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Welcome to Vegan Runner Eats!

My name is Alina Zavatsky. Here on the blog, my goal is to show that leading a vegan lifestyle can be easy, healthy and enjoyable. If you’re looking for delicious and easy plant-based recipes, tips for raising vegan kids, or inspiration to exercise, you’ve come to the right place!

Alina Zavatsky

My husband and I have been vegan for over 9 years, and now we are raising a healthy and happy little girl who’s been vegan since conception. I’ve learned so much about navigating this world as a vegan, so it’s only logical that I’d want to share it all with you here on Vegan Runner Eats!

My story has been featured on Forks Over Knives site. Viva la Vegan has interviewed me about my experience as a vegan athlete. I’ve talked about being a vegan mom on The Vegan Possum podcast.

I’ve also contributed articles to No Meat Athlete, MoneySavingMom.com, OneGreenPlanet.com, FatFreeVegan.com, etc.

Below you’ll find all of the main topics I cover on my website, with links to the most popular posts and categories on each subject.

Vegan Basics - tips on going and staying vegan

Vegan Basics:

First steps in going vegan. Thinking of going vegan? Check out this post to see useful tips on where to start, what to expect, and how to stick with the vegan diet and lifestyle.

Five common mistakes people make when going vegan. Avoid these mistakes that often lead people to quitting veganism following a few simple tips.

Vegan pantry staples. Thinking about stocking your vegan pantry with the most useful and healthy pantry staples? This post will guide you through picking all the right things.

Vegan on a budget. Not every vegan has deep pockets. See this post for 15 budget-friendly grocery shopping & meal planning tips.

Why I choose to stay vegan in a world full of ex-vegans. My reasons for sticking with veganism after seeing a number of prominent vegans calling it quits.

Vegan Health: tips for a healthy transition to a plant-based diet

Vegan Health:

Where do vegans get their protein? A rundown on why plant-based vegan diets can be perfectly sufficient in providing all the protein we need.

Plant-based food combinations that make your diet even healthier. A few easy tweaks to your day-to-day eating habits can help you get even more out of your plant-based diet.

How (and why) to cook with no oil. An easy-to-follow guide to ditching oil from your diet if you decided to go oil-free.

What I learned about my health after 6 years of being vegan. I took a medical test to find out if I’ve developed any nutritional deficiencies after 6 years on the vegan diet. Here’s what I found out.

Also, see all health-related posts over here.

A SIDE NOTE: While I love guiding people towards a vegan lifestyle, I acknowledge that I’m not a trained nutrition professional.

If you’d like to have a real vegan nutritionist to “show you the ropes” of going vegan in a healthy and sustainable way, check out the Vegan Starter Kit created by a certified vegan nutritionist.

Vegan Starter Kit Layout

This starter kit is chock-full of information you’ll need to successfully transition towards a vegan lifestyle. Plus, it comes with an e-cookbook with 40+ delicious plant-based recipes, a dietician-approved 14-day meal plan, a restaurant guide, printable cheat sheets, and much more!

WANT TO SEE IT FOR YOURSELF? Check it out and sign up over here.

Vegan cooking hacks

Vegan Cooking Hacks:

10 quick and easy plant-based meal ideas. Don’t have the time or the inspiration to cook a fancy plant-based dinner? These 10 meal ideas are here to help!

10 of my favorite vegan cookbooks, with reviews and best recipes. Here are 10 vegan cookbooks that I’ve been coming back to over and over in the years since I went vegan.

5 vegan office lunches. A list of 5 plant-based meals that make great portable work lunches.

How to make everything homemade. This list of 10 homemade versions of everyday vegan kitchen staples is here to help you make everything from non-dairy milk and mayonnaise to barbecue sauce and pizza crust.

5 microwave-friendly vegan meal ideas. When a microwave is the only kitchen appliance available, you can still make tasty plant-based meals!

Vegan how-to’s – posts with tips and tricks that make everything vegan cooking-related easier.

Recipes page – all the recipes from the blog, arranged by categories.

Vegan parenting advice and tips

Vegan Parenthood:

Everything I’ve written about pregnancy

Everything I’ve written about parenting

Vegan running and fitness tips

Vegan Running and Fitness:

All running-related posts – my marathon training series, race recaps, running tips and tricks, etc.

All posts about fitness and working out – tips to make working out more fun, training without a gym, what I’ve learned form training for a bodybuilding competition, etc.

Fit Mom Life – all my posts about working out before and after having a baby.

5 tips on nutrition every vegan athlete should know – how to reap the benefits of your plant-based diet as an athlete.

Vegan traveling tips

Vegan Traveling:

Vegan travel tips – learn tips for traveling as a vegan, with kids or without.

Vegan travel destinations – my posts about various places my vegan family has visited over the years, and all the vegan finds we discovered there.

Image Credits: Scott Warman, Luke Michael, Alyson McPhee, Liana Mikah, Anete Lusina via Unsplash.

Rhonda

Monday 28th of September 2020

Hello I want to know when I become a full pledge vegan is it the same as being on a alkaline vegan diet because that is my goal?

Alina Zavatsky - Vegan Runner Eats

Wednesday 30th of September 2020

Hi Rhonda! I believe you're talking about plant-based diet - a type of vegan diet that focuses on whole, minimally processed (or unprocessed) plant-based foods. I am not a doctor or a dietician, so I can't give you any guarantees, but this type of diet is supposed to be more alkaline than conventional vegan (with processed foods) or standard American diet (with meat, dairy, eggs, etc.).

Ken

Wednesday 19th of September 2018

Hi Alina,

What is the best way to cook dry beans in the Instant Pot without oil. We especially like black, dark red kidney and pinto. Honestly, I see lots of recipes on the internet and often wind up with mushy and or split beans. Thanks!

Alina Zavatsky - Vegan Runner Eats

Wednesday 19th of September 2018

Hi Ken,

I'm afraid I don't have enough experience with cooking beans in an Instant Pot to answer your question. There are just too many variables - the variety of beans, how old they are, the amount of beans/water you're using, how long you're cooking them, what altitude you live at, etc. I've made a few soups with beans in my Instant Pot, but haven't made them separately.