Today I'm coming at you with a quick-hitter about which meals I'm eating most often as a plant-based fitness enthusiast with an emphasis on building muscle.
I'm doing this because I’m realizing that more and more people are getting curious about how to consume more of their calories from plant foods while optimizing their fitness and their ability to build muscle.
The problem is that they just don't know how to do it.
And maybe you’re in that very same situation. You love the idea of getting jacked on plants, but you don’t you know where to start and the entire idea seems overwhelming, unpractical, and unsustainable.
I was the same way.
I was mesmerized by the idea of eating more plants, consuming fewer animal products, and getting more jacked than ever. It seemed like a win for the animals, a win for the planet, and a win for my own health, longevity, and moral compass.
And yet I had no practical knowledge of how to make it happen.
Fortunately, all of that has changed!
At the time of publishing this article, I’ve been flourishing on a 100% plant-based diet for 160 days.
In that time, I’ve noticed the following things:
Dramatically accelerated recovery from weight training in both bodybuilding and CrossFit
Increased volume capacity in terms of recoverable sets between 0-3 reps in reserve
Increased cardio capacity
Better pumps and improved vascularity
Improved blood flow
Increased sex drive
Better day to day energy levels
Sustained mental focus
Heightened ability to resist irritability and be more patient
Improved sleep quality
Reduced body pain specifically in my sides and lower back
No “gut clog,” which is what I call that heavy, sluggish feeling I used to get after eating meat or dairy-heavy meals.
Better poops
Being happier and more content overall knowing that my dietary choices are in alignment with my desire to be a more compassionate and selfless person
Not bad, right?
And, because I’ve had such a positive experience in my transition to a plant-based life, I want to pay it forward by giving you some specific ideas from my own dietary pattern about what to eat if you're wanting to eat more plants, excel in the gym, and look more muscular in the mirror.
Let’s get into it.
My Most Common Plant-Based Meals for Building Muscle and Getting Lean
1. Smoothies with Plant-Based Protein Powder
I have a plant-based smoothie almost everyday because it's just too easy to smash 30-50g of protein in a single meal this way.
Back when I was a meat-eater, I remember following a lot of vegans who would say, "It's not hard to find protein on a plant-based diet!" And to be honest, it always confused me.
“How could that be true?” I thought. “All of the most obvious protein sources seem to come from animal flesh. Are you really suggesting that broccoli can be a substantial protein source?”
Being on the other side now, I realize that they were trying to promote their lifestyle in a practical, winsome light, but...
The reality is that it does require a greater degree of intentionality to accumulate 120-170g of protein per day on a plant-based diet.
Sure, beans have protein, but compared to egg whites? Let's be real. You'd have to smash a lot of beans and poop your pants twice to get enough protein from those beans as you would an effortless 300mL pour of egg whites.
But, in my opinion, this is nothing to worry about.
I hope to touch on this in more depth in a separate article, but I’ve actually been challenging how much protein the body really needs to build an impressive amount of muscle mass. In fact, I’ve even dabbled with intakes as low as 80g per day, which is less than half of what I used to consume as an omnivore.
But enough on that for now. Let’s get back to the utility of smoothies for building muscle on a vegan diet.
Assuming you want to follow current evidence-based recommendations for protein consumption in the context of optimal physique outcomes, I would encourage anyone who is looking to gain muscle mass on a 100% plant-based diet to utilize the convenience of protein protein powders as one of the few protein sources that rival the macronutrient ratios of animal proteins.
To wrap this one up, protein smoothies make the #1 slot for a few reasons:
They’re quick and easy to prepare and consume.
You can pack them with greens, nuts, and seeds that might be less convenient to eat elsewhere throughout your day.
They taste delicious when supplemented creatively with bananas, mangos, papayas, dates, and nut butters.
They are a good opportunity to consume plant-based EAAs or BCAAs, which are more scarce in the plant kingdom
Although I’m personally skeptical of the importance of leucine in the context of stimulating muscle-protein synthesis to a meaningfully greater extent than the other amino acids, you might be less suspicious than I am. As a bit of an insurance policy, it might be a good idea to buy a protein powder that contains EAAs or BCAAs. As a vegan, I’ve now purchased and used products from Vivo Life and 1st Phorm. I have no affiliation to either.
2. Plant Protein Pasta Explosions
This is another extremely common meal for me because nearly everyone on the planet loves pasta.
In fact, if you come from a traditional perspective on how to diet for building muscle, you’ll know that pasta is rarely to never a part of the conversation.
Why? Because it’s “too high in carbohydrates.” After all, bodybuilding and the pursuit of a god or goddess-like physique is all about protein, right?
I’m not so convinced.
Even though the protein hit from these pastas does come with plenty of carbohydrates, I still find that it's not that difficult to keep my calories in check - especially while bulking.
For example, if you find a plant protein pasta from chickpeas or lentils or even black beans, you can easily get 20-40g of protein per meal. Just be sure to keep your sauces lower in calories and to minimize oil use if you're looking to lose fat.
As a bit of a bonus, I like to sprinkle around 10g of nutritional yeast on top of my pasta bowls for that cheese-like effect while supplementing with vegan meatballs for an extra 16g of protein from soy.
Once you add all of that up, you can easily get 40g or more of protein in a completely vegan mountain of pasta.
Pretty sick, right?
3. Toddler-Sized Burritos
I have become the king of Panchero's.
You can literally get some of the most delicious plant foods out there for the modest price of $9 and some change.
Just in case Panchero's isn't a chain you have in your area, I'm basically talking about anything in the Chipotle or Qdoba category as well.
And what's particularly cool about burritos is that there usually isn't one obvious protein source. This is one of those things that really perplexed me when I was a meat-eater. I just didn't understand the concept that all of the foods within the dish could work together to provide the accumulated protein dose I needed to stimulate muscle growth.
I thought I needed chicken or beef or tuna or eggs or something to get more jacked! But I couldn't be happier that I was wrong.
In this case, the combination of the tortilla, the beans, the rice, and the tofu add up to around 46g of protein.
My specific order?
Tortilla, rice, black beans, pinto beans, grilled veggies, tofusada with an extra scoop, lettuce, corn salsa, and pico
Depressing Update: I recently found out that Panchero’s tortillas are not 100% plant-based, which means I’ve shifted to being a bowl man. But Chipotle’s tortillas are 100% plant-based, which means they’re getting more of my business these days.
I also like mentioning Panchero's because it gives some people hope that you can eat on the fly on a plant-based diet. Although the options are skimpy, this is a super solid one.
In fact, I actually documented the importance of burritos in my vegan bulking diet by naming every single burrito I ate during my first dedicated, vegan bulking phase.
I also named them hurricane-style, which I thought was pretty cheeky. If you want to check that out, you can sink your teeth in here.
4. Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches
Believe it or not, the combination of some high-protein wheat bread or Ezekiel bread with nut butter and a banana can get you 20g of protein fairly easily.
It has also not been uncommon for me to eat 2 plain peanut butter and banana bagels post-workout for a wily 932 calories from 27P, 166C, and 19F.
And if you read that and thought, “What in the flying fork?!”…
Calm down and remember that these are tips for plant-based bulking, which automatically assume a caloric surplus.
You also have to consider the context.
I’m a 190-pound male that trains fairly intensely 5-6 days per week. Because of that, my maintenance intake at 190 is currently 3,500 calories, which makes a modest surplus around 3,800 calories for me.
In short, I need to eat ultra high-carbohydrate meals like this to get the results I want.
Do you? Maybe not.
I’m just giving you an insider look at my diet.
Always make the decision that makes the most sense for you and your goals.
5. Quinoa, Broccoli, and Tempeh Bowls
I really wish more people knew about tempeh!
If you’re not aware, tempeh is made from fermented soybeans.
I can't encourage you enough to try it for yourself if you’ve never dabbled. It's literally as easy as cubing up the block on a cutting board and tossing the cubes into a stir fry with some soy sauce.
For me personally, tempeh bowls really have become the "chicken, broccoli, and rice" equivalent for me from my omnivorous days.
But now, it's tempeh, broccoli, and quinoa.
I choose quinoa because it's actually a fantastic supplementary source of protein. Believe it or not, there are 45g of protein in the bowl you see above.
All you need to make this dish a success is:
Quinoa
Broccoli
Tempeh
Garlic powder, onion power, black pepper, iodized salt or pink salt
Optional
Korean Gochujang sauce
Tahini
And there you have it, my friends!
These are the most common meals I’m using right now to build muscle on a 100% plant-based diet. For those who love to know exact macros, a fairly normal day for me might look like 150P, 620C, and 85F (although I routinely utilize the freedom to tweak my carbs and fats depending on training volume and fluctuating day-to-day preferences). This winds up being around 3,700-3,800 calories.
I hope you found this helpful.
If you feel like this blog brought you any value at all, consider sending it to a friend or family member! You never know who in your life might be plant curious, and you could be the catalyst for a major change in the way they view the plant, their diet, and their fitness.
Cheers, everyone!
-Andrew
