Vegan Talk Forums

BigBecka · Animal defender Joined: 02 Dec 2006 Posts: 412

I worry a lot about whether I eat the right nutrients in a day - I've taken multivitamins for most of my life(!) and I am not sure that these are the best way of gaining nutrition. (Except for B12 supplements, which vegans are supposed to take...)

Recently I read an article about what you could eat to avoid taking vitamin pills - unfortunately, the resulting plan was not vegan

So, I'm trying to put together a vegan plan for what should be eaten in a day.

If anyone knows of any recommended diet plans, or has any comments or advice, please let me know! I'm not a nutritionist!

Here's the non-vegan plan, to give an idea of what I'm trying to achieve. It was formulated for a 24 year old female athlete, who runs six miles a day.

Breakfast
1 packet muesli
1 cup low-fat milk (over the muesli)
1 orange
1 large apple
2 string cheeses (?!)

First Lunch
Raw vegetables (e.g. carrots, pepper)
2 slices hearty sandwich bread
1 can tuna
2tbsp lite mayonnaise

Second Lunch
1 'Luna Bar' (fortified sports nutrition bar)
Low fat yoghurt
30 almonds

Dinner
Large colourful salad
1/2 tsp olive oil dressing
2 beef burgers
Bowl of cooked vegetables
Hot cocoa made with milk

by Nancy Clark [www.nancyclarkrd.com] for 'Ultra-Fit' magazine vol. 18 no. 3 [www.ultra-fitmagazine.com]

BigBecka · Animal defender Joined: 02 Dec 2006 Posts: 412

My personal one is in progress. But I'm going to base it on the following daily plan from 'Vegetarian Cookery' by Patty Fisher. I want to improve on this plan because, although Ms Fisher is a lecturer in Nutrition, it was published in 1985 and nutritional advice has changed quite a bit since then. It also doesn't take into account that certain nutrients inhibit the absorbtion of others.

Daily Food Needs for Vegan Adults
85g almonds or brazil nuts or 14g sesame seeds
170g bread
28g plain chocolate (or 7g cocoa)
283ml enriched vegetarian milk
113ml orange juice or a fresh orange
57g soya flour
28g wheatgerm, or 57g oatmeal
1 serving fresh vegetables, raw or cooked
Plus, weekly, enriched margarine, green vegetables, pulses and yeast.

Daily Food Needs for Vegan Children & Teenagers
85g almonds or brazil nuts or 14g sesame seeds
283g mixed bread or 226g brown bread
28g plain chocolate (or 7g cocoa)
569ml enriched vegetarian milk
113ml orange juice or a fresh orange
57g soya flour
28g wheatgerm, or 57g oatmeal
1 serving fresh vegetables, raw or cooked
Plus, weekly, enriched margarine, green vegetables, pulses and yeast.

In addition to the above requirements, the book suggests eating 'Fuel Foods' such as cakes, biscuits, pastry, potatoes, etc. as required to maintain your weight.