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-Protein. Make familiar dishes and replace the meat with marinated tofu or TVP (textures vegetable protein). Tofu, opens up a lot of options to vegetarians, especially new ones. Although compared to cold wet styrofoam by my Mom, it is meant to absorb the flavor of other ingredients. Like soy sauce tamari or any other marinade. -Calcium. You can try things like: soy milk, almond milk, rice milk, soy yogurt, soy cream cheese, soy cheese, soy mayonnaises etc…Or make some of them yourself. Soy margarine has been around for years, but look for an organic brand without GMO soy. Soy yogurts and ice creams are easily available too. Vegan Sources of good calcium include tofu( it contains four times the calcium of whole cow's milk), green leafy vegetables, seeds and nuts. The calcium in green vegetables which are not high in oxalate e.g. kale, is absorbed as well or better than the calcium from cow's milk. Some soy milks are also fortified with calcium. Other calcium rich foods include black molasses, edible seaweeds, watercress, parsley and dried figs. Amounts of various foods that provide 100mg calcium: Over two-thirds of the people in the world are lactose intolerant, because they lack enough lactase, the enzyme that breaks down the sugars in milk. Undigested, the mucousy lactose coats the lining of the colon, bacteria interact with it to cause gas, and cramps, flatulence and diarrhea. All mammals are born with a sufficient amount of lactase, but in decreases as we get older – once we’re out of infancy, we’re not meant to be drinking milk any longer.So we don't need to drink milk, but we still need calcium. Almost all of the calcium in our bodies at any given time is stored in our bones and teeth. It is the 1 percent in our bloodstream that’s key to good health . It is needed to send messages between nerves, especially those that contract our muscles and for clotting of blood. Our kidneys filter most of our bodies’ calcium and return it to the bloodstream, but some of it is lost in our urine. We also lose some through sweat and bowel movements. -B12. This vitamin is created by microorganisms that exist in the air, water and soil. Animals, including humans, have it in their bodies. We can consume Vitamin B12 by eating the flesh of animals who pass it along, or by consuming animal products like eggs, milk, cheese and yogurt. Vitamin B12 is also produced in our own intestinal tracts, but scientists believe that it occurs past the point where we can absorb it into our blood streams – so we can’t utilize the B12 we produce ourselves so we have to get it from somewhere else. Plants only contain B12 through contact with them, passed on through the soil. If you eat vegetables straight from the garden, you may pick up a little bit of B12 from soil present on the plant. But veggies from the grocery store have been cleaned well enough that there’s probably no B12. B12 comes from a minuscule bacteria, there are a number of forms of Vitamin B12. The one we need, the one our bodies can use, is called cyanocobalamin. The others are called “analogs.” For years, nutritionists thought that B12 was abundant in foods like nutritional yeast, tempeh and sea vegetables. But it turns out that, while there’s lots of B12 in those foods, it’s mostly of the type we can’t use. 95percent of the B12 in those foods is in analog form and not cyanocobalamin .The only sure way to add B12 to your diet is through fortified food products and vitamin supplements. Read labels, and look for the word “cyanocobalamin” there are lots of breakfast cereals and meat substitutes fortified with the right kind of B12. If you decide to go with a vitamin supplement, choose one with the lowest dose available as you only need 2 micrograms a day, and most supplements contain much more than that.
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