Jeremy Jones on Eating Plants for Fitness and the Planet

Published March 1, 2022 12:58PM

Jeremy Jones loves winter a little more than most people. Not only is he a professional snowboarder, he’s also the founder of Protect Our Winters, a global cause designed to unite the winter sports community against climate change. It’s an urgent matter for Jones. “I’ve never had a scientist tell me the issue isn’t as bad as we thought it was so yeah, it’s a climate emergency,” he says from his home in Truckee, California.

One simple step Jones tells anyone interested in reducing their carbon footprint? Eat more plants.

That’s a message he embraced roughly a decade ago when he began eating less meat and more plants, largely inspired by Meatless Mondays. “I’d be eating out on Monday and realize I’d have to swap a veggie sandwich for a deli sandwich,” he says, adding that although he’ll eat seafood occasionally, he can’t remember the last time he’s eaten red meat or poultry. “I hate titles for diets so I just tell people to eat more plants,” he says.

Jones started his snowboard career at the age of 16 and has become one of the most lauded action sports athletes; Snowboarder Magazine picked him as ‘best big mountain rider of the year’ 11 times, and National Geographic named him ‘Adventurer of the Year’ in 2013. You may also recognize him from his appearances in more than 50 snowboard movies.

He says his mostly-plant-based diet has aided his athletic career. After all, he’s somewhat of an anomaly in the snowboard world, given that he’s 47 and still logging impressive achievements. “My fighting weight dropped – not that I was heavy before, but I got more spry which took some weight off my back,” he says. His digestion also improved, and as a result, he says he’s fitter now than he was a decade, even two decades, ago.

His days are always packed, in addition to staying involved with Protect Our Winters, he also runs his own business, Jones Snowboards. And he’s got his training, which can mean full days on the mountains. One thing he does when he needs a reset, which sounds like it might be almost daily? Hop on his slackline for five minutes. “It resets my whole day,” he says.

Besides taking a stand for the planet with your fork, Jones says there’s something else anybody can do to help the environment: get actively involved with an environmental group, whether it’s Protect Our Winters or another. “There are many climate groups that are rallying the vote,” he says. “A couple of thousand votes can mean the difference between a climate denier and climate champion.”

How Snowboarder Jeremy Jones Runs on Plants

So what does a day in the life of this snowboard star look like? Jeremy Jones shares a peek into his training and eating regimen below in this installment of VT Food Diaries.

7 a.m. Eat a breakfast of toast with peanut butter, topped with fruit and hemp seed blend.

9 a.m. Hit the mountain to train all day. Bring various bars to eat throughout the day.

12 p.m. A sandwich is optional on training day, but if I have one, it’s probably avocado, hummus, greens, and sauerkraut.

4 p.m. I’m known as the ‘pistachio guy,’ and it’s the first thing in my system after exercise. Homemade trail mix with pistachios is a fave for protein and fiber. I’ll also have a banana after training – and, on special days, a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

7 p.m. Eat dinner, roasting whatever veggies I have like broccoli, sweet potatoes, beets. Saute kale and mushrooms on stove. Put over quinoa, rice or pasta.

Eating to Protect the Planet: What Pro Snowboarder Jeremy Jones Eats in a Day

How Snowboarder Jeremy Jones Runs on Plants