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My 13 year old is hoping to go plant based for everything but dinner.
He is a very tall intensely athletic kid heading into a growth spurt. I wonder how he will get enough calories. Suggestions? |
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oatmeal with peanut butter and banana
tofu scramble bean burritos or rice and beans and veggies sandwiches with hummus and veggies soup smoothies baked or sweet potatoes with a variety of seasonings or toppings |
| Mark Bittman’s VB6 (vegan before 6) cookbook but I don’t know if the recipes will appeal to a teenage boy. |
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Amy's frozen meals has breakfast. If he likes them you can try to make them from scratch.
You can make it things like tofu scramble and hash browns with a lot of oil. Beyond sausages. Carby things like pancakes and waffles. |
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Banana avocado spinach smoothies
How do you know your already tall kid is heading into a growth spurt? |
| You can make lots of creamy and cheesy stuff with cashews. |
Well, he's 13 and hasn't had his growth spurt yet, so I think it's likely to happen. And I can look at when his brother and dad and uncle grew. I'm not saying it's tomorrow, but he's clearly got growth to come, so his caloric needs are high. |
| A lot of beans, lentils, sweet potatoes. Smoothies with nuts and banana. |
| We just went plant-based and found that two+ protein sources at every meal are very important. Hummus plus tofu and quinoa in a wrap, for example, with cabbage for crunch. |
| A lot of plant based protein sources are really half protein, half high fiber carbs. This makes it really challenging to consume enough protein before getting full. I would not rely on beans and grains as main protein sources for this reason. Tofu and wheat gluten (seitan) have the same nutritional composition as chicken breast. Rice and pea protein powder shakes are also necessary for athletics. Naked protein on Amazon is a good filler free brand. |
| Have your son look up Biki Singh on YouTube. He's a professional bodybuilder who's vegetarian for religious reasons, and has a lot of videos on his diet. |
He might also get helpful information from Nimai Delgado and Simon Hill (Plant Proof). Other athletic male role models in this space are Rip Esselstyn and Rich Roll, but they are older and might not be as motivating to a teen. |
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Like someone said,
Breakfast: we do protein plus oatmeal with banana and peanut butter mixed in, avocado. OR: Morningstar veggie patties (yes- processed) on whole wheat/high protein bread with a side of fruit or avocado Or: beans, guac, and salsa in high protein wraps. Lunch: barilla plus pasta, olive oil, red pepper flakes, and spinach in a thermos. OR: PBJ on high protein bread OR: Dave's Killer bagel with cucumbers, spinach, tons of hummus, shredded carrots and avocado Snack on nuts, apples and PB, protein smoothies/bars, hummus and veggies, those crispy chickpeas. We also keep a bowl of edamame in the fridge most days. |
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^ I posted the menu above. I am not vegan, but I am seriously averse tpo dairy, so I also make a topping for my pastas of pulsed walnuts and nutritional yeast--a kind of parm substitute.
Ass a 45 year old woman I have to go easy on it, but it would be absolutely fine and nutritious for a 13 year old in larger quantities (and fine for my 17 year old). |
Vegan does NOT equal Whole Food |