I'm not a full-fledged vegan by any means, but I'm up for trying a delicious animal-free meal [1] every now and then. But even when going vegan on occasion, I can see how careful you must be when planning what to eat, including thinking carefully about nutrition.

Of course, since vegetables are the stars in a vegan diet, there's no lack of options that are chock-full of vitamins — except for ones only found in animal products, like vitamin B12. And while vitamin B12 deficiency is rare, the nutrient is essential for maintaining a healthy nervous system as well as healthy blood cells, so it's important to get enough in your diet. Most women need 2.4 mcg of the vitamin a day (a little more if you are pregnant or breastfeeding [2]).

Since the best sources of B12 come from meat, fish, eggs, and chicken, long-time vegans may need to look to other sources to make sure their levels of B12 stay full. Besides taking a vitamin supplement, which vegan-friendly foods are high in B12? Find out after the break.

• It's not in tempeh. Contrary to what many people believe, fermented soy foods like tempeh and miso, as well as seaweed, are actually not good sources of vitamin B12 [3], because the amount of the vitamin they do contain is inactive.
• Think fortified foods. Lots of vegan-friendly products have been fortified with added vitamins, including vitamin B12. A cup of Silk soy milk (the refrigerated kind) has half of your daily value [4] of B12, and some common breakfast cereals (like Grape Nuts, which is fortified with 25 percent [5] of the recommended daily value of B12) are vegan as well.
• Nutritional yeast. Specialized formulas of this cheesy-flavored powder have tons of vitamin B, including B12, and are especially made with vegans in mind. Sprinkle the yeast anywhere you would use cheese, like salads, soups, or pasta.