Pros and Cons Of Being A Vegetarian

Being a vegetarian is the art of living on vegetable diet. Vegetarians which are of various category, basically abstain from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry,seafood, and and may also include abstention from by-products of animal slaughter.There are many reasons for being a vegetarian; health, environmental, political, ethical concerns, dislike of meat, non-violent beliefs, animal rights and economics. Similarly, vegetarianism has categories.

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The Various Categories of Vegetarians

Ovovegetarian: They take eggs but not dairy products.
Lactovegetarian whose diet includes dairy products but not eggs,
Ovo-lactovegetarian takes both eggs and dairy products.
Vegan takes all animal products, including eggs, dairy, and honey.

Under the Vegan, we have
Raw vegan does not take food and products of animal origin, as well as food cooked at a temperature above 48 °C. A raw vegan diet includes raw vegetables and fruits, nuts, grain and legume sprouts, seeds, plant oils, sea vegetables, herbs, mushrooms, and fresh juices.
And then, we have the fruitarian that takes primarily fruits and it’s parts like seeds.

What Do Vegetarians Eat?

When a lay man hears about tge existence of some people who do not take animal produce, the next question on his mind is ‘What then do they take?‘ Therefore, here is a compilation of what vegetarians eat; Pizza, spaghetti, macaroni, eggplant, bread, yogurt, peanut butter and jam, corn flakes, oatmeal, pancakes, French toast, vegetable soup, fruit salad, French fries, vegetable pies, vegetable, fruit shakes, and more.

Having said that, what comes after is ‘how do they manage their protein level?’

Managing Protein Level While Being a Vegetarian

Proteins are a major component in diet. They are the next-largest component (after water) of human muscles, cells and other tissues. They get broken down into various forms of amino acids. And, amino acids perform critical roles in processes such as neurotransmitter transport and bio synthesis.

Vegetables contain certain amount of proteins but meat and other animal contain much more which is why animal products are good suppliers of protein.

Vegetarians  get enough protein in their diets through a wide variety of plant-based foods. Remember, another great source of protein is cowpea which is a plant.  It is not necessary to become a tactical person planning very meal before you eat. A mixture of various plants will provide enough essential amino acids needed by the body.

Protein sources for vegetarians include
Soybean, quinoa(wild rice), pea, beans,chickpea, hemp seed, chia, lentils, peanut, cashew nut, tofu, tempeh, lentils, millet, nutritional yeast, whole wheat flour, wheat germ, sprouts, chickpeas, carrot juice, barley, rice cakes, carob, split peas, kidney beans, soy burgers, kiwi fruit, papaya, curries, nut loaf.

Substitutes In the Vegetarian Meal

Vegetarians rarely buy food from shops except in places where special regards are made for them. Thus, the questions, do  they buy and eat cakes and all pastries? Comes to mind.
Vegetarians eat cakes but instead of egg, they use egg replacers. They are used to making their meals since they can’t get what they trust and want out there like non-vegetarians. Below is a list of substitutes used in place of compulsory animal products. For instance,

For meats in soup, there is tempeh, Tofu, Wheat gluten

For egg replacers, there is banana(1 small banana for 1 egg) for cakes & pancakes, cornstarch (2 Tablespoons replaces 1 egg), tofu ( ¼ cup for 1 egg). The tofu is blended smooth with the liquid ingredients before being added to the dry.

Diary Substitutes: In place of cow milk;
Soymilk, coconut, almond, and other nut milks.

Tofu, Tempeh and Wheat Gluten

So, I mentioned these food items in previous paragraphs  and you wondered what they are.

Tofu and Tempeh are soybean products.

Tempeh is a unique traditional soy food from Indonesia. It is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form.

Tofu  is a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. It is also known as bean curd. Tofu has a subtle flavor and can be used in savory and sweet dishes. It is often seasoned or marinated to suit the dish.

Wheat Gluten is a food made from gluten, the main protein of wheat. It is made by washing wheat flour dough with water until all the starch granules have been removed. The process leaves the sticky insoluble gluten as an elastic mass which is then cooked before being eaten.