I decided to cook a vegetarian meal for six meat eating adults. After the meal I had them answer a questionnaire about the meal and about their general knowledge of vegetarianism. The adults were one female 26 yrs old, and a dispatch communicator for the state patrol: a man 54 yrs old and a Pastor: a female 52 years old and an assistant pastor: another woman 55 yrs old and a nurses assistant; another male 26 yrs old and mentally handicapped, and the last male 34 yrs old which I don’t know what his occupation is.

There are several different types of vegetarians. There is the vegan, a strict vegetarian who doesn’t eat meat or any other animal products as well as not wearing or using any animal made products. There is the lacto-ovo vegetarian which means they don’t eat meat but do eat eggs and other animal products like milk, yogurt, and butter. Then there is the fruitarian who includes only row or dried fruits, seeds, and nuts in their diet.

The meal I made was a lacto-ovo vegetarian meal as it included butter, milk, and mayonnaise. However, for some reason the meat eating participants seemed to only know about the vegan lifestyle as they were really stumped as to what I would cook for the meal. They couldn’t imagine a meal without meat.

The meal I cooked consisted of rice casserole with enriched white rice, stewed tomatoes, onions, canned (and rinsed) mushrooms and green peppers. I also provided bean soup which contained two types of beans- red kidney beans and vegetarian baked beans. As well as onions and green peppers. Corn and dinner rolls as well as a side salad (carrots, lettuce, radishes, tomatoes) completed the meal. For dessert I had a Waldorf salad which has apples, walnuts, and celery. To drink the participants had the choice of coffee, water, tea, or juice.

Whether or not a vegetarian diet is better than a meat eating diet depends on balance. Vegetarians who eat more fruit and vegetables and whole grain products will benefit from a healthful diet from the extra vitamins and minerals, but those vegetarians who omit meat and all other animal products, and don’t substitute nutrient rich foods, don’t necessarily have a healthier diet. People who choose to be vegetarian normally choose a healthier lifestyle overall, like choosing not to smoke, exercising more and reducing the stress in their lives. So the healthful benefits may not all be in the food but in the chosen lifestyle as well. And what are these healthful benefits of vegetarianism. The FDA says that it can lower the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and some forms of cancer.

Four out of the six people mentioned protein as a nutrient vegetarians need to be concerned about. However as long as they consume enough calories to maintain their weight, vegetarians can easily meet their protein needs. Vegetarian sources of protein are nuts, seeds, pees, corn, whole grain bread, greens, potatoes, and pasta. I included at least two sources of protein in my meal_ the corn and the walnuts. Five of the six people said that iron too was a nutrient vegetarians should be concerned about. Good vegetarian sources of iron are dried beans, spinach, beet greens, prune juice, and dried fruit. Vegetarian diets are actually higher in total iron content than non-vegetarian diets, iron stores however are lower in vegetarians because the iron from plant foods are more poorly absorbed. Citrus fruit or juices, tomatoes, and broccoli eaten at a meal help to increase the amount of iron absorbed from the meal. Two of my participants listed calcium as a mineral vegetarians need to watch. If you are a lacto-ovo vegetarian this shouldn’t be a problem but otherwise broccoli, turnip greens and fortified soy milk are high in calcium. Two people also mentioned Vitamin B12. Some fortified cereal, soy milk, and nutrition yeast are vegetarian sources of this vitamin. Once again balance and variety provide the key to health in the vegetarian lifestyle.

The vegetarian meal I provided was very good in protein, fiver, iron, phosphate, vitamin A, vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and poly and mono unsaturated fats. (the good fats). It was a little low on calcium and a little high in saturated fat. The saturated fat probably came mostly from the mayonnaise and salad dressings.

My predictions about what my participants thought on the nutrition quantity and food guide pyramid recommendations were very correct as four thought it excellently nutritious and excellent with the food guide pyramid. I was somewhat wrong about whether they would think the vegetarian diet was healthier than the meat eaters diet. Three participants thought that they were equally health, one thought the vegetarian one was, one responded in the fashion that you need both meat and vegetables as long as you are moderate with each, and one responded that the meat eaters diet was healthier (at least for her) since she didn’t know too much about vegetarian dishes and probably couldn’t achieve the needed balance in that type of diet. None of them would ever become a vegetarian by choice and a few quite emphatic about it declaring – Never!

Although this was a small study group, I learned that acceptance of vegetarianism isn’t as common as I thought and knowledge about it is also not widespread. To the big meat eaters- Beef-Its What’s For Dinner.