Vegetarian Atkins Meal Plan

It is fair to say that following an Atkins-style regime will take a little more planning if you are a strict vegetarian and you will need to search further than this site to come up with a balanced and tasty meal plan. It is however possible to create a delicious and effective Atkins plan for a vegetarian diet! The selection of meals below is more of an effort to show what a typical day might look like than a pattern to follow every day. If you include fish in your diet then the options are obviously much wider than this.

Breakfast
Create a luscious Italian-inspired herb and courgette frittata for a stylish start to the day. Chop a medium courgette into small cubes and fry until golden in half a tbsp of olive oil. Beat three eggs in a small bowl and add a pinch of salt and a tsp of mixed herbs. Pour the eggs over the courgette cubes and simply cook until firm. A little cheddar cheese or parmesan can be sprinkled over the top if desired.

Lunch
For lunch, a healthy and zesty Greek salad is a great option. Combine cubes of feta with black olives, one whole tomato (chopped) per person, black olives, chunky cubes of cucumber, finely chopped red onion and a generous sprinkling of oregano and thyme. Dress with a fruity extra virgin olive oil and a little white wine vinegar and you have a filling and satisfying lunch with no meat in sight.

Snack
An easy snack is to spread creamy, herby Boursin cheese onto sticks of any stage 1 approved vegetable, e.g. celery. Cream cheese also comes in many flavours such as blue cheese, black pepper, or onion and chive. Any of these can add interest to vegetable sticks. From stage 2 onwards, any nuts from Brazils to almonds can add vitamins, texture and crunch to your day, although be careful not to eat more than a handful. 

Dinner
Tofu can be bland and flavourless but it takes on other flavours marvellously, which makes it extremely versatile. There is no need to get bored with the same flavour combinations night after night. This recipe shows just what can be done with the humble bean curd. For delicious lemon and rosemary baked tofu for four people, heat your oven to 200 degrees C. Take one 400g package firm tofu, cut into 2cm pieces. Combine it in a bowl with 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice, 2 tbs good quality soy sauce, 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 tsp dried rosemary (or 2 tbsp freshly chopped) and 1 tsp grated lemon zest. Combine these ingredients in a glass baking dish and bake the tofu in the oven for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, chop and sauté 150g of white mushrooms and a small onion in a tbsp olive oil until soft and light golden. Add a finely-chopped clove of garlic to the mixture and continue to fry until fragrant, about another 30 seconds. After this, add 125 ml water and a large dash of soy sauce and reduce the sauce until thickened – around five minutes. Finish off the sauce with 2 tbsp of any fresh herbs which you enjoy and top the baked tofu with this sauce. 

Shopping list
Eggs
Courgette
Herbs
Feta
Olives
Whole tomatoes (one per person)
Cucumber
Red onion
Boursin cheese
Celery
Tofu
Lemon
Soy sauce
Rosemary
Mushrooms
Onion Garlic