Basic Vegetarian Paleo Diet Chart For Beginners

I am so happy that many of you are so much inspired by my recent posts on paleo diet. Those who are friends with me on FB also know how much I have changed in these past 27 days. I am also getting private messages for a diet chart I have been following these days. This post is for all of those who were asking me yesterday. So why didn’t I just post my diet chart on FB instead of writing a post? I feel that my blog will serve as an online recipe book for whoever want to read about it whenever they find time. But in FB the post will be lost in two days. I hope I have made myself clear.

I have been writing about my paleo diet for the past few days with recipes I have been making. But as you want to know what I eat the whole day, here is my humble attempt at putting together everything I have done so far. As for the recipes, you can be creative with all the paleo approved ingredients. Not that you have to follow what I have done exactly.

The first two weeks of paleo is not a great experience. It is called as the transition period. The time taken for your body to adapt from the high carb food to low carb food will vary from person to person. Myself and hubby both are on paleo and both of us had different types of reactions. While hubby was so normal from the very first day, I became normal only after two weeks. So I need to caution you about it. You may think of quitting by the two weeks, but be patient and wait for the magic to happen.

The first week, your weight reduction will be drastic. But it is not permanent. The pace of weight reduction will decrease as the days increase. At first week you will be loosing water weight and so the changes you will see are so encouraging. But when the reducing pace decreases, do not be discouraged. This is the reason, I don’t weigh myself daily. Just try to see how much a dress fits, how flat your tummy has gone and be happy. This is not a fad diet. This is a life style change and weight loss is just part of it. You will hear so many discouraging words from your near and dears, but do not mind them. Just carry on and one day they will all be surprised with the result. This diet also gives you a great skin and you will surely start to glow.

 The first two weeks, I was constantly hungry and missed those filling meals. But make sure that you don’t remain hungry. You need to take something at regular intervals to keep you fill. This constant hunger is because your body is adapting to a different diet. So don’t worry about it. You need to drink plenty of water as you will feel your mouth very dry. But this will go away in some days.

Now here is what I followed for the past four weeks.

Once you wake up, have a full cup of warm water mixed with juice from half a lemon.

Breakfast is either Butter tea or Roasted almonds (Check my  Vegetarian Paleo Recipes page for the recipes)

In between, breakfast and lunch, I have a cup of soup or coconut pieces. You can also have one or two almonds whenever you crave for something crispy. 

For lunch, I have cauliflower rice mixed with various vegetables. For side I usually have cucumber or sliced carrots or any type of raitha. There is no restriction to the amount of cauliflower rice you eat. Until your body adjusts you will be consuming more cauliflower rice, but the quantity will decrease when days increase. The only thing you need to remember is you need to eat your fill. Do not starve.

Then for evenings, any of the snack option I have given above. You can drink a glass of plain milk during evenings. Avoid sugar in it. Best to avoid coffee or tea. Go for plain high fat milk.

For dinner, It is paneer. Solid 200 gm (if store bought) or 150 gm (if made at home) of paneer prepared your favourite way. I usually make tikkas daily. Till now we haven’t got bored of it. Add lots of sautéed onions and capsicum along with paneer. I am exploring new ways to make paneer.

And before you go to bed, take a glass of milk. I was doing this for the first two weeks, but now I don’t take it as I feel so full after my paneer dinner.

Eat only if you are hungry. It is not necessary to follow this chart exactly. First listen to your body. See how it reacts to food. Choose those which make you feel good. There is no specific rule in this diet. If you are doing it for weight loss, it is better to avoid fruits. But if you are doing it for a healthy life style, consume fresh fruits and fresh vegetables a lot.

Add lots of greens in your diet. I prepare a green soup every alternate day and the remaining days, I make either carrot, tomato, pumpkin or mushroom soup. I also add some greens in my cauliflower rice every alternate days.

I have tried to put together every thing I have followed these days. And I hope it will be useful if you are trying to follow a vegetarian paleo diet.

Apart from changing the way you eat, also include yoga or work outs to increase the pace of weight reduction. Go for walk atleast for 45 minutes a day.

If you have some medical conditions, please check with your doctor before starting with paleo. This is my humble request. I will be posting more recipes here. So if you want to feel encouraged, feel free to read my posts. I am sure you will find some inspiration here.

Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist or a dietitian. The recipes and ideas I share are the part of vegetarian paleo diet I have been following. I wouldn’t say that this is authentic paleo as paleo consists of meat and very less milk. This one is for those vegetarians who don’t even consume eggs.

Take a look at my Vegetarian Paleo Recipes for an idea of what to cook for the diet.