Plant-only
Vegan for big guys
Vegan eating gets written for small appetites. This is the version for someone who trains heavy and needs a full plate: legumes and soy carrying the protein, and portions sized for a big frame instead of a magazine photo.
Plants, in the quantity a big man actually needs
How this one works
The hard part of vegan eating at this size is not protein in principle -- it is protein density. A cup of black beans is about 15 g of protein; a cup of chopped chicken is about 43. So the plan leans on the four things that actually carry weight: tofu, tempeh, seitan and lentils, with soy milk and a pea or soy protein powder closing the gap on days that run short.
Everything below is built around two cook sessions a week. The pot food -- chili, dal -- improves by day two. The crisp food -- tofu, tempeh -- does not, which is why it gets cooked twice rather than once.
The two cook sessions
What you make, and when
The site-wide schedule is Sunday for the long cook and Wednesday for the top-up. On this track that means:
- CookBig pot of black bean and walnut chili — 8 portions
- CookRed lentil and peanut dal — 6 portions
- Cook6 cups of brown rice, 2 lb of roast potatoes
- CookTwo trays of roast vegetables (peppers, onion, broccoli, courgette)
- CookTwo trays of crisp baked tofu and tempeh — 6 portions
- CookFresh pot of rice or a tray of potatoes
- CookChopped raw: cabbage slaw, cucumber, tomatoes
Timed run sheets for both sessions are on the prep schedule, and every recipe named above has its own page.
The actual week
Seven days, about 170 g of protein
This is the whole week rather than a teaser. Friday dinner is deliberately left open — a plan with no room in it is a plan you break once and abandon.
| Day | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner | Extras |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Tofu scramble with black beans, two slices wholemeal toast | Black bean chili over brown rice, avocado | Red lentil dal, roast potatoes, roast veg | Soy milk shake, handful of peanuts |
| Tue | Oats cooked in soy milk, peanut butter, banana | Chili again — better on day two | Crisp tofu, rice, roast veg, peanut sauce | Soy yoghurt, mixed seeds |
| Wed | Tofu scramble, beans, toast | Dal with rice and a big slaw | Seitan and pepper stir-fry over noodles | Protein shake after training |
| Thu | Oats, soy milk, protein powder, berries | Tempeh and roast veg bowl, tahini | Chili, last portions, over potatoes | Hummus and a whole bag of carrots |
| Fri | Chickpea flour omelette, toast, avocado | Crisp tofu bowl, rice, slaw | Whatever you like — eat out, order in | Soy milk if the day ran short |
| Sat | Big scramble — tofu, beans, mushrooms, toast | Peanut lentil stew, rice | Lentil bolognese over pasta, big salad | Soy yoghurt, fruit, nuts |
| Sun | Oats, soy milk, peanut butter, banana | Bolognese leftovers | Cook day — eat as you go, roast a tray extra | Portion out Monday to Wednesday |
Big-batch recipes
The four that do the work
Real quantities, a per-portion protein count, and how long each one actually keeps. Everything here scales to a full tray or a full pot on purpose — each one has its own page with the ingredients and the method.
Black bean and walnut chili
Keeping it: Fridge 4 days, freezer 3 months, and it comes back better than it went in. Portion it while it is hot — cold it sets solid and you will not get it out of the tub.
Red lentil and peanut dal
Keeping it: Fridge 4 days, freezer 3 months. It thickens overnight — loosen it with a splash of water when you reheat.
Crisp baked tofu and tempeh trays
Keeping it: Fridge 4 days. Reheat in a dry pan or an air fryer, not the microwave, or you lose the crust entirely.
Lentil and walnut bolognese
Keeping it: Fridge 4 days, freezer 3 months. It thickens considerably in the fridge — loosen with a splash of stock or water when reheating.
Doing it cheaper
The budget version
Vegan is the cheapest of the six tracks per gram of protein, and it is not close — dried beans deliver roughly 58 g of protein per dollar at the July 2026 national average price. Cost only climbs when a plan leans on packaged meat substitutes, so this one does not.
A full week for one person sits around $45–60 at national average prices, and closer to $40 if you buy dried legumes and rice in the largest bag your kitchen can store.
| Instead of | Use | Why it is worth it |
|---|---|---|
| Canned beans | Dried beans, soaked overnight | Roughly half the price per gram of protein, and the texture holds up better in a long simmer. |
| Packaged vegan mince | TVP or soy curls, dry | Same protein, a fraction of the cost, and it keeps for a year in a cupboard. |
| Fresh berries and out-of-season veg | Frozen | Picked riper, costs less, and does not rot in the drawer while you are at work. |
| Almond milk | Soy milk | Almond milk is about 1 g of protein a cup. Soy is 7 to 8. On this plan that difference matters. |
The prices behind these swaps, with sources, are in the protein-per-dollar table.
Shopping list
One week, one person
Sized for a big guy eating the plan above with a little slack in it. Halve the fresh produce if you shop twice a week.
Protein
- 4 blocks extra-firm tofu
- 2 blocks tempeh
- 2 lb dried black beans
- 2 lb dried red lentils
- 1 lb TVP or soy curls
- 1 lb natural peanut butter
Carbs
- 5 lb brown rice
- 5 lb potatoes
- 2 lb rolled oats
- 1 lb wholemeal pasta
- Loaf of wholemeal bread
Plants
- 2 bags frozen mixed veg
- 4 onions, 2 heads garlic
- 4 peppers, 2 courgettes
- Head of cabbage
- Bananas and apples
Pantry
- 4 cans crushed tomatoes
- 2 cans coconut milk
- Half gallon soy milk
- Cumin, smoked paprika, curry powder
- Soy sauce, tahini, olive oil
Vegan diets need a reliable B12 source — fortified foods or a supplement — and it is worth keeping an eye on iron, iodine and omega-3. None of that is an argument against eating this way. It is the short list of things plants do not hand you for free.
Nothing on this page is medical advice. It is a plan written for general strength training in healthy adults, and any condition or medication you are managing outranks it.
Not the right track?
Five others, same structure, all with a budget version.