On the Road to Recovery

Well, all is good in the Cotter house today. the hubs raced the REV3 half ironman in Connecticut today and got 8th! Top 10 is always a plus for us. I cheered from home and was praying for a good race! Thank goodness it was.

Here's his post race ice bath. haha!

Anyway, the hubs will be home (if he makes all his flights) for two days this week before heading back out to Maryland for another Half Ironman next weekend. This week is crucial for recovery so I decided to make him some antioxidant/recovery snacks for when he gets home.

Two of my favorite high antioxidant foods are chia seeds and cherries. Put the two together and you got one great combo!

According to ChooseCherries.com ......
A growing body of science reveals tart cherries, enjoyed as either dried, frozen cherries or cherry juice, have among the highest levels of disease-fighting antioxidants, when compared to other fruits. They also contain other important nutrients such as beta carotene (19 times more than blueberries or strawberries) vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, iron, fiber and folate.

And according to HealthMad.....
•The chia seeds are great for athletes because they are highly hydrophilic. Being hydrophilic means it absorbs large amounts of water. Chia Seeds can absorb over 10 times their weight in water making them a great enhancer in hydrating our bodies. They absorb the water we drink holding it in our system longer.
•Chia seeds provide antioxidant activity

That being said, here's my recipe for...........

Cherry Chia Nut Muffins (Gluten Free w/ extra protein)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c Buckwheat Flour
• 1/2 c 12% light Peanut Flour
• 16 grams Vanilla Protein Powder ( I used life basics)
• 2-3 tbsp chia seeds (I used 3)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 3 oz plain goats milk yogurt (about 1/3 cup)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup chopped pitted cherries
• 2 packets of stevia or preferred sweetener (optional)
• 1 tbsp agave nectar (you can add more if you don't use a sweetener)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or other preferred milk)
• cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp water

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375F
• meanwhile, mix dry ingredients together
• slowly add in wet ingredients and folding in the egg
• whisk until smooth
• spoon into a greased muffin pan
• top with the additional cherry pieces
• bake for 20 minutes or so

YUMMMY!

Stats look pretty good too.

Nutrition Facts for 6 medium or 8 small chia cherry nut muffins :
Amount Per Serving
Calories 131
Total Fat 3.2 g
Saturated Fat 0.7 g
Carbohydrate 15.0 g
Dietary Fiber 4.4 g
Sugars 3.3 g
Protein 10 g

Just finished one myself, topped with a little sunbutter. Perfect end to a great weekend!
Cheers,
LC
 
P.S.
Congrats to Bre, Kelly, Terenzo, Frank, and all those who rocked it at REV3 this weekend.