This Vegetarian Meal Plan collection was developed for you by Linda Fleming, who serves on the NutriBase Advisory Board. This Meal Plan Collection offers vegetarian Meal Plans at eight calorie levels, ranging from 1000 to 2800 calories. A sample week from this Meal Plan Collection is available for your perusal.

The primary goal for these Meal Plans is to deliver a healthy, balanced eating plan that is high in nutrition. Each Meal Plan includes eggs and dairy products, but excludes meat, poultry, and fish. You will find these eating plans contain many fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and "healthy" fats such as omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids - fats that tend to be lacking in the typical American diet. These plans carefully control total calories and the PCF ratio (percent ratio of Protein, Carbohydrates, and Fat). The PCF Ratio for these plans is 20-50-30.

Many of the recipes used in this plan include flax seeds or flax seed oil and snacks often include nuts. It should be noted that use of flax seed oil requires some care. Because the omega-3 fats are fragile, heat destroys them. For this reason, flax seed oil should be stored in the refrigerator and should not be used in cooking, but added after cooking, as demonstrated in the recipes in this Meal Plan.

As a result of the reliance on plant-based foods, these Meal Plans are naturally low in cholesterol. The wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains also make this a high-fiber diet, with the average daily fiber intake ranging from 28 grams for the 1000 calorie Meal Plan to 76 grams for the 2800 calorie eating plan.

It should also be noted that fruits and vegetables are nutritionally dense foods that provide many nutrients per calorie. In addition to the vitamins and minerals that we are able to measure and track, these foods are known to contain an array of phytonutrients such as lycopene, lutein, and many others that can help decrease your risk of chronic disease.

Protein content is high despite the lack of animal products. These Meal Plans provide 20% of calories in the form of protein, most of which comes from sources that include dairy products, eggs, soy products, and beans. By relying on plant sources of protein, these plans are able to deliver substantial protein levels without the high levels of saturated fat and cholesterol that often accompany non-Vegetarian Meal Plans.

Linda also took precautions to keep harmful trans fats to a minimum. These fats are present in products that contain partially hydrogenated oils, which are used extensively in commercially prepared foods. For example, the whole wheat AkMak crackers found in many snacks were chosen specifically because they contain no trans fats.

Glycemic Index (a measure of the amount a food raises blood sugar) was considered in the selection of carbohydrates used in these plans wherever possible. Therefore, added sugar is kept to a minimum as is white flour and other refined grains.

We're confident that these plans will provide you with good nutrition... we hope you also find the recipes in these Meal Plan delicious as well. It can be enjoyable to eat healthfully!

This Meal Plan is included with NutriBase, version 5.1 and greater. Please email us anytime by clicking the email icon in the lower right corner of any page on this web site to share your comments or suggestions regarding these Meal Plans. :-)