A day of meals & exercise- Veggie style

Hello folks,

Spring and Summer are just around the corner and lots of people are looking to shed some extra pounds before it's time to go to the beach.

What does a day look like for you health-conscious people out there?

This will provide a great basis for people who are looking for a typical healthy day of meals minus the meat and maybe some exercise ideas to compliment the healthy eating.

Looking forward to your responses!

xo brighteyes

I'll start:

Breakfast - Oatmeal with flax and loads of blueberries & cinnamon coffee

Lunch - Fajita wrap - Whole wheat tortilla with grilled onions, peppers & mushrooms, black beans, corn, avocados and tomatillo salsa & Ice Water with lime

Dinner - Bibb lettuce cups with tofu, cucumbers, carrots, cilantro, rice noodles, asparagus spears, chopped peanuts & chili lime sauce & Green Jasmine Tea

Snack -  Air popped popcorn with a little lime and salt sprinkled throughout

Exercise - I walked to and from work today instead of taking the shuttle, and I plan to take a Zumba class tonight :)

Your turn!

I guess I'll be first to reply!  :)

I'm not trying to lose weight--just maintain and increase my physical fitness.   I'm an ovo-lacto vegetarian, and I'm always on the lookout for healthy, inexpensive and quick meals for a college student.    Normally I consume 2000-2500 calories to maintain, depending on my activity level.  I try to get about an hour of brisk walking and an 45 min. of cardio (elliptical and/or jogging) into my daily routine. 

Your eats look delicious, brighteyes!  Mine aren't quite as exciting, but here they are:

Breakfast: large banana; protein bar

lunch: 1 c. vanilla soy milk; large granny smith apple; starbucks latte; 2 T. delicious chocolate hazelnut butter (not Nutella--just hazelnuts, cocoa powder, and sugar, made by Justins Nut Co)

dinner: 6 oz. nonfat yogurt; Amy's black bean burrito; coffee

snack: large spinach salad with Italian dressing

(Only reached 1500 cal today--wasn't very hungry for some reason)

Exercise: 1 h. brisk walking--ran out of time for elliptical today

B: spinach, blueberry, avocado, hemp smoothie

L: kale salad w/ tofu, roasted beets, red bell peppers, pumpkin seeds, dijon dressing

D: vegetable bean soup

Snacks were fruit, nuts/butters, a larabar, everything worked out to about 2700 calories

Morning: 3.5 mile run

Evening: 1 hour lifting: worked on snatch, deadlift, and overhead squat today, plus pushups and pullups

I am having trouble getting enough calcium in my daily diet.  I  can not eat soy as I have an intolerance to it.  Any suggestions

I also have an intolerance to soy and dairy; I drink almond milk enriched with calcium, but I also take liquid calcium magnesium citrate ( I like Bluebonnet brand) - it is tasty and very convenient :) 

Breakfast - Coffee with almond milk, a banana

Snack- Raw veggies (carrots, broccoli, spinach)  with hummus (I add cayenne for a kick!)

Lunch - Indian seasoned lentils, brown rice, and a salad of mixed greens with a little balsamic/garlic dressing 

Snack- Grapefruit, Apple or a smoothie (1 apple, frozen berries or tropical fruit, water, 1-2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar, cinn.)

Dinner - Steamed broccoli and baked sweet potato (or seasonal squash) with a little salt-n-pepper and some licorice root tea for dessert (if you've never tried licorice tea you are in for a treat!!)

Exercise - I do yoga in the afternoons; now that the weather is getting nice I love going on long walks in the evenings

Thanks,

I want to get all of my calcium in my diet. I will try the almond milk.  I used to drink it but it is too sweet to put in coffee or even my smoothies. Does any one know a brand of rice milk or almond milk that is not sweet? Or better still does anyone now how to make nut milk from the nuts?

Thanks for the recipe ideas they are very helpful.  I am a new vegetarian and I appreciate the ideas.  I am going to try a few of them this week.

B: (Dakos) Greek bruschetta with barley rusk and feta cheese

Snack: 1 c. orange juice with noni/acai/goci juice

L: indian spiced split peas soup, stir fry cabbage (it keeps me full) and barley rusk

Snack: 1 c. soy milk, 1 date, 10 g. pecan nuts

D: leftovers from lunch+1 boiled egg+lettuce salad.

That gave me around 1450 kcal.

I do 1 hour of walking by the sea every day and 30-50 min of exercising with one of my fitness DVDs. Tonigh I think it will be Tracy Anderson!

breakfast: black coffee, banana, apple, oatmeal with some raisins and a little honey

lunch: vegan vegetable soup, salad with some fresh veggies, chickpeas and balsamic vinegar, and an apple

30-minute run

snack: half a hummus and roasted veggie wrap and some coconut water (for potassium) 

and then tonight for dinner I'm making lentils or quinoa with broccoli and carrots, and I'll probably have some fruit, which for some reason is my favorite way to end every meal

The below would be a weightloss plan.

B: Chocolate green smoothie whole wheat toast tea
L: Salad with hummus or chickpeas, vegan ranch dressing, Apple
S: Sweet potato chili on a salad with a few tortilla chips and some FF Catalinia dressing, grapes

Misc: Tea, water, some nuts or more fruit if I need a snack.

Activity: Walking the dogs for about 3 miles in the morning. Alternate days of The FIRM Hi def sculpt or Kick boxing or Elliptical

More info on those interested in calcium
http://www.drmcdougall.com/med_hot_calcium.ht ml

Our government recommends three times as much calcium as the World Health Organization. Please remember that the USDA role is to promote A/G industries such as meat and dairy and our food pyramid reflects this.
The PCRM has a much healthier version in my opinion
http://pcrm.org/health/powerplate/

I think daily yoga and exercise makes us fit to eat anything in any condition .. It works for me

Hi Bumblebuzz-

It is very easy to make your own almond milk in a blender especially if you have a high speed blender - I have a Blendtec. You soak the almonds for several hours, then blend them with water. Some people add a sweetener like agave, vanilla extract or salt. You have to strain the almonds out of the "milk". It is not that hard and there are special straining bags called nut milk bags you can get over the internet.

I have the same concerns as you over calcium. Here is a good list I have found on some things that will help:

http://www.eatrundoyoga.com/blog/vegan-myth-c alcium/

Can I just say this thread is extra helpful ... I have been looking for daily veg menus for a while and this is going to help so much.

Thanks and when I can solidify my daily menu I will come back and post.

Thanks Again!

love reading about everyone else's noms :)

B: oatmeal with wheat germ, skim latte

S: strawberries

L: stir fry w/ zucchini, yellow bell pepper, peas, carrots, artichoke, chickpeas. ginger tea

S: mango, carrots and peanut butter

D: green lentils with spinach, quinoa, salad w/ avo, tomato, red bell pepper, cucumber, and feta

S: tea with skim milk

Looks like fun!

B: Smoothie in a bowl (banana+a few blueberries, few almonds, soy milk and sprinkled with vanilla granola)

S: Handfull of edamame + Coconut almond mocha

L: Sushi & white tea

S: Stonyfield Raspberry yogurt

D: Salad topped with banana peppers, green peppers, lettuce, cukes, tomato, onion and drizzled with honey mustard +homemade vegan blueberry pancake with sunbutter

Exercise: Today it was lots of power walking, a run and yoga

Day in the life of a gluten-free vegan foodie!

Wake up: Peach or apple juice

Breakast: Overnight oatmeal with rice milk, demerara sugar and fruit (favourites are raspberries or peaches!)

Snack: Puffed millet with almond milk and a chopped apple (Empires are in season right now and they are so good)

Lunch: Curried kidney beans with brown rice (or quinoa) and red pepper (red pepper contains 300% DV Vitamin C and 100% Vitamin A. Vitamin C helps you absorb all that wonderful iron!)

Snack: Hummus with broccoli, carrots and cucumbers

Dinner: Lentils with rice (Dal Bhat) and steamed asparagus and green beans

Even given the fact that you typically don't absorb nutrients as easily from plant foods, I always meet my protein and iron needs while keeping less than 10% of my calories from fat. The rice milk I buy is fortified so Vitamin B12 and D has never been an issue for me either :) Who says you can't be a veggie and still have it all?

For exercise, I love the stepper! I aim to burn at least 500 calories everyday and mix it up with weight training every other day. Only 5 pounds to go till my goal weight!

This is awesome. I want to resurrect this.

breakfast
two organic scrambled eggs, salsa, and a whole wheat wrap; handful of blueberries; strawberry green tea

lunch
salad w/ spring mix, toasted pecans, granny smith apple slices, spicy apple cider vinaigrette, and red onion; tomato slices; baked porto mushroom slices; black organic coffee; white chocolate cranberry blondie

dinner
two small bean, tomato and nutritional yeast burritos in whole wheat tortillas

exercise
7 hours working (server type work), 20 minutes biking, 20 minutes calisthenics

This is what I ate a couple days ago.  I think it's pretty representative of an average day for me.

b (116 cal)- hot cereal (1/4 c. wheat bran, 1/4 c. oats, 1/2 T. cocoa powder, 1/2 c. water, cooked in the microwave)

s (139 cal)- sm. apple (165 g); sm. tomato (50 g.)

l (252 cal)- sweet potato (209 g) topped with: 1 c. baby bella mushrooms (steamed) and 3 oz. soft tofu, mashed and mixed with 1 tsp. hoisen sauce

s (250 cal)- 1/4 c. TVP cooked with 1/4 c. chopped apples, cinnamon, stevia, and vanilla extract; 6 oz. organic blueberry soy yogurt

s (198 cal)- 90-cal pack of kettle corn; salad topped with: 2 c. spinach, 2 T. nonfat dressing, 1 T. TVP, and 3 oz. diced tofu, marinated in 1 tsp. soy sauce

d1 (321 cal)- seitan made with 1/4 c. vital wheat gluten, 1 T. TVP, and 1 tsp. each of soy sauce, hoister sauce, and Worcestershire sauce; 1/2 butternut squash (351 g) baked and topped with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, stevia, and vanilla extract

d2 (331 cal)- garden salad made with 1 c. spinach, 50 g. chopped apples, 50 g. red grapes, and 100 g. diced tomato; vegan kielbasa 'sausage'

s (198 cal)- sm. apple (150 g); hot cereal made with 1/4 c. wheat bran, 1/4 c. TVP, and 1/2 c. baby bella mushrooms, cooked in 1/2 c. water

breakfast
organic scrambled eggs w/ diced portobella mushroom in a tomato basil wrap; fresh pineapple; orange juice

lunch
chili noodle bowl; three almond cookies; orange juice

snack
chocolate soy milk; dill pickle slice

dinner
tba

exercise
30 minute walk; 45 minute exercise video 

Breakfast

Two whole wheat toasted slices of bread (no salt, no fat and no sugar added in bread), 1 small banana and 1 tbsp of almond butter. Coffee with almond milk.

Snack

Rennet free cheese with red, green and yellow bell peppers, carrots and snow peas.

Lunch

Butternut squash and kidney bean chutney/pumpkin seed and chipotle pesto on a bed of basmati rice. Organic yogurt. Peppermint tea.

Snack

Hummus and cherry tomatoes with a few almonds.

Dinner

1 trout filet (local-hook caught and environmentally sound) with broccoli, cauliflower and spinach. Oolong tea with dark chocolate and an apple.

Original Post by lexmb1:

Breakfast

Two whole wheat toasted slices of bread (no salt, no fat and no sugar added in bread), 1 small banana and 1 tbsp of almond butter. Coffee with almond milk.

Snack

Rennet free cheese with red, green and yellow bell peppers, carrots and snow peas.

Lunch

Butternut squash and kidney bean chutney/pumpkin seed and chipotle pesto on a bed of basmati rice. Organic yogurt. Peppermint tea.

Snack

Hummus and cherry tomatoes with a few almonds.

Dinner

1 trout filet (local-hook caught and environmentally sound) with broccoli, cauliflower and spinach. Oolong tea with dark chocolate and an apple.

I would *love the recipe for your butternut squash and kidney bean chutney/pumpkin seed and chipotle pesto!!!!!

Hi vno,

This renders 4 servings so you can keep for lunch or supper the next day:

BUTTERNUT SQUASH

- one and a half cups of butternut squash, diced (approx. a half of a small butternut squash)

- one half of a cup of red onion, diced

- one third of a cup of celery, diced

- 1 tsp garlic, chopped

- 1 can of red kidney beans (540 ml), drained and rinsed

- 1 cup vegetable stock

- 2 tbsp of olive oil

PESTO

- one half of a cup of raw pumpkin seeds

- 3 tbsp parsley, chopped

- 2 tbsp of cilantro, chopped

- 3 tbsp of olive oil

- 1 chipotle pepper (I use one from a small jar that I but at the grocery store).

OTHERS

- one quarter of a  lemon

- 1 cup basmati rice, plain

- 3-4 stalks of cilantro for decoration

PREPARATION

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in medium sized pot and brown butternut squash until golden and soft (salt and pepper to taste). Add 1 more tbsp of olive oil along with the onion, celery and garlic. Cook until soft (approx. 5-6 minutes). Add vegetable stock and beans and simmer until liquid is almost completely absorbed.

Roast pumpkin seeds and add to food processor along with the parsley, cilantro, chipotle pepper and 3 tbsp of olive oil and chop until desired texture.

Prepare 1 cup of rice (recipe calls for basmati, but surely you can modify with any other rice if you prefer).

Once rice is done, serve in bowl and add butternut squash mixture on top, along with a small amount of pesto and stalks of cilantro. Just before serving, squeeze in a little bit of lemon juice to tasting. We add a lot more cilantro simply because we love it!

You can really adjust this recipe to taste. More heat in the pesto, less oil, more butternut squash, etc…. Also, you can soak your own beans if you do not want to buy canned. I love this and so does my husband! Hope you enjoy it just as much as we do. I had gotten this out of a magazine (can’t even remember which one) and ever since, prepare it at least 2-3 times a month. It’s that good!