Am I getting a balanced diet?

[Vegan_Ruby]

So most days I have:

Breakfast: Porridge - made with half a cup of oats, and half and half water and almond milk (with a pinch of salt and cinnamon)

Lunch: in a salad - about a handful of red cabbage, one carrot, salad tomatoes, an apple, some cucumber, handful of spinach or lettuce, one betroot. For the dressing I add a table spoon of hummus, a bit of Nandos medium sauce and a pinch of salt

For dinner: Normally I have a mix of celery, bell peppers, carrots, onions, garlic (most meals these are all fried in olive oil), sometimes peas. And I make risottos, pasta (add in a few canned tinned tomatoes, and herbs and spices), some times when I fry up some of that veg and have it with wedgies and baked beans. Sometimes I have baked sweet potato with fried mushrooms, garlic and onions, with seasoning; with baked beans and a grated carrot.

Keep in mind I am vegan

Thanks

[velvetD]

Sounds very healthy to me. The only suggestions I would make is use a nut Oil to stir fry with instead of the olive oil. Use the olive oil on the salad, much better for you that way.

For dinner introduce different veg such as cauliflower, broccoli, butternut squash, parsnip, swede, courgette etc, mainly to give you a variety of different tastes and textures and give you the widest range of vitamins and minerals possible.

Steaming the veg can help keep nutrients and makes a change from frying.

Or simmer in a small amount of water and adding a little corn flour or ground oats to make it thicker and it becomes like a veg casserole.

Your diet sounds very balanced, delicious and healthy.

Long may you enjoy it.

Cris

[Vegan_Ruby in reply to velvetD]

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind, I do need a bigger variety of veggies and I'll try that veg casserole thing

[Sue-S]

I am not an expert on vegan food, but there doesn't seem to be any protein here? Perhaps could add pulses/lentils?

[Vegan_Ruby in reply to Sue-S]

Yeah I have been meaning to add some lentils in, I'll look up a few meals I can do

Thanks

[Zest]

Hi Vegan_Ruby,

Welcome to the Healthy Eating forum.

I can see you've had some helpful replies, and I just wanted to add that you might also find this link to the Vegan diet page on NHS Choices to be helpful too:

nhs.uk/Livewell/Vegetarianh...

Zest

[Vegan_Ruby in reply to Zest]

Thanks

[Vegan_Ruby]

Ok I'll look up some healthy fatty foods I can add in

Thanks

[deejames]

I woukd be careful about your protein. Baked beans sometimes is not enough. Use a variety of pulses and make sure your pasta and rice are wholemeal. Include nuts as well. You should have at least one of these sources of protein every day. It's worth doing a proper calculation of the protein you are eating. There seems very little fat and the vegetables are a little limited in variety.

Have you tried tofu as a source of protein ?

A vegan dieting needs to be very careful to get the balance of nutrients correct.

Dee

[BadHare]

Hi Ruby,

Your nutrient intake from veg is good, but you're very low on protein.

100g of hummus, which is half a pot, has 8g of protein, & you need 35-40g of protein a day. One tablespoon will only have about 4g. It's also very high in salt, so perhaps cut the extra salt & sauce out in favour of eating a whole tub. If you want it spicy, add chilli or cayenne.

I'm veggie, & made myself ill being vegan by relying on unhealthy soya products to increase my protein intake. I now only eat fermented soya products such as miso & tamari.

I add lots of beans & lentils to an risottos, soups, & casseroles I make, for protein, kidney beans are high, & also chickpeas that are in hummus. Aim to eat the equivalent of at least 1 can of beans a day to get more protein. Also check the labels & nutrition data as they vary in nutritional value, eg, 100g of baked beans has 6g.

The Vegetarian & Vegan Societies are very good for providing nutritional information & recipes.

Mel

[Sue213]

Breakfast: Not seen much in the use of nuts here. I often make my breakfast (Muesli) of organic oats, I add raisins, flakes almonds and I crumble up a few walnuts. Get the protein and the good fats. You could add your almond milk and eat cold - lovely in the summer

[hivin]

do you still love eating? think we should eat what we like with a little propper sense. i am an indian male 61 married.so much selected food can send spinning to some kind of drepression.

[Bazza1234]

How about adding some beans to your diet ( not canned baked beans) - for their protein and fibre. There are many delicious recipes for the many different varieties of beans . I especially like black turtle beans and red kidney beans.

[Hidden]

Hello,

You need to get more protein into your meals, especially if you are a vagan. You also need to make sure you are getting enough B12 vitamin. You could also add some fruit to your oats.

Protein: Quorn products, Lentils, beans, quinoa. You could also add flaked almonds to your oat breakfast for a bit more protein. You could also add seeds. You could also add raisins for a bit of extra protein.