Vegan Energy
- July 2023
- Hi Steph Simple Living Training
Hi Steph, please could you give me some advice as far as eating as a vegan for energy. I am vegan but seem to battle with sustainable energy levels. Could you possibly send me your daily meal plan?
Thank you kindly, Jean
Hi Jean,
Thank you for writing to me! It’s great to hear you’re giving a lot of thought to your eating system and your performance, because they are so powerfully linked. Without knowing details about your current diet, I would suggest cutting out refined sugar completely, and keeping natural added sugars to a minimum. I’d also suggest avoiding processed foods and grains. And of course, avoiding alcohol. With energy as the main issue you’re addressing, I’d also suggest eliminating caffeine (perhaps switch to decaf, if you’re a coffee drinker), and be sure you’re taking a good multi B vitamin. Last but not least, pay attention to protein. Because I train a lot, my target goal is to eat 1 gram of protein/pound of my body weight per day. I don’t use a tracker or get extremely precise with it, but I do let that target number guide my choices in all meals and snacks. I also supplement with one protein shake per day.
I eat very little prebought prepared food. I bake sourdough bread daily, and always keep homemade hummus, pesto, kimchi and pickles in the fridge. I usually make sure to have some cooked quinoa and brown rice handy as well–this way I can always throw together something to take with me for the day. I’ve found that the five minutes I spend putting together a wrap or sandwich in some foil is faster, easier, cheaper and better than buying something elsewhere. To be honest, I rarely find pre-made food to purchase that seems to be of reasonable quality at a reasonable price!
A typical day of eating for me would be something like this:
breakfast:
1 or 2 pieces of homemade sourdough bread with natural peanut butter (this is a great example of being mindful of protein with each eating choice, because I really don’t love peanut butter for its own sake, but I know it’s high in protein so I eat it anyway) and a banana, berries or an apple
or
a bowl of homemade granola (my granola is high in nuts: cashews, walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds–pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds are the winners for protein quantity so that’s why I include them in my granola) and homemade soymilk, with sliced banana
mid morning or training session drink:
protein shake: I mix half Gnarly Vegan Vanilla with half plain pea powder, add that to half homemade soy milk and half water, add some ice and shake it up. I’m shooting for a flavor that’s relatively bland and that goes down easy, this isn’t recreational eating 🙂
snacks/lunch (options):
mixed nuts, dates, dried figs, dried bananas
wrap: usually my homemade hummus with mustard, homemade pesto (I make mine with walnuts), quinoa, onion, greens, zucchini, red pepper, carrots, but this is also a good way to make leftover stirfry or burrito mix portable
hummus sandwich: homemade hummus on homemade sourdough with mustard, pesto, veggies (yes, basically the same as the wrap but without the quinoa)
tofu wrap or sandwich–same as the above but with tofu added
peanut butter sandwich on homemade sourdough with sliced bananas
quinoa or brown rice with veggies (raw or sauteed) and tofu
baked tofu (I often slice a block and throw it on a baking tray with some Braggs liquid aminos if I have the oven going already, this makes great leftovers, snacks, wrap or sandwich additions)
brown rice with baked tofu, kimchi, edamame (I keep frozen edamame on hand, it takes just 3 minutes to boil and has a great flavor and texture despite being a frozen food item, and is a big winner on protein level!)
pickles, fresh fruit
I don’t use a lot of bars, but for in a pinch I keep Gomacro bars in the cupboard
dinner (options):
brown rice with stirfried tofu and veggies is my main staple. I love adding fresh ginger!
check the pasta section of your store: now there are so many great pasta choices that are high in protein, from edamame pasta to lentil pasta. For years I almost never ate pasta because I couldn’t justify a meal that doesn’t include a significant amount of protein, now it’s a quick and inexpensive option. In summer, I’ll roast garden tomatoes, eggplant and zucchini with olive oil to mix in. In winter I’ll pull homemade pesto from the freezer and whatever veggies I’d like to saute or roast in addition to that.
greens and beans! I love to saute kale and/or chard with garlic and a splash of lemon juice and apple cider vinegar. I use a pressure cooker for beans, and always keep some cooked beans in the fridge (main favorites are garbanzos, black beans, kidney beans, anasazi beans and black beans). You can also have sauteed greens with tofu, if you don’t have any beans made up.
tacos with crumbled, sauteed and seasoned tofu, cabbage slaw (I make mine with vegannaise, lemon juice and apple cider vinegar), avocado, garden tomatoes and peppers and you can use either hard shells or corn tortillas
salad with sauteed tofu or tempeh, avocado, toasted pumpkin seeds (I’ll heat a big batch in a fry pan and finish them with a squeeze of lime juice or apple cider vinegar, then sprinkle with salt and store them in a jar), vinaigrette (I shake up olive oil, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice and salt and you can store that in the fridge in a jar), quinoa, edamame, and your choice of veggies or shredded beets. I like to sprinkle nutitional yeast on my salads too!
electrolyte mix:
We have to filter our water here in Moab, and I’ve found that I’m not getting enough minerals from my drinking water to stay hydrated, especially with the hot dry climate and a lot of exercise. So I make my own electrolyte drink and alternate drinking that with drinking plain water through the day. In the morning I drop some ice into a gallon wide mouth jug (I use the Yeti stainless steel gallon jug) with a dollop of lime juice and/or a whole lime quartered and squeezed in, a teaspoon of my 50/50 pink sea salt/vitamin C powder mix and about a tablespoon of maple syrup, then fill the jug with water. I’ll refill my smaller bottles with ice and this electrolyte mix throughout the day. Just don’t get too carried away with the amount of vitamin C powder, as it can make you loose 🙂
I hope this gives you some food for thought, and some food for energy as well!
