Vegan Food Guide

From books by Vesanto Melina and Brenda Davis (below).   See front and back (below) of the poster.
 

poster back
Food Group Servings per day	What Counts As A Serving?	Important Comments
Grain Group (bread, cereal, whole grains & pasta)   6-11 servings	1 slice of bread 1 oz (28 g) ready-to-eat cereal ½ cup cooked grains, cereal or pasta 2 Tbsp wheat germ 1 oz (28 g) other grain products	Choose mainly whole grains. Good examples are brown rice, barley, quinoa, millet, oats, wheat & kamut berries, as well as whole grain breads and cereals.
Vegetable Group   3 or more servings	½ cup (120 mL) vegetables 1 cup (240 mL) salad ¾ cup (180 mL) vegetable juice	Eat a wide variety of colorful vegetables. Include raw vegetables each day. Green leafy vegetables are excellent sources of folate; many are rich in calcium too!
Fruit Group   2 or more servings	1 medium apple, banana, orange, or pear ½ cup (120 mL) fruit ¾ cup (180 mL) fruit juice ¼ cup dried fruit	Select an assortment of fruits, including those rich in vitamin C. Good choices are citrus fruits, kiwi, strawberries, guava, cantaloupe, papaya, and mangos.
Beans & Bean Alternates Group (beans, tofu, nuts & seeds)   2-3 servings	1 cup (240 mL) cooked legume (beans, lentils, dried peas) ½ cup (120 mL) firm tofu or tempeh 1 serving veggie "meats" (1 burger or wiener, 2-3 lunch slices) 3 Tbsp (45 mL) nut or seed butter ¼ c (60 mL) nuts & seeds 2 cups (480 mL) soymilk	For maximum benefit, eat a wide range of these protein-rich foods. Eating vegetables or fruits rich in vitamin C along with these foods to increases iron absorption. Nuts and seeds provide vitamin E & minerals.
Fortified- Soymilk & Alternates Group   6-8 servings	½ cup (120 mL) fortified soymilk ¼ cup (60 mL) firm calcium-set tofu ½ cup (120 mL) calcium-fortified juice ¼ cup (60 mL) almonds 3 Tbsp (45 mL) almond butter 1 cup (240 mL) cooked, or 2 cups (480 mL) raw, of high calcium greens, (kale, collards, Chinese greens, broccoli, okra) 1 cup (240 mL) high calcium beans, (i.e. soy, white, navy, Great Northern, black turtle beans) ¼ cup (60 mL) dry hijiki seaweed 1 Tbsp (15 mL) blackstrap molasses 5 figs	Get to know your calcium sources! Many of these foods double as servings from the Vegetable and Bean Groups. Include calcium-rich foods with every meal. Foods should provide at least 15% of the DV per serving to be included as a serving in this group.  (If a serving provides 10% of the DV, use 1-½ servings.)
Other Essentials Group   Omega-3 fatty acids 1-2 servings   Vitamin B12 to meet recommended intakes   Vitamin D to meet recommended intakes	Omega-3  fatty acids   Serving =1 tbsp ground flaxseed, 1 tsp  flax oil, 1 tbsp hempseed oil, 4 tsp canola oil, or  3 Tbsp walnuts   Vitamin B12 Fortified foods or supplements supplying: 2.4 mcg (adults) 2.6-2.8 mcg/day (pregnancy and lactation) 0.9-1.8 mcg/day (children)   Vitamin D   Fortified food or supplements supplying: 5 mcg /day Vitamin D2 for adults aged up to 50; 10 mcg /day 51-70 yrs; or 15 mcg for those aged 70+ years; or moderate sunshine.	Pay attention to these important nutrients. Ground flaxseed or flaxseed oil are ideal sources of omega-3 fatty acids.  Use them in dressings for salads, baked potatoes, vegetables and grains!     Look for foods fortified with vitamin B12.  (Red Star Vegetarian Support Formula nutritional yeast is a good example.)     If you do not get enough sunshine, be sure to get vitamin D2 from foods or supplements. This is especially important in winter  months for people at northern latitudes.   For more details, read Becoming Vegan or any of the books below.
The ranges in servings in the left column allow for differences in body size, activity levels and age.   For example, smaller and less active people need fewer servings; larger, more active people need more.

The above Vegan Food Guide was developed for the books below, each of which gives a fuller explanation of the guide. Many thanks to EarthSave International, John Borders and artist Dave Brousseau for their tremendous assistance with the Vegan Food Guide graphic.

Also, you may click here for "A New Food Guide for North American Vegetarians", an article by Registered Dietitians Virginia Messina, Vesanto Melina and Reed Mangels and published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2003, and the Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research, 2003. In it you will see a vegetarian (including vegan) food guide in pyramid and rainbow formats, based on the based on the U.S. Food Guide and the Canadian Guide to Healthy Eating respectively.