Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Pre- and Post-Event Homemade Nutrition Recipes from Stephanie Howe

Stephanie Howe, Western States 100 Champ and current doctoral student in Nutrition & Exercise Physiology at OSU, spoke at FootZone a week ago, and shared some delicious recipes for homemade pre- and post-event nutrition - great for those of us who'd like to save a bit on nutrition products, or who'd like a bit more control over ingredients! 

Make sure you check out Stephanie's blog for more great info and recipes!  http://stephaniemariehowe.blogspot.com

Tell us what your favorite pre or post run food is, in the comments!


Endurance By Stephanie
www.endurancebystephanie.com 

Homemade Nutrition for Athletes
Ergonomic aid: any substance, device, or practice that may enhance athletic performance.
Supplement
Action
Research
Caffeine
Muscle contractility, endurance, fat metabolism
Supports
Nitric Oxide
Aerobic performance, lowers energy cost of exercise
Controversial
Carbohydrates
Time to fatigue, improve endurance performance
Supports
Energy gels
Quickly supply CHO during exercise
Supports
Protein
Optimizes muscular growth & repair
Supports
Sports drinks
Endurance perf., supplies CHO, electrolytes, fluid
Supports
Anti-oxidants
Protects against free radicals, reduce muscle damage
Controversial
Anti-inflammatories
Reduce muscle damage & pain
Supports
Electrolytes
Prevents dehydration, Na+ depletion, and fluid loss
Supports

Pre-Run
Carbohydrate availability before exercise improves performance and delays time to fatigue. Ergonomic aids:
1. Caffeine. Improves aerobic endurance, stimulant, can make you feel more focused, enhances fat metabolism (explain this- mobilizes FA from adipose cells to the blood, doesn’t burn more fat).
2. Carbohydrates. Yes, CHO are a performance aid. They provide substrate (glucose) to be used for energy during exercise. CHO availability is a performance enhancement.
3. Nitric Oxide. Or Beetroot. Nitric oxide is a vasodilator, which can improve oxygen perfusion to the working muscles. Claims to improve performance by lowering energy cost during submaximal exercise.
Post-Run
Recovery is faster and more complete if you fuel immediately following exercise. Nutrients, such as antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, and electrolytes can also help with recovery from exercise. Ergonomic aids:
1. CHO + PRO. CHO & PRO are most important for recovery. CHO provides substrate to replace muscles glycogen and PRO helps repair muscle damage.
2. Anti-oxidants. These help combat against free radicals, which are produced as a result of exercise. Free radicals, or unstable electrons, are constantly being produced in our bodies, but during exercise are particularly damaging to our cells.
3. Anti-inflammatories. Help to reduce swelling and damage that occurs post-exercise. Anti- inflammatories can attenuate the DOMS and reduce recovery time after muscle damaging exercise.
4. Electrolytes. During exercise we lose a lot of electrolytes due to sweating. Post-run, we want to replace them to keep our body in homeostasis.

Recipes 

Simple Pancake (or waffle)
Benefit: CHO
1 banana
2eggs
1⁄2 tsp baking powder
Mash banana in a small bowl. Whisk in the eggs and baking powder until you have a smooth consistency. Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add 1⁄2 the mixture to the pan and slightly reduce heat. Cook for 3-5 minutes, and gently flip (wait until you see small bubbles on top). Cook an additional 3-5 minutes and remove. Cook second pancake following the same instructions. Serve with yogurt, berries, nut butter, and maple syrup



Matcha muffins
Benefit: caffeine, CHO
  • 2 c almond meal
  • 1/3 c almond milk
  • 2 ripe bananas
  • 2eggs
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 3-4 T agave
  • 1⁄2 tsp vanilla
  • 1⁄2 t cardamom
  • 1-2 T matcha powder (depending on tatse preference)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
    Mash bananas in a medium bowl . In a small bowl add lemon juice to almond milk and let sit for a few minutes. Add to banana mixture. Add eggs, agave, vanilla and stir well. In a separate bowl, combine almond meal, cardamom, matcha powder, and baking powder. Stir to combine. Add wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Fill muffin tins 3⁄4 full and bake for 20-30 min.


    Strawberry Beet Jam
    Benefit: nitric oxide
  • 1 large beets
  • 1 c strawberries
  • 1⁄2 c water
  • 2-3 T sugar (optional)
  • 3 T Pectin* (optional, but better consistency)
    Roast a large beet in foil at 350 degrees for about 40-60 min. Slice into small chunks and combine with strawberries in a food processor. Blend until desired consistency (smooth or chunky). In a large saucepan, dd puree mixture, water, sugar, and pectin. Heat over medium high heat until boiling. Stirring occasionally. Boil for 1 minutes and remove from heat.
    Once cooled, store in refrigerator for up to 7 days or follow canning instructions. *Pectin is a gelling agent made from plants (it’s all natural).

Homemade almond milk
Benefit: CHO/PRO
  • 1 cup almonds
  • 1-2 cups water
  • 1-3 medjool dates, pitted
  • pinch salt
    Soak almonds in water overnight or for at least 6-8 hours. Drain water. Add almonds, dates, salt, and 1 cup of water to a blender or food processor. Blend on low for a few seconds, then turn up the speed. When you have a thick, consistency, add additional cup of water and blend for another minute. Strain almond mixture through small mesh bag or cheese cloth, squeezing out the extra liquid. Transfer liquid to a jar or container and store in the refrigerator.

    Almond meal: Take the leftover almond pulp and spread out on a baking dish. Heat oven 10 100- 150 degrees and add baking sheet. Turn the oven off ad allow the almond meal to dry for 6-10 hours. You may need to re-heat the oven an additional time. Store fully dried almond meal for a few days in an air tight container or freeze for later use.


    Pre-run Mocha
    Benefit: caffeine, CHO/PRO
  • 1 c. Coffee/espresso
  • 1/3 c Steamed almond milk
  • 1 tsp Cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp. honey or sugar
    Add 1 c coffee to a large mug. Whisk cocoa and sweetener into coffee until well combined. Steam almond milk or heat in a saucepan (or microwave) until warm. Add to coffee mixture and serve.


    Post-run Chocolate Almond Milk
    Benefit: CHO/PRO
  • 1 c almond milk
  • 1-2 T Cocoa powder
  • 1-2 T honey or sugar
    Add almond milk to a small saucepan and heat over medium heat for 1-3 minutes. Whisk in cocoa and sweetener and increase heat to medium-high. Heat for a few minutes stirring constantly. Serve immediately.


    Post-run Smoothie
    Benefit: anti-oxidant, CHO/PRO replacement
  • 1⁄2 c blueberries
  • 1 banana (frozen)
  • 1 c (1-2 large handfuls) Spinach/kale
  • 1⁄4 c or (1 handful) of Cashews/almonds or other nuts
  • 1 c homemade almond milk
  • 1⁄2 c greek yogurt
  • 1-2 tsp Udo’s oil or other nutritional oil
  • 1 T flax seeds
  • 1 T chia seeds
  • 1-2 T honey or maple syrup (optional)
  • ice (optional)
    Add all ingredients to blender and turn on. Serve immediately. Feel free to customize with seasonal fruit or spices.


    Tart cherry Electrolyte Drink
    Benefit: anti-inflammatory/electrolyte replacement
  • 2.5 oz tart cherry juice
  • 2-3 T honey
  • 27 oz coconut water (water)
  • 1⁄4 tsp salt
  • Options: ice, 1 oz Lemon juice (1/2 lemon), strawberries, Combine ingredients in a tall glass or jar. Serve over ice.


    Simple Guacamole
    Benefit: CHO/PRO (when served with chips/beer)
  • 3 ripe avocados
  • 3 T salsa
  • 3 T nutritional yeast
    1tsalt
    Mash avocados with salsa, nutritional yeast, and salt. Serve with blue corn chips and an IPA.