What’s a vegan diet? An average day of meals

Updated: May 27, 2021 · Published: Oct 21, 2015 by Cadry Nelson · This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. · 16 Comments

What’s a vegan diet? Here’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner from one ordinary day. Spicy black bean tacos, salad, and polenta!

The feedback on my first What Vegans Eat post was really positive. Many people said they'd like to see more pictures from regular days of eating to get a sense of what’s a vegan diet. I’m going to do one post a month to show normal, everyday vegan meals.

What’s a vegan diet?

A vegan diet is one that doesn’t include any animal products – including meat, dairy, eggs, and honey.

Here are my ordinary vegan meals from one day in October…

Breakfast

Now that the mornings are getting cooler, I've been returning to a favorite cold weather breakfast - creamy polenta. The kind I like is organic and finely ground. It has a smooth texture that’s akin to mashed potatoes and cooks in just minutes.

(To see a full recipe and my preferred brand of polenta, check out this creamy polenta recipe.)

Lunch

For lunch, I had a salad with creamy cashew dressing and half of an avocado. On the side, raw sauerkraut and homemade turnip pickles. I made a cup and a half of roasted chickpeas and topped the salad with a handful of them and cracked pepper.

Snack

Before I went on a hike a few hours later, I pulled out the remaining roasted chickpeas from the refrigerator and finished them off for a snack.

Dinner

That night for dinner, David and I made one of our household favorites - spicy black bean tacos.

Some family friends had plucked all of their tomatoes before the first frost, and we were lucky enough to end up with a bunch of them. I made a big batch of salsa and guacamole while David made the black beans for the filling.

On the side, we had some chips for dipping, and of course, lots of hot sauce and jalapeños.

Still want to know more about what’s a vegan diet? For more everyday vegan meals, check out these posts from the “What Vegans Eat” series: September, November, December, and January.

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About Cadry Nelson

Cadry Nelson is the writer, recipe creator, and photographer behind Cadry’s Kitchen, and the author of Living Vegan For Dummies, 2nd Edition. Since launching her blog in 2009, Cadry has been making plant-based cooking approachable, and reimagining classic comfort foods. Her work has been featured in NBC News, Buzzfeed, Yahoo, Parade, VegNews, and more. She regularly appears on local TV shows, demonstrating to a broad audience how easy vegan cooking can be.