Vegetarian Diet Menu

Vegetarian Diet Menu Ideas

I wanted to share a vegetarian meal plan I created to lose weight. It is a week's worth of meal ideas for lacto-ovo vegetarians (vegetarians that do eat milk and eggs). It's great even if you do eat meat… it's a healthy way to reduce the amount of meat you eat.

Along with this plan, I drank 8 glasses of water per day and I did have soda, but I had caffeine free diet soda.
Try it for 7 days. You can follow it from 1-7, or mix it up. Choose 1 to 2 snacks per day as well. I hope it works for you, and good luck!

Breakfast Ideas
#1 Cereal with fruit and nuts: ½ Cup healthy cereal (Special K, Kashi, etc), 1 banana, sprinkle with almonds

#2 Veggie omelet w/ Toast and fruit: 1 medium egg plus 3 egg whites (or all egg whites or egg beaters) your favorite veggies cut up and either mix with eggs, or add after eggs are cooked, 2 slices of lite whole grain bread, toasted, and sprayed with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray, 1 small to medium fruit

#3 Breakfast burrito: 1 small tortilla, 1 medium egg plus 3 egg whites (or all egg whites or egg beaters), ¼ Cup veggie crumbles (the stuff that looks like ground beef),amount you like of chopped peppers and onions, ¼ Cup (or just a sprinkle) of low-fat shredded cheddar. Microwave the veggie crumbles, scramble egg, put the burrito together and eat! And ½ Cup orange juice

#4 Pancakes w/ fruit, eggs and "meat": 4 silver dollar pancakes lightly drizzled with sugar-free syrup, sprayed with ICBINB spray and topped with your favorite fruit. 1 medium egg plus 3 egg whites (or all egg whites or egg beaters), 1 slice of Morningstar Farms "bacon", 1 link of MSF or Boca "breakfast sausage"

#5 Breakfast sandwich: 1 medium egg plus 3 egg whites (or all egg whites or egg beaters), 1 Morningstar Farms or Boca breakfast sausage patty. ~Optional: sprinkle with low fat cheese, 1 whole wheat English muffin, and ½ Cup orange juice

#6 Yogurt with fruit and nuts: 1 small low fat/lite yogurt. Put in a bowl and add your favorite fruit, and ¼ Cup almonds or walnuts #7 Oatmeal and fruit: A: 1 package instant oatmeal, 1 medium fruit, 6oz cup of yogurt OR:
B: ½ Cup cooked oatmeal, 1 medium fruit (this oatmeal will taste better if you put the fruit into the oatmeal), 6oz cup yogurt

Lunch Ideas
#1 Soup, Salad and Sandwich: 3/4 Cup low fat non-creamy soup, Salad with lite dressing, 2 slices lite whole grain bread, 1-2 slices of cheese (low fat or fat free would be good, but I can't do that!), 2 slices of fake turkey or ham (these are near the packaged salads at my supermarket), Lettuce, tomato, and onion

#2 Frozen weight watchers meal: 1 veggie weight watchers meal, Salad with lite dressing

#3 Hamburger and fries: Veggie burger, Lite whole wheat bread or bun,1 medium potato sliced into wedges ~sprinkle with salt and pepper and spray with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray…bake in the oven until done (or if you're in a rush, microwave the fries for about 2-3 minutes or until soft, then sprinkle and spray…then stick in the oven), Salad with lite dressing

#4 Chicken salad sandwich: 1 Morningstar Farms or Boca chicken patty, Chopped onions, About 1-2tbs Lite or fat free mayo, 2 slices lite whole grain bread, toasted or not ~heat up patty in micro, add chopped onions, salt, pepper, and mayo…mash with fork or put in food processor…spread on bread/toast, Salad with lite dressing

#5 Rice and Vegetables: ½ Cup brown rice, Favorite chopped veggies, steamed or cooked with non-stick spray ~for flavor add salt, pepper, herbs, and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray or 1 Tbs lite olive oil, Salad with lite dressing

#6 Grilled veggies: Grill (or bake) your favorite veggies with a little bit of lite olive oil, Salad with lite dressing

#7 BLT: 2 slices lite whole grain bread, toasted, 4 slices fake bacon, Lettuce and tomato, 1-2 Tbs Lite or fat free mayo, Salad with lite dressing

Dinner Ideas

#1 Pasta with sauce: Sauce: 1 can of crushed tomatoes, 1tbs lite olive oil, crushed/sliced fresh garlic, fresh/dried basil, salt….heat oil in pot, sauté garlic just until browned, add crushed tomatoes and basil, stir and heat on low for a few hours (to get the acid flavor out, my grandmother would put a carrot in with it, the sauce doesn't taste like carrots, but supposedly the carrot sucks the acid up) ½ Cup whole wheat pasta, Sprinkle with low fat or fat free parmesan *optional, Salad with dressing

#2 Portobello Burgers: 2 slices of lite whole grain bread or bun, 1 medium portabello mushroom cap (grilled or sautéed with lite olive oil brushed on it), Lettuce and tomato, Salad with lite dressing

#3 Chicken Parm: A: 1 Chick patty, 1 small sub roll same size as patty, Top with sauce and sprinkle with lite or fat free mozzarella, Salad with lite dressing
OR-

B: 1 Chick patty, ½ Cup whole wheat pasta, Top with sauce and sprinkle with lite or fat free mozzarella, Salad with lite dressing #4 Chicken nuggets and sweet potato fries: 5 Morningstar Farms Chick nuggets, Baked sweet potato fries, Salad with lite dressing. Baked sweet potato fries recipe: (I'd eat only ¼- ½ of the full amount as a serving) 2 large (about 1 1/2 pounds) sweet potatoes, ½ teaspoon ground cumin *optional, 1 tablespoon lite olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Prepare the sweet potatoes: In a small bowl, combine cumin, salt, and pepper. Set aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Peel potatoes and cut into wedges or fries. On a baking sheet, arrange potatoes in a single layer and place on the middle shelf of the oven. Bake until edges are crisp and potatoes are cooked through - about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

#4 Tex-Mex dinner: 2 Small taco shells, ¼ - ½ Cup vegetable crumbles (the stuff that looks like ground beef), Shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, diced onions, 1 tbs lite or fat free sour cream, ¼ avocado mashed up with crushed garlic and drizzled with lite olive oil, Sprinkle with low fat or fat free shredded cheddar or Mexican mix cheese ~put everything in the taco and enjoy! And a small salad with lite dressing

#5 Frozen Weight Watchers dinner: Veggie weight watchers dinner, Salad with lite dressing

#6 Pasta Primavera with garlic bread: ½ Cup whole wheat pasta, Lots of your favorite veggies- steamed or sautéed with a little bit of lite olive oil, Sauce (see recipe above), Garlic Bread: 2 slices of lite whole wheat bread or a small roll, brush light olive oil on each slice…add sliced/crushed fresh garlic or garlic powder and sprinkle with oregano…bake until brown. Add a salad with lite dressing

#7 Franks and beans with potato salad: 2 Morningstar farms hot dogs, ½ Cup vegetarian baked beans ~cut hotdogs into coins, put in pot with beans and heat up (for a faster way, stick hot dogs in microwave first) POTATO SALAD: 1 medium-large potato (baked, boiled, or microwaved for a few min. till soft) shredded carrot, diced onions and celery, 1-2 tbs low fat or fat free mayo, mustard, salt, peper, garlic powder, herbs, whatever spices you like ~Cut the cooled, cooked potato into cubes, add the other stuff and enjoy!

Snack ideas
· Small cup of Yogurt
· Small/medium fruit (1 cup frozen green grapes is great!)
· Lite butter flavor popcorn (great sprayed with ICBINB spray!)
· Baked lays chips
· Pretzels
· Raw veggies with lite or fat free dip/dressing
· Trail mix (1/2 cup cheerios, ½ cup puffed rice cereal, ½ cup puffed wheat cereal, ¼ cup chocolate chips, 1/2 -3/4 cup raisins, ½- ¾ cup dried cranberries ½ cup good nuts- mix together…eat about ¼ cup of made mix.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or nutritionist. I just wanted to share what I came up with that made me lose weight. If you're stuck in a rut, try this for a week, and see if you lose anything. You should always consult your doctor before starting any weight loss plan.