When crafting your own day of eating from the food lists provided, use your head. Create a well-balanced menu for the day without being repetitive. For example, don’t eat pancakes for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and a soy burger for dinner. That would be eating all bread, but no fruits or veggies. Duh. Use your head. Try to always think in terms of fruits, veggies, whole grains, soy, and legumes for a well-balanced day of eating.
If you need a little more guidance, feast your eyes on this, a month’s worth of menus:
Week One
Monday
Breakfast:
Mango, banana, kiwi and soy yogurt.
Lunch:
Spinach salad with shredded carrots, chopped almonds, red onion, fresh garlic, cubed tofu, and sesame oil.
Dinner:
Pasta with zucchini, tomatoes, garlic, fresh parsley, pine nuts, and olive oil.
Tuesday
Breakfast:
Fresh squeezed orange juice, whole grain muffin with soy butter, banana, and strawberries.
Lunch:
Tabouli salad with marinated tofu, eggplant, and red peppers.
Dinner:
Veggie nachos! Corn chips with veggie chili, soy cheese, guacamole, scallions, and tomatoes.
Wednesday
Breakfast:
Fresh squeezed grapefruit juice and slow-cooking oatmeal with blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries.
Lunch:
Veggie burger on whole grain bun with red onion, lettuce, tomato, avocado, and alfalfa sprouts. Served with vegan potato salad.
Dinner:
Fake chicken patty with brown rice, lentils, and steamed kale.
Thursday
Breakfast:
Fresh squeezed OJ, whole grain bagel with vegan cream cheese, sliced tomatoes, and red onion.
Lunch:
Soup and salad.
Dinner:
Veggie stir-fry with peppers, onions, garlic, carrots, bok choy, and mushrooms served with brown rice and tofu.
Friday
Breakfast:
Granola with sliced banana, peaches, and blueberries with soy yogurt.
Lunch:
Club sandwich with fake bacon, fake turkey slices, avocado, lettuce, tomato, sprouts, and Vegenaise (fake mayo). Served with three-bean salad.
Dinner:
Take out from your favorite Thai restaurant: vegan Pad Thai, emphasizing no egg or shrimp or fish stock.
Saturday
Breakfast:
Fresh squeezed OJ, blue corn and blueberry pancakes served with fresh strawberries.
Lunch:
Salad with shredded carrots, couscous, cranberries, and walnuts, dressed with citrus vinaigrette. Served with lentil soup.
Dinner:
Veggie fajitas with sautéed peppers, onions, mushrooms, and fake chicken strips, topped with fresh Pico de Gallo.
Sunday
Breakfast
: Fresh squeezed OJ and tofu scramble with zucchini, peppers, onions, garlic, spinach, and kale served with whole grain toast.
Lunch:
Lentil salad with asparagus tips and walnuts in a raspberry vinaigrette. Served with an entire steamed artichoke and a vegan lemon-butter dipping sauce.
Dinner:
No-cheese or vegan-cheese pizza loaded with veggies!
Week Two
Monday
Breakfast:
Fruit smoothie with a splash of OJ and fresh banana, frozen pineapple, and coconut.
Lunch:
All-American salad with romaine lettuce, corn, peas, and BBQ tofu cubes in a vegan ranch dressing.
Dinner:
Italian night! Your favorite pasta and tomato sauce with fake meatballs and whole grain garlic bread.
Tuesday
Breakfast:
Fresh squeezed OJ, cereal with soy or rice milk, served with blueberries, sliced banana, and strawberries.
Lunch:
Veggie chili with corn bread!
Dinner:
Mashed potatoes, Gardenburger Meatless Riblets, and sautéed collard greens and Swiss chard.
Wednesday
Breakfast:
Fresh squeezed OJ and toaster waffles with sliced strawberries, bananas, and peaches.
Lunch:
Vegan Caesar salad with fake chicken chunks.
Dinner:
Brown rice and lentils with steamed broccoli and red cabbage.
Thursday
Breakfast
: A shitload of cantaloupe.
Lunch:
Fake deli meats on whole grain bread with lettuce and tomato and a side of Asian cole slaw (shredded carrots, red cabbage, green cabbage, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and sesame seeds).
Dinner:
Fake meatloaf served with corn on the cob, peas, and sautéed spinach and garlic.
Friday
Breakfast:
Smoothie time with a splash of apple juice and peaches, blueberries, raspberries, and a dash of flaxseed oil tablespoon of ground flax seeds).
Lunch:
Japanese lunch of avocado rolls, miso soup, and a small salad.
Dinner:
Veggie burger with sautéed mushrooms, onions, soy cheese, lettuce, and tomato served with baked French “fries.”
Saturday
Breakfast:
Fresh squeezed OJ and vegan French toast with blueberries, strawberries, and banana.
Lunch:
Mixed greens with hearts of palm, sun-dried tomatoes, yellow tomatoes, asparagus, basil, garlic, and pine nuts in an oil and vinegar dressing.
Dinner:
Veggie dog loaded with veggie chili and soy cheese, served with vegan potato salad.
Sunday
Breakfast:
Fresh squeezed OJ and a fake egg sandwich (using House Tofu Steak-extra-firm tofu, sliced and pan fried, with fake bacon and soy cheese on a whole grain bagel with soy butter, salt, pepper, and ketchup).
Lunch:
Split pea soup and a mixed greens salad.
Dinner:
Penne with butternut squash and raw pesto (pine nuts, basil, garlic, olive oil).
Week Three
Monday
Breakfast:
Fresh squeezed OJ and slow-cooking oatmeal with apples, cinnamon, and pecans.
Lunch:
Whole-wheat vegetable wrap with sautéed eggplant, porta-bella mushroom, and roasted red peppers served with a small side salad.
Dinner:
Veggie stir-fry with green peppers, carrots, zucchini, tofu, bok choy, onions, and garlic served with brown rice.
Tuesday
Breakfast:
A big-ass hunk of honeydew melon.
Lunch:
Salad greens with red onion, cherry tomatoes, black beans, and corn, served with a baked sweet potato.
Dinner:
Baked Teriyaki tofu with brown jasmine rice and steamed green beans.
Wednesday
Breakfast
: Fresh- pressed apple juice and a whole grain bagel with peanut butter, jelly (organic and sugar-free, of course), and sliced banana.
Lunch:
Mediterranean platter with hummus, eggplant, grape leaves, falafel, peppers, olives and tomatoes.
Dinner:
Veggie burrito with pinto beans, brown rice, guacamole, soy cheese, lettuce, tomato, and salsa.
Thursday
Breakfast:
Granola with bananas, blueberries, strawberries, and soy or rice milk.
Lunch:
Portabella mushroom burger with arugula and caramelized onions, served with an avocado-tomato salad.
Dinner:
Veggie lasagna with red sauce, your favorite veggies, fake ground meat, and tofu ricotta (in food processor, blend firm tofu, garlic, salt, small amount of olive oil, and dried oregano).
Friday
Breakfast:
Fruit salad—go crazy!
Lunch:
Fake tuna (Tuno with accents of shredded carrots, chopped onion, diced celery, and Vegenaise) on whole grain bread served with a handful of baked corn chips.
Dinner:
Steamed broccoli, carrots, kale, red cabbage, cauliflower, and tofu with brown rice, drizzled with sesame oil and sea salt.
Saturday
Breakfast:
Ranchos-fake-Huevos wrap with scrambled tofu, sautéed onions and peppers, black beans, avocado, and salsa in a corn tortilla.
Lunch:
Chinese fake chicken salad with snow peas, cabbage, carrots, mandarin oranges, fake chicken chunks, and cashews.
Dinner:
Seitan (fake wheat-meat) with steamed leeks, white beans, and garlic-roasted potatoes.
Sunday
Breakfast:
Fresh squeezed OJ and apple cinnamon pancakes with raspberries and bananas.
Lunch:
Fake bacon, lettuce, tomato, and avocado on whole grain bread with leftover roasted potatoes from last night’s dinner.
Dinner:
Veggie shish kabobs with green peppers, red peppers, mushrooms, onions, cherry tomatoes, and Gardenburger Meatless Riblets, served with corn on the cob.
Week Four
Monday
Breakfast:
Fruit smoothie with peaches, banana, and strawberries and a splash of soy or rice milk.
Lunch:
Chef’s salad with mixed greens, carrots, tomatoes, vegan cheese, and assorted chopped fake deli meats.
Dinner:
Fake steak with a baked sweet potato, lentils, and steamed kale.
Tuesday
Breakfast:
Fresh-squeezed OJ and toaster waffles with banana, strawberries, and blueberries.
Lunch:
Veggie minestrone soup with a small side salad.
Dinner:
Veggie dog smothered in veggie chili, served with collard greens.
Wednesday
Breakfast:
Fresh-pressed apple juice and slow-cooked oatmeal with dates, raisins, walnuts, and bananas.
Lunch:
Grilled soy cheese with tomato and a small side salad.
Dinner:
Shepherd’s pie with vegan mashed potatoes, fake ground meat, lentils, corn, and sautèed spinach and mushrooms.
Thursday
Breakfast:
Fresh-squeezed OJ, an entire grapefruit, and a whole grain muffin.
Lunch:
Veggie chili with an avocado-tomato salad and a handful of baked corn chips.
Dinner:
Fusilli with zucchini, olives, basil, tomato, garlic, and olive oil served with whole grain Italian bread.
Friday
Breakfast:
Fresh-squeezed OJ and cereal with peaches, banana, blackberries, and soymilk.
Lunch:
Cucumber and avocado roll with miso soup and a small salad.
Dinner:
No-cheese or vegan-cheese pizza loaded with veggies!
Saturday
Breakfast
: Fake egg sandwich.
Lunch:
Fake chicken Caesar salad.
Dinner:
Steamed cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, and red cabbage over brown rice.
Skinny Bitch
Sunday
Breakfast:
Create your own fruit smoothie!
Lunch:
Veggie burger with sautèed mushrooms, avocado, lettuce, tomato, onion, and sprouts served with roasted potato wedges.
Dinner:
Fake chicken patty with BBQ sauce, black-eyed peas, collard greens, and corn on the cob.
*Feel free to snack on a handful of raw organic nuts each day.
**If you really want to treat yourself right, have fresh-pressed veggie juice every day. (Fresh-pressed, not packaged or pasteurized.)
***Don’t forget to include organic, caffeine-free teas and to drink eight glasses of water a day.
****We include a list of recommended cookbooks toward the end of the book. Either buy a book or use the Internet for easy vegan recipes. One great site, veganpeace.com, includes recipes and a review of veggie cookbooks. Another winner is VegCooking.com.
Feeling gutsy and wanna branch out on your own? Go for it—shop ‘till you drop. Here are ingredient lists of unfamiliar terms to help with your grocery outings. (Please be warned, this section is boring.) 0
Bad or Potentially Bad Ingredients*
Alanine or amino acids:
The building blocks of protein in all animals and plants. Make sure they are plant derived.
Albumen or albumin:
Found in eggs, milk, muscles, blood, and many vegetable tissues and fluids. May cause allergic reaction. In cakes, cookies, candies, and some wines.
Ambergris:
From whale intestines. Used as a flavoring in foods and beverages.
Aminosuccinate Acid
or
aspartic acid:
Can be animal or plant source (e.g., molasses).
Arachidyl proprionate:
A wax that can be from animal fat.
Alternatives are peanut or vegetable oil.
Artificial Color, FD & C food color:
Derived from coal-tar. Can contain trace amounts of lead and arsenic. Potentially carcinogenic. Alternatives: coloring from grapes, beets, turmeric, saffron, carrots, chlorophyll, annatto, alkanet.
Beta carotene, provitamin A:
A pigment found in many animal tissues and in all plants. Used in the manufacturing of Vitamin A. Make sure it is derived from plant sources.
Bone meal:
Crushed or ground animal bones. In some vitamins and supplements as a source of calcium.
Butylated Hhydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene
(BHT):
An antioxidant and/or preservative commonly found in baked goods, canned items, powdered soups, bacon, foods containing artificial colors or flavors. Can cause cancer, birth defects, and infertility.
Carmine, cochineal, carminic acid:
Red pigment from the crushed female cochineal insect. Reportedly, 70,000 beetles must be killed to produce one pound of this red dye. Used in red applesauce, and other foods (including red lollipops and food coloring). May cause allergic reaction.