Veganism is the practice of excluding animal products from your diet. Some people choose to follow a vegan lifestyle for ethical reasons and others enjoy the health benefits derived from this approach to eating.
Most vegan diets are high in carbohydrates, making them ideal when it comes to pre-workout snacks. If you’ve got a lengthy training session ahead of you, it’s a good idea to try and incorporate something salty into your meal before you workout. Peanut butter and date protein balls are an easy option that will help to make sure your body’s electrolyte levels stay balanced while you’re training.
You may find that you are consuming greater quantities of food while following a plant-based diet, this is essential to ensure your body is getting the protein it requires; often a protein supplement can help. There are some delicious vegan options available that use pea, soy or hemp protein. Take a look at the nutritional panel to ensure that the protein powder you choose is lower in fats and carbohydrates and higher in protein (around 75%).
Quick & Easy Morrocan Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 250g mixed salad leaves
- 1 x can of organic chickpeas
- 1/2 avocado
- 1/4 cup tri colour quinoa
- 1/4 cup brown rice
- A pinch of morrocan spice seasoning
- 1/2 lemon
Method
- Cook brown rice and quinoa before mixing together in a bowl.
- Heat the chickpeas in a pan and coat with moroccan spice mix for about 3 minutes
- Transfer chickpeas to the bowl and add mixed leaves and avocado with a squeeze of lemon
Vegan Pesto
Ingredients
- 2 cups basil
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup hemp seeds or hemp flour
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/4 tbsp sea salt
- 4 tbsp olive oil
Method
Blend all of the ingredients together, adding more oil to change consistency.
Enjoy as a delicious dip or sauce!
Vegan Almond and Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups plain flour
- 1/2 cup raw sugar
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup almond milk (coconut or soy milk)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups banana (mashed, from about 4 large very ripe bananas)
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond essence
- 1/2 cup almonds (chopped)
Method
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius and prep a loaf tin.
- Sift flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together in a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the milk and vinegar together and let it sit for 2 minutes.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients (Tip: don’t overmix. A bit chunky is okay!)
- Fold in chopped almonds and then pour the mixture into the loaf tin.
- Bake for 1 hour or until an inserted toothpick comes up clean.
- Let cool for 20 minutes and then slice and enjoy!