One of the questions I’ve been asked the most since starting Athlegan is what vegan athletes should eat. Aside from supplements – what real food should we fuel our bodies with?

I also covered some vegan breakfast and dinner recipes and now the time’s come to share a few of my favorite ideas for lunch recipes. Healthy lunches for all the athlegans out there.

Personally, I usually have just two or three lunches that I cycle through, because it makes it easy to shop and plan my meals. These lunches can change over time, as I grow tired of them.

One big criterion for any of my meals is that they should be simple to make. I love making more elaborate dishes every now and then, experimenting with different cuisines and ingredients. But the Internet is already full of elaborate vegan recipes, based on weird, organic ingredients you can only find once a month at some obscure farmers market.

My recipes are the opposite – dead easy to make, with ingredients you can find at your local super market. I know that the more complicated my day-to-day diet is, the more likely I am to fail it.

The two lunches I’m about to share have been part of my diet for half a year or so.

One I eat after training and the other on rest days. More or less – sometimes I go a little wild and have the post-training meal on a rest day. Livin’ la vida loca!

Macronutrients

I normally train mid-day and then have lunch afterwards. My idea is to pack my post-training meal with carbs, so that I can quickly refill my glycogene levels and prepare for the next lifting session.

The timing of my carbs isn’t really super important, especially since I currently rest 48 hours between sessions1. Some periods I train twice a day, however, and … why not? :)

Beyond carbs I want plenty of protein in my lunches, aiming for 2 grams per kilo (lean) body weight.

As for fat, I consider it for three primary reasons. One is to cover daily need, another to stay full longer, and a third to help absorb fat soluble vitamins. For lunch I only care about the last bit.

Micronutrients

Minerals and vitamins are important too.

As vegans our diets tend to contain less saturated fat and cholesterol and more dietary fiber2, which is great. On average it’s a very healthy diet3 with some surprising benefits4.

We should however make sure that we get enough of some specific micronutrients, such as the vitamins B12 and D, calcium, and omega-3 fatty acids2. In some cases, iron and zinc as well.

If you’re low on zinc and vitamin D, your testosterone levels are probably suffering as well. Eating food with more of those micronutrients is one of the few ways to naturally increase your testosterone levels. It’s worth noting though, that extra supplementation on top of normal levels doesn’t seem to increase testosterone further.

Vegan lunch recipes

With the above in mind, here’s my ideas for how to eat healthy!

NB! I’m a 90 kg guy eating to grow – so you might want to modify the sizes of these recipes. Or simply break out the tupperware and call it food prep!

Indian bowl Ingredients 400 g Cooked green lentils

250 g Boiled brown rice

200 g Green beans

Cumin, olive oil, and salt Directions Wash and chop up the raw green beans in centimeter long rods. Mix all ingredients together. Sprinkle a generous amount of cumin on top, add a little salt and oil, and stir until it's well mixed. 828 kcal 46 g protein 152 g carbs 4 g fat

Brawny veggie stir Ingredients 200 g Tofu

100 g Green beans

100 g Bean sprouts

100 g Broccoli

100 g Paprika

100 g Peas

100 g Mushrooms

2 tbs Olive oil

2 Cloves garlic

Turmeric, salt Directions Dice all ingredients up in small pieces. Cut the garlic in thin slices and fry it in the oil until browning. Throw in all ingredients, sprinkle with plenty of turmeric and salt. Done! Dead. Easy. Recipe. :) 898 kcal 56 g protein 56 g carbs 50 g fat

To each their own

The above vegan lunch recipes are my personal and current go-tos for day-to-day nutrition. They’re very simple to make and provide lots of energy and nutrients.

But your milage may vary and I’d love to hear about it! I’m sure you have your own favorites, some tricks and tips on how to quickly put together something delicious to fuel your training.

Why don’t you send me an email or a tweet and tell me?

Subscribe below and I’ll send you more healthy recipes in the near future!