Pretty good app honestly. Logging meals is fast and the macro breakdown is easy to read. Photo scan gets confused on some Indian dishes though, fix that and it's 5 stars for sure.
Vegetarian Meal Plan App With a Protein Target โ
Vegetarian recipes were never the problem. There are thousands, free, with photos. The problem starts on day four, when you have eaten well all week and still cannot say whether you cleared 60 g of protein or 30 g, because nobody weighed the dal or counted the yogurt. NutriScan takes that half: a 28 day vegan, vegetarian or eggitarian plan with a protein number attached, and a camera that reads the plate so the number stops being a guess.
The hard part of a vegetarian plan is protein, not recipes ๐ฅฌ โ
Rayven Nairn, a registered dietitian writing for Johns Hopkins Student Well-Being in September 2024, sets the baseline at 0.8 g of protein per kilogram of body weight, rising to 1.2 to 2.0 g per kilogram for people who train. For a 70 kg adult that is 56 g on a quiet week and up to 140 g if you lift. Hitting the top of that range on plants takes arithmetic, and most vegetarian meal plan apps hand you recipes and stop.
Here is the raw material, per 100 g from USDA FoodData Central with the entry number so you can check it.
| Food, per 100 g | Protein | USDA FoodData Central entry |
|---|---|---|
| Tempeh | 20.3 g | FDC 174272 |
| Edamame, frozen, prepared | 11.9 g | FDC 168411 |
| Greek yogurt, plain, nonfat | 10.3 g | FDC 330137 |
| Tofu, extra firm, prepared with nigari | 9.98 g | FDC 174290 |
| Lentils, boiled without salt | 9.02 g | FDC 172421 |
| Chickpeas, boiled without salt | 8.86 g | FDC 173757 |
Cooked lentils and chickpeas read low because roughly two thirds of that weight is water, so the fix is portion size rather than a shopping trip. A 170 g pot of Greek yogurt at breakfast, 200 g of cooked lentils at lunch, 100 g of edamame in the afternoon and 150 g of extra firm tofu at dinner comes to 62 g from four items, before the bread, rice, peanut butter and vegetables around them. USDA FoodData Central has no paneer entry, which is why paneer is missing here despite doing most of the work in an Indian vegetarian kitchen.
The arithmetic is easy. Doing it four times a day forever is not, which is why the powder tub ends up as the shortcut.
What NutriScan does with a vegetarian or vegan plan ๐ฑ โ
The preference goes in first, not as a filter
Setup asks for Vegan, Vegetarian, Eggitarian or Non-veg before it writes anything, then for up to five cuisines out of Indian, Mediterranean, East Asian, Latin American, Continental or European, Middle Eastern, American and African. Pick vegan and Indian and the 28 days come back as food you would cook anyway, with dairy gone from the grocery list as well as the menu.
A protein number on every day
The plan opens with a Daily Target card: calories, protein, carbs, fat and fiber, plus the micronutrients worth watching, which for plant eaters usually means B12, iron, zinc and vitamin D.
It counts what was on the plate
Photograph a thali and NutriScan splits it into items with a gram weight each. Set the cooking method from 11 and the oil level across four steps so the tadka gets counted.
Grocery list from the plan
Weekly and monthly lists built from the meals you were given, copied out in one tap, with tofu, tempeh and dal in plan quantities.
Protein hit rate, week by week
The Progress tab keeps a weekly protein hit rate and your top protein sources, next to a vitamin and mineral panel covering B12, iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium and omega-3. After a month you can see whether the plan holds or whether Thursdays fall apart.
How to build a vegetarian meal plan that hits a protein target ๐ ๏ธ โ
Pick your food preference and your cuisines
Setup asks for age, gender, height, weight, goal and activity level, then your food preference: Vegan, Vegetarian, Eggitarian or Non-veg. Next you pick up to five cuisines from Indian, Mediterranean, East Asian, Latin American, Continental or European, Middle Eastern, American and African. A vegan answer pulls dairy and eggs out of every meal idea that follows.
Read the daily protein target on the plan
The 28 day plan opens with a start date, an end date and a Daily Target card: calories, protein, carbs, fat and fiber, plus the micronutrients to watch, which for plant eaters means vitamin B12, iron, zinc and vitamin D. Every eating slot offers two meal options, and the Grocery List tab turns the week or month into a list you can copy out.
Photograph the plate and see the protein land
Point the camera at lunch. NutriScan splits the plate into items, gives each its own gram weight, and adds up calories, protein, carbs, fat, fiber and micronutrients. Tag the food type from 8 options, the cooking method from 11 and the oil level across four steps, then nudge the portion until the grams match your plate.
Two plant-based meal planners next to NutriScan ๐ โ
| Forks Meal Planner | Mealime | NutriScan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vegan and vegetarian plans | Plant-based only | Vegan and vegetarian among a dozen diet settings | Vegan, Vegetarian, Eggitarian or Non-veg |
| Daily protein target | No. Forks Over Knives tells members not to target protein at all | Nutrition figures per recipe, no daily target | Yes, on the plan and adjustable in Profile |
| Grocery list | Automated, weekly | Auto-built from the week's recipes | Weekly and monthly, from the plan |
| Knows what you actually ate | No | No, recipes only, with an Apple Health handoff | Photo, text or voice, with portion correction |
| Cuisine choice | Recipe Box of more than 3,000 plant-based recipes | Over 200 preference options | Up to 5 of 8 cuisines |
| Cost | 49 dollars a year or 6.99 dollars a month | Free, Pro was 2.99 dollars a month | Free tier; Premium about 59 dollars a year |
Worth knowing before you compare: Mealime's App Store release notes say the app shuts down on October 21, 2026, with Pro free until then. If that was your planner, this is a forced move.
Where to start ๐งญ โ
Run your stats through the macro calculator and look at the protein figure. If it sits well above a normal vegetarian day, that gap is the whole job, and a plan built around it beats another recipe collection. Then photograph one lunch and see whether the number matches what you assumed.
The diet planner page covers what the 28 day plan contains, and the grocery list generator page explains how the weekly and monthly lists come out of it.
What people are saying
Real reviews from people tracking their meals with NutriScan.
Finally sticking to a diet plan because of this app ๐๐ป
Surprisingly fun to use? Lost 1 kg in 4 days just by logging stuff and keeping my NutriScore green. Still on the free side, will probably grab Premium soon.
You take a photo and seconds later you have your macros and micronutrients. That's basically why I stuck with it.
Been using it 2 days now and liking it so far. First week is free so not much to lose.
Did some homework before installing and yeah, the photo scan accuracy is legit. NutriScore is solid too. Keep building, this is great.
Just started but it looks promising. Big plus that you can try it for free.
Finally a calorie counter without ads or upsells every two screens. Photograph the meal, done. Free, simple, exactly what I needed.
Found it right when I needed help fixing my eating. Really glad I did.
Solid pick if you want to track calories and stay on a diet plan without overthinking it.
Lost weight using this. The diet plan kept me honest on bad days. People sleep on how much diet actually matters.
Tracks calories, macros, and even the small stuff like micronutrients. If you're trying to build muscle, this is the app to get.
150k+ downloads and a 4.6 star average across the app stores.
Get the plan and the protein count in one app ๐ฑ โ
Photograph tonight's dinner and read the protein line.
๐ What you get
Vegan, vegetarian or eggitarian
Chosen at setup, applied to all 28 days and the grocery list. Premium, with a 7 day free trial.
5 photo scans a week, free
Plus unlimited manual and voice logging, with 8 food types and 11 cooking methods to set.
Protein target, checked daily
Today's total against your number on Home, and a weekly hit rate in Progress.
The nutrients plant eaters miss
B12, iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium, omega-3 and vitamin D tracked per meal and per week.
New accounts get a 7 day free trial of Premium. When it ends you land on the free plan with everything you logged still there.
Frequently Asked Questions โ โ
How much protein do I actually need on a vegetarian diet? โ
Rayven Nairn, a registered dietitian writing for Johns Hopkins Student Well-Being in September 2024, puts the recommended dietary allowance at 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight for an average adult, and 1.2 to 2.0 grams per kilogram for people training regularly or holding on to muscle. For a 70 kg adult that is 56 g at the low end and up to 140 g at the top. NutriScan sets your number from your goal, age, gender, height, weight and activity level, and you can drag it yourself under Profile, Modify Macros.
Does the plan work for vegan, or only vegetarian? โ
Both, and eggitarian too. Setup asks for one of Vegan, Vegetarian, Eggitarian or Non-veg, and the answer carries into every meal the plan writes and every grocery list it makes. Vegan removes dairy and eggs, so no paneer, no yogurt and no omelette anywhere in the 28 days. Foods you will not eat go in the Any Food Restrictions step, so a soy allergy is handled separately from the preference.
Can it count Indian vegetarian food like dal, paneer and sabzi? โ
Yes. Photograph the plate and NutriScan breaks it into items with a gram weight each, then totals calories, protein, carbs, fat, fiber and micronutrients with a NutriScore for the meal. Mixed dishes are where photo logging goes wrong, so there are 8 food type tags, 11 cooking methods and 4 oil levels to set, plus a portion control for the grams. That is the difference between a dal counted as boiled lentils and one counted with its tempering.
Which vegetarian foods carry the most protein per 100 g? โ
Using USDA FoodData Central numbers: tempeh 20.3 g, edamame prepared from frozen 11.9 g, plain nonfat Greek yogurt 10.3 g, extra firm tofu 10.0 g, boiled lentils 9.0 g and boiled chickpeas 8.9 g. Cooked beans and lentils look low because they are mostly water, so the practical move is portion size rather than swapping foods: 200 g of cooked lentils is 18 g of protein, and a 170 g pot of Greek yogurt is another 17 g. USDA FoodData Central has no entry for paneer, so it is not in that list.
What is free and what costs money? โ
Free gets you 5 AI photo scans a week, unlimited manual and voice logging, calories, the four macros, micronutrients and a NutriScore on every meal, unlimited history, water tracking and the fasting timer. Premium adds unlimited scans, the 28 day plan with weekly and monthly grocery lists, the full Progress tab and unlimited calls with Monika, the voice nutritionist. There are two plans, Free and Premium, and Premium works out to about 59 dollars a year.
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