Planning your vegan plate

As the conclusion to my mini-series of blogs looking at the healthy vegan diet, I’ve pulled together the main points from the past few weeks’ posts to outline what factors we should be considering when planning a vegan diet, or weekly meal plan.

Health targets

Healthwise, we need to maintain a healthy weight and the best way to do this is to keep an eye on our BMI. There are lots of online calculators that will assist. If you’re tipping the scales a little, then below I’ve outlined the calorie targets to shed a few pounds. We also need to keep an eye on blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Even if you tend to keep away from the doctor’s surgery, it’s a good idea to have an annual check-up, rather like the MOT for your car. In France, we are lucky that annual blood tests are the norm, so whilst you’re arranging one don’t forget to ask for your vitamin D and B12 levels to be checked, too.

Healthy eating

The recommended calorie intake for average adults are 2000 for women and 2500 for men. If you’re pregnant, recovering from illness or injury or an athlete then your levels are likely to be different. Calorie intake should be divided between the main three macronutrient groups: protein (10–20%), fats (20–35%) and carbohydrates (55–75%). One gram of protein or carbohydrate contains about 4 calories, whereas one gram of fat is twice that amount at 9 calories. Protein intake should be based on your weight, and the recommendation for vegans is very slightly higher than for omnivores at 0.9g per kg of body weight. For a healthy intake of fibre and fuel, don’t ditch the carbs. Base your carb intake on complex wholefoods like beans, wholewheat pasta, brown rice and lots of vegetables. Recommendations for overall carb intake are between 180g and 330g per day. Finally, don’t forget fats. The good guys are the mono- and polyunsaturated fats, stick to these and try to avoid excess intake of saturated, hydrogenated fats and trans fats.

Vitamin and mineral concerns

Vegans need a vitamin B12 supplement. This is an absolute – there is no natural source of good B12 in the vegan diet and this must be supplemented. In addition, keep an eye on your intake or levels of vitamin D, calcium (RDA 1200mg), iron (RDA 8mg) and iodine (150mcg). Another essential is to ensure adequate intake of omega 3 oils, and a good balance of omega 6: omega 3. Other vitamins are usually well-sourced in a vegan diet. Vitamin A, essential for the immune system, vision and skin, is found in red, yellow and orange fruit and vegetables, and spinach. Vitamin C also supports the immune system and healing – remember the advice to eat lots of oranges to ward off the ‘flu? In addition to oranges, it’s found in red and green peppers, broccoli, strawberries and potatoes. Another immune supporter is vitamin E, which is sourced in various oils like olive and soya, plus nuts and seeds. Finally, spinach and broccoli come up trumps again for vitamin K, essential for blood clotting.

Planning your vegan plate

There are a few different suggestions for planning an ideal vegan diet. In the UK, the NHS advocates the Eatwell Plate, but this has not been adapted for a vegan diet, save to say that “Pulses, such as beans, peas and lentils, are good alternatives to meat because they're lower in fat and higher in fibre and protein, too.” (NHS website). However, both the Vegan Society and Viva! Health have produced their own versions of the Eatwell Plate. The Vegan Society’s advice is based on the bible of vegan nutrition Becoming Vegan by Brenda Davies and Vesanto Melina, which emphasises the importance of calcium-rich foods. Of the following proportions, they recommend 25% (a quarter) of each category should be made up of calcium-rich food: vegetables 27%, fruit 23%, grains 23%, nuts 4% and legumes 23%.

Sometimes, all this information can seem a bit overwhelming. I for one certainly never gave protein, carbs or calcium a second thought when I was a meat-eater. (Yes, like most of us, I was brought up eating meat and regrettably came to vegan quite late in life.) However, take a closer look and you’ll see that the advice is very similar. Generally, I find that our daily meals fall quite nicely into the average of all the recommended categories. Here’s an analysis of a typical day in the food life of Mr VV, based on an average calorie intake of 2500. It also splits the daily calorie intake according to meals into breakfast 20%, lunch 30%, snacks 20% and dinner 30%.

Breakfast: 200 ml berry smoothie (made with 1 cup frozen/thawed red berries, 1 cup fortified soy milk, I large banana, ½ cup spinach frozen-thawed); 2 slices wholemeal toast with 2 tablespoons peanut butter.

Total calories 584; protein 24.6g; iron 32.2%; calcium 28.5%; fat 22.1g; total carbs 78.5g

Mid-morning snack: 2 almond and chia energy balls

Total calories 444; protein 10g; iron 16%; calcium 16%; fat 22g; total carbs 62g

Lunch: 2 smashed chickpea and avocado salad sandwiches, made with 4 slices wholewheat bread

Total calories 293; protein 11g ; iron 22%; calcium 14%; fat 10g; total carbs 43g; other Vit a 112%, Vit C 63%

Afternoon snack: ½ cup walnuts

Total calories 392; protein 9.1g ; iron 10%; calcium 6%; fat 39g; total carbs 8.2g; other good source Omega 3

Dinner: Lentil spaghetti Bolognese, wholewheat pasta and dessert of 1 x 150ml pot of non-dairy fruit fortified yoghurt

Lentil Bolognese: Total 488 calories; fat 3g; sodium 539mg; potassium 1258mg; total carbs 88g; dietary fibre 15g; sugars 11g; protein 22g;others %RDA: iron 29.9%; Calcium 6.7%; Vit A 50.4% Vit C 20.7%

Pasta: 174 calories; fat 1g; sodium 4mg; potassium 112mg; total carbs 35g; dietary fibre 4.6g; sugar 0.9g; protein 7g; others %RDA: iron 11%; Calcium 2%

Yoghurt: 150 calories; 2g fat; 26mg sodium; 29g total carbs; 1g dietary fibre; 21g sugar; 4g protein; 6% iron; 30% calcium

Other: one vitamin B12 supplement 25mcg; up to cup of non-dairy milk for drinks, tea, coffee, etc.

Overall totals:

Total calories: 2525

Total protein: 87.7g

Total calcium: 103.2% RDA

Total iron: 127.1% RDA

Total carbs: 343.7g

Total fat: 100.1g