Meeting calcium needs: tips for vegans

 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.