How to replace meat protein for a vegetarian. How to replace meat in the diet - recommendations for vegetarians. To have enough of everything: how to replace meat for a vegetarian

Refusal of meat can be motivated by various reasons. Some take this step out of pity for animals, others - in order to preserve their own health. In addition, such measures can be part of a therapeutic diet, for example, for chronic kidney disease. In any case, a person faces a serious question - what can replace meat? To answer this, let’s look at plant foods with the maximum protein content, without which a balanced vegetarian diet is impossible.

Seeds and nuts

Nuts and seeds are rich not only in protein, but also in healthy fats necessary for a healthy heart and blood vessels. However, for the same reason, they should not be eaten without moderation: like any product rich in fat, they are high in calories. People with a tendency to be overweight should limit themselves to one handful of nuts or seeds, consumed only in the first half of the day.

One of the best animal protein substitutes in this product category are pumpkin seeds. They contain 30.23 g of protein per 100 g of product. For comparison, beef contains only about 25 g of protein, and pork even less. The seeds are best consumed raw or slightly dried. Just don’t fry them, as this will lead to the oxidation of healthy fats, and the product will turn from healthy into harmful.

Vegetarians should also pay attention to almonds (21.22 g), sunflower seeds (20.7 g), sesame seeds (20.45 g), pistachios (20 g), flax seeds (18.29 g), cashews (18. 22 g), walnut (15.23 g).

Nuts and seeds can be consumed separately, or added to salads and cereals. And the best way to get a good portion of protein is to make plant-based milk. It can be made from almonds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds. But the most effective in terms of protein content is hemp seed milk. If you are interested not only in what is acceptable to replace meat with as a vegetarian, but also in how to gain muscle mass, then this is the best natural analogue of protein shakes. Hemp seeds contain all the essential amino acids, and in a more easily digestible form than in animal products.

Plants of the legume family are products that confidently replace meat in the diet. In terms of protein content, they are in no way inferior to products of animal origin. Here are some examples:

• soy (36.7 g);
• beans (26.12 g);
• lentils (25.8 g);
• split peas (24.55 g);
• mung bean (23.86 g);
• beans (20-25 g depending on the variety);
• chickpeas (20.1 g).

To improve the amino acid composition of food, it is useful to combine legumes with grains. An ideal combination, for example, would be a dish of lentils and rice.
A high-protein legume product that can replace meat in the diet is tofu. It is made from soybeans, and its consistency resembles something between cottage cheese and cheese. It contains about 14-18 g of protein per 100 g of product.

Peanuts are worth mentioning separately. It is also part of the legume family and is not a nut at all. In terms of protein content, which contains 26.3 g, this product is a good alternative to meat. But many vegetarians still avoid peanuts. Firstly, this plant is included in the list of permitted GM products, and secondly, it spoils very easily. Peanuts are highly susceptible to the fungus Aspergillus, which can cause liver disease, and with regular long-term use can cause cancer. The fungus is not visible to the human eye, so if you still want to eat peanuts, it is better to heat them.

Not all types of vegetarianism allow for heat treatment of food. But this is not a reason to give up protein-rich cereals and legumes. These products can be sprouted, thereby not only preserving all the nutrients, but also increasing them.
The sprouting process improves the amino acid composition of vegetable protein and increases its digestibility, while at the same time reducing the fat content and calorie content of the product. Those who are looking for something to replace meat in their diet should start sprouting green buckwheat, chickpeas, lentils, mung beans, wheat, and oats. In addition to improving the quality of protein, the amount of vitamins and minerals in grain and legume sprouts increases several times. This is because the germinating seed releases its maximum potential for the development of a new plant.

Sprouts can be eaten separately from other foods, or added to vegetable salads. In addition, they can be used to improve the composition of a green smoothie.

Greens and green leafy vegetables

When considering how to replace meat in a vegetarian diet, one cannot neglect greens and leafy vegetables. Most people regard greens more as a seasoning for the main dish, rather than as a complete food product. And in vain, because it is in the green parts of plants that all 9 essential amino acids can be found.
Moreover, even if one plant contains little of any amino acid, it will certainly be in abundance in another. Therefore, the more varied greens you eat, the more balanced your diet is in terms of amino acid composition.

The most useful types of greens are:

• spinach;
• celery stalks;
• basil;
• arugula;
• dill;
• parsley;
• cilantro.

This also includes various types of cabbage - white cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Peking cabbage, etc.

Obtaining amino acids from greens has its own characteristics. In order for the substances to be easily absorbed, you need to break the fairly strong cell walls of the greens. Therefore, it must be thoroughly chewed or crushed using kitchen equipment. For this reason, the best option for saturating the body with useful substances is to regularly consume green smoothies made from a variety of greens and vegetables.

Mushrooms are called the “meat” of vegetarians. Although they do not have record levels of protein content, they have a rich amino acid composition. For example, champignons contain 18 amino acids. It is also worth noting that during the drying process, the amount of protein in mushrooms increases up to 10 times. Thus, a fresh porcini mushroom contains 3.7 g of protein, while a dried one contains 30.3 g.

Mushrooms and meat also have in common the fact that both of these products are difficult to digest. Therefore, mushrooms can be a good help at the initial stage of giving up animal products, when the body is not yet accustomed to being satisfied with lighter foods. Over time, their number should be reduced.
To preserve the usefulness of mushrooms, it is important to cook them correctly. It is better to give preference to stewing and baking in the oven; it is better to exclude fried mushrooms from the diet due to their high calorie content and harmfulness to health. Raw foodists can also include mushrooms in their diet, as some varieties can be eaten raw. These are champignons and oyster mushrooms. In French cuisine you can find many salad recipes using these mushrooms raw.

This unusual product is suitable for those who are not only looking for something to replace meat with as a vegetarian, but also want to diversify their diet with new dishes. It represents pure gluten, obtained by repeatedly washing wheat flour. It is now fashionable to completely avoid products containing this substance, but for a person who is not intolerant, gluten is absolutely safe.
After rinsing, the seitan is boiled in water with spices and then fried or baked in the oven. It will be healthier to fry on a grill without using oil. Seitan goes well with vegetable side dishes and is very reminiscent of meat in taste and texture. And in terms of protein content, this product is even superior to meat (55.8 g). Moreover, it contains only 3.5 g of fat. Therefore, seitan is very popular among vegetarian athletes.

Seaweed

Algae are a storehouse of healthy substances. But from the point of view of protein content, spirulina is of maximum interest. This seaweed contains 57.5 g of protein. It can be found on sale in powder form, which is convenient to add to green smoothies or vegetable smoothies.
Nori also boasts a high protein content. These are the same sheets that Japanese rolls are wrapped in. Vegetarians may not refuse this dish, since there are a huge number of vegetable variations, including raw food ones. Nori is made from ordinary seaweed by pressing. Sea kale is not high in protein, but nori contains it in concentrated form, so this product has as much as 41.4 g of protein.

pollen

It was not for nothing that pollen was praised in ancient Greek myths: the ancient Greeks believed that it was from them that the famous nectar was made for the inhabitants of Olympus. This product has a unique chemical composition, which contains almost all vitamins and minerals. In addition, one third of pollen consists of high-quality protein.
Of course, you shouldn’t fill your entire daily protein requirement with this product: you can easily develop an allergy. Only essential amino acids are of interest, for the sake of which pollen should be introduced into the daily diet as a food additive (no more than 2 tablespoons per day).

Avoiding meat in childhood

When an adult decides to give up animal products, it is his conscious choice, and he is able to monitor changes in his body. But what to do if the child does not eat meat? Is it possible to allow him to eat this way, and what products can replace animal protein?

Official medicine recognizes the completeness of a vegetarian diet, but this opinion does not apply to children, especially under the age of 5 years. According to doctors and nutritionists, a growing body cannot do without animal protein. However, there are a number of progressive specialists who do not agree with this position. For example, the well-known doctor Evgeny Komarovsky claims that a child should not be forced to add meat to his diet if he does not want it. As, indeed, force him to switch to vegetarianism without his will. A child's body is much more intuitive than an adult, and the baby always feels what products it requires for normal development.
If your child refuses to eat meat, offer him a variety of plant-based protein foods, as discussed above. Surely he will like at least something from this list. Caution should only be exercised with mushrooms: this difficult-to-digest product can only be given after 2 years and no more than once a week. Problems can also arise with legumes, which often cause children to suffer from bloating. They can only be given to a child in ground form.

Thus, finding an alternative to meat is not a problem at all. Quite the contrary, this is an interesting path on which you will discover previously unknown products and create new culinary masterpieces.

Vegetarian nutrition is often accused of being inferior and unbalanced. It does not contain meat and fish - sources of large amounts of vitamins and microelements. For strict vegans, the situation is the most problematic, since they have to give up eggs and dairy products, and this minus several more nutrients needed by the body. However, their deficiency can be avoided if you plan your diet correctly and replace animal foods with plant foods, which will be similar to it in the set of necessary nutrients.

There are two practical approaches to solving the problem. First, the nutritional value of meat and fish is assessed in terms of nutrient content, and then plant products are selected to compensate for the lack of each of them separately. Secondly, nutritionists have long found out which fruits, vegetables and cereals are most similar in nutritional value to animal products and can take their place.

Approach No. 1 - vitamin and mineral

Meat is the main source of protein, minerals (mainly potassium, calcium, zinc, magnesium, copper, iron), vitamins (groups B, A, D). Fish is not inferior to meat products in terms of the amount of protein, and some types even surpass it. It contains many unsaturated acids, vitamins (A, D, E, PP, B), micro- and macroelements (calcium, sodium, sulfur, phosphorus, chlorine). During vegetarianism, all these beneficial substances must be replenished with plant foods, in which there should be enough of them for the normal functioning of the body.

Protein

You can replace meat with milk and eggs. Opponents of such nutrition argue that, unlike meat protein, milk protein lacks the necessary complex of amino acids. However, according to research, their deficiency is not detected with a properly formulated diet, which means there is no need to be afraid of the consequences in the form of muscle dystrophy and anemia.

As for vegans, they don’t have to worry too much about this either. Plant foods are very diverse and are quite capable of providing the body with a sufficient amount of complete protein.

Meat in the diet can be replaced with the following products:

• soy is a complete replacement, since it contains the maximum amount of not only protein with amino acids, but also a lot of iron;
• legumes: lentils, black and white beans, chickpeas, red beans, peas - after soybeans, they are considered the best sources of non-animal protein;
• hemp, pumpkin, quinoa and chia seeds;
• peanut butter;
• fenugreek as a seasoning;
• tempeh (fermented soybeans);
• nuts: walnuts, almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts;
• buckwheat;
• oat bran;
• some vegetables: spinach, asparagus, broccoli, potatoes and celery;
• and even fruits: dried apricots, prunes, cherries, bananas, avocados.

To get the perfect protein combination, vegetarians are advised to mix legumes with grains, such as lentils and rice or beans and corn.

The best proof that in the absence of meat and fish in the diet, the body can receive complete protein and will not experience a shortage of it is the beautiful muscle relief and ideal figures of vegetarian athletes, as well as their achievements and records.

Iron

The problem is that iron in plants has minimal bioavailability for humans. For comparison: only 1% of this substance can be absorbed from rice and spinach, 3% from corn and beans, 7% from beans and soybeans; whereas from beef - as much as 22%, from fish - 11%. What to do?

First, introduce as many foods high in iron into your diet as possible:

• vegetables: broccoli, white cabbage, lettuce, spinach, celery;
• legumes: peas, chickpeas, beans, lentils, black beans;
• dried fruits: raisins;
• molasses - waste from beet sugar production;
• cereals: ;
• nuts: cashew;
• caraway, hemp and sunflower seeds;
• pace;
• tomato juice;
• whole wheat bread.

Secondly, you can increase the absorption of iron from plant foods if you combine it with foods that are rich in vitamin C: citrus juices and fruits, tomatoes, bell peppers and cabbage.

Calcium

In terms of calcium content, you can replace meat in your diet:

• green leafy vegetables: broccoli, Chinese cabbage and curly cabbage;
• molasses;
• soybeans;
• soybean curd;
• pace;
• figs;

Lacto-vegetarians tend to have a higher absorption of calcium than non-vegetarians (dairy products contain a lot of this element), but vegans are often deficient. Therefore, it is so important for the latter to apply some pressure to the above-mentioned plants.

Zinc

Vegetable zinc is absorbed worse than meat or fish, which means that you need to include more in your diet:

• nuts: Brazil nuts, walnuts, pecans, peanuts, almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, pistachios;
• coconut;
• dried fruits: apricots and plums;
• kohlrabi;
• sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds;
• legumes: lentils, corn, peas, soybeans, white beans, beans.

It is easier for lacto-ovo vegetarians to compensate for zinc deficiency, since egg yolk contains a lot of it.

Phosphorus

Fish is the main source of phosphorus for humans. Therefore, you need to think about what you will replace it with. This element is found in the following plant products:

• legumes: green peas, beans;
• cereals;
• nuts: walnuts, Brazil nuts, pine nuts, almonds, cashews, peanuts;
• sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, zucchini seeds, sunflower seeds;
• wheat bran;
• greens: garlic, spinach, parsley, celery, onion;
• vegetables: corn, carrots, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and red cabbage;
• berries and fruits: bananas, persimmons, grapes, raspberries, oranges, apples.

Lacto-ovo vegetarians get enough phosphorus from dairy products. It is a good substitute for fish, as it contains calcium, which helps the body absorb phosphorus in full.

Fatty acid

Fatty acids required by the human body are divided into omega-6 and omega-3. And if the former are contained in sufficient quantities in a vegetarian diet, since plant foods are rich in them, then the latter are most often lacking. To make up for their deficiency, vegetarians replace meat:

• eggs (if philosophy allows);
• algae;
• hemp, soy, ;
• walnuts;
• asparagus;
• beans;
• parsley and dill;
• cilantro seeds.

So everyone has the opportunity to prevent a deficiency of omega-3 non-fatty acids, even in the absence of meat in the diet.

Vitamin A

Animal vitamin A is biologically more active than its plant counterpart. That is why vegetarians so often suffer from its deficiency. To prevent this from happening, you must regularly include the following foods in your diet:

• avocado;
• broccoli;
• melon;
• potato;
• sweet potato;
• Bell pepper;
• peaches;
• pumpkin

Lacto-ovo vegetarians replace meat with cream, butter, cottage cheese and egg yolks, which are very high in vitamin A.

Vitamin D

In terms of vitamin D in the diet, lacto-ovo vegetarians have no problem replacing meat with dairy products and eggs. But in plant foods it is found in small quantities only in champignons. Therefore, vegans are strongly recommended to take a cholecalciferol supplement from the pharmacy.

Vitamin B12

There is also a problem with vitamin B12, since it is found in plant foods in minimal quantities, which is not enough for the body. Therefore, you need to take cobalamin as a separate dietary supplement and try to eat many foods in which it is still present:

• green salad;
• sprouted wheat;
• spinach;
• cereals;
• nuts.

Of course, they won’t be able to fully replace meat, but they will at least somehow maintain its level. To enhance the absorption of vitamin B12, it is recommended to drink 1-2 glasses of freshly squeezed juice daily.

Typically, vegetarians use a vitamin-mineral approach to replacing foods of animal origin if a deficiency of a certain substance is detected in the body. Deficiency is manifested by a range of symptoms and comorbidities and is then confirmed by a doctor. Having figured out which nutrient you are lacking, you simply need to include as many foods that contain it in your daily diet as possible.

Approach No. 2 - grocery

This approach to menu planning is more versatile and easier for beginners. Here you can already find products that replace meat in a ready-made list. Nutritionists have calculated which nutrients contain enough nutrients to create a complete diet. This is what they did.

• miso - fermented soybean paste;
• natto - fermented salt;
• soy flour;
• soybean oil;
• soy milk;
• Soy meat;
• soy sauce;
• bean curd;
• pace;
• tofu;
• Yuba - soy milk foam.

Disadvantage: Soy cannot replace animal foods for those suffering from thyroid-related diseases.

Legumes:

• beans;
• peas;
• beans;
• lentils.

Minus: lack of methionine, high carbohydrate content, which causes bloating and interferes with the fight against excess weight.

Cereals:

• buckwheat;
• oats;
• wheat;
• seitan - wheat meat;
• barley.

Cons: lack of amino acids.

Other:

• mushrooms;
• dairy products;
• seaweed, seaweed;
• nuts;
• vegetable oils;
• seeds;
• dried fruits;
• eggs.

All of these products can fully replace meat and fish for vegetarians if you plan your diet correctly and include them in it daily.

About soy meat

According to many experts and vegetarians themselves, beef can be fully replaced with soy meat, so it’s worth talking about this product in more detail.

Its chemical composition is as follows:

• 50% of the composition is vegetable protein;
• polyunsaturated fatty acids are contained in an ideal ratio;
• linoleic acid;
• alimentary fiber;
• lecithin.

Benefit

Ideal for those who cannot eat eggs and milk. This is a dietary, low-calorie product that promotes weight loss.

It improves the condition of the following diseases:

• diabetes;
• allergies;
• arthritis;
• atherosclerosis;
• hypertension;
• ischemia;
• obesity;
• cholecystitis.

Removes heavy metals and radionuclides from the body, slows down the aging process, keeps systems and organs in good shape. Lecithin restores brain cells, improves concentration, attention, sexual and motor activity, and memory. So all vegetarians simply need to include it in their diet regularly.

Harm

Natural soy product is undoubtedly healthy and can replace regular meat. But in 1995, genetically modified soybeans appeared. When used regularly it:

• reduces the volume and weight of the brain;
• promotes rapid aging of the body;
• interferes with blood circulation;
• provokes the development of Alzheimer's disease.

Therefore, you need to be extremely careful when purchasing this product so that it is non-GMO. And for this you will have to carefully read everything that is written on the package.

Contraindications

The ban on soy meat applies to:

• childhood: isoflavones have a depressing effect on the still developing endocrine system, which is fraught with rapid puberty in girls and, conversely, a lag in the physical development of boys;
• endocrine diseases;
• urolithiasis;
• pregnancy: hormone-like compounds have a bad effect on the development of the baby’s brain and contribute to miscarriage or premature birth.

Vegetarianism faces many difficulties when planning a diet. One of the main problems is how to replace meat and fish so that the body does not feel a deficiency of vitamins and microelements. Fortunately, plant foods can often provide a complete set of them. And when consuming dairy products and eggs, there should be no place for such experiences at all.

There are many facts that prove that meat is good for the human body. First of all, it is high in proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and in addition, a number of minerals and vitamins necessary for our body. A third of almost every person's diet consists of meat and meat products. First of all, it is a source of protein, which is the basis of the organs and tissues of the human body. And protein must be supplied to the body continuously, since the cells of the human body are constantly renewed.

Despite all the beneficial qualities of meat, eating meat products has quite a lot of negative aspects. But, nevertheless, the human body needs energy, which comes in the form of carbohydrates and is quickly used for its intended purpose. Let's figure out how essential the proteins and microelements contained in meat are, and how you can replace meat products in your diet.

About some nuances of eating meat products

Despite all the beneficial qualities of meat, it has quite a lot of negative aspects.

If you constantly eat meat, then the human body begins to produce foreign protein, and if conditions are favorable, it can activate cancer cell growth .

In addition to protein and iron, which provide us with energy, meat contains a lot of fat and cholesterol - and this is one of the main reasons cardiovascular diseases .

One cannot fail to mention the oxidizing properties of meat. It is those important amino acids that meat advocates talk about that, when burned, form strong acids, which the body will have to make a lot of effort to neutralize.

Purine bases, which are found in meat and significantly worsen the situation with metabolic disorders, do not bring any benefit. In the process of preparing meat broth, purine bases move into the liquid, creating an acidic environment, and when such meat broth is consumed, the level of lactic acid increases. This may lead to arthrosis, arthritis and other vascular diseases .

It is worth noting about putrefactive bacteria that are present in meat. Their waste products do not decompose during heat treatment, and when they enter the body they provoke poisoning .

There is a choice!

An excellent alternative can be those proteins and microelements found in plant foods. For example, the protein content in legumes and cereals is slightly higher than in meat, but they can provide the body with a sufficient amount of vegetable protein, which does not contain essential amino acids, unlike animal protein. This situation can be overcome with the right combination of foods. Legumes contain a large amount of lysine and some tryptophan and methionine, while in rice the content of such elements is distributed exactly the opposite. When these products are combined, the diet turns out to be balanced and perfectly satisfies the need for protein. In addition, legumes are rich in B vitamins and microelements, and due to their significant fiber and fiber content, they have a beneficial effect on digestion.

According to a comparative analysis conducted among cereals, the undisputed leader in beneficial properties is buckwheat , in terms of the amount of protein, only slightly inferior to legumes. It is also rich in iron and other important microelements.

Buckwheat helps improve blood formation and gives strength and endurance. It is widely used in folk medicine and sports nutrition.

Such a representative of cereals as oats , is high in fat and helps eliminate cholesterol and normalize blood pressure.

In terms of the share of active substances and vitamins, the leader is wheat, or rather bran (grain shells of wheat). This is one of the main crops that can replace meat products and is used in therapeutic dietary nutrition.

Another interesting specimen in the plant world is peas . Like all legumes, it is enriched with protein, vitamins and microelements, being quite slightly inferior in content to beef. Research has proven that, thanks to its unique composition, peas help remove carcinogenic and radioactive substances from the body, and also have anti-cancer properties.

It also has such properties beans . In addition to the fact that beans contain a large amount of macro- and micronutrients, they help lower blood sugar, therefore they are necessary in the diet of those suffering from diabetes.

Meat lovers claim that vitamin B12, which is involved in the hematopoiesis of the nervous system and metabolism, is found only in meat products. But the human body’s need for this vitamin is not so great, and it is quite possible to fill it by including it in the diet lettuce, seaweed, fish and seafood .

You can replace meat in your diet for several reasons. This will not only not cause harm, but will also contribute to the overall restoration and strengthening of your health, as well as life expectancy, because many vegetarians demonstrate this quite clearly.

Thanks to the richness of our nature, alternatives to meat products can always be found. And having thoroughly understood all the advantages and disadvantages, everyone makes their own decision whether to eat meat or replace it in their diet.

All meat replacement products cannot individually compensate for the lack of animal protein, fat, and amino acids. Therefore, it is recommended to consume as many foods as possible from the following list every day, at least in small quantities:

1. Protein sources- fish, shrimp, squid, dairy and fermented milk products, eggs, buckwheat, seitan (a healthy source of protein from wheat flour), legumes, peas, various varieties of dal (for example, chickpeas, mung bean), .
2. Sources of fats- nuts (walnuts, pine, almonds, etc.), fatty ocean fish, sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Olive, flaxseed, sesame, pumpkin, cedar oil.
3. Sources of amino acids and vitamins- vegetables, fruits, spices, legumes. Seaweed, salad greens, and squid contain the rather rare “meat” vitamin B12, and shrimp are a rich source of iron. It is believed that mushrooms also replace meat, as they contain animal starch - glycogen. And some mushrooms are similar to meat and taste, for example, chicken mushroom.

In addition, the above products also contain other beneficial substances that are not found in meat, which is a great advantage for a healthy diet.

How to replace meat in your diet if you need to save money?

With a limited family budget, many meat replacement products are simply not available. Therefore, housewives will need to make every effort and imagination to balance the diet. And the following tips will help in this difficult matter:

• Buy products that are in season. It is much healthier and, as a rule, local vegetables and fruits are much cheaper than greenhouse and imported ones, available all year round;
• Buckwheat, legumes, and peas are available sources of protein. To make legumes easier to digest and not complicate digestion, it is recommended to season dishes with ground coriander, hot sauces, and serve light vegetable salads as a side dish;
• expensive meat replacement products can be purchased at the wholesale market and spread over a month or even more. This applies to different types of nuts, lentils, sesame seeds, dried kelp and mushrooms, frozen fish. The main thing is to subsequently comply with storage conditions. Even with a modest family budget, you can purchase a small amount of these products and periodically add them to your diet;
• eat more greens. Dill, parsley, green onions, basil, lettuce - all this can be grown independently on the balcony or on the windowsills. It is recommended to drink a glass of an unusually healthy green smoothie, rich in vitamins and amino acids, every day on an empty stomach. To prepare it, you should take 2-3 sprigs of each type of greenery and simply grind it in a blender, adding a little water. You can add lemon and seasonal fruits to this cocktail;
• if you lack energy and strength due to the lack of meat products, you should consume several tablespoons of sprouted wheat daily;
• experiment with recipes. Vegetarian cuisine is very interesting and varied. For example, in many dishes, mushrooms replace meat, and thanks to some culinary tricks, such dishes cannot be distinguished from meat at all. You can make delicious cutlets from mushrooms, cabbage, potatoes or carrots. And sauce recipes, even on a very limited budget, will add pleasant variety to the menu;
• Make a menu for the week in advance, this will allow you to balance your meals even on a small budget. It is better to add expensive products more often, but in smaller quantities.

Sincerely yours -

The fairly high popularity of vegetarianism in recent years has forced many people to look for something to replace the meat they refuse. Nutritionists, of course, do not recommend eliminating meat foods completely, but in fact, it is quite possible to live without it if you do not forget about the main rule of healthy eating - the balance of nutrients.

Contrary to popular belief, humans are neither herbivores nor “frugivores.” We are omnivores, our body is adapted to consume any food, both plant and animal. This is why we need animal products.

Meat contains a large amount of biologically complete protein, which contains all the essential amino acids. Meat contains several times more B vitamins, it contains animal fat and cholesterol, which many are afraid of, but which the human body needs. Meat foods are rich in extractive substances that can increase appetite and stimulate the functioning of the digestive glands. Finally, it is meat that contains the largest amount of iron, and in the form in which it is best absorbed. It is no coincidence that in the old days, people were given meat and liver during treatment.

However, meat also has its disadvantages. There can indeed be a lot of cholesterol in it, and because of this, the intake of animal food by people suffering from diabetes should be limited. Extractive substances are not what patients need. For overweight people, it is more important, which is difficult to achieve with meat. Red meat and offal (liver, kidneys, heart, tongue, etc.) also increase the level of uric acid in the body. And this is a direct harm to health when.

We should not forget about the oncogenicity of red meat, especially in the form of sausages. A recent report from the World Health Organization directly blames these products for increasing the risk. Obviously, replacing meat with something safer is a smart move. But what to eat if you exclude beef, pork, and poultry from your diet?

"Animal" meat substitutes

If a vegetarian is not fundamental in his beliefs and refuses only meat, he has many opportunities to replace meat with other products of animal origin.

Milk and dairy products

In terms of amino acid composition, the closest thing to meat is made from whole cottage cheese. It contains 15% complete protein, which fully meets the needs of the human body, as well as a large amount of calcium, phosphorus and. In addition, cottage cheese contains a number of substances (choline, methionine, etc.) that prevent the development of atherosclerosis. Low-fat cottage cheese (the so-called “skinny” cottage cheese with a fat content of 0.5%) is even more useful, since it combines an exceptionally small amount of saturated fatty acids with a fairly high protein load.

Cheeses also contain a high concentration of nutrients. 25% protein, 25-30% fat - this is the approximate qualitative composition of a good cheese (unfortunately, it has been quite difficult to find this on store shelves lately).

Any fermented milk drink can serve, if not as a complete replacement for meat, then as a good addition to the plant-based diet of a vegetarian (to be precise - lacto-vegetarian). A person can easily get the missing amino acids from a glass of milk, curdled milk, etc.

All nutritionists recognize egg white as ideal. It contains all the necessary amino acids, it is 97-98% absorbed by the body, if you consume only it - cholesterol does not enter the digestive system, since it is contained in the yolk. Protein omelettes are an integral part of many therapeutic diets. This is why eggs can be an excellent substitute for meat.

Fish and seafood

This category includes various representatives of the animal world that live in water. The protein contained in fish is not inferior in composition to meat. A serious advantage of fish is that it is better digestible than meat due to its low content of poorly digestible connective tissue.

The nutritional value of fish is also high due to the high content of omega-6 fatty acids in many of its varieties. These substances are extremely important for the processes occurring in the body, have an anti-inflammatory effect, and suppress the growth of “bad” things. It is no coincidence that in countries with traditionally high fish consumption, the level of atherosclerosis is relatively low.

Fish is also rich in microelements: potassium, and most importantly, phosphorus, which is indispensable for maintaining bone strength. In addition, it contains many vitamins, especially group B, and the liver of many fish has a high content of vitamins A, D, E.

The products described above are suitable for those who refuse only meat. However, there is a category of vegetarians who completely ignore any food of animal origin, regardless of whether the animal was killed to obtain it or not. Such people are called vegans or Vitarians. It is somewhat more difficult for them to choose a complete replacement for meat, since neither vegetables, nor fruits, nor grains separately contain a complete set of proteins. However, with the right diet, vegans can get everything they need from plants.

Legumes

This category of plants includes beans, as well as the mistakenly considered nut. They contain a lot of vegetable protein, which is well absorbed by the body. The downside of most legumes is their fairly high carbohydrate content, which provokes. Peanuts contain a large amount of fat, and this should be taken into account when fighting excess weight. Another disadvantage of legumes is their lack of methionine.

Separately, we should talk about soy. This plant is distinguished by an incredibly high protein content, whose composition is as close as possible to that of an animal. Soy isolates, tofu, natto, miso, soy milk - all these products can be a complete replacement for any meat product.

Cereals

This category of plants can include all those products from which various cereals are made - rice, wheat, buckwheat. The latter is considered an ideal cereal, as it contains the largest amount of protein. Oatmeal is also very healthy, but due to its relatively high fat content, it should not be the main grain in a vegetarian’s diet.

The lack of essential amino acids makes cereals an inferior substitute for meat. The solution here may be to prepare dishes with the addition of soy milk fortified with vitamins - this will allow you to get a full set of amino acids, as well as ensure that the need for calcium is met, which is also lacking in cereals.

Vegetarians consider nuts to be an exceptionally protein-rich product. However, even a superficial analysis of sites dedicated to giving up meat shows that their knowledge is limited to this. But despite their high protein content, nuts cannot provide the body with all the necessary amino acids. They contain too little tryptophan and lysine, and without these substances normal metabolism is impossible. However, the combination of nuts with legumes and grains solves this problem.

In fact, there are practically no downsides to giving up meat, unless you switch to pure vegetarianism. Eggs, fish, and dairy products can provide a person with absolutely all the necessary substances, including proteins, macro- and microelements.

Another thing is veganism. The main problem for vegans is the lack of vitamin B12 in plant foods. Some sites indicate that it can be obtained from seaweed, soybeans and other plants. However, this is outright false information. The vitamin is found only in animal foods, which include meat products (liver, kidneys), fish, and shellfish. It is found in much smaller quantities in cheeses, meat, eggs, and lactic acid products.

The lack of vitamin B12 in plant foods makes them biologically inferior. However, in the West they produce special vegan products artificially enriched with this substance. In our country, we can recommend that vegans take additional vitamin complexes and food supplements containing vitamin B12.

There are several types of nutrition with which people try to maintain their health, maintain a figure in great shape, and also achieve spiritual heights and lightness. One of the most popular methods is vegetarianism. Many pitfalls await those people who completely refuse animal food. An example is that plant foods lack vitamin B12 and very little vitamin B2 and D. Zinc, iron, calcium, selenium, copper - all these minerals necessary for humans are present in various plant foods.
Protein imbalance appears due to the inferiority of plant proteins in the body. Thus, the “I don’t eat anyone” attitude has its own pros and cons. There are also lacto- and ovo-vegetarians who include milk and eggs in their diet in order to receive the elements necessary for the body. And if we consider semi- or pseudo-vegetarians who adhere to a healthy and well-balanced diet, then vegans do not really favor them and often criticize them.

What types of vegetarians are there?
- Strict vegetarians or vegans. They eat only foods of plant origin and do not include animal foods in their diet (milk and dairy products, as well as meat, fish, poultry and eggs).
- Lactovegetarians. In turn, do not eat eggs, fish, meat and poultry. But an exception may be milk and fermented milk products.
- Lacto-ovo vegetarians. In addition to milk and dairy products, eggs are also consumed. Do not eat fish, meat and poultry.
- Semi-or pseudo-vegetarians. They consume milk and dairy products, eggs, but there are exceptions in favor of fish and seafood. They do not eat meat and poultry.

Pseudo-vegetarians replaced meat with fish and other seafood. But is this replacement necessary? Some argue that fish is superior to meat, while others, on the contrary, suggest that it is very inferior to it. Protein imbalance is a very important problem for vegetarians, but it can be solved with the help of fish. The amino acid composition in fish protein is perfectly balanced, which cannot be said about meat protein, so it is considered complete and is absorbed faster. Fish has less connective tissue, which prevents the rapid absorption of protein. There is a lot of protein in such types of fish as: tuna, pink salmon, sea bream, herring, salmon. And if we consider iron, it is absorbed much worse from fish meat than from animal meat. Still, semi-vegetarians find themselves in a better position, since if we compare the possibility of iron deficiency, with a vegetarian diet (i.e., refusal of meat food) it is much higher than when fish is included in the diet. Fish also differs from meat in other respects, for example, in the content of mineral elements, vitamins A, B and D. Therefore, those people who conclude that fish is healthier than meat due to the fact that the content of fats and cholesterol there are much fewer mistakes in it.

Fish contains the same amount of cholesterol as meat. Also, in terms of fat content, some types of fish, such as lamprey, sole, catfish, eel, white fish, are almost comparable to meat. It’s just not clear why those people who need to lower their cholesterol levels (those suffering from heart disease and atherosclerosis) are advised to eat fish, but meat, on the contrary, is recommended to be excluded from the diet?

The structure of fish oil differs from meat oil in that fish oil contains more polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) of the omega-3 class. These acids effectively affect the body, preventing the formation of blood clots, and also reduce cholesterol levels in the blood. Only carp is rich in omega-3 fatty acids from river fish; sea fish can boast of this advantage. Your intake of saturated fat may decrease if you switch from meat to fish. This is facilitated not only by a complete refusal of meat, but also by various meat products, such as sausage, sausages, sausages, and semi-finished products, which contain very little natural meat. These dietary restrictions can help those who have a hereditary predisposition to liver disease, heart disease, atherosclerosis and the vascular system.

In addition to fish, pseudo-vegetarians also eat seafood: sea cucumbers, squid, mussels and other gifts, and also eat crayfish and freshwater fish caviar. They are not very fatty, are a source of complete protein, and are superior to animal meat in terms of iodine content and some other trace elements. But it is still better to give preference to the meat of mussels, crabs and freshwater crayfish. And include shrimp, squid and lobster meat in your diet as little as possible, as well as caviar, since it is rich in cholesterol and there are few omega-3 fatty acids that neutralize its effect. Countless amounts of protein are found in such types of fish as: tuna, pink salmon, sea bream, herring, salmon. And if we consider such a mineral as iron, then its absorption from fish is much worse than from meat.

If in ancient times religion and philosophical beliefs told people to give up meat, today most people themselves become vegetarians. They do this in order to achieve a beautiful figure and improve their health. Does it make sense to deny yourself juicy steaks, flavorful kebab and tender chops? Judging by statistics, the life expectancy of vegetarians and meat eaters is the same. But there is a difference, their quality of life is different, this can be explained by the fact that people who give up meat are less likely to suffer from various diseases, such as atherosclerosis, metabolic syndrome, gout, diabetes, and obesity. So maybe it’s possible to ban the sale of meat?

Vegetarians take better care of their health, for example: almost 80 percent of vegetarians do not smoke, do not drink alcoholic beverages, and most of them play sports. In addition, they not only refuse meat, but also monitor their health, and therefore they get sick less often. Moreover, I would like to highlight that pseudo-vegetarians are in a more advantageous position, since they do not have the serious health difficulties that vegans have. However, they do not suffer from diseases typical of meat-eaters.

Thus, if you are thinking of becoming a vegetarian to lose extra pounds, then remember that you may not achieve the desired results. It is necessary to review your diet in order to exclude dangerous foods from it: you should eat raw food for breakfast or lunch, low-calorie food for dinner. This way you can get rid of excess weight and maintain your figure.