Today we want to share with you a vegan menu with lunch and dinner for the whole week.
Protein is the nutrient that differentiates a vegan diet from an omnivore one. Protein is a complex molecule made up of amino acids. There are different types of amino acids, some that we are capable of producing and others that we are not, and therefore we must obtain them from food. A food that provides complete protein is one that has all the essential amino acids, those that the body is not able to synthesize by itself.
But this complete protein is not only found in foods of animal origin and there are also foods of plant origin with complete protein: soybeans, chickpeas, some types of white and black beans, pistachios, quinoa, hemp seeds, chia seeds or amaranth. In addition, vegetable protein sources that are not complete can be combined with other foods that complete it, such as legume derivatives (tofu, tempeh, textured soy, etc.), cereals, nuts or seeds.
Table of Contents
Vegan menu
We leave you this weekly vegan menu with lunch and dinner for the whole week that has been designed by the dietician-nutritionist of Alimmenta Adriana Oroz.
Monday lunch
Chickpea salad with yellow, green, red peppers, onion, fresh coriander, avocado and a vinaigrette of lemon juice, olive oil and salt.
Dinner Monday
Cauliflower mashed potatoes served with tofu sauteed with garlic and parsley.
Tuesday lunch
Fake broccoli couscous with pumpkin and roasted carrot and lentils. To prepare the couscous you just have to grate or chop the broccoli in a mincer and then mix it with the rest of the ingredients.
Dinner Tuesday
Vegan soy bolognese textured with vegetables and quinoa. You can cook the textured soy bolognese exactly like a classic bolognese with minced meat: let the soy soak for a few minutes, drain and fry the textured soy with garlic, onion, chopped carrot, natural tomato and oregano. Add your favorite vegetables and quinoa to finish off your plate.
Wednesday lunch
Cooked brown rice, sautéed with vegetables (onion, carrot and green pepper) and almonds with turmeric.
Wednesday dinner
Chickpea tempeh sautéed with onion, broccoli, carrot and mushrooms seasoned with cumin, soy sauce and olive oil. The dish is served with oven-roasted potato cubes.
Thursday lunch
Vegetable-stewed lentils seasoned with your favorite spices, served with oven-roasted pumpkin and a touch of fresh chives.
Thursday dinner
Oven roasted vegetables (zucchini, eggplant, squash, onion and peppers) with crumbled tofu sautéed with garlic, parsley and turmeric and brown rice.
Friday lunch
Pasta spiral salad with vegetables (onion, chard and zucchini) and mango. It can be seasoned with oregano.
Friday dinner
Vegetable wok (onion, carrot, red and green pepper, zucchini and mushrooms) with cooked lentils and couscous.
Saturday lunch
Cauliflower fake couscous salad with carrot and yellow pepper, roasted pumpkin, lamb’s lettuce leaves, quinoa and avocado. Fake couscous is made by sautéing grated or chopped cauliflower.
Dinner saturday
Textured soy stew with vegetables (chard, onion, cherry tomato) seasoned with cumin, soy sauce and curry. Accompanied with brown rice.
Sunday lunch
Cabbage boiled with red beans stewed with vegetables
Sunday dinner
Wok with colored peppers, rice noodles and tofu cubes marinated with soy sauce, turmeric, cumin, garlic and parsley.
Recommendations to complete your vegan menu
- You can accompany the dishes with a portion of healthy fat in the form of olive oil, avocado, olives or nuts.
- To ensure a complete protein intake, you do not have to put all the nutrients in the same plate and they can be distributed throughout the day.
- Remember to finish completing your diet by introducing foods such as nuts, seeds, fruit, drinks or vegetable yogurts enriched in calcium and vitamin D in other intakes throughout the day.
- To enhance the absorption of vegetable iron, something especially interesting in vegan diets you can combine foods rich in vegetable iron such as legumes with foods rich in vitamin C in the same intake: for example with raw vegetables (as it is a vitamin that is lost with heat) such as peppers or carrots, having fruits such as oranges, kiwi, tangerines for dessert or seasoning with lemon or lime juice, peppers, carrots, broccoli … etc.
- It is also advisable to avoid combining foods rich in vegetable iron with foods rich in calcium in the same meal , since it competes with their absorption if, for example, you take a vegetable stew and have a dessert with a drink or vegetable yogurt enriched in calcium.
- To ensure correct calcium intake, you can include calcium-enriched vegetable drinks . The same regular intake of legumes and derivatives, which are rich in calcium, will also help you. With this same objective, you can promote green leafy vegetables, broccoli, turnip greens, curly leaf cabbage, nuts such as almonds, seeds (sesame) or even certain algae.
- Finally: important to remember to take the weekly 2000ug vitamin b12 (cyanocobalamin) supplement that can be taken in daily or weekly doses.
