What is the Best Way to Kick-Start Your Day or Your Workout?

 

Click HERE to Find Out How You Can Build Muscle & Lose Fat By Eating Plants

PEANUT BUTTER-MOCHA PROTEIN SHAKE (DAIRY-FREE)

Need some caffeine to kick-start your day or workout?

This dairy-free protein shake can double as breakfast, or a pre-workout boost.

I religiously use caffeine in the form of coffee for my pre-workout (with a dash of beta-alinine). Energy drinks overload my central nervous system and make me feel like crack-cocaine had intercourse with clenbuterol (hardcore weight-loss stimulant).

Enough silliness, let’s get right to it! Vegetarian bodybuilders will love this concoction.

Chia seeds (superfood) provide fiber, quality protein, zinc, and B vitamins. Banana protects against muscle cramps during workouts, and provides complex carbs and electrolytes. Peanut butter provides protein, fiber, electrolytes, Vitamin E healthy fats, and…the texture and taste that only peanut butter has.

Ingredients

• 2 shots espresso, or 1 cup organic iced coffee
• 1 tsp all-natural, no sugar added peanut butter
• ½ ripe banana
• 4 tbsp. rolled oats (use 2 tbsp for lower carb)
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 serving chocolate protein powder
• 1 tbsp. chia seeds
• 6 ice cubes

Serves 1

For more ideas on how to kick-start your day or your workout, watch this video - How To Start a Vegan Diet for Fitness: Foods To Eat + Tips

8 REASONS TO SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FARMERS MARKET

Supporting farmers markets has a high positive impact on your individual heath, animals, the community, and the planet. Here are eight good reasons to give it a try:

1. Highly Nourishing Foods

Most of our “food” found in grocery stores is highly processed and grown using pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and genetic modification. Some of it has been irradiated, waxed, or gassed in transit. These practices may have negative effects on human health. In contrast, most food found at the farmers market is minimally processed, and many of our farmers go to great lengths to grow the most nutritious produce possible by using sustainable techniques and picking produce right before the market.

2. Sustainable Practices for the Environment

Food in the U.S. travels an average of 1,000-2,000 miles to get to your dinner table. The shipping alone uses substantial amounts of natural resources (especially fossil fuels), contributes to pollution, and creates trash with extra packaging. The processing methods of conventional agriculture also uses many more resources than sustainable agriculture. Not to mention, this process pollutes our water, land, and air with toxic agricultural by-products.

Fruits and vegetables from the farmers market is transported 1/10 the distance in most cases and is mostly grown using methods that minimize the damage we are making on the planet.

3. Promote Humane Living Conditions of Animals

I know we’re vegetarians here, but many of us are disgusted at the inhumane practices of industrialized meat production. At the farmers market, you can find meats, cheeses, and eggs from animals that have been treated humanely, raised without hormones or antibiotics, who have grazed on green grass and eaten natural diets. Most of them have also been spared the cramped and unnatural living conditions of feedlots and cages.

4. Taste What Real Food Used to Taste Like

The fruits and veggies you buy at the farmers market are fresh and flavorful. Nothing compares. Fruits are allowed to ripen fully in the field and are brought directly to you—no gassing to simulate the ripening process, no long-distance shipping, no sitting for weeks in storage. This is what real food tastes like—fresh from the farm.

5. Support Local Family Farmers

Since large agribusinesses dominate food production in the U.S., small family farms have a hard time competing in the marketplace. Buying directly from farmers helps correct a collective error that our society has made with the industrialization practices that are ultimately hurting us. It’s frightening to think what our future looks like without small family farms, they need our support.

6. Know Where Your Food Comes From

A regular trip to a farmers market is one of the best ways to connect with where your food comes from. Meeting and talking to farmers and food artisans is a great opportunity to learn more about how and where food is produced.

7. Foods Not Available in Most Grocery Stores

At the farmers market you find an amazing array of produce that you don’t see in your average grocery store: red carrots, a rainbow of heirloom tomatoes, purple cauliflower, stinging nettles, green garlic, watermelon radishes, quail eggs, maitake mushrooms, and more. It is a wonderful opportunity to savor the biodiversity of our planet.

8. Build Community

Coming to the farmers market is more like therapeutic experience than it is shopping. And, it is place to meet up with the other members of your local community (a practice that’s almost extinct in modern times).

Author Bio:

Chris Willitts (creator of V3), is the founder and owner of Vegetarian Bodybuilding.

V3 Vegetarian Bodybuilding System is a mixture of science and author’s advice, providing users with optimal diet and exercise. This system is designed for vegans and vegetarians only.

A lot of research has been put in this program. Furthermore, a lot of professional bodybuilders and athletes tried and tested the program, praising its progressiveness and efficiency.

The program is about taking control of your own body and health according to your potential and needs. And worry not; you’ll get plenty of proteins with this system. It will boost you with energy, and you’ll feel just a strong as any carnivore would (perhaps even stronger, depending on how much you invest in your exercise). It avoids vitamins deficiency and provides you with a lot of proteins, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. 

Instead of saying things like “I think a plant-based diet is good for athletes and bodybuilders,” the V3 Vegetarian Bodybuilding System claims “I know a plant-based diet is good for athletes and bodybuilders, and I have results to prove it.”

To find out more, visit the website at V3 Bodybuilding – How to Kick-Start Your Day or Your Workout?

How to Get Enough Protein and Fiber in a Vegan Bodybuilding Diet?

 

Click HERE to Find Out How You Can Build Muscle & Lose Fat By Eating Plants

BLACK BEANS ARE A CHEAP, PROTEIN-RICH “SUPERFOOD”

Who’s got enough protein and fiber in their diet? This vegetarian bodybuilder does!

It seems like everything is being called a “superfood” these days.

Chia seeds, kale, turmeric, and spirulina are great examples of this term being generally applied to foods that have a high-nutrient composition. Unfortunately, it’s also being used a bit too generously in the spirit of raising click-through rates on the Web.

Let’s be real here, virtually all vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds are nutrient-dense. They are pretty much all superfoods, hence the amused quotations around the word in the title of this article.

Beans in general are typically high on most nutritionists’ lists. So why did I choose black beans to write about?

The deep dark coat on the black bean is a powerful source of three important flavonoids: delphinidin, petunidin, and malvidin. These important substances are super-high in antioxidant activity.

In the world of healthy sources of fiber, you cannot get much better than black beans. They have more fiber per serving than any other member of the legume family. Studies have demonstrated that they are good for our digestive system, especially the colon*.

*The fiber and resistant starch of the bean are the source of this protection, because the body does not digest the starch. Your body produces butyrate to aid in the digestion, and this is a compound that has been shown to prevent cancer.

That being said, I didn’t write this article to give the impression that black beans are newly discovered miracle food that will make you grow two inches taller or lose 40 pounds in a week.

However, black beans are much more nutritious than most people are aware of, because brightly colored fruits and vegetables tend to steal the spotlight. I wanted to bring your attention to black beans because they deserve to their rightful place in the spotlight.

They help reduce inflammation, prevent cancers and heart disease, keep weight gain and obesity at bay, and provide excellent support for our digestive system.

This protein-powered bean gives you a longer feeling of satiation, which can help you feel good all day long.

When you want sugars and breads, eat black beans instead because they help with cravings. They are also filling and satisfying, which is ideal for vegetarian bodybuilders who need something substantial in their stomachs.

Fats, Carbs, and Protein in Black Beans

There is zero fat in these tasty legumes. Just one cup of black beans has a respectable 15 grams of high-quality, plant-based protein, and 41 grams of carbohydrates.

As a vegetarian bodybuilder, this combination of macros is optimal. It’s crucial to consume slow-burning, complex carbohydrates and quality protein in the form of whole vegetables, starches, legumes, and sprouted grains. Black beans also help keep blood sugar levels stable, and are a food low on the glycemic index.

“But beans make me too gassy!”

It’s true, beans can be harder for some of us to digest than others. It’s about finding your personal tolerance and comfort level. For instance, I know that I can eat 1-2 cans a day and not have an issue. But if I try eating more than three cans, I start to feel the pain. I also know of folks who can’t even eat one taco with black beans without getting gassy.

Some say that if you soak them for a long time and rinse them well before cooking, it helps with the gas. I’m not sure about the validity of this claim, so please email me with your experience with this.

“Is this too many carbs for a diabetic?”

Beans are extremely beneficial in an anti-diabetes diet because as I mentioned earlier, they rank low on the glycemic scale. This means that they don’t cause the inflammatory spike in blood sugar levels associated with refined baked goods and grains.

Black Beans Nutrition

A one-cup serving of cooked black beans provides (in daily recommended values):

• 227 calories
• 15 grams protein
• 15 grams fiber
• 0 grams fat
• 64% folate
• 40% copper
• 38% manganese
• 35% vitamin B1 Thiamine
• 30% magnesium
• 24% phosphorus
• 20% iron

How to Cook Black Beans

1. The night before, soak the black beans in a large pot of water.
2. The next day, rinse the beans, cover with 3 cups of fresh water, and bring to a boil over high heat.
3. Reduce the heat, and simmer covered for 30 minutes, skimming off any foam.

Two flavorful additions to consider:

• Sautéing garlic and onion in a little olive oil before adding beans and cooking.
• Cooking the beans with raw whole onion, garlic, and orange all at once.

Beans and lentils have been, and continue to be, some of the most nutritious foods available worldwide. They are extremely versatile, and can be used in the following ways:

• Used in/with enchiladas, burritos, and tacos.
• Made into refried and baked patties.
• Combined with vegetables and herbs to make savory soups.
• Mixed in salads.
• Puréed and served as a dip or spread.

For more ideas on how to get enough protein and fiber in a vegan bodybuilding diet, watch this video - Vegan High Protein Full Day of Eating | 152g of Protein

Author Bio:

Chris Willitts (creator of V3), is the founder and owner of Vegetarian Bodybuilding.

V3 Vegetarian Bodybuilding System is a mixture of science and author’s advice, providing users with optimal diet and exercise. This system is designed for vegans and vegetarians only.

A lot of research has been put in this program. Furthermore, a lot of professional bodybuilders and athletes tried and tested the program, praising its progressiveness and efficiency.

The program is about taking control of your own body and health according to your potential and needs. And worry not; you’ll get plenty of proteins with this system. It will boost you with energy, and you’ll feel just a strong as any carnivore would (perhaps even stronger, depending on how much you invest in your exercise). It avoids vitamins deficiency and provides you with a lot of proteins, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. 

Instead of saying things like “I think a plant-based diet is good for athletes and bodybuilders,” the V3 Vegetarian Bodybuilding System claims “I know a plant-based diet is good for athletes and bodybuilders, and I have results to prove it.”

To find out more, visit the website at V3 Bodybuilding –  How to Get Enough Protein and Fiber in a Vegan Bodybuilding Diet?