Diet meal plans: eight guides, one sample day each
Updated September 2026
A diet is not always a choice. For some people a food rule is a medical fact, for others it is an allergy, a belief, an ethical position or a preference, and the right guidance is different for each. These eight guides are written for people with a specific food rule who want to eat well while following it.
Each guide covers who the diet suits, what to leave out, the hidden sources that cause most mistakes, swaps that keep meals normal, a table of safe staples and a full sample day built from real recipes in the Mealyno plan corpus. Use the comparison below to find the one that matches your situation.
Generated by Mealyno from published formulas. Not reviewed by a doctor or dietitian. Details
The eight guides at a glance
The table shows who each guide is for, what it removes and where the most common mistakes are.
| Guide | Who it is for | Main exclusions | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gluten-free | Coeliac disease, diagnosed gluten sensitivity, wheat allergy | Wheat, barley, rye, most bread, pasta and baked goods | Soy sauce, stock cubes, oats, sausages, gravy |
| Lactose-free | Lactose intolerance (not milk allergy) | Milk, soft cheese, cream, ice cream, regular yogurt | Milk powder in bread, sausages, sauces, tablets |
| Vegan high-protein | Vegans and plant-based eaters with a protein goal | Meat, fish, eggs, dairy, honey, gelatin | Whey in bread, honey, gelatin, Worcestershire sauce |
| Low-FODMAP | People following a low-FODMAP diet, often for IBS | Onion, garlic, wheat in bulk, apples, honey, regular dairy | Onion and garlic powder in stock, sauces, ready meals |
| Diabetic-friendly (low-GI) | People who want a steady, low-GI pattern, including those living with diabetes | Added sugar, sweet drinks, juice, white bread, sweets | Sugar in sauces, flavoured yogurt, granola, dried fruit |
| Nut-free | Peanut or tree nut allergy, and families cooking for someone with one | Peanuts, almonds, walnuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pistachios, nut butters | Pesto, granola, sauces, baked goods, "may contain" warnings |
| Halal | Muslims and anyone who follows halal food rules | Pork and its derivatives, alcohol, meat that is not halal-certified | Gelatin, lard, wine or mirin in sauces, vanilla extract |
| Pescatarian | Vegetarians who eat fish, and meat-reducers who want a clear rule | Meat and poultry, including their stocks and fats | Meat stock in soups, gelatin, lard, bacon bits |
Start with the reason, not the diet
An allergy, an intolerance and a preference are three different problems. An allergy, such as to peanuts or milk protein, can cause a severe reaction, so the rule is zero exposure and includes cross-contact. An intolerance, such as to lactose, is a matter of amounts, and many people can manage a little. A preference or belief, such as vegan, pescatarian or halal, is a matter of which ingredients are permitted, and labels and certificates matter more than amounts.
Coeliac disease sits on the strict side with allergy: gluten has to be avoided fully. Low-FODMAP is a structured trial, usually with a dietitian, and low-GI is a way of choosing carbohydrate. The pages separate these cases because the cost of a mistake is different in each of them.
Combining rules
Many people follow more than one rule: gluten-free and lactose-free, vegan and nut-free, halal and pescatarian. Mealyno keeps them together in one diet profile, so a plan or a scanned product is checked against all of them at once. The strictest rule wins, which means a person with an allergy gets zero-tolerance checking even if the other rules are preferences.
When two guides overlap, read both. The hidden sources differ: a gluten-free diet worries about soy sauce and stock cubes, a low-FODMAP diet about onion and garlic in the same stock cubes.
How Mealyno applies these rules
Mealyno carries an ingredient dictionary in English and Ukrainian that knows about hidden sources, for example wheat in soy sauce, milk powder in bread, or gelatin in sweets. Generated meal plans are checked against your profile, and a day that breaks a strict rule is regenerated rather than shown. When you scan a barcode, the same dictionary checks the ingredients and warns you about conflicts.
These checks are a safety net, not a guarantee. They work on names and ingredient lists, they cannot see cross-contact in a kitchen or a factory, and they cannot measure portion-dependent things such as FODMAP load. The label on the pack stays the final word.
Important note
These guides are general information, not medical advice. They do not diagnose, treat or cure any condition. If you have an allergy, coeliac disease, diabetes, a digestive condition or any other health issue, follow the guidance of your doctor or dietitian and read the label on every product.
Frequently asked questions
Which guide should I read first?
The one that matches the reason for your diet. If you have an allergy or coeliac disease, start with the strictest guide that applies to you and read the hidden sources section closely.
Are these diets for weight loss?
No. They are sets of ingredient rules. Your calorie and protein targets still come from your own goals, for which Mealyno has free calculators.
Can I follow two diets at once?
Yes. Save all of them in your diet profile and meals are checked against every rule.
Do you replace a dietitian?
No. Mealyno is general information and a planning tool. A dietitian can tailor advice to your health and guide restrictive diets safely.
Where do the sample days come from?
Some are days from the Mealyno plan corpus whose dishes pass the diet checker. Where a dish name is not enough to judge a diet (gluten-free, lactose-free, vegan high-protein, low-FODMAP and low-GI), the day is written by hand with its ingredients listed.
Are the pages available in Ukrainian?
Yes, every guide is written in English and in Ukrainian.
Read the full disclaimer
Every number on this page (calorie targets, macro splits and any suggested meal plan) is produced by formulas (Mifflin-St Jeor for basal metabolic rate, standard activity multipliers) or, for AI-generated meal plans, by a language model applying those same formulas. On meal-plan pages the carbohydrate figure for each meal is calculated by difference: total calories minus protein and fat calories, divided by 4. It is not measured or estimated on its own, so read it as an arithmetic balance and not as an independent nutritional analysis of the dish. None of it is individualized medical or nutritional advice, and none of it has been reviewed by a registered dietitian, physician or other licensed healthcare professional.
Ask your doctor or a registered dietitian what is right for you before starting a new diet, especially if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have a diagnosed medical condition, take prescription medication, or have a history of disordered eating. If you have kidney disease or another medical condition, ask your clinician before raising protein.
Mealyno never recommends a calorie target below your calculated Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), the minimum energy your body needs at complete rest. Even the most aggressive weight-loss setting is clamped at that floor.
Calorie and BMR estimates use the Mifflin-St Jeor equation (Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, et al. Am J Clin Nutr. 1990).