3-Day Vegetarian Meal Plan for Yogis

When I first became vegetarian ten years ago, my diet consisted mainly of pizza, french fries, and pasta. I had no idea how to take care of my body or how to truly nourish it in a healthy way. I hated cooking and felt like it was a “waste of time.”

Finding yoga really forced me to take a long, hard look at my relationship with food and how it fueled me. I was practicing Ashtanga yoga at the time and my body craved nourishment after my long, powerful, sweaty practices.

So, I quickly learned how to adapt and feed my body what it needed so I can bring my best self to the mat every day. And as a bonus, I had more energy than I ever could have even imagined. So to help my fellow vegetarian yogis, I’m sharing some of my favorite recipes as part of this 3-day vegetarian meal plan.

Note: Feel free to substitute or skip any ingredients that don’t mesh with you or your body.

DAY 1

Breakfast – Breakfast Burrito with Asparagus, Feta Eggs, and Pan-Seared Sweet Potato

For this heavenly start to your day, you will need:

• 2 eggs
• A dash of milk
• 2 stalks of fresh asparagus
• Crumbled feta cheese (as much as your heart desires!)
• 1 large sweet potato
• Garlic, onion and/or spices of your choice
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• A dash of extra virgin olive oil (or coconut oil or cooking oil of your choice)
• Tortilla wrap of choice (whole grain, spinach, roasted tomato, flour, etc. – whatever you like!)

To start, chop up the garlic and onion (as much as you like) and lightly oil a frying pan. Simmer the garlic and onion on low heat until you can smell their aromas and then add the sweet potato sliced into small, bite-sized chunks. Raise the heat slightly and cook until crispy and browned.

While it’s cooking, mix together the eggs, milk, chopped asparagus and crumbled feta into a bowl and whisk. Lightly oil a separate pan and pour the contents of the bowl into it on a low heat. Constantly scrape the pan to evenly cook the eggs. When everything is cooked, mix in the sweet potato and warm a tortilla in a lightly oiled pan on low heat. Fill the contents into the tortilla, wrap to form a burrito and enjoy!

Lunch – Chickpea Salad Sandwich

Ingredients:

• 1 can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
• 1 stock of celery, finely chopped
• ½ onion, finely chopped
• Mayonnaise, to taste
• Lemon juice, to taste
• Dried dill weed, to taste
• Extra virgin olive oil, to taste
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Bread of choice
• Sandwich fillings of choice (lettuce, tomato, avocado, etc.)

In a big bowl, mash up the chickpeas as much as possible and mix in all the other ingredients (except, of course, your bread and sandwich fillings). Salt and pepper to taste and then stuff inside a pita or your bread of choice, adding whichever fillings you’d like to complement the chickpea salad.

Dinner – Quinoa, Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Tomatoes with Oven Roasted Veggies

This is one of my go-to for “fancy” yet simple dinner recipes. You will need:

• 2 large tomatoes, gutted
• ½ cup of quinoa, rinsed and cooked
• Ricotta cheese, to taste
• Fresh spinach, to taste
• Shredded mozzarella cheese, to taste
• Garlic and onion, to taste
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Vegetables of choice
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Chop the veggies and place them onto a large tray to roast in the oven at about 350 degrees F. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and maybe add whole cloves of garlic to roast beside the veggies. Then chop more garlic and the onion and lightly sear in a pan drizzled with olive oil.

Stir in your washed spinach and pan-sear for about a minute or two. Mix the spinach with your quinoa and add as much ricotta cheese as you would like. Drizzle the whole mixture with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste and mix together. Stuff the quinoa mix into the gutted tomatoes and top with as much shredded mozzarella as you would like.

Place the stuffed tomatoes into the oven for about two minutes (just enough so the cheese on top melts) and then remove the tomatoes and the roasted veggies and serve hot.

DAY 2

Breakfast – Greek Yogurt, Granola, Fresh Berries Parfait

A simple and quick start to any day to powerfully fuel you, you will need:

• Unsweetened Greek yogurt
• Unsweetened granola
• Fresh berries of choice (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc.), sliced
• Optional raw honey

Mix everything together in a bowl and enjoy!

Lunch – Cuban-style Rice and Beans with Kale, Avocado and Strawberry Salad

Simple, yet delicious, this recipe calls for:

• 1 can of beans of choice (black, pinto, etc.), rinsed and drained – but keep the liquids from the can!
• Rice of choice (white, brown, etc.), rinsed and cooked
• ½ green pepper, chopped
• ½ onion, chopped
• 4 tbsp. tomato paste
• Garlic, to taste
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Fresh kale, washed and chopped
• Avocado, chopped
• Strawberries, washed and chopped
• Walnuts

Start by cooking the garlic, onion and pepper in a lightly oiled frying pan and then add in the beans, tomato paste, and the liquid from the beans. You can either mix the rice straight into the whole mixture or keep it separate. For your salad, mix together the kale, avocado, strawberries and walnuts. Salt and pepper as desired and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Feel free to add any extra veggies that you’d like.

Dinner – Pan-Seared Moroccan Vegetable Couscous

Ingredients:

• 1 cup couscous, cooked
• Your favorite vegetables (I love to add broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, zucchini, eggplant, carrots, squash, pumpkin, etc.), washed and chopped
• Cheese of choice
• ¼ can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• Garlic and onion, to taste
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Cumin, cinnamon, ginger and/or other spices of choice

Chop the garlic and onion and simmer with olive oil in a pan on low heat. Add all your favorite vegetables and the pinto beans to the pan. Add in the tomato paste and the vegetable broth. Sear until all the vegetables are cooked and add the spices of your choice to make your favorite seasoning. Serve warm over the couscous and enjoy!

DAY 3

Breakfast – Quinoa Porridge

Quinoa can be cooked just like oats to have a healthy, fueling start to your day. You will need:

• ½ cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 cup of almond milk (or soy milk or rice milk or lactose milk – your choice!)
• Berries and nuts of your choice
• Raw honey or maple syrup

Cook the quinoa in the milk of your choice and then add your toppings of choice. Personally, I love to add raspberries, pecans and pure maple syrup.

Lunch – Spicy Thai Green Curry

This recipe can be adapted using whatever veggies you like and is super easy one-pot cooking! You will need:

• 1 cup of rice of choice, cooked
• Vegetables of choice, washed and chopped (I like to add broccoli, water chestnuts, baby corn, snap peas, eggplant, cauliflower, red pepper, potatoes and green beans)
• Tofu, sliced
• Garlic and onion
• Dash of coconut oil
• 2 cans coconut milk
• Thai green curry paste (you can either buy this, or if you have the time, make it yourself following this recipe)

Start by sautéing the garlic and onion in a bit of coconut oil in a large pot on low heat. Add in the curry paste and the coconut milk to form a sort of stew. Mix in the vegetables and tofu and let them cook in the curry. Serve hot beside a serving of rice.

Dinner – Oven Roasted Eggplant with Tzatziki and Pomegranate Seeds, and Guacamole Baked Potatoes

This is so delicious and hearty, that even non-vegetarians will want to partake. You will need:

• A large eggplant sliced thinly, the long way
• Greek yogurt
• Dill weed
• Cucumber, peeled, seeded and grated
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Garlic, chopped finely
• Fresh squeezed lemon juice
• Fresh squeezed lime juice
• Pomegranate seeds
• Large baking potatoes
• Avocado, smashed
• Onion, chopped
• Tomatoes, diced
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Start by slicing a wide line through the top of the potatoes, oil and salt and pepper them, and then bake for about 40-60 minutes at 350 degrees F, checking constantly.

To make the tzatziki: mix the Greek yogurt, dill weed, grated cucumber, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice together. Measure according to your own taste.

To make the guacamole: mix the avocado, onion, garlic and diced tomatoes together. Drizzle with lime juice. Measure according to your own taste.

Lightly oil the eggplant on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for about 5-10 minutes or until lightly golden (turning the slices over once at the halfway mark). Remove the potatoes and the eggplant from the oven. Drizzle tzatziki over the cooked eggplant and garnish with pomegranate seeds. Serve with a baked potato topped with guacamole.

Hopefully, these quick meal ideas inspire you to bring variety and love into your kitchen. Allow cooking to become a daily meditative practice of nourishing yourself and allow your food to become your best friend (rather than your enemy). Watch how your practice, your body and your mind transform.