Eating Plants All Day Long

There seems to be three major questions that I get when people find out I am vegan. First, why did you become vegan? I've touched on this a bit here. The second is, "How do you get your protein?" I'll avoid this one since there are much more knowledgeable posts about this elsewhere. And finally, "What do you eat?" So I decided to post a typical day of eating for me. Keep in mind this is during a normal training day. I'll save the race specific nutrition for another time.

 (Please note, I eat like a hobbit. I have 2 breakfasts and snack throughout the day)

Breakfast #1
This is typically a 12oz coffee made using my French press and something quick and easy to digest like a PB+J or a smoothie so I have energy for my AM workout. Caffeine is basically the best legal performance enhancing drug there is and it's been found that no matter how you get it (coffee, tea, pill) it's effects on athletic performance is huge. It's a vasodilator so it opens up your arteries to help improve blood flow as well as gives your heart rate a boost. It's also a good boost to get you going early in the morning.

I try to get my smoothie in here too so I have some energy to draw on during my first workout. And basically anything is fair game to put in it but I try to stick with this formula from No Meat Athlete. I try to throw in a lot of greens/veggies in it as possible. Especially beets which also improve blood flow.

WORKOUT #1

Breakfast #2
This is usually a more "traditional" breakfast. I really like this recipe from Thug Kitchen for Quinoa Oatmeal. I'll throw some fruit, a sweetener (maple syrup/brown sugar), nuts, flax, and maybe some kind of nut butter in there. Oatmeal has tons of iron and the quinoa provides a complete protein to help with recovery after my workout. The fiber will help keep me full for a while too.

I'll also have another 12oz coffee here too. Having two seperate servings of coffee has been working great for me. I used to have just one 18oz coffee in the morning but found I would crash around lunchtime and I found having two smaller cups helps keep a more sustained energy level.

Snack #1
This can be almost anything. As a rule of thumb I try to get some kind of protein at every meal. I've been known to have nuts, carrots and hummus, apples/bananas with peanut butter.


Lunch
I've been trying to have a smoothie and a salad every day. So lunch is usually some kind of big salad. I mean BIG! I'll pile a ton of greens and veggies in a bowl. Then throw some grains (typically rice/quinoa), beans, nuts, and some fruit in there. I've been trying to cut back on the dressing but I'll still usually drizzle a LITTLE bit of vinegar and oil over it.

Snack #2
Same idea as the first snack. Dates with toast and peanut butter, anything portable and quick. Also, my friends at work and I have started a daily tea time. It's a good time to take a break and recharge to work for another 2 hours until the end of the day. I've been trying to find good herbal teas so I'm not drinking so much caffeine.

WORKOUT #2

Dinner
During the week I usually make three big meals and simply cycle through the leftovers. I try to vary it by having a noodle dish (the Post Punk Kitchen pad thai recipe has been a recent favorite), a legume dish (like lentil sloppy joes), and then a "cheat meal" like my veganized version of Mushroom Philly Cheese Steaks (I use hot sauce instead of Worcestershire and daiya for the cheese).


And there you have it. That is a typical day of eating for me.