What I Eat in a Day as a Vegan

And no, I don’t eat salad for every meal.

Ever wonder what a vegan diet looks like? Well, today I’m going to give you a glimpse into what I eat in a typical day as a vegan endurance athlete. I’ve also included some photos of my meals, since I have an Instagram account dedicated solely to capturing my vegan food creations (@nomeatfastfeet).

6:00–6:30 am

I typically wake up to start my work day around 6:00–6:30 am. The first thing I do is groggily walk downstairs and make myself a cup of coffee. In the winter, I usually make a hot cup of coffee using bagged coffee grounds that I get at the grocery store (my two favorites are the hazelnut flavored coffee by Panera and the french vanilla by Dunkin’ Donuts). Now that it’s warming up, I’ve been loving iced coffee. So, this morning, I grabbed my mickey mouse coffee mug and poured a cup of Starbucks blonde roast iced coffee, and added a splash of vanilla almondmilk.

8:00–8:30 am

By 8:00 or 8:30, I am starting to get hungry for breakfast. I have two typical go-to breakfasts. The first one, which I had this morning, is oatmeal with peanut butter, frozen berries, cinnamon, and a splash of almondmilk. I like to cook my oatmeal on the stovetop rather than in the microwave, which takes a few extra minutes, but is well worth it, as I think the oatmeal tastes better this way.

The second breakfast that I like to make when I have a little bit more time in the morning is banana oat pancakes. I love simplicity when it comes to cooking, and these pancakes are great because they only require a few ingredients. All you have to do is grind up about 2/3 cup of oats, mash up a banana, and combine them thoroughly with some water/almondmilk. Now, I also like to add a splash of vanilla extract, and about 1/8 tsp each of baking powder and apple cider vinegar. However, those last three ingredients really aren’t even necessary. Then, I just cook the batter and I have a fresh stack of pancakes ready to top with fruit and peanut butter.

10:30 am

Around 10:30 am, I usually like to have a snack. I like to go for a run outside around 11:00 am most days, so I try to eat something light that will give me energy for my run but won’t weigh me down. This varies a lot day-to-day, but today I went for a rice cake with peanut butter and a few dark chocolate chunks. Another go-to for me is a banana with peanut butter and cinnamon. I also like to have a glass of almondmilk with my snack.

12:00–12:30 pm

I like to eat lunch within 30 minutes of finishing my run for optimal recovery. While I typically stick to the same few breakfast options and morning snack each day, I love to switch up my lunches and dinners. Today, I went for some corn street tacos with tofu, black beans, broccoli, salsa, nutritional yeast, and onions.

3:00–3:30 pm

An afternoon pick-me-up is very typical for me. I like to take a quick work break around 3:00 pm to recharge and get some extra fuel in. Lately, I have been loving a bowl of Rice Chex with PBFit and cinnamon mixed in. I like to soak my bowl of cereal in almondmilk until the Rice Chex gets soggy (I’m team soggy cereal all the way). This combination may sound odd to some, but it tastes amazing, so don’t knock it until you try it.

By Alyssa, Read More