This plant-based meal plan features a week of daily menus – including breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner. I do the planning, so you don't have to.
I've set a goal to get more organized in 2020 – including planning my meals. A little planning goes a long way toward maintaining a healthy lifestyle. And, since I'm doing the work anyway, I figured I should share the fruits of my labor!
I will continue to post a new meal plan each week. Each plan will include a downloadable shopping list and links to recipes.
Veggie Primer Test Kitchen
Developing recipes, taking photos, editing photos, writing and editing posts takes many hours. In order to share new recipes with you more easily, I have created a Test Kitchen category – which features recipes I am tweaking or simply have not had time to photograph or write about in detail.
If you try these recipes, I would especially appreciate hearing your comments, questions or suggestions so I can continue to fine-tune the content.
Recommended Appliances
I rely on several small kitchen appliances to prepare plant-based meals, including:
- Food Processor
- High-Speed Blender
- Stick Blender
- Slow Cooker
- Instant Pot®
The Tools section explains why I value each item. Except I need to update the content to show I've replaced my rice cooker with an Instant Pot®. If you don't have one, you can experiment with traditional stove-top cooking, but I recommend going the pressure/multi-cooker route if you can.
Week 1 Grocery List
I've gone over the ingredients for every recipe in this week's plan and made a grocery list. It includes quantities when appropriate, so you can compare it to what you may already have on hand.
Daily Menu Items
I begin each day with a tall glass of lemon water and I wait for at least 15-minutes before I eat or drink anything else. (Mix juice from ½ lemon with 12-ounces of water.)
I take the following supplements every day:
- B12
- D3
- Algae-derived DHA & EPA
- Zinc
My article Plant-Based Diet Problems & Solutions explains why I take these supplements. You should discuss your needs with your doctor.
I also drink water and herbal tea throughout the day. I usually enjoy a cup of Lemon Balm tea after breakfast, a cup of Ginger Turmeric tea after lunch and a cup of Chamomile or Dandelion Root tea in the evening.
Dessert
I have a gigantic sweet tooth. To avoid feeling deprived, once a week I make a healthier version of a traditional dessert. I time it so I can enjoy the treat over the weekend.
This week I'm making:
They will go great with my evening tea.
Week 1 Day 1 Menu
Breakfast
You can follow the recipe above, or you can do what I usually do. I cook buckwheat groats in the Instant Pot® (1 cup groats and 3 cups water.) Then I add rice milk, spices, fruit and nuts to each serving. This allows me to mix things up.
A favorite combo includes:
- cinnamon
- frozen wild blueberries (microwaved 50-seconds, stirring after 30-seconds to thaw)
- raisins
- dates
- hemp seeds
I store the leftover porridge in the fridge and warm up individual servings with a bit of rice milk in the microwave (1.5-minutes.)
Lunch
- Black Bean Wrap
- Carrot sticks
Snack
- Apple slices
Dinner
You can bake the sweet potatoes as the recipe indicates - or you can dice them and add them to the slow cooker with the other ingredients.
Week 1 Day 2 Menu
Breakfast
You can follow the recipe above or simplify things a bit. I often microwave ½ cup of gluten-free old-fashioned rolled oats with ½ cup of water and ½ cup of rice milk. Then I add the spices, fruits, and nuts.
A favorite combo includes:
- pumpkin spice
- frozen dark sweet cherries (microwaved for 1 minute, stirring after 30 seconds to thaw)
- raisins
- dates
- pumpkin seeds
Lunch
- Leftover lentil soup
Snack
- Dried mango slices
Dinner
Week 1 Day 3 Menu
Breakfast
- Buckwheat porridge
- Suggested toppings:
- cinnamon
- wild blueberries
- raisins
- dates
- ground flax seeds
Lunch
I will likely make the soup in the morning or the night before.
Snack
- Orange slices
Dinner
Week 1 Day 4 Menu
Breakfast
- Oatmeal
- Suggested toppings:
- pumpkin spice
- dark sweet cherries
- raisins
- dates
- pumpkin seeds
Lunch
- Leftover Ginger Butternut Carrot Soup
- Cucumber Sandwich with Turmeric White Bean Spread
Snack
- Grapes
Dinner
Week 1 Day 5 Menu
Breakfast
- Buckwheat porridge
- Suggested toppings:
- cinnamon
- wild blueberries
- raisins
- dates
- hemp seeds
Lunch
- Leftover spinach dal over brown rice
Snack
- Apple slices
Dinner
Week 1 Day 6 Menu
Breakfast
- Oatmeal
- Suggested toppings:
- pumpkin spice
- dark sweet cherries
- raisins
- dates
- pumpkin seeds
Lunch
- Big Salad
Snack
- Dried mango slices
Dinner
Week 1 Day 7 Menu
Breakfast
- Buckwheat porridge
- Suggested Toppings:
- cinnamon
- wild blueberries
- raisins
- dates
- ground flax seeds
Lunch
- Leftover Chili
Snack
- Grapes or Orange slices
Dinner
I will likely swap the bread for a gluten-free wrap and double up on the greens.
Plant-Based Meal Plan Week 1 Review
Here's a quick overview of this week's menus:
Here's how things went for me: The selection of fresh baby greens was lacking when I did my shopping. The store was also out of vegetable broth. So, I modified the Slow Cooker Lentil Soup recipe.
I used 5 cups of water in the place of the broth and bumped up the salt to ½ teaspoon and the pepper to ¼ tsp. And I added 2 cups of frozen chopped collard greens to the pot instead of stirring in fresh baby spinach at the end. For the sake of convenience, I also added chopped sweet potatoes to the slow cooker instead of baking then. The substitutions worked well. I might repeat this approach!
There was a fair amount of leftover soup, dal, and chili. Instead of freezing the leftovers I opted to eat them in place of the big salads and portobello sandwich. I don't mind eating the same thing a few days in a row. But if you prefer more variety, you can always freeze leftovers for when you are pressed for time.
I encourage you to share how the week went for you in the comment area below.
Note: This page contains affiliate links. Veggie Primer may earn a commission if you use the links. I only recommend items/brands I use and trust.
Kim
Is there a link or so that I can use which allows me to print an overview of the entire week planning on max one A4? Keeps it all organised for me, and I can hang it out for the family to see what we will be enjoying this week. Thank you so much.
Margaret
That's a great idea, Kim. I will add a downloadable PDF document with that information - I'll try to get it done by tomorrow - stay tuned. 🙂
Margaret
Hi Kim - I have added a downloadable PDF document that provides an overview of the week's menus. Take a look: https://veggieprimer.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Week-1-Overview.pdf
Hope you find this helpful. ?
Kim
Hi Margaret,
That is exactly what I had in mind. Awesome! Thank you very much!
Best regards, Kim.
Margaret
Wonderful! I hung it on my fridge too! Thanks for the suggestion! ?
Clinton
This is fabulous resource - truly invaluable! I can't wait to follow it. And love the pdf grocery list and week overview.
Margaret
That’s great to hear - I’m glad you find it helpful! I will be posting the Week 2 plan in the next day or so. ?