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    Home » All-Recipes

    Plant-Based Meal Plan: Week 1

    Published: Dec 31, 2019 · Modified: Jan 2, 2022 by Margaret · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads · 7 Comments

    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.

    Plant-Based Meal Plan Week 1 on clip board surrounded by vegetables

    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

    Pot of vegetables

    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

    Vegetable border for plant-based meal plan

    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

    Vegetable border

    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.

    Download Grocery List

    Daily Menu Items

    Vegetable border

    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

    Vegetable border

    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:

    • Gluten-free Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies

    They will go great with my evening tea.

    Week 1 Day 1 Menu

    Vegetable border

    Breakfast

    • Buckwheat Porridge

    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

    • Slow Cooker Lentil Soup with Sweet Potatoes

    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

    Vegetable border

    Breakfast

    • Quick Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal

    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

    • Curried Veggie Patties
    • Steamed Broccoli with Lemon
    • Oven-Baked Mixed Potato Fries

    Week 1 Day 3 Menu

    Vegetable border

    Breakfast

    • Buckwheat porridge
    • Suggested toppings:
      • cinnamon
      • wild blueberries
      • raisins
      • dates
      • ground flax seeds

    Lunch

    • Ginger Butternut Carrot Soup
    • Cucumber Sandwich with Turmeric White Bean Spread

    I will likely make the soup in the morning or the night before.

    Snack

    • Orange slices

    Dinner

    • Easy Homemade Veggie Pizza

    Week 1 Day 4 Menu

    Vegetable border

    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

    • Instant Pot® Spinach Dal over Brown Rice

    Week 1 Day 5 Menu

    Vegetable border

    Breakfast

    • Buckwheat porridge
    • Suggested toppings:
      • cinnamon
      • wild blueberries
      • raisins
      • dates
      • hemp seeds

    Lunch

    • Leftover spinach dal over brown rice

    Snack

    • Apple slices

    Dinner

    • Big Salad

    Week 1 Day 6 Menu

    Vegetable border

    Breakfast

    • Oatmeal
    • Suggested toppings:
      • pumpkin spice
      • dark sweet cherries
      • raisins
      • dates
      • pumpkin seeds

    Lunch

    • Big Salad

    Snack

    • Dried mango slices

    Dinner

    • Slow Cooker 3 Bean Chili

    Week 1 Day 7 Menu

    Vegetable border

    Breakfast

    • Buckwheat porridge
    • Suggested Toppings:
      • cinnamon
      • wild blueberries
      • raisins
      • dates
      • ground flax seeds

    Lunch

    • Leftover Chili

    Snack

    • Grapes or Orange slices

    Dinner

    • Loaded Portobello Sandwich

    I will likely swap the bread for a gluten-free wrap and double up on the greens.

    Plant-Based Meal Plan Week 1 Review

    Vegetable border

    Here's a quick overview of this week's menus:

    Download Menu Overview

    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.

    « Curried Veggie Patties {Gluten-Free Vegan}
    Garlic Mashed Potatoes {Gluten-Free Vegan} »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kim

      January 01, 2020 at 4:58 pm

      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.

      Reply
      • Margaret

        January 01, 2020 at 5:21 pm

        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. 🙂

        Reply
      • Margaret

        January 02, 2020 at 11:16 am

        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. ?

        Reply
        • Kim

          January 03, 2020 at 3:22 am

          Hi Margaret,

          That is exactly what I had in mind. Awesome! Thank you very much!
          Best regards, Kim.

          Reply
          • Margaret

            January 03, 2020 at 8:46 am

            Wonderful! I hung it on my fridge too! Thanks for the suggestion! ?

            Reply
    2. Clinton

      January 04, 2020 at 7:51 pm

      This is fabulous resource - truly invaluable! I can't wait to follow it. And love the pdf grocery list and week overview.

      Reply
      • Margaret

        January 04, 2020 at 11:07 pm

        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. ?

        Reply

    I welcome questions and comments! Cancel reply

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