well rounded vegan diet

I'm new to this whole vegan thing and I need to find a good 1500 to 2000 calorie diet. Would anyone be able to provide a sample menu?

Go for grains, beans, fruit, vegetables, nuts --- I think it's best to eat a variety of things every day. There are some things I try to eat everyday, like a bowl of oatmeal with ground up flax seeds, but usually the menu is different from day to day.

I'm new to this whole vegan thing and I need to find a good 1500 to 2000 calorie diet. Would anyone be able to provide a sample menu?

Could you post a sample of your "prevegan" diet, and we can go from there?

In general, as Will said, variety is important, particularly varying the color of fruits and veggies you eat, to attempt to get a full spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue/purple, white) each day. Each color is associated with a different phytonutrient, like red and lycopene, so the variety assures you have a balance of nutrients.

Also watch for:

A balance of macronutrients (protein from beans, lentils, hemp, seitan; carbohydrates, from grains--which I like to limit--vegetables and fruits; and healthy fats from nuts, avocados, flax, hemp);

Sources of B-12, iron, calcium and zinc. (Whole food sources are what I prefer when possible).

The closer you can stick to a whole foods diet (avoiding processed foods) the healthier you will be, IMO.

Vegan diets can vary greatly from person to person, so you have to find what works for you. Finding someone with the same goals you have (and probably the same gender, since our goals may be different!) and seeing what they eat is a good start. (Just watch out for advice from the "junk-food" vegans, which, I hope, are not apt to be on this forum!)

I'm new to this whole vegan thing and I need to find a good 1500 to 2000 calorie diet. Would anyone be able to provide a sample menu?

Lots of little meals - ie 3 meals and 3 snacks. Eating throughout the day will keep your metabolism stoked. Watch your portions for these meals and drink lots of water. Do you like fruit, veggies ? What type of grains and legumes do you like ? Do you like almonds and walnuts ? Liking what you will be eating will help a great deal.

Some vegan staples to get are oatmeal, soy milk, morning star vegan grillers (the best imo, but be sure the box says vegan), brown rice, whole grain bread, fruits and veggies that you like, etc. Once you list what you like, we can go from there.

I like all of the things you listed. Do you have a diet that you stick to? I'm new at becoming a vegan so I'm still looking to expand. I intend to cut out eggs and dairy as soon as I figure out a good diet that I can stick to. I'm pretty open minded to try just about anything. Appreciate all the help. Thank you.

Personally I try to stick to this one:

Multi vitamin, selenium and zinc supplements. Unlimited water and green tea and up to 3 cups coffee per day.

Breakfast:

Protein Bar and fruit

or

Granola type cereal with soy milk

or

Soft Pretzel or Bagel (Whole Wheat or Multi Grain)

or

Soy Yogurt

Snack:

Handful of dried fruit and nuts

or

Fresh fruit

Lunch:

Soy yogurt

1 handful of nuts and seeds (Almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, various seeds)

or

2 Tbsps Natural Peanut Butter on 2 Slices Whole Wheat and Flax Seed Bread

6 oz. soy yogurt

or

Salad: Lettuce, pasta, sundried tomatoes, mushroom, walnuts, olives with oil and vinegar dressing

or

Brown Rice with steamed veggies and tofu

Snack:

Fruit or Veggies or Soy Yogurt

Dinner:

The ideal would be:

Mixed Veggies (Baby spinach, tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, etc) with a little flax seed oil mixed with olive oil, vinegar and/or lemon juice.

But I usually have:

Some type of veggie or soy protein (veggie burger, veggie hot dog, or tofu, tempeh, seitan) with rice or pasta and veggies

Soy yogurt or soy milk

If I'm hungry Snack:

1 piece of fruit or glass of orange juice

Get rid of sodas (diet included) - or try to cut back as much as possible. I drink some Snapple, but am trying to limit those as much as possible.

Make sure you get lots of leafy green veggies and soy milk and/or soy yogurt for calcium per day. Try and incorporate flax seeds each day for your Omega 3s (oil, ground, etc.). If you don't like these alternatives, there's a cerealthat contains flax seeds in it.

What kind of activity or exercise do you like to do ?

thank you very much for the diet plan i will give it a shot. i mainly do alot of running 18-25 miles per week and 1 and a half hours of basketball 3 times a week and again thank you very much for the sample diet

You're welcome ! Let us know how it works out.

This would be a healthy base with no deficiencies except for D2 and you could probably use some extra B12 also. I'd suggest a supplement for those.

You could juice or blend part of the veggies and fruits. You could add some whole grains on top of this if you wished, or protein powder, or more monounsaturated fats, or all three, if you wanted more kcals.

And also, I rarely see this mentioned, but you could give preference to the local things in season in your area. That is much better for the planet.

sweet fruits

1/2 cup blueberrries

1 cup grapes

2 oranges

1 peach

1 cup pineapple

1 cup strawberries

leaves

1 cup napa cabbage

1 cup collards

6 cups romaine

1 cup turnip greens

nonleafy veggies, fungi, and nonsweet fruit

3 mushrooms

1 onion

1 carrot

1 red bell pepper

1 baby zucchini

1 cup sweet potato

1 medium tomato

legumes

1 cup blackeyed peas

2 cups mung sprouts raw (about 1 cup cooked)

1 cup fortified soymilk

fats

1 brazil nut

3 walnuts

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp flax seed

kcal: 1581

protein: 53 g

fiber 63 g

vitamin C: 736 mg

d: 92 IU

e: 16 mg

thiamin 2.3 mg

riboflavin 2.2 mg

niacin 19.8 mg

b6: 3.3 mg

folated 1304 mcg

b12: 3 mcg

pantothenic 9 mg

k: 1 mg

calcium 1067 mg

iron 18.9 mg

magnesium 598 mg

phosphorus 1134 mg

potassium 6520 mg

zinc 13 mg

copper 3.3 mg

selenium 106 mg

omega6: 11.5 g

omega3: 5.8 g