{"id":24352,"date":"2015-01-20T21:14:20","date_gmt":"2015-01-21T02:14:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nomeatathlete.com\/?p=24352"},"modified":"2021-02-11T12:03:56","modified_gmt":"2021-02-11T17:03:56","slug":"vegan-athlete-snacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nomeatathlete.com\/vegan-athlete-snacks\/","title":{"rendered":"9 High-Energy Plant-Based Snacks for Athletes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Plant-based. Healthy. Snack. It\u2019s a lot to ask of a food.<\/p>\n

But we need them. One of the common questions that I hear from new vegetarians or vegans is \u201cI’m always hungry — how do I stay full with this diet?\u201d — and my answer is to eat more. Not bigger servings, but more often<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Why? Most whole, plant-based foods are not calorically dense. That means they take up a lot of room in your stomach, without packing a lot of calories.<\/p>\n

Of course, that also means they digest quickly, so not long after eating one meal, you\u2019re hungry for another.<\/p>\n

Enter the snack.<\/p>\n

And to clear up a common misconception among some vegans: just \u2018cause it\u2019s vegan, doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s healthy. There are plenty of junk-food vegans out there, and you don\u2019t want to be one of those.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s not equate \u201cunhealthy\u201d with \u201chigh-calorie.\u201d We\u2019re talking about snacks for athletes here — whether around workouts or during the rest of the day — and a lot of us actually want<\/em> more calories. I eat a lot of fruit throughout the day, but I almost always need at least one snack that\u2019s more substantial. (Because, again, most plant foods aren\u2019t very dense in calories — to me, that\u2019s a much bigger concern than \u201cwhere do you get your protein<\/a>?\u201d)<\/p>\n

So here we go. Nine favorite healthy, plant-based snacks for athletes. A few of my favorites, and a few from some friends. (And if you\u2019re looking for more options, we\u2019ve got a longer list of vegetarian and vegan snacks here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

1. Trail mix<\/h3>\n

\"GlassAlong with fruit, trail mix is my everyday snack. I don\u2019t eat much at once, but make it a point to get a big handful or two every day — mainly for the long-term health benefits of nuts. I\u2019ve always settled for raisins as the sweet counterpoint to the nuts, but recently I\u2019ve started using dried tart cherries to add a sour note and get the recovery benefits<\/a> that they\u2019re known for. My recipe:<\/p>\n