By Myrial Holbrook<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve ever been vegan or vegetarian, you\u2019ve probably endured the following interrogation:<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t you miss meat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut what do you eat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you get enough protein?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAren\u2019t you worried about an iron deficiency?\u201d<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been a vegetarian since the age of six, so I\u2019ve come to realize that these concerns, though certainly repeated ad nauseam, really are crucial in the crafting of not only an ideal vegan or vegetarian diet, but also any balanced diet. We can all easily fall into unhealthy snacking habits, justifying unhealthy choices through exercise. No one can attain dietary perfection, but making health-conscious snack choices can be a great start for anyone. And guess what? It\u2019s not hard to do.<\/p>\n
From ballet to field hockey to basketball to yoga to track, I\u2019ve endured the physical exertion and enjoyed the rewards of physical activity. Drawing from my experience, I will be sharing my favorite vegan snacks. These are the foods that help provide me with the burst of energy before workouts and the recovery essentials after exercise.<\/p>\n
Now for the tasty part: the snacks themselves. Before workouts, I usually eat a small, whole-wheat bagel with natural peanut butter and apple slices, which definitely fills me up and leaves me ready to play. Other options include granola bars packed with protein and dried fruit. I try to stay away from most store-bought bars with processed sugars disguised as \u201corganic cane syrup\u201d or \u201cbrown rice syrup\u201d or \u201cagave nectar.\u201d For this reason, I usually make my own granola bars by baking a mix of oats, chia seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, nuts or nut butters, and dried fruit. For some added flavor, I keep it simple with a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg. This kind of granola bar is perfect for a pre-game or pre-workout snack. Here are some other pre-exercise snacks that I love:<\/p>\n
\u00b7Banana or apple slices and peanut butter<\/p>\n
\u00b7Oatmeal with blueberries and walnuts<\/p>\n
\u00b7Dried, unsweetened fruit and unsalted nuts<\/p>\n
\u00b7Slice of whole wheat toast with almond butter or sliced avocado and lemon juice<\/p>\n
\u00b7Baked sweet potato with vegan spread and paprika<\/p>\n
\u00b7Homemade granola and unsweetened almond, coconut, or soymilk<\/p>\n
\u00b7Whole wheat pita with roasted red pepper hummus<\/p>\n
\u00b7Quinoa hot cereal with apples and cinnamon<\/p>\n
In addition to snacking before exercising, hydration is also crucial. I often sip unsweetened green tea before early-morning workouts. Before varsity field hockey or basketball games, I usually drink coconut water. If I\u2019m ever struggling with muscle cramps, headaches, and soreness, however, drinking pure water almost always proves the best hydration option to relieve these ailments, for me, at least.<\/p>\n
After a tiring game or a long run, I replenish with lots of water, followed by a restorative smoothie or snack. In my smoothies, I tend to blend whatever I have handy at home, which is usually bananas, berries, nut butter, and soymilk. My post-workout snack usually includes chopped veggies and a homemade dip. Here\u2019s a list of my favorite post-workout snacks:<\/p>\n
\u00b7Protein smoothie with soymilk, banana, peanut butter, and berries<\/p>\n
\u00b7Green smoothie with kale, lemon, coconut water, apple, and ginger<\/p>\n
\u00b7Quinoa crackers with guacamole and salsa<\/p>\n
\u00b7Soy yogurt with chia seeds and berries<\/p>\n
\u00b7Cooked lentils or chickpeas<\/p>\n
\u00b7Whole grain tortilla with beans, brown rice, squash, and zucchini<\/p>\n
\u00b7Hummus and red bell pepper, cucumber, carrots, or cauliflower<\/p>\n
\u00b7Steamed edamame with a little salt<\/p>\n
\u00b7Banana \u201cnicecream\u201d (to make, freeze ripe bananas in round slices for several hours, blend the slices in a food processor until smooth, then add your favorite nut butter, nut, fruit, or dark chocolate)<\/p>\n
Myria Holbrook is a Vegetarian Resource Group intern and plays numerous sports in high school. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Myrial Holbrook If you\u2019ve ever been vegan or vegetarian, you\u2019ve probably endured the following interrogation: \u201cDon\u2019t you miss meat?\u201d \u201cBut what do you eat?\u201d \u201cDo you get enough protein?\u201d \u201cAren\u2019t you worried about an iron deficiency?\u201d I\u2019ve been a vegetarian since the age of six, so I\u2019ve come to realize that these concerns, though […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7373"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7373\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7374,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7373\/revisions\/7374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}