The Pizza Sola Blog

Myth #1: Vegetarians don’t get enough nutrients, especially protein

In honor of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, I thought I would write about my favorite thing, veggies! As a fellow vegetarian, it drives me crazy when people assume that a life without meat is unhealthy. Well, if I were to live on nothing but potato chips and cookies, that would be true (albeit delicious), but as a die hard foodie, I find eating for health and flavor is actually achievable.

Fact: “The average woman needs 46 grams of protein a day, and a one-cup serving of chickpeas gets you about a third of the way there. Problems creep up when you let simple carbs (white bread), sugars, and trans fats crowd out healthier choices. “Focus on eating whole grains, legumes, nuts, fruits, and vegetables and you’ll get everything you need—including protein,” says Reed Mangels, Ph.D., R.D., nutrition advisor for The Vegetarian Resource Group. In fact, vegetarian diets tend to have higher levels of fiber, magnesium, potassium, vitamins C and E, folate, carotenoids, flavonoids, and other phytochemicals”.

That was taken right from the article; because I couldn’t have said it better myself. Above is a Vegetarian Pyramid, that shows how we get all of our nutrients. Sure, meat is full of protein, but there are tons and tons of other foods that can give you that protein. Vegetables that have the best nutrients for you include:

Bell Peppers- Carotenoids, Fiber, B6, Vitamin A, Vitamin C

Broccoli- Carotenoids, Cruciferous, Fiber, Folate, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K

Eggplant- Fiber, Potassium, Manganese

Garlic- Allicin, Manganese, B6, Vitamin C

Mushrooms- Selenium, B2, B3, B5, Tryptophan

Onions- Sulfur Compounds, Flavonoids, Chromium, Fiber

Spinach- Carotenoids, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Minerals, Folate, Iron, B2, B6, B1

Tomatoes- Carotenoids, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Molybdenum, Potassium

VEGETARIANS at Pizza Sola should try my creation: White pizza with eggplant, spinach, feta and tomatoes. Bellissimo!

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