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HOME > Vegan Diet | Vegan Meal plans |

Read Time:   |  2nd August 2022

Meal plans can be a savvy addition to anyone’s weekly routine. Whether you are pregnant, wanting to save the pennies, or drop a little weight, meal planning can help ensure you are meeting all your nutrient needs over the week, as well as say goodbye to that last-minute dinner panic at the end of a long and busy day.

Here we dive into what you need to consider to help you devise your own personalised meal plan and support you to feel happy, healthy and organised on your vegan adventures.

What do you need to consider when it comes to making your own vegan meal plan?

First of all it is important to ensure you are including foods from all the key food groups. Each group contains a different variety of nutrients that you need to stay well, so getting a good balance in a plant-based diet is important. You will want to be getting foods from the following 5 groups:

Aim to include fruits and vegetables with every meal and snack and select a variety of different colours. These high-fibre foods provide vitamins and minerals, water, phytochemicals and antioxidants that benefit our health and reduce our risk of disease1.

Examples include: apples, oranges, dark leafy greens, blueberries, strawberries, carrot, rhubarb, beetroot, cucumber, courgette, aubergine, banana, celery, peppers, mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli, swede.

Base each of your meals on a whole grain starchy carbohydrate to keep your energy up throughout the day as well as getting extra fibre and vitamins.

Examples include: brown rice, wholewheat pasta, wholemeal bread, potatoes, couscous, millet, buckwheat, oats, barley.

Consume these with every main meal to meet your vegan protein requirements.

Examples include: black beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, lentils, butter beans, baked beans, peas, peanuts, tofu, tempeh.

Hearty stews filled with beans, potatoes served with rice are a healthy and affordable way to pack protein into your meals. Image: Viktorné Lupaneszku via Getty

You don’t need dairy for calcium, but you still need to ensure you are getting enough calcium from plant sources for strong bones. Aim to include three portions of calcium-rich foods every day.

Examples include: calcium-set tofu (check for ‘calcium’ anywhere in the ingredients list), fortified plant-based milk or juice, dark leafy greens such as kale or broccoli.

Other vegan calcium sources with smaller amounts include: almonds, tahini, figs, beans, sweet potato and oranges.

Healthy fats are important for our heart, brain and hormonal health2. Aim to include a small amount of healthy unsaturated fats with most meals.

Examples include: avocado, pecans, almonds, cashews, olives, olive oil, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds. In addition, it is important to ensure a source of omega 3 fatty acids and you can get these from specific plant foods including: flaxseed, walnuts, hemp seeds, chia seeds.

It’s important that we all stay well-hydrated to stay focused, energised, and support our bowel movements. Aim for around two litres per day, but this may increase if you are very active or the weather is very warm.

The best source of hydration (and the most environmentally friendly) is tap water, but a couple of teas or coffees can also contribute to your intake. Try to avoid sugary and fizzy drinks and limit fresh fruit juice to 150ml per day.

To optimise your vegan diet, choose a variety of different plant foods from each group as this will maximise your intake of different nutrients and beneficial plant chemicals. Some nutrients need a little extra help and are beneficial to get in fortified foods or supplements:

Tap water is the best source of hydration, and all the most environmentally friendly way to hydrate too. Image: Compassionate Eye Foundation/David Oxberry via Getty

Vitamin D – aim to supplement 10µg per day, this is particularly important during the winter months

Vitamin B12 – aim for at least 10µg per day, or choose fortified foods at least twice daily. Examples include: fortified nutritional yeast, yeast extract or plant milk.

Iodine – consume a supplement of 150µg of iodine per day. You can also get some vegan iodine from seaweed products, but these shouldn’t be relied upon due to the varying levels they contain3.

Here is an example vegan meal plan:

Breakfast: Porridge with berries using calcium fortified plant milk

Snack: Brazil nuts and raisins

Lunch: Hummus, rocket, tomato and avocado sandwich on wholemeal bread

Evening meal: Sweet potato tagine with broccoli

Breakfast: Pear & almond porridge using calcium fortified plant milk

Snack: Hummus with carrot and cucumber sticks

Lunch: Leftover tagine with rocket

Evening meal: Jacket potato with baked beans and mixed salad

Dessert: Berries, raisins and nuts with soya yogurt

This healthy 'Snickers' slice is the perfect afternoon pick me up. Image: Kate Doran

Breakfast: Green smoothie using bananas, dates and spinach

Dessert: Cherries and dark chocolate

Breakfast: Fruit and nut bowl with fortified soya yogurt

Snack: Rice cakes with peanut butter and an orange

Evening meal: Lentil Bolognese with spaghetti

Breakfast: Tofu scramble on wholemeal toast

Snack: Banana with almond butter

Evening meal: Peppers stuffed with brown rice and leftover Bolognese

Dessert: Tropical mango and pineapple fruit salad and a fortified oat milk hot chocolate

Tofu scramble is a delicious, high-protein alternative to scrambled eggs. Image: Vegetarian For Life

Snack: Strawberries with soya yogurt

Lunch: Avocado toast topped with seeds

Evening meal: Black bean burger with sweet potato wedges

Dessert: Apple and berry crumble with fortified oat cream

Snack: Popcorn clusters with a fortified soya milk latté

Lunch: Quinoa and berry salad with leftover burger

Evening meal: Nut roast with roast potatoes and mixed veggies

If you’re watching the pennies, like most of us these days, a meal plan can help you to get more organised and save money across the week. The following tips will help you design your meal plan on a budget:

Bulk buying staple ingredients such as oats, nuts, and dried pulses and legumes will save you money and mean you always have something ready to cook with in the cupboard. Image: Dougal Waters via Getty

If you are looking to drop some pounds, the following tips will support you to manage your weight with your vegan meal plan without having to break it down into uninspiring calorie counting

Image: Anastasia Dobrusina via Getty

If you are pregnant, there are some extra things to be aware of when designing your vegan meal plan.

In addition to the advice provided above on a general healthy diet, the following tips will help guide you to create your meal plan for pregnancy:

With a bit of organisation, meal planning can help you make the most of your time, money and provide the best nutrition for you. Remember to keep it diverse, tasty, nourishing and balanced.

Looking for some tasty vegan dinner inspiration?

These easy vegan meals take just 30 minute to make!

Rosie is a plant-based registered dietitian working in the NHS as Employee Health & Wellness Dietitian for NHS staff. As a former zoologist working in animal welfare, Rosie turned to a vegan diet in 2014. Having studied and experienced the physical and psychological benefits of a diet based on whole plant food, Rosie now works to support others embrace a plant-based diet for human, planetary and animal health through her business, Rosemary Nutrition & Dietetics. Rosie is also a board member of Plant Based Health Professionals UK.

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