$5 a Day Vegan Meal Prep

Preparing for success is an important step when trying to change your diet or lose weight. There’s temptation all around us, and the best way to resist it is by having our meals already prepared. Filling up on nourishing, healthful foods will help you avoid the options that don’t serve your new path. Sticking to plant-based foods will help you will feel amazing in your skin!

I recommend you do this meal prep on Sunday evening so you have your meals ready for the rest of the week. It might take you a few hours in the kitchen, but it will save you time and energy during the week. Believe me, you’ll love it! It’s easy to make a week’s worth of vegan meals with satiating, delicious, and easily available ingredients. We will be fulfilling our three required macros (carbs, fat, and protein) for each meal for only $5 a day!

Ready?! Let’s Do This!

This shopping list includes ingredients I bought for the week but does not include condiments that I had at home already.

Shopping List

Almond milk: $1.79
1.65 lbs oats: $1.63
2 lbs apples: $2.69
2 bell peppers: $1.98
1 red onion: $.59
3 avocados: $5.37
4 large sweet potatoes: $3.16
1 lb carrots: $.79
1 pack of romaine hearts: $1.33
7 bananas: $1.33
4 limes: $.76
20 oz tomatoes: $1.99
2 lbs black beans: $2.27
1.4 lbs white rice: $1.11
0.40 lb flaxseed meal: $0.56
Frozen green beans: $1.49
2 lbs green lentils: $2.38
0.10 lb serrano peppers: $.10
1 bunch cilantro: $.50
1 head of garlic: $1.69

TOTAL: $33.51

Now it’s time to meal prep!

Breakfast: overnight oats in a mason jar
¾ cup raw oats
¾ cup almond milk
1 tbsp flaxseed meal
1 tbsp coconut sugar
Optional: dried raisins or mulberries
Optional: you can eat the bananas and apples as snacks or you can also mash a banana or cut up an apple and add it to your overnight oats

Prepping lunch and/or dinner:
The first step is cooking your bulk items:
Cook your rice, beans and lentils (you may also use canned beans and lentils as long as they don’t have added oils or salt).
Bake your sweet potatoes for 30 minutes at 400F.
Steam your green beans and carrots.

Make your salsa:
Combine bell peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, onion and serrano pepper to taste with a bit of lime juice and salt.

Once you have everything prepped, all you need to do is start making your meals using bento box containers. I bought mine on Amazon.

You can really make any variations you want. I recommend adding your greens and avocado the day you’re going to eat your meals so they don’t get soggy.

Here are some options:
Baked sweet potato with rice, veggies, beans, salsa and greens
Lentils, sweet potato, veggies, cilantro, rice and salsa
Sweet potato, beans, veggies, cilantro, lentils and salsa

You can mix and match these options for lunch and dinner during the whole week and eat the apples and bananas as snacks!

I really hope you try this meal prep strategy and find it helpful! Of course, this is just an example of what you can make, and you can adjust it to your needs and likes. As you’ve seen here, eating vegan food doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact, you’ll save money over eating out, and will feel better too! Prepare to succeed by meal prepping each week!

Love,

Yovana