Nutrition and Bars

As with any sport, cycling and nutrition are heavily intertwined. From the professionals bonking on the course from not eating enough to the touring cyclist who gets sick and tired of the same old cous-cous in their camp stove. For me, nutrition is even more of a challenge as a vegan.

When I went vegan, most people's concern was "but where are you going to get your protein?" or "aren't you worried about your nutrition?" For the first time in my life I was actually thinking about what was going into my body. I distinctly remember two friends in college who were vegan and seemed always to be ill or under the weather; this concerned me about my new animal conscience diets.

Now that I've been full vegan for several months I've started to notice that I feel healthier than I ever have. This does not mean that going vegan/vegetarian is a quick fix to become healthy (although the ADA did report it helps), but it definitely makes you more conscious of what's in your body and prohibits a great deal of unhealthy food. Before my vegetarian diet, I was bad and ate a decent amount of fast food, now, I rarely do, mostly because there's not much I want to eat.

The best part though is that everyday processed foods are limited too. This is probably my biggest food philosophy over anything else, whole foods over processed foods. I almost never read nutritional information (usually scanning the ingredient packages instead, like most vegans in supermarkets), but instead favor a varied diet of whole foods and find this works. The best way to think of this is a different grain or bean with a different vegetable pairing, the most basic sort of dish, but with a wide variety of dishes.

Homemade Quinoa Bars; taste, not so great, but healthy!

When it comes to energy bars it is a little harder to avoid processed bars, especially when most contain whey protein or honey. As a vegan, I live and die by Clif Bars. But even with their organic claim, their ingredient list is still a tad overhwelming, with a long list of various chemicals added in to supply the nutrition. Recently, they introduced a new brand, The Kit Bars. These new bars are all natural with as little as four ingredients in some, and they taste great too. They may not be as loaded nutritionally as the original Clif Bar, but they are definitely delicious and a great mid-ride snack (also, don't be afraid to pack real fruit! A reminded I need to keep to myself!).

Clif Kit's Organic Bars.

Five Ingredients!

When it comes to vegan diets, it really does help impact your diet, in the same way that if you got really into cooking, as you'll find yourself replacing processed cupcakes for whole veggies and whole grains.

Vegan Cycling

Thanksgiving is upon us, the day when people gourd their faces and eat til they fall asleep watching the Dallas Cowboys lose another football game. This Thanksgiving will be a little different from previous ones (different from last years, because I'm actually in the United States for it), this year I won't be eating turkey, or heck even buttered rolls. Last January I gave up meat and this past fall I gave up dairy as well, if you would like to know my reasons feel free to message me, I'd be glad to talk about them, but this post is about nutrition, not about animal rights.

Zucchini fritters with roasted cauliflower and pasta.

One of the most important things people talk about when giving up meat is the loss of protein. This is mostly a myth. Yes, meats do have more complete proteins, but beans and nuts are a very ample source of protein to fill that gap (besides before I was even full vegetarian I hardly ate meat). I was also using a great deal of milk to fill that deficiency as well (but almond milk actually has more protein and less fat, win-win). Veganism does mean eating more though, as meats do have a higher protein per gram ratio than vegetables (meaning they fill you up faster too), but so what? Usually I just try to fill in the gap with bigger meals and lots of daily snacking (I try to bring almonds with me everywhere, the best snack on the go).

Roasted carrots and beats over greens.

If you're wondering if this would bring me to any competitive disadvantage (as I may venture into racing), I'd say take a look at Dave Zebriskie, a competitor in the Tour de France, who is vegan (with the exception of salmon to get his omegas). The biggest concern may be food availability while touring. Being vegetarian was enough for strange glances along the small towns of America, but not having eggs or dairy might be even more difficult. I recently watched an excellent documentary on the racing of the Great Divide Trail, in which one of the racers was vegan. Standing in the gas station going through all the junk food reading label after label trying to find something he could eat within his boundaries. It's something I have small feats about. In terms of nutrition, though? I feel very confident about my ability eat healthity. If anything a change in diets has helped me focus more on the positives and negatives of what I eat.