An odd phenomenon titled “What I Eat in A Day” is sweeping social media on Instagram, Twitter and especially YouTube. This trend varies between photos of strategically placed fruit on top of organic ice cream to videos of hurried coffee pressing. However this acai bowl and kale smoothie trend, while it creates ideas for  yummy and aesthetically pleasing snacks, are both time consuming and expensive. I wondered then about people who don’t have a lot of time to prepare those kinds of organized meals: students. A bookworm taking seven AP classes and a jock balancing three different sports teams may have drastically different meals throughout a typical day. In this What I Eat in a Day series I will cover the variety of drastically different things people eat in a single day and what kind of budget it requires; for the first in this series I decided to start with myself.

It’s no secret that I’m vegan, I’ve even wrote an article on why you should be too.  After being vegan for three years I’ve become a master on making sure my caloric intake is sufficient and that I’m routinely smashing in enough plant based protein. I usually don’t have a ton of access time to whip up fancy fruit bowls or homemade ice-cream; however, eating a balanced meal is very doable and can easily be manipulated to your individual needs.

I don’t always have time to eat breakfast in the morning but I usually grab a banana for the car ride. On the rare occasion I do have the time I make a quick oatmeal bowl. Take a cup of water and put it a pot to heat up on the stove at a low temperature. Add a cup of whole grain oats (which you can get at Trader Joe’s) , apple chunks (of half an apple), cinnamon (to taste or about a tablespoon and a half), brown sugar (half a tablespoon) and maple syrup (about a tablespoon). Mix until the apples become mushy, then put in a bowl and enjoy!

On the weekends or during summer break I stay away from snacking in order to avoid needlessly eating but I always pack a quick snack for brunch on school days. In a reusable plastic container I store one chopped bell pepper, a half of a chopped apple and dried mango pieces. This is a great alternative to granola bars or nuts which seem like healthy options (and are still healthy) but contain lots of fats. Your body digests the most smoothly when you eat raw foods because they’re much easier to break down.

For lunch I religiously eat a salad made up of sprouts, celery, purple cabbage, carrots, seeds, berries and humus. Again I try to stay raw when I can for my digestive health. The salad fills you up to avoid unnecessary snacking but not to the point where you become uncomfortable or bloated. Plus its delicious! Eating veggies clears up your skin, heightens your immune system and fuels your mind and body so you can keep up with school and athletics. The hummus is a very healthy (and tasty) alternative to salad dressing which are unnecessarily high in calories and fat.

Before dinner I usually need a quick hit of protein and something sweet before practice or the gym. I like taking a spoon and taking a scoop of almond or peanut butter and then scooping jelly on top. Its low in sugar but it gives you a quick carb and protein hit to give you energy for your workout; its quick with very little cleanup.

For dinner I usually eat something with lots of veggies, like soup. The Vampire Slayer soup uses a few (four to five) cups of tomato and vegetable stock base along with any produce you’d like (I use potatoes, zucchinis, celery, carrots and parsley) and about seven tablespoons of garlic. Add spices and let simmer for about forty minutes; because this makes so many servings I usually eat it for a week.

That’s what I eat in a typical day as a vegan! This is very low maintenance as well as low effort, while still maintaining a balanced and tasty diet. Bon appetite!