I may be a proponent of consuming more whole foods and less processed foods, but I am REALISTIC too. Just like you, I have days where I am lucky if I have 20 minutes free for lunch. What do I do? I put together something that's convenient and healthy.
Yesterday's lunch was microwaveable Quinoa and Brown Rice from Seeds of Change with Tasty Bite's Jodhpur Lentils over it. Neither product has harmful ingredients. And this meal was perfect for fueling my run. It gave me 12 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber. Quinoa and lentils are both great for sustaining energy as complex carbohydrates. The seasonings are great natural anti-inflammatories too. With processed food, you have to be careful about sodium content. I usually look for products with less than 500 mg of sodium (or less than 20% RDA). The lentils had 460 mg of sodium and the quinoa had 400 mg. Here's the trick though: each package equals two servings so I had half of each...and saved the other half for today's lunch! I should also note that I DID NOT microwave these in their packages because I did not want harmful xenoestrogens to leach into my food, especially because I am breastfeeding! I use glass pyrex dishes for microwaving and never microwave plastic for this reason!
If you have quick and healthy lunch ideas like this, email them to me at shannonlynn.nutritionATgmail.com and I will feature them on my blog!
Tabouli salad is one of the most nutrient-packed Middle Eastern dishes. After learning that I had a wheat and gluten sensitivity five years ago, I was bummed that I could no longer have this delicious salad that is made with bulgur wheat...until I made my own recipe with qunioa (keenwah). This is a great dish to bring to a barbecue; it's the perfect dish for athletes with it's plethora of antioxidants and it's complete amino acid profile.
Ingredients: (serves 4)
-3 cups pre-cooked quinoa, refrigerated
(to cook quinoa, take 1 dry cup of quinoa, rinse in water. Bring two cups
of water to boil, add the cup of quinoa, reduce to simmer and cover for
20-25 minutes)
-1/2 a small red onion, thinly sliced (optional)
-1 cucumber: peeled, seeded and chopped
-2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
-Handful of cilantro, chopped (can also experiment with mint or parsley)*
-Juice of 1 Lemon
-2 Tablespoons of olive oil
2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
DIRECTIONS: In a large bowl, mix all ingredients well.
The best type of food to have before and after a workout (about 2 hours after your recovery shake) is a nice complex carbohydrate with a decent amount of protein! This tasty wild rice salad meets the criteria with Aduki beans (which actually do NOT cause gas).
Ingredients:
- 1 package of
Lundberg Jubilee wild rice, cooked
- 1 can of Eden
Aduki beans
- 1 handful of
cilantro chopped
- 2 stalks of
celery, diced into small pieces
- 2 medium
carrots, diced into small pieces
- 3/4 cup dried
cranberries
-3/4 cup raw
pumpkin seeds
Dressing:
- juice from two
limes
- 2 Tablespoons
olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons
rice vinegar
- 2 squirts of
agave nectar
- 1/2 teaspoon
of cumin
- dash of salt
- dash of pepper
Directions:
Cook rice
according to package instructions. Allow to cool (I often cook it the night
before I make the salad). Mix all of the ingredients well. Prepare the dressing
and pour over the salad and mix well again! That was easy!
I have to begin this review by saying, as I often do, that no one diet works for everyone. Some people may need the discipline that diets provide; however, as humans we’re constantly evolving and what worked for us one year may not work for us today.
With that said, I have had several athlete clients ask me what I think of the Paleo Diet for Athletes. I read through it with my reviewer’s eye. There are parts of this nutritional formula that I think are critical to follow and then there are parts that I think could potentially hinder an endurance athlete’s performance, and more importantly provoke cardiovascular disease later in life.
The Paleo Diet for Athletes is structured in five stages: what one should eat right before exercise (Stage 1), what one should eat during exercise (Stage 2), what one should eat immediately after exercise (Stage 3), what one should eat within a couple hours of exercise (Stage 4) and what one should continue eating the rest of the day (Stage 5).
For Stage 1, pre-race, Cordain and Friel argue that the athlete simply needs 200-300 calories of a simple sugar and fluids. They recommend 2 gel packs. They claim that this will satisfy hunger, replenish glycogen from an overnight fast, reestablish normal body fluid levels, optimize performance and prepare the body to quickly recover after the workout.For pre-exercise their formula is essentially the same with added protein. They say that lower glycemic index carbs are okay if you have time to spare between eating and racing/exercising. They recommend an apple because it’s fructose and digits slowly. This is not necessarily true. Basically they “ban” complex carbs like oats, or whole grain toast. I think it is WAY too much of a risk to neglect complex carbs before a race especially. The speed at which muscular glycogen is used depends on the person…consuming whole grains and other sources of complex carbs is the primary way for an athlete to assure he has fuel in his tank. I have known too many athletes to bonk in the middle of the race because they had only simple carbs for breakfast.
For Stage 2, eating during exercise, the authors emphasize hydration and electrolyte consumption. They also emphasize the need for some protein (4:1 carb to protein ratio) in ultra-distance events. I agree with the authors for the most part here as the protein will prevent muscle wasting. However, the authors only emphasize getting nutrition from liquids. I disagree here. I think having a healthy bar, some fig Newmans, bananas, etc. in ADDITION to electrolyte drinks are important especially for cyclists whereby eating will not hinder their performance by cramping. The authors’ advice may work well though for runners.
For Stage 3, the authors emphasize again a 4:1 or 5:1 carb to protein food choice to replace lost carb stores and to re-synthesize protein damaged during exercise. They suggest going for a high glycemic carb to get the glucose to the muscles quickly. They also emphasize hydrating. I totally agree with this stage and even like the “homemade brew” that they suggest.
For stage 4, the authors recommend fruits, veggies and lean protein (sample meal = 6 oz. turkey breast, apple, grape juice, coffee). Stage 5 are similar suggestions with added healthy fats (from fish, nuts, etc.) every couple of hours. These stages I agree partly with. The goals are to maintain glycogen stores, balance maintain a healthy PH, optimize weight, and prevent or reduce inflammation. These stages fluctuate a bit during different stages of periodization but the goals and food suggestions are similar. I agree that healthy fats in Stage 5 are important and WILL reduce inflammation. I also think eating every couple of hours is important for proper recovery. Other than that, I have some gripes that deserve their own paragraph.
The authors are suggesting the athletes have grape juice? I’m sorry but continuing to have simple sugars like that will prevent the athletes from being able to absorb nutrients as sugar robs the body of nutrients. Being unable to absorb nutrients = being unable to recover!!! And the acid-alkaline thing, yes I agree that it’s important to avoid having too acidic of an environment, otherwise, your kidneys rely on calcium from your bones to break down acids and athletes can not afford to have this happen to their bones. However, the authors again shun legumes and whole grains claiming they are acidic….but not all of them are!!! Buckwheat, bulgar, quinoa, lentils, spelt and lima beans are quite alkaline and oats aren’t that acidic either. Also, because the authors are pushing veggies and fruits, they fail to mention that some of these are very acidic (pomegranates, raspberries, and mandarin oranges to name a few). The authors make no mention of sprouted breads and seeds and how this is one great way to assure an alkaline environment.
I do like that Cordain and Friel advise consuming organic fruit and veggies as much as possible because you will get more nutrients form them than you will from conventional fruits and veggies. And veggies and fruits are ESSENTIAL for athletes as they need many antioxidants to stay healthy. Whole grains and legumes have antioxidants too though!!! Maybe the authors shun grains because many athletes go for the refined grains…breads, pastas, etc. I mean most race I go to still continue to have pasta dinners the night before (and I bring my rice cooker and make my own meal = ) ). So all in all, the main element that makes me not want to recommend this book is the shunning of legumes and whole grains. All the recent research on whole grains and legumes has found that the fiber and complex carbohydrate combination keeps your cholesterol and weight in check, and prevents cardiovascular disease. And I can tell you that ALL of my athlete clients will attest that whole grains have given them so much more energy in and outside of their sport.
This past weekend I had the GREAT pleasure of competing in the Mini-Musselman Triathlon. This is a pretty big deal for me. I casually competed in tris years ago, and got the itch to do them again a couple of years ago. And obstacles kept creeping in the way of my ability to compete. An illness here, an injury there. You know how it goes. This year I was determined to recover from yet another injury (a herniated disc and torn hamstring) and I was GOING TO COMPETE in a triathlon.
I registered for the Mini Mussel in April; at that point I was still unable to run after my injury, which happened in December! In June, I began running again (on trails), and July 4, I ran a 4-mile race just to see if running was possible - and I didn't do all that bad - 32:40. My legs were killing for four days though b/c it was my first time running on pavement since the winter. I rolled them out on a foam roller and felt good to go when we left for Geneva, NY on July 10.
I had a wonderful fueling meal the night before the race (I BROUGHT MY RICE COOKER WITH ME). I had steamed asparagus on brown rice with rotisserie chicken (sans the skin). I also had a big salad with mixed baby greens, cucumbers, olives, and avocado.
In the morning, bright and early, I had some hearty granola with rice milk. And at 9:04 AM, I was OFF in Seneca Lake. I took the swim slow (500 yards in the water and about 100 yards into the transition area in just over 11 minutes). The bike was hard, but I passed quite a few people on the climbs, which made me feel strong. I did the 15.7 miles in 56 minutes. And the run was difficult - I haven't even done a brick workout this year so I totally forgot that jello-leg feeling. My 5K was 28:00. But I did it and placed pretty decently in my age group! Next year, I'm aiming for a total time of 1 hour 35 minutes, now that I know what to expect. There will be one or more tris this year. I'm just so psyched to be healthy and competing again!
I think everyone should TRY A TRI (even if it's just once). It's so much fun!
