Written by Iron Vegan
If you haven’t discovered already, plant-based meals are brimming with colour and full of flavour. When shopping and preparing your own meals, the key is to choose the most natural and fresh ingredients whenever possible to emphasize wholesome eating. Remember, plant-based eating never has to be boring or bland – see some ideas below to feed your imagination!
Breakfast
For the first meal of the day, it’s always a great idea to include a protein-rich food, as it’ll curb your appetite and help keep you feeling fuller for longer.
- Loaded smoothie (like this one!)
- Fresh whole fruit, handful of nuts and a protein shake
- Chia pudding (chia seeds soaked in plant milk with, topped with fruit, nuts, and seeds)
- Overnight oats with fruit, nuts + seeds
- Sweet pancakes (like these Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes)
- Coconut yogurt with granola and fruit
- Savoury Herb Pancakes
- Eggless veggie quiche (or our Morning Glory Mini Loaves)
- Whole grain toast with mashed avocado and tomato
Lunch
- Rice paper veggie wraps with spicy peanut dipping sauce
- Falafel ballswith roasted veggies + lemon tahini sauce in a whole wheat pita
- Fully loaded salad: bed of greens loaded with fresh veggies (like pepper, carrot, cucumber, avocado, tomato, beet, etc.), topped with nuts (like crushed walnuts or pecans) and seeds (like sunflower and pumpkin) + homemade dressing
- Jalapeno Biscuits
- Black bean burger with steamed broccoli and sweet potato wedges
- Bean salad with edamame, tomato, peppers, avocado, and garlic lime dressing
Dinner
- Stir-fried veggies with balsamic-glazed tempeh and rice noodles
- Buddha Bowl: endless combinations of greens (spring mix/spinach/kale), raw or roasted veggies, protein (beans/lentils/tofu/tempeh) and a grain (quinoa/brown rice) with toppings like nuts, seeds, and dressing
- Vegan mac ‘n cheese
- Ginger-garlic tofu with stir-fried veggies and quinoa
- Chickpea and spinach curry with brown rice
- Pulled BBQ jackfruit tacos with cabbage slaw
- Sweet potato and peanut stew with chickpeas and kale
Homemade Dressings and Sauces
Because your dressings and sauces should be as healthy as the meal it is topping! To avoid unnecessary preservatives, refined sugars, and low-quality oils, you can easily whip up your own batch of dressing or sauce using nourishing ingredients. All you need is a base (like olive or hemp oil), an acid (like apple cider vinegar or lemon/lime juice), an ingredient to thicken (like avocado, mustard, tahini), spices and a little sweetness (if you like). Mix everything in a small blender and voila! Some examples below:
- Maple Mustard Dressing: mustard, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, garlic, maple syrup, salt, and pepper
- Lemon Tahini Sauce: fresh lemon juice, tahini (sesame paste), water, garlic, salt, and pepper
- Thai Peanut Sauce (infused with protein): water, unflavoured protein powder, natural peanut butter, sesame oil, tamari sauce, lime juice, raw ginger, garlic & chili flakes.
Snacks
There are countless combinations of plant foods that can make up healthy and satisfying snacks – below are some tasty options!
- Protein shake or smoothie
- Protein bar 😉
- Raw veggies and hummus
- Apple and almond butter
- Trail mix (nuts, seeds, dried fruit, unsweetened chocolate)
- Wholesome homemade muffins/cookies
- Dried seaweed snack
- Edamame
- Rice cakes with natural peanut butter
- Roasted chickpeas
- Energy Balls
- Triple Chocolate Raw Brownies
- Kale chips
- Guacamole and black bean chips
- Baked veggie chips
Desserts
Eating plant-based certainly does not mean that you can no longer indulge in your favourite desserts. To the contrary! As we’ve covered in a previous blog, there is a wide variety of alternatives when it comes to swapping out animal-based baking products, like milk, butter and eggs in your recipes. See below for a long list of mouth-watering (and wholesome to boot) treats. Bottom line: you can have your chocolate cake, and eat it too 😉
 |
 |
 |
- Blueberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
- White Chocolate Blackberry Glazed Donuts
- Chocolate Mousse
- Gingerbread Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting
- Double Chocolate Mint Ice Cream
