Hi, below we are going to give you not just one, but two plant based breakfasts, lunches and dinners.
Each will be made with mostly whole foods so that you get the greatest nutritional benefit and the lowest cost per meal. Because it’s generally going to be true that whole foods are less expensive and have greater nutritive value than packaged foods.
Before we dive into the meals there are a few things we need to cover so that we are all on the same page when it comes to plant based eating.
What Does Plant Based Eating Mean?
Being a plant based eater means that you eat only plant foods. Because the phrase is ‘plant based’ one could assume that you’re only ‘based’ in plants and could or can eat animal products if you choose to.
However, no, in the way that it is meant in the plant based, vegan culture the two are interchangeable. The term plant based came about to soften the term vegan because the word vegan was getting some negative reaction and press.
People saw vegans as these hard-nosed people that would scream at you or at least look down on you if they saw you eating animal products.
A joke became synonymous with the culture that went like this: How do you know if someone is vegan? You don’t have to worry, they’ll tell you.
Vegans were seen as people who wore their animal activism on their sleeve.
Plus, if you’re vegan you can’t wear leather, have leather seats in your car or house, use products that were tested on animals and much more.
So, the term plant based was developed for those people who want to change their dietary habits to eating strictly plant foods but not change the rest of their lifestyle. If they choose to wear leather sneakers, a leather belt or sit on a leather sofa they can, but the foods they consume are exclusively of plant origins.
The term was quickly picked up by marketers who were hungry to find broader based audiences for their vegan products. Since veganism was seen by many as some sort of a cult, the broader, softer term of plant based was adopted by many companies and personalities in the space in hopes that they could attract more people with it.
There may be some argument as to the resolute point of the meaning. However, knowing how the term plant based came into being, this is a pretty good description.
The next 2 questions we get the most, both revolve around protein.
How Do Vegans And Plant Based Eaters Get Their Protein?
The answer to that is very simple. Vegans and plant based eaters get their protein from the same sources you do, they just cut out the middle man.
What?
Think of it like this. You feed a cow around 24 pounds of hay per day if they also have pasture access. That cow may eat another 12 to 24 pounds of foraged material such as the field grass, leaves and other matter it finds.
The average cow is slaughtered at an average of 12 to 22 months with the mean being at about 18 months. The average weight of a cow at slaughter was 1,379 pounds in 2019 with only 719 pounds of usable meat.
So, 48 pounds of food per day times 548 days (18 months) = 26,304 pounds of food consumed. The cow has 719 pounds of useable meat which equals 26.584 pounds of food consumed to get one pound of that useable meat.
The plant based eater or vegan doesn’t eat the one pound of usable meat at one sitting, instead they eat the more than 26 pounds of plant material at likely more than 26 meals and get the protein from the same place your protein (the cow) gets its protein (plants).
Of course, they don’t eat hay, they eat all sorts of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and much more, but the equation remains the same.
The second question vegans and plant based eaters always get is:
Is Plant Based Protein Any Good?
The answer is that it’s far better for you than animal protein, here’s why.
1. The body breaks down all proteins into amino acid chains or singular ‘free form’ amino’s. The body literally cannot tell the difference so long as all the essential amino acids are present.
This means that; if you consume plant proteins or a mixture of them where all the essential amino acids are present then you will be able to reconstruct, heal, build muscle and use them in every capacity as well as if they were from animal sources.
2. Plant based proteins are generally free from cholesterol, saturated fats and steroids that are usually found in animal protein sources. Each of these are well documented in their adverse effects on humans.
3. Plant based, whole food – vegan proteins generally have all the phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals in them, whereas animal sources are all but devoid of most or have just a little of a few.
Sure, there are exceptions such as beef liver being high in iron. However, how often do you really eat beef liver? And since the liver is the filter for many of the toxins in the body, do you really want to eat something that even when washed still contains the toxins in concentration from the cow?
In this way plant protein sources are far superior to animal sources.
4. Plant based whole food – vegan protein sources generally contain fiber. Nearly all meats are virtually devoid of fiber.
5. Meat protein sources generally contain many more calories per gram of NUP’s net utilizable proteins than their plant counterparts. One reason is the animal fat of course, but even without the fat they still take more calories to deliver the same amount of useable protein.
6. Nearly all animal sources of protein must be cooked. With plant based sources only a few need to be cooked and in fact most are advised to eat in their raw forms.
We all know that heat destroys the proteins, nutritional profile and even alters the physiological structure of the food and so, for the most part raw foods will always be more healing and nurturing to the body than cooked foods.
The third bonus question you might say that almost everyone asks is.
Which Whole Food Plant Based Protein Source Is The Best?
The answer to that has to be lentils.
With approximately 18 grams of protein per one cooked cup and only 230 calories it’s a nutritional powerhouse that cannot be ignored.
Yes, most forms of beans and legumes are going to be a valuable protein source. However, lentils pack more protein into less calories than any of the others.
They have a complete amino acid profile all by themselves, so they don’t need any special food combining and they taste great mixed in with a huge variety of other foods, spices and seasonings.
Are These Plant Based Recipes For Beginners?
Yes, they are. Not to worry, you won’t need to be a 5-star chef to knock these recipes out of the park. They are easy, fast and simple to prepare.
What Are The Easiest Plant Based Recipes?
The easiest plant based recipes are going to have to be of the chop and eat varieties such as salads, fruit salads and so on.
However, the easiest way to eat as a plant based or vegan eater is to do meal prep and then just portion out things as you need them.
Here’s how that works.
Let’s say that, twice per week you cook up the majority of your foods. You boil your lentils and beans, prep your brown rice, bake a tray of vegetables and whatever else you fancy.
Then, you just scoop out from those containers a little of this, a little of that, season it a bit more to your tase, heat and eat or eat it cold, depending upon what is it.
This is really easy, it takes by far the least amount of time and it’s very efficient.
Because, in the end that’s what we all really want, the best result, with the most flexibility that also takes the least amount of your overall time.
Now on to the recipes.
Here Are Your Plant Based – Vegan Recipes For Breakfast, Lunch And Dinner
We call the following recipes, but in truth, given how simple they really are, you may not end up thinking of them as recipes at all, but more like guidelines.
2 Whole Food Plant Based – Vegan Recipes For Breakfast
1. This one may sound a little weird at first, but once you do it, we think you might just be hooked for life.
Add 8 ounces of water (preferred) or your favorite plant based milk alternative like almond or rice milk and pour it into a high speed blender.
Take one cup of boiled lentils that have been cooled or refrigerated and ad them to the blender.
To the blender than add:
1 tablespoon of your preferred brand of unsweetened cocoa powder.
1 heaping tablespoon of spoon for spoon stevia sweetener (spoon for spoon sweeteners are those that measure the same as sugar).
4 standard ice cubes.
Blend this for about 20 seconds on high speed until it’s just pure liquid.
Place one cup of preferably raw oats or 2 cups of cooked oats into a large bowl.
Chop one banana and add it to the oats.
Cover the oats and banana with the mixture from the blender.
Stir until mixed.
Eat.
It tastes great as is. You may adjust it to your liking. Such as, maybe you like more or less cocoa or more or less sweetener etc. Go for it.
This one dish has a minimum of 31 grams of protein and nothing but pure clean goodness that you can feel proud of.
2. Breakfast number 2. This one is so easy that you may think you’re cheating.
From your pre-prepared foods that we talked about above place the following into a bowl.
1 cup of lentils.
1 cup of brown rice.
Heat this in a pan or in the microwave until hot.
Add I teaspoon of real extra virgin olive oil after heating and mix it all together.
Slice half or a full avocado and lay it on top. If you don’t like avocados just leave it off.
Sprinkle the seasoning called Spike over the top of it to your taste preference and eat.
This simple, little meal is incredibly versatile. You can have it for lunch, dinner or whatever you like. You can add more to it like veggies or nuts and seeds. Be creative and make it your own.
2 Plant Based – Vegan Lunches That Are Fast And Easy
1. This first one may freak you out just a little when you first hear about it but trust us, try it, you might just like it.
They are actually 2 different sandwiches for you to test out and see how you like them. They are resounding favorites in some of our households here at HealthGetters.
The Peanut Butter And Dill Pickle Sandwich (Yum)!
It’s just as fast and easy as it sounds.
Start off with your favorite whole grain bread.
Put as much peanut butter on the bread as you like.
Add a layer of sliced dill pickles on top of the peanut butter.
Place the other piece of bread on top of that to form a sandwich and enjoy.
Man is that good.
If you’ve never had one, you have to give it a shot. You might just love it.
2. Plant Based Lunch Number 2
Open Faced Lentil Barbeque Sandwich
This is SO quick, easy and tasty you’ll likely go back to it again and again.
Heat 1 cup of lentils in a pan or microwave until hot.
Add your favorite BBQ sauce until it’s nice and juicy and has enough to make it taste great for your tastes.
Lay a slice of your favorite whole grain bread on a plate.
Pile the full cup of BBQ lentils onto the bread.
Season with a little Spike seasoning and enjoy.
This will give you that incredible BBQ flavor that you’re craving but without the guilt.
Here Are Your 2 Plant Based Dinner Recipes
1. Plant Based Taco Salad
This is so easy that it’s almost criminal. You can literally have a super nutritious, easy dinner that tastes great in just a few minutes and the cleanup is a breeze.
Using a large mixing bowl, chop as much of your favorite type of lettuce as you want. 2-3 cups are usually good.
Add 1 cup of pre-prepared lentils, beans or fried tofu cubes into an appropriately sized pot.
Use natural taco seasoning to taste. The one we use is called Bearitos. Just be sure to read the label, so that it doesn’t contain anything you can’t have such as MSG (monosodium glutamate).
Heat until hot.
Cut up as much tomato, cucumber and red, yellow or orange bell pepper as you like and add them first.
Now add in your hot mixture, stir and eat.
It’s that simple.
2. Your Second Plant Based Dinner Recipe
Chop 2-3 cups of your favorite fruits into a large mixing bowl. Bananas, apples, grapes, oranges, pineapple and tangerines work really well.
Using either plant based keifer or plant based yogurt put one cup of either into a separate bowl. Add in fresh berries to the kiefer or yogurt along with stevia until this mixture is tasting as sweet and as ‘berrylicious’ as you like it.
Then pour the berry mix over the top of your fruit bowl and mix those two together.
Then take a half cup of your favorite nuts (walnuts work well for this) chop them into semi small pieces and pour evenly over the top of your mixed fruit berry bowl.
Then just dig in.
That’s it, it tastes great, and you’ll love it.
The key to these recipes is that they’re easy. We have found that if they’re not easy, people just won’t make them. And, we can say for sure, we’d rather have you make them than not.
Sources:
1. https://beef.unl.edu/cattleproduction/forageconsumed-day
2. https://beef-cattle.extension.org/what-is-the-age-range-for-butchering-steers-i-am-trying-for-prime/
3. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/lstk0118.pdf
4. https://www.popsci.com/plant-protein-healthier/ 5. https://nutritionstudies.org/animal-vs-plant-protein/