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5/24/2019

Toasted.  And Toast.

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After a long run or ride, I'm too tired to think about what to eat, never mind fix it and eat it within 30 minutes. As you may know, there's that magical 30-minute window after a workout where your muscles are like sponges.  They'll replenish their glycogen stores quickly if you feed them - and that sets you up for tomorrow's training.  But if you're like me, and prefer to have real food instead of recovery drinks, it takes a bit of forethought.  And a couple of pieces of toast.  
 
Sports dietitians recommend 1.2g - 1.5g of high glycemic carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight and 20 - 40g quality protein within 30minutes for optimum recovery.  Just to give you a feel for what it would take to hit those numbers, I've included some nutritional values below.  While it would be interesting, I haven't measured and calculated what I eat.
 
My philosophy is to eat food that has both carbs and protein; and to let my hunger dictate the quantity.  I have noticed that if I consume gels/sports drinks during my workout, my performance is better and my post-workout hunger is tempered.  So I don't need as big of a recovery snack.  Likewise, if I'm starving after a workout and eat a decent recovery snack, I won't be eating everything in sight (and I mean everything!) at dinner time.  Between us, I'm starting to wonder if my body demands the same overall amount of food in a day, it's just a question of how I distribute it during the day that makes a difference to my performance and recovery. 
 
Okay, philosophy aside.  Here are some of my quick after-workout snacks.  Top toast with:
 
1.  Ricotta cheese, berries and honey.
2.  Melted cheddar cheese and mango chutney.
3.  Peanut (or almond) butter, banana slices and maple syrup.
4.  Goat cheese, chopped nuts and honey.
5.  Cream cheese, prosciutto ham and rocket (arugula)
6.  Mashed avocado with feta cheese
7.  Hummus, grated carrot and sliced cucumbers
8.  Peanut (or almond) butter and chocolate chips.
 
If you're interested in the math, here are some approximate nutritional values to ponder:

White bread, 1 slice, 15g carbs
honey or maple syrup, 1 TBSP, 20g carbs
mango chutney, 1 TBSP, 13g carbs
banana, small, 23g carbs
strawberries, 1 cup, 11g carbs
Ricotta, 1/2 cup, 14g protein
cheddar cheese, 2 slices, 14g protein
goat cheese, 2 oz, 12g protein
peanut or almond butter, 2 TBSP, 8g protein
almonds, 23 whole kernels, 6g protein

If you'd like to read more, here are a couple of articles to check out:
https://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/110413p18.shtml
and 
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3905295/

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5/10/2019

Raw Caramel Peanut Crunch Bars

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Okay, yummmm.  I'm calling them recovery food because they're loaded with carbs (dates) and protein (peanut butter).  And, well, they're easy to make, grab and go; they're filling and they taste good. 

As an added bonus, Donna Hay's recipe was quick to make; you can find it on Epicurious.com at   https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/raw-caramel-peanut-crunch-bars. 

When I made them, my dates and peanut butter did not form a paste in the food processor so I ended up adding a tablespoon of water.  I could not find the recipe's puffed brown rice at two grocery stores so I  substituted my kids' Rice Krispies (or Rice Bubbles as they are called here in Australia).  And I used my swimming shoulders and arms to really press the sticky mixture into my pan.  Because my peanut butter doesn't have any added salt, I think a pinch of salt would've helped the flavor.  But even without the salt, the kids and I woofed these down in a day.  So much for having them on hand after my workouts!   

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