Healthy diets are needed to produce healthy and strong locks
from within. Whatever you eat will reflect on your entire body’s general
health, including your hair.
In our previous post, we’ve presented you with a one-week vegan meal plan that’s laden with nutrition for your hair. Now, we continue with our meal
plan series with this 7-day diet plan designed for vegetarians.
Vegans and vegetarians share the same love for plant-based
foods. These foods are indeed loaded with plenty of nutrients to nourish the hair from deep within the follicular and cellular levels.
The two diets also do not consume animal meat in their food
lists. However, vegetarians do not have particular restrictions on eating
products that come from animals such as dairy, cheeses, and eggs.
Now, we’ll delve further into the classifications of
vegetarians and list down delicious recipes that will last you for a week. And
of course, these yummy dishes are all hair-friendly as always!
Vegetarian Diet Types
There are four main categories of vegetarian diets:
1. Lacto-vegetarian
This type of vegetarian diet allows the consumption of all
kinds of dairy products such as milk, yogurt, butter, and cheese. Poultry, meat,
seafood, and eggs are not eaten by lacto-vegetarians.
2. Ovo-vegetarian
Followers of this vegetarian diet eat eggs. All dairy
products, seafood, poultry, and meat are excluded from the ovo-vegetarian diet.
3. Lacto-Ovo vegetarian
This diet lets you eat eggs and dairy products. Still
excluded from the lacto-ovo diet are poultry, seafood, and fish.
4. Pescatarian or Pesco-vegetarian
Strictly speaking, a pesco-vegetarian diet is not a fully-vegetarian
type of diet. This is because it allows seafood and fish consumption which are
considered as direct animal consumption in essence. But this semi-vegetarian
diet still forbids eating poultry, meat, eggs, and all dairy products.
A fifth category of vegetarian diets is termed as the Flexitarian
Diet. It is a diet plan mainly consisting of plant-based whole foods.
However, small quantities of poultry, meat, seafood, eggs, and dairy products
are allowed occasionally.
Why Go Vegetarian?
Some people are passionate about animal welfare, so they go
vegetarian and eliminate as much meat, fish, and poultry as they can. But a
large number of people go vegetarian mainly for health reasons, such as the
following:
Vegetarian diets are healthier than conventional diets.
Typical food in our daily fare is teeming with processed
foods and saturated fats – not healthy for us at all. Going vegetarian allows people
to get all the nutrients they need from plant-based foods. These diets are
lower in fat and higher in complex carbohydrate content, not to mention
brimming with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants from fruits, vegetables, and
grains. Which leads us to the next reason…
Vegetarian diets have loads of hair-friendly nutrients.
Plenty of dishes in vegetarian cuisines make use of ingredients
that have lots of hair nourishing nutrients in it. Here is a quick list of good-for-your-hair
nutrients along with their vegetarian-approved sources:
- Protein – tofu, tempeh, seitan, chickpeas, lentils, most bean varieties, quinoa, nutritional yeast, eggs
- Iron – sun-dried tomatoes, potatoes, mushrooms, green leafy vegetables, amaranth, whole grains, legumes
- Vitamin C – broccoli, strawberries, brussels sprouts, kiwi, pineapples, oranges, spinach, bell peppers
- Biotin – lentils, almonds, spinach, sweet potato, mushroom, cauliflower, avocado, cheese, eggs
- Zinc – legumes, tempeh, tofu, whole grains, seeds and nuts
Quick Tip: Want to transition to a vegetarian diet
for your hair’s sake? Start by stocking up on quinoa, leafy greens, fruits, and
nuts. Gradually replace your snacks with fruits, nuts, and seeds. Then, work
your way up by adding salads or vegetable-laden soups to your weekly food fare.
Vegetarian diets are easy to prepare.
Contrary to popular belief, meal-prepping in a vegetarian diet
is quite a breeze! There are lots of recipes that call for simple ingredients
and easy cooking methods. For instance, basic salads are easily whipped up and only
require you to mix all the ingredients together in a bowl! They’re also filling
and nutrient-rich, so that’s a win-win for you.
Quick Tip: You can pre-cut your veggies, store them
inside the fridge, then whip up a dish with them anytime! This simple trick
saves lots of time and effort on your part.
One Week Vegetarian Meal Plan for Lovelier Locks
Start nourishing your body and hair with these vegetarian
dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Feel free to add more
vegetarian-approved dishes, or be creative and experiment with them to create
your own unique hair-friendly vegetarian fare!
1. Sunday
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
2. Monday
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
3. Tuesday
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
4. Wednesday
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
5. Thursday
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
6. Friday
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
7. Saturday
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Notes:
- Most of the dishes compiled here feature plant-based foods. But there may be some dishes calling for eggs and dairy products, which may not be appropriate for you if you’re following a pescatarian diet. We’ve done our best to select dishes that can be tweaked to either substitute or remove these ingredients altogether to make them inclusive to as many kinds of vegetarian diets as possible.
- You may find some recipes labeled as “vegan” on the list. This is because vegan dishes are almost the same as vegetarian fare, just without any animal-based products in it. Feel free to add eggs, dairy, or cheese to some recipes as you see it fit and depending on the type of vegetarian diet you’re following.
- There are plenty of vegan cheese alternatives in the market if you’re not including cheese products in your diet. You can also make your own homemade vegan cheeses to go with some of the recipes here.
Final Words
Vegetarian meals offer a plethora of nourishment for your
entire body – hair included! This diet is filled with mane-boosting nutrients
such as protein, biotin, iron, vitamin C, zinc, and so much more. And you can
get all of these hair-friendly nutrients through mostly plant-based foods – no need
for meat and poultry here!
Try out the recipes we’ve collected and compiled into this 7-days
vegetarian diet for healthy and strong locks. Mix and match, substitute
vegetarian-friendly ingredients and enjoy these delicious dishes while feeding
your hair the nutrients it needs to grow healthier, stronger, and lovelier.
Share with us your thoughts! How did your vegetarian meals
go? And do you have some vegetarian and hair-friendly recipes in your arsenal?
We’d love to know about them too! Hit us up in the comments section and let’s
journey together towards healthier hair through vegetarian meals!
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