Since you’re cutting one whole aspect of the food pyramid out, you need to make up for it with the sections you left in. Here’s what to do:

• The carbohydrate group, 6-11 servings of whole grains, breads, cereal, pastas and rice.  
• In the fruit group, 2-4 servings.
• The vegetable group, 3-5 servings.
• The dairy section, which includes milk, cheese, and yogurt, 2-3 servings. 
• The meat alternatives group, 2-3 servings. This is a new addition. This is where you can get your protein, which you have greatly cut back since it is found in high quantities in red meat. To make up for the protein you’re missing in meat, you can find it in the form of legumes, nuts, seeds and other specialized products.
• Finally, the vegetable fats and oils, sweets and salts which should only be eaten in small amounts, as with any diet.

Some nutrients to pay special attention to, and in what foods they can be found, are:

• Protein - Lentils, beans, tofu, low-fat dairy products, nuts, seeds, and peas.
• Iron - Dried beans, spinach, chard, beet greens, blackstrap molasses, bulgur, prune juice, and dried fruit.
• Calcium - Collard greens, broccoli, kale, low fat dairy products, turnip greens, tofu prepared with calcium, and fortified soy milk.
• B12 - Dairy products or eggs, some brands of cereal (look at nutrition facts on the side of the box), nutritional yeast, soy milk, or soy analogs, vitamin supplements.

Many doctors would recommend a multi-vitamin to be taken with this diet in order to help get these essential nutrients. Talk to your doctor to see which one would be best for you and your variation of vegetarianism.

Be careful of your fat intake!  You’d be surprised to learn how easy it is to be a vegetarian and have an extremely high fat content in your diet. For one thing, snack foods, like chips and candy, do not contain meat and can be easily used to feed hunger. 

Even if you manage to eat healthier snacks like fruit, you may forget that dairy products can be very fatty. Vegetarians starting out tend to eat a lot of cheese or yogurt for their calcium. The whole milk versions of these foods can add large amounts of fat to an otherwise healthy diet. 

The last source of fat in a vegetarian diet comes from nuts and seeds, which are an important part of this diet because protein is found in them. What most people don’t notice, though, is that the recommended serving size for nuts and seeds is usually less than a handful! Their fat content is very concentrated and they are a threat to a person trying for a healthy, vegetarian diet.

Keep these tips in mind. Also remember to keep track of your calorie intake to make sure you’re not eating too many or too few (which can happen easily with a drastic change in eating patterns like a vegetarian diet). You can be a successful, healthy vegetarian.