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So, You're A Vegetarian?
People Who Don't Eat Meat
By Johnathon Allen
A majority of people who consider themselves vegetarians are known as ovo-lacto vegetarians, though few of them probably know what this term means. Basically they are vegans who enjoy milk, cheese and eggs in an otherwise flesh-free diet.
Regardless of one's exact dietary title it's clear that people who eat a plant-based menu have typically lower levels of saturated fat and cholesterol. They also have the distinct advantage of acquiring their nutrients from sources high in fiber and low in toxins.
The key to any healthy diet, especially a vegetarian one, is balance and diversity. This is a fact my "meat-and-potatoes" in-laws fail to understand when we come home for the holidays and they simply remove the turkey from my family's plates, leaving us with only a pile of mashed potatoes and a clump of iceberg lettuce.
Like many carnivorous Americans, they fail to realize the secret to a healthy vegetarian diet is that it is consists of a vast symphony of foods drawn from around the world, and seasoned by an array of herbs and spices available at most stores.
While the concept of vegetarianism is relatively new in North America, it has been practiced in the Far East, India and the Middle East for thousands of years. Luckily for us, these cultures have come up with no shortage of creative vegetarian meals that contain all the essentials of a healthy diet. Examples of ethnic vegetarian meals include stir-fry with tofu, bean and rice burritos, veggie pizza (with soy cheese if you're vegan) and falafel stuffed pitas.
