The Bite:
As any vegetarian worth her weight in tofu'll tell you, it's easy - just know where to get your iron and protein.
Wondering how vegetarians make it through the day without fainting?
07.26.2006
Submitted by idealbite on Wed, 07/26/2006 - 5:00pm.
The Benefits:
- Maintain healthy skin, bones, muscles and organs by going with legumes, lentils, nuts, soy, seeds and whole grains - all great sources of protein (see comparison charts). A cup of tempeh will fill you with as much protein as a small portion of steak.
- Give up meat, not your red blood cells. Iron's found in soy, lentils, nuts and leafy veggies, like spinach and kale. (Non-GMO) soy, lentils and beans are great sources. But note: Veg-Heads might want to try iron supplements, since plant-derived ("non-heme") iron isn't as easily absorbed by the body.
- Win loads of eco-points. Producing 2.2 lbs of grain-fed beef takes 3,960 gallons of water, while the same amount of cereal takes 405 gallons.
Personally Speaking:
When Jen became a Veg-Head at the age of 11, she thought she could get by on cereal, French fries, and - a few years later - hops and barley. Then she didn’t feel so well. So she started eating beans, taking a B-12, and adding tempeh and a hardboiled egg to spinach salad. Ah, all better.
Wanna Try:
Even carnivores can try going meatless a couple days a week - check out these resources for more info:
- Health Calculator - first things first. Check the protein and iron boxes to get your daily requirement, then see the food comparison charts for protein and iron.
- Becoming Vegetarian - eases you into a veggie diet ($13).
- Vegetarian Resource Group - get personalized nutrition advice.
- VegWeb - a veggie community with online veggie dating profiles, recipes and more.
- Happy Cow's Guide to Vegetarian Restaurants - eat well when eating out.
- "An egg a day..." recommends Jen. An egg represents less than 4% of a person's daily intake but provides 10% of daily protein and 5% of daily iron.
Cocktail Fact
Hottie Veg-Heads: Jude Law, Mos Def, Anne Hathaway, Hilary Swank, Christian Bale and Samuel L. Jackson.
Bang For The Bite
If 10,000 meat-eating Biters go vegan just once a week, we'd save the same amount of CO2 that's produced lighting 42 houses that week.
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