I've always liked honey in my tea and I especially like raw honey. That grainy texture really appeals to me. Plus I know that I'm getting all the natural pollens and nutrients that the nice little worker bees went out and gathered for me. I could write TONS of good things about honey, but then I'd just be regurgitating other info that's already been well-written. (That's my little honey pun for the day!  ) Here's a good honey reference page if you want to know more.

Back to my super honey…

A queen bee larvae (baby) starts off exactly the same as a regular worker bee. The thing that causes her to change is a special substance called 'royal jelly'. It makes her about 50% bigger than the others. It's a very amazing thing when you stop and think about it.

Anyway, there are lots of anecdotal claims for what it can do for humans. The main thing I want to say is that some people with allergies and especially allergies to bee stings probably should stay away from this. It has been somewhat proven to help with lowering cholesterol which is always a good thing even for vegetarians.

As I get older, I'm always looking for something natural that can help me keep my body looking and functioning like it did when I was in my 20's. So I've started including a bit of honey with royal jelly in it to my daily routine. One of the things it's supposed to help with is memory. Must be working because so far I've been able to remember to take it!

As usual, I'm still in love with this old 1918 cookbook I found at Haslem's Book Store in St. Petersburg. That's got to be one of the coolest bookstores in the country.

You can't hardly find recipes like this in modern books. I admit that modern recipes and conveniences in the kitchen are wonderful. But something in me still is attracted to the old-fashioned, simple lifestyle.

So here are a couple of unfermented bread recipes. Basically,that means bread that doesn't used yeast to make them rise. A very slow oven means around 200-250 degrees. I'm not exactly sure how bread was 'steamed' back then. I haven't used that method. I know how to steam veggies and that's about it.

Unfermented Fruit Bread

Soak 1 quart cracked wheat in 1 quart water overnight. In the morning add 1 cup chopped dates and 1 cup figs, cut fine, 1 cup nuts, chopped, 1 cup apples cut into cubes, 2 cups raisins, 1/2 cup olive oil, 2  cups honey, and a little salt. Kead thoroughly and shape into loaves. Steam two to three hours, then dry in the over about thirty minutes.

Unfermented Sweet Bread

Grind 1 pound raisins, mox with 1 quart warm water, 1/2 cup olive oil, a little salt, and enough ground wheat to make a very stiff batter. Mix thoroughly and let stand overnight. In the morning add 1/2 cup chopped nuts, 2 well beaten eggs and a littl flour. Knead a few minutes. Let Stand about one hour. Bake in a very slow oven two or three hours, or steam and then dry in the oven.

One of the things I really enjoy is going to my local co-op to pick up a week's supple of locally grown organic vegetables. During the harvesting season, it's a weekly Sunday afternoon ritual. I go to 'the farm'. I live in Florida, so the fall and winter are good seasons for us here with gardens.

The types of veggies I come home with depends on what was harvested that week. Sometimes I get some really exotic things depending on what was planted. I had a purple turnip the other day!

With a co-op, you buy 'shares' of the produce. The number of share you buy will depend on how many people are in your family. There's a quota on what you can have per share.

When I get home from picking up my booty, I always have the ritual of washing everything and packing it into containers for the week. I used to use a veggie wash that's commercially made but now I've found a way that's even better. I mix up a concoction of water, white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide. It's about 50% water, 30% vinegar and 20% perioxide. This does a good job of cleaning and killing any pathogens and/or larve or eggs that could later hatch into those annoying gnats. I don't have to worry about removing any chemicals because it's all grown organically.

That may seem like an unusual mixture but it really does work well. I've used it for strawberries and raspberries, too, and they will last way longer than if I just rinse with water.

One of my favorite summer vegetables is zucchini. It's also super-easy to grow if you have your own little organic garden. We've all probably had a neighbor or friend who grew it and was constantly trying to give it away. The mild flavor of it lends itself to many dishes. If you grow it yourself, use a trellis as it makes long vines.

Zucchini is a member of the summer squash family which also includes yellow crookneck squash (another favorite of mine!).  It's an excellent source of manganese and vitamin C, a very good source of magnesium, vitamin A, potassium, calcium, iron, folate, copper, riboflavin, niacin, and phosphorous. That's a lot of nutrition packed into a cute green package.

Italians first grew it for it's blossoms which are very edible. However, zucchini actually is native to Central and South America. It was brought to Italy by the early explorers. Italians fell in love with it and it's sometimes referred to as 'Italian Squash'.

The flavor of zucchini is best when it is less than six inches long. They should be firm, but not hard. So if you grow it yourself or buy it at a produce stand, look for the smaller ones.

If you make your own Kim Chee, try putting some zucchini in it to replace some of the cabbage. I used to go to a Chinese restaurant that was owned by a Korean family. They always brought me some of their kim chee that wasn't on the menu but they knew I liked it. You never knew what veggies were going to be in it. The zucchini version was my favorite.

Here's the general directions for making Croquettes from my 1918 cookbook. Apparently they were quite the popular meal. A hot oven is about 400-425 degrees.

General Directions

In mixing the ingredients given in the croquette recipes, have the mass firm enough to hold together, but not compact. The croquettes should be handled as little as possible in shaping. Large spoons may be used for this purpose. In order to provide a firm and well browned outer crust, the croquettes should be rolled first in sifted bred or cracker crumbs, then in beaten egg, then again in crumbs.

These crumbs shoud preferably be from whole grain bread, which may be toasted brown and hard in the oven before rolling or grinding.

Baking Better Than Frying

The usual method of preparing croquettes by dropping into boiling oil or frying in a small quanity of fat in a skillet or pan usually makes the food soggy, indigestible and unpalatable. Even when the frying is done most carefully so that a minimum of oil is soaked in the greasy crust, the complexity of the mixture renders the croquette unwholesome and difficult of digestion for most people. The best way to cook croquettes or foods that are comonly fried is to bake or roast them. They are just as palatable and far more wholesome.

Place the croquettes on a hot, buttered or oiled gridiron, baking pan or dish and bake in a very hot oven for about fifteen minutes until nicely browned. If they do not brown well on top, they may be turned.

Here's a good protein entree from my 1918 cookbook. I like the reference to a 'vegetable grinder'. In modern kitchens, we can just use a blender or food processor.

The recipe doesn't really explain what the 'right consistency' is. So I'd say it's thick enough to hold a ball shape but not too dry. You want these to be tender. Here's the general directions for making croquettes.

Lentil Croquettes

Run cooked lentils through a vegetable grinder. Add 1 chopped Spanish onion, 1/2 grated nutmeg, 1/2 cup cream, salt 2 eggs and cracker crumbs to make the right consistency. Shape into croquettes and brown in the oven.

I'm still in love with my old 1918 vegetarian cookbook. So I'll be posting more recipes from it. They are so simple and tasty!

I think I'd probably adapt this one to 21st century low-fat dairy products, but occasionally, a bit of cream makes everything taste so yummy. A moderate oven temperature would be around 325 degrees. I guess they didn't have thermostats for ovens back then.

Cottage Cheese Pudding

Rub 1 cup of fresh cottage cheese through a wire sieve, add 2 well beaten eggs and enough rich milk or cream to make a fairly thin batter. Sweeten to suit taste and flavor with vanilla. Pour into a buttered pudding form and bake in a moderate oven about twenty minutes. Serve with custard sauce.

Soft Custard Sauce

Heat 2 cups milk in a double boiler. When scalding, pour it, a little at a time, into the yolks of 3 eggs beaten with 3 tablespoons sugar. Put back into the double boiler and let thicken, then flavor with vanilla and set aside to cool.

Here's a couple of old apple recipes I found in a vegetarian cookbook that was published in 1918. I think the language in it is really quaint and charming.

Apple Souffle

Peel and core apples, cook until tender, then rub through a colander. Add sugar and nutmeg to taste. Place in a porcelain kettle and cook until most of the water has evaporated, being careful to prevent burning. To 2 cups of this apple puree add the whites of 4 eggs, beaten very stiff and sweetened with 3 taplaspoons sugar. Mix lightly, fill a pudding dish, sprinkle with equal parts ground nuts and sugar. Bake in a slow oven about twenty minutes. Serve with whipped cream.

Apple Puff

Peel and grate aples to make 2 cups. Stir into the beaten whites of 4 eggs. Add sugar to taste and the juice of 1 lemon. Bake twenty minutes in a buttered pudding dish. Serve at once with a custard made as follows:

'Heat 1 quart milk in a double boiler. Add 2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in a little cold milk. Let boil until cornstarch is cooked then remove from the fire. Add the yolks of 4 eggs and 1/2 cup sugar. Flavor with vanilla if desired. Beat until creamy.

Tender raw vegetables make the most acceptable relishes. Besides those most commonly used, such as radishes, onion, celery and ripe olives, we can use raw turnips sliced, rutabagas, kohlrabi, carrots, artichokes or eggplant.

Rhubarb makes a delicious and very wholesome relish.Use the tender ribs of the leaves and the tender parts of the stalk. Cuth them into small pieces and sserve raw without any dressing.

Raw cauliflower makes a dainty and palatable relish. The flowerets can be separated adn served without dressing or they may be added to any salad in season.

Raw asparagus tips, or even the whole stalk when tender, is a pleasing addition to the list of availablerelishes. You can also add them to salads.

Raw sweet corn when it's at its tender stage, is a delightful surprise if you're trying it for the first time. Swerve it on the cot or cut and scraped.

Apple Relish

• Peel and core 6 apples
• Dice them
• Add 1 minced bell pepper
• 2 table-spoons of brown sugar
• Juice of 1 lemon

Asparagus Relish

• Same as the apple relish but substitute chopped asparagus for the apple.

Cabbage Relish

• Finely chop 1 small head of cabbage
• 2 apples
• 2 bell peppers
• 2 chives
• Mix with lemon juice and a little sugar

Pear Relish

• Peel, core and dice 6 pears
• Add 1 minced bell pepper
• A little minced chives
• Juice of 1 lemin
• A little sugar to taste

Corn and Apple Relish

• Cut enough corn from cob to make 1 cup
• Add 1 diced apple
• 1 tablespoon each of minced onion and green pepper
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar

There are different types of vegetarian foods. To understand this you need to know what exactly is the definition of vegetarian? And how is a vegan diet different from being a vegetarian?

If you recently started reading about vegetarian diets, you have probably read all sorts of strange vegetarian terms and categories like 'vegan', 'ovo-lacto vegetarian' and 'semi-vegetarian'. You may be wondering what's the big deal. Afterall, what is so conceptually tough about not eating meat?

The distinctions between these sub-categories of vegetarian are actually small, but each is very important to members who belong to the groups. For them, these distinctions aren’t arbitrary lines.  They are important dietary or ethical decisions.

Let’s take a look at some of these groups:

VEGETARIAN:

Vegetarian is a blanket term used to describe a person who does not consume meat, poultry, fish, or seafood. This grouping includes vegans and the various sub- categories of vegetarian. Generally it implies someone who has less dietary restrictions than a vegan.

SEMI-VEGETARIAN:

The term semi-vegetarian is usually used to describe someone who is not actually a vegetarian. Semi-vegetarian generally implies someone who only eats meat occasionally or doesn’t eat meat from mammels, but eats poultry and fish.

OVO-LACTO-VEGETARIAN:

Ovo-lacto vegetarians are vegetarians who do not consume meat, poultry, fish, and seafood, but do consume eggs and milk. This is the largest group of vegetarians. This term is pretty much interchangable with 'vegetarian'.

OVO-VEGETARIAN:

Ovo-vegetarian is a term used to describe someone who would be a vegan if they did not consume eggs.

LACTO-VEGETARIAN:

Lacto-vegetarian is a term used to describe someone who would be a vegan if they did not consume milk.

VEGAN:

Vegan is the strictest sub-category of vegetarians. Vegans do not consume any animal products or byproducts. Some even go as far as not consuming honey and yeast. Others do not wear any clothing made from animal products.

It's not necessary to choose which group you think you belong to. It's your life and your decision about what you eat and why you eat it. These different types of vegetarian labels aren't intended to label people. They just serve as a way to describe the different types of vegetarian diets that can be followed.

Some vegetarians will not eat sugar and not just because it's a highly refined substance that contributes no nutritional value. But because sugar is often whitened with bone char from cattle. If you're a vegetarian and you want to continue eating products that contain sugar, but do not want to consume this small bit of animal product in the process, you have a number of options.

There are two major sources of sugar in the United States: beet sugar and cane sugar. Cane sugar is often whitened with bone char from cattle. Beet sugar is never whitened with bone char.

So, if you want to completely avoid the bone char, you can do so by eating only beet sugar. Your biggest challenge is going to be finding out which foods contain beet sugar and which foods contain cane sugar.

To make things more complex, you can also consume a number of types of cane sugar without realizing it. You need to figure out the source of the sweetener added to food.

You can do this in a lot of cases by looking at the nutritional panel on food before you buy it. If it says fructose or dextrose, the sugar is from beets or most commonly, corn. If it says sucrose, it could be from a number of sources, which could include bone char-whitened cane sugar.

Now, if you're cooking with sugar, you can personally verify that is bone-char free by purchasing from the following companies which have publicly-stated that they do not use bone-char: Florida Crystals Refinery, Imperial Sugar Company, Irish Sugar Ltd., Sugar In the Raw (which is also less-refined), and American Crystal Sugar Company.

If you can’t find these brands, but want to avoid consuming bone-char sugar if possible, you can avoid these brands, which have publicly-stated that they do use bone-char: Domino, Savannah Foods, and C&H Sugar Company.

Get into the habit of reading the labels on packaged foods. You'll soon start to be able to pick out the ones that are vegetarian-friendly. While you're looking at that label, remember if any type of sugar is listed as the first ingredient, that means there's lots of sugar in there. Vegetarian or not, keep all sweeteners to a minimum for good health.

Many people want to become a vegetarian but don't know how to plan to succeed. Eating a healthy vegetarian diet takes more than simply not eating meat.

You need to start a vegetarian diet by devoting an adequate amount of time to nutritional research and meal planning. A considerable amount of people who start vegetarian diets do not last for more than 1-2 months because they haven't taken the time to truly understand what this new lifestyle entails.

Many dieters who fail to carefully research and plan complain that they lack energy - and often experience a significant loss in muscle mass. Others observe a number of other more peripheral problems that come with a poorly-planned vegetarian diet.

If you fail to eat enough protein, you can experience a form of protein-energy malnutrition (PEM).  PEM  leads to muscle loss and subsequent feelings of weakness that are often accompanied by head and muscle aches.

This problem can be avoided by dietary changes. If you are experiencing PEM, you should either:
 a) find out what foods contain what amino chains, so you can combine them to form complete proteins
or
b) start consuming larger amounts and more diversified sources of protein, such as nuts, soy milk, and yogurt.

If you're protein deficient, you're often iron-deficient as well. Vegetarians can only consume non-heme iron which is more sensitive to iron inhibitors.  You may not consume enough to maintain healthy blood-iron levels. This can cause pervasive weakness and even anemia.

Most nutritionists suggest that vegetarian and vegan dieters consume roughly twice the recommended amount of iron while greatly reducing their consumption of iron inhibitors.

A smaller group of vegetarians suffer from a range of other peripheral, diet-related problems are often not consuming enough of the nutrients that they would normally take in unknowingly on a diet that includes meat and dairy products. These nutrients include, for example, zinc, calcium, vitamin b, and riboflavin.

Some recent studies have suggested that vegetarians also process certain types of foods with less efficiency because they consume different amounts and varieties of absorption inhibitors and enhancers.

Recent studies also suggest, however, that a vegetarian or vegan diet, when done right, is not only as healthful as a non-vegetarian diet, but it is also much more heart-healthy - and usually contains higher amounts of antioxidants.

What does this all mean for you as a prospective vegetarian? It means that eating a healthful vegetarian diet is not only a good alternative to your current diet, but it can also lower your chances of getting heart disease and cancer.

However, in order to eat a HEALTHFUL vegetarian diet, you must actually put in the time to research and plan. If you don't, you most certainly will end up in one of the two groups discussed above. Take your time and do some research before jumping in with both feet.

Any vegetarian diet needs alternatives to gelatin.

Gelatin serves both nutritional and culinary roles in non-vegetarian diets. however, a lot of vegetarians and all vegans do not consume gelatin in its many forms because it is often created out of boiled pig skins and dissolved veal cartilage and bones.

This leaves vegetarians with a gap in cooking functionality when a recipe calls for a gel or thickening agent. It also leaves vegetarians with fewer options if they need a source of gelatin to increase bone and cartilage health.

If you are a vegetarian and you are looking for something to replace gelatin, do not  despair. Here are some alternative options for you:

1. Use a rice starch alternative. A&B Ingredients recently developed a rice starch alternative to gelatins that mimics the cooking functionality of gelatins closely.

2. Use a soy-based alternative. Soyfoods USA developed NuSoy Gel, a gelatin alternative which was created entirely out of of soy isoflavones and contains 100% of your vitamin C recommended daily allowance.

3. Use seaweed-based alternatives. Agar-agar is a seaweed based alternative to gelatin that can simulate the culinary functions of gelatin.

4. Increase your calcium intake. One component of gelatin supplements that allegedly increases joint health is calcium. If you want to increase your calcium intake without eating gelatin, you can simply consume more calcium-fortified foods and even take supplements.

5. Increase your vitamin C intake. Another component of gelatin supplements that allegedly increases joint health is vitamin C. You can increase your vitamin C intake by consuming more citrus fruit.

Many recipes need a thickening agent during cooking. Finding one that's not made from animal products really isn't that hard. If you want to protect your bones and cartilage, take calcium and potassium supplements. I think the hardest part of not using gelatin is remembering to carefully read the ingredients because it's added to so many foods.

You don't have to be a vegetarian to cook with tofu.

Tofu is a low-fat, low-cholesterol, low-calorie food made out of steamed and compressed soy beans. Not only is it a great source of protein but it is also heart-healthy and has been linked to a decreased risk in cancer.

Tofu itself doesn't really have much of a taste. It picks up the flavors of the foods and spices you cook it with. You can find it just about everywhere in the produce section of grocery stores. It comes in many different types which describe its texture - such as firm, soft or silk.

If you aren't a vegetarian now and haven't been one in the past, you probably also haven't eaten tofu many times. In fact, the only time most people hear about tofu it is in jokes aimed at vegetarians.

So why is it that vegetarians eat this stuff all the time? Is is it simply because they have no other choice?

The answer is both yes and no.

As long as they research and create meal plans, vegetarians can maintain a healthy diet eating traditional meals or ethnic dishes. Tofu is often cited as something exclusively vegetarian because it is a versatile, highly-nutritional, and can be used to replace meat dishes.

Being a vegetarian doesn't mean you have to eat tofu. In fact, there are many vegetarians who never eat tofu or any popular meat-replacement dishes such as "veggie burgers" or "tofurkey". However, these products are made of soy protein isolate which is the residue left over after soybeans are pressed for their oil. The residue is highly process to make it palatable and resold as meat substitutes. Tofu is much more natural and a food that has been produced and eaten for centuries.

Not only can it be created in textures, consistencies, and flavors that simulate a range of meats–from turkey to hamburger, but it can also actually replace and far exceed the nutritional value of similar meat dishes.

While vegetarians do not actually need to consume tofu, doing so is often a wise dietary choice and also the next best thing to eating similar meat products (for those who enjoyed meat dishes before they became vegetarians).

In addition to being served as a meat alternative, tofu is also served in a number of spicy and ethnic dishes, which were never intended to contain meat. Many ethnic Indian dishes contain large amounts of tofu cooked and spiced in different ways.

So here is my suggestion to you: If you aren't already a vegetarian, but want to become one, don't let tofu get in your way. You can maintain a healthy vegetarian diet without ever eating it. However, if you already are a vegetarian, but haven't tried tofu, I highly suggest you do. It is both nutritional and versatile - and it might not taste as bad as you think.

Vegetarian nutrition has its plusses and minuses. Both vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets have advantages. Vegetarian diets tend to be rich in antioxidants, certain vitamins, and healthy fats. Diets that include meat, by contrast, tend to contain more protein, iron, zinc, calcium, and vitamin B-12.

If you already decided to adopt a vegetarian diet, it is essential you learn how to increase your intake
and absorption of these nutrients to avoid short-term and long-term health complications.

Here's some ways you can be sure you're getting a good supply of necessary nutrients to keep you healthy.

1. Protein

Different types of protein are made up of different permutations of amino acid chains.
In order to create a "complete protein" or a protein that can be assimilated into the human
body as tissue, you must consume foods that contain complementary chains of amino acids.

Wheat, nuts, and beans are three types of vegetarian food that have proteins but not complete. Plus, wheat is hard to digest and up to 50% of its protein is lost during the process.

Isolated soy protein, which you can get from a number of sources (including soy milk), can be digested
efficiently-enough to match the animal protein yields. Just keep in mind that soy isn't the answer to a vegetarian's prayers. It shouldn't be relied upon as a main source of protein.

2. Iron

Plant sources contain a significant amount of iron, but in non-heme form. Heme iron is primarily found in red meats and is the most easily absorbed. Other forms of iron are bound to some other organic constituent of vegetarian food. The the iron found in plants is difficult to absorb but cooking tends to break these interactions and increase iron availability.  You should do two things to increase your blood-iron levels: 1) consume more plant iron; and 2) avoid absorption inhibitors such as tea, coffee, and fiber.

Some iron-rich foods are poor sources of the mineral because other compounds render it nonabsorbable. The classic example is spinach. It contains iron, but it also contains considerable oxalate, which chelates it and renders it nonabsorbable. Phytates, present in whole grains that have not been subjected to fermentation by yeast (for example, during bread making), have a similar effect.

3. Zinc

Whereas non-vegetarian diets seem to enhance the absorption of zinc; vegetarian and vegan diets do the exact opposite - they inhibit it. Nutritionists suggest that you can overcome this by consuming more foods that contain zinc, such as soybeans, cashews, and sunflower seeds while reducing your intake of inhibitors by washing vegetables and grains.

4. Calcium

Vegetarians can easily consume an adequate amount of calcium without any dietary
additions. It is important that vegetarians avoid consuming certain foods that are high in oxalate,
which inhibit calcium absorption.

Dietitians suggest that vegetarians do not consume spinach, beet greens, and swiss chard as the calcium component of a meal plan. While they are rich in calcium, they also contain high amounts of
oxalate.

Rather than consuming those foods for calcium, vegetarians should consider other options, such as
soy yogurt, tofu, beans, almonds, and calcium-fortified foods.

5. Vitamin B-12

Many vegetarians lack vitamin B-12 simply because it does not exist naturally in any non-animal forms. Vegetarians should seek out vitamin B-12 fortified foods, such as certain soy milks and cereals to supplement what they lack.

This is not meant to discourage people from becoming vegetarians, but instead to encourage them to spend time planning a health approach to their vegetarian diet before starting it. When planned adequately, vegetarian nutrition can not only make up for what it lacks from animal products, but it can far exceed the healthfulness of most non-vegetarian diets.

Vegetarian diets for infants need to be carefully planned. In the first year of life, a baby grows and develops astronomically fast. If for ethical or dietary reasons you have decided to feed your infant a vegetarian diet, be very careful in choosing formulas and solid foods.

If you're breastfeeding your baby and you are also a vegetarian, you may need to supplement breast milk with additional sources of nutrition, depending on your dietary restrictions. If you are a vegan or an ovo-vegetarian, you should add sources of vitamin B-12 to your child's diet.

Other than the B-12 supplements, your infant should be able to receive all micro and macro nutrients through breastfeeding.

If you plan to use formula rather than breast milk, you should stick to commercial formulas, which contain the proper amounts and ratios of nutrients. If you opt for a homemade formula or soy milk over a commercial product, your child could experience developmental problems from a lack of proper nutrition.

If you want to keep your infant on a vegan diet, you can select a soy commercial formula, as long as it is nutritionally-adequate. However, keep in mind that these types of formulas are relatively new in human evolution and haven't been time tested to track growth and development of children into adults over several lifespans. Think long and hard before going down this road.

After about a year, you can begin to supplement formula or breast milk with other sources of nutrition, such as homemade formulas, yogurt, and cow's milk.

Nutritionists suggest that you keep your infant on a full-fat, high protein diet after age one, which includes vegetarian-friendly foods, such as mashed and pureed avocados, nutrient-fortified tofu and yogurt.

When you are ready to switch your infant to solid vegetarian foods, you can introduce solid tofu, eggs, and cheese.

Vegetarian diets for infants and children need to be supplemented with B-12, plenty of protein and maintain a full-fat diet. If you carefully do this, you should have no problem maintaining a healthful vegetarian diet during your child's crucial developmental stages.

There are lots of health advantages of a vegetarian diet. While many people lament the nutritional disadvantages of a poorly planned vegetarian diet, few stress the health advantages of adopting a vegetarian or vegan diet.

The first major advantage of a vegetarian diet is increased heart health. Vegetarians typically consume more nuts to insure a good intake of protein. Nuts contain "good" fats, such as omega-3 and omega-6. This promotes good heart health by reducing "bad" cholesterol and unclogging arteries.

If heart disease runs in your family, this is a particularly important reason for giving up meat and adopting a vegetarian diet to promote good health.

In addition to nuts, vegetarians also consume more soy milk (often to replace milk), which reduces "bad"
cholesterol and has been linked to good heart health. Recently though, claims that soy milk reduces breast cancer have been proven false.

The second major advantage vegetarians enjoy is increased skin health. In addition to consuming larger quantities of nuts which contain healthful oils, vegetarians tend to consume more fruit and vegetables, which are rich in essential vitamins, including A and E, which are linked to good skin health.

The high amount of fiber found in fruits and vegetables also help to keep your digestive tract working efficiently. A clean colon helps to keep toxins flushed out of your body further contributing to better skin health.

The last health advantage vegetarians enjoy is an increased natural consumption of antioxidants. Antioxidants are foods that help prevent cancer by destroying free radicals. Vitamin C and Vitamin E, two
strong antioxidants, are commonly found in vegetarian meals.

Vitamin C can be found in berries, tomatoes, citrus fruit, kale, kiwis, asparagus and peppers.

Vitamin E can be found in wheat germ, seed oils, walnuts, almonds, and brown rice. These are all foods that are commonly a part of a well-balanced vegetarian diet.

So what does this all mean for you as a vegetarian?

It means the popular mythology about vegetarian diets is false. Not only can a vegetarian diet be nutritionally sufficient, but it can also give you better skin, help to prevent cancer, and increase your heart health.

Non-meat sources of vegetarian protein are really quite simple to find. One of the key things to learn is how to eat to get all the amino acids - sometimes called a 'complete protein'.

In order for vegetarian diets to contain a healthy amount of protein, they must contain a variety of plant proteins to form complete amino chains. There is no one plant that has a complete protein. Complete proteins are important because your body needs them to create muscle tissue.

Combining grains like rice with legumes like dried beans will give you that complete mix of amino acids. A classic example is a peanut butter sandwich (on whole wheat bread!). It's a great combination. Black beans and rice is a favorite Hispanic dish.

By eating vegetables, legumes, seeds, nuts, fruits, and whole grains, vegetarians can increase the amount of complete proteins they create by combining a number of varieties of amino acid chains.

Although most vegetarians consume a considerable amount of protein, they often do not absorb as much as they would on a non-vegetarian diet. This is because plant proteins are considerably less digestible than animal proteins, which contain amino acid chains that are closer or identical to human amino acid chains.

Consuming animal proteins might yield close to a 1:1 absorption ratio, while consuming plant proteins, such as wheat, might only yield 50% of the amino acids needed to build a "complete protein" or a protein that can readily be assimilated into the human body.

For non-vegan vegetarians, yogurt, milk, and eggs (which contain complete proteins) are all excellent sources of protein.

Because plant proteins are generally harder to digest, vegetarian diets need to include more grams of protein than a meat eater. While a nutritional label may suggest that pasta has 5 grams of protein per serving; you may only be able to digest 2-3 grams of that protein, which means you must complement the pasta with other sources of protein. A bit of cheese would do the trick.

In addition to natural sources of protein, vegetarians should also seek foods that are "protein-fortified"–
or artificially-infused with protein. For example, many supermarkets offer a variety "protein-fortified" pasta and bread. I have seen pasta that contains as much as 12 grams of protein per serving.

Soy milk is also a good source of protein for vegetarians. Studies on isolated soy protein show that it can be absorbed nearly as well as animal proteins, yielding close to a 1:1 protein absorption ratio. Be careful not to rely to heavily on soy as a protein source. Isolated soy protein is a manufactured food that's made from the residue left over from pressing soybean oil. There's nothing 'natural' about it.

Vegetarian foods can give you the complete proteins you're looking for. Learn to mix and match them correctly and you'll have no problems getting enough protein into your diet.

If you're considering becoming vegetarian, here are some things to consider.

As a prospective vegetarian, you probably question whether or not it really matters if you stop eating meat. You might wonder how much of a difference one additional vegetarian can make.

And while it might be true that one vegetarian won't make huge statistical difference in a world of meat-eaters, it is also true that one more vegetarian probably isn't going to turn the tide in the movement.

The number one cause of death in the United States and other countries with meat-centered diets is heart disease. Meat, eggs, and dairy products are the three largest sources of cholesterol. Heart attacks and other heart and circulatory problems would be far less prevalent if the consumption of them was reduced or entirely eliminated by eating only vegetarian food.

According to EarthSave, the average vegetarian has about 1/4 the chance of having a heart attack as the average non-vegetarian. As for people who are pure vegans, it gets even lower: they have less than 1/10 the chance of having a heart attack as non-vegetarians.

There are other health benefits of becoming vegetarian besides protecting your heart. Processed meats like salami, hot dogs and ham contain a lot of preservatives, salt and fat. The preservatives especially have been linked to cancer.

Beef cattle are normally fed diets that include growth hormones to get the maximum size and weight in the shortest period of time.  These hormones often disrupt normal hormonal processes in the human body.

And you won't consume as much lactose, which most people cannot digest properly–and which some dietitians have suggested is a cause of digestive problems.

In addition to health benefits you will receive as an individual, you will also reduce your share of the suffering human beings inflict on animals. According to veganoutreach.org, the average American consumes 2,714 land animals in their lifetime. If you quit eating meat now, you could literally prevent the suffering and death of hundreds of animals of the course of a couple decades.

In addition to this, if you stop eating eggs and drinking milk, you will also reduce your share in the suffering and death of battery hens and their offspring, as well as dairy cows and their offspring, too.

So the answer is yes:  becoming vegetarian does matter.  It matters to the thousands of animals you could potentially save and it matters to you as an individual because you can greatly reduce your chances of getting cancer and heart disease. You can do a lot as an individual that will be good for you and good for hundreds of animals.