a balanced diet. Click here to print the table, if you wish.

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Vegan Recipes

Food Group	Examples	Recommendations	Servings
Whole Grains	Grains: wheat, corn, oats, rice, millet, etc., Grain products: bread, pasta, tortillas.	Select whole-wheat and whole-grain products.	5
Legumes	Beans and peas: soy, pinto, kidney, navy, lima, peas, lentils, adzuki, garbanzo, peanut. Soy products: tofu, soy drinks, texturized protein foods. Butters: peanut.	Select soy-based milk alternatives fortified with calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin B12. Vary the kinds of legumes you eat from day-to-day.	2
Vegetables: Leaves, flowers, roots, and tubers.	All vegetables with emphasis on variety.	Emphasize leafy green and yellow vegetables. Eat both cooked, raw.	*3
Fruits: Protects its seed with pulp.	All fruits with emphasis on variety.	Emphasize whole fruits rather than juice.	3
Seeds & Nuts	Nuts: almonds, walnuts, peanuts Seeds: pumpkin, sunflower Butters: almond, sesame (tahini)	Eat raw, dry roasted, or in foods rather than deep-fried. Raw is best.	1
Vitamin B12 Synthetic form (cobalamin or cyanocobalamin) is vegan.	Dietary supplement or fortified foods.	A reliable source of B12 should be included if dairy and eggs are avoided.	**2 micrograms
Vegetable oils	Plant oils: canola, peanut, sesame, and olive.	Emphasize those high in monounsaturates such as olive, sesame, and canola. Limit tropical oils such as coconut, palm kernel, palm oil. AVOID hydrogenated fats.	***Optional
Milk, dairy, eggs	Milk, yogurt, cheese.	Emphasize nonfat and low-fat products. Use egg whites only.	Optional
Sweets	Honey, syrup, sugar, jams, etc.	Eat in moderation.	Optional
Variety is of utmost importance in diet. Eat several different kinds of fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes each day. Combine several kinds for one serving. Vary them again the next day. Deeply colored vegetables such as sweet potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, bell peppers, kale, and broccoli are particularly rich sources of vitamins A and C plus iron and calcium.
*Include one serving of leafy vegetables and one serving of cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, kale, bok choy, cauliflower, kohlrabi, brussels sprouts, cabbage) each day. Vary the vegetables served.
Many health professionals now recommend 100 to 1000 micrograms of B12 per day for vegetarians and vegans, as well as all adults over 50.
**Fat is necessary in diet but most of it should come from nuts, seeds, legumes, and fruits like avocados. Do not drastically limit the fat in the diet of children. However, hydrogenated and saturated fats combined should be less than 10% of adult's or child's total calories each day. Hydrogenated fat is as harmful to health as saturated fat. Read those labels!
Eat optional foods to meet calorie requirements only after eating recommended daily servings. Do not allow optional foods, such as dairy or sweets, to "push" recommended foods off the plate and out of the daily diet. Be aware that about half of cane sugar is refined by passing it through activated charcoal made from animal bones.

Source: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Being Vegetarian by Suzanne Havala, M.S., R.D., F.A.D.A., Food Lovers Companion by Sharon Tyler Herbst, Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease by Dean Ornish, M.D. ,Food for Life by Neal D. Barnard, M.D., Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

A Teen's Guide to Going Vegetarian by Judy Krizmanic

This casual book was written for teens. It covers all the basics of becoming vegetarian from what it means to be vegetarian to dealing with the reactions of family and friends to helping teens make certain they get the nutrients needed to be healthy. It has a good chapter on surviving at school and another on surviving sticky situations. The book also has recipes for the types of food teens love. This is a comprehensive book and a wonderful gift for teen-age vegetarians and vegans. Although this book is out-of-print, you can still buy a copy (cheaply, too).

Buy this book