Vegan Vegetarian Meals Part V:

Here’s how to make vegetable lasagna without cheese so it’s suitable for vegan weight loss diets. (Find recipe at the end of the post.) While spreading layers of pasta, and deciding what to put between them, here are some cheese-free thoughts to chew on:

Eliminating All the Cheese not just Dairy Products and Meat

In the previous post about spicy vegetarian chili issues, the question was raised about vegans and vegetarians taking things too far. It was proposed that sometimes when dairy products and meat are eliminated from the diet, but not replaced by a superior nutritional plan, (often due to choosing non-animal product diets based on environmental / animal rights issues / belief systems) leads to two unfortunate consequences:

1. unhealthy vegan / vegetarian meals that rely too heavily on carbohydrates for calories, therefore creating nutritional deficiencies that are measurably harmful in the long-term, and thereby giving false credence to meat-based diets that don’t cause such deficiencies but have other serious drawbacks – such as high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease and gastrointestinal problems – which get minimized in light of unbalanced vegan diets that are poorly planned
2. offering cheesy “feel good” ideologies (or mixing up health and nutritional reasons with political, emotional or ethical environmental / conservation issues) as support for vegan or vegetarian diets, thereby discrediting evidence-based medical benefits

Removing the cheese out of vegetable lasagna requires making the reasons for choosing it nutrition based. We need to ask what we’re putting between the carbohydrate layers of our lasagna, and what we’re adding to our favorite tofu recipes, and with what we’re filling our stuffed mushrooms, to ensure we’re giving our bodies what it requires.

Human Nutritional Requirements

The battle between animal-based diets and vegan / vegetarian ones isn’t really about what vitamins, minerals, amino acids, proteins, carbohydrates, etc., a body requires to sustain life and be healthy. It’s not a mystery what we need, in fact, the same basic nutritional requirements that could solve malnutrition in impoverished (and/or war torn) nations, and those that could resolve the obesity crisis in one of the wealthiest nations, is the same basic formula. It’s a question of: will we get what we need from source X or source Y?

If you choose to be a vegetarian or vegan, are you going to get enough vitamin A, folic acid, zinc, iron, iodine, calcium, B12, omega-3s, protein?

In order to create balanced vegan or vegetarian meals that provide sufficient zinc, iron, calcium and protein (especially difficult to get are the essential amino acids like lysine), a plan must be followed.

No, it’s not enough to just stop eating meat, eggs and dairy without nutritional equivalent replacements. In most cases, vegan and vegetarian meals must include soy milk and other soy products for tofu recipes (or dishes that incorporate tempeh which can be better than tofu in many ways), sufficient varieties of legumes (and for lysine, things like pistachios and quinoa), just to mention a few vegetarian / vegan nutritional issues.

The B12 Problem

Although previous dietary concerns regarding calcium and iron can be resolved with a bit of forethought (a subject for another post), the question of obtaining B12 is an issue.

As a vegan, your diet must be supplemented in some way – such as choosing fortified soy milk, fortified tofu (some very specific types of tempeh) or finding mushrooms grown in B12-rich soil (albeit not a very reliable source). In short, all vegans should be supplementing their diet with B12. (veganhealth.org offers suggestions on how to find some B12 supplements and choose fortified foods.)

The daily recommended B12 intake for adults is between 2 and 3 µg (microgram or mcg). Some studies suggest that taking an oral cobalamin therapy (water soluble B12 vitamin supplement) to avoid deficiencies and treat possible cases of pernicious anemia (whereby the body doesn’t naturally absorb or retain B12), can be effective.

It must be noted that animals, humans and even plants do not create, synthesize or produce vitamin B12. Only certain kinds of bacteria have the necessary enzymes for the construction of B12, therefore it’s synthesized in laboratories by fermenting microorganisms to create supplements for human consumption.

Since B12 absorption has been found to begin in the mouth, it’s thought that supplements, for those on lactose-free diets or vegan weight loss programs, which can be chewed or orally delivered, may be more effective than intramuscular injections (except for those who have non-diet related pernicious anemia.)

It’s important not to confuse B12 with other B vitamins (such as those in folic acid) found in green leafy vegetables, asparagus, beets, corn, broccoli, beans, peas, lentils, sunflower seeds, yeast, certain grains / cereals, pineapple, orange juice, grapefruits, bananas and strawberries. While vegetarian meals and vegan weight loss programs may deliver adequate folic acid and other B complexes, B12 will still be lacking.

Since this essential vitamin can only be obtained from bacteria, true herbivore animals get that particular bacteria through the digestive process of fermenting plant-food in their rumens and then regurgitating the food (known as chewing their cud) and thereby obtaining B12. However, as noted in a previous post, humans are not natural herbivores therefore there’s no way to obtain B12 from a purely plant-based diet. Since the vitamin can be obtained through shellfish / fish, animal liver, poultry, dairy and eggs (although eggs also contain ingredients that may inhibit absorption), it’s generally not a big issue except for those on strict vegan diets that exclude all these animal-based foods. Although we might be able to solve the B12 deficiency situation by eating termites (like our primate cousins), it’s doubtful that termite supplements will catch on.

In case you think you’ve got your B12 needs covered because you eat copious amounts of seaweed and drink wheat and/or barley grass juice, you’ll have to reconsider because the B12 in those otherwise healthy foods / drinks cannot be absorbed through the human gastrointestinal tract including the colon. If you’re on a vegan weight loss plan or are a lactose-free vegan / vegetarian, you need a B12 supplement. It’s that simple.

Example products:

1. Sundown Vitamin B12 Complex Sublingual Liquid
2. Nature Made Time-Release Vitamin B-12, 1000mcg, 60 Tablets
3. Shots B-12 (10,000mcg) Energy Boost by Now Foods
4. EdenSoy Organic Soymilk with Vitamins D, B12 and Calcium
5. Mori-Nu Tofu, Silken Style, Extra Firm
6. Ancient Harvest Organic Traditional Quinoa

Watch for future Effective Human articles dealing with nutritional issues to help you find sources for essential amino acids, iodine, zinc, iron, calcium, B12 and omega-3s.

Posts in this series include:

- Vegan / Vegetarian Meals Part I: Tofu Recipes and Brain Food

- Vegan / Vegetarian Meals Part II: Evolutionary Mélange and a Vegetable Soup Recipe

- Vegan / Vegetarian Meals Part III: Stuffed Mushrooms and Survival of the Fittest Fit Enough…

- Vegan / Vegetarian Meals Part IV: The Spicy Vegetarian Chili Issue – Protein vs. Carbs

- Vegan Vegetarian Meals Part V: Vegetable Lasagna: What’s Under the Vegan Layers Without the Cheese?

Vegetable Lasagna Recipe:

This is a cheese-free vegetable lasagna dish that’s ideal for vegan weight loss programs or everyday vegetarian meal planning.

It’s recommended to use gluten-free products when making pasta dishes. There are a variety of lasagna types – some made from brown rice and others with a vegetable base such as spinach.

This recipe requires about 45 minutes – an hour to prepare, including chopping veggies, making the sauce from scratch, and the time for it all to bake in the oven. (This vegetable lasagna can be divide into 4 portions / served with salad.)

Ingredients:

• 5 lasagna pasta strips Example product: Tinkyada Brown Rice Lasagne
• ½ medium zucchini (diced)
• spinach leaves (chopped)
• parsley (chopped)
• 1 large carrot (chopped)
• 1 onion (minced)
• ¼ teaspoon oregano Example products: Simply Organic Oregano Leaf Certified Organic
• 1 garlic clove (crushed)

• ¼ cup mushrooms (minced)
• 3 large tomatoes (grated)
• 4 asparagus tips / stems
• olive oil
• sea salt
• 8 fresh basil leaves (or a sprinkle of dried powder)
• fresh ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon assorted nuts (chopped) or pine nuts
• 10 black olives (chopped) (optional)

Ingredients for the béchamel (which is a French / Italian creamy white sauce elaborated by whipping scalding milk and flour):

• 2 cups almond milk Example product: Pacific Organic Almond Milk
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 teaspoons flour
• sea salt

Ingredients to create the gratin (or golden top crust):

• yeast flakes Example product: KAL – Yeast Flakes
• 2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste) Example product: Artisana Organic Raw Tahini
• water (just a little)

Preparation Instructions:

1. Mince the mushrooms, finely chop the garlic and onion, dice the carrot and zucchini (as finely as possible), grate the tomatoes, chop the asparagus tips and stems, removing the thicker hard ends, and chop the spinach, parsley and fresh basil. Then, place 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and sauté the minced mushrooms. When they’re golden, add the above vegetable mix, along with a dash of sea salt, fresh ground pepper, oregano and dried basil powder. Cook, stirring frequently over medium heat, for about 10 minutes. Set aside.

2. Make the béchamel by heating a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan or double-boiler. Slowly add flour and let cook, stirring constantly, then very, very slowly dribble-in the almond milk, whisking the mixture, without letup, to create a creamy sauce. Be careful to do this process slowly, over low heat (using a double boiler is a good idea), so the flour doesn’t get lumpy or thicken too fast and the milk doesn’t burn.

3. Cook the lasagna in boiling water and drain. Spread the pasta on a clean towel to absorb the last bit of moisture.

4. Lightly grease (with olive oil) a casserole or baking dish and begin laying the lasagna, adding the vegetable mixture, and a dribble of béchamel, between each of the layers.

5. The top layer, which will be a golden gratin crust, is made by spreading tahini (very slightly diluted in a teeny bit of water), then sprinkling yeast flakes and finishing with another layer of tahini.

6. Bake the vegetable lasagna for about 15 minutes (in a preheated oven set to 180 degrees), but for the last 5 minutes, use the grill to brown the top. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with nuts and/or olives. Garnish with fresh basil – serve with a green salad (and red wine).

This vegetable lasagna is suitable for vegan weight loss diets since it contains no meat, cheese, milk or butter, and (if gluten-free lasagna is used – which we recommend) this dish is also good for low carbohydrate meal plans.