Coming up with a creative, healthy and nutritious meat-free meal plan can seem like a challenge to vegetarians who are short on time or who have just changed their diets. By investing a few free moments in planning ahead, however, it's possible to save time and money throughout the week and enjoy a series of tasty breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks.
Breakfasts
Eliminating bacon and sausage as breakfast options helps vegetarians prepare morning meals that are low in saturated fat, cholesterol and calories. An important nutrient that the Mayo Clinic specifically recommends for vegetarians is calcium, so choose morning meals that feature low-fat dairy or other calcium-fortified foods. An sample breakfast menu for a week might include oatmeal; whole-wheat buttermilk pancakes; a veggie omelet; a yogurt parfait with fresh berries and granola; iron-fortified cold cereal with soy milk; a fruit smoothie with toast; and a whole-grain bagel with fresh fruit and scrambled eggs.
Lunches
The Vegetarian Resource Group suggests making sandwiches with high-protein fillings such as hummus or peanut butter instead of meat. Because some vegetarians and vegans don't get as much protein as meat eaters, it's important to pick high-protein options at each meal. For a week's worth of lunches, try a hummus sandwich in whole-wheat pita with tabbouleh salad; a peanut-butter-and-banana sandwich with milk; a veggie or falafel wrap; a roasted-vegetable salad with nuts and herbs; a bowl of minestrone soup; a veggie burger on a toasted bun; and a rice pilaf with dried fruit and nuts.
Dinners
At dinner, focus on iron-rich ingredients. According to the Mayo Clinic, a plant-based diet doesn't allow the body to absorb iron as easily as an omnivorous diet does, so vegetarians require almost twice as much iron as meat eaters. Get in some extra iron with meals including veggie chili; veggie lasagna; tofu stir fry; lentil curry with brown rice; pasta with pesto sauce and roasted vegetables; Greek-style flatbread pizza with feta cheese; and black-bean burritos with fresh corn and cilantro.
Snacks
Getting a balance of vitamins, minerals and nutrients is an important concern for vegetarians. Sometimes daily meals don't provide an adequate balance or aren't enough to combat cravings for snacks. Eating Well magazine suggests that vegetarians sip skim milk between meals or nibble on foods such as deviled eggs and fresh fruits. Other tasty snack choices in a week's menu might include home-baked granola bars; flavored soy yogurt; trail mix; air-popped popcorn; salsa with corn chips and fresh vegetables; whole-wheat toast with jam; and pita bread with baba ghanouj.
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