Incorporating both meat and meatless entrees into your meals is easy. You can create both versions at dinner. For example, you can separate tomato sauce and make one a vegetarian and add ground beef to the other. Try grilling both hamburgers and hot dogs with the veggie versions. That way no one is singled out as eating something "different." Also, allowing your children to widen their horizons and taste all varieties is a great way to teach them to enjoy all foods.

Alternate nights; one night be all vegetarian and one both meat and veggie. Arrange a vegetarian dinner around a grain. Couscous, polenta, wild rice, barley, pastas, etc. are all good basics for a meatless meal! Grains, breads, and pastas contribute a small amount of protein to the meal - about 3 grams of protein per serving.

You didn't mention if you are a vegan (no animal products at all) or lacto-ovo vegetarian (egg and milk products) etc. If you allow some animal products, such as dairy, it would be easy to prepare a total vegetarian meal one night, and still provide protein to your family.

The Food Guide Pyramid for a vegetarian is as follows:

• Breads, cereals and grains: 6-11 servings
• Vegetables: 3-5 servings
• Fruit: 2-4 servings
• Legumes and other meat alternatives: 2-3 servings
• Milk, cheese, and yogurt: 0-3 servings
• Fats, oils, and sweets: sparingly

Some nutrients are hard to come by when a vegetarian diet is followed. Vegans need to be careful they are finding alternate sources of calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin B12 and vitamin D. Vitamin C aids in absorption of iron, so try to incorporate some "C" with some source of iron!

Children who follow a vegetarian diet are at risk for deficiencies in the same nutrients as adults. So be sure to add a supplement to their diet so they get the B12 and iron they need to grow.

Here are some suggestions for a few of those nutrients.

To receive adequate amounts of calcium while following all types of vegetarian diets, try these suggestions:

• Evaporated skim milk in soups
• Drink calcium fortified orange juice, breads, and cereals.
• Eat canned salmon with bones. (bones are soft enough to chew-only in canned!)
• Blend milk with fresh fruit to make a smoothie.
• Cooked dried beans, peas, soymilk, tofu and nuts.

To receive vitamin B12, a vitamin found only in animal products, purchase fortified soymilk and cereals, as well as a good supplement!

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