What You'll Eat
If you choose the lacto-ovo vegetarian approach, you’ll eat lots of vegetables, fruit, dairy, grains, and protein sources, like tofu and eggs. Vegetarians typically shun meat, fish, and poultry. You might also consider nixing eggs (lacto-vegetarian) or dairy (ovo-vegetarian). Vegans exclude all animal products.
How much of each food group you get is largely up to you, but the government offers daily targets. For a 2,000-calorie diet, it’s 2 cups of fruit; 2½ cups of vegetables; 3 cups of dairy, 6 “ounce-equivalents” of grains (a slice of bread, for example), and 5½ ounce-equivalents of protein (an egg or quarter-cup cooked beans).
In developing your meat-free menu, you’re free to prep and flavor to suit your taste buds—there are vegetarian-friendly meals for any cuisine.
Recipe Resources
You can get by merely by scouring websites to vary your vegetarian menu, but cookbooks might also prove useful. These sources will get you started:
Last updated by Kurtis Hiatt | January 02, 2013
Nutrisystem determines portions, prepares and delivers your meals, and tells you what to eat and when.
The Mediterranean diet plan is highly sensible, emphasizing fruits and vegetables, olive oil, fish, and other healthy fare.
The Mayo Clinic diet plan focuses on lifelong healthy eating. It's rated high in nutrition, safety, and diabetes, but only moderately effective for weight loss.
