Download the Rejuv4Life Vegetarian Plan

Rejuv 4 Life Vegetarian Plan
People may choose to eat a vegetarian or vegan meal plan for a variety of reasons. For some,
environmental concerns drive their decision; for others, it’s a matter of personal preference or health
goals. Whatever the reason, vegetarian/vegan eating can be a healthy eating lifestyle. Many studies
show health benefits of vegetarian style eating that include reduced risk of: heart disease, some
cancers, diabetes, obesity, and hypertension.
There are 5 main types of vegetarian eating:
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Vegan – this is the most restrictive form of vegetarian eating as it excludes all animal foods and
products including animal by-products such as honey.
Lacto-ovo-vegetarian – this vegetarian plan excludes all meat and animal foods except dairy and
eggs. Occasionally a vegetarian will only include dairy (lacto-vegetarian) or eggs (ovovegetarian) but not both.
Pescatarian – this vegetarian plan excludes all meat and animal foods except fish.
Pollotarian – this vegetarian plan excludes all meat and animal foods except poultry such as
chicken, turkey, duck, and wild poultry.
Flexitarian – this is the least restrictive of all the vegetarian plans in that a vegetarian style of
eating is followed most of the time but meat and animal foods are included on an occasional
basis, including red meats.
Vegetarian eating can have some drawbacks; the more restrictive the chosen vegetarian style of eating
is in regard to animal products, the more nutritional concerns there are. Vegetarian eaters should be
aware of potential nutrition deficiencies such as protein, calcium, vitamin D, iron, and especially B12.
There have also been instances where vegetarians are not eating a well-balanced diet from plant/nonmeat food sources. It’s important to maintain appropriate macronutrient distributions and correct
calorie intakes in order to maintain a healthy body weight and healthy body systems.
The Rejuv 4 Life Vegetarian Plan follows all of the other eating and lifestyle principals as outlined in the
Rejuv 4 Life Meal Plan handbook. It’s just as important when eating vegetarian as with any other eating
plan that you select whole, natural foods. Even vegetarian foods can lose their health value when over
processed.
If you are a lacto-ovo-vegetarian, you will want to exclude milk and dairy from your PHASE 1 eating plan
as well as egg yolks. Likewise, all vegetarians that are not vegans will want to exclude grains from PHASE
1. Refer to the Rejuv 4 Life Meal Plan PHASE 1 guidelines for additional information. When you are
ready to advance to PHASE 2, follow the guidelines for reintroducing the previously eliminated foods.
It may be difficult to follow the recommended ratio of 40% carbohydrate, 30% protein, and 30% fat for
weight loss and/or healthy eating in phase 1; with a vegetarian plan, it may be more appropriate to
follow a 50:20:30 ratio. Most of your food sources on a vegetarian plan will contain both carbohydrates
and protein. It will be even more difficult for the strictest vegans that do not eat any animal products to
meet the recommended protein intakes. It’s a good idea to work with your Registered Dietitian to help
you come up with the best plan for you.
Some vegetarians choose to supplement their diet with a good protein powder or bar. When selecting a
supplement, watch for added sugars. Each serving should have <4 grams of sugar per serving. Nuts are
another good source of protein that many vegetarians take advantage of but be careful of the total fat
intake. Alternative “milk” beverages can also be included, but again, watch for added sugars and try to
select brands that are higher in protein. High protein grains include quinoa and freekeh.
Plant foods may also be eaten in combinations in order to create a complete protein meal. For example,
beans and rice is a common combination that provides all 9 essential amino acids making it a complete
protein.
In general, beans and legumes have good amounts of protein but are also high in carbohydrates. With
the exception of soybeans, they are also all very low in fat. Nuts tend to have fairly equal amounts of
carbohydrates and protein, but have higher amounts of fat. Fortunately, the fat in nuts is primarily
mono- and polyunsaturated fat. Vegetarian eating requires careful planning among the various groups
of foods to ensure adequate nutrition.
Vegetarian eating plans include the foods previously mentioned but also a generous array of fruits and
vegetables every day. Fruits contain no protein and have the highest amounts of carbohydrates in the
form of naturally occurring sugars; most vegetables contain varying amounts of protein and are much
lower in carbohydrates. There are only a limited number of vegetables listed below in the table just to
provide you a sample of the macronutrients in them. Do know there are hundreds of vegetables to
choose from! Both fruits and vegetables are high in vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and more – and
they are naturally fat free!
Listed below are some examples of high protein plant foods that can be included in a healthy vegetarian
diet. Specific dietary information has been obtained from nutritiondata.com. You’ll need to look at the
label on your foods/products to determine exact nutrition profiles. Nutrition profiles have been
determined with the assumption that the foods are cooked. For nuts, the profiles have been
determined based on the dry-roasted, no-salt added variety. All macronutrients are reported in grams.
Category
Serving Size Protein Carbohydrate
Beans/Legumes
Baked beans
1 cup
12
54
Black eyed peas/cowpeas
1 cup
12
32
Black/turtle beans
1 cup
15
41
Cannellini
1 cup
12
34
Chickpeas/Garbanzo
1 cup
12
54
Great Northern
1 cup
15
37
Kidney beans
1 cup
15
40
Lentils
1 cup
18
40
Lima/butter beans
1 cup
15
39
Navy/white beans
1 cup
15
48
Peas
1/2 cup
4
11
Pinto/mottled beans
1 cup
15
45
Soymilk*
1 cup
7
8
Soybeans
1 cup
29
17
Tempeh
1 ounce
5
3
Textured Vegetable Protein 1 cup
48
12
Tofu
1 ounce
2
1
Veggie burger*
1 patty
18
7
Nuts/Seeds
Almond butter
1 TBSP
2
3
Almonds
1 oz/22 pcs
6
5
Brazil nuts
5 pcs
3
2
Cashews
1 oz
4
9
Flax seeds
2 TBSP
3
5
Hazelnuts/filberts
1 oz/21 pcs
4
5
Macademia
1/4 cup
3
5
Peanut butter
2 TBSP
8
7
Peanuts
1/4 cup
7
6
Pecans
1 oz
3
4
Pine nuts
1 oz/167 pcs
4
4
Pistachios
1 oz/49 pcs
6
8
Pumpkin seeds
1 oz
9
4
Sesame seeds
1 TBSP
2
1
Sunflower seed kernals
1 oz
5
7
Walnuts
1 oz/14 halves
4
4
Grains
Amaranth
1 cup
9
46
Bagel
3" diameter
6
59
Brown rice
1 cup
5
45
Bulgur
1 cup
6
34
Corn
1 cup
5
36
Quinoa
1 cup
8
39
Seitan
4 oz
28
5
Spaghetti
1 cup
8
43
Whole wheat flour
1 cup
16
87
Vegetables
Broccoli, cooked, chopped
1/2 cup
2
6
Green beans, cooked, chopped
1 cup
2
9
Spinach, cooked, chopped
1/2 cup
4
5
Fat Calories
1
2
1
2
3
1
1
1
1
1
0
1
4
15
3
0
1
4
254
180
227
200
286
209
225
230
216
255
62
245
100
298
55
320
17
138
9
15
13
13
3
17
27
16
14
21
19
13
12
5
14
18
101
169
130
161
60
177
260
188
160
199
190
161
146
50
163
185
4
1
2
0
2
4
2
1
2
251
146
216
151
185
222
140
221
407
0
0
1
27
38
32
*contents vary
For additional questions and personalized vegetarian eating plans, contact your dietitian at Rejuv
Medical.