How to Create a Vegan Meal Plan

Hi there! I’m Brandon,

and Vegan Imagination is my passion project.

I discovered veganism while studying Sports Nutrition at university and for six years I’ve been helping people adopt a plant-based lifestyle they really love. Need help or just want to ask me a question? Drop me a line!

LEARN

Creating meal plans can be a very challenging task, but many of us are more than capable of it. If you enjoy a challenge, planning your meals can be a very rewarding thing to do. Not only is it nice to know what to expect, but it’s also great for your budget – and despite what people say, it’s easy to do as a vegan.

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Starting a routine for your meals can take a lot of the stress out of your weekday. Structure and planning is often lacking in our lives. Everything seems to slip by so quickly, and bad choices are hard to resist. When you’re starting a new diet, it’s breaking these habits that often poses the most challenges. And when you’re a new vegan, bad choices are everywhere.

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That’s why it’s so important to meal plan. If you just follow a few simple guidelines, then creating meal plans that actually work for you should be a breeze.

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First of all, you want to make sure that you are setting aside a time every single week to sit down and actually think about your meal plan. You don’t want to be caught unawares when it comes time to prepare a healthy meal and you suddenly realize you have no idea what to make, what ingredients to get or how long to expect you will have to be cooking for. It can be a huge mess and can often lead to unhealthy temporary fixes like junk food or animal products.

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Getting into a routine can help you reduce these issues. Pick one specific time every week to sit down and work on your meal plan. You could even do it a couple of weeks in advance, just make sure that you are keeping up on it.

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Secondly, take into consideration the kind of foods you actually enjoy. Even though you no longer eat animal products, there must be some already-vegan foods you’ve always loved. Include a lot of these – unless they’re really bad for you! - to make it easier. Think about things you want to eat and if you are new to veganism, simply seek alternatives to your favourite foods to start out with, such as soya burgers. That way, it isn’t too much change at once.

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If you want to build new habits you cannot overwhelm yourself. You have to do what you are comfortable with and make slow, steady changes. That way you are changing your whole lifestyle to fit a new routine, not always feeling like planning meals is something strange and foreign to you. Make sure you are thinking about the ingredients you have on hand and left over from the week when you are planning your meals if you want to be extra budget friendly. There is no reason to waste food just because you are making plans for the future. In fact, planning should help you to eliminate waste and save a lot of money!

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So if you want to make meal plans that work, don’t veer too far from your old normal. Make the time, then make the meal!