Full Day of Fuel for Athletes: “Eat, Race, Win”

For endurance athletes, nutrition shouldn’t just be an afterthought — it is a paramount piece of the athletic puzzle that can and will take your performance to the next level. Food is fuel, and the food that we put into our bodies ignites and sustains our athletic efficiency. Chef Hannah Grant and Environmental Exercise Physiologist and Nutrition Scientist Dr. Stacy Sims recognized the importance of nutrition in terms of elite athleticism and teamed up to share their thoughts and recipes to educate athletes globally.

Hannah Grant has travelled around the world while studying and cooking food. She received her diploma from a culinary institute in Copenhagen and then went on to cook in some of the most amazing restaurants in the world including the Fat Duck in the U.K. and Noma in Denmark. In 2010, Grant was hired by Bjarne Rils to cook meals for the riders of the Russian professional riding team Tinkoff. While she travelled with the team for five years, she grew close to Dr. Stacy Sims and together, the two became experts in the field of elite sports nutrition.

Dr. Stacy Sims’ expertise in nutrition comes not only from her studies at Otago University and Stanford University, but also from her experience as an elite athlete in cycling, also competing in the peloton, Ironman, and Xterra. She has worked with many Olympic athletes and is now identified as one of the top 4o women changing the face of the nutrition industry.

Together, these two women wrote a cookbook chock-full of healthy recipes to get your body to its optimal performance state. The main point? Listen to your body and fuel it with real food. Here are some recipes from their new book Eat, Race, Win: The Endurance Athlete’s Cookbook that is sure to keep you full and fueled.

Breakfast

Cinnamon-egg Crepe with Fruit and Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 medium orange
• ½ pomegranate
• 1 medium mango
• 400 g cooked rice
• 50 g fresh blueberries
• 2-4 tbsp. plain Greek Yoghurt
• Honey, to taste
• 4 whole large eggs
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon
• Salt, to taste
• 1 tsp. Olive oil

Method:

1. Rinse and dry the orange. Cut off the top and the bottom. Cut off the rind so you are only left with the orange flesh. Slice it into wedges and place the wedges in a bowl.
2. Remove the pomegranate arils from the rind and transfer them into the bowl containing the orange wedges.
3. Cut the mango from its rind and place small slices into the same bowl as the orange and the pomegranate. Add the rice, blueberries, and yoghurt into the bowl and stir until well combined. Season the mixture with honey to taste. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, cinnamon and salt together. Season with honey to taste.
4. In a large non-stick pan over medium heat, heat up olive oil. Pour a ladleful of the egg mixture into the pan. Turn the pan until the mixture is thinly spread, cook for 1 minute until the crepe is set, then flip it over and cook for ½ a minute. Remove it from the pan on to the plate and repeat this process until all the mixture has been used. Serve by wrapping the fruit and rice mixture with the crepe.

Lunch

Beet and Kale Salad with Pistachios and Orange Dressing

Ingredients:

• 600 g beets
• 200 g kale
• 20 g pistachios
• 1 clove garlic
• Zest and juice of 2 oranges
• 3 tbsp. White wine vinegar + more to taste
• 1 tbsp. Honey
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon
• 100 ml olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Peel and grate the beets. Wash and cut the kale into bite-sized pieces. Chop the pistachios. Peel and mince the garlic.
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine the garlic, orange zest and juice, white wine vinegar, honey and cinnamon. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then gradually drizzle in the olive oil. Whisk constantly until the dressing is emulsified and thick. Season with pepper and salt, pepper, and white wine vinegar if needed. Toss the beets and kale in ½ of the dressing. Plate the salad and sprinkle it with the pistachios. Serve the remaining dressing on the side.

Snack

Blueberry and Pineapple Protein Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 300 mL almond milk
• 100 g frozen blueberries
• 100 g frozen pineapple
• 20 g ginger pulp or minced ginger
• Zest and juice of 1 orange
• 40 g natural protein powder
• Freshly squeezed lime juice, to taste
• Honey, to taste

Method:

1. In the jug of a powerful blender, combine the almond milk, blueberries, pineapple and ginger. Gradually puree the mixture, adding water if needed to reach the desired consistency. Add the protein powder and blend until well combined. Season with lime juice and honey taste, then serve.

Dinner

Grilled Eggplant, Tomatoes, and Mozzarella

Ingredients:

• 50 g pine nuts
• Olive oil to cook
• 2 medium onions peeled and minced
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• ½ bunch of fresh thyme, finely chopped
• 800 g fresh tomatoes, diced, or 2 cans (400 g)
• 45 mL balsamic vinegar + more to taste
• 40 g tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 star anise
• 4 medium eggplants
• 200 g fresh spinach, washed
• 1 bunch fresh basil, washed
• 250 g fresh mozzarella
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C. Toast the pine nuts for about 15 minutes until golden. Heat up a large saute pan with 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, and thyme, then saute for 2 minutes until the onion are soft. Add the tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, tomato paste, bay leaves and star anise, then bring them to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10-minutes until the tomato sauce has thickened. Discard the star anise and bay leaves, then season with salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar to taste. Remove the pan from the heat.
2. Cut the tops off each eggplant, slice them into 1 cm-thick pieces and sprinkle them lightly with salt. Warm a large pan or grill pan over high heat and fry them in a little bit of olive oil until dark brown. Keep the eggplant warm on a plate under tinfoil. Wipe the pan clean with a paper towel and heat it up with ½ tbsp of olive oil. Sprinkle it with salt, then cook the basil and spinach quickly. Keep the spinach warm on a plate under tinfoil as well. Slice the mozzarella into 1-cm thick pieces and heat up the pan again at medium-high heat. Caramelize the mozzarella for about 30-45 seconds. To serve, stack the eggplant, tomato sauce, spinach and mozzarella into towers, then sprinkle them with pine seeds.

You can purchase Eat, Race, Win on Amazon today!

By Bri Doherty

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