Keep in Mind - Not all vegetarianism is created equal....

Keep in mind that eating vegetarian isn't healthy if done improperly. One could eat just pizza, pasta, and french fries and call themselves a vegetarian. Technically they'd be correct, however, this is lacking in many essential nutrients (and fiber!) and defeats many of the benefits of eating a diet that is either meat-free or low in meat products.

The vegetarian or "flexatarian" diet needs to be well-rounded to ensure one gets all their essential and non-essential nutrients. Here are some examples:

*Calcium: If refraining from cow's milk, spinach and leafy greens, broccoli, enriched orange juice, tofu, and yogurts are just a few of the alternative sources of calcium.

*Iron: Dark leafy greens (i.e. spinach), beans, whole-grain or fortified breads and cereals, dried fruits, as well as blackstrap molasses are non-meat sources of iron.

*B12: Fortified foods (cereal, soymilk), supplements.

*Protein: soybeans (complete protein), whole grains, legumes.