Are you a no meat runner?

Plants power us; we follow a 100% plant based diet.  We do not occasionally eat fish or chicken nor do we eat eggs – if we did we couldn’t call ourselves a plant based or vegan eater.

A Tarian diet

When adopting a “Tarian” lifestyle diet, we did our homework. We learnt about the additional needs our body required to sustain such a dietary choice and what foods we had to pay particular attention too in our diet to ensure all our nutrient needs were met.  By doing so we ensured we hit no roadblocks with regards to our health and in particular our training was and is unaffected by our food choice.

Vegan nutrition

Protein (that old chestnut)
By removing meat, fish and poultry from our diet doesn’t mean our protein needs are now not met.  We understand it’s important we consume adequate protein for it to do its job like ensure tissue repair, muscle development, providing a source of fuel and building antibodies for fighting off unwanted illness. Our protein is obtained from plant-based sources such as beans, nuts, seeds, soy, lentils and grains like quinoa and oats.

Iron
Red meat does not grace our plates as our source of iron so we power up with a combination of Vitamin C citrus fruits and green leafy vegetables such as kale and spinach to ensure maximum absorption of iron. Other iron rich plant-based foods include soybeans, molasses, lentils, quinoa and beans.

Omega-3
Nop no fish on our plates even outside Fish free Friday! Omega 3 essential fatty acids are good fats which are needed for normal growth, development and brain function and they help reduce inflammatory markers related to chronic disease. We consume plant-based sources of omega 3 such as flaxseeds and flaxseed oil, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, tofu, avocado and soybeans.

Train with confidence

By going plant-based at meal times you can still eat with confidence that you are fuelling your body with adequate macro and micronutrients to power you through your daily lives and exercise regimes. Like any diet choice in which you adopt, not just a plant-based diet you need to be mindful of what foods grace your plate.  When replacing the meat or dairy component of your meal lets say chicken, you need to ensure you do so with a rich protein plant-based source such as beans, tofu or tempeh.

Contrary to what some governing bodies or health experts will tell you, protein, iron and essential fatty acids can be sourced outside animal products and being equally if not better for your health.

Eat well. Be well. Eat Tarian.