WIAW: Fueling for Optimal Running Performance
It’s the best day of the week in the food blogging world – What I ate Wednesday! I often do these posts because they are super quick for me to write up, and you guys love them! I also love giving/getting new healthy food combination ideas. This is what a typical day of eating looks like for me that helps me to fuel my body for optimal running. If you follow any sort of workout regime, or just like feeling your best, energized self, then fueling for success becomes very important. You can’t expect to drive a car on empty, so you can’t expect your body to run on empty either! That being said, your body is going to run a lot better on whole plant foods, than greasy junk/processed foods.
Breakfast: Oats are one of my go-to breakfasts. If you follow me on instagram then you would certainly know this (ps follow me @veganathletekitchen – you can also find it in the side bar). To make my own I always use 1/2 cup (sometimes a little more) or GF oats, 1/2 scoop vega protein powder (been loving the mocha lately), cinnamon, ground flax / chia seed/ both, and water. Then I sprinkle some coconut sugar on top and all lots of fruity toppings! I love the bananas and berries together on oats – it is my favorite combination.
Lunch time smoothie: I made such a huge smoothie for lunch that it filled this huge mason jar up twice! It was a bit more liquid than i usually make my smoothies because I added a bit too much cashew milk. To make this smoothie i used about 1/2 a bag of spinach (yeah, getting those greens in!), 2.5 cups cashew milk, 3 frozen bananas, 1 scoop vega chocolate protein, and ice. This may seem like a super big smoothie (which it was), but only comes in at about 525 calories. It also meets nearly all of the daily iron recommendations and surpasses that recommended calcium intake.
Snack time! I have been loving having oranges as a snack lately. They are so refreshing and really help boost immune power! Maintaining a strong immune system while training for a marathon is very important as your body is already enduring quite a bit of stress. It is important for runners, and everyone for that matter to make sure to consume Vitamin C to stay healthy. Zinc is another great nutrient that helps to keep the immune system strong.
For dinner I made collard green wraps. I have eaten this meal a few times in the past week and have been loving it! Stay tuned for a recipe post! This meal is so easy, cheap, and comes together quickly, but tastes amazing.
After dinner snack: Health warrior protein bar. This was my first time trying this protein bar, and it was delicious! The texture was great- soft, chewy, and a little bit sticky. I love that these bars are gluten free, vegan, soy free, and GMO free. They pack 10 grams of plant protein making them a great pre-workout snack, dessert, or anytime snack.
That’s it for my day of eats! Lots of healthy, wholesome foods to fuel my training and eep me energized during my busy life.
It’s conversation time: Do you change up your diet at all while training? Which foods do you find keep you the most energized? What is/ are you favorite food(s) as of late??
