Energy through the Roof- With Plants!

Published by Kickin' Vegan on April 7, 2020April 7, 2020

Hey, Kickin’ Vegan…won’t people get tired when they don’t eat meat?

NO, THE OPPOSITE IS ACTUALLY TRUE!!! YOUR ENERGY WILL BE THROUGH THE ROOF! 

Heading to the Mountaintop

One thing people are always amazed by when they go plant based, is how much energy they have!  When you feed your body the proper fuel, and enough of it, you’ll feel unstoppable, like a well oiled machine. Do you want to feel like an old clunker on the road or a Ferrari on the racetrack?  Well, I’ve driven in both of those conditions, and I have to tell you, the luxury racetrack is a much smoother and high energy ride! 

When I turned 40, I decided I was going to run a marathon. So I did. I was already Plant Based, and I started reading up on how to get more training in by shortening your recovery time. You need your rest days, they are important, but you CAN shorten your recovery by eating a plant based diet. I also learned about eliminating the fatigue of digesting animal products to have more energy. I already avoided them, but this knowledge set me off a plant based energy blast off! I had such a successful and injury free training and race, that I ran two half and three full marathons over the span of two and a half years. Probably would never have happened if I’d been chowing down on burgers. Plants had me flying sky high with energy! I also had a job and two kids under 5, so it wasn’t like there were no outside responsibilities.

You don’t have to be a marathon runner to enjoy the benefits of a veggie fueled, energetic life! Just imagine your every day life right now, and then add good night’s sleeps, jumping out of bed, no slump times, and feeling fresh and ready for anything all day. Yeah. Man! That’s the stuff! Imagine how much you could accomplish and how much joy you could experience?

Key points: 

• Clean fuel gives you instant energy
• Food that digests without a struggle gives your body a boost
• Not only are you feeling more energy, but you are healthier and your cells run more efficiently, boosting immunity and fighting off disease
• You’ll be inspired to get moving, it won’t be a chore, your body WANTS to party!

Let’s get to it! How is this possible? Won’t I fret away into a whithery waste without meat? Nope. You’ll fly into a new existence of exciting, adventurous, sexy living!

• Clean fuel gives you instant energy

Making sure you load up on grains, beans, fruits, veggies and greens every day will ensure you re packing yourself with energy to last all day and keep you steady.  They won’t weigh you down and tax your system with digestion fatigue. Their energy is instantly absorbed for use!

Start your day with a big ole bowl of steel cut oats and fruits and nuts. There are lots of things you can eat for breakfast, but the best source of all-day fuel that always hits the spot is steel cut oats. They take awhile to cook, so I make a huge pot on the weekend and nuke it all week. It is perfectly okay to sub rolled oats when you don’t have time or can’t find steel cut. Although steel cut oats are closer to their natural state and take longer to break down, bringing more extended energy, that doesn’t mean that rolled oats are useless. They proudly wear the silver medal, and take only about five minutes to cook compared to 45.

Oats are like a sundae. You can top them with anything! Here are my favorites:

1. Flaxseed and chia seeds. ALWAYS! My family gets at least a serving a day of each of these, they provide you needed omegas, lignans, and choline, in easily absorbed and energy giving forms. Make sure that you buy ground flaxseed (flax meal) or grind it yourself to open the seed. I keep mine on the kitchen island in mason jars so we never forget it.
2. Berries. Berries are full of phytonutrients and are the keys to longer living by reversing oxidation in the body. Yeah, basically, they keep you from rusting. They make you look and feel younger, from the inside out. Nutritionally speaking, grapes and pomegranate fit in this category. Berries are number one in the fruit world. If you don’t have fresh, keep frozen on hand so you are never out.
3. Walnuts– amazing little packages of energy, and Omegas. they are fantastic for your health and should be one of your source of fats. Great for brains and energy, (No oils!)
4. Fresh, frozen, or dried fruits. Anything you’ve got. I like to make my oatmeal a magical buffet. Whatever you have on hand? Pineapple, coconut flakes, bananas, dried apricots, raisins, mangoes, just throw it in there!
5. Maple syrup. For the sweet. Always real actual maple syrup- none of that flavored corn syrup no matter what the label says. ONLY real maple syrup. It’s more expensive, but it goes much further. It’s very thin, so pour carefully. Keep in the fridge.
6. Nut milk– We like to pour milk over the whole shebang. Soy, Oat, Almond, Cashew, Coconut, Hemp. They even have macadamia milk (awesome!) Pick your fave. (We usually buy what’s on sale or what’s ‘new.’ We have tried and loved it all. ALWAYS get unsweetened, the sugar content is ridic, and you’ve already got that syrup and fruit making it a dream come true.

Starting your day with this fuel will last much longer than coffee and sugary cereal or pastries that cause a crash, or bacon and eggs that wipe you out while you work to digest it.

I carry bananas, apples and oranges for snacks, and dried fruit and nuts are also great.

Lunch is all about how many greens you can make happen. I like a titanic sized salad. With as many fresh veggies and fruits as I can find. Leftovers go in it, grains, like lastnight’s brown rice or quinoa. Add chick peas or tofu, nuts and spices. make it a ginormous smorgasbord.

Eat a clean dinner, don’t fry it! Air fry it, bake it, steam it, whatever. I like to eat pasta. Whole grain pasta with marinara and veggies is EPIC! NO meats or dairy, they’ll interrupt your sleep and have you waking in a fog.

• Food that digests without a struggle gives your body a boost

Animal foods are difficult to digest. All the nutrients they contain came from the plants the animal ate. So your body has to break apart the food into its useable pieces that you would have gotten straight away from fruits, grains, beans, and vegetables.

Why add all that work when you can get it first hand without wearing down your system, causing acidity, slowed digestion and fatigue? How long does meat and cheese stick around? I don’t want all that dead stuff stuck in my gut making me feel exhausted and overstaying its welcome as it becomes putrid in my gut. Ew.

Eat veggies man! The nutrients come right out, the fiber goes right through, no hang time blocking up the system. You’ll feel much lighter and energized!

• Not only are you feeling more energy, but you are healthier and your cells run more efficiently, boosting immunity and fighting off disease

When you aren’t wasting all of your body’s resources digesting animal products, they are free for repair, regeneration, and cellular renewal. This is the best thing you can do for your immunity! It is also the best way to make sure all the toxins in your body are easily eliminated, which will ensure you less encounters with ill health overall.

• You’ll be inspired to get moving, it won’t be a chore, your body WANTS to party!

Here’s the best part! When you are feeling cleaner, less fatigued, and energized overall, and are not being weighted down with that heavy feeling of undigested food, your body will be begging you for action! If you don’t love working out, it won’t matter. Your body will want to play. You won’t stare at the couch begging for its comfort, you’ll stare at the door, looking for adventure.

Imagine how different your life would be if when you got done with the workday, you couldn’t wait to take the kids out to play, run the dog, toss a ball, or whatever is out there to do. The tv will no longer be your comfort blanket to wrap up with chips at the end of the day and wallow, wishing you just had the energy, but you just had such a long day… one day it will be different, you just know it.

I know it. That day is now, when you decide to eat fresh food and ditch the processed paste that’ll slow you down, the sugar that’ll spike and drop, and the animals that will yuck you to sleep. Trust the truth. Give fresh food a go for a week. Eat fruit and nuts for snacks, (no limit!) and skip any white flour, sugar, oils and animal products. After all that fiber moves your past ills out of your system, you’ll never want to go back. The feeling is just too liberating!

Let me know how I can be of help, I want you to succeed, and I want you to feel supported. Share this post, and sign up below to join the newsletter and receive a plant based food prep guide as a free gift.

Remember, You’ve got this, and I’ve got your back!

XOXO Aloha!

Britt, Your Kickin’ Vegan