Health Made Simple for Athletes, Day 3

Wednesday was my third day on the No Meat Athlete Health Made Simple Athlete plan, a whole foods-based meal plan with very few processed foods and limited sugar and refined grains. I actually woke up on time for my 6 am 5-mile run! I've been sleeping through my alarm for some reason (happened again this morning). But on Wednesday, I was up at 5 am to meditate and have my pre-workout snack of a Cinnamon Roll Larabar and masala chai with almond milk.

Larabars are a recommended snack for workouts of an hour or less, and I always start my week days with a cup of hot tea (coffee comes later, after my workout). For post-workout, the plan recommends either bananas, high-glycemic fruit (like pineapple), fruit juice, or a bowl of white rice. Since I'm focusing on whole grains for the rest of my meals, I love an excuse to eat white rice! After a workout, you need immediate carbs, and refined grains provide those. I put toasted sesame seeds and soy sauce on my rice bowl. I made this rice in my new Instant Pot!

Those are the pre- and post-workout snacks, but you still also need breakfast! They recommend having a protein-rich breakfast about an hour or two after post-workout. I had this Strawberry Raspberry Green Protein Smoothie (with Complement Protein powder) around 8:30 am, while getting ready for work.

All of this food had me pretty full! So I didn't want want my morning snack of Fresh Fruit with Flax until around 11:30 am. This has green apple, blackberries, and pineapple with ground flax.

Lunch was leftover BBQ Tempeh Tacos from the night before, enjoyed at home on my break! 

I had a meeting after work, so I was glad to have this hearty snack of Celery with Peanut Butter. This kept me full until dinner! The key is LOTS of peanut butter. My co-worker Johana was a perfect hand model. I also snacked on some Taza Chili Chocolate at my desk as well.

Dinner was Roasted Veggies with Pesto and a side salad with cashew ranch. Since I didn't get home until about 6:45 pm, I decided to quickly roast the veggies in the air fryer instead of waiting for the oven. I served the roasted squash, zucchini, turnips, bell pepper, and broccoli over half a baked potato. The veggies are tossed with an oil-free pesto made with basil, kale, walnuts, and nooch. It's really yummy, and I'm excited to be using it another recipe later this week!