Breakfast and Dinner Menu Ideas

by Donna
(Ajax, Canada)

Hello Michelle,

Can you please provide some ideas or point me to where I can get menu ideas for breakfast and dinner that are lacto-ovo vegetarian related?

My husband and I along with our 1 yr old and 4 yr old are trying to eat as healthy as possible. We are not vegetarians as we use eggs, cheese, and fish. We eat chicken in our home around every other week. We eat a lot of salmon and sardines, and peas and beans. We avoid beef and all the other bad stuff (unhealthy snacks, processed canned vegetarian food, excess sugars, caffeine, sodas, etc.) We are Adventists....

Our concern is that we have heard that too much bread for instance isn't good (we only use whole grain stone milled). We've also heard that too much soy isn't good either (since we have a 1 yr old girl). And we've been told that using the microwave is not healthy....

We use Rice and Natura Soy milk in our home (trying to avoid the carrageenan)...Sigh.... We basically eat 2 meals a day with fruits in between. Of course the kids eat snacks as they get hungry more quickly....

So what simple foods can I combine to provide my family 2 wholesome meals a day? Any ideas or book or website would be greatly appreciated. Should we just eat oatmeal and fruit every single morning ;) and lentils and beans and tofu every single evening ;)?

Many, many, many thx,

Michelle says: Hi Donna,

Sure, I can provide you with some menu ideas for breakfast and dinner....

Before I get to that though, I just want to share with you the basics behind planning balanced vegetarian meals. Balanced meals will contain all the necessary ingredients that promote good health.

These vital ingredients include carbohydrates, fats, protein, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water. You can get all of these ingredients from 3 basic food groups:

Fruits and vegetables: These will give you generous amounts of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other nutrients. They also provide you with small amounts of good quality protein.

Grains: Whole grains provide you with B vitamins as well as iron, phosphorus, carbohydrates, and protein.

Protein Foods: Legumes, nuts, and seeds fall into this category. Choose a variety of protein foods to make sure you’re getting all the necessary amino acids and minerals (especially iron).

To plan a balanced meal, you would first start by choosing the fruit or vegetables you want to use. Keep in mind that it is best not to have fruits and veggies together in the same meal. It can cause problems with your digestion.

Next, you would pick a grain product and a protein dish that complements it. Put them all together, and voila, you have a balanced meal.

Breakfast ideas:

Day One - Pineapple, orange, and banana fruit salad sprinkled with shredded coconut, cashew oatmeal waffles topped with blueberry sauce and chopped pecans.

In this yummy meal, you get plenty of fresh fruit, along with a healthy dose of protein (cashews in the waffles as well as the chopped nuts), and carbohydrates (in the oatmeal).

Day Two - Sliced apples with peanut butter, pears, scrambled tofu with warmed pita bread

If you like savory food for breakfast, this is a possible option that will definitely keep your stomach satisfied until lunchtime.

Day Three – Fresh mangoes and papayas, brown rice porridge with raisins, mixed nuts with dried fruit (e.g, cranberries, dried bananas, raisins, apricots, etc)

This breakfast is quick and easy to prepare (especially if you have leftover rice to start with). It too will supply you with ample fruit, carbohydrates and protein. You can get more breakfast ideas and recipes on this page....

Now for some Dinner ideas:


Day One – Tossed salad with dressing, green beans, black bean soup and cornbread

Day Two – Cut veggies and dip, steamed Swiss chard, savoury bean stew and spicy baked potato wedges

Day Three – Tossed salad, steamed cabbage, lentil burgers with gravy over brown rice

Each of these dinner options will provide you with ample veggies, as well as enough protein and carbohydrates – all without having to have wheat bread or tofu every day! ;-)

How does it all sound to you?

One thing to remember is to try to aim for variety within each category (fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds). There are unlimited possibilities when it comes to food. If you’re open to experimenting, you should have no problem whatsoever.

To help you think of even more ideas, here are some recipe books I really like:

Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home – I’ve been to the Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, New York. The food is good, let me tell you! So good, I never forgot about it. You won’t be disappointed with these vegetarian recipes. I don’t have a copy of the book with me right now (I’m out of town), but if my memory serves me well, they do have some recipes that include dairy and fish.

Moosewood Restaurant New Classics – Another set of flavourful and delicious recipes from the folks at Moosewood Restaurant. Yum!

How It All Vegan! – Never mind the cover.... You’ll find some delicious, easy to prepare recipes in here. I got this for my birthday a few years ago and I’ve been using it regularly since then. It’s a vegan staple, but my non-vegan friends love the food too! ;-)

Ani's Raw Food Kitchen – This book makes eating more raw fruits and veggies so much easier. The recipes are pretty simple to prepare, but they taste anything but simple. Delicious!

You can easily order all of these books online at Amazon Canada (Amazon.ca) or over at Amazon.com.


To address your other concerns, too much of anything (even the good things) can be a problem. We eat a lot of wheat and wheat products in our society and more and more people are finding that they cannot tolerate it. I think it’s a wise idea for everyone to focus on eating a variety of grains throughout the week rather than focusing solely on oats and wheat.

Millet, quinoa, amaranth, brown rice, buckwheat, spelt, and kamut are some other delicious options.

Variety (there’s that word again) is very important when it comes to food. It lowers your risk of becoming intolerant or developing an allergy to a certain food. It keeps things interesting and ensures that you will get all the nutrients you need.

The same thing goes for soy. Soy is good for you, but too many people eat too much of it. That is a big part of why they have a problem with soy. We aren’t meant to eat it three times a day, every day, for months on end.

That being said, one real problem with soy is this: much of the soy on the market is genetically modified (GM). GM foods are definitely not healthy. Read more about the dangers of genetically modified foods in this article....

In my opinion, soy is okay in moderation as long as it is organic, non-genetically modified (non-GMO) soy.

I agree that the use of microwaves is not a healthy practice.... I read somewhere that it actually destroys the molecular structure of the food. In my opinion, there’s no way damaged food could be health promoting. Not to speak of the radiation it emits....

Hope that helps! I’d love to hear how it goes....

Michelle