Most vegetarians are wised up when it comes to a balanced diet, but here are a few snack ideas:

1. Scatter some sunflower seeds and nuts on your breakfast cereal.
2. Sprinkle grated cheese on top of beans on toast. 
3. Make a ‘smoothie’ with milk (or soya milk), yoghurt and fresh fruits whizzed together in a blender. 
4. Have houmous with sticks of sweet raw carrot and juicy celery as a lunchtime snack. 
5. If you are a vegan and eat no animal products at all, you need to take make sure you get the protein you need from plant food. Although foods such as lentils, beans, nuts and seeds contain protein, they lack cerain amino acids. You need to combine them with starchy foods like bread, cereals and rice to get your complete set of amino acids. So - mix cereals with pulses, for example beans on toast, houmous and pitta bread or rice and lentils. 
6.  Include nuts, seeds, plant milks and textured vegetable proteins and tofu cheese in your diet.

Vitamin tips for vegetarians

Make sure you are getting enough:

1. Calcium: by eating soya, tofu, almonds, sunflower seeds, leafy green vegetables, Brazil nuts, sesame seeds, soya beans, fortified soya milk and products made from this.
2. Iron: by eating leafy vegetables, fortified cereals, lentils, wholegrains and nuts. Make sure you have some vitamin C with meals (fruit juice is a good source) so your body can absorb the iron more easily.
3. Zinc: by eating wheatgerm, bran, Quorn, pine nuts, cashew nuts and pecan nuts, pumpkin, sesame and sunflower seeds. Zinc is important for a healthy immune system.
4. B12: yeast extract (eg Marmite or Vegemite) is a good source. Spread on bread or add a spoonful to soups and casseroles just before serving.

Protein tips for vegetarians

Keep up your protein intake by:

1. Combine beans and pulses with cereal foods – this will provide all the essential amino acids you need.
2. Nuts and seeds are excellent sources (but avoid peanuts if you or someone in your family has allergies, to reduce the risk of your child developing a potentially life-threatening allergy to peanuts). 
3. Eggs are an excellent source of protein and can be a quick and easy meal - try omelettes, Spanish tortillas or just scrambled on toast. 
4. Milk or soya milk, vegetarian cheeses and yogurt or soya based desserts are complete sources of protein. 
5. Add a little grated cheese to pasta, beans, vegetable stews and casseroles.