How do you move to plant-based eating?

Moving to plant-based eating is not taking meat off the plate, it is rebuilding the menu. That is the guideline's criterion too: a well-planned plant-based pattern can be adapted to every stage of the life cycle, while a poorly planned one can lead to certain deficiencies.

Below we cover what the move changes, the dishes in Turkish cuisine that are already plant-based, the portion pattern, the real issue on the protein side, the kitchen and shopping side, the nutrients that need attention, and the order in which the move is made.

What the move changes

Reducing the animal share leaves a gap on the plate. That gap does not fill itself; it is filled deliberately from the dried legume, grain, oilseed, vegetable and fruit side.

The guideline's rule is plain: to provide nutrient variety through the day, there should be at least one food from every food group at every meal. We covered variety itself in this guide.

The dishes that are already plant-based

Turkish cuisine has a wide repertoire that makes this move easier. Zeytinyağlı dishes (vegetables cooked in olive oil), meatless dried legume dishes, soups such as lentil soup and tarhana (a fermented soup base), pilaki (beans in olive oil) and vegetable dishes already stand on this side.

That is why in most homes the move calls not for learning new recipes but for bringing existing recipes forward in the week.

The second convenience is that most of these dishes suit batch cooking. A dried legume dish or a zeytinyağlı dish cooked in one pot can be spread over two or three meals.

How the portion pattern is built

The guideline gives a separate daily portion table for vegetarians: 3-6 portions from the grain group, 3-5 from the vegetable group, 2-4 from the fruit group, 0-3 from milk and milk products, and 2-3 from the egg and dried legume group.

The zero lower bound on the milk side comes from the table covering both the lacto-ovo and the vegan pattern. The measures are defined too: one portion of cooked dried legumes is 130 grams, and of bread two thin slices, that is 50 grams.

The ranges in the table are a frame for a group, not a single person's daily target. As a person's energy level rises, the number of portions on the grain and vegetable side also shifts toward the upper end of the range.

The real issue on the protein side

The guideline writes that vegetarians who consume milk, milk products and eggs do not run into a significant problem with protein intake; the place where a problem can appear is the pattern that includes no animal product at all.

The real criterion is not amount but variety. The daily protein requirement of vegetarians is also given as 1 gram per kilogram, as in healthy adults; what changes is which sources that amount comes from.

We described the protein side of the plate, with its measures, in this tip.

Keeping legumes and grains in the same meal

The example the guideline gives comes straight from this cuisine: when a dried bean dish cooked without meat is eaten together with bulgur or rice pilaf, the essential amino acids are balanced.

The same pairing holds for chickpeas with bulgur. So what needs doing is not buying a new ingredient but keeping two existing items at the same table; we looked at it from the grain side in this tip.

This pairing also builds the volume of the plate. Pilaf placed next to a legume dish keeps the meal from being a single item and does not load the fullness onto one group alone.

The kitchen and shopping side

Dried legumes are recommended two or three times a week, and that frequency asks for a preparation routine in the kitchen. Soaking and boiling once removes the cooking time for the rest of the week.

On the shopping side the list of items gets shorter but more varied: different legumes, whole grain products, oilseeds and nuts go into the same basket.

There is a gain on the budget side too: dried legumes are more economical options compared with meat and meat products, and because they can be stored for a long time they can be bought as stock items.

The nutrients that need attention

The guideline marks a few nutrients separately. Iron coming from vegetables and grains is used in the body less than iron coming from meat; that is why eating a food rich in vitamin C at every meal is recommended.

Drinking tea and coffee with a meal lowers iron and zinc absorption; the guideline recommends drinking them one hour before or two hours after the meal. In a vegan pattern the diet is asked to be checked by a dietitian for vitamin B12.

It is also written separately that plant drinks do not take the place of the milk group; these products do not contain vitamin B12, which is found only in foods of animal origin.

In what order the move is made

The move that lasts is the gradual one: first a few meals of the week are built with dishes that are already plant-based, then the number of these meals is raised.

When the order is set the other way round, that is, when meat is taken out first and what will go in its place is thought about afterwards, the plate stays short. If a personal plan is needed, that is the job of a qualified dietitian.

In short: build the menu first and reduce afterwards, keep legumes and grains in the same meal, add a vitamin C source to every meal and make the move gradually. The whole of the plate is covered by the balanced plate guide.