Best vegan recipes for triathletes

Make sure you’re fuelling your training and recovery correctly with these four recipes from David and Stephen Flynn, authors of The Happy Pear 20.

We’ve included two sweet and two savoury options which should see you through breakfast and main meals, but there are plenty more in their book, out now.

Plus, in this exclusive interview the two authors and keen athletes share their top tips for fuelling endurance training and racing on a vegan diet.

Raspberry bakewell breakfast muffins

Makes 12 muffins
Prep: 10 mins, Cooking: 25 mins

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp ground flaxseeds
• 6 tbsp water
• 180g oats (use gluten-free for GF version)
• 50g flour (use gluten-free for GF version)
• 160g ground almonds
• 1 tsp baking powder (use gluten-free for GF version)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 150g coconut oil
• 150g maple syrup or date molasses
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 125g punnet of fresh raspberries
• 20g flaked almonds

These were a very popular breakfast muffin or snack on our first gut-health course. They can be easily made gluten-free and are very easy to eat! We’ve adjusted them slightly to make them more of a Bakewell-flapjack-muffin.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/400°F/gas 6.
2. Make the flax egg: Mix the flaxseeds with the water in a small bowl, and leave to sit while you prepare the other ingredients
3. Mix the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, mix the oats, flour, ground almonds, baking powder and baking soda.
4. Add the wet ingredients: Melt the coconut oil by heating it in a small pot. Add it to the dry ingredients along with the maple syrup or date molasses, vanilla and almond extract and the flax egg and mix thoroughly. Stir through 3⁄4 of the raspberries and 3⁄4 of the flaked almonds.
5. Divide and decorate: Line a 12-hole muffin tray with paper cases and divide the muffin mixture evenly between them. Decorate the tops of the muffins with the remaining flaked almonds and raspberries.
6. Bake and serve: Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, then remove and leave to cool.

Cinnamon Swirls

We make hundreds of cinnamon swirls every weekend in our bakery. They are our most popular treat by a distance! This version is so practical and quick to make. We have simplified the process so they don’t require any proofing, as they have no yeast. You can bake these in the oven or even in an air fryer.

Makes 8 swirls

Prep: 10 mins, Cooking: 20 mins

Ingredients

Dough

• 200g self-raising flour
• 35g icing sugar
• 1⁄4 tsp salt
• 80g cold vegan butter, cut into cubes, plus extra for the tin
• 100ml oat milk

Cinnamon filling

• 2 tbsp vegan butter
• 90g brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• Cream cheese icing
• 4 tbsp vegan cream cheese
• 65g icing sugar
• 1⁄4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp oat milk

Method

1. Preheat the oven and grease the tin: Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/400°F/gas 6, or the air fryer on bake function to 160°C. Grease and line a 2lb (900g) loaf tin.
2. Prepare the dough: Add the self-raising flour, icing sugar and 1⁄4 teaspoon of salt to a mixing bowl, and stir together. Add the butter, and use your fingers to rub the butter into the flour mixture until it looks like damp sand or breadcrumbs. Stir in the milk. Using your hands or a wooden spoon. bring the dough together into a rough ball. Coat the dough in a little flour so it is easy to handle.
3. Dust your counter with flour, place the dough on it and knead for 2–3 minutes. Using a rolling pin, roll out into a rectangle roughly 45cm × 30cm.
4. Prepare the filling: Melt the butter. In a separate bowl, mix the cinnamon and sugar together. Using a pastry brush, spread the melted butter over the dough, bringing it right to the edges. Then sprinkle over the cinnamon sugar as evenly as you can.
5. Roll and cut the dough: Starting at the long end of the rectangle, roll the dough up tightly into a log. Cut the log in half, then halve both pieces, and then halve each remaining piece – you should have 8 evenly sized swirls. Place them in the loaf tin face up, so you can see the cinnamon layers.
6. Bake: Place the loaf tin into the preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes, or bake in the air fryer for 18–20 minutes.
7. Make the icing: While the rolls are in the oven, place the cream cheese in a bowl, then add the icing sugar, vanilla and milk. Use a fork to break it down and stir until smooth and super creamy.
8. Ice and serve: When the rolls are ready, remove them from the oven or air fryer and drizzle the glaze over the top. They’ll keep for 2–3 days in an airtight container.

Crispy tofu thai noodle soup

Serves 2-3
Prep: 15 mins, Cooking: 30 mins

Ingredients

Crispy tofu

• 200g firm tofu
• 2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 11⁄2 tbsp oil

Soup

• 200g rice noodles

Veg

• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 carrot
• 3 scallions or green onions
• 1 handful of fresh coriander

Yellow curry paste sauce

• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 red chilli
• 1 stalk lemongrass
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 15g fresh coriander (just the stalks)
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tbsp tamari
• 1 × 400ml can coconut milk
• 400ml veg stock
• salt and ground black pepper

Garnishes

• red chilli
• peanuts or peanut rayu
• sliced radishes
• fresh lime wedges, for squeezing

Our kids love this! It’s a super-tasty soup, straightforward to make and packed full of flavour. It makes a great dinner as well as lunch, and it’s also good eaten cold for a meal on the go. Serving it with peanut rayu takes it to the next level!

1. Prep the tofu: You can bake in the oven or air fryer. If using an oven, preheat to 200°C fan/425°F/gas 7. Cut the tofu into cubes, about 2cm × 2cm. In a bowl, toss the tofu with tamari or soy sauce, cornstarch and garlic powder until evenly coated.
2. Place the tofu cubes in an air fryer basket or baking tray, making sure they are not touching each other for better airflow. Toss the tofu lightly in 11⁄2 tablespoons of oil. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or air fry at 200°C (390°F) for about 12 minutes. Shake the basket or tray halfway through. The tofu should be golden and crispy. Set aside.
3. Prep the noodles: Cook the rice noodles according to the package instructions. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process, then set aside.
4. Prep the veg: Finely slice the red pepper and the carrot, slice the green onions into rounds and finely chop the coriander including the stalk. Keep some of the green onions and coriander back to garnish.
5. Make the soup: Place all the ingredients for the yellow curry paste sauce into a blender and blend until smooth. Add to a pot and bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes to allow the flavours to meld together. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Assemble: Divide the cooked noodles between the serving bowls. Ladle the hot soup over the noodles, making sure to distribute the vegetables equally. Top each bowl with a portion of the crispy air-fried tofu.
7. Garnish and serve: Garnish with the peanut rayu, reserved sliced green onions and chopped coriander, sliced red chilli and sliced radishes.
8. Serve immediately, encouraging everyone to squeeze some lime juice over their soup to enhance the flavours.

Cauliflower curry tray bake

Serves 4
Prep: 10 mins, Cooking time: 40 mins

Ingredients

Sauce

• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2cm piece of fresh ginger
• 1 × 400g tin of coconut milk
• 400ml vegetable stock
• 11⁄2 tbsp medium curry powder
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 3 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• juice of 1 lime

Veg

• 500g sweet potato
• 1 × 400g tin of black beans
• 6 vegan sausages, defrosted if from frozen
• 1 medium leek
• 1 head of cauliflower
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
• pinch of salt
• 10g fresh coriander, basil, flat parsley or chives

This is a really handy one-pan dish – simply prep all the veg, put them in a pan with the sauce, bake in the oven and that’s it: delicious dinner ready! It’s great served with rice or toast for a family dinner. You can substitute the veg here for pretty much any other veg that you have to hand.

1. Preheat: Preheat your oven to 200°C fan/425°F/gas 7.
2. Prep the sauce: Peel the garlic and ginger. Roughly chop them, place in a blender with the coconut milk, vegetable stock, curry powder, turmeric, tamari or soy, maple syrup and lime juice and blend until smooth.
3. Prep the veg: Cut the sweet potato into bite-sized pieces (leaving the skin on). Drain and rinse the black beans. Slice the sausages into bite-sized pieces. Slice the leek into 1–2cm rounds, washing thoroughly first to remove any hidden sediment.
4. Combine the veg and sauce: Place the chopped sweet potato, black beans, sliced sausages and leek into a large, deep oven dish. Pour the blended sauce over the vegetables and mix well.
5. Prep the cauliflower: Cut the cauliflower head into four equal-sized steaks from top to bottom. Place the steaks and any smaller pieces, including the leaves (thinly sliced), on a separate baking tray. Coat with 2 tablespoons of oil, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of tamari or soy sauce, and sprinkle with salt.
6. Bake: Place the casserole dish and the tray of cauliflower in the oven. Bake for 30–40 minutes, or until the sweet potato and cauliflower are tender and cooked through.
7. Chop the herbs: While the bake is in the oven, roughly chop your chosen fresh herb.
8. Garnish and serve: Once baked, remove both the dish and tray from the oven. Carefully place the roasted cauliflower steaks on top of the curry bake in the casserole dish. Garnish with the chopped herbs and serve hot.

The Happy Pear 20: Recipes and Learnings from the first 20 years, is on sale from 31st October, priced £23.99. Published by Gill Books.

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