Goodbye to meat

As gardens get greener, farmers markets overflow with produce and our cravings for light, summer foods intensify, there's that temptation to do the unthinkable: turn that dinner salad into a meal, then a habit. Go all the way — go vegetarian.

Lemon Dream Pie With Blueberry Glaze features silken tofu and lemon juice and zest in the filling and fresh or frozen blueberries sweetened with apple juice for the topping. Dietitian Trulie Ankerberg of Decatur, Ga., suggests that people who are considering a diet change start by bulking up on fruits, and especially nutrientdense vegetables, gradually adding those while reducing the amount of meat.

"There's not enough time in the day, not enough room in their stomachs to get it all in," Ms. Ankerberg said. "You have to increase your goal as you go."

But many vegetarians who cut out meat find they still have an unhealthy diet packed with dairy products and fried foods; pizza, french fries and chocolate cake can be vegetarian, after all. Going with a vegan meal plan — one that eliminates animal products entirely — may be where some find the health benefits they're looking for, Ms. Ankerberg said.

Zacoor Israel, an assistant manager at Soul Vegetarian #2, a vegan restaurant in Atlanta, said he became a vegan in 1996, when he weighed close to 200 pounds. Heart disease, diabetes and strokes run in his family and he decided to make a change.

Within three months, he was down to 165 pounds and had more energy. His diet became a lifestyle.

"I became more socially conscious," he said. "When you get meat out of your ears, you start hearing things in another kind of way."

Ms. Ankerberg said a vegan diet won't work for everybody, but learning to fill the table with fresh foods and meat alternatives can help diversify dinnertime while improving the entire family's health.

"You don't have to corner yourself into a label," she said. "You can find your happy medium and do what you can.

SUBSTITUTIONS

A vegan diet can be less about cutting foods out and more about adding ingredients in. Here are some substitutions:

• Milk: Try a nondairy product such as soy, rice or almond milk. As long as they're not too sweet, they're interchangeable.

• Eggs: Depending on the recipe, tofu, applesauce or an egg substitute, such as Ener-G can usually perform the same duties.

• Butter and lard: Try a non-hydrogenated substitute such as an Earth Balance vegan product.

• Mayonnaise: On salads and sandwiches, Vegenaise is a brilliant substitute for the egg-and-oil mixture.

• Meat: It's often the toughest thing for people to give up, but vegans and vegetarians can get plenty of nondairy protein from tofu, tempeh, seitan and even meat substitutes designed to look and taste like sausage, chicken and hot dogs.

GLOSSARY

Consider this a public-service announcement: A vegetarian diet is a choice. Some do it for health or ethical reasons. Plenty will admit that they're just picky eaters, or got started because they wanted to impress someone. If you put pepperoni on your pizza, the vegetarian police won't come get you. But if you need a name for your diet, or want to understand all the terms people throw around to describe how they eat, here's a quick look:

• Vegetarian: General term for someone who doesn't eat meat.

• Lacto-vegetarian: Vegetarian who does not eat eggs, but does eat dairy products.

• Ovo-vegetarian: Vegetarian who does not eat meat or dairy products, but does eat eggs.

• Vegan: Vegetarian who does not eat meat, eggs, dairy products or other animal products. Many avoid using animal-tested items and products such as fur and leather.

• Pescatarian: People who don't eat meat, other than fish.

• Flexitarian: People who eat mostly vegetarian diets, but occasionally eat meat.