The Vegan Athlete’s Cookbook: Protein-Rich Recipes to Train, Recover and Perform

Bean (The Vegetarian Athlete’s Cookbook), a British bodybuilding champion turned nutritionist, focuses on the power of plants in this excellent offering of vegan recipes. She begins with a debunking of myths around veganism, including the belief that vegan diets make one more prone to illness. There are instructions for building a balanced diet measured against the intensity of one’s training on any given day, and first steps for those who are just starting out on the path to veganism (“Try one new food a week,” she advises). The remainder of the book presents recipes intended to “fuel your workouts and promote recovery,” with many of the main dishes supplying some 20 grams of protein per serving. Nutrition charts list the amount of calories, carbs, fiber, and fat for each recipe. Breakfast options run from sweet to savory, including cinnamon apple granola bars made with plant-based milk and nut butter, and a tofu scramble with a hint of paprika, while a chapter of single-pot dishes satisfies with such flavorful fare as a Sri Lankan sambar curry. Desserts, snacks, and smoothies in such flavors as strawberry cashew round things out. By pumping iron and flexing its flax, this uplifting volume is just the thing to keep athletes running. (Nov.)