As a vegan who loves food, I’m always looking for fun ways to add the much-needed vitamins, minerals and nutrients to my meals to ensure I get everything I need without having to eat more than I want to.
As a runner, I too have to be conscious of ensuring I eat enough food to fuel my runs. It can be all to easy to believe you’re eating enough without realising that you are in fact, under fuelling.
I’ve only really become aware of this recently, so I’m not as up to speed with it as I should be, but I’m willing to learn and ensure that the food I’m eating is correctly fuelling me for the exercise I do.
Under fuelling can impair hormonal function, immune function, gastrointestinal function cardiovascular function and psychological function.
Even short term energy deficits have been shown to disrupt hormones. Long term LEA (low energy availability) can reduce performance and increase illness and injury.
Signs of under-fuelling
Missed/irregular periods
Persistent fatigue
Drop in performance or lack of expected improvement in performance
Poor recovery
Increased perception of effort during exercise and daily activities
Recurrent illness/injury
Changes in mood
Reduced social interaction
Problematic relationship with food and/or training
Disrupted sleep patterns
Preventing under-fuelling can be as simple as being more proactive in planning your food and paying attention to your energy levels and making a sustained, conscious effort to consume enough energy.
You’ll obviously need to eat more on hard training days, this can be achieved by simply including some lower fibre options (white instead of wholemeal pasta), healthy fats such as nuts, seeds, nut butters, avocado, olive and rapeseed oils in all your meals and snacks.
Eating large portions may not be for everyone so adding high energy snacks like nuts, nut butter on toast and fruit and nut bars between meals.
If you’re just a recreational runner then you needn’t worry too much about under-fuelling, but if you are plant based/vegan I’d definitely advise checking your diet just to ensure you are getting the correct amount of protein, vitamins, minerals and nutrients.
One easy way to add in these little extras is by using a product like Pimp My Salad. You’re already eating the dish you’ve made, so why not just top it with something that’s not only tasty, but actually giving you almost a hidden extra dose of all those pesky vitamins, minerals and nutrients! I know this is how I like to do it!
So, without further ado, let me introduce you to Pimp My Salad.
Pimp My Salad
Pimp your salad this Autumn with an exciting range of plant based meal toppers. Pimp My Salad are on a mission to reconnect people with fun filled healthy foods with their deliciously versatile range of healthy meal toppers.
Having been carefully created by brand founders Olga and Alex, the toppers use only the best ingredients, sourced from ethical suppliers and are plant-based, gluten-free and keto/paleo-friendly.
Each is made using slowly dried cooking techniques, to ensure the nutrients in their ingredients stay intact and each sprinkle of topper adds extra goodness to breakfast, lunch and dinner.
It’s not all about nutrition though and Pimp My Salad’s mission is to help people reconnect with the pleasure of eating, to prove that eating healthily doesn’t need to be about perfection, but instead should be good fun, effortless, exciting and of course tasty.
If you’re anything like me, then you enjoy adding say cheese to your bolognaise, bacon to your Carbonara and seed sprinkles to a Caesar Salad. It’s the little things that can enhance your dishes, both visually and literally!
COCONUT BACON combines coconut flakes with herbs, spices, and natural wood smoke to create a scrumptious crunchy bacon alternative that will satisfy any craving.
CASHEW PARM CHEEZ uses raw cashews, sunflower seeds, nutritional yeast, organic kale, and lemon peel to produce a vibrant and punchy topping
ACTIVATED SUPER SEED SPRINKLES mixes six seeds, including chia and poppy, with lively spices and tamari to ensure your taste buds won’t be disappointed.
Having tried all three offerings from Pimp My Salad, I can quite honestly say that they’ll definitely be making regular appearances in my salads, pasta and pizza dishes!
If adding a sprinkle or two of these to the dishes I’m already eating helps to ensure that I’m not under-fuelling for my long runs and half marathons, then I’ll happily ensure that these are a staple in my cupboard that I can reach for easily on the daily.
I really love the Coconut Bacon sprinkles, they really do have that bacon-y taste and they work really well with Bolognaise and carbonara! Two of my favourite pasta dishes, which are actually very easy to veganise if you’ve found that you are missing your favourite foods.
The Activated Seed Sprinkles add a much needed crunch to my salads as well as of course ensuring I get all the vitamins, minerals and nutrients within the one dish! I’m always looking for ways to make my salads more interesting and this is definitely one delicious way to do it!
The Cashew Parm Cheese works wonderfully as a topping for carbonara pasta I’ve found! (As well of course my other favourite, Bolognaise!) As a vegan, Nooch, or Nutritional Yeast as it’s known is a de-fermented yeast product which has a distinctly nutty/cheesey flavour to it, making it the perfect option for vegans looking to add a cheesey flavour to their dishes.
It is also a good source of B vitamins and this Cashew Parm has a similar flavour profile to it, which I find delightful!
So I would highly recommend checking out Pimp My Salad if you’re looking for an easy way to add something tasty to your salads, soups and pastas!
Have you ever tried Pimp My Salad? Let me know your thoughts!
Love, Sarah xoxoxo
