When it comes to vegetarian nutrition, it is always a big subject to provide sufficient nutrients required for our body. The vegetarian food pyramid provides us with good chances of achieving that. However, there are three things that you need to know about it before you can use it properly. In particular, they are diversification, layers of foods included in it and some tips to get on track.
As vegetarians, we should never depend on one single food as our unique source of nutrition. Diversifying what we eat each day should be the correct way to do it. Digestion of one single food all day could lead to body sensitivity and even allergy. However, diversification does not mean casual combination of different foods. This is where the vegetarian food pyramid steps in.
Vegetarian food pyramid, developed by researchers at the Arizona State University, is a guidance of the amount of foods that vegetarians should consume on a daily basis. It has 5 layers, namely whole grains, vegetables and fruits, protein foods, nuts and seeds, and oils. Each item has a corresponding quantity of servings that are required each day. You can find one picture of the food pyramid by searching online through any of the search engines available, save it as the wallpaper on a computer, or print it out and stick to the wall, and take a brief look at it every time you cook.
Finding the vegetarian food pyramid is just the beginning. You will still have a long way to go in order to become adept at preparing nutritious vegetarian meals. This first step is to get started with what you know. You might have learned how to cook one type of food or two. Then you can experiment with new recipes and ideas. Cookbooks are good resources. You can find them online and in bookstores. Do not hesitate to try them out and then add a few treasured elements to your portfolio.
The vegetarian food pyramid gives us a guideline of how to diversify our food combination so that we can get sufficient nutrients required for vegetarians. With the help of this amazing tool and the tips of how to get started, you can get right on track and become a good vegetarian chef in the near future.