We are into our week 2 of our May nutrition challenge and here are some super easy recipes using whole, real ingredients to keep you fuelled!
Here’s the first one – adapted from the skratch labs idea of sticky rice cakes.
Although cooking with white rice is not something I do often, it is a great energy source as it is high in calories and low in fibre and protein – making those sugars easy for your body to access.The cakes also hold a lot of water (around 65%), making them a great source of fuel for our running bodies!
Start off with a base of:
3 cups uncooked sticky rice
4.5 cups of water
You want the rice to be sticky!
Add your favourite flavours! Mine has been chopped dates and chopped roasted almonds (1/2 cup to 1 cup of both). Other tasty ideas that I’ve tried are: chocolate chip and raspberry (fresh berries are best); bacon (the salt is good in here!); citrus and coconut; or a classic peanut butter and jam!
Mix it all in a bowl and press it firmly into a cookie sheet pan (I found using a wet spatula to press it does works very well)
Give it some time to set and then cut into “manageable” squares (if you know you struggle with getting food down, make them smaller!) and wrap with foil. Toss em in your pocket and enjoy!
Hasselback Sweet potatoes (a great “evening-before big run” meal component!). For mega long runs, I have also brought these with as a lunch time option.
Sweet potatoes have a large dose of carbohydrates to fuel your run! As a moderate glycemic index carbohydrate, sweet potatoes will have a slower effect on increases in insulin and blood sugar. Compare this to something like the rice cakes, which will give you a more instant energy source. For this reason, I choose to eat my moderate and low glycemic index foods the night before runs or if I know I’m in for a long day.
Wash medium sized sweet potatoes
Slice thin cuts into the sweet potato, being careful so as to not cut down to the bottom.
Add toppings:
Savoury option: butter and herbs (garlic and oregano are my favourite! I have also added bacon in the slices for some extra fat and salt on long days out).
Sweet option: brown sugar and pecans
Wrap potatoes in foil bake for about an hour at 375F.
