BEIRUT: "We have salad," is the most common answer Tarteel Darwish gets when she enters a restaurant and asks about vegetarian dishes.
"It can get annoying," says the 23-year-old student, who considers herself "a real" vegetarian - the type who doesn't eat meat, chicken or fish.
She is also known as the "apple girl," as she likes to eat apples three times a day, one before each meal.
"I like raw fruits and vegetables, but I still want to eat a filling hot dish from time to time. I am not a rabbit and I don't just eat salads," laughs Darwish, who has been a vegetarian since she was 13, when she witnessed a sheep being slaughtered. "It broke my heart. ... I decided never to eat any animals after that."
Darwish says she became a vegetarian because she opposes killing animals for food.
Health professionals say more young Lebanese women are following suit.
"I see more and more young women between 18 and 25 coming to me following a vegetarian diet," says Farah al-Thaalbi, a dietician and nutritionist. "It is a healthy trend, but it can be risky if it isn't a completely balanced diet."
She and other nutritionists stress the importance of a balanced diet with food that is high in iron and vitamins. Iron can be found in leafy green vegetables, whole-grain bread, dried fruit and pumpkin seeds.
What you drink counts, too. Vitamin C can triple the amount of iron that the body absorbs, while a cup of tea can cut it.
"Young vegetarian women are at an especially critical age," says Thaalbi. "They need the most iron, so they have to be extra careful to get iron in their diet."
Iron deficiency can cause anemia, the symptoms of which include tiredness, lack of stamina, breathlessness, headaches, insomnia and loss of appetite.
B12 vitamins should not be a concern for vegetarians who consume dairy products and eggs; however, strict vegans - those who consume no animals products at all, including, for example, milk, cheese or yogurt - should look for fortified foods such as breakfast cereals and soy drinks, since B12 is not naturally found in plants.
Experts say vegans should ensure their diet includes foods including yeast extracts, vegan vegetable stock, "veggieburger" mixes, textured vegetable protein, soy milk, vegetable and sunflower margarine, and breakfast cereals.
Protein can also be found in foods such as beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, grains, soy products, dairy products and eggs.
One fast-growing vegetarian diet in Lebanon is the macrobiotic diet, popularized by television celebrity Mariam Nour.
Followed for spiritual and philosophical reasons, the diet involves maintaining a balance between foods seen as yin (positive) or yang (negative). The two food groups - grains and vegetables - that are viewed as having the least pronounced yin and yang qualities are emphasized in the macrobiotic diet.
Adherents say eating these foods makes it easier to achieve a more balanced condition within the natural order of life - and they avoid foods considered either extremely yin or yang.
Some dieticians say a macrobiotic diet is not scientific and has too many restrictions that cause deficiencies in calories, vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium and iron.
But Nour disagrees.
"It is a way of life, a balanced way. It is not just a diet," she said in a telephone interview with The Daily Star. "I don't care what people say about it."
Several restaurants have recently opened to cater to vegetarians - among which is Olive, which serves only organic vegetarian dishes.
"It was (owner) Fatena Khateeb's idea to open a place that targets vegetarians and provides healthy balanced meals full of natural energy," said Natasha Kanaan, manager and one of the restaurant's chefs.
Customers can chose from buffets featuring raw fruits and vegetables, or hot vegetarian or vegan dishes.
Prices range from LL10,000 to LL20,000 per plate.
Olive also offers healthy juice drinks with a special twist, such as "bloody mint," a combination of beetroot, mint and apple.
An Albert Einstein quote on the menu sums up the restaurant's motto: "Nothing will benefit or increase the chances for survival of life on earth as the evolution of the vegetarian diet."
For vegetarians who would rather cook at home, supermarkets are slowly beginning to sell vegetarian ingredients and substitutes, such as soy products.
"I have noticed an increase in the demand for vegetarian substitutes over the past two years," says Nael Smith of Smith's supermarket in Ras Beirut. "Organically grown vegetables and fruits and soy products are selling more as people are getting more health conscious."
Women aren't the only ones following a vegetarian diet.
Mark Naman has been a vegetarian for almost 20 years, driven by his fear of eating unhealthy beef imported from the Ukraine following the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear crisis.
"I didn't think the meat was healthy so I stopped eating it," he said. "I feel energized by vegetarian food, and one day I will lobby for this way of eating with my kids.
"It is important to educate yourself about healthy diets and the benefits of a more natural way of life."
Different types of vegetarianism
Lacto-ovo
l A person who chooses to eat eggs and dairy products. Ovo means eggs and "lacto" means dairy.
Lacto
A person who eats only dairy products. Lacto-vegetarians do not eat meat, chicken, fish or eggs.
Vegan
lA person who follows a strict vegetarian diet, avoiding any animal, milk, cheese, eggs, or honey.
(Many vegans also choose not to wear any clothes containing animal products, such as leather, wool, or silk as well as any makeup tested on animals.)
Fruitarian
lA type of vegan diet where few processed or cooked foods are eaten. Consists mainly of raw fruit, grains and nuts. Fruitarians believe only plant foods that can be harvested without killing the plant should be eaten.
Macrobiotic
lA diet followed for spiritual and philosophical reasons. It aims to maintain a balance between foods seen as yin or yang. There are 10 levels, each more restrictive. Not all levels are vegetarian, though each level gradually eliminates animal products. The highest levels eliminate fruits and vegetables, resulting in a brown-rice diet.