By Emma Giebel, Vegetarian Resource Group Intern

Lacrosse is one of the fastest sports on two feet, while also being physically grueling for every player on the field. Both speed and strength are required to be a good lacrosse player, and taking care of your body before and after you step onto the field is necessary. A good night’s sleep and time spent stretching and icing your sore muscles will help, but a healthy diet is what will really set you apart from other players. I have been a competitive lacrosse player for 8 years, and I know that hectic schedules can make eating healthy, and vegan, even more complicated. Some of your teammates, and even your coaches, may tell you that a vegan diet won’t be able to sustain you after all of the physical activity you will be doing. This is simply not true, and eating the right foods at the right times will help you excel both on and off the field. While my experience as a lacrosse player has inspired these meal options, they would work as healthy options for anyone, but especially athletes.

Breakfast:
Saying that breakfast is the most important meal of the day is not a joke. If you’re not a morning person, breakfast may seem like an annoying chore, but it can really be a delicious start to your day. An initial oatmeal with fruits can provide carbs and protein to wake you up the right way.

Oatmeal with Strawberries and Blueberries:
Place 1/2 cup frozen strawberries, ¼ cup frozen blueberries, and some water in a microwavable bowl and heat up until the fruit becomes warm and mushy. Then, add a serving of your desired oatmeal to the fruit mixture and heat up in the microwave for the necessary amount of time, and enjoy!

Oatmeal with Cooked Cinnamon Apples:
Cook your desired brand of plain oatmeal as you normally would. Dice the amount of apples you would like. Heat a pan on medium heat and add 1 teaspoon of olive oil (more or less oil as necessary or wanted), and sauté these apples for around 4 minutes. While any apple variety will do, my go-to is Honey Crisp! Towards the end of the cooking time, sprinkle in some ground cinnamon. Add the apples to your oatmeal, and top it off with some more cinnamon to make a delicious early morning meal.

Mid-Morning Smoothie:
I have found that making a smoothie to sip on later in the morning is the perfect way to stay both full and energized. What you put into your smoothie is personal, but these are a couple recipes that I swear by.

Strawberry, Banana, Blueberry Smoothie:
First, add ¼ cup of vegan yogurt; Daiya Yogurt Alternative in Strawberry is a great tasting option. Then add a splash of any milk-alternative, and blend this liquid portion to make sure that there is enough liquid in the blender. Add ½ cup of frozen strawberries, ¼ cup of frozen blueberries, and ½ of a frozen banana. Blend this all up, and if there seems to be in issue blending, add some water and mix up the smoothie with a spoon.

Chocolate, Banana, and Peanut Butter Smoothie:
If you’re looking for a sweet smoothie, this is the one for you. First, add ½ cup of a chocolate vegan yogurt into a blender; So Delicious Chocolate Yogurt Alternative is a perfect choice. Then add ½ cup of So Delicious Chocolate Coconut Milk, and blend these liquids together. Add 1 tablespoon of your favorite peanut butter, preferably one that is all natural (and only contains peanuts in the ingredients!), and blend that mixture together. For the final touch, add one half of a frozen banana and blend until smooth. If you desire a morning pick-me-up, cold brew coffee can also be added. This smoothie is a delicious meal that will keep you full until lunch time.

Green Machine Smoothie:
If you’d rather start off your day with some vegetables, then this is the smoothie for you. First, add your choice of coconut milk yogurt into a blender; my personal choice would be the Daiya Plain Yogurt Alternative. Add 1 frozen banana and ½ cup of frozen mango. In order to get a serving of vegetables in at the start of your day, add roughly 1 cup of spinach to the smoothie. Make sure that the stems of the spinach are chopped off so that the smoothie blends well. Simply blend and enjoy!

Lunch:
There are plenty of options for a perfect and portable healthy lunch, but these are some of my personal favorites.

Veggie Wrap:
Assembling a veggie wrap is a personal endeavor, as everyone has their own favorite vegetable combinations. My personal favorite wrap would require a whole wheat wrap and an initial spread of hummus. Then add spinach, tomatoes, avocados, shredded carrots, cucumbers, and whatever microgreens you prefer. Just roll into a wrap and you are ready to go!

Power Bowl:
While salads may be available at a school cafeteria, they can get pretty boring. Similar to a veggie wrap, each person’s favorite power bowl is different. My favorite would start with a base of quinoa, then I would add some freshly cooked garlic spinach. I would add diced oven-roasted sweet potato, and cooked or canned chickpeas. Spice however you would like, but I recommend garlic powder, chili powder, salt, and pepper. After loading these ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl, just pack away and heat up whenever you would want to enjoy this delicious lunch.

Quesadilla:
The popular Tex-Mex staple can also be a perfect vegan lunch option! To start, sauté peppers and onions in a lightly oiled sauce pan for around 5 minutes, then spice them with onion powder, garlic powder, and chili powder. Next, place a tortilla on stove-top pan, and evenly spread with a vegan cheese alternative. Add the vegetables on top of the cheese. For the next step, choose your favorite beans; my favorite are vegetarian refried beans. Spread the beans onto another tortilla, and simply place this over the first tortilla. If you prefer black or pinto beans, simply sprinkle them over the cheese and vegetable. Cook the quesadilla for roughly 4 minutes on each side on medium heat, or until the tortilla is golden brown. Let cool, cut into your desired size, and refrigerate, and you have a quesadilla option for lunch the next day

Snack
As an active athlete, you need a snack before the hours of daily physical activity that you do nearly every day. These snacks will provide you with the energy to make every second on the field count.

Carrots and Hummus:
One of the simplest snacks out there is also healthy and delicious!

Apples and Peanut/Almond Butter:
Simply cut up apples and place those into a container with some nut butter to dip, and you are ready to go!

Homemade Trail Mix:
This classic snack is a convenient treat that is also customizable. My personal trail mix combination would include cashews, almonds, vegan chocolate chips, raisins, small pretzels, and your favorite vegan cheese snack, such as Earth Balance vegan cheddar squares. Just fill up a mason jar with these ingredients and you have a perfect snack!

While these meal options will fuel you for the day’s activities, it’s also necessary to stay hydrated throughout the day. Drink plenty of water throughout the day, and especially while you are exercising.

These quick and easy recipes will prepare any athlete for a long day of school and sports, while also being delicious, filling, and of course, vegan!

For more ideas, see
https://www.vrg.org/teen/#athletes
https://www.vrg.org/athlete/

Emma was a VRG intern. For internship information, see https://www.vrg.org/student/index.php

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