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.
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 three 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.
Black bean and walnut chili
What goes in
- 3 cans (15 oz) black beans, drained
- 1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, drained
- 2 cans (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped fine — this is the texture trick
- 1 cup TVP or soy mince, dry
- 2 onions, 6 cloves garlic, 2 peppers
- 2 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp smoked paprika, 1–2 chipotle in adobo
- 3 cups vegetable stock, 2 tbsp tomato paste
How
- Sweat the onion, pepper and garlic in oil for 8 minutes until soft, not coloured.
- Add the tomato paste and dry spices and fry for 90 seconds. This is where the depth comes from.
- Add everything else, bring it up, then hold at a bare simmer for 40 minutes uncovered.
- It should nearly hold a spoon upright by the end. If it will not, take the lid off and give it ten more minutes.
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
What goes in
- 3 cups dried red lentils, rinsed
- 2/3 cup natural peanut butter
- 1 can (14 oz) coconut milk
- 1 can (14 oz) chopped tomatoes
- 8 cups vegetable stock
- 2 onions, 6 cloves garlic, 2 inches ginger
- 3 tbsp curry powder, 1 tsp turmeric, chilli to taste
- Juice of 2 limes, a big bunch of coriander
How
- Fry the onion, garlic and ginger for 6 minutes, add the spices, fry another minute.
- Add lentils, stock and tomatoes. Simmer 25 minutes, stirring so the bottom does not catch.
- Off the heat, stir in the peanut butter and coconut milk until it goes glossy.
- Lime and coriander at the end, not the start. It is what stops six portions tasting identical.
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
What goes in
- 2 blocks (14 oz each) extra-firm tofu, pressed and cubed
- 2 blocks (8 oz each) tempeh, cut into slabs
- 4 tbsp cornstarch, 3 tbsp neutral oil
- 4 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp maple syrup, 2 tsp garlic powder
- Peanut sauce: 1/2 cup peanut butter, 3 tbsp soy, 2 tbsp rice vinegar, hot water to loosen
How
- Press the tofu for 20 minutes under something heavy. Skip this and it steams instead of crisping.
- Toss the tofu in cornstarch and oil, the tempeh in the soy and maple.
- Two separate trays, 425F, 30 minutes, turned once. Crowding one tray is the commonest way this goes wrong.
- Sauce goes on at the plate, never on the tray. Sauced tofu is soft by Tuesday.
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
What goes in
- 2 cups dried brown or green lentils, rinsed
- 1.5 cups walnuts, chopped fine
- 2 cans (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 2 onions, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, finely diced
- 6 cloves garlic
- 3 tbsp tomato paste, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp dried oregano, 2 bay leaves
- 4 cups vegetable stock
How
- Sweat the onion, carrot and celery in olive oil for 10 minutes until soft — this base is most of the flavour, so do not rush it.
- Garlic and tomato paste in, fried 90 seconds, then the walnuts stirred through to toast slightly.
- Lentils, tomatoes, stock, soy sauce and herbs in. Simmer uncovered 35 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender and the sauce has thickened.
- Balsamic vinegar stirred in at the end, off the heat. Serve over pasta, or over potatoes if you want it lower-fuss.
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.