What is a Vegetarian
Vegetarians come in all varieties. There are strict vegans, who eat no animal products and some won't use products made from animal skins or fur. Rawist or raw vegans eat nothing heated above 115 degrees. Some are more relaxed in their attitude and are lacto-ovo vegetarians that eat only fruits, vegetables, eggs and dairy. Lacto stands for milk and ovo for eggs. With new research that shows many adults should not eat dairy products, ovo-vegetarians are now on the rise. Flexitarians are those people that eat limited amounts of animal products and exist on a primarily vegetarian diet. They occasionally eat a burger but normally exist on mostly plant-derived nutrition. Macrobiotic occasionally consume fish but eliminate all refined oils and sugars from their diet. However, they do include many Asian and sea vegetables. Nutritional Value of a Vegetarian Diet Since there are so many types of vegetarians, breaking down the diet of all the types is difficult. The less strict the vegan, the easier it is for them to get all the nutrition necessary in their diet. With the inclusion of some meat products in the lacto-ovo vegetarian diet, the macrobiotic diet and the flexitarian diet, it isn't difficult to maintain well-rounded nutritional fare. This is not true for strict Vegans and Rawists. Rawists believe that nature made the world perfect and didn't need man to step in to cook the food. They believe, and rightly so, that many of the vegetables lose their valuable nutrients once you cook them, no matter how you do it. They believe the cooking not only destroys the vitamins and minerals, it also changes the enzymes in the food. Since the rawist eats only fresh unprocessed foods, seeds and nuts provide the protein for their diet. Sprouted seeds and wheatgrass juice play an important role in their diet. Even though the thought of eating cashews as part of supper might be enticing, rawists don't cook or salt the cashews so it requires the person eating the meal to acquire a taste for the fare. However, rawists insist that their taste buds change the longer they go without processed foods. Strict vegan diets are actually easier than rawist diets. Today there are many meat substitutes on the market available for vegans. These substitutes, fake meat, look much like the food most people eat but don't contain any animal substances. Vegans, like rawists, derive their protein from legumes and nuts. Soymilk, rice milk and almond milk take the place of animal milk. While these types of milk often provide the necessary moistener for cereal and substitute for milk for those who are lactose intolerant, they often supply just as much gas and bloating until your body adjusts to the diet. Planning a Vegetarian Garden Today, unless you purchase produce from someone you know, even when it says organic on the sign above the produce, you can't be positive about the farming practices of the person or company that raised the vegetables or herbs. Often there are toxins in the vegetables that counteract much of the beneficial effect you'd get from eating it.
These toxins can come from fertilizer, herbicides and pesticides. In addition, many people are now turning to alternative medicine and nutritional supplements to improve their health or replace the services of a physician in some more dramatic instances. Vegetarian gardens offer these people the opportunity to monitor the quality of their food and herbs. A vegetarian garden doesn't look that much different from a traditional vegetable garden, it simply has some slightly different foods than the traditional vegetable gardener would normally raise. Often there are some exotic vegetables in the garden. The gardener may emphasize herbs also. Some vegans produce their own sprouts, which do not require garden space but sprout in any area of the house. Since herbs contain extra nutrition without adding extra bulk to the food, vegetarians often include many herbs in their garden. The flavors emitted by the herbs often substitute for the salt and sugars omitted by the vegans.
Just as you would plan any garden, planning a vegetarian garden depends on the amount of space you have available. People with a smaller garden area need to focus on the easier plants to grow, those that are more expensive to purchase and ones that give the most produce for the space allotted. For instance, a person growing vegetables in a small area probably wouldn't bother with growing sweet corn since it takes up a lot of space and is available at relatively low prices at the store.
A vegan garden might focus on colorful red and yellow peppers rather than corn if there's limited space. These are easy to grow and yet quite costly in the store. Heirloom vegetables and those that are more expensive to ship are also other options for the vegan garden.
However, the Vegan gardener might also include oriental vegetables in their garden or alternative food sources. Yams, earth pea, tiger nuts and oca are some of the more exotic varieties of tubers that can add to a vegan fare but seldom found in local groceries. Oca is a South American plant grown similarly to the potato but doesn't require building up the earth like a potato does. It's perfect for the rawist and vegan alike since you can consume the tubers raw and when stored in the light, sweeten to the point some taste almost fruit-like.
No vegan garden would be complete without herbs. The herbs take up little space and in the theory of companion planting help increase the nutrients and healthy growing patterns of other vegetables. Flowering plants and herbs can add not only aesthetic qualities to the garden but also valuable nutrition. Nasturtiums add a peppery flavor to a salad while the mallow leaves are quite mild. The leaves of the campanula are sweet and perfect for a salad while the flowers grace the garden with lovely bluebells. The leaves and flowers of the iron cross plant make a tasty addition to any salad but should be eaten sparingly but the taproot is perfect as a snack.
If you love to try something unusual and delicious, try the leaves of the anise hyssop in your next salad and you'll want to plant it in your next garden. Other favorites that bring beauty and flavor to the table are calendula, carnations and chamomile.
No matter what type of garden the vegan plants, it should reflect the taste and interest of the vegan. Planning a vegan garden around the size of the garden, the desire for aesthetic appeal of the garden and the climate all make a difference in what the vegan grows. Many times, the small plot of a vegan is no different from a garden plot grown by an omnivore.
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