Edible’s Vegetarian Diet Guide
A starter’s guide to quitting meat
Welcome to The Edible Project’s Diet Guide Series, a starter’s introduction to eating pescetarian, vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, paleo or keto. We cover the basics of each diet, pass along tips and tricks curated from the diet community, and provide some simple recipes and communities to get started.
PDF versions of all the guides can be found at www.edibleproject.io/guides. To help improve these guides, leave feedback in the comments or send an email to media@edibleproject.io.
vegetarian, noun | \ve-jə-ter-ē-ən\: someone whose diet consists wholly of vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, and sometimes eggs or dairy products
Overview
“Pythagorean” was actually the term used to qualify people in Europe who abstained from animal flesh up until at least the 6th century, as Pythagoras himself was vegetarian. The famed Indian emperor Ashoka (272 BCE) was also vegetarian, but vegetarianism practically disappeared from everywhere except India until re-emerging during the Renaissance and gaining widespread popularity in the 19th and 20th centuries when the first Vegetarian Society was founded in the UK (1847).
Vegetarians have individual preferences in deciding to consume eggs and dairy products. Ovo-lacto vegetarianism includes both dairy and eggs, ovo vegetarianism includes only eggs, and lacto vegetarianism includes only dairy. Strict vegetarians who eat neither, nor consume any animal products elsewhere in their daily life are called vegans.
Things To Note
It is important to eat a varied diet throughout the day, the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of protein and lysine are easily obtained if one eats a variety of vegetables and vegetable-based products throughout the day.
protein: many people ask about protein sources on a vegetarian diet. Nearly all vegetables, beans, grains, nuts, and seeds contain protein, with the most protein dense being tofu, tempeh, spinach, and seitan (normally used in imitation meat).
lysine: lysine is an essential amino acid that is found in specific vegetarian foods. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) of lysine can be easily met for vegetarians by including legumes, seitan, quinoa, amaranth, and pistachios in the diet.
How-To Order
- With the exception of steakhouses and oyster bars, restaurants will likely have vegetarian options above and beyond simple salads.
- Veggie burgers and veggie dogs are high in protein and can be made from a wide variety of vegetables like sweet potato, chickpeas, and black beans.
- Tofu can usually be substituted at Asian restaurants in any dish, and there are often more vegetarian than non-vegetarian options at Indian, Ethiopian, and Middle-Eastern restaurants.
Simple Recipes
These are some curated simple dishes that are great for any beginner on a vegetarian diet! Bon appetit!
- 9 High-Protein Vegetarian Sandwiches — 10 minutes
- Vegan Stir Fry — 45 minutes
- Ratatouille
Community
While embracing a new diet can be daunting, there’s a ton of great vegetarian and vegan resources. Check out the following:
- Happy Cow is a great resource to find vegetarian and vegan foods, restaurants and grocery stores
- The International Vegetarian Union is an umbrella network of global vegetarian organizations
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