Vegan Weight Gainer revision, and more

As I had mentioned I've been playing around with the weight gainer shake we made up to aid in my calorie surplus. Through trial and error I have whittled away some unnecessary ingredients to make it easier to make and/or shop for. I found that it tastes fine without the agave nectar or the vanilla, so I've cut them out, and by removing TVP the shake is simultaneously less processed and less chunky, a trade I have found reasonable for the loss in protein.

In addition to these removals I have come across a superfood I really should have known about before now. While searching for seeds lower in fat than sunflower seeds, I discovered Pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds).


Pepitas have more protein and less fat per calorie than any other seeds I've come across, have an excellent amino acid profile (which means they have all the amino acids your body needs) and they are rich in minerals (Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, and Phosphorus). A detailed nutritional analysis on Nutritiondata.com even rated their protein score as higher than eggs! (and instead of the whopping amount of cholesterol and nutrient void they have minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals).

Check out all their stats here. The only precaution I will add before anyone goes on an all pumpkin seed diet is that being a seed they are high in fat, so eating too many will make losing bodyfat difficult if that is your goal.

INGREDIENTS (Calories/Carbs/Protein/Fat/Fiber):

• 1/4 cup raw hulled pumpkin seeds (153/5/7/13/1)
• 1 scoop NitroFusion, or similar protein powder (190/9/25/2/2)
• 1 cup soymilk (90/7/7/3.5/1)
• 1 cup water
  
• 1 banana (121/31/1/0/4)
• 1 can canellini beans, rinsed [aka white kidney beans] (420/73/28/0/35)
• [optional] cocoa powder to taste

Directions: Blend all ingredients to desired consistency

Total stats: 974 calories, 125g carbs, 68g protein, 18.5g fat, 43g fiber

Or, for an all whole foods shake omit the protein powder for stats like:
784 calories, 116g carbs, 43g protein, 16.5g fat, and 41g fiber

Either way, a great and highly nutritious shake with stats to match. I would even recommend a half serving of the whole food version to those looking for a meal replacement shake that would help weight loss or maintenance.

Discovery: Vegan Weight Gainer!

During my recent quest to put on a couple pounds of muscle, I have found it hard to get enough calories in without eating tons of shakes or bars because of my crazy schedule.I don't like or recommend getting a lot of calories from shakes or bars because they are highly processed and often have less than optimal nutrition stats. When my search for a vegan whole-food weight-gainer yielded nothing, we began experimenting...

And the result is a weight gainer shake with mostly whole-food ingredients and excellent nutrition stats:

VEGAN WEIGHT-GAINER

INGREDIENTS (Calories/Carbs/Protein/Fat/Fiber):

• 2 tbsp hulled sunflower seeds (105/4/4/9/2)
• 1/4 TVP [textured vegetable protein] (80/7/12/0/4)
  
• 1 scoop NitroFusion, or similar protein powder (190/9/25/2/2)
• 1 cup soymilk (90/7/7/3.5/1)
• 1/2 cup water
  
• 1 banana (121/31/1/0/4)
• 1 can canellini beans, rinsed [aka white kidney beans] (420/73/28/0/35)
• 1 tbsp agave nectar (43/11/0/0/0)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• [optional] cocoa powder to taste

Total stats: 1049 calories, 142g carbs, 77g protein, 14.5g fat, 48g fiber

DIRECTIONS:

Add first 2 ingredients to blender and process to a powder.

Add remaining ingredients and blend for at least 2 minutes, adding more cold water while blending if the shake is too thick.

I know it may look questionable, but it actually tastes quite good and packs a much better nutrient punch than your average gainer shake!

A Word of Caution: If you are not used to eating high fiber foods (like beans) I would try half shakes or even smaller portions at first. This shake contains a whopping 48g of fiber from whole foods, (roughly twice the recommended daily allowance which most Americans still don't get) and if you are not used to it you will have indigestion and gas, guaranteed. These are not signs that you should avoid such foods, these are signs that your diet is deficient in fiber. Once your body is used to high fiber fruits, vegetables, and legumes they won't cause you any trouble.

So, if you're looking to add a few pounds but don't want to choke down another powder gainer, give this one a shot!

Derek's Workout

Today was an exciting day (haha) because I was able to do a full-blown legs routine without my knee acting up. I went light on the exercises, but this is very much what one of my leg routines would normally look like. In the near future I hope to add more athletic exercises such as squat-jumps and set-ups, but for now this will do.

Exercise; Sets/Reps @ Weight: (lbs)

After our workouts we have a protein shake containing one serving each of ON Nutrition's 100% Soy Protein as well as Arizona Nutritional Science's Nitro-Fusion multi-source vegetable protein. The shake also contains a fresh banana, a handful of fresh blueberries, and at least a cup of frozen cherries and strawberries, blended with 1 cup soymilk, 1 cup water.

I chose these shakes due to their excellent, plant-derived (no animal protein) amino-acid profiles. That said, I do not recommend a protein supplement for everyone. Studies have shown that excess protein consumption from all sources, but especially animal protein, places stress on the kidneys as well as other systems within the body. I'll go into more detail in the future, but for now I'd like to recommend protein supplementation as a means to an end (in this case, increasing body muscle-mass) rather than a healthy dietary practice

For more information on these protein supplements visit their websites at:

• www.nitrofusion.us
• www.optimumnutrition.com/products/100-soy-protein-p-221/html