Runner's Recipe of the Week

It's baaack! Things kind of went awry after the Marine Corps Marathon. I'm going to try my hardest to post a new each week. This week's recipe is one of my family's favorite weeknight dinners, Bean Burritos. Beans in general are an excellent carbohydrate rich food that should be a staple in every runner's kitchen. It's also a great alternative to the standard pasta plate. The November 2008 issue of Men's Health had a great piece called "The Magic of Beans." Here are the highlights of the piece:

Navy Beans: high in folate, a B vitamin that may reduce the risk of stroke and cognitive decline as you age

Garbanzo Beans: help reduce your levels of the hormone insulin, lowering risk of diabetes

Black Beans: the dark skins of these beans contain potent anti-oxidants for fighting disease

Kidney Beans: contain anti-oxidants that may help prevent hardening of your arteries

Pinto Beans: eating ½ cup daily can cut LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) by 9 percent

Here is my family's Bean Burrito:

1 can black beans

1 can pinto beans (or kidney)

1/3 cup barbeque sauce (your favorite brand will do)

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp paprika

2 Tbsp cheddar cheese

1 flour tortilla

2 Tbsp salsa

1 Tbsp Sour cream

Mix beans plus spices and BBQ sauce together in a pot with enough water to cover beans. Bring to a boil uncovered, then simmer covered for 1 hour—check to make sure that the beans still have enough moisture for cooking. Assembling burritos: 1/2 cup beans 3 Tbsp shredded cheddar cheese, 2 Tbsp Salsa, 1 Tbsp sour cream wrapped in a flour tortilla

Nutritional Analysis of the recipe can be found here. The next recipe I post will be a breakfast dish incorporating the leftover beans, B'Tayavon!

Runner's Recipe of the Week

My wife and finally got around to posting a new recipe. Things have been kind of busy on the home front. I hope to post a new recipe each week but bear with me if that doesn't happen. The Jewish holiday "season" is in full swing so my schedule is a little erratic. Just to review the 2 previous recipes. The first recipe was a real 'stick to your bones' type of recipe--Ansky's Noodle Meat is good as a hearty main dish for dinner. The second recipe Peanut Butter Sesame Noodles was meant to be a side, or a snack with a piece of fruit. Now, it's time for a lunch-time treat. The following is a good recipe to use left over chicken, or to make from scratch. A fresh new chicken salad recipe: Chicken-Tarragon Salad Wraps.

I wanted to put in a recipe that is good for both carbohydrate loading (thus, the wrap--whole wheat wraps are full of good solid healthy carbs) and with a balance of fat and protein to keep with the whole philosophy that my wife and I am trying to espouse: it is not just about the carbs, it is about keeping your immune system fed while you train. If you get sick, then you may as well throw away all of your training. You could even miss your marathon all-together depending upon when you get sick. These sandwiches are good for replenishing after long runs.

Chicken-Tarragon Salad Wraps

Ingredients:

1 1/4 pounds skinless boneless chicken breast halves (about 3)
3/4 cup finely chopped celery

1/2 cup low fat mayonnaise

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

2 Cups thinly sliced romaine lettuce

6 (10 in. diameter) Whole Wheat Tortilla Wraps

Preparation
Bring large saucepan of salted water to boil. Add chicken breasts; reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until chicken is just cooked through, about 12 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate; cool.
Mix celery, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, onion, tarragon, lemon juice, and lemon peel in large bowl to blend. Cut chicken into 1/2-inch cubes; stir into mayonnaise mixture. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover; chill.)
Arrange wraps. Divide salad topped with lettuce amongst wraps. Roll salad into wraps. Slice in half and serve.

Click here to access the nutritional information and receive more information on this refreshing recipe.

Runner's Recipe of the Week

My wife finally got around to giving me the runner's recipe of the week. This week I present to you Peanut Butter Sesame Noodles. This is one of my favorites because it combines two runner's superfoods, pasta and peanut butter. It is a fuel-filled combination of peanut butter and noodles. Yet another noodle recipe, you say? Don't be deceived by the noodle base of a recipe, the additional ingredients that make up a recipe can push the glycemic index up, the carbohydrate load up, the fat content (which increases satiety) up, and suddenly you have a totally different nutritional content. It is important to realize that, during training, satiety factor is very important. Your hunger is great (as you very well know from experience) but you must fuel yourself with nutrient-rich hunger stoppers. Peanut butter is one of those foods. It is a runner's friend. Full of B-vitamins to fight off illness and give you energy. Full of healthy mono-unsaturated oil to keep you full. And, a good source of protein. The additional noodles, of course, help with carbohydrate loading and replenishing your glycogen stores. Lastly, the addition of some sweet peppers, kicks the recipe up a notch and makes it a very good source of Vitamin C.



Truth be told, this works better as a good snack. Who wants peanut butter and crackers? That is for people who go to the gym and run 30 minutes on the treadmill. We need real food for real mileage. Take a cup of this recipe--eat it slowly with a piece of fruit to add additional fiber, vitamins, and carbohydrates and, voila! You have a perfect 460 calorie snack. Think that sounds like a large amount? Absolutely not! When you are running the miles that you are running--that is the minimum.


Serving Size: 1 cup

For peanut dressing
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup warm water
2 tablespoons chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 medium garlic clove, chopped
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes


For noodle salad
3/4 lb dried linguine fini or spaghetti
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips
3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

Make dressing:
Purée dressing ingredients in a blender until smooth, about 2 minutes, then transfer to a large bowl.

Make salad:
Cook pasta in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water until tender. Drain in a colander, then rinse well under cold water.
Add pasta, scallions, bell peppers, and sesame seeds to dressing, tossing to combine, and serve immediately.

Click here to access the nutrition analysis and to receive more information on this wonderful recipe.

Runner's Recipe of the Week

Since Monday is a cross-training day (at least until after MCM), I thought I would introduce something new, The Runner's Recipe of the Week. Each Monday I will be posting a new recipe that is runner friendly. In addition to the recipe, a detailed nutritional breakdown will be given and when in a runner's training cycle, i.e., pre-race, recovery, carbo-loading, etc... My wife, who is Registered Dietitian, will be doing most of the work of this post. Nutritional analysis is courtesy of NutritionData.

With that introduction, I present to you Ansky's Noodle Meat. Don't worry, not all of the recipe's will begin with "Ansky." Our friend Heather named this one after her family devoured it at our house.

What You'll Need:

Serving Size is 1 cup/serving
Recipe yields 30 servings

Beef, round, bottom round, separable lean and fat, trimmed to 0" fat, all grades, cooked, braised [Cube Steak]
4 lbs (28g)

Noodles, egg, dry, enriched
2 bags (12 oz)

Oil, olive, salad or cooking
1 tbsp (14g)

Onions, raw
1 slice, large (1/4" thick)

Soup, tomato, canned, condensed--reduced sodium
4.0 cans (10.7 oz each or 303 g total)

Water, tap, drinking
42.8 fl oz (4 cans of water)

Preparation

Saute Onion add beef until brown. Add soup and 2 cans of water. Let Cook in pan 11/2 hours or until meat is tender. Cook 2 bags of noodles separately then drain. Add noodles to meat, mix well, cook in oven at 350* for additional 35 minutes.

The website has relevant nutritional information regarding this recipe. This particular recipe is very balanced between carbohydrates, protein, and fat. It is not for carbohydrate loading in your training cycle, although it does have a pasta base. One should note that meals with a balance of carbohydrates and protein have a lower glycemic index which is very good for blood glucose control and avoids the sharp elevations of insulin that carbohydrate loading can produce. Even a non-diabetic should watch out for foods with too high a glycemic index, because the constant strain of putting out insulin to accomodate is not healthy, and has been known to lead to pre-diabetes/poor blood sugar control.

On the other hand, when you eat a meal that has a higher percentage of protein, you must hydrate properly. Flushing your kidneys post meal is essential to release the break-down products that can build up when there is a higher consumption of protein. That said, this happens to be one of those meals--good for blood sugar and insulin control, not as good for your kidneys. Drink water!

Right now I am not going to discuss amount of calories you should consume, the website that calculated the nutritional analysis of the recipe can help you with that, but I will address 'when' in your training such a meal is appropriate. There is a super-compensation period before you run the marathon. This happens the week before--you start the week at 60% in total carbohydrate calories, then taper it down to 40% days 2-4 in that week. In the last 3 days before the marathon, you increase the total carbohydrate back to 70% --this is also known as 'carbohydrate loading.' This is a really good recipe to consume in that 40% period, when you taper down the amount of carbhoydrates you consume.

In general, this is a good plan before any long run such as a 20 mile run, you must, and I repeat, you must replenesh your carboydrates following these long runs--increase to 75% of total calories from carbohydrates. And, make sure that you are taking multivitamins. Please make sure that you also consume adequate protein in the form of lean meat, poultry, fish, and pork. These are essential in boosting your immune system so that you can fight viruses that you may easily pick up after you tax your body to such extremes. With the proper planning, proper nutritional intake, your body will recooperate well, and you will be prepared for your next marathon!