Plant-based diet

• Full ingredient list ships with photography

Method

1. 1

   Plant-based is not a synonym for vegan

   Vegan is a boundary defined by what is absent. Plant-based is a centre of gravity: plants supply most of the calories, and animal foods appear as a smaller part of the plate rather than as the thing the plate is built around. That distinction is the whole reason the term exists, and it is why plant-based cooking is easier to sustain. An egg on the lentils, anchovy in the dressing, or parmesan on the beans breaks vegan and does not break this. If you want the strict version, the site has a separate vegan guide.

2. 2

   The protein arithmetic, done once

   Here is what the actual numbers look like per cooked cup or standard portion: lentils 18g, black beans 15g, chickpeas 15g, edamame 18g, firm tofu 20g per 200g, tempeh 31g per 200g, seitan 25g per 100g, quinoa 8g, peas 8g, hemp seeds 10g per three tablespoons. Two of those in a meal plus a grain lands you at 25 to 35g without effort. The failure mode is a plant-based plate of pasta, bread and roasted vegetables, which is delicious and gets you to about 12g.

3. 3

   Three nutrients that actually need attention, and one that does not

   B12 needs a supplement or fortified food if you are eating very few animal products, full stop, because plants do not make it and the deficiency is slow and neurological. Iron from plants is non-heme and absorbs at a lower rate, so pair it with vitamin C and keep tea and coffee away from the meal by an hour. Long-chain omega-3 conversion from flax and walnuts is inefficient, so an algae-based source is reasonable if you eat no fish. What does not need attention is complete proteins: eat a normal variety across a day and the amino acid arithmetic takes care of itself.

4. 4

   How to cook beans so that people ask for them

   Most bad bean cooking is under-seasoning and under-cooking. Salt the soaking water and the cooking water, which does not toughen skins and does season all the way through. Cook past the point where they hold a shape, until the skins are just breaking, because an al dente bean tastes starchy. Build flavour in the liquid with an onion half, garlic, bay, a dried chilli and a strip of kombu or a parmesan rind. Finish with acid and good oil off the heat. Tinned beans get the same treatment in fifteen minutes: rinse, then simmer in stock with aromatics until the liquid thickens.

5. 5

   Tofu and tempeh are technique problems, not taste problems

   Tofu tastes like nothing because it is mostly water, and water is the enemy of browning. Press extra-firm for twenty minutes under something heavy, tear it into rough pieces rather than cubing it so there is more surface, toss it in cornstarch and a little salt, then get it properly brown in a hot pan before any sauce arrives. Tempeh is fermented and slightly bitter, which steaming for ten minutes fixes before you marinate it. Both of them absorb sauce well and neither of them absorbs anything while wet.

6. 6

   Ramp the fiber, or the first week will be unpleasant

   Going from a typical 15g of fiber a day to 45g in one weekend produces predictable gas and bloating, and it is the reason a lot of people conclude beans do not agree with them. The gut microbiome adapts over roughly two to four weeks. Add about 5g a day per week, drink more water than feels necessary, rinse tinned legumes well, and start with the easier ones, lentils and split peas, before the harder ones. If you have IBS, the low-FODMAP portion thresholds on this site are the better starting point.

7. 7

   The ultraprocessed trap

   The fastest way to eat a plant-based diet with worse outcomes than the one you left is to build it on meat analogues, vegan cheese, sweetened oat milk and packaged snacks. Those are frequently high in sodium and saturated fat from coconut oil, low in fiber, and short on protein relative to their price. Use them as a convenience once or twice a week rather than as the protein plan. A tin of lentils costs a fraction of a packet of burgers and carries more fiber and comparable protein.

8. 8

   The plate template, and a first two weeks

   Half the plate vegetables, at least two colours and one of them cooked hard enough to caramelise. A quarter legumes, tofu, tempeh or a smaller portion of fish or eggs. A quarter intact whole grain or a starchy vegetable with the skin on. Then a fat with flavour: olive oil, tahini, nuts or avocado, because plant meals without fat do not satisfy. For two weeks, cook one big pot of legumes on Sunday, roast two trays of vegetables, keep a jar of tahini dressing, and let dinner be an assembly job.

9. 9

   What it costs

   Dried lentils, split peas, oats, brown rice, cabbage, carrots, onions, potatoes, frozen spinach and tinned tomatoes are among the cheapest calories and cheapest fiber in any supermarket, and they are the backbone of this pattern. The costs go up with nuts, tahini, out-of-season produce and anything in a package with a leaf on the label. A week built on the first list and topped with the second tends to come in below an omnivorous week. Mid-2026 US averages, and they drift by shop and season.