Meat and fish are the main sources of protein in a regular diet. Protein is essential for the growth and repair of the body so vegans must find a good source of protein. 

The other foods missing from a vegan diet are those classed as dairy foods. These are cow's milk and foods made from milk. Dairy foods are one of the main providers of calcium in a regular diet. Calcium is needed for the development and repair of the skeleton so is incredibly important. Vegans often use alternatives such as soy or nut milk which are lower in calorific value than milk. However, many have the same or even a little more calcium which is great news 

Vitamin D mainly comes from oily fish. As vegans, fish is off the menu but many nut milks are fortified with vitamin D so are a great source of this vitamin. 

Mushrooms are also full of vitamin D. 

Plant alternatives to honey are maple syrup, molasses or syrups made from dates, coconut, rice or malt. So there are plenty of ways of satisfying your sweet tooth without the guilt 

One of those minerals is iron which is incredibly important to enable the body to absorb the oxygen that we breathe in. The best way to make sure you get enough of this mineral on a vegan diet is lots of leaf vegetables. Remember Popeye gobbling up lots of spinach? It may have been a children's cartoon but there is a lot of truth in how good spinach is for you. 

Finally, Omega 3 is an incredibly important nutrient that boosts the brain and is needed to keep disease at bay. Despite being a (healthy) fat, it is great at reducing inflammation. The best plant sources of Omega 3 are nuts and seeds.