Getting enough calories as a vegan

thelazydandelion
thelazydandelion Posts: 58 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
OK, So as an on/of vegetarian for the past 1 and a half years I decided I wanted to go vegan for October as an experiment. It's tough but I'm enjoying it, my only worry is that I'm not eating enough calories.

I'm not intentionally under eating and more often than not I feel full. However I do fast 2 days a week and on those fasting days I have 600 calories, before I started my vegan month I didn't worry so much about these fast days but since under eating I'm worried my body will crash.

I don't want the lbs to drop off if it's not sustainable or healthy. So it would be awesome if any vegans could give me advice and offer super easy ways to eat more as I am a terrible and lazy cook lol

Replies

  • lolly715
    lolly715 Posts: 106
    I'm not vegan but my answer would be the same anyway... add healthy fats. Nut butters, avocado, coconut oil, etc. Easy way to add as much as 100 calories per tablespoon.

    Glad I checked your diary though, didn't realise the choc chip hobnobs were dairy free. Going to add that to my next shopping list!
  • thelazydandelion
    thelazydandelion Posts: 58 Member
    Lol I was very shocked to find out they were altho if you have a dairy allergy is not good tho as it is made in the same factory as milk etc...
  • lolly715
    lolly715 Posts: 106
    Not an allergy thankfully, just intolerance. So I can sneak the odd bit of dairy and things like yoghurt don't seem to affect me that much. But anything with butter or cream is a nightmare!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    Step 1. Grab Spoon
    Step 2. Grab peanut butter jar
    Step 3. Go to town


    You can also supplement with a vegan protein shake.. mix it with almond milk or another variant.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited October 2014
    More fat...cook with olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, etc. Eat more avocados...nuts and nut butters, etc.

    Also, legumes, grains, pastas, etc are all calorie dense.
  • Raclex
    Raclex Posts: 238
    I'm vegetarian (not vegan) and have no issues getting to my 1500 calories on non workout days and ++ on workout days. I bake a sweet potato (with olive oil, thym and a dash of nutmeg) or pop it in the microwave for 3 minutes. Serve with a side salad, fruit, etc... I love soups as well. Broccoli, cauliflower, mushroom, butternut squash, onion... cook with some veg stock and pass in blender once cooked. Homemade pizzas on pita bread - cut out the cheese and load with veggies. Add nuts, olive oil to salads. How about Indian? You can toss all your ingredients in a pot with lentils and make a great curry coconut milk stew :-) Check out this website, you can get great plant based recipes.

    http://thekindlife.com/blog/category/delicious/

    Hope this helps!
  • darkhorse43
    darkhorse43 Posts: 70 Member
    Hi I'm vegan. I have no trouble getting my calories. In fact I gained all my weight while vegan. If you are having trouble add more beans, whole grains (rice, quinoa, etc), nuts, seeds, and of course fruit and veg. I find the cookbook Appetite For Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz very helpful for healthy easy recipes. They already have the calories worked out. It's an American book but hopefully would work for you.
  • nataliebordeauxx
    nataliebordeauxx Posts: 94 Member
    EXACTLY what darkhorse said! As a vegan, I've never had any problems getting my calories (and so much more) in.
    • all the beans
    • all the nut butters
    • all the seeds
    • all the grains
    • all the greens

    Have fun with it! There are so many amazing plants to enjoy... just start eating them all! :#
  • VeganMagpie
    VeganMagpie Posts: 24 Member
    To add to the above posts, as a vegan I have no problem getting calories in.

    Tesco have some vegan frozen things in their vegetarian range. I don't know what they taste like or what the calories on them are like but they are labelled and easy to cook.

    I generally use a lot of tofu and beans in my meals.

  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    I'm a vegetarian with lots of accidentally vegan days. Lentils, beans, and grains are filling, can be high in protein, and have ample calories. Nuts are obnoxiously high in calories. Seriously. I measure out one serving of pecans and it's so sad: 190 calories and barely a handful.
  • thelazydandelion
    thelazydandelion Posts: 58 Member
    I was quite shocked I'm eating so little. To be fair, I think it's because I've been so used to trying to eat less, when I don't have to worry as much with a vegan diet. A lot the stuff that I ate before have been eliminated so it's a matter of learning.

    Thank you for the comments, when I read what you all say I feel stupid for asking as it's so simple haha.
  • rivka_m
    rivka_m Posts: 1,007 Member
    Make a vegan lasagna with no-boil noodles, tofu for ricotta (mixed with thawed frozen spinach and some seasonings), and jarred sauce. Mix in more veggies if you're feeling fancy. I'm sure there's some recipes online for what to use in the tofu ricotta for flavoring. Plus it makes enough to have leftovers for lunch for several days.

    What about hummus & pita? People list hummus as a low cal food but that's in a 2 TB portion, which is laughably small if you like hummus.

    I'm not vegan but my favorite two cookbooks at the moment are "Vegan Diner" and "Vegan Casserole". (Which actually aren't bad, calorie-wise, if you're careful about portion sizes)

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