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What’s The Difference Between A Lacto Vegetarian Diet And An Ovo Vegetarian Diet?
Confused by all the various different types of vegetarian diets out there?! Lacto vegetarian diet or ovo vegetarian diet? Or perhaps you prefer to become a lacto-ovo vegetarian or maybe even a vegan?
In this article we’ll explain the various different types of vegetarian diet including ovo and lacto vegetarian diets, and also take a look at some common and some more unusual egg and dairy product substitutes.
So, What Exactly Does A Lacto Vegetarian Diet Involve? A lacto vegetarian is a person who excludes meat, fish, fowl and eggs from their diet, but eats plant foods and dairy products (such as milk, cheese, butter, yoghurt and cream). An ovo vegetarian is a person who excludes meat, fish, fowl and dairy products from their diet, but eats plant foods and eggs. A lacto-ovo vegetarian is a person who excludes meat, fish and fowl from their diet, but eats plant foods, dairy products and eggs. This category is the most common form of vegetarianism. Vegans, on the other hand, don’t eat any meat, fish, fowl, eggs or dairy products – i.e. they consume no products derived from animals whatsoever.
Egg And Dairy Product Substitutes If you’re maybe thinking about following a lacto vegetarian diet or an ovo vegetarian diet, but are concerned that you won’t be able to enjoy some of your favourite dishes, the good news is that nowadays there are more and more egg and dairy product substitutes coming on the market so you don’t necessarily have to miss out. I personally am a lacto-ovo vegetarian, and although I’ve tried some of these substitutes in the past I have to admit that I’ve not always been their biggest fan. However, my boyfriend Jason has gamely volunteered to try out some of the products I’ve turned my nose up at in the interests of research! As we live in Scotland, some of the specific brands mentioned might only be available in the UK, although you should hopefully be able to find other similar products where you live.
1. Egg Substitutes If you follow a strict lacto vegetarian diet and don’t eat any eggs, it is now possible to find egg replacement powders in some health food stores. These powders are made up of mostly potato starch. Alternatively, people on a lacto vegetarian diet could also try using tofu for a dairy-free omelette. Mix 3 tablespoons of water with a quarter cup of whipped tofu in place of 1 egg.
2. Milk Substitutes If you follow an ovo vegetarian diet instead of a lacto vegetarian diet, there are a few different alternatives to cow’s milk you can now choose from: Soya Milk Nowadays you can find a wide range of soya milk in supermarkets, local corner shops and health food stores. Made from soya beans, soya milk now comes both sweetened and unsweetened, and also comes in a range of different flavours such as strawberry, vanilla, chocolate and banana (which apparently are quite tasty for making milkshakes with). The unflavored varieties are a good substitute for dairy milk in cooking, or many people also like to use it straight in cereals, or tea and coffee. Jason was actually using soya milk long before I badgered him into doing so, and reckons it’s actually fairly good (I’ve still to see the attraction myself!). His favourite brand is ‘Alpro Light’.
Rice Milk A second alternative to cow’s milk is rice milk. This usually tends to be sweeter than soya milk, so is often better to use when cooking sweet dishes such as dairy-free custard. ‘Rice Dream’ is a brand widely available in supermarkets over here. (http://www.tastethedream.com/)
However, for straightforward drinking Jason reckoned soya milk had the edge – he found that the rice milk was more watery and contained more sugar and carbs and less protein than soy milk. Oat Milk Oat milk tends to be a little bit more difficult to track down – you may well have to go to a specialized health shop to find some. ‘Oatly’ is one of the main brands that I’m aware of.
This particular milk substitute didn’t fair too well in our taste test – ‘utterly disgusting’ was the general response! But please bear in mind that this is only our opinion and you may well find it palatable. Coconut Milk We found that this worked quite well in sweet dishes and meals that traditionally feature coconut, like some Caribbean curries and Thai dishes. But because it’s fairly sweet, it doesn’t really work well in savoury dishes. Almond Milk Again, this milk substitute is particularly good when used in sweet dishes, but might be a little harder to find. Your local specialist food store may be able to order some in for you.
3. Cheese Substitutes In recent years manufacturers have developed dairy-free substitutes for many different varieties of cheese such as cheddar, cheshire, gouda, edam, stilton, mozzarella, and parmesan. In our experience, we found that many of these cheese substitutes didn’t really melt very well, so if you have a passion for cheese on toast you may have to experiment with a few to find one that you really like. The brand that we found melted like cow’s cheese the most was ‘Super Melting Cheezly’ which is made by a company called Redwood’s.
(http://www.redwoodfoods.co.uk)
As well as hard cheeses, there are also many cream cheese substitutes on the market now, and which come in a variety of different flavours. Tofutti do quite a tasty range called ‘Better Than Cream Cheese’ which stacks up quite well next to traditional cream cheese.
Yeast Flakes If you’re an ovo vegetarian you might also want to consider nutritional yeast flakes. These are yellow flakes which can be sprinkled on the top of pizzas and other dishes that have a cheese topping, such as lasagne or cottage pie (meat-free versions of course!). So far we’ve only found these in health food shops, although I believe there is a supplier here in the UK called Marigold Health Foods.
4. Cream Substitutes You can now find pouring and whipping varieties of soya cream, such as Provamel ‘Soya Dream’. However, I’m afraid that it will have to take an exceptional substitute to tear me away from the delightful gooiness of real cream and so far I’ve yet to find one! :)
5. Yoghurt Substitutes This is one dairy-free product I happily eat of my own accord and not under any duress! They’re perhaps not quite as creamy as dairy yoghurts but they do tend to have the same texture, and are also now widely available in a range of different flavours. Alpro do a particularly palatable range which most supermarkets now stock, or try Provamel ‘Yofu’.
6. Ice Cream Substitutes I’m sure there are many people out there, myself included, who think that the first inventor of dairy-free ice cream should get some kind of medal! Nowadays you can find several different makes and flavours of soya ice cream. For example, Tofutti does it’s own take on the Wall’s Vienetta called ‘Rock ‘n Roll Non- Dairy Ice Cream Cake’.
7. Butter and Margarine Substitutes Many supermarkets now sell their own dairy-free spreads. Always read the labels carefully to make sure there are no hidden animal products. Olive oil is also a good alternative for cooking, while you can use canola oil for baked goods. As you can see, following an ovo or lacto vegetarian diet needn't spell the end of your favorite foods. It just takes a little bit of experimentation and you should hopefully find a substitute that tastes as good (or almost as good!) as the real thing!
Or return to our home page for some inspirational vegetarian cooking ideas.
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