7-Day Vegetarian Meal Plan: 1200 kcal (2024)

Whether you’re new to vegetarianism or looking to add more variety to your meals, this week-long vegetarian meal plan will help you stay on track and enjoy a balanced diet.

If you’re unsure of exactly what vegetarian diet is, or what type of vegetarian diet you want to follow, you can go through this section. It gives you the lowdown on everything vegetarian eating, from benefits and considerations right through to meal prep tips. If you want to get straight to the vegetarian meal plan we’ve made for you though, keep reading!

7-day Vegetarian Meal Plan

We’ve put together a 1,200-kcal Lacto-Ovo vegetarian meal plan, which includes breakfast, dinners, and snacks. We’ll also be adding tips on how to convert it into a Lacto Vegetarian or an Ovo-vegetarian meal plan if you want. Not sure about the difference?
In this table, we’ve included the different types of vegetarian diets just in case you’re not familiar with them yet. And if for some reason this doesn’t quite meet your needs, you can skip to this section for our other vegetarian meal plans.

Reminder: It’s a recurring theme in our meal plans to repeat recipes throughout the week. We recommend this to encourage you to cook in batches to save time, energy, and resources when following a meal plan. You can check this table to to find out which recipes you’ll need to prepare multiple servings of.

Below is a quick overview of the recipes that are repeated during the 7-day Vegetarian Meal Plan:

How to Plan Meals for a Vegetarian

Now that you’ve seen what you could prepare for a whole week of vegetarian eating, maybe you’re curious to see how you could change it up and make new vegetarian meal plan options. Here is a quick summary of how you can ace your next meal plan!

Step 1: Understand the nutritional needs of vegetarians

In this section, you can read about the nutrition considerations when on a vegetarian diet. You need to consider including sufficient food items from different food groups in your diet to help you get all the calories and nutrients you need. Eating carefully can help prevent nutrient deficiencies, especially if you’re new to vegetarian eating plans or diets. Reminder: We’re not just talking about your macros (carbs, protein, and fat), vitamins and minerals are important too!

Step 2: Include a variety of food groups

Now that you know you need to pay special attention to getting your macros and nutrients on a vegetarian diet, you can try to incorporate them by making sure your vegetarian meal plan includes plenty of different food groups. Having different types of food can help you eat a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients – and get good, balanced macros in too.

Here are the food groups that can be parto of a vegetarian diet with some examples:

Step 3: Seek inspiration for your meals

The next step of planning a well-balanced meal plan would only be possible if you have some idea of recipes you want to eat. So it’s good to also check out what other people are planning or to check out recipe blogs. Good thing for you we have both here in Samsung Food!

Here are some vegetarian recipe blogs that we have:

• 8 Hearty Vegan Soup Recipes
• 10 Vegetarian Recipes To Convince Even the Meat-Eaters
• Mouthwatering High Protein Vegetarian Meals

And you can also join vegetarian communities here at Samsung Food!

• Easy Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes
• Vegetarian or Vegan Fare
• Tasty Vegetarian recipes
• Vegetarian Delights 🥦😋
• Vegan/Vegetarian Student Meals 💚

Step 4: Plan a balanced meal

With the information you now have on food groups and nutritional considerations, you can try to ensure that each meal is balanced with macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein, fats) and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals). Often, vegetarians struggle to get enough protein – so be sure to prioritize good sources of vegetarian protein and add a protein shake or supplement if needs be.

An example would be:

Breakfast: Chia Yogurt Parfait can be a good vegetarian breakfast option since it has protein (yogurt), carbohydrates (berries, granola), healthy fats (chia seeds).

Lunch: is a good lunch option since it has protein (quinoa, chickpea, and almonds), carbohydrates (quinoa and vegetables), healthy fats (tahini)

Dinner and snack: a good snack can be a handful of almonds and for dinner, a nice serving of Veggie Tofu Stir Fry with rice can be a balanced meal since it has: Protein (tofu), carbohydrates (rice and vegetables), healthy fats (sesame seeds and oil)

Step 5: Create your shopping list

Now that you’ve planned your meals for the entire week, it’s time to create a shopping list! Create a detailed shopping list based on your meal plan to streamline grocery shopping and ensure you don’t forget anything.

Meal Prep Tips, Advice, and Reminders for a Vegetarian Diet

• Cook in Batches: Prepare large quantities of grains for your vegetarian meal plan. Examples are quinoa, brown rice, or whole wheat pasta. Store them in the refrigerator for use throughout the week.

• Roast Vegetables: Roast a variety of vegetables at once, such as sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and bell peppers. Store them for easy side dishes or additions to salads.

Use Mason Jars and Containers:

• Salad Jars: Layer salads in mason jars with the dressing at the bottom to keep ingredients fresh and prevent sogginess.
• Portion Snacks: Portion out snacks like nuts, fruits, and veggies into individual containers for easy grab-and-go options.

Use your Freezer Space:

• Freeze Meals: Prepare and freeze meals like soups, stews, and vegetarian patties to have healthy options ready to heat and eat on busy days.
• Smoothie Packs: Prepare smoothie ingredients in freezer bags for quick and easy breakfasts.

Food Safety Reminders for Your Vegetarian Meal Plan

Keep in mind these tips when preparing meals in advance:

• Start with clean hands and surfaces.
• Use separate utensils, cutting boards, and cooking equipment if needed
• Use fresh ingredients and check expiration dates.
• Keep raw and cooked foods separate.
• Cook foods thoroughly and cool them quickly.
• Store meals in airtight containers with labels and dates.
• Thaw safely in the refrigerator, under cold water, or in the microwave.
• Reheat to 165°F (74°C) before eating.
• Use or discard leftovers within a safe time frame.
• Trust your senses – if it smells off, looks odd, or has mold, discard it.

What is a Vegetarian Diet?

A vegetarian diet primarily consists of plant-based foods. The specific foods included can vary depending on the type of vegetarian diet being followed.

Types of Vegetarian Diets

There are several types of vegetarian diets, each with varying degrees of restriction on animal products:

Other Vegetarian Meal Plans

As mentioned above, we’ve focused our 7-day Vegetarian Meal Plan on lacto-ovo, lacto and ovo vegetarian. But if that’s not the vegetarian meal plan you’re looking for, we also have these readily-available meal plans:

• Vegan Diet Meal Plan for Beginners
• 7-Day Pescatarian Diet Meal Plan

Nutritional considerations when on a vegetarian diet

Adopting a vegetarian diet can be a healthy and nutritious choice, potentially, the health benefits can be:

• Improved Heart Health
• Generally lower in calories and saturated fats.
• Reduced Risk of Chronic Diseases
• Better Digestive Health

BUT, it’s important to be mindful of certain nutrients that may require extra attention. That’s why it’s also important you have regular check-ups and health screenings with your health care provider and consult a dietitian if you want detailed guidance in terms of your eating and food guidelines.

Here are some key nutritional considerations to ensure a balanced vegetarian diet:

It’s a common challenge for vegetarians to eat enough protein in a diet especially if they’re planning to eat a high-protein plant-based meal. To help you out with this, we have this guide for reference.

One of the best benefits of a vegetarian diet

Choosing a vegetarian diet isn’t just a potentially healthy diet option but can also the environment, as it’s a sustainable way of eating. You might ask, “How?”

A third of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) comes from food-related production, specifically from agriculture and land use for meat production and farmed fish and seafoods.

So a plant-based diet, rich in whole foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds, lentils could help reduce carbon footprint of different food products.

If you want to read more about this, you can go to this website.

FAQs on Vegetarian Diet