As a vegan on a limited budget, this approximates many of my meals (though I could stand to eat more nuts and seeds and fewer grains), and I can attest that any day I eat roughly this mix of foods is a day I feel superbly healthy.
I would suggest replacing the low-fat dairy milk with a non-dairy alternative such as soy or almond milk. Although this would up the cost to $3.50ish/day, non-dairy milks are usually fortified with more calcium than dairy milk contains naturally, and are often fortified with B12 as well.
If one can afford to invest in a soy milk maker, or persuade family to buy it as a present, making soy milk is extremely cheap. Also, what comes out of a soy milk maker is massively better than what you can get in a box.
I use a combination of soaked soy beans and ground coconut, for a grand total of about 15 cents a quart, including a bit of salt, vanilla, and a tablespoon of sugar (optional). It's a major dietary staple for me. I use the Joyoung CTS1048, reviewed here: http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/004154.php
Such a device pays for itself in a month or two, if one is a regular soy/nut milk aficionado.
* That isn't fortified with calcium + B12 (and all the other stuff like vitamin A and D) like the store-bought stuff.
* If you really want to be simple, you can make cashew milk in a blender with: 1 cup cashews + 3 cups water. (Works better than making almond milk as there is no pulp to strain out)
Thanks for the link. I didn't realize the machines and process cost were that cheap. Combined with a stand mixer and freeze bowl, one could churn out soy ice cream for two orders of magnitude lower cost than store-bought (which easily runs $10-$15/qt).
Just a FYI. I have personally read a lot of negative things about soy heavy diets. Not that I know what I am talking about, but if you do eat a lot of soy it's worth looking into.
PS: The human body can cope with horrible diets for reasonably long periods of time. Also, trying to balance everything correctly every day is vary hard and probably less useful than focusing on what you eat over a week/month.
No, it is not. Pointing out the idiocy of killing a thought out comment without an intelligent rebuttal is retarded -- supporting that retardation is worse.
I would suggest replacing the low-fat dairy milk with a non-dairy alternative such as soy or almond milk. Although this would up the cost to $3.50ish/day, non-dairy milks are usually fortified with more calcium than dairy milk contains naturally, and are often fortified with B12 as well.