After winning the Welsh Open and making a fantastic fourth maximum 147 break, vegan snooker ace Neil Robertson has reflected on how much easier it is becoming to eat vegan.
The Australian – one of only two players from outside the UK and Ireland to win the World Championship is climbing the rankings after a relatively difficult period.
Vegan winner
“Obviously it felt great to win and add a second world ranking title to the season putting me at provisionally number 3 in the world,” Robertson told Great Vegan Athletes.
“So my ranking is definitely heading in the right direction after a tough couple of years away from the table.”
For many vegan sportspeople, travelling and competing poses an additional challenge as they’re away from home and don’t have their normal cooking and food preparation facilities.
Vegan boom
“I think the last year has been amazing for a vegan travelling compared to any other years because of a huge boom in vegan menus across the board at restaurants and companies like Deliveroo and Uber Eats,” he said.
“A lot of the time I can finish a match not suitable to restaurant hours so it’s been a huge boost to me this season not always having to rely on having food stocked up in the hotel room.”
When eating at home he has more control and options. A few years ago he told us how important his smoothies were, and that remains the case.
Daily vegan menu
“My usual five-six banana, blueberry smoothie I take to practice with me in the morning keeps me going all day,” he said. “My afternoon snack can be anything really, I like the Wicked Kitchen range from Tesco and sometimes just have a small pizza as the range is amazing.
“I’ve also discovered the new Beyond Meat burger, which is just insane and a huge hit in the house, but obviously not a go-to every day. Usually dinner is a vegan spag bol, carbonara, curry or peas mashed potato with Linda McCartney vegan sausages. Over the last year, there have been so many things to try out!”