High-calorie or “bulking” foods you eat?

[jimishasmom]

Any suggestions? Most people’s high calorie food ideas are absolutely not vegan so I figured y’all are a good group to ask. I’m struggling to eat enough (chronic pain, I’m grieving and I’m anxious/depressed, blah blah blah) and I’m also in active recovery from anorexia, so I’m trying to gain weight.

I love to run, hike, and do yoga, pilates, and band workouts- exercise helps keep me sane…ish. But I can’t afford to lose more weight, so I don’t feel like I can/should workout other than some stretchy yoga if I’m not eating enough.

Frozen foods, high protein tofu and veggie meats are already in my repertoire, as are tricks like adding oil or eating a slightly bigger portion than I think I can manage. I also switched from unsweetened soymilk to sweetened oat milk, since it’s double the calories (!!) and I like it almost as much.

I’m really looking for easy recipes/meal ideas (the frozen foods and veggie meats are painful on a tight budget but idc, I have to eat SOMETHING) or protein shake additions or easy to eat snacks. The easier the better since I’m in sad bitch mode right now, but I usually love to cook so inspire me!

EDIT 9/30 thanks y’all for all the suggestions! I’ve been adding in lots of nuts and nut butters,smoothies/protein shakes, and it’s also really helped me to drink a glass of oat milk like an hour before at least one meal a day to get some extra easy calories in. ( i used to only put it in shakes and stuff) And I’ve been making my favorite foods, which is really helping!

 

[carra]

@jimishasmom If I was bulking I would make protein pancakes to get the protein, lots of vegetables and some grain or potatoes. That would leave me with 1500 or so extra calories, those I would fill with nut butter sandwiches, halva, muffins, fruit and maybe protein pudding. I'm cutting now so I have just 500 extra cals, so fruit and nuts it is.

 

[jimishasmom]

@carra Did you buy a mix or do you have an easy recipe? thanks for the other ideas, too!!

 

[carra]

@jimishasmom The pancakes are from plain pea protein, chickpea or pumpkin seed flour, flax egg and seasoning. I use a bit more protein than flour, like 100g : 80g.
For sweet I used artificial sweetener, I haven't tried sugar, it would have different ratios then I guess

 

[avery123]

@jimishasmom Protein smoothies are a life saver. 2.5 cups of soy milk, 6 spoonfuls of hemp hearts, a scoop of vega berry protein powder, a banana and a scoop of blueberries. It tastes amazing and it’s like 800+ calories and 50+ grams of protein.

 

[jimishasmom]

@avery123 ooooh I used to make a similar smoothie and loved it, I’ll have to do that again but with your amount of hemp seed (like 2-3x what I used to do.) and i like to add a frozen thank you!!!

 

[dubschanging]

@jimishasmom Tofu and noodles with a peanut butter (soy, Sriracha, sesame, garlic, etc) sauce.

PB&J.

Protein shakes with peanut butter in them.

I think you'll notice a theme.

 

[alongingformore]

@jimishasmom Definitely drink your calories. My smoothie in the mornings consists of (depending on what I have, but generally very similar):

1 cup of rolled oats

1 banana

~140 grams of frozen fruit, whatever I have that day

~70 grams of spinach, could also use whatever dark leafy greens you want

~3 tbsp hemp seeds

~2 tbsp chia seeds

~2 tbsp ground flaxseeds

~2.5 cups low fat Oatly oatmilk (use more for more liquid/easier to drink, less for more thick)

1 scoop protein powder (I use PEScience Vegan Select)

Totals out to about 1100 calories, 57 grams of protein, 155 grams of carbs, 36 grams of fat

You could customize this however you like. Make it bigger or smaller if you'd like. Add 2 tbsp of peanut butter instead of (or in addition to!) protein powder (I find that the higher fat bloats me more, so I avoid PB). Use whatever fruits and greens you want. Use more, less, or different seeds/nuts. Use whatever plant based milk you want. Super customizable, super easy to make, and for someone like me (and you) who is trying to bulk, it's super easy to pound this down in the morning and get a third of my calories for the day 20 minutes after waking up.

 

[toysernis1]

@jimishasmom I eat spoonfuls of peanut butter and also pieces of wheat bread. I'll be not hungry at all but just take a bite and then drink a sip of water to wash it down easier. Also I buy the 60 seconds oatmeal that's cooked a little more than the old fasioned, I add half a cup to my milk and blend it up then drink it.

 

[monte]

@jimishasmom Peanuts

 

[joel74]

@jimishasmom Hash browns, peanut butter, some sweet treats such as caramel rice squares, curiously cinnamon cereal, smoothies

 

[aceg11]

@jimishasmom Definitely peanut butter! This was probably mentioned here already but you don’t just have to use it in a pb&j, you can put it in smoothies and even cook with it. I use it to make thai-inspired marinades and sauces that would be great with tofu. Example this was a go to recipe for us for a while (I cut down on the sesame oil bc it’s just way too much) recipe

 

[dawn16]

@jimishasmom A meal I've been making lately is vegan bolognese, it's made with lentils and it's d e l i c i o u s, so easy to make and great for food prep. I also add chickpeas and serve with brown rice. Some veggies on the side.

Chili is also one of my favorites. I'm a sucker for beans. I add chickpeas there, as well (there's a pattern here somewhere). It's also real easy to make.

 

[avocadoll]

@jimishasmom A package of pasta by itself might have 1300+ calories and it’s very easy to make it disappear. Add in some fresh herbs, garlic, some olive oil or cashew cheese / vegan pesto and you could easily have 2,000+ calories in a single meal. I stay away from it because it’s so easy to eat and so calorie dense, but if that’s the objective it’s great and super delicious and hard to mess up / easy to make taste great.

Also granola and trail mix, super calorie dense and yummy. Good luck!

 

[dawn16]

@jimishasmom So many high cal vegan junk foods sold as healthy snacks on the market - nut butters, coconut yogurt, vegan energy/ protein bars, vegan cheeses, Lenny and Larry cookies, vegan desserts in the fridge isle like chocolate pudding cups, vegan mayo, vegan yogurts