Meet Nancy. She’s pregnant, she’s mostly vegan, and she’s a hydrating machine. Enjoy her awesome menu!

Name: Nancy Lili

Home: I’d call Austin home, but I currently live in Odessa, Texas

Dietary Leanings: Two years ago, due to an extreme bout of food poisoning where I almost lost my large intestine and appendix, I became a “selective omnivore,” (read Eating Animals). Then I saw a video of a pig slaughter—and though I’d seen videos of animal slaughter and had been brought to tears by them before, this one hit me in a different way. I’m now 100% vegetarian with vegan tendencies.

My favorite vegetable: I love a perfectly in-season avocado and I love beans. All beans. Black. Pinto. Chickpea. Navy. Northern. Canned. Fresh. Beans, beans, beans.

Monday morning I…

Began the day with 20 ounces of lemon-water (the trick to drinking two liters of water a day is to find a large jug you like, carry it absolutely everywhere, and re-fill as necessary). I then also had 8 ounces of Yogi’s Mother-to-Be tea (am nine months pregnant), and a bowl of cereal. The cereal is a combination of Central Market’s Raisin Bran, a muesli, and a mix of chia, hempseeds, and flax. I use Silk’s Unsweeted Original Almond Milk.

A few hours later…

I ate two and a half brazil nuts. (My dog always begs for whatever I’m eating, so I’ll give her the last half of the third nut.)

In the blender, I added ice and an organic banana to Vega One’s nutritional shake in vanilla chai to water, and ta-da. That keeps me satiated for awhile.

Then for lunch…

One slice of Rudi’s Honey Sweet Whole Wheat toast with organic omega-3 mayonnaise with flax oil (by Spectrum) and with Central Markets’ red pepper hummus with a black bean pattie on top (usually by Amy’s), and a few slices of organic pickles on the side.

At least another 20 ounces of water, too.

For a mid-afternoon snack…

I juiced a cucumber, green pepper, cilantro, pink lady apple, sliver of ginger (all organic)—just the extra veggies I had lying around. Again, I make sure to drink another 20 ounces of water before dinner.

Then for dinner…

I roasted eggplants, portabello mushrooms, and zucchinnis in the oven with olive oil, Himalayan sea salt, and pepper, and top those with a mix of grape tomatoes, basil, and Amish gorgonzola cheese (an easy dinner to make, inspired by Smitten Kitchen’s http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2011/09/roasted-eggplant-with-tomatoes-and-mint/). I also made organic brown rice and served that alongside this, drizzled with yet more olive oil, Himalayan sea salt, and pepper. With dinner, I drink coconut water, about ten ounces.

For dessert…

I had frozen grapes and frozen mango chunks, and I go ahead and eat about 20 ounces of crushed ice too. (I know it’s bad for my teeth, but I crave it!)

By the end of the day, too, I’ve anywhere from 60-100 ounces of water, not including other beverages.

Happy Monday! We have a meatless menu from Ania, a Polish gal living and loving in Germany. Loving that her boyfriend shares in the cooking, and also loving her new vegan life. Enjoy! We included her email below ’cause it made us smile. :)

[Dear Both, you asked and here it comes, that's actually a Sunday menu but I really can't remember what I ate last Monday, hope you don't mind streching it a bit. Let's say it's a Monday menu for those who can go for a walk in the forest instead of running a marathon down some office corridors... And it's also a pretty lazy menu as you will see since most of the stuff I ate was actually cooked by someone else but hey, why not? And I still love cooking, maybe even more so since I don't need to do it everyday.]

Name: Ania
Home: Freiburg, Germany
Dietary leanings: freshly vegan (after being vegetarian all my life, I made a switch in May and… never looked back

My favourite vegetable: this season definitely belongs to brussels sprouts, I love them roasted with a little bit of olive oil

In the morning…

Almond milk latte brought to bed (the only way to wake me up…) and then a long, lazy breakfast. The day before I bought some amazing whole grain walnut bread and ate almost half of it with different vegan spreads, mostly based on sunflower seeds (hello Zwergenwiese!) but also some pesto-type things, vegan schmalz and sirop de Liege (concentrated fruit juices cooked to make a paste), nothing says weekend better than a full breakfast table!

For lunch…

After breakfast we went for a walk to the forest, it looks so beautiful now, with heaps of snow and blue skies. We stopped at a nice chalet up in the mountains that offers breakfast buffet and lunches. They didn’t have anything vegan on the menu but I asked for gnocchi with vegetables without gorgonzola sauce and was pleasantly surprised when a full plate of gnocchi appeared in front of me, with lots of fresh spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and roasted pine nuts. I find it sometimes difficult in restaurants where only vegan option on the menu is some boring salad or pasta with tomato sauce and then everyone keeps asking me if I’m fine or looking sadly at my plate, especially on business trips. It always makes me want to tell them that the stuff I normally eat is actually pretty amazing and there’s really no reason to feel sorry for me, and that you can be vegan and still love food! Well, one consequence of this is that at least a third of my work emails now end with some vegan recipe links..

Snacks…

I felt really hungry after all the walking so had some more of the walnut bread, this time with peanut butter.

For dinner…

My boyfriend made some roasted potatoes with kale, leek and onions, using veggies from our CSA, simple and delicious.

And I spent the rest of the evening reading various recipes published as part of Fabulous Fermentation Week, started by My New Roots & Earthsprout. Being Polish I love fermented foods but it was really great to see this whole fermented feast that the girls have inspired, with totally new tastes and combinations. Plans for next weekend: homemade kimchi!

Happy fermenting, Ania! Let us know how that goes.

Holy moly Maddie, this is one heck of a clean meatless menu. We’re curious to know how the no-gluten-or-sugar eating (and no caffeine) is feeling? We love a lot about the Body Ecology Diet—but have a hard time sticking to something so restrictive. For those who have followed similar plans, was this level of disciplined eating sustainable longterm?

In other news, we are low on meatless menus! If you want this sometimes-controversial series to continue, please email yours to nomoredirtylooks@gmail.com with “My MM” in the subject.

Name: Maddie

Home: Brooklyn, NY

Dietary Leanings: Right now, I am (trying to be) gluten- and sugar-free, per my naturopath’s suggestion. I avoid meat but I’ll make exceptions for special events or if I’m really craving it. I also recently read the Body Ecology Diet by Donna Gates and I now try to follow the food-combining principles explained in the book (and feel better for it!).

My favorite vegetable: Tomatoes and avocados when the weather’s warm; right now, roasted turnips.

This morning I…

First, had a glass of water with a tablespoon of raw apple cider vinegar. On my way out the door, I had some decaf coffee with almond milk. (I’m about to cave and go back to fully-caffeinated coffee soon… I miss it too much!)

A few hours later…

That’s usually when hunger kids in for me. Today’s breakfast was Greek yogurt with cinnamon and almonds.

Then for lunch…

I had a big bowl of leftover soup. Over the weekend, I had roasted two butternut squash, a turnip, and a radish from my CSA, along with a little garlic… then pureed all the veggies with some organic butter (my favorite food item, ever!), homemade vegetable stock, sage, nutmeg, and S&P.

For a mid-afternoon snack…

I had some orange-spiced hot tea and two helpings of delicious spinach saag that was brought in to the office!

Then for dinner…

First I had more ACV with water and a bit of the kimchi I made yesterday (to check on the flavors/fermentation, but also because I just really wanted a taste!). Then I steamed fingerling potatoes, purple carrot, and some baby kale from my CSA, along with some white onion—all seasoned with sage and S&P and drizzled with melted organic butter. I topped it all off with some fresh scallions.

If I’m hungry later, I’ll have a few spoonfuls of organic peanut butter with cinnamon (my sweet tooth is now non-existent, so this is plenty dessert-y for me!). Finally, I’ll have a cup of hot herbal tea before bed to help me sleep.

Meet Elaine. She hails from Canada’s capital and her meatless menu sounds both delicious and budget friendly. So often we’re told that eating healthfully is pricier than eating poorly. But much like clean cosmetics, when you know what to buy in bulk, a super-healthy, veg-heavy diet can be cheaper than the cheapest of fast food. Do you have any great money-saving tips for healthy eating?

Name: Elaine
Hometown: Ottawa, Canada
My dietary leanings: On average, my diet probably balances out to be 60% vegan, 40% vegetarian. And very very rarely (read: a few times a year), I’ll eat fish in sushi form.
My favorite vegetables: Carrots and sweet potato. But to be honest, there’s no vegetable I don’t like (though I’ve never had amaaazing asparagus).
Disclaimer: I’m a student, so on weekends I try to make massive batches of meals (such as stews, grains, beans) to eat up during the busy weekdays. Trust me though, I don’t always have time to stock my fridge with healthy homemade food!

This morning I….

Ate a bowl of overnight oats topped with almond milk, roasted cashews, cinnamon, and homemade applesauce. I also drank a huge mug of green tea.

Then for lunch I…

Cooked up a grilled cheese (on homemade whole wheat) to go with some reheated homemade tomato, onion & pinto bean soup. While that was cooking, I munched on a carrot with roasted red pepper hummus.

As an afternoon snack I had an apple paired with a handful of roasted almonds.

Finally for dinner I…

Made a stir-fry with cabbage, carrot and edamame, topped with a sauce that I whipped together from tahini, almond milk and hoisin sauce. I had the stir-fry with a bit of quinoa on the side.

Last but not least, dessert…

A perfectly ripe banana, smeared with crunchy natural peanut butter – my absolute favourite!

Name: Siobhan

Home: Brooklyn, NY

My dietary leanings: When I’m scanning a menu, the items I typically get the most excited about are the sides. I love vegetables! (I also love French fries.) As for restrictions, I’m Celiac, I don’t eat soy for health reasons and because I think it tastes bad, and I eat vegetarian approximately 80% of the time. When I eat animal protein, I go sustainable for fish and organic for everything else. I will, however, have a bite of just about anything off someone else’s plate.

My favorite vegetable: What kind of a person makes a girl choose her favorite vegetable?! My favorites include, but are not limited to, kale, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, fennel, broccoli rabe, tomatoes that actually taste like tomatoes (which is to say, August tomatoes), cauliflower, and carrots.

For breakfast…

I recently discovered that, at the Union Square farmer’s market here in New York, Our Daily Bread is selling gluten-free bread! They bake a few different kinds in a dedicated GF facility, and I like them all. The seedy whole grain loaf is my favorite; the caraway seed one comes in second. Today I had two slices toasted with a bunch of peanut butter and sliced banana. I also had a kale smoothie with the rest of the banana, some blueberries, and some unsweetened almond milk.

Then for lunch…

The best kind of leftovers. Last night I cooked for a friend and made a gigantic kale salad, among other things. The salad contains lacinto kale sliced into thin strips, salty marcona almonds roughly chopped, baby tomatoes, sliced fennel, shaved parmesan, dry-toasted pepitas, and carmelized cipollini onions. I hate peeling cipollinis, but it’s always worth it; they’re just so tasty.

My dressing was champagne vinegar (if you do not own any, go get some now—it’s life-changing), olive oil, pepper and a half teaspoon of Dijon. Because kale is so sturdy, this salad is even better the day after; the leaves don’t get soggy. This salad could be easily made vegan without the parmesan.

I’ll have a big bowl of that with two organic eggs on the side. When I get hungry around 4pm, as I invariably do, I’ll probably have some pistachios, or maybe an apple, or both.

For dinner, I’m planning on making…

Carrot ginger soup and some simple pasta (like the one shown). I have the simplest soup recipe and it wins every time: Stew some leeks in olive oil or butter on low heat until they’re transparent and slippery. This takes a while, but it’s worth it. In another pot, boil your carrots, chopped into inch-thick cubes so they cook faster. (If you prefer a silky-smooth soup, boil one small potato too.) Toss some raw ginger in the water while they soften.

Once the leeks are done, remove them. In the leek pan, toss in some more ginger, one clove of garlic and heat on low, being careful not to burn. Remove that, too, and put them in the bowl with the leeks. When the carrots are easily pierced with a knife, put them in a food processor without water, toss in the leeks and garlic and ginger, and blend until smooth. Use the carrot-cooking water to dilute your puree to desired consistency and add salt and pepper to taste.

Pro tip: I like to store the puree in the fridge without water. Then, when I want my next bowl, I put in a little water from the tap and heat it up.

In addition to my soup, I’ll have a bowl of corn pasta with a pile of vegetables. This is an easy weeknight dish that takes about 15 minutes to make, but tastes delicious. The noodles are from Italy, and the name escapes me (will add in the comments), but it’s my favorite gluten-free pasta, and it’s organic—and therefore non-GMO. I’ll heat up some garlic in a pan along with some more kale, some tomatoes, a handful of canned chickpeas, and some fennel. I’ll toss in and wilt some radichio right before I’m done cooking the other veggies. This whole process takes about 15 minutes. If I feel like it, I’ll sprinkle some nutritional yeast or parm on top. And voila!

And dessert…

Not a big dessert person! I may have a square of Wei of Chocolate in Infinite Love. And I’ll definitely have a glass or two of wine. Bon appétit!

(Writing this made me hungry. I hope it has the same effect on you.)