Buy books from Amazon
| All Info About Vegetarianism A member of the All Info About network of free information sites |
 |
Daily meal plan
Many new vegetarians can be confused and worried about what they should eat in case they inadvertently miss out on some essential nutrient in their diet.
Let me put your minds at rest. Just look at how many meat eaters exist on a diet of burgers, chips, coffee, cola and curries - sometimes they won't touch anything green for weeks on end, and although they may not be very healthy - they survive!
The fact that you are interested enough in your food intake to be reading this article means you are unlikely to be short of anything essential.
I have compiled a daily meal plan though which if you follow it as often as you feel like, will ensure that you don't have any dietary deficiences. Remember that the most important thing is to enjoy what you eat so if one day you decide to have Indian takeaway, it's not the end of the world.
Breakfast
Fresh fruit
Wholegrain cereals, (muesli, granola, wheatgerm etc) or porridge with added nuts and seeds, fresh or dried fruit, and skimmed milk or yogurt or fruit juice to moisten.
Wholewheat bread or toast with honey or sugar free jam or grilled tomatoes and mushrooms, or baked beans, or yeast extract or the occasional egg.
Lunch or light evening meal
Salad of shredded, chopped or sliced leaf and root vegetables and fruit such as apples, bean and seed sprouts, chopped fresh herbs with a dressing of your choice and two of the following basic proteins - nuts, pulses or cereal grains.
Fresh fruit or additive free low fat plain or fruit yogurt for dessert.
Main meal
This meal should be protein based, using eggs, cheese, quorn, seitan, tempeh, tofu, tvp, along with two of the three plant proteins - nuts, grains or pulses.
So for instance you could have brown rice dishes like paella, risotto, curry or rice-stuffed vegetables.
Pulses and nuts could be made into roasts, bakes, patés, vegetable stuffings, burgers, rissoles (patties) etc.
Grains include wholewheat pasta and pastry for delicious quiches, pies and pastries.
Serve the meal with raw vegetable salad or lightly steamed vegetables, including leafy green vegetables if you haven't eaten them at another meal in the day.
If you're watching your weight then fresh fruit or additive free low fat plain or fruit yogurt is the order of the day for dessert. Otherwise eat what you fancy as you have already consumed your daily dietary requirements - enjoy!
Drinks
Diluted fresh fruit juice and vegetable juices, mineral water, herb and fruit teas, coffee substitues or drinks made from yeast extracts make a healthy addition to the diet as does the occasional glass of red wine!