It's Taper Time

Well, its taper time here at the Cotter house (not for me but for the hubs). James leaves this weekend for a race on the Gulf. This is his 3rd race of the season but really the first BIG WTC (ironman series) race. That being said, we keep the eats a little lighter since he's doing less training. I still try to cook the same amount of food, just focus more on good fats/protein to keep him mean and lean. For instance, I made Chocolate Protein BR Crispies & Oats for breakfast instead of full on oats and oatbran. For a side dish I made parsnip fries with nut butter instead of our usual sweet potato fries. He also stays away from caffeine, most dairy, heavy sugar foods, and gluten. This really helps his body to absorb all key nutrients from foods as well as from his First Endurance Multi-V, plus it takes away any GI distress.

So what are Chocolate Protein BR Crispies & Oats? Just as you read it. I take 1.5 cups of brown rice crispies (unsweetened) cereal and mix into a bowl with 1/2 cup oats. Pour boiling water over them and let them sit covered for 5 minutes. The crispies and the oats combine (you can still hear the crackle and pop, haha) and make a really big bowl of goodness. Then I add a bit of almond milk, chocolate whey protein, and strawberries. More food, a little more protein/less carbs since he's not doing massive amount of training this week. See....check it.

Now onto side dish deliciousness..............
Thanks to Angela, I tweaked a recipe that called for Parsnips and made some good 'ol Parsnip fries. Now, we love our sweet potatoes but thought I'd give the parsnips a shot. Good thing I did because they were awesome!

Ingredients:
3 parsnips cut into pieces

1 tbsp grapeseed oil

1tbp sun nut butter (you can also use almond or cashew butter).

spice!!- we used an African spice mix but you can use chili pepper, cayenne, cumin, etc.

Toss in a bowl and coat evenly. Bake at 400F for 20-25min. Turn them once. I also broiled them the last 3 minutes for extra crispiness, see!

Anyway, once taper week is over we'll be back to denser training foods and I know the hubs will definitely be downing a pizza and beer right after the race! Kinda a tradition. Hey, everything in moderation, right?!?!

Do you have any taper foods? Whats your favorite post race food. I always crave orange slices right afterwards and then definitely something salty, like pizza or anything with MEAT! Need to replenish that sodium  .
:)
 
Alright, off to make some dinner.
Cheers,
LC