Looking for a vegan meal, “Meatless Monday” dinner, or an easy way to get more veggies on your plate? We have delicious plant-forward meal ideas to help you get started. Eating plant forward means building your meals around high-fiber foods like fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, legumes, and whole grains. It’s about emphasizing plant foods, but doesn’t exclude other food groups. There are varying degrees of eating approaches under the umbrella of “plant forward.”
Why is it Good For Me?
Plant foods provide nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that work together to promote good health. They are also the sole source of fiber, a non-digestible carbohydrate that helps you feel full and helps support heart health. “There are decades of really strong research to support eating plant foods,” says Wegmans nutritionist Kirby Branciforte, RDN. “It’s associated with a lower risk of type two diabetes, depression, heart disease, and certain cancers.” Because each plant food has a unique combination of nutrients, it is important to enjoy a variety each day!
Weekly Meal Plans
Just looking to include more fruits & veggies in your diet?
Check out this assortment of recipes for the week.
Tuesday
Slow-Cooked Mediterranean Chicken Stew Recipe
(20 min prep, but cooks in slow cooker most of the day)
Vegetarian Weekly Dinner Plan
Vegetarian recipes contain no meat, including beef, chicken, pork or seafood. Ingredients may include eggs, dairy, and honey.
Vegan Weekly Dinner Plan
A vegan meal does not contain any ingredients that have been derived from animals, including meat, fish, dairy, eggs, honey or anything made from these.
Vegan FAQs
What is a vegan diet?
A vegan diet does not allow any food or ingredient derived from animals including, meat, fish, dairy, eggs, honey, or anything made from these. For example, a noodle made with eggs would not be vegan.
What is the difference between vegetarian and vegan diets?
Similar to a vegan diet, vegetarian diets do not allow foods that involve the death of an animal. However, vegetarian diets are more flexible than vegan diets as they may include foods that come from or are made by animals, such as milk, eggs or honey.
Is a vegan diet healthy?
A vegan diet that includes a variety of minimally processed whole plant foods and enough calories can be a part of a healthy lifestyle. However, like any diet that restricts or avoids an entire food group, it’s important that a vegan diet be planned and followed appropriately to make sure it provides enough essential nutrients to support optimal health. Nutrients that can be a concern for folks following a vegan diet include protein, calcium, iron, omega-3 fats EPA and DHA, and vitamins D and B12. We recommend you talk with your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian before beginning a vegan diet to make sure this eating approach is right for you.
What are vegan sources of protein?
There are a variety of vegan sources of protein to choose from if you’re living a vegan lifestyle. These include beans and legumes; nuts and seeds; nut and seed butters; tofu and other soy foods such as edamame, seitan, and soymilk; and whole grains such as quinoa, oats, and wild rice. Most fruits and veggies contain small amounts of protein as well.
Is a vegan diet the best diet for the planet?
The interaction between food production and the environment is complex. In 2019, experts from various fields including human health, agriculture, political science, and environmental sustainability came together to publish a report called “Food in the Anthropocene: The EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems.” This EAT-Lancet Commission used the latest scientific evidence to develop a “planetary health diet” that is both health-promoting and environmentally sustainable. Their proposed dietary pattern is flexible: mostly minimally processed plant foods, but optionally including modest amounts of fish, meat, and dairy foods. Producing food from plants generally uses less resources and is less stressful on the environment than producing foods from animals. However, farming practices play a big and important role in the impact of food production on the environment, and sustainably producing foods from animals can be an environmentally friendly use of resources.
How do I find Wegmans Brand vegan products?
Look for our Vegan Wellness Key on Wegmans Brand packaged products that meet our vegan labeling criteria. Wegmans Brand products produced in-store that are labeled “vegan” meet our Vegan Wellness Key criteria; however, in-store produced items have potential for cross-contact with non-vegan ingredients through shared preparation areas (including ovens, cutting boards, utensils, grills, and fryers).