Done by:Joseph Lim (3A111)

Ng Ding Quan (3A120) 

IntroductionVegetarians are considerably healthy as

studies have shown that there is a positive relationship between vegetarianism and the reduced risks of getting fatal diseases such as cancers and heart diseases.

However, due to the lack of red meat and other animal-related food products, several key nutrients in animal based products are harder to get and find in vegetarian diets.

IntroductionThose key nutrients include: Iron, Protein,

Zinc, Calcium, Vitamin B12.

The above nutrients are more commonly found in meat-based products.

While vegetarian generally have diets high in: Dietary Fiber, Magnesium, Folate, Vitamin C, Vitamin E.

RationaleAs such, our objective is to design a meal

which will benefit all vegetarians so that they will not lose out in the some key nutrients that typical omnivorous human can obtain easily.

Vegan balanced dietA balanced diet contains sufficient amounts

of fibre and the various nutrients (carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals) to ensure good health.

For vegetarians, food rich in carbohydrates and dietary fiber are required most, followed by proteins and finally fats and oil.

Average dietary needsAn average 15-year-old is recommended to have the minimum daily nutrient needs of: (refer to table)

AND

A minimum of calories of 10714 kJ per day.

HCI Canteen Food Analysis Economical Rice (stall 5); Note: Yellow shows key nutrients which are lacking

HCI Canteen Food AnalysisAccording to WashingtonPost.com, divide the calories

into three portions, one for each main meal (breakfast, lunch and dinner). As such, the formula will approximately be: 10714 ÷ 3 = 3570 kJ (3 significant figures).

If we add all the calories of the available food (including rice) together, you will only get a maximum total amount of calories of 2400 kJ (3 significant figures). This is much lesser than the required minimum amount of calories per meal needed for an average 15-year-old male student. As such, there must be alternative solutions.

One of it is to increase the number of dishes per meal. Another is to find other food (such as tofu) which contains a relatively average amount of calories to reach the required amount of calories needed for growth and energy expenditure.

Desired meal for all VegetariansCalories needed in total for lunch: 3570 kJ

Based on the calories and nutrients needed for a meal, we will use it to provide the basis needed to create a balanced diet for vegetarians

Basically, we have decided that rice must be 200 g while the other dishes will be standardize as 50 g each.

Desired meal for all VegetariansDesired meal:

•Rice, white, medium-grain, cooked [serving size: 100 g]•Tofu, fried [serving size: 50 g]•Cabbage, chinese (pe-tsai), cooked, boiled, drained, with salt [serving size: 50 g]•Spinach, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt [serving size: 50 g]•Yogurt, fruit, low fat, 10 grams protein per 8 ounce [serving size: 1 cup (8 fl oz) (245 g)]•Pears, large, raw (Includes USDA commodity food A435) [serving size: 2]

Desired meal for all Vegetarians

Note 1: Yellow => key nutrients which are lackingNote 2: Blue => meet requirements

ConclusionThe meal we designed is rather cost-efficient. Most,

in fact all of the products within our designed meal can be found in supermarkets, or wet markets. Hence, it can be said that the cost of the meal is cheap.

Also, it is better than that served by the school canteen as it meets of the recommended minimum nutrients.

Therefore, our designed meal is both cost-efficient and nutritious.

References "Nutrition facts, calories in food, labels, nutritional information and

analysis - NutritionData." 26 May 2009 <http://www.nutritiondata.com/>.

"Key Nutrients Needed in a Vegetarian Diet." 26 May 2009 <http://www.wikihealth.com/Key_Nutrients_Needed_in_a_Vegetarian_Diet>.

"http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/." United States Department of Agriculture. 26 May 2009 <http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/>.

"Lean Plate Club: Holiday Challenge." 27 May 2009 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/health/graphics/LPC_calorie2004.pdf>.

"The Vegan Food Pyramid." 27 May 2009 <http://www.veganfoodpyramid.com/vegan-pyramid-1024x768.jpg>.

"balanced diet: Definition from Answers.com." 27 May 2009 <http://www.answers.com/topic/balanced-diet>.