A Guide to Balancing Your Vegan Plate

If you have ever struggled understanding what a balanced vegan plate looks like, this guide will help give you a better understanding. Learn what to eat on a plant-based diet to keep you satisfied and nourished.

Going vegan can be both really exciting and also really overwhelming. There is a lot of information out there, and some of it might even sound conflicting. So how do you go vegan successfully? This vegan plate guide will help give you a better understanding of important vegan food groups to focus on.

What Does It Mean To Be Vegan? 

Veganism is an ethical choice to reduce harm to animals, humans and the planet to the best of your ability. When we apply these principles to dietary practices, vegans do not eat meat, poultry, fish, or animal byproducts like eggs, dairy products and honey.

What Do Vegans Eat?

Whenever “diet” comes to question we often think about what we shouldn’t eat. But an easier way to define a vegan diet is to talk about what vegans actually eat. Finding replacements for this you already love can help normalize this way of eating and make change less scary.

Plant-based eating includes consumption of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes in various whole food and processed forms. Both whole food options and processed vegan foods can help meet various nutrient needs while supporting social normality, convenience and accessibility.

Is Eating a Plant Based Diet Safe?

Following a vegan or plant-based dietary pattern can be appropriate for all stages of the life cycle including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, adolescence, older adulthood, as well as for athletes. These guidelines are also recommended and supported through the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and sited along with their full peer reviewed and evidenced based position paper. 

Beyond Food

It’s important to remember that there are many things that vegans do outside of eating to help minimize harm. This can include animal and human activism, examining purchases, environmental work to reduce waste, exploring cultural practices that can further creating and providing vegan goods, etc.

What is the Difference Between Veganism and Plant-Based Eating?

Remember, veganism at it’s core is an ethical choice, not a diet. Vegans consume a plant-based diet, but you don’t have to be vegan to benefit from plant-based dietary choices.

If you’ve been vegan curious, but hesitant fr any reason, just know that any work towards vegan or eating more plant based foods leads to a reduction of harm. Something is always better than nothing! We do so much better when we think of what we can still do instead of what we can’t do. So even if you are not ready to commit 100%, consider that the small things you do can still have a huge impact and still align with your morals. At the end of the day, there is no such thing as a perfect vegan, but we can do our best each day to live with our best intentions.

Health Benefits of a Plant-Based Diet

Those following plant based or plant forward diets high in fiber and diverse in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants are often at a reduced risk of various chronic diseases including:

• Heart disease
• Type 2 diabetes
• Hypertension
• Certain types of cancer

Further benefits also include:

• Lower cholesterol
• Lower blood pressure
• Improved blood sugar control
• Improved weight maintenance 
• Less impact on the environment

The Vegan Plate Method

It can seem very overwhelming to switch to a plant based diet or add more plant-based meals that feel satisfying. You might be concerned primarily with making sure that you are getting enough of what you need nutritionally. So let’s take a look at the vegan plate method to see how we do that.

Vegan Plate Method – Download PDF

Fill ½ Your Plate with Fruits and/or Vegetables

• Benefits: Vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants that can help reduce the risk of developing chronic disease. Fiber rich foods can also help lead to more meal satisfaction and improve overall digestion.
• Sources: Any and all fruits and vegetables that you can find either fresh, frozen or even canned especially if it helps with convenience. Always look to include a range of different colors such as your green veggies (like leafy greens, bok choy, and broccoli) and orange veggies (like carrots, butternut squash, and bell peppers).
• Pro Tip: General guidelines recommend between 5-7 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. A serving is an equivalent of about 1/2 cup fruit or vegetables cooked. If you can’t get a fruit or vegetable in at a main meal, you can also aim to get them in as snacks. I also like to remind everyone that cultural items like sofrito and salsas can help you meet these goals too.

Fill ¼ of Your Plate with Starches or Grains

• Benefits: Provides a wonderful source of sustained energy especially if you opt for more complex carbohydrates that are higher in fiber. Research indicates that complex carbohydrates may help to reduce cardiovascular disease risk and improve blood glucose control.
• Sources: Oatmeal, rice, whole grain breads, wheat/corn tortillas, whole grain pastas, quinoa, barley, millet, teff, amaranth, buckwheat, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, corn, etc.
• Pro Tip: Aim for a least half of your daily grain servings to be whole grains for the increased fiber benefit! Servings will vary depending on your personal energy needs.

Fill ¼ of Your Plate with Plant-Based Protein

• Benefits: Helps to maintain adequate muscle, may add additional fibers to the diet, aids in some absorption and increases your satiation (keeping you full longer).
• Sources: Soy products such as tofu, tempeh and edamame, seitan, green peas, all beans, chickpeas, all lentils, split peas, and most vegan meat replacements (I don’t consider these transition foods, depending on the individual, meat alternatives can be important and worthwhile to include more regularly to meet nutrient needs). Other sources can include nuts and seeds such as hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, peanuts, and their corresponding nut and seed butters. 
• Pro Tip: Thinking protein swaps can help make this transition easier. Replace dairy milk with soy milk for similar protein profiles, opt for tofu in place of eggs to make tofu scrambles, use seitan strips to get the chew or bite you might miss from meats/poultry, mix some lentils with smoky spices to mimic ground meats, and even use chickpeas as the replacement protein in chicken/tuna salad recipes.

Nutrients of Concern

Just like there are nutrients of concerns for those eating any type of diet, plant-based eaters should be mindful of the following nutrients when planning their meals as well.

• Protein
• B12
• Omega 3s
• Zinc
• Calcium
• Vitamin D
• Iron
• Iodine

This might seem overwhelming, but a lot of the deficiencies in these nutrients often occurs when someone isn’t planning their meals appropriately. As an example, someone might adopt a vegan diet and completely remove their main animal protein source without suitably replacing that protein for an appropriate plant-based option. This makes a big difference because that protein source is also providing some of those minerals of concern like zinc and iron.

My best advice if you are not 100% sure of what you are doing, consult a vegan dietitian or a dietitian that is knowledgeable enough on plant-based eating. If a dietitian you meet isn’t well-versed, ask them to refer you to one that can help. You can find a helpful registry here.

Adding More Nutrients to Your Vegan Plate

Awesome! So we got through the foundation, let’s accessorize. Accessories help to make the basics more fun and satisfying. They also serve their own unique purposes.

Healthy Fats

• Why: Fats are an essential part of a healthy diet and are integral to many functions of the body including the absorption of vital nutrients. Fats also help to cushion our most important organs to keep them safe. 
• Recommendations: Consume healthy fats from whole food sources where possible as whole fats tend to have more fiber, vitamins and minerals.
• Vegan sources: Avocados, nuts (walnuts, almonds, cashews, etc.), seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, chia, hemp, and flaxseeds), nut butters, olives, coconut, and plant based oils (olive oil, canola oil, etc.). Aim to also include omega 3 fats like walnuts, ground flaxseeds, hemp seeds and chia seeds.

Fortified Foods

• Why: Including fortified foods in your diet will help hitting certain nutrients a lot easier, and that even goes for non-vegans!
• Recommendations: Check the nutrition facts label and ingredients to confirm that a plant based dairy product or cereals are fortified with specific vitamins of interest like Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, and/or Calcium. Typically 2-3 servings can help with meeting a good portion if not all of these nutrients depending on the brands used. Even if consuming fortified foods, still consider including supplements as detailed below if this is not part of your regular consumption.
• Vegan Sources: Various plant based milks (like almond milk, soy milk, cashew milk, and pea protein milk), some plant based yogurts, cereals and juices like orange juice.

Supplements

• Vitamin B12: Rarely found in non-animal based food products. Vegans need to obtain vitamin B12 from  fortified foods and/or supplements. You can either use a daily B12 supplement of between 25-100 mcg daily or 1000 mcg x2 weekly. 
• Vitamin D: Depending on where you live in the world and how often you are out in the sun it might be difficult to synthesize enough vitamin D regularly, so either ensuring that fortified foods are included in the diet and/or a supplement with 600-800 IU/day may be appropriate to help with maintaining normal levels.
• DHA & EPA: In line with recommendations for consuming omega 3 rich foods. To help replace recommendations for fish oil supplements, you can use an algae based supplement as a swap.

Put It Into Practice

The best way to really understand the plate method is through examples. Think of what was reviewed as a check list and ask “what is missing”, then find a way to fill it in. We’ll go through what to consider throughout the day.

Supplements

Review the need for supplements with your healthcare provider. Take as appropriate in and don’t shy away from fortified foods to further help fill in any gaps. They can be another key area to help ensure you are meeting your nutrient needs. The following would be general ones to include so make sure your supplement or fortified plant based milks and cereals can cover your specific needs.

• Vitamin B12
• Vitamin D
• Omega 3s

Breakfast

High Protein Lemon Blueberry Overnight Oats

• 1/2 Plate Produce: Blueberries
• 1/4 Plate Protein: Fortified Soy Milk and Soy Yogurt, Pepitas, Chia Seeds
• 1/4 Plate Starch: Oats
• Fats: Pepitas, Chia Seeds
• Other Nutrients: Chia seeds provide the omega 3s, fortified plant-based dairy provides the calcium and vitamin D, and the berries and oats provide valuable fiber

Lunch

High Protein Avocado White Bean Sandwich

• 1/2 Plate Produce: Artichoke hearts, scallion, pepper, cucumber, greens
• 1/4 Plate Protein: White Beans
• 1/4 Plate Starch: Whole Grain Bread
• Fats: Avocado
• Other Nutrients: Vitamin C from the lemon and pepper, beta-carotene from the lettuce, potassium from the avocado and beans, fiber from the whole grain bread and beans, and iron from the beans. Learn how to better absorb plant-based nutrients here.

Dinner

Chipotle Lime Black Bean Bowls

• 1/2 Plate Produce: Sofrito (Bell peppers, red onions, garlic, cilantro),
• 1/4 Plate Protein: Black beans
• 1/4 Plate Starch: Rice and plantains
• Fats: Avocado
• Other Nutrients: Calcium from the yogurt, Vitamin C from the lime, potassium from the avocado and beans, fiber from the beans and veggies, and iron from the beans.

Snacks

You can apply the nutrient categories to build satisfying snacks as well! Of course you can keep them simple and use classic ideas like peanut butter paired with apple slices or baby carrots paired with hummus. Think of snacks similar to supplements in that they can be used to fill in gaps with meals.

Not able to get a veggie in at lunch? Snack on a veggie while prepping dinner. Need a little more protein because you fill up fast at meals, snacks can be a great way to fill that in. I have this guide on building balanced healthy plant-based snack boxes using the same strategy for meals here.

Summing It Up

I’ll say it again, all of this information may seem like a lot. The goal here is to make you aware of what we should be aiming for regularly. That doesn’t mean you need to be militant or obsess about every single nutrient. If anything, this is to emphasize the importance of varying up your food choices every so often and make sure that you are not falling deficient on nutrients that can lead you to stop being vegan.

If you are really struggling with building a balanced plate, I highly recommend that you look for and meet with a registered dietitian that supports your vegan or plant based efforts and can provide evidenced based solutions to any issues you might have. Dietitians can help with evaluating what you are eating

References

Melina, Vesanto, et al. “Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Vegetarian Diets.” Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, vol. 116, no. 12, 2016, pp. 1970-1980., doi:10.1016/j.jand.2016.09.025

Davis, Brenda, and Vesanto Melina. “Becoming Vegan: the Complete Reference on Plant-Based Nutrition.” Becoming Vegan: the Complete Reference on Plant-Based Nutrition, Book Publishing Company, 2014, pp. 431-437.

Hever, J. Plant-Based Diets: A Physician’s Guide. Perm J. 2016;20(3):15-082. doi:10.7812/TPP/15-082

Office of Dietary Supplements – Vitamin B12. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB12-Consumer/.

Office of Dietary Supplements – Vitamin D. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-Consumer/.

Looking for more tips?

» Head over to my last nutrition article and learn all about Grocery Shopping Like a Vegan Pro.

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