A Vegetarian Day

A friend recently asked me to give A Day in the Life of a vegetarian.

Well, here it goes.

BREAKFAST:

Green Monster: includes frozen bananas and strawberries, spinach, ground flaxseed or ground chai seeds, and coconut or almond milk. Sometimes I add a protein powder or almond butter.

Why Green Smoothies? As a vegetarian, I need to make sure I take in enough of the right vitamins, minerals, and enough protein to supplement what I miss by removing meat from my diet. Coconut and Almond milk are fortified with calcium and B12 which are two nutrients lacking in a truly vegan diet. (I consume milk, cheese, and eggs only rarely). This smoothie combines a whole lotta good stuff in a easy to drink smoothie. And it really is yummy.

Coconut Milk

Almond Milk

Other breakfast options I choose from might be Ezekiel Raisin Bread with a piece of fruit. If I’m feeling low on energy I might eat whole wheat toast with almond butter. On very rare occasions I’ll add a scrambled egg to the mix.

 

LUNCH:

Hummus Pita: whole wheat pita with homemade hummus, bell peppers, non-dairy mozzarella, tomatoes, and avocados

Or I might have some whole grain pasta with veggies. My favorite recipe is a vegetarian Puttanesca Pasta from Whole Foods’ recipe page. Another Whole Foods recipe I like is the Southwestern Couscous - yummy by itself or as a salad topper

 

SUPPER:

Veggie Burger: A variety of veggie burgers are out there for you to test. A recent one I made is from the Peas and Thank You cookbook. The author has posted other varieties of the veggie burger on her blog, one of which my family loves – Sloppy Josephines. Veggie burgers take some experimentation and practice, when you’re going vegan. The lack of a binding product such as an egg requires cooks to be creative and test multiple recipes.

Vegetables: broccoli, brussel sprouts, salad, and other fresh vegetables.

 

SNACKS:

Greek yogurt (occasionally)
Fruit
Nuts – usually almonds or walnuts
Energy cookie or Larabar

My favorite sources for vegetarian recipes and information:

Peas and Thank You – blog and cookbook
Eat, Live, Run – contains vegetarian recipes as well as regular
Kath Eats Real Food – ditto
Oh She Glows – vegan and gluten free recipes available
Dreena’s Vegan Recipes
Mayo Clinic - Vegetarian Food Pyramid
Vegan Health - information about a vegan lifestyle and nutrition needs
Harvard Healthy Plate – new research on the Food “Pyramid”

 

This “day” looks like a health fanatic’s dream day, but I will freely admit to the recent large consumption of Halloween candy. A menu like the one above would be ideal, but it is not in my character to follow this plan without the occasional indulgence. In fact, there are plenty of sweet vegetarian recipes available to fulfill those needs. Next on my list to try is Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake. Yum.