Vegan Diet: 10 Foods Packed With Nutrients, According to a Dietitian

Helen, 48, submitted her eating routine to Insider's Nutrition Clinic, where qualified dietitians and registered nutritionists offer advice on readers' eating habits.

She told Insider she's a vegan and her goal is to be healthier overall.

Helen is a writer who spends a lot of time indoors, she said. However, she exercises every morning for 20 minutes with light weights and walks a minimum of three miles per day.

Dietitian Priya Tew told Insider that Helen is already doing a great job.

"It sounds like Helen has been really focusing on her overall health and wellbeing, which is fabulous," she said.

However, there are some small tweaks she could make to up her nutrition and ensure she is getting everything she needs on a plant-based diet.

For breakfast, Helen said she has homemade muesli made with jumbo organic oats, dried fruit, nuts, and seeds, soaked overnight in apple juice. In the morning she adds fresh fruit.

Tew said that a vegan diet can be very nutritious but it's important to make sure you're consuming enough of certain key nutrients including iron, omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, iodine, and zinc.

"I would recommend some more calcium-rich foods in her diet, for example plant-based yogurt with her stewed fruit, and dried figs and plant milk with her muesli and possibly snacking on a handful of almonds," Tew said.

For lunch, Helen has homemade soup and sourdough bread, plus a banana.

Tew recommended that Helen add seeds, nuts, and pulses to lunch where possible.

"Sprinkling seeds on top of the soup would help boost the iron content of that meal, or she could spread some hummus on the bread," Tew said. "Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in chia seeds and walnuts for example, these will also provide some zinc too."

For dinner, Helen usually eats meals like lentils and green vegetables with potatoes, rice, or pasta, plus stewed fruit and tea.

Tew said that Helen's dinner, like all her meals, is nutritious already.

"Looking at her food, she eats plenty of fruit and vegetables with a good balance of carbohydrates too," Tew said.

The advice in this article isn't a substitute for a professional medical diagnosis or treatment.