I get a lot of vegans in my private practice– and they usually are thrilled that I can reassure them that YES a vegan diet can be amazingly healthy and then we go over there food choices together and make sure they are getting all the macro and micronutrients they need.
One that often comes up is Calcium (Ca+). Sure we have been brainwashed into thinking that we can only get calcium from a milk mustache but actually there are plenty of vegan sources to get your RDA (for men and women under 50 years old that’s 1000mg and if you are > 60 yo its 1200mg). Here are some ideas I recently shared with a client (who by the way- doesn’t eat nuts or seeds- which are another great source of Ca+)
Morning ideas:
Fortified juice/non-dairy milk (6 oz) 200-260mg
Fortified High Fiber Cereal (eg. Total RB) (8 oz) 1000mg
Blackstrap Molasses (1 tbsp) on toast 130mg
Lunch and Dinner ideas:
Protein Sources: per 1 cup serving
Garbanzo beans, cooked 340 mg
Soybeans, cooked 450 mg
Tofu, firm (w calcium suffate) 400 mg
Tempeh 215 mg
Vegetables – per 1 cup serving
Turnip greens, cooked 450 mg
Nettles, blanched 428mg
Spinach, cooked 250 mg
Collard greens, cooked 260 mg
Mustard greens, cooked 100 mg
Bok choy, cooked 158 mg
Kale, cooked 100 mg
Broccoli, cooked 100 mg
Misc sources:
Blackstrap molasses (1 tbsp.) 130 mg
Tahini (2 tbsp) 128mg
Dried figs (3 oz.) 100 mg
Dried apricots (3 oz.) 80 mg
Nettle (cold) infusion:
1 cup dried nettle leaf (available in most health food stores in the bulk culinary herb section)
4 cups cold water – steep overnight, strain and drink.
Nettles can also be used like spinach in soups, eggs etc…
