The athlete’s body has special nutritional needs that need to be considered to maintain optimal performance—whether you’re a casual gym-goer, a weekend warrior on the marathon circuit, or a pro. But how do you know you’re covering all your food-related bases when you’ve decided to eliminate animal-based foods from your diet? And how can you be sure that you’re getting the right nutritional balance so your performance doesn’t suffer?

This week on the Vegan Mainstream Cookbook Club we are featuring Matt Frazier, who is the author of the popular fitness blog www.nomeatathlete.com. Matt is well known in the running world for his blog, a well-subscribed newsletter, regular features in running magazines, websites and books. Matt is a competitive athlete who runs several marathons and 50-mile ultramarathons each year, and recently ran his first 100-mile race! This week he is going to be chatting with us about food for vegan athletes – what to eat, what not to eat, and so much more.

Matt’s new book, No Meat Athlete: Run on Plants and Discover Your Fittest, Fastest, Happiest Self, is a combination cookbook and information book for active people who are looking to get the most out of their diets. It combines the winning elements of proven training approaches, motivational stories, and innovative recipes. Not just a unique “how to” guide, it’s also a healthy-living cookbook, and nutrition primer for the beginner, every day, and serious athlete who wants to live a meatless lifestyle.

Are you an active vegan who has wondered how to best fuel your body with plants for good performance? If that’s the case, this book, and this week on the club, is for you!

We will have three recipes from No Meat Athlete this week, and these recipes are going to get you excited about the ideas in this book. In this first recipe – which is actually a formula, rather than a recipe – Matt gives you the ingredient combination elements you need to make a great energy bar – and you pick your preferences according to taste. I love this idea! So, here you go…and remember, come join us for more from Matt on the Vegan Mainstream Cookbook Club this week.

The Ultimate Energy Bar Formula

 After falling in love with the “formula” concept after I first tried it with smoothies, I asked my sister to help me come up with a similar template that could be used to create endless varieties of energy bars. The result has been a huge hit on my blog, with readers every week leaving comments about the new combinations they’ve come up with.

Simply choose an ingredient from each category of the master recipe below (or feel free to use an ingredient we haven’t listed). An example follows.

• 1 15 ½-ounce can of beans, drained and rinsed (or 1 ½ cups cooked beans)
• ½ cup binder
• ¼ cup sweetener
• ¼ cup soft sweet fruit
• 1 teaspoon of extract (optional)
• 1 teaspoon of dry spice (optional)
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 ½ cups of oats (you can toast them if you want, but I can’t tell the difference)
• 1 cup dry base ingredient
• 1 cup stir-ins

In a food processor, combine beans, binder, sweetener, soft fruit, extract, spice, and salt until smooth.

Add the oats and dry base ingredients and pulse just to combine.

Add stir-ins and pulse again just to combine.

If the consistency seems spreadable, you’re good. If it’s too dry, add ¼ cup of water; if it’s too runny, add an additional ¼ cup of the dry base ingredient.

Grease a 13×9 pan with baking spray or rub with 1 tablespoon oil, then spread mixture into pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes.

Yield: 24 bars.

Recommended Ingredient Choices

Note: You’ll have the most success if you use unsalted, unsweetened versions of the ingredients, and control the sweetness and saltiness through the sweetener and added salt.

Recommended beans (1 15 ½-ounce can)

• White beans
• Black beans
• Pinto beans
• Chickpeas
• Adzuki beans

Recommended binders (½ cup)

• Almond butter
• Peanut butter
• ¼ cup of ground flax seed mixed with ¼ cup water
• Pureed pumpkin
• Mashed avocado

Recommended sweeteners (¼ cup)

•  Maple syrup
• Brown rice syrup
• Agave nectar

Recommended soft, sweet fruit (¼ cup)

• Applesauce
• Mashed banana (about half of one)
• Chopped dates (remove the pits!)
• Crushed pineapple

Recommended optional extracts (1 teaspoon)

• Vanilla
• Almond
• Lemon
• Coconut
• Coffee

Recommended dry spices (1 teaspoon)

• Cinnamon
• Ginger
• Nutmeg*
• Cardamom*
• Instant coffee

*For stronger spices like nutmeg and cardamom, use just ¼-½ teaspoon and combine with less intense spices like cinnamon.

Recommended dry base ingredients (1 cup total, a combination is usually best)

• Protein powder (we’re fans of a hemp, rice, and pea protein blend)
• Brown rice flour
• Spelt flour
• Cocoa (max ½ cup)
• Whole wheat flour
• Buckwheat flour

Recommended stir-ins (1 cup)

• Shredded coconut
• Dried cranberries
• Raisins
• Dried apricots
• Chopped nuts
• Cacao nibs
• Dry cereal
• Chocolate chips

Example: Cranberry Pistachio Protein Bars

• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• ½ cup binder: ¼ cup of ground flax seed with ¼ cup water
• ¼ cup agave nectar
• ¼ cup applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ cups of oats
• 1 cup vanilla protein powder
• ½ cup pistachios + ½ cup dried cranberries

To find out more about Matt Frazier, visit him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, or his blog.