More and more teenagers are choosing to go vegetarian or vegan. Both groups give up all meat, poultry, and fish; vegans also give up eggs and dairy. Whether vegetarian or vegan, nutrition for teens should be well planned. That said, it shouldn't be complicated or daunting. Teens are often faced with pressures — pressures from parents concerned about their health, and pressures from within to continue on the path they have chosen.
Variety is the Key to a Healthy Vegetarian Diet
Teen vegetarians and vegans have nutritional needs that are the same as any other teenager. The years between 13 and 19 are times of especially rapid growth and change. Nutritional needs are high during these years. The nutrients you will probably be asked about the most are protein, calcium, iron, and vitamin B12.
What About Protein?
It is not necessary to plan combinations of foods to obtain enough protein or amino acids (components of protein). A mixture of plant proteins eaten throughout the day will provide enough essential amino acids. See Top Protein Sources for the Plant-Based Diet.
Other Important Nutrients for Vegetarian and Vegan Teens
Iron requirements of teenagers are relatively high. By eating a varied diet, a vegetarian can meet his or her iron needs, while avoiding the excess fat and cholesterol found in red meats such as beef or pork. To increase the amount of iron absorbed from a meal, eat a food containing vitamin C as part of the meal.
Citrus fruits and juices (for example, orange juice), tomatoes, and broccoli are all good sources of vitamin C. Foods which are high in iron include broccoli, raisins, watermelon, spinach, black-eyed peas, blackstrap molasses, chickpeas, and pinto beans.
Vitamin B12 is a vitamin which only vegans (vegetarians eating no dairy, eggs, meat, fish, and birds) need to add to their diet. Some cereals and fortified soy milks have vitamin B12 (check the label). Red Star T-6635 nutritional yeast flakes (Vegetarian Support Formula) also supply vitamin B12.
Healthy Steps to Your Ideal Weight
Many teenagers are concerned about losing or gaining weight. To lose weight, look at your diet. If it has lots of sweet or fatty foods, replace them with fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes. If your diet already seems healthy, try to get more exercise — walking, running or swimming daily, for example.
If you're trying to gain weight, you'll need to eat more food. Perhaps eating more often or eating foods somewhat higher in calories and lower in bulk will help. Try to eat three or more times a day whether you are trying to gain weight or lose weight. It is hard to get all of the nutritious foods you need if you only eat one meal a day. See also 5 Ways to Healthfully Gain Weight on a Vegan Diet.
If you feel that you cannot control your eating behavior or if you are losing a great deal of weight, you should discuss this with your health care provider.
- Explore lots more healthy eating tips on VegKitchen’s Veg Kids and Teens page as well as in the Nutrition area.
- For lots more features on healthy lifestyle, please explore VegKitchen’s Healthy Vegan Kitchen page.
Reed Mangels, Ph.D., R.D. is the nutrition adviser to the Vegetarian Resource Group. Read more of her informative articles, plus lots more vegetarian and vegan information on The Vegetarian Resource Group’s web site.
Nick Oha says
Hi...i must say its really difficult to build a vegan diet plan here in africa especially by people like me trying everything possible to grow taller; i would apreciate your help in building a vegan plan for linear growth;i think thats what its called.Thanks in advance.
Deja C. says
OK I WANT TO BE A VEGAN BUTTTTT I AM A LAZY 13 YEAR OLD GIRL I AM NOT OVER WEIGHT I AM NOT REALLY INTO SPORTS MY MOM EATS MEAT SHE BUYS THE FOOD SO I may not be able to do this she dose force me to do stuff that i dont want to so is there and advice that u have for me to do this full time because i know that if i dont do this is will be sick i will as an adult i know i will so please help me i hope u read this also my family on my fathers side is soooooooo over weight and my moms side has like bad knees and has eye issues please help meeee please please please
Sofia says
I am a 13 year old girl, I want to be a vegetarian but my parents wont let me. I agree to have fish on weekends.
I play volleyball and I love sports, I am a very avtive girl, I love eating healthy and stuff. Can someone please give me ideas of what can I have for lunch? Also how many proteins should I consume?
Anna says
I have started a website for vegan and vegan-interested teens, http://www.veganteen.net. I hope anyone reading this great online article by Dr. Mangels here will come check it out. Under the Q&A section, I have some about emotional support, or what to do if families are unsupportive, which is also really important at our age. I am also adding a question and answer about quick, easy vegan meals for one that are reasonably healthy (whole food plant-based). I invite everyone to come see. I just launched it in June 2016! I am adding new content all the time. 🙂
Unicorn says
Well I'm 13 and I'm pesketarijan which meand i eat only fishes and I don't eat any other animal. I am kickboxing but I'm still thr "fatter" kid in our class.. what should i do I'm thinking about not eating candy every day bit 1 day and a small cookie or something like that. And I'm also thinking about running every day but my lazy ass is probably not gonna do that.. but a list I'm gonna try.
Sad story says
I am 16,I really want to be a vegan but unfortunately I don't have the time to cook myself and my mum cooks all the time and while at home I'm basically forced to eat meat and other animal products,hope it will change in the future
brianna leidenfrost says
i am 15 full vegetarian. i live with my mom and i make the food. im the only one in a house of 10 that doesnt eat what they do.
Pigeon says
Hello! I found this article to be extremely helpful because my mother was worried about me giving up meat. I am a fourteen year old Catholic female, and I'm giving up meat for all the forty days of Lent. She was worried because I have been growing a lot lately. Thank you for making this article, it was very reassuring for her to see all the different sources of protein other than meat! I have many siblings and they all, including my parents, eat meat. I cook on Wednesdays but I think that during this span of forty days I will be cooking more often! XD
Sophia says
Hey what should I do my mom wouldn't let me become a vegan and I really want to she says no because how pricey the vegan food is where would be a good place to get vegan food that's a good price
Sophia says
Where would be a good place to get vegan food that was a good price
Ani Petoyan says
I'm 14 years old I'll be 15 next month. I actually recently went vegan but I don't know how to cook so I don't really know how to make all those yummy vegan meals. And my mom wont make them cause she always makes dinner for the entire family and the rest of the family eats meat and stuff and she says she wont make me food separately. Plus we don't know any recipes or anything. And each recipe has different ingredients and we don't have enough money to buy them all. So I'm usually stuck eating just simple things like instant oatmeal for breakfast, cereal for lunch, and salad or brown rice, or cooked buckwheat. Or something like that for dinner. Sometimes I mix it up tho. And sometimes I eat differently when we go out. But I really want a list or something. And some recipes for actual meals I can make and eat.
Nava says
Hi Ani — thanks for your questions. Many years ago, when I was just a little older than you are now, I announced to my family that I was going vegetarian (the concept of vegan was hardly in the air at the time!). My mom said the exact same thing — she wasn't about to make a separate meal for me.
So I took matters into my own hands and started to cook for myself. There weren't nearly as many good ingredients at supermarkets as there are today. But a cousin of mine bought me a little vegetarian cookbook and I chose a few things that I liked and made them regularly. After a while, my family wanted what I was having!
So a couple of suggestions; take a few veg/vegan cookbooks from your local library and see if you can come up with a repertoire of 7 - 10 meals you really like. Try finding two of my books — The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet and The Vegetarian Family Cookbook (both have recipes that have vegan options). The recipes are really easy and cover every meal of the day.
Go to the post on school lunches, where you'll find ideas that aren't just for school: http://www.vegkitchen.com/kid-friendly-recipes/school-lunch-recipes/ You can also browse the recipes and tips here: http://www.vegkitchen.com/kid-friendly-recipes/
I hope this isn't overwhelming. It sounds like you want a concise listing of recipes and ideas, and for that we have a little e-book called Family-Friendly Vegan Dinner Recipes, which sounds like it would be useful to you. Another thing I'd suggest is offering to make dinner for your family once a week. Once I started cooking, my family always wanted some of what I was having.
My mom thought that if she told me I'd have to cook for myself, I'd get tired of it. But it backfired — I started on of the first veg/vegan sites on the web (this one!) and have written more than a dozen cookbooks. Good luck and don't give up, Ani!
zo says
im just starting my last year of high school,and decided to became vegetarian but im feeling sick and hungry all the time any advice
Nicole says
I'm 13 and I'm a pescetarian I have a mom who is all up in May grill I do any sport you can think of K eat super healthy and I would not go back to eating meat to all of the people who don't think that they can go vegetarian or vegan you can it's not hard and you feel great by the way pescetarian means I eat fish and seafood it's a good thing to be because killing the animals is wrong