How Do I Start?

The best place to start going vegetarian is in the kitchen! Buy a cookbook and start preparing. You will soon get used to the types of food that are used and how they are prepared. Also, your taste for vegetarian food will adapt. If you are doubtful about your abilities as a cook you can enrol in cooking classes. Information about these is often available in health food shops and some courses are run at TAFE colleges. The Vegetarian Society has a list of recommended classes.

Although vegetarian diets are typically defined by the exclusion of meat and other flesh foods, a healthy vegetarian diet is one in which a variety and abundance of plant-based foods are primarily consumed. Animal products such as dairy and eggs may be selectively consumed in varying amounts or not at all. Plant foods include: grains, legumes (including soy foods), vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, plant oils, herbs and spices, and plant-based beverages. A variety of foods from all plant food groups consumed daily in adequate quantities will provide all of the recommended nutrients (except for vitamin B12), fiber, and other substances needed.
Vegetarians who base their diets entirely on plant foods should take care in selecting foods to meet their nutritional needs. This is especially true for growing children, pregnant and lactating women, and the elderly. Vegetarian diets which include dairy foods and/or eggs provide all the nutrients needed, and have been shown to be healthful in a variety of populations. Since some dairy products are high in saturated fat, it is preferable to consume small amounts of these and to emphasize nonfat and low-fat products.

Vegetarian Cheeses

Vegetarian cheeses are made with rennets of non-animal origin. In the past, fig leaves, melon, wild thistle and safflower have all supplied plant rennets for cheese making. However, most widely available vegetarian cheeses are made using rennet produced by fermentation of the fungus Mucor miehei. Vegetarian cheese may also be made using a rennet from the bacteria Bacillus subtilis or Bacillus prodigiosum.

Advances in genetic engineering techniques mean that some vegetarian cheeses may now be made using chymosin produced by genetically engineered micro-organisms. The genetic material (DNA) which encodes for chymosin is introduced into a micro-organism which can then be cultured to produce commercial quantities of chymosin. This is done by extracting genetic material from calf stomach cells which acts as a template for producing the chymosin encoding DNA. This can then be introduced into the micro-organism. Once the genetic material is introduced there is no further need for calf cells. Alternatively, the chymosin encoding DNA can be bio-synthesised in the laboratory without the use of calf cells.

Vegetarian cheeses are widely available in supermarkets and health food stores. A wide variety of cheeses are now made with non-animal rennet and labelled as suitable for vegetarians. No particular type of cheese is exclusively vegetarian. Soft cheeses are as likely to be non-vegetarian as hard cheese.

Nuts and Seeds

Nuts are seeds that are covered with a hard shell. Most are the seeds of trees, but the seeds of a few other plants that are not strictly nuts will also be considered here as they can be conveniently classified with nuts for culinary purposes.

Nuts can be used in many ways. Whole, flaked and ground nuts and nut butters are widely available. A classic vegetarian savoury is nut roast and many vegetarian cook books give a recipe for one, which can be endlessly varied with different herbs and flavourings and different combinations of nuts and cereals. Nuts can be added to sweet dishes, cakes and biscuits, and nut butters can be added to soups and stews to thicken them.

Nutrition

Nuts in general are very nutritious, providing protein and many essential vitamins, such as A and E, minerals, such as phosphorous and potassium, and fibre. Nuts are also high in carbohydrate and oils, so shouldn't be eaten in excess.

Whereas pulses all belong to the legume group of plants, nuts come from a variety of different plant groups, so the nutritional content is more varied too. A brief description of individual varieties is given below, together with the main nutrients they contain.

Storage

Nuts should be stored in cool, dry conditions in airtight containers away from the light. Because of their high fat content, many of them benefit from storage in the fridge or freezer to deter rancidity.

Soya

The soya bean is the seed of the leguminous soya bean plant. Soya foods have been a staple part of the Chinese diet for over 4000 years but have only been widely consumed in Western countries since the 1960's. Soya foods include tofu, tempeh, textured vegetable protein (chunks, mince etc), miso, soya sauces, soya oil and margarine, and soya dairy alternatives.

Soya is an excellent source of high quality protein, is low in saturated fats and is cholesterol free. Recent research has indicated soya has several beneficial effects on health in addition to its nutritional benefits. Soya beans contain high concentrations of several compounds which have demonstrated anti-carcinogenic activity. These include isoflavonoids, protease inhibitors and phytic acid. The low incidence of breast and colon cancer in China and Japan has been partially attributed to the high consumption of soya products. The low incidence of menopausal symptoms in Japanese women has also been attributed to high consumption of soya. Soya diets have also been shown to reduce levels of serum cholesterol.

Textured Vegetable Protein

Textured vegetable protein is basically defatted soya flour which has been processed and dried to give a substance with a sponge-like texture which may be flavoured to resemble meat. Soya beans are dehulled and their oil extracted before being ground into flour. This flour is then mixed with water to remove soluble carbohydrate and the residue is textured by either spinning or extrusion. Extrusion involves passing heated soya residue from a high pressure area to a reduced pressure area through a nozzle resulting in the soya protein expanding. The soya protein is then dehydrated and may be either cut into small chunks or ground into granules. Textured vegetable protein may be purchased either unflavoured or flavoured to resemble meat. It is prepared simply by mixing with water or stock and leaving to stand for a few minutes, after which it may be incorporated into recipes as a meat substitute. Soya protein is also available incorporated into various vegetarian burgers, sausages, canned foods etc. As well as being a good source of fibre and high quality protein, Textured vegetable protein is fortified with vitamin-B12.