Tag Archives: plant based nutrition

#FridayFuel – Coconut Quinoa and Sweet Potato Curry

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curryspice

Jars of curry spice mix to save prep time

If you haven’t noticed I am a big fan of curries. I could eat curry every day. Easy to make, so much flavor, and so many benefits for athletes! I always preach that the best way to recover from a hard workout or race is with a nourishing curry. I cannot tell you the last time I’ve popped a NSAID – it’s been so many years. Why take a pill created in a lab when you can use natural spices to keep inflammation at bay?

As I enjoy curries so often, I find it convenient to mix up a few single-serving jars of my curry mix at a time. Although it doesn’t take that long to throw a mix of spices into a dish on the stove I find it quick and easy to simply open 1 jar and dump the entire contents in the pan when I am in a hurry to get dinner made!

Coconut Quinoa and Sweet Potato Curry is one of my favorite go-to curry dishes. After my evening workout I can throw the quinoa and chickpeas in a saucepan while I hop in the shower and prepare the rest afterwards.

Coconut Quinoa & Sweet Potato Curry

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Credit: VegWeb.com

Ingredients

  • 1 15-ounce can chickpeas with liquid
  • 1/2 cup dry quinoa
  • 1 medium-large sweet potato, cubed
  • 1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped
  • 2-3 cloves minced garlic
  • 2-3 Tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 15-ounce can lite coconut milk
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 3/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne
  • 1/8 tsp cardamom
  • 1/8 tsp ginger

Directions

  1. Add chickpeas with liquid and quinoa to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat – simmer for 15 minutes until liquid is absorbed.
  2. Use another saucepan with a steamer basket and bring water to a boil. Add sweet potatoes and steam for 5-10 minutes until tender.
  3. In a skillet, heat coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until the onion is translucent.
  4. Add your spice mix, the chickpea quinoa mix, and sweet potatoes to the skillet and add coconut milk.
  5. Mix well and bring to a boil before covering and reducing the heat to low.
  6. Simmer 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the coconut milk reduces to a thick curry.

#FridayFuel – Avocado Chickpea Salad

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A slight twist on your typical chickpea salad – I use ripe avocado in place of vegan mayonnaise as a healthy, creamy fat alternative. There are many ways to enjoy this dish – I like to load it into romaine lettuce wraps (and then add pickle slices on top for even more dill flavor!). I also enjoy it as a topper to a spinach salad. You can add it in a wrap or pita with other veggies and sprouts. Or simply eat it out of the bowl with a spoon 🙂

Avocado Chickpea Salad

  • Servings: 2-4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 1 can chickpeas
  • 1 stalk of celery, cut into large pieces
  • 1 medium carrot, cut into large pieces
  • 1 Tbsp onion
  • 1/2 of a ripe avocado
  • 1/4 tsp dried parsley
  • 1/2 tsp dried mustard
  • 1/4 – 1/2 tsp dried dill (I prefer lots of dill!)

Directions

  1. Rinse and drain chickpeas.
  2. Add celery, carrot and onion to a food processor and pulse a few times to roughly chop.
  3. Add the remainder of the ingredients and pulse a few more times, scraping down the sides as needed, until well-mixed but with some chunks remaining.

#FridayFuel – Killer Kale Salad

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Kale salad is one of my favorites! It is my preferred meal base the night before a race. This recipe is taken from my favorite eatery here in New Paltz – Karma Road’s Kalecado. It’s super-easy to make a big batch of salad that can last for a few days.

Killer Kale Salad

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 1 bunch of kale
  • 1 ripe avocado
  • 3 large carrots – grated or shredded
  • ~ 1 cup salted cashews
  • ~ 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions

  1. Wash your kale, remove stems, and rip into bite-size pieces.
  2. Scoop out the insides of your avocado, roll up your sleeves, and massage the kale by mashing the avocado with your hands until it’s full incorporated.
  3. Add carrots, cashews, and cranberries – give it another good mix to incorporate all ingredients.
  4. Store in the fridge.

 

#FridayFuel – Avocado Chia Chocolate Mousse

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Is it just me or has it been one heck of a week? Sooo…let’s talk dessert! Although dessert doesn’t always fit in to our training and racing goals, I’ll be the first to admit that there are many times when I’m craving something sweet & chocolatey. That’s why this super-easy Avocado Chia Chocolate Mousse is one of my favorites! And why it is featured on my Lighter profile.

How easy you ask?

  1. Place all ingredients in a food processor
  2. Process
  3. Pour into serving dishes & pop in the fridge
  4. Eat 🙂

You do want to let this mousse chill for a few hours before enjoying, so I normally prepare it in the morning so that it’s ready for my after-dinner treat. I separate it into 4 serving dishes and seal tight. That’s almost a whole week of desserts!

**the recipe on the Lighter profile is for a single serving, the recipe on my page creates 4 servings

Avocado Chia Chocolate Mousse

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

When training volume is high and I need an extra dose of healthy fats this dessert/snack doubles to satisfy my sweet tooth.

Ingredients

  • 1 ripe avocado
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 Tbsp cocoa powder (or use raw cacao powder for an extra boost of nutrients)
  • ½ cup chia seeds
  • 4 Tbsp agave (or less if your taste allows – you can also use maple syrup)

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor or high power blender and process for 3-5 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed.
  2. Pour into a serving dish, cover and chill for a few hours.

 

 

 

#FridayFuel – Ultimate Blueberry Beet Recovery Shake

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Beet Recovery Shake

Photo: Lighter

I’m going to start sharing some of my favorite meals on Fridays. So let’s kick it off with my favorite smoothie! The Ultimate Blueberry Beet Recovery Shake is my go-to after a long or exceptionally taxing workout, or even when I just feel like I need a fresh, clean, nutrient-dense meal that I can enjoy at home or on the go! Sometimes I like to switch up the protein flavor and the fruit – right now I’ve been mixing it up with chocolate Vega One Nutritional Shake and strawberries.

This is the perfect recipe to share on my first #FridayFuel post as this week was also the launch of my profile on Lighter’s new site! If you find yourself wondering how to plan  meals to fuel your everyday training, need quick & easy nutrient-dense options with simple instructions on how to shop and prepare them, or are simply looking for some fresh ideas – Lighter is a service you should check out.

The site is full of leading healthcare providers, professional athletes, chefs, super parents and badass world changers who share their recommendations with you. Lighter simplifies the process by providing easy-to-use shopping lists to get the ingredients you need for your weekly menu and step-by-step instructions on how to create the meals. What an awesome service!

You can find the recipe for my Ultimate Blueberry Beet Recovery Shake on the recipe page of my site, or on my Lighter profile page. Give it a try and tell me what you think! 🙂

 

Ultimate Blueberry Beet Recovery Shake

  • Servings: 1
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

This beautiful smoothie packs a ton of nutrition, antioxidants and anti-inflammatories into one glass.

Ingredients


1/4 cup Biotta beet juice
1/2 cup tart cherry juice
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 frozen banana
1/2 cup frozen blueberries (or strawberries, raspberries, etc.)
1 scoop Vega Protein & Greens vanilla or chocolate
1 large handful of Kale
1 Tbsp Chia seeds

Directions

  1. Wash the kale and use just the leaves.
  2. Blend all ingredients in a blender until creamy.

#whatveganathleteseat Part 2 – Foods I currently love

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It’s been a long time since I’ve checked in with some of my favorite meals, snacks, and workout fuel. And since people are always asking me what I’m eating to fuel my body for training and racing – here are some of my favorites!

Prepared
Training for the 2016 season is ramping up which means quick and easy meals and snacks that taste good and have high nutritional value are key.

kale chickpeasKale & Chickpea Curry – when I hear curry, I’m sold! This recipe was inspired by an IG user (@raftingveggie) who was inspired by a recipe on VegWeb. So quick and easy to make, you can find my version here.

 

 

roasted veggies & tempeh_

Roasted Tempeh & Veggies – it doesn’t get much simpler than this. I chop up some veggies (pictured here: broccoli, brussels sprouts, delicata squash), a package of tempeh, toss all of it in a pie plate with some melted coconut oil, and bake for ~30 minutes at 350.
smashbowl

 

Southwestern Smashbowl – 1/2 cooked sweet potato, 1/2 can black beans, 1/2 avocado. I’ll throw it all in a bowl, and if I have some cashew sour cream on hand I’ll add some Tamerlaine Farm Rudy’s Hot Smoked Red sauce to make it spicy. Then I’ll mash it all together and enjoy!

 

Packaged
While I am not a fan of processed foods sometimes pre-packaged foods and snacks can make life a lot easier. The key is to find foods that have very few ingredients.

pumpkin seedsCB’s Nuts Organic Pumpkin Seeds – they taste like buttered popcorn. Enough said. There are 2 ingredients – pumpkin seeds and sea salt. Pumpkin seeds are a great source of iron.

 

 

 

 

 

lentil macaroniTolerant Organic Green Lentil Elbow Macaroni – Tolerant Foods has a full line of legume “pastas” and they are awesome! All with one ingredient. A great way to get a healthy dose of protein and fiber.

 

 

 

 

papusa

Tres Pupusas Black Bean & Sweet Corn – this is one of two vegan flavors they offer (the only one I can get locally – I need to get my hands on the Kale and Pinto Bean!) I pop these in the toaster oven for 10 minutes and enjoy them with a side of avocado and Tamerlaine Farm Casey’s Hot Super Green sauce.

 

 

Pre-Workout
dateStuffed Dates – If I have a bike workout in the morning I like to have a little more than my steadfast banana. I remove the pit of the date and fill it with almond butter. Then I sprinkle shredded coconut, cinnamon, and sea salt on top. They are super-filling, tasty, and also easy to eat on the bike 🙂

 

antsonalogAnts on a Log – what can I say? I cannot out-grow this treat. I have been enjoying this snack every day for at least a month now before my 2nd workout of the day. Celery stalks, almond butter, and raisins – BAM!

 

 

There’s your view into my kitchen to see what I am currently eating. Simple, nourishing meals and snacks that provide sustained energy for my training, and speed recovery. Since this is a taper week and I have a little extra time on my hands, I made one of my all-time favorites from The Post Punk Kitchen. Beet burgers! A little more work goes into making them but it is totally worth the effort!

beet burgers

Feel free to share your favorite vegan recipes that fuel your training with me – I always love to try new things! 🙂