What I eat for a week as a vegetarian… | The Weekday Vegetarian

I did quite a bit of research to supplement my diet as needed when I went vegan for a month. I even wrote a post on it- read here. But, I was too concerned that having low energy was not right and I went back to my healthy diet of lean meats and cheeses.

But fast forward to a few years and while I feel great, I have pretty healthy eating habits (meat is more of a side dish for me), and I exercise 30 minutes a day- but there are some things that bother me. 

It’s not really my health I question, but more my family’s. 

I’m like the typical American family, sadly to say where family members are diagnosed with chronic diseases in their 50s and 60s. For my family, it’s heart disease. So, I can’t just eat what’s put in front of me anymore. Eating on autopilot in America is an early death sentence! But more importantly a lower quality of life. It’s not about living to 120 years that I want, but I want to feel alive, vibrant and pill free when I’m 80 years old! Is that so much to ask?

The only people that can claim they are pill free at 80 are the people I read about- vegans. So, I am back again researching the vegetarian and vegan diets to improve my quality of life. And hopefully through my example some of my family members may be curious to learn more. I know I can’t change anyone if I don’t first start with myself. 

So, if you’re still here reading my rant and feel some of these same concerns, I want to share with you my new vegetarian menu for the week. I am not perfect and continue to research how to make my meals more nutrient rich. I’m sure long time vegetarians have better meal plans. But, I have to start somewhere. 

I am not a dietician, so take this weekly meal plan as an idea or inspiration, not set-in-stone dietary meal plan. It probably needs to be boosted up with a few more nutrients. But, I wanted to document my journey here. 

My background is Armenian and Mexican, and I love international foods, so I hope you enjoy some of the ideas I have to cook up for the week. It has to be exciting!

I am starting with Monday to Friday and allowing myself meat (mostly chicken or fish) on the weekend if I feel I need it. 

The goal from going vegetarian is to slowly incorporate more vegan foods and go vegan for a bit if it feels right. 

What better time to do this than during a pandemic? – When there are less social pressures to eat what friends are eating and I can cook and eat in my kitchen the whole day. Social pressures are one of the hardest challenges on the vegan diet. The other one is not having options when you are out and about. 

Now, those are easily overcome! No excuses lol

Of course I had to sit down on Saturday to plan out a loose meal plan. I’m sure it will change as I go through it, but it was necessary (even as a creative chef) to have an idea of what I would eat to have a balanced meal. See the italicized text for the plan and the bold text for what I actually ended up eating. 

Check back to see how it unfolds and my take on this whole new vegetarian thing. 

Click on some of the items to see my recipes for these. 

• Flax Orange-Blackberry Muffin (GF), Handful of raspberries
• Egg sandwich (1 boiled egg) on mini sourdough roll with avocado and Cholula hot sauce
• Black coffee

Workout 30 minutes 

Breakfast

• ¼ cup yogurt, granola, raspberries and honey
• 1 cup coffee

Lunch

• Flax muffin
• Peruvian bean taco with kale and avocado
• 2 tangerines 

Snack

• 1 slice whole grain bread with olive oil

Dinner

• (Take-out) Pasta primavera with pink sauce and vegetables
• Garlic roll 

• Turmeric Tea- fresh turmeric slices, honey, lemon, hot water

• Southwest Black Bean Burger (open-faced) on ½ whole wheat bread, ¼ avocado, ½ cup dandelion greens with olive oil, lemon juice, 3 cherry tomatoes
• Small slice jalapeño cornbread 

• Warm ⅓ cup oat milk with cinnamon and drizzle of honey + ½ biscotti cookie

• Tomato Soup + Tofu Dumplings, Toast with Avocado

Dessert

30 minute Pilates

• Broken Quinoa Cakes with Salad (Dandelion greens)

• Green Tea and Blueberry Banana Bar

Snack

Lemon water and babka

To your happy and healthy life, 

Joanna

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