Wednesday, April 21, 2010

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

16 comments:

april said...

Those crispies sound awesome! What brand are they? Are they a cereal?

Unknown said...

They are awesome. They are the EREWHON Organic Brown rice crispies. I bought them at Sprouts but I think Sunflower market, whole foods, etc. carry them too. 100 calories per cup. Nice!

homecookedem said...

Chocolate Protein BR Crispies & Oats look yummy!! Great idea!! :)

Bre said...

taper food is pretty much the bland version of my everyday food.
Post-race- water, any fruit (except apples...), and my favourite---gluten free animal or arrowroot cookies.
Post race dinner-pre-made greek salad from the grocery store, veggie burger or homemade pizza...and I will want some kind of salty tortilla chip or baked Lays chips. and eat the WHOLE bag. in about 3 minutes. hahaha

Abby said...

Lindsay, PLEASE come be my personal chef and trainer and running buddy!!! I NEED I NEED I NEED!

Bre said...

I agree with Abby. oooor you should have a training camp. You & James can bury us with torture tuesday and all the other days of the week and you can cook and we can help....just throwing it out there!

Unknown said...

Bre,

I am TOTALLY up for that. You guys come down to Austin!! How fun would that be?!?!

audrey said...

lindsay...is there a way i can contact you other than on this site??

Anonymous said...

oooo that looks GOOD girlfrand!! your parsnip fries look AWESOME-even tho i dont like parsnip :( those oats are AMAZING. love you TONS suga momma!

Kiet said...

Hi Lindsay, I just read (and posted) an article on agave and I am wondering if you have any experience or thoughts on Agave being as high or even higher in fructose than high fructose corn syrup.

http://racingawareness.blogspot.com/2010/04/day-79-rethinking-agave.html

Anonymous said...

I have got to get my hand on some parsnips. My fiance and I had some at a party one time and he's been on me about making some ever since. The problem is, I can never seem to find them at the grocery store. I need to be more diligent about seeking them out because I really want to try your fries version.

Jessie said...

Snap Crackle and Pop! Love it! :) That's such a good idea to include them in oats - I've never thought of that!

I ALWAYS crave cold fruit after running, especially oranges. Need to replenish my potassium, I guess!

Unknown said...

Kiet,

Yes there's been a lot of hype about HF in agave. Agave is still natural just like honey. I use it just as I would brown sugar, honey, etc. It still has a lower Glycemic index compared to that of regular sugar, etc. Just my thoughts.

Lindsay Cotter said...

Kiet,

Yes there's been a lot of hype about HF in agave. Agave is still natural just like honey. I use it just as I would brown sugar, honey, etc. It still has a lower Glycemic index compared to that of regular sugar, etc. Just my thoughts.

Lindsay Cotter said...

Bre,

I am TOTALLY up for that. You guys come down to Austin!! How fun would that be?!?!

Kiet said...

Hi Lindsay, I just read (and posted) an article on agave and I am wondering if you have any experience or thoughts on Agave being as high or even higher in fructose than high fructose corn syrup.

http://racingawareness.blogspot.com/2010/04/day-79-rethinking-agave.html