Inserting two or three vegetarian meals or entrees into your weekly menu is a smart practice for the heart-healthy cook. Using meat substitutes in place of meat offers two big nutrition benefits: less saturated fat and less cholesterol, two dietary components that are closely linked with heart disease. Although saturated fat is found in some plant foods (coconut milk or palm oil, for example), animal products account for the majority of saturated fat in the typical American diet.

Several government agencies and private health promotion groups have produced variations on the Food Guide Pyramid that adapt this guide to the requirements of a healthy vegetarian eating plan. You can find the useful vegetarian food guide pyramid developed by the Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust in cooperation with the Harvard School of Public Health together with other resources on their Web site.