Girls Gone Veg: Soccer Stars Toni Pressley & Ali Riley To Launch Vegan Cooking Show To Promote Plant-Based Foods For Athletes

U.S. soccer stars Toni Pressley and Ali Riley announced their plans to launch a vegan cooking show titled ‘Girls Gone Veg’, with its first episode to release on May 7 on the ‘I Am Athlete’ platform founded by former National Football League (NFL) star Brandon Marshall.

The new show by National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) teammates and best friends Pressley and Riley will feature original plant-based recipes with special guests like soccer legend Marta Silva, NFL great Chad ‘Ochocinco’ Johnson and the United States women’s national soccer team (USWNT) star Ali Krieger to appear on the show.

Both friends began playing at the NWSL and have played in Europe, England, Sweden and Russia, and then became teammates on the NWSL’s Orlando Pride in 2020.

Pressley who has been a vegan since 2016 was diagnosed with breast cancer a few years ago and after recovering from her battle, was able to return back to playing professionally, partly crediting her vegan diet for her body’s resiliency and continued athletic performance.

In a press release seen by Green Queen, Pressley said: “There is a skewed view of veganism that it’s not a sustainable diet for athletes and that vegan dishes are these hollow, unfilling meals. Ali and I both play at the highest level of professional soccer and our favorite vegan meals not only keep us performing our best but they satisfy our taste buds as well.”

There is a skewed view of veganism that it’s not a sustainable diet for athletes and that vegan dishes are these hollow, unfilling meals. Ali and I both play at the highest level of professional soccer and our favorite vegan meals not only keep us performing our best but they satisfy our taste buds as well

Toni Pressley, soccer star and co-founder of Girls Gone Veg

Back in 2017, Pressley launched Love2Eat2Love that shares healthy recipes and wellness tips for other athletes and individuals to transition to a plant- based diet.

Similar to Pressley, Ali could link the benefits of being on a plant-based diet to improvements in her athletic performance and is limiting her dependency on meat-based products for environmental and health reasons.

After bonding on this mutual love for sustainable consumption, the friends decided to collaborate and launch a cooking show that celebrates their diets.

Riley said: “We’re so excited to showcase some of our favourite vegan recipes. They’re easy, fun to make, and you would never know they’re vegan!”

This show’s focus on healthy eating made fun and easy, cooking mixed in with the genuine conversation about life and experiences, all the while learning something new, fits perfectly

Brandon Marshall, former NFL star and founder of I Am Athlete

The show will be available on the ‘I Am Athlete’ platform, founded by former NFL star Brandon Marshall and speaks to athletes about various topics in sports, culture, and society with ‘Girls Gone Veg’ to be the first show hosted exclusively by professional female athletes on the platform.

Marshall expressing his excitement said that he loves the concept of the show and the energy that Toni and Ali bring with it. “When creating the I A, Athlete platform, we wanted it to be a place where athletes could create and distribute authentic content that also complements the House of Athlete brand. This show’s focus on healthy eating made fun and easy, cooking mixed in with the genuine conversation about life and experiences, all the while learning something new, fits perfectly.”

Elsewhere, American professional boxer Claressa Shields recently demonstrated the strength and athletic performance that she attributes to her plant-based diet by winning at the junior middleweight division making history as the first woman fighter to win an undisputed championship in two weight classes.

Long-time vegan advocate and tennis champion Venus Williams too has continually raised awareness about the benefits of plant-based diets and has unveiled her own 100% protein shake line called Happy Viking.

To further promote the effects of this diet, James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger-backed documentary film The Game Changers was released showing the truth about the meats we consume and what is the impact of the same on our physical health.

Vegan cooking shows are having a moment around the world, for instance, last September, New Day New Chef, had debuted on streaming platform Amazon Prime in the U.S. and later premiered in England, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand and just recently, the show was nominated in eight Taste Awards categories with nominations in Best New Series and Best Reality Series.

In February, animal activist, and co-founder of the nonprofit Meat Free Monday, Mary McCartney debuted her new vegetarian cooking show, on the streaming platform discovery+ that is a six-part series promoting plant-based cooking and recipes.

Girls Gone Veg will stream exclusively on the I Am Athlete YouTube page with the first episode to release on May 7, 2021.

Lead image – Ali Riley(left) & Toni Pressley(right), courtesy of Girls Gone Veg.