When it comes to healthy eating, including more plants in your diet is always a good choice.
From being friendlier on your wallet and waistline to cutting down on animal products, people often choose a plant-based diet based on a variety of factors.
But before we dive into your 5 -day plant-based meal plan, let’s discuss what specifically a plant-based diet looks like.
What Is A Plant-Based Diet?
There seem to be some differing opinions out there, but here at Get Healthy U, we believe that a plant based diet means including as many whole and minimally refined plant options in your diet as possible while limiting highly refined flours and sugars, dairy products and animal protein.
Notice, we do include a couple animal protein options in the below meal plan as we believe meat can still be a part of a healthy plant-based diet, and it can be difficult for many (ahem, husbands) to go completely meat-free the entire week, but it’s definitely not the focal point.
This 5-day plant-based meal plan we created is full of delicious vegetables that give your body the nutrition it needs without lacking flavor. Plus, each dinner delivers tons of variety, from soups and salads to stir fry and burgers (yes, burgers!).
What Are The Benefits of a Plant-Based Diet?
As mentioned, people choose to abide by a plant-based diet for a number of reasons. Here are just a few reasons to incorporate more plants into your meals:
Eating more (and mostly) plants:
- Can aid in weight loss
- Is less expensive
- Cuts down on land and water use
- Can help ward off disease
- Improves heart health
- Reduces animal slaughter
- Improves skin appearance and elasticity
Sounds like a pretty good list, right? You ready to jump in?
Below you’ll find your 5-day plant-based meal plan which includes a dinner recipe for each weeknight.
We often use dinner leftovers for our weekday lunches, however, if you’re looking for additional lunch ideas, we’ve includes plant-based recipes that are easy to make for lunch and travel well too!
Related: 13 Healthy Vegan Recipes From Breakfast To Dinner
Plant-Based Lunch Ideas
Roasted Red Pepper and Hummus Wraps
A wrap makes for the perfect lunch at work or on the go. This vegetarian wrap is a delicious combo of veggies and whole grains plus you get added protein from the hummus that will give you energy and keep you fueled!
This Greek salad is the perfect make-ahead recipe. Prep it on Sunday and then dish it up for lunches all week. Talk about getting your serving of veggies for the day!
Another great lunch option is our skinny vegetable soup that is under 200 calories per serving. Plus, you can totally customize the recipe based on the veggies you have on hand or your favorites. And feel free to omit the turkey and sausage if you want a strictly vegetarian recipe.
5-day Plant-Based Meal Plan
Monday: Beet Burgers with Chipotle Aioli
Serve with: Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges
Think you can’t eat a burger on a plant-based diet? Think again.
While it’s not your typical beef burger, this beet burger with chipotle aioli is hearty and delicious all the same.
This recipe was developed from many restaurant and grocery store taste-tests to come up with the perfect texture and flavor that even meat lovers will enjoy.
Serve it with a side of sweet potato fries for an extra veggie addition to your meal that makes it seem like a true burger & fry diner experience.
Tuesday: Teriyaki Salmon Salad
This salad is a true Get Healthy U team favorite.
We love the addition of salmon on this salad for additional protein and flavor that elevates this meal to a filling dinner.
Plus, we love the zesty Teriyaki dressing so much, we’ll often double it and save it in the fridge for additional meals.
Get the full plant-based meal plan below!