If you think that a vegetarian diet is a “one size fits all” strict eating plan, you’ll be interested to learn that there are many styles of vegetarianism. In fact, it is likely that one style could satisfy the vegetarian yen in just about anyone, even if it is only at a single meal.

In the purest sense, a vegetarian diet is a plant-based diet that shuns all sources of meat, poultry and fish, and any foods derived from animals. There are, however, many varieties on this theme. A look at some of them:

¢ Vegan diets: This is the strictest of all the vegetarian options; as vegans avoid all foods from animal sources.

¢ Lacto-vegetarian diets: A less-strict version of the vegan diet. Like vegans, lacto-vegetarians avoid all foods from animal sources except for dairy foods, such as milk, yogurt and cheese (lacto means dairy).

¢ Lacto-ovo-vegetarian diets: A vegetarian-style diet that allows even more flexibility, it includes not only dairy foods but also eggs (ovo means eggs). Omelets, scrambled eggs, and products made with eggs can appear in the lacto-ovo vegetarian’s repertoire of menu options.

¢ Flexitarian diet: The latest vegetarian diet to hit the eating scene is the flexitarian diet, or a “part time” vegetarian diet. Flexitarians are vegetarians who sometimes eat meat, fish and poultry.