Your Second Vegan Menu Plan:
For People Who Don't Cook

This second vegan menu plan is great for people who really want to eat healthy and avoid meat, but don't have time to cook every meal.

Maybe you have a hectic work schedule, or kids to cart all over town. Or maybe you just don't really enjoy cooking.

This meal plan is designed for people who go out to eat for lunch often and call for take out for dinner. You can learn to cook a few of these meals if you have extra time, but they are made for ordering in restaurants.

Also, keep in mind that if you live in a big city, you are probably blessed with many vegetarian-friendly or even fully vegan restaurants. I've found them in the most unlikely cities, and I adore eating at different places around the world, so make sure to search around when you start your vegan diet.

Eventually you are probably going to want to learn a few great dishes, and when you are ready you can start to combine with the first vegan menu plan, or a more comprehensive menu plan, including recipes, pictures, nutritional data, and weekly grocery lists, like our Fall and Winter vegan meal plans as well as our Spring and Summer vegan diet plans. 

For now, here are some great ideas for how to eat on the second vegan menu plan, what I dubbed the "I don't have time to cook" menu.

Day One of the Second Vegan Menu

Click here for your (small) grocery list for this second vegan menu

Breakfast

• Unsweetened Instant Oats with Dried Fruit, Flax Meal, and Cinnamon (from the bulk section, not prepackaged oats)

Lunch:  A sandwich shop or deli

• Whole Wheat Bagel
• Hummus
• As many veggies as you can order
• Tabbouli salad

Dinner: An Italian or Mediterranean restaurant

• Whole grain pasta with vegetables
• Salad with vinaigrette dressing
• Fruit smoothie

Snacks

• Apple

Day Two

Breakfast

• High-fiber, low-sugar cereal with almond milk and banana

Lunch: Sandwich shop or deli

• Low-sodium vegetable soup
• Salad with tons of veggies

Dinner: Try an Indian restaurant

• Look for: spinach, tofu, whole wheat chapati, tomatoes, chickpeas, other vegetables
• Watch out for: ghee (clarified butter), cream in sauces, eggs

Snacks

• Fresh berries from the market

Day Three

Breakfast

• Instant Oatmeal with Dried Fruit, Flax Meal, and Cinnamon

Lunch: a Japanese or Asian Fusion restaurant

• Edamame
• Miso Soup (make sure it's not chicken stock)
• Vegetable Sushi with multi-grain or brown rice

Dinner: Bake a few easy things at home (or buy precooked)

• Baked sweet potato
• Baked tofu
• Roasted vegetables
• Brown rice

Snacks

• Carrots and hummus

Day Four

Breakfast

• High-fiber cereal with nondairy milk and banana

Lunch: A veg-friendly burger shop

• Veggie burger on whole grain bun
• Low-sodium vegetable soup

Dinner: Burrito joint or Mexican restaurant

• Whole Wheat Bean Burrito
• Add: Any vegetables they have
• Watch Out For: cheese, sour cream, beans cooked in beef
• Side Salad with lots of colors, seeds, and fruit

Snacks

• A Few Slices of Melon

Day Five

Breakfast

• Scrambled Tofu and whole grain toast (try making it at home, or eat at a veg-friendly restaurant)
• Strawberries 

Lunch: Greek or Mediterranean restaurant

• Falafel Sandwich on whole wheat pita
• Hummus
• Greek salad without feta cheese

Dinner: Thai restaurant

• Look For: Pad Thai, Pad See Ew, other vegetarian dishes
• Watch Out For: eggs, egg noodles, fish stock, shrimp paste

Snacks

• 1/4 cup raw nuts

Day Six

Breakfast

• Whole wheat toast with nut butter, maple syrup, and raisins
  

Lunch: Asian fusion or American eclectic style restaurant

• Brown rice bowl with sauteed veggies and beans/tofu
• Fruit

Dinner: Pizza Place

• Whole Wheat Pizza without cheese and with many veggies

Snacks

• Fruit smoothie with no yogurt

Day Seven

Breakfast: Health food store

• Oat Bran Muffins
• Banana

Lunch: Most sandwich/deli-style restaurants

• Tomato Soup
• Salad with vegetarian beans and no cheese
• Slice of whole grain bread

Dinner: Ethiopian restaurant

• Vegetarian combination platter
• Watch out for: cooked in butter (it's usually cooked in oil)

Snacks

• Larabar

Ready to Start Cooking? It's Not That Hard,
I Swear

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