Tofu, Taco Bell, and 60-Mile Weeks: How a Vegan Portland Runner Fuels Up

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Welcome back to Rose City Receipts, where locals share how they balance grocery shopping, eating out, and sticking to a budget. Want to be featured? Let me know!

Today, we hear from Bradley from Mount Scott-Arleta. He writes OPB’s First Look daily newsletter (which I actually helped create — small world!) and is here to walk us through how he juggles that work with training for a race and enjoying life in Portland. He also shares his love for two staples: the WinCo bulk section and Taco Bell’s endlessly customizable, vegan-friendly menu.

Who are you? I’m Bradley. I’m 33 and write OPB’s daily morning newsletter, First Look. I’m vegan and aging into athleticism as a long-distance runner.
Where do you live? Mount Scott-Arleta
What’s your weekly grocery budget (roughly)?: $100-$150, but typically on the higher end these days
How many people are you shopping for?: One, sometimes two
What are your favorite stores?: I stick to Fred Meyer for most things, but am a WinCo convert. New Seasons in a pinch.
What’s your top priority when it comes to grocery shopping?: Consistency. I thrive on a plan.

I run a lot, therefore I eat a lot. I’ve been running 50-60 miles per week since January, and after a two-week break I plan to build toward 80, 90 or even 100 miles a week to get ready for a December marathon. That requires a lot of fuel!

I don’t have a lot of time to spare for more cooking or more eating, so my diet is pretty routine. It features meals that are simple to make and easily modifiable to add more calories when I need them.

Also, I’m vegan. You might consider that a challenge. I don’t. :) 

Weekly total: $263.27
Eating out total: $62.54
Groceries total: $200.73
Most-expensive line item: Biossance Repair Cream from Sephora ($60)
Least-expensive line item: yellow onion ($0.48), 2 jalapeño peppers ($0.48)
Number of grocery trips: 1
Number of meals out: 2
Stores visited: 4

My first stop Sunday was Sephora for skin care products. I used to get them at the grocery store until I found products that work better for me there. Probably not fair to exclude them from my bill just because I didn’t buy them a few aisles over from the peanut butter.

My next stop was WinCo. My partner turned me onto shopping here for the bulk section. I get a lot of stuff here that I can add to things like oatmeal or tofu scrambles for very little money — nutritional yeast, hemp hearts, ground flax seed, etc. These little things pack a big punch for bulking up my meals.

My last stop on the grocery tour was Fred Meyer. I go here mostly because I grew up in Cincinnati, and Kroger feels familiar. There’s also a few things there that I can’t get at WinCo, like the dairy-free Greek yogurt from Kite Hill. I eat this at night with granola and other fix-ins.

I try not to be a protein-obsessed athlete, but it is important for recovery, repair and, for me, sleep. A high-protein snack before bed helps me stay asleep when I’m running high mileage, and Kite Hill has 17 grams per serving.

My partner and I hit Taco Bell on the way home for bean burritos with potatoes. Best fast food for vegans, bar none. Convenience is super important during periods of intense training. It’s also helpful to get a lot of calories in a small package, so fast food has its role in aiding athletic performance.

I had a 25 oz. PBR at the Death Cab For Cutie concert later. They still got it, if you’re wondering.

Weekend total: $156.73

I had a busy morning at work, so after my coffee, I ate leftover Taco Bell burritos from the day before. Judge me.

Lunch and dinner were both leftovers.

It was hot, so I didn’t run until later in the evening, four miles at a very easy pace. I had a 5K race on the track later this week, after which my summer season was over, so not as much running this week as usual.

Monday total: $0

I’ve had the same breakfast most days for the past 15 years: oatmeal. This day was no exception.

I ran with a friend just before noon to try to avoid the worst of the heat — six miles very easy with a walk up the hill. No need to send it on an easy day.

I had a smoothie with banana, spinach, frozen mango, soy milk, coconut oil and hemp hearts when I got home because I could sip it while finishing up the workday.

Tuesday total: $0

I ordered some unflavored protein online Wednesday. I’m not crazy for powdered protein, but it’s definitely a big player in my diet when my mileage is high.

I have flavored protein in a shaker cup with water immediately after a run or workout. I got the unflavored protein to use in oatmeal, smoothies and baking. It’ll come in extra handy for marathon training.

I like the Promix vegan protein, which is the cheapest per serving that I’ve found available on The Feed. Powered protein can have a long shelf life, so I will sometimes order a lot at once when it’s on sale. Same goes for other things like energy gels and electrolyte mixes.

For dinner, I made pasta e ceci with spinach and some fresh basil from my garden. There are a million recipes for this online, but I know it by heart now. That’s a big reason it stays in the rotation.

Wednesday total: $44

This was race day. I made a tofu scramble for lunch and ate it with rice. (I pretty much always have a few bricks of tofu in my fridge.) Threw in a Field Roast sausage and some frozen peas for more calories.

This and the pasta e ceci are heavy in my meal rotation. So cheap and easy to make. Endlessly modifiable. They’re also easy on my stomach, which is super important on race days or big training days.

You don’t want to eat anything that’s going to cause you trouble while you’re trying to run fast.

My partner and I both ran the 5K at the Portland Track Summer Series on this night. We got more Taco Bell burritos afterward because we were exhausted and super hungry. We love you, Taco Bell.

Thursday total: $23.24.

I ate a leftover Taco Bell burrito for breakfast and had more leftovers for lunch and dinner. Thursday was my last race of the summer track season, kicking off a two-week running break for me.

In addition to giving my legs and brain a rest from rigorous training, I’m also excited to no longer eat like a machine. It’ll be nice on my budget and on my weekly schedule.

Friday total: $0

Build an eating routine and shop in bulk whenever possible. Eating the same or similar things most of the time allows me to focus more energy on my favorite thing to do, which is running. It also makes cooking elaborate meals (another thing I love to do) or going out to eat with friends feel a lot more special.

My daily oatmeal features quick oats and soy milk, microwaved for 90 seconds and steeped for two minutes. I then add maple syrup, salt, blueberries, walnuts and cinnamon. If I’m doing intense training I can add peanut butter, protein powder, hemp hearts, pumpkin seeds, you name it. Measure with your heart!

This may not be very sexy, but staple meals like this are so important to balancing training, nutrition, friends, my job and everything else going on in life. It’s cheap, nutritious, takes very little time, and I can make it from memory.

I’ve known Bradley since our days in journalism school at OU (oh YEAH!). He’s always been a serious athlete, but I’ve been impressed with how he's ramped up his running in recent years while I’ve been getting older and fatter. I love his approach to using simple, flavorful staples to keep him focused on what’s important.

I can’t echo his thoughts on bulk buying enough. Even if you don’t have a lot of space, you can save time and money. WinCo is the king of bulk, and you don’t have to buy huge amounts to enjoy the benefits of their bulk bins. Do yourself (and your taste buds) a favor: skip the plastic McCormick bottles and start buying spices from WinCo’s bulk bins. You can get as much or as little as you need, and they’ll be far fresher. Invest in some glass spice jars and a label maker — you won't regret it.

Want to be featured in Rose City Receipts? Email [email protected] and share your grocery shopping approach!

Happy saving!
Bryan,
Stumptown Savings