Good Nutrition For Vegetarian

According to Dr. Henry Chang N.D. Ph.D., it is worth taking a look at the four food groups which will help us select the variety of foods we need for a proper diet. We must remember : a healthy diet is one that is high in nutrients and low in fat, cholesterol, sugar, and salt.
It should also be mostly unprocessed.

Four Food Groups :
1. Meat substitutes : as vegetarian, we can use gluten, tofu, tempe
2. Natural milk and milk products
3. Fruits and vegetables
4. Grains, nuts, cereals, and cereal products

Our meals must be carefully selected from the four food groups. They should be attractively prepared, following proper cooking times for different foods, and sanitations procedures, to avoid food poisoning. As much as possible, eat fresh fruit and vegetables.
There are many cooking tips we can keep in mind about preparing healthy meals. Here are some of them :
Avoid frying food. It is better to boil (in just a little liquid), broil, or bake.
Substitute salt with herbs and spices to enhance flavor. Try lemon juice in some dishes.
Avoid additives with artificial coloring, and food artificially sweetened with saccharin.
Avoid saturated fat and cholesterol from hard cheese, coconut and palm oils. They increase the risk of heart diseases. To play it safe with cholesterol, check its level in your blood periodically. It should be 160 fr young adults and 200 for middle-aged people. Remember : all kinds of fat may increase the risk of bowel and breast cancers.
When snacking, eat fruit instead of sweets which are full of “empty calories” that squeeze more nutritious foods out of diet. Avoid snacks close to meal time so they will not interfere with your appetite for meals.

Avoid or minimized processed foods such as biscuits, white breads, etc., because they are high in additives.
The secret of eating healthy is to eat a variety of foods in the right proportions, and to prepare them properly.

Adapted and Quoted from Longevity Through The Organic Lifestyle

Source : http://www.22vegetarian.com/good-nutrition-for-vegetarian

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Vegetarian Baking Without Eggs

You can create delicious vegetarian cakes, cookies, custards, and other desserts without the use of eggs. Use them as guides and vary flavorings to make your own specialty cakes. Often the texture of the cake will depend more on how you mix the various ingredients than on how you replace the eggs. If you have your own favorite recipes and don’t know how to replace the eggs, here are some suggestions:
Agar-Agar flakes or bars are particularly effective in cheesecakes and in some ice creams, cakes, and pies. Gives a jelled effect that can substitutes for gelatin and eggs.

Arrowroot or Cornstarch mixed with liquid is particularly good as thickener and excellent in puddings and custards that have to be firmed up in the refrigerator.
Baking Powder will often achieve the desired effect if more leavening is required. If baking powder is not called for in recipe, add 1-2 teaspoons (4 – 8 g) in place of eggs. If it is called for in the recipe, you can sometimes add an extra teaspoon if you have removed an egg.
Egg Replacer is available in most health food stores. Follow directions in package to replace eggs. It is quick and convenient, but not necessarily more effective (and often less so) than many of the other techniques for replacing eggs.

Evaporated or Condensed Milk : Use 1/4 cup (2 fl oz or 60 ml) for every egg, plus 1/4 teaspoon (1.1 g) baking soda or baking powder according to recipe directions. Beat well with an electric mixer. This tends to work well in butter cakes. It does not work as well in cakes containing syrup, honey, or oil. Both evaporated and condensed milk can also be used effectively to make ice cream.
Extra Liquid works well in some recipes, particularly cookies. Simply adding a little extra milk or water to the ingredients does the trick.

Flax Seed : Soak 5 tablespoons (2 1/2 oz or 75 g) of flax seed in 5 cups (1 1/4 qt or 1 1/4 L) of water for an hour, then simmer for 2 minutes. Strain and store in the refrigerator. Or grind 3 tablespoons (1 1/2 oz or 45 g) of flax seeds with 1/2 cup (4 fl oz or 125 ml) water in the blender and process about 30 seconds. Add to muffins or quick breads. Does not hold up well under heat but can be beaten and used the way egg whites are used in meringues.

THe microwave method or preparing flax seed is to combine 1 tablespoon (1/2 or or 15 g) of flax seed in a 2-cup (2-L) measuring cup. Microwave, uncovered, on full power until the seeds begin to dance and mixture boils. Continue to boil for 2 or 3 minutes until the mixture has been reduced to about 3/4 cup (6 fl oz or 180 ml). Scoop the mixture into a blender and grind for about 1 minute to break up the seeds. Strain. (It’s ok if some seeds get through the strainer.) You’ll have about 2/3 cup (5 fl oz or 160 ml) or the mixture. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before using, or cover and store refrigerated for up to two weeks. Use 1/4 cup (2 fl oz or 60 ml) of the mixture to replace 1 whole egg or 2 egg whites.
Lemon Juice or Vinegar : Adding 1 tablespoon (1/2 fl oz or 15 ml) lemon juice to 1 cup (8 fl oz or 250 ml) of milk called for in the recipe, in combination with baking powder or baking soda, will usually lighten the cake. Adjust your liquid accordingly. About 1 egg equals 1/4 cup (2 fl oz or 60 ml) liquid.
Liquid Lecithin combined with water can be used in some quick bread and muffin recipes.
Self-Rising Flour can be used in all kinds of baked goods, but be careful about overheating. It will sometimes collapse when cooled.

Tofu can be used to replace egg, particularly in sweet and savory pies, savory loafs, muffins, and quick breads.
Yogurt : About 2 tablespoons (1 oz or 30 g) yogurt in place of 1 egg works particularly well in muffins and some cakes, but does not hold up well to heat.
Yogurt Cheese can be use as a substitute for eggs in some custard pies and cheesecakes. It is good in savory custard pies.
Quote from The Green Way To Healthy Living

Source : http://www.22vegetarian.com/vegetarian-baking-without-eggs

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Varieties Of Vegetarianism

Vegetarianism is the practice of following a plant-based diet including fruits, vegetables, cereal grains, nuts, and seeds, mushrooms, with or without dairy products and eggs. A vegetarian does not eat meat, including red meat, game, poultry, fish, crustacea, and shellfish, and may also abstain from by-products of animal slaughter such as animal-derived rennet, found in some cheeses, and gelatin. Vegetarians may consume these or other unfamiliar animal ingredients unknowingly, however.

Vegetarianism may be adopted for ethical, health, environmental, religious, political, cultural, aesthetic, economic, or other reasons, and there are a number of vegetarian diets. A lacto-vegetarian diet includes dairy products but not eggs, an ovo-vegetarian diet includes eggs but not dairy products, and an ovo-lacto vegetarian diet includes both eggs and dairy products. A vegan diet excludes all animal products, such as dairy products, eggs, and usually honey.

Semi-vegetarian diets consist largely of vegetarian foods, but may include fish or poultry, or other meats on an infrequent basis. Those with diets containing fish or poultry may define "meat" only as mammalian flesh and may identify with vegetarianism. A pescetarian diet, for example, includes "fish but no meat". The common use association between such diets and vegetarianism has led vegetarian groups such as the Vegetarian Society to state diets containing these ingredients are not vegetarian, because fish and birds are animals.

Varieties of vegetarianism

There are a number of types of vegetarianism, which exclude or include various foods.
Ovo-lacto vegetarianism includes animal products such as eggs, milk, and honey.
Lacto vegetarianism includes milk but not eggs.
Ovo vegetarianism includes eggs but not milk.
Veganism excludes all animal flesh and animal products, including milk, honey, eggs.
Raw veganism includes only fresh and uncooked fruit, nuts, seeds, and vegetables.
Fruitarianism permits only fruit, nuts, seeds, and other plant matter that can be gathered without harming the plant.
Su vegetarianism (such as in Buddhism), excludes all animal products as well as vegetables in the allium family (which have the characteristic aroma of onion and garlic): onion, garlic, scallions, leeks, or shallots.
Macrobiotic diets consist mostly of whole grains and beans.
Strict vegetarians also avoid products that may use animal ingredients not included in their labels or which use animal products in their manufacturing e.g. cheeses that use animal rennet (enzymes from animal stomach lining), gelatin (from animal skin, bones, and connective tissue), some sugars that are whitened with bone char (e.g. cane sugar, but not beet sugar) and alcohol clarified with gelatin or crushed shellfish and sturgeon.
Individuals may describe themselves as "vegetarian" while practicing a semi-vegetarian diet. In other cases, they may simply describe themselves as "flexitarians". These diets may be followed by those who reduce animal flesh consumed as a way of transitioning to a vegetarian diet or for health, environmental, or other reasons. The term "semi-vegetarian" is contested by most vegetarian groups, which state that vegetarians must exclude all animal flesh. Semi-vegetarian diets include pescetarianism, which includes fish and sometimes other seafood; pollotarianism, which includes poultry; and macrobiotic diets consisting mostly of whole grains and beans, but at times may include fish.

Source : Wikipedia

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