Being a vegan, it can often be difficult to find filling foods, especially if you are a football player, as you need good foods that will fuel you through matchdays and training. You need to have a balanced diet to get the most out of your body. Not only do you need to eat healthy and clean food, but you also need protein and nutrients to build muscle and help recovery.
So as a footballer who is vegan, what kind of foods should your diet consist of? You need to look at different foods that can suit your body’s needs. You’ll need protein to build muscle and help speed up recovery. A football player will also need plenty of carbohydrates, as they need fuel to maximize their performance, not to mention the vitamins and minerals necessary for general body performance. Although it is uncommon to see professional athletes take up a vegan diet, that doesn’t mean that it can’t be effective. A vegan diet shouldn’t badly affect a player’s performance, but if you want to bet on how well you think they’re going to perform, you first need to know how to pick a sports betting site where you can place your wagers. So what are good vegan foods for football players?
Potatoes
Potatoes are one of the most filling foods that you can eat, which is great news for those who love sport. Luckily enough, though, they are not particularly high in calories. A medium-sized baked potato will likely contain roughly 160 calories. They are a great food to eat as they are rich in starch. This means that as a carbohydrate, they provide good energy. How you prepare your potatoes is also very important. If you decide to opt for a fried potato as opposed to a baked one, you are putting yourself at a disadvantage. You will be consuming more calories and getting less of the potato’s nutrients. This is why baking or even boiling your potatoes are the best options.
Popcorn
Who doesn’t love popcorn, right? Not only is it tasty and makes for the perfect movie snack, it is also great for those on a calorie deficit. Popcorn is filling but also has low amounts of calories. There are also a lot of vitamins and minerals in popcorn, as well as providing dietary fibre. Football players will be happy to know they can enjoy the salted snack without too many negative effects on their bodies.
Pulses
Pulses are a great way to get plenty of nutrients into your body to help your body’s performance. These pulses include the likes of beans, lentils, chickpeas, and peas. They are low in fat as well as being high in fibre, meaning that they are filling but not fattening. They also provide a great range of vitamins that can help reduce heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
Oats
Oats are an extremely popular breakfast choice, and it is easy to see why. They are low in saturated fat and also contain several minerals. They are also very rich in protein, with 13g of protein in every 100g of oats. As well as being rich in protein, they are also rich in fibre. This makes them a great, filling choice for food. The vegan-friendly breakfast choice can be eaten in several different ways. For example, a popular choice of preparing oats is to accompany them with milk and sweet berries.