What Is a Vegetarian?

A vegetarian is someone how doesn’t eat meat, such as pork, chicken, beef, or fish. Some vegetarians also don’t eat dairy products, milk and cheese, or eggs. But there are different kinds of vegetarians.

The type of vegetarian that this blog is about is an Ovo-Lacto Pescitarian. An Ovo-Lacto Pescitarian is a vegetarian who doesn’t eat meat, pork, chick, and beef, but does eat fish. They also eat eggs and dairy products.

Why You Should Eat Healthy

What Healthy Eating Is

• Eating 3 balanced meals per day
• Eating the appropriate amount of food from all of the food groups
  
• Eating when you’re hungry, and stopping when you’re full

Short Term Benefits

· Energy - Eating healthy foods provides the energy you need for activities such as sports, and consequently helps you stay fit. Activity is also more enjoyable if you have more energy to spend.

· Growth - Eating healthy foods raises the chances that your body will grow and develop to its maximum potential. This includes things like how tall you will grow, how developed your muscles will become, or how nice your skin is.

· Weight - Eating healthy foods helps you to be in control of your body weight. It ensures that you will be neither underweight nor overweight. The only exception to this is if you have a thyroid condition; in this case eating healthy will not affect your weight as much.

· Mental - Eating healthy foods stabilizes your mood. It also gives your body the nutrients it needs for your brain to function to the best of its ability. This means that you’ll be able to learn more efficiently, and you’ll have less mood swings.

Long Term Benefits (Will Prevent The Following)

• Heart disease – a variety of cardiovascular problems
  
• High cholesterol – blocked up arteries
  
• High blood pressure – makes your heart work extra heard to pump blood
  
• Strokes – blood fails to reach brain
  
• Diabetes – blood sugar irregularity
  
• Some cancers – a group of cells that grow uncontrollably
  
• Osteoporosis – weakens bones so that they are more likely to break
  
• Early death
  

How Much Should I Eat?

Vegetables and Fruit: 8 servings per day for males; 7 servings per day for females
Grains: 7 servings per day for males; 6 servings per day for females
Milk and Other Dairy Products: 3 to 4 servings per day for males and females
Fish and Other Protein: 3 servings per day for males: 2 servings per day for females

How Much Is a Serving? *

• 1 Serving of fruit or vegetables = ½ cup of frozen or canned fruit, or 100% fruit juice, 1 cup of raw leafy greens, 1 piece of fruit
  
• 1 Service of Grains = 1 slice of bread, ½ cup rice, pasta
• 1 Serving of Milk/ Other Dairy Products = 1 cup of milk, ¾ cup yogurt
• 1 Serving of Fish and Other Protein = ½ cooked fish, ¾ cup cooked beans, 2 eggs, 2 Tbsp peanut butter

* These serving sizes were determined by the Canada Food Guide

Post #4: What Foods Should You Eat? What Foods Should You Not Eat?

This diet is for an ovo-lacto pescatarian. This means that they still eat eggs (ovo), dairy products (lacto) and fish (pescatarian). So, basically no meat - poultry or red meat. These are foods that you should not eat. There are many reasons to choose not to eat meat. Not eating meat can prevent the death of some of the 27 billion animals that are killed annually for food in the United States. Some people think of the animals that are usually eaten as animals like their own pets, with personalities, and can't imagine eating them. Choosing to be vegetarian can help your health. A plant-based diet protects against heart disease, diabetes, obesity, strokes, and several types of cancer. Other bonusus include stronger immune systems and a longer life by about 10 years. Eating vegetarian helps the environment, combats world hunger, and supports worker rights.

This creates a problem, since meat is a source of protein in non-vegetarian diets. Legumes are beans and other edible seads, which can be used in many dishes to replace meat. For example, instead of adding ground beef to your chili, add kidney beans. Legumes include chickpeas, split peas, lentils, kidney beans, and many others. Another good source of protein are nuts and seeds. These are easy and protein-rich snacks. Just grab a bag of cashews, peanuts, walnuts, or almonds to get protein without eating meat. Dairy products and eggs, which are included in an ovo-lacto pescatarian's diet, are also good sources of protein. There is even a small amount of protein in fruits and vegetables, but a lot of these have to be consumed to get enough protein in your diet.

http://vegetarian.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=vegetarian&cdn=food&tm=206&f=00&su=p284.9.336.ip_p830.0.336.ip_&tt=3&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//goveg.com/theissues.asp

http://www.womenfitness.net/protien-option.htm

3 Day Diet Plan

Day 1

• Breakfast: Vegetable Omelette (with asparagus, broccoli, bell peppers etc), whole wheat toast, and milk or orange juice
  
• Lunch: Lentil soup w/ whole wheat crackers
  
• Dinner: Vegetarian chili w/ cornbread
• Snack: Fruit smoothies
  

Day 2

• Breakfast: French toast w/ fresh berries, and milk or orange juice
  
• Lunch: Vegetable pizza
  
• Dinner: Beans and rice
• Snack: Hummus w/ pita chips
  

Day 3

• Breakfast: Oatmeal (you can add, butter, sugar, dried or fresh fruits, nuts, etc) and milk or orange juice
  
• Lunch: Burritos or tacos made w/ beans instead of meat
  
• Dinner: Stir Fry (with tofu and vegetables) and brown or white rice

Don't forget: you can eat things with fish too!
For more meal ideas go to: http://www.theveggietable.com/ or http://blog.vegcooking.com/

Sources

http://vegetarian.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=vegetarian&cdn=food&tm=206&f=00&su=p284.9.336.ip_p830.0.336.ip_&tt=3&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//goveg.com/theissues.asp

http://www.womenfitness.net/protien-option.htm

http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/vegetarian.html

http://www.eatrightontario.ca/en/viewdocument.aspx?id=21

http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/vegetarian.html

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/basics-base/serving-portion-eng.php

http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/teennutrition.htm