Recommended Food Selections and Servings

Food Group	Examples	Recommendations	Servings
Whole Grains	Grains: wheat, corn, oats, rice, millet, etc., Grain products: bread, pasta, tortillas.	Select whole-wheat and whole-grain products.	5
Legumes	Beans and peas: soy, pinto, kidney, navy, lima, peas, lentils, adzuki, garbanzo, peanut. Soy products: tofu, soy drinks, texturized protein foods. Butters: peanut.	Select soy-based milk alternatives fortified with calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin B12. Vary the kinds of legumes you eat from day-to-day.	2
Vegetables: Leaves, flowers, roots, and tubers.	All vegetables with emphasis on variety.	Emphasize leafy green and yellow vegetables. Eat both cooked, raw.	*3
Fruits: Protects its seed with pulp.	All fruits with emphasis on variety.	Emphasize whole fruits rather than juice.	3
Seeds & Nuts	Nuts: almonds, walnuts, peanuts Seeds: pumpkin, sunflower Butters: almond, sesame (tahini)	Eat raw, dry roasted, or in foods rather than deep-fried. Raw is best.	1
Vitamin B12 Synthetic form (cobalamin or cyanocobalamin) is vegan.	Dietary supplement or fortified foods.	A reliable source of B12 should be included if dairy and eggs are avoided.	2 micrograms
Vegetable oils	Plant oils: canola, peanut, sesame, and olive.	Emphasize those high in monounsaturates such as olive, sesame, and canola. Limit tropical oils such as coconut, palm kernel, palm oil. AVOID hydrogenated fats.	**Optional
Milk, dairy, eggs	Milk, yogurt, cheese.	Emphasize nonfat and low-fat products. Use egg whites only.	Optional
Sweets	Honey, syrup, sugar, jams, etc.	Eat in moderation.	Optional
Variety is of utmost importance in diet. Eat several different kinds of fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes each day. Combine several kinds for one serving. Vary them again the next day. Deeply colored vegetables such as sweet potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, bell peppers, kale, and broccoli are particularly rich sources of vitamins A and C plus iron and calcium.
*Include one serving of leafy vegetables and one serving of cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, kale, bok choy, cauliflower, kohlrabi, brussels sprouts, cabbage) each day. Vary the vegetables served.
**Fat is necessary in diet but most of it should come from nuts, seeds, legumes, and fruits like avocados. Do not drastically limit the fat in the diet of children. However, hydrogenated and saturated fats combined should be less than 10% of adult's or child's total calories each day. Hydrogenated fat is as harmful to health as saturated fat. Read those labels!
Eat optional foods to meet calorie requirements only after eating recommended daily servings. Do not allow optional foods, such as dairy or sweets, to "push" recommended foods off the plate and out of the daily diet. Be aware that about half of cane sugar is refined by passing it through activated charcoal made from animal bones.

Source: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Being Vegetarian by Suzanne Havala, M.S., R.D., F.A.D.A., Food Lovers Companion by Sharon Tyler Herbst, Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for reversing Heart Disease, Food for Life by Neal D. Barnard, M.D., Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
Reprinted with permission from CyberParent.