So, you’re using the downtime to go plant-based, experience with new cooking, prioritize your health to stay strong and protect your immunity against the scary reality that lies outside our doors. However, you don’t really know how to start. When you think of the words “plant-based”, even though our earlier post walks you through all of the delicious combos of plants you can use to create decadent and nourishing healthful meals, it still feels like the only thing you can really eat is a bunch of vegetables. Sound familiar?
Today, we are going to walk you through what a couple plant-based superstars eat in a day, including myself (Izzy – @izzyfischersway) and our Founder & CEO of YA•YE (Krissy – @krissyostermiller).
YA•YE Founder & CEO | Krissy Ostermiller | @krissyostermiller – What she eats in a day:
“I do my best to drink at least 16 oz of juice each morning. Celery juice or green juice (with kale, spinach, celery, green apple, lemon and ginger) are my go-to juices. The alkalinity in dark leafy greens enables my immune system to better fight viruses and disease and my digestive system to better absorb nutrients – but my primary motive is maintaining my mental health. As an anxiety-prone individual, juice helps me maintain a healthy gut, which in turn maintains a healthy brain.
Post-juice, I wait at least 30 minutes to eat or drink anything else (including water). This gives my body time to process the nutrients from the juice, before I give it more to digest.
Since my early days in junior high, smoothies have been my absolute favorite breakfast. My go-to smoothie is the Young, Wild + Free (it didn't have a name until I decided to open a cafe and add it to my menu). I like this one because it uses filtered water as the base – which means I don't have to spend time making cashew or almond milk first.
RECIPE: 16 OZ YOUNG, WILD + FREE SMOOTHIE (I personally double the recipe so I can drink a 32 oz smoothie)
- 8 fl oz filtered water
- 1 tsp chia seeds
- 1 tsp hemp seeds
- 1 cup spinach and/or kale
- 1/4 of a lemon (peeled)
- 1 2 inch piece of ginger
- 1 banana (fresh or frozen)
- 1 date (pit removed) or 1/2 apple (if I don't have dates)
- 1 cup frozen wild blueberries (or regular frozen blueberries – really, any combination of frozen fruit will do)
For lunch, because I suck at meal prepping, I usually either eat leftovers from the night before, or I snack throughout the afternoon. My favorite snacks are:
- hummus + carrots (and any other fresh veggies)
- black bean + quinoa salad (or any other salad that keeps well in the fridge for a few days)
- apple + peanut butter (100% peanuts)
- dried fruit (mangoes and figs are my favorite)
I stay super hydrated throughout the day and constantly have a reusable water bottle or YETI cup with me. When I run errands, I'll bring at least two water cups or bottles with me, because I hate feeling thirsty.
When I cook dinner at home, I usually cook "garbage" meals – meaning, I figure out what's in my fridge, what's about to go bad, and what I can make from it. Like I said – I'm the worst at meal planning. This means I eat a lot of veggie stir frys or GF pasta dishes with homemade sauce – I use my Vitamix at least 2 (if not 3) times per day. I make fresh cut fries one or twice per week because my husband loves them (and so do I). I just bake the potato slices in olive oil at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes, then eat them with healthy ketchup – my favorite brand is made by Primal Kitchen. (How healthy are potatoes? Find out here in our previous blog post.)
When we're not in quarantine, my husband and I eat out for dinner quite a bit (we're both entrepreneurs and business owners, so we don't always feel like cooking after a long day). Jeremy's a carnivore, so we often compromise on a restaurant that has plant-based options in addition to meat. I ask the servers a lot of questions when I eat at restaurants, such as: Do you make this in-house? What type of oil do you use? Is it fried? When I shop at the grocery store, I read the ingredient label of every single item I purchase, so asking the server lots of questions is kind of the equivalent when eating out. I order based on what seems to be the freshest/healthiest thing on the menu, and what sounds good. If we're at a steak house, I just order 3 - 4 sides (and ask them to cook everything with olive oil instead of butter).
If you can't tell by now – I love eating, and I love eating A LOT of food. Naturally sweet things are my favorite, so at the end of the day, I'll often eat fresh fruit, another smoothie, or homemade healthy cookies or puddings for dessert."
YA•YE Nutrition Content Writer | Izzy Fischer | @izzyfischersway – What she eats in a day:
I have somewhat of an unconventional take on meal times. When I became plant-based, I stopped using 'breakfast, lunch & dinner' as my standard meal times, and just started listening to my body. When I am not training for a race, I usually eat about 1-2 large meals later in the day of lots of fruits and vegetables, while when I am training I generally eat a lot more food throughout the day.
When I am training, a typical day looks like this:
Wake up around 6 am and drink a glass of water with some electrolytes in it. I make my own with coconut water, lemon juice and sea salt – this way I am prepped for my upcoming training block. After this, I’ll go on a run, or a short bike or lift and come back and drink a big cup of black coffee while I do my stretching and mobility.
Next, around 10 am, I’ll have a BIG bowl of fruit – I’m talking HUGE. This bowl will generally have 2 bananas, 1 cup of blueberries, 1 cup of strawberries, 1 cup of raspberries, and a bunch of shredded coconut on top. If I am feeling extra hungry from my training, I’ll add some chilled quinoa into the mix. A few hours later, I’ll get my second workout in.
Early afternoon, post workout, I’ll make a huge salad or buddha bowl of some sort. Think of the two options you have at sweet green when you order: cold salad, or warm bowl. Each generally have lots of vegetables, leafy greens, grains, beans, legumes and sometimes some tofu/tempeh on top. Like Krissy, I am constantly drinking sparkling water and regular water all day long.
At night when I am training, I’ll eat again. This meal is usually VERY starchy - something rice or potato-based. Since I don’t eat before my morning workout, I want something that is going to help build muscle glycogen to fuel me throughout the training block. My favorite recipe to make when I am in a hurry is just a potato and beans recipe of a few different types:
RECIPE: IZZY'S FAVE STARCHY DINNER (makes 2)
- 2 large japanese sweet potatoes
- some vegetable broth or water to keep sautéd items from burning – use 2 or 3 tbsp at a time to cook and brown the food without steaming it.
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 clove garlic (crushed or minced)
- 1/2 white onion, diced
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 2 cups of white beans (soaked/cooked or canned/rinsed) or edamame
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- a green vegetable to pair – usually steamed zucchini or broccoli, or raw spinach or mixed greens
INSTRUCTIONS: Bake the sweet potato (350 degrees F for about 45 minutes). I like to slice mine down the middle and wrap it in foil. After it cools, I will chop it up, then add it to the pan. Sometimes, I will bake potatoes ahead of time so that I can just chop them up and throw them in the pan (day of meal). Potatoes are great for meal prepping!
Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan with about 3 tbsp of water or vegetable stock. Add the black pepper, garlic and onion, then cook until the onion becomes translucent and the spices are a bit browned. Once browned, add the vinegar. If the spices and onion begin to burn, add 1 tbsp of water or vegetable stock at a time to keep from burning.
Once the onion and spices are ready, add the beans and chopped sweet potato into the pan and heat for a few minutes. Then, add the tahini and lemon juice, plus more black pepper for added taste. Sometimes, I will add sriracha or hot sauce for an extra kick!
I like to eat this with some steamed greens, or a bed of raw greens to get that rainbow effect!
When I am not training, my day looks very different. I typically don’t eat anything until afternoon time, and I drink lots of lemon water, coffee and tea throughout the morning. The morning fast helps me feel clear, and lets me enjoy even larger portions (I LOVE TO EAT) later in the day. I’ll get a light workout in during the morning while I am fasted - usually a light run, bike, yoga or swim session.
Around 1 or 2 pm, I’ll start with a bit of fruit and cold quinoa, not nearly as big as when I am training just because I am not going through my glycogen stores as quickly as I am when I am training for 2-3 hours a day. So, this will be more like a cup or so of mixed berries and ½ cup of cold quinoa and some cinnamon or cocoa powder.
A few hours later, I’ll eat a big salad, or other fun meal that I want to try out. During the off season (when I am not training), I spend a lot of time going through cookbooks because I have so much time to eat. So, whether that's a veggie burger recipe, a decadent pasta, or an asian bowl – I enjoy trying some new things in the kitchen.
I also LOVE asian restaurants of all kinds. Thai food is my favorite to eat out, and veggie sushi is a close second. I pretty much always order fresh rolls with either a papaya salad (hold the shrimp and fish sauce), or a red curry dish with loads of vegetables and rice.