Application of dairy‐free vegetarian and vegan USDA food pattern models for non‐pregnant, non‐lactating healthy adults

Abstract

Abstract

The 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommends a Healthy Vegetarian Dietary Pattern (HVDP) but does not provide guidance for dairy‐free vegetarian (ovo‐vegetarian) or vegan diets. A recent study from our lab modeled ovo‐vegetarian and vegan HVDPs for healthy adults and found minimal impacts on nutrient content. However, since these models provide only recommendations for food group amounts, the objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of implementing the 2000 kcal ovo‐vegetarian and vegan models by developing sample menus and evaluating them for nutrient adequacy and diet quality. We implemented a search strategy for ovo‐vegetarian and vegan recipes on the MyPlate.gov website, using the most frequently consumed foods from each food group as a guide. We then developed 5‐day sample menus for each model and analyzed these menus for diet quality using the Healthy Eating Index Score‐2015 (HEI‐2015) and nutrient content. The HEI‐2015 scores were 99.4 and 98.4 for the vegan and ovo‐vegetarian menus, respectively. These sample menus did not achieve a perfect score of 100 due to sodium and refined grains (both menus), added sugars (ovo‐vegetarian menu only), and fatty acid profiles (vegan menu only). Mean total energy was 1860 kcal (vegan) and 1880 kcal (ovo‐vegetarian). Amounts of all macronutrients were within the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges, but amounts of some micronutrients were below 90% of recommended levels. Healthy adults may be able to follow ovo‐vegetarian and vegan diets with careful planning, but this study reveals challenges in meeting micronutrient needs with these eating patterns.

Practical Application

This study assessed the quality and nutrient adequacy of sample vegan and dairy‐free vegetarian menus developed based on adaptations of the 2000 kcal vegetarian dietary pattern from the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. We found that our sample vegan and dairy‐free vegetarian menus, created with publicly available resources, contained enough servings of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, dairy, and oils, but did not provide enough vitamin D, vitamin E, choline, zinc (for males), and iron (for females). Following vegan and ovo‐vegetarian diets requires careful planning to ensure sources of these micronutrients are included in adequate amounts.

1. INTRODUCTION

The 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) includes three recommended dietary patterns for adults: the Healthy U.S.‐Style Dietary Pattern, Healthy Mediterranean‐Style Dietary Pattern, and the Healthy Vegetarian Dietary Pattern (HVDP). Each of these dietary patterns recommends certain amounts of each food group (fruits, vegetables, protein, grains, dairy, fats and oils) be consumed per day or per week to meet nutrient needs and promote health by lowering risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers (breast, colon, rectum) (U.S. Department of Agriculture & U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, ²⁰²⁰). These dietary patterns are created with a process called food pattern modeling, which estimates the amounts of different food groups needed at each energy level to meet nutrient needs (USDA, ²⁰²⁰).

The DGA includes several written and visual examples of how to obtain a nutritious diet based on its three patterns. However, the DGA does not address how to adapt these dietary patterns for certain dietary preferences and restrictions, including dairy‐free vegetarian (ovo‐vegetarian) and vegan diets. The HVDP in the DGA is a lacto‐ovo vegetarian diet, meaning that it contains both dairy and eggs but no meat, poultry, or seafood. A previous study from our lab (Hess, 2022) used similar food pattern modeling procedures as the 2020 DGA to develop ovo‐vegetarian and vegan adaptations of the HVDP and found that, with the exception of zinc, these models met the dietary reference intakes (DRIs) for most nutrients at the 1800, 2000, 2200, and 2400 kcal levels we assessed. However, unlike patterns included in the DGA, the ovo‐vegetarian and vegan models do not have examples of how to follow them and are based solely on the estimated energy and nutrients from amounts consumed of each food group. Therefore, while our ovo‐vegetarian and vegan models can hypothetically be used to create nutritionally adequate dietary patterns, the purpose of this study was to explicitly test that hypothesis. This study developed sample menus using commonly consumed foods and publicly available recipes from the MyPlate.gov website to assess whether ovo‐vegetarian and vegan food pattern models could easily be used to create a high‐quality diet with adequate nutrition.

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

2.1. Commonly consumed foods

To begin the construction of ovo‐vegetarian and vegan menus based on food pattern models, we first identified the most commonly consumed foods among adults from each food group referencing the Dietary Guidelines Scientific Advisory Committee's (DGAC) Food Pattern Modeling Report for Ages 2 Years and Older (2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee & Food Pattern Modeling Team, ²⁰²⁰). Using commonly consumed foods allowed us to ensure our sample menus primarily included foods that American adults typically eat. The table in the DGAC Food Pattern Modeling Report contains foods and percent of consumption of each food based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2015–2016. Food groups included both main categories and subcategories. For instance, “fruit” encompasses both fruit juice and whole fruit. Other categories included the following: dark green vegetables, beans and peas (legumes), red and orange vegetables, starchy vegetables, other vegetables, whole grains, refined grains, soymilk, eggs, nuts and seeds, processed soy products, oils, and solid fats. We excluded the categories of milk, yogurt, cheese, high omega‐3 fish, low omega‐3 fish, poultry, and red meat due to the focus on vegan and ovo‐vegetarian foods as well as individual items from each category that would not be incorporated into vegetarian or vegan diets. Table 1 shows the top commonly consumed foods in each category.

TABLE 1.

Commonly consumed vegetarian foods and beverages from each food group according to the 2015–2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (DGAC, ²⁰²⁰)

FRUIT
Whole Fruit
Apples	Oranges
Bananas	Blueberries
Watermelon	Currants
Grapes	Peaches
Strawberries	Tangerine
Fruit Juice
Orange Juice	Cranberry Juice
Apple Juice	Grapefruit Juice
Grape Juice	Mango Juice/Nectar
Pineapple Juice	Mixed Fruit Juice (not citrus)
Lemon Juice	Prune Juice
VEGETABLES
Dark Green Vegetables
Raw broccoli	Collard greens
Mixed dark leafy greens	Cooked broccoli
Raw spinach	Cooked spinach
Kale	Bok Choy
Kale, raw	Arugula
Beans and Peas (Legumes)
Pinto beans	Chickpeas
Black beans	Legumes (source unknown)
Kidney beans	Split peas
White beans	Soybeans/edamame
Lentils	Cowpeas
Red and Orange Vegetables
Cooked tomatoes	Sweet potatoes/yams
Raw tomatoes	Red peppers
Cooked carrots	Winter squash
Raw carrots	Pumpkin
Tomato juice
Starchy Vegetables
Boiled potatoes	Yellow corn
Potato chips, puffs, or sticks	Green peas
Baked potatoes	White corn
French Fries	Plantains
Home fries or hashbrowns	Vegetable starches & unknown starchy vegetables
Other Vegetables
Lettuce	Avocado
Raw onions	Green cabbage
Green beans	Cucumber pickles
Cooked onions	Green peppers
Cucumber
Grains
Whole Grains
Whole grain bread	Popcorn
Oatmeal and other cooked cereals	Whole grain chips
Whole wheat ready‐to‐eat cereals	Whole grain pasta
Whole oat ready‐to‐eat cereals	Bars containing whole grains
Brown rice	Whole grain crackers
Refined Grains
Wheat flour tortilla	Flour‐based desserts
White roll	Corn tortilla
White bread	White rice
Pasta & noodles	Bagels or English muffins
Pizza crust	Breading and stuffing
DAIRY
Soymilk
Soymilk
PROTEIN FOODS
Eggs
Eggs
Nuts and Seeds
Peanut butter	Walnuts
Peanuts	Sesame seeds
Almonds and almond butter	Sunflower seeds
Mixed nuts	Pecans
Cashews	Flaxseeds
Soy Products
Tofu	Processed Soy Products
OILS AND SOLID FATS
Oils
Unhydrogenated soy oil	Sunflower oil
Canola oil	Margarine (½ total)
Corn oil	Peanut oil
Olive oil	Safflower oil
Cottonseed oil
Solid Fats
Vegetable shortening	Coconut oil
Hydrogenated soy oil	Palm kernel oil
Palm oil	Margarine (½ total)

2.2. Menu development

Five‐day menus were created using recipes from MyPlate.gov and additional individual food items, both of which aligned with commonly consumed options (2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee & Food Pattern Modeling Team, ²⁰²⁰). MyPlate.gov recipes provide approximate food group amounts for each recipe, and these approximate amounts were used to help ensure the menu adhered closely to our vegan and ovo‐vegetarian dietary models (MyPlate U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2020). Menu development was first centered around meeting amounts of food groups in modeled diets (Table 2). Menu item selection was centered around three meals and a snack, in line with typical American‐eating patterns (USDA, ²⁰²⁰), with one main dish each at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Main dishes were all selected recipes from MyPlate.gov. Additional items (such as whole fruit, grains, and dairy) were added to eating occasions to supplement the main dish for each of the five days. These additional menu items were selected based upon gaps in the menu and using commonly consumed food items. For example, if items had been selected for all three meals but the menu was lacking 1/2 ounce‐equivalent of a protein fo, a protein food was selected from Table 1 and added to the snack category for that day's menu. Discretionary calories (250 kcal in a 2000 kcal DGA dietary pattern), which are used for alcohol, sweets, desserts, and salty snacks, were not included in menu planning.

TABLE 2.

2000 kcal Healthy vegetarian dietary pattern (HVDP) from the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans compared to ovo‐vegetarian and vegan HVDP models

Food Groups	HVDP	Model 1: Ovo‐ vegetarian	Model 2: Vegan
Vegetables (cup eq/day) 1	2.5	2.5	2.5
Dark Green Vegetables (cup eq/week)	1.5	1.5	1.5
Red and Orange (cup eq/week	5.5	5.5	5.5
Beans, Peas, Lentils (cup eq/week)	1.5	1.5	1.5
Starchy Vegetables (cup eq/week)	5	5	5
Other Vegetables (cup eq/week)	4	4	4
Fruits (cup eq/day)	2	2	2
Grains (oz eq/day) 2	6.5	6.5	6.5
Whole Grains	3.5	3.5	3.5
Refined Grains	3	3	3
Dairy (cup eq/day)	3	0	0
DairyALT (cup eq/day)	0	3	3
Protein Foods (oz eq/day)	3.5	3.5	3.5
Eggs (oz eq/week)	3	3	0
Beans, Peas, Lentils (oz eq/week)	6	6	7
Soy Products (oz eq/week)	8	8	9
Nuts, Seeds (oz eq/week)	7	7	8
Oils (g/d)	27	27	27
Discretionary Calories (kcal/d)	250	250	250

¹ Cup eq indicates cup‐equivalent.

² Oz eq indicates ounce‐equivalent .

Since neither the ovo‐vegetarian nor the vegan models include dairy products, dairy recommendations were met with the use of a dairy‐alternative food group (the “dairyALT” group) developed for our previous manuscript (Table 3). This group includes soymilk and soy yogurt as these foods are the only non‐dairy alternatives in the 2020 DGA's dairy food group (U.S. Department of Agriculture & U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, ²⁰²⁰).

TABLE 3.

Comparison between nutrient profiles of one cup‐equivalent from the dairy food group from 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and a dairy alternative (dairyALT) food group comprised of soy milk and soy yogurt

	Dairy Food Group	DairyALT Group
Nutrients	1 cup‐equivalent	1 cup‐equivalent
Calories (kcal)	84.8	109.
Protein (g)	9.05	6.34
Carbohydrate (g)	10.0	11.3
Fiber (g)	0.230	0.530
Total Fat (g)	0.980	3.64
Saturated Fat (g)	0.580	0.500
Monounsaturated Fat (g)	0.260	0.860 1
Polyunsaturated Fat (g)	0.0600	1.92 1
Linoleic acid (g)	0.0400	1.30 1
Linolenic acid (g)	0.0100	0.170 1
Eicosapentaenoic acid (g)	0.0	0.0
Docosahexaenoic acid (g)	0.0	0.0
Cholesterol (mg)	7.39	0.0
Calcium, mg	307.0	302.
Iron, mg	0.0800	0.94 1
Magnesium, mg	24.8	33.6 1
Phosphorus, mg	221.	96.4 1
Potassium, mg	257.	274. 1
Sodium, mg	194.	108.
Zinc, mg	1.23	0.580 1
Copper, mg	0.0500	0.370 1
Selenium, mcg	7.06	5.15 1
Vitamin A, mcg RAE	103.	123.
Vitamin E, mg AT	0.0400	0.250 1
Vitamin D, IU	58.8	109.
Vitamin C, mg	0.0800	2.61
Thiamin, mg	0.0800	0.0700 1
Riboflavin, mg	0.310	0.410 1
Niacin, mg	0.390	0.950 1
Vitamin B6, mg	0.0900	0.0700 1
Vitamin B12, mcg	0.920	1.90 1
Choline, mg	25.7	52.9 1
Vitamin K, mcg	0.250	6.72 1

¹ Indicated amounts in dairyALT composite only reflect data from soy milk. Data on these nutrients was not available for soy yogurt.

Main dish recipes were selected by filtering for “vegetarian” under the “cuisine” tab on the MyPlate.gov Kitchen website as well as by meal category (“breakfast,” “lunch,” “dinner”). Recipes were then evaluated for their ability to fit a vegan or ovo‐vegetarian menu. For example, vegetarian recipes that contained eggs were not selected for these menus as eggs can be difficult to replace. However, some vegetarian recipes that included dairy milk or dairy yogurt were included in our menu, as these items could be replaced with fortified soymilk or fortified soy yogurt. Recipes that contained cheese were only included if the cheese could be easily omitted from the recipe. For instance, two of our selected recipes called for either a slice of cheddar cheese on a burger or shredded cheese as a topping, which could both be easily removed. Any recipes adapted from the original MyPlate.gov versions have been identified in Tables 4 and 5.

TABLE 4.

Sample 5‐day menu based on a vegan model (2000 kcal) of the healthy vegetarian dietary pattern from the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5
Breakfast	1 slice Oatmeal Bread 1 1 large banana ½ c. grapes 1 cup soy yogurt 1 tbsp margarine	Granola Bars 1 ½ c. soy yogurt 1 c. orange juice ½ oz (12) almonds	Crunchy Berry Parfait 1 , 2 ½ oz peanuts	Very Berry Smoothie 1 , 3 1 slice Oatmeal Bread 1 tbsp margarine	Apple Oatmeal Muffins 1 1 oz almonds 1 c. sliced strawberries
Lunch	1 c. white rice Fruit smoothie of ½ c. frozen pineapple and 1 c. soymilk New Orleans Red Beans 1	1 c. soymilk Tofu with Broccoli 1 1 c. white rice	Veggie Bean Wrap 1 1 c. soymilk 5 whole wheat crackers	Falafel with yogurt sandwich 1 , 4 1 c. raw carrots	Leafy Tofu 1 1 c. brown rice
Dinner	1 c. soymilk Simple stuffed peppers 1 , 5	Crusty Rice with Tofu and Vegetables 1 ½ c. carrots, cooked 1 c. soymilk	Tofu, tomato, and spinach soup 1 1 slice Oatmeal Bread 1 1 tbsp margarine 1 c. soymilk	Terrific Bean Taco 1 , 6 1 c. brown rice 1 c. soymilk	Crockpot Vegetable Lentil Stew 1 1 slice Oatmeal Bread 1 1 tbsp margarine 1 c. soymilk
SNACK	1 c. soy yogurt 1 ½ c. popcorn, plain 1 tsp olive oil ½ tsp salt	½ c. soy yogurt ½ c. strawberries ½ c. blueberries 14 whole grain sandwich crackers with peanut butter filling	1 slice whole wheat bread 1 tbsp peanut butter ½ c. soy yogurt ¼ c. grapes	¾ oz almonds ¾ c. soy yogurt ½ c. cucumber, raw	Chickpea Dip 1 , 7 5 whole wheat crackers 1 medium apple, raw

¹ Recipes from MyPlate.gov.

² Fortified soy yogurt was substituted for dairy yogurt.

³ Fortified soymilk was substituted for dairy milk.

⁴ Fortified soy yogurt was substituted for dairy yogurt.

⁵ ¼ c. shredded cheese (on top) is omitted; ¼ c. cheddar cheese removed from nutrition information .

⁶ Shredded cheese omitted; ¼ c. shredded cheddar removed from nutrition information .

⁷ Fortified soy yogurt was substituted for dairy yogurt.

TABLE 5.

Sample 5‐day menu based on an ovo‐vegetarian model (2000 kcal) of the healthy vegetarian dietary pattern from the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5
Breakfast	1 slice Oatmeal Bread 1 1 large banana ½ c. grapes 1 c. soy yogurt 1 tbsp margarine	Granola Bars ½ c. soy yogurt 1 c. orange juice 1 hard‐boiled egg	Crunchy Berry Parfait 1 , 2 1 hard‐boiled egg	Very Berry Smoothie 1 , 3 1 slice Oatmeal Bread* 1 tbsp margarine	Banana Oatmeal Pancakes with Lentils 1 , 4 2 tbsp maple syrup ½ c. soy yogurt 1 c. strawberries, sliced
Lunch	1 c. white rice Fruit smoothies of ½ c. frozen pineapple and 1 c. soymilk New Orleans Red Beans 1	1 c. fortified soymilk Tofu with broccoli 1 1 c. white rice	Veggie Bean Wrap 1 1 c. soymilk 5 whole wheat crackers	Falafel with yogurt sandwich 1 , 5 1 c. carrots, raw	Leafy tofu 1 1 c. brown rice 1 c. soymilk
Dinner	1 c. soymilk Simple stuffed peppers 1 , 6	Tastee Burgers 1 , 7 Brown Rice Pilaf 1 ¾ c. carrots, cooked 1 c. soymilk	Tofu, tomato, and spinach soup 1 1 slice Oatmeal Bread 1 1 tbsp margarine 1 c. soymilk	Terrific Bean Taco 1 , 8 1 c. brown rice 1 c. soymilk	Crockpot Vegetable Lentil Stew 1 1 slice Oatmeal Bread 1 1 tbsp margarine 1 c. soymilk
Snack	1 c. soy yogurt 1 ½ c. popcorn 1 tsp olive oil ½ tsp salt	½ c. soy yogurt ½ c. strawberries ½ c. blueberries	1 slice whole wheat bread 1 tbsp peanut butter ½ c. soy yogurt ¼ c. grapes	1 hard‐boiled egg ¾ c. soy yogurt ½ c. cucumber, raw ¼ c. roasted chickpeas	Chickpea dip 1 , 9 5 whole grain crackers 1 medium apple, raw

¹ Recipes from MyPlate.gov.

² Fortified soy yogurt was substituted for dairy yogurt .

³ Fortified soymilk was substituted for dairy milk.

⁴ Both soymilk and soy yogurt were substituted for dairy milk and dairy yogurt, respectively.

⁵ Fortified soy yogurt was substituted for dairy milk.

⁶ Shredded cheese was omitted; corresponding nutrition information was omitted.

⁷ Cheese slice omitted; nutrition information from this item was removed from calculations.

⁸ Shredded cheddar cheese was omitted; ¼ c. shredded cheddar cheese omitted from nutrition information.

⁹ Fortified soy yogurt was substituted for dairy yogurt.

2.3. Diet quality and nutrient adequacy

To calculate diet quality of the sample menus, the gram amounts of all menu items, including recipe ingredients, were calculated using the USDA's FoodData Central website (U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, ²⁰¹⁹). Servings of each food group as well as nutrient content of the menus were then determined by linking menu items to their equivalent in the 2017–2018 Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS). FNDDS converts foods and beverage items to the 37 USDA food pattern components such as total fruit, grains, protein foods, vegetables, dairy foods, and their subcategories, as well as added sugars and oils (Bowman 2019). Because FNDDS does not list soy yogurt as a dairy food serving, dairy yogurt was used for food group equivalents determination.

Food group equivalents were then used to calculate Healthy Eating Index scores (HEI) according the 2015 iteration of the HEI (HEI‐2015). HEI‐2015 scores indicate overall diet quality and, in this study, were calculated using the mean ratio method (National Cancer Institute Division of Cancer Control & Population Sciences, 2021), meaning the average scores across all 5 days were used to calculated diet quality for each menu. The menus were also evaluated for nutrient adequacy using FNDDS (U.S. Department of Agriculture, ^2017–2018). Nutrients evaluated in each menu can be found in Table 6.

TABLE 6.

Average nutrient profiles of 5‐day menus based on ovo‐vegetarian and vegan models (2000 kcal) of the healthy vegetarian dietary pattern from the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

	Dairy‐free sample menu	Vegan menu
Macronutrients
Calories (kcal)	1880	1860
Protein (g)	74.3	71.6
Carbohydrate (g)	295	276
Fiber (g)	33.5	41.7
Total Fat (g)	51.4	60.3
Saturated Fat (g)	11.4	18.1
Monounsaturated Fat (g)	18.7	24.3
Polyunsaturated Fat (g)	17.4	20.3
Linoleic acid (g)	14.5	17.5
Linolenic acid (g)	1.91	1.86
Eicosapentaenoic acid (g)	0.00100	0.000
Docosahexaenoic acid (g)	0.00100	0.001
Cholesterol (mg)	102	15.2
Minerals
Calcium (mg)	1530	1520
Iron (mg)	15.5	21.5
Magnesium (mg)	479	513
Phosphorus (mg)	1500	1570
Potassium (mg)	3720	3740
Sodium (mg)	2140	2080
Zinc (mg)	10.9	10.5
Copper (mg)	2.36	2.41
Selenium (mcg)	83.8	77.5
Vitamins
Vitamin A, RAE (mcg)	1120	968
Vitamin E, AT (mg)	9.82	19.6
Vitamin D (IU)	257	215
Vitamin C (mg)	196	188
Thiamin (mg)	1.82	1.73
Riboflavin (mg)	2.51	2.40
Niacin (mg)	16.7	23.5
Vitamin B6 (mg)	2.36	2.24
Vitamin B12 (mcg)	5.87	5.18
Choline (mg)	383	314
Vitamin K (mcg)	278	298
Folate (mcg)	681	635

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1. Results: Diet quality

Ovo‐vegetarian and vegan sample menus are detailed in Tables 4 and 5. The HEI‐2015 score for the constructed vegan sample menu was 99.4. A perfect score of 100 (Figure 1) was not achieved due to slightly higher than recommended amounts of sodium and refined grains as well as a fatty acid ratio (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids relative to saturated fatty acids) that exceeded standards for a maximum score (National Cancer Institute Division of Cancer Control & Population Sciences, 2021). Perfect scores in all other categories were achieved. The HEI‐2015 score for the dairy‐free vegetarian menu was 98.4 (Figure 2). Amounts of refined grains, added sugars, and sodium exceeded standards for a maximum high score. The remaining categories had perfect scores.

FIGURE 1.

Healthy eating index (HEI)−2015 Diet Quality Scores for 2000 kcal vegan model adapted from the healthy vegetarian dietary pattern from the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

FIGURE 2.

Healthy eating index (HEI)—2015 diet quality scores for 2000 kcal ovo‐vegetarian model adapted from the healthy vegetarian dietary pattern from the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

3.2. Nutrient adequacy

Mean total energy amount for the vegan menu was 1860 kcal and for the ovo‐vegetarian menu was 1880 kcal. These energy totals do not include the 250 kcal of discretionary calories, so they are around 100 kcal higher than the 1750 kcal that the DGA allots for recommended foods and beverages in the 2000 kcal HVDP. In both menus, all macronutrients were within the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges (AMDR). For the vegan diet, protein was 15% (AMDR 10–35%), carbohydrates were 59% (AMDR 45–65%), and fat was 29% (AMDR 25–35%) of total calories. Within the ovo‐vegetarian menu, protein was 16% (AMDR 10–35%), carbohydrates were 63% (AMDR 45–65%), and fat was 25% of total calories (AMDR 25–35%) (Food & Nutrition Board, 2005).

According to the 2020 DGA, females 19–30 years and males 51+ years have an estimated recommended energy need of 2000 kcal per day (U.S. Department of Agriculture & U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, ²⁰²⁰). In comparing the micronutrient values in these sample 2000 kcal diets with the DRIs for these population groups (U.S. Department of Agriculture & U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, ²⁰²⁰), both sample menus contained adequate calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, selenium, vitamin A, vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin K, and folate for both females 19–30 and males 51+. Both menus provided adequate iron for males 51+ y, but the ovo‐vegetarian menu provided only 86% of the iron needed for females 19–30 y. Similarly, while both menus provided adequate zinc for females, only the ovo‐vegetarian menu provided adequate zinc for males.

Both menus provided too little choline for both males and females, and the ovo‐vegetarian menu also provided too little vitamin E for males and females (65% of recommended amount). Finally, neither menu provided adequate vitamin D as both menus were below 50% of the DRI. However, the vitamin D provided by these HVDP menu adaptations is similar to the amount of vitamin D provided by the original HVDP (220 IU).

While both the vegan and ovo‐vegetarian sample menus had high diet quality, based on HEI‐2015 scores over 90 (Krebs‐Smith et al., 2018), neither sample menu provided all micronutrients in adequate amounts, especially choline and vitamin D. Certain specific foods are high in these nutrients (for example, white mushrooms exposed to UV light are a good source of vitamin D and roasted soybeans are a good source of choline) and could be added to these dietary patterns (National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements, ^{2021a, 2021b}). However, because the focus of this study was building vegan and ovo‐vegetarian diets using commonly consumed foods, less frequently consumed food items were not added ad hoc to these menus to correct nutrient insufficiencies (USDA, ²⁰²⁰).

Vegan and dairy‐free vegetarian American adults may consume different foods than Americans who eat omnivorously. However, data on either the number of vegetarians in the United States or their eating habits has, to our knowledge, not been collected in a cross‐section of the US population since the 2009–2010 NHANES. NHANES 2009–2010 provided information on the prevalence of vegetarianism as well as an overview of eating patterns of vegetarians in the United States. Because that data is no longer collected by NHANES, information from the Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG)’s annual survey of vegetarians and vegans in the United States is cited in the nutrition literature instead (Karlsen et al., 2019; Melina et al., ²⁰¹⁶; Radnitz et al., ²⁰¹⁵). The 2020 VRG survey estimates that 6% of American adults are vegetarian and 3% of American adults are vegan (Stahler, 2020) but does not provide insight into typical eating habits of these populations.

The 2010 and 2020 DGAs as well as the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) have identified potential shortfall nutrients for vegetarians and vegans. The 2010 DGA identifies vitamin B₁₂ and calcium as potential nutrients of concern for vegetarians (U.S. Department of Agriculture & U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, ²⁰¹⁰). The 2020 DGA only addresses potential shortfall nutrients for vegetarian and vegan diets followed during pregnancy and lactation, which include iron, vitamin B₁₂, choline, zinc, iodine, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) (U.S. Department of Agriculture & U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, ²⁰²⁰). This list from the 2020 DGA mirrors the list in the 2016 Position of the AND on Vegetarian Diets (Melina et al., 2016). The AND recommends that vegetarians consume “somewhat higher intakes of alpha‐linolenic (ALA)” in their diet, such as flaxseed, chia seeds, canola oil, and walnuts as ALA can be synthesized to EPA and DHA (Melina et al., 2016). The 2010 DGA also identifies potential benefits of a vegetarian‐eating pattern, including improved health outcomes like a reduced risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and lower blood pressure, as well as lower calories overall, lower calories from saturated fat, and higher fiber, potassium, and vitamin C intakes than nonvegetarians (U.S. Department of Agriculture & U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, ²⁰¹⁰). A 2021 systematic review of 48 studies on vegan diets notes similar tradeoffs in that vegan diets may protect against some chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease due to lower energy intake and higher fiber intake, among other factors (Bakaloudi et al., 2021). However, a vegan diet may also lead to nutrient insufficiencies due to fewer sources of highly available nutrients such as iron, iodine, and calcium, among others, and careful dietary planning is required to ensure adequate intake (Bakaloudi et al., 2021).

These sample menus with MyPlate.gov recipes have some nutrient shortfalls as well as some nutrient benefits, with amounts of vitamin E and choline at or below 80% of recommendations for 2000 kcal diets. Amounts of most nutrients were provided in sufficient quantities. Calcium, vitamin D, potassium, and fiber are nutrients of concern for all Americans and have had this status since 2010 (U.S. Department of Agriculture & U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, ^{2010, 2020}; U.S. Department of Health & Human Services & U.S. Department of Agriculture, ²⁰¹⁵). While these sample menus contain adequate calcium, potassium, and fiber, they were both low in vitamin D. These menus were also created to assess the diet quality and nutrient adequacy of the ovo‐vegetarian and vegan adaptations of the DGA HVPD when food groups were replaced with actual food items and recipes, based on commonly consumed foods. However, these diets are still not a full representation of how Americans eat.

This analysis is subject to some additional limitations. This study only represents 5 days of sample menus for both the vegan and ovo‐vegetarian diets, which cannot encompass a full dietary pattern over time. In addition, in the absence of data on how and what vegetarians in the United States choose to eat, this analysis relies on commonly consumed foods for all American adults from NHANES 2015–2016 data. Finally, while iodine intake may be a concern for vegan diets, as indicated by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the 2010 and 2020 DGA as well as other sources (Bakaloudi et al., 2021; Krajcovicova‐Kudlackova et al., ²⁰⁰³), we were not able to include iodine in our nutrient assessment of these sample menus, as it is not currently included in FNDDS. Therefore, we could not assess whether iodine levels in these sample menus may be sufficient. Finally, these sample menus did not include “discretionary calories.” Including food and beverage items that the DGA would consider “calories for other uses” may decrease the HEI‐2015 scores by increasing the amount of sodium, refined grains, added sugars, and solid fats in the diet.

4. CONCLUSIONS

Vegan and ovo‐vegetarian menus based on adaptations of the 2020 DGA HVDP and developed using commonly consumed foods can be high‐quality but still lack adequate amounts of some micronutrients. The sample menus in this study provided adequate amounts of all of the various food groups from the DGA (vegetables, fruits, grains, protein, dairy) without excess sodium, refined grains, or saturated fat and, therefore, had high dietary quality scores. However, these sample menus did not provide adequate choline, vitamin E, iron, vitamin D, and zinc for a 2000 kcal diet. These nutrient shortfalls could be mitigated by the addition of specific foods high in these various nutrients. This analysis provides evidence that replacing animal foods in a vegan or ovo‐vegetarian adaptation of the lacto‐ovo HVDP with commonly consumed plant‐based food items can provide most macro‐ and micronutrients, but a nutritionally adequate vegan and ovo‐vegetarian eating pattern requires careful attention and planning of micronutrient content.

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS

Julie M. Hess: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Methodology; Supervision; Validation; Writing – original draft; Writing – review & editing. Madeline E. Comeau: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Methodology; Validation; Writing – review & editing

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Hess, J. M. , & Comeau, M. E. (2022). Application of dairy‐free vegetarian and vegan USDA food pattern models for non‐pregnant, non‐lactating healthy adults. Journal of Food Science, 87, 4703–4713. 10.1111/1750-3841.16314