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Foods that provide about 300 mg of calcium:
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1 cup fortified orange juice or V8 juice
1 cup fortified soymilk
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Foods that provide about 200 mg of calcium:
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1 tbsp blackstrap molasses
1 cup fortified apple juice
½ cup cooked collard greens
½ cup calcium-set tofu
1 ounce of fortified breakfast cereal
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Foods that provide about 100 mg of calcium
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½ cup cooked kale, turnip greens, or broccoli
½ cup cooked soybeans
¼ cup soynuts
1 package of instant oatmeal
5 dried figs
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Foods that provide about 50 to 75 mg of calcium
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2 tbsp almond butter or tahini
½ cup prepared textured vegetable protein (TVP)
½ cup cooked bok choy
½ cup tempeh
1/2 cup cooked navy, black or great northern beans
½ cup vegetarian baked beans
1 orange
2 tbsp almonds
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Try these easy ways to boost calcium intake
• Make your own trail mix and include soynuts and almonds.
• Whole grain cereal with fortified soy (or any nondairy milk) is a great breakfast or snack. Add a glass of calcium fortified juice and you’ll have met half your calcium requirement before the day has even started.
• White beans and figs are both good sources of calcium and they are often paired up in Italian cuisine. Cook them with onions sautéed in olive oil and season with rosemary.
• Blackstrap molasses has a robust flavor that may be too strong for some palates straight from the jar. But it’s wonderful to add to baked beans, hot breakfast cereals or baked goods, though.
• That old veggie standby, hummus, is a great source of calcium since it uses both chickpeas and tahini.
• It’s best to eat whole foods most of the time, but there is nothing wrong with grabbing a protein bar occasionally when you are on the go. Choose Luna bars, which are vegan and packed with calcium.
• Miso soup with chunks of tofu and some wilted greens is a good lunch or dinner. Or eat like the Japanese and have it for breakfast.
• Try almond butter on a sandwich instead of peanut butter.
Make the most of the calcium in your diet:
The calcium content of tofu varies widely. Look for brands of tofu that list calcium-sulfate as an ingredient.
Fortified soymilk is a great source of calcium, and provides isoflavones, too. Give cartons of soymilk a few good shakes before using since the calcium can settle to the bottom of the carton.
If you consistently fall short on calcium intake, make up the difference with a supplement. It’s an easy and perfectly healthful way to meet calcium needs on any kind of diet. Use supplements between meals if possible since they can interfere with iron absorption.
Comments
Orowheat Country Bread has 10% Calcium per 100 cal slice & KIX Cereal has 15% Calcium per serving.
I just read your excellent article, "Is it safe to eat soy?" I am not a vegan but for years have used soy milk and tofu instead of milk and cheese, although I do eat turkey, chicken and fish in small quantities. I also eat a whole lot of cruciferous vegetables. For the last year I have had mysterious symptoms - joint pain - and as you can imagine, have been consulting with my doctor, having lab work done, and reading extensively. Although my thyroid function appears within the normal range, I am coming to the conclusion that my diet might require me to eat a great deal more kelp than I am currently taking, even though there are so many warnings everywhere against taking too much iodine. I am beginning to suspect that people who eat a soy based and veggie based diet high in cruciferous vegetables may need to eat much more kelp than Western medicine has been proclaiming.
Just stumbled across this article. I have to say, calcium enriched juices are not the way to go. The majority of the ones that I have found contain vitamin d3 or Cholecalciferol, which is derived from sheep's wool, not vegan friendly.
you gotta look for ergocalciferol (D2) which is derived from plants
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