Healthy Recipes for the Runner/Athlete. Topic: Protein and Stress

More Fish! Aww, geez!

Healthy Recipes for the Runner/Athlete.  Topic: Protein and Stress

Ok, I've kind of been having a side-blog going on for a few weeks now.  One of my husband's good work friends, who is now a serious runner after being inspired while helping crew Mike during his first 100 miler, Pine to Palm, in 2012, asked me to give him some weekly recipes and tips on healthy eating to enhance his running.  In just one year since beginning running, Joel has completed  Tar N' Trail 6 Miler Trail Run , Pear Blossom 10 Miler, Lost Creek Lake 18 Miler, and the Flagline 50K

Pretty amazing. His twin brother, Eric, who just returned from working in Korea this summer, did his first half marathon in Bend in September, the High Alpine Half.  He dove into running right away, and has produced awesome results already.  He is training for his first marathon, Lithia Loop, happening this November.

These guys are on fire, and I was touched when Eric asked if I would share some recipes with them to help fuel the flame.  They are already excellent cooks.  Joel brought in some slow-cooker pork that my husband is still talking about, so its not like they needed advice on how to cook delicious, succulent meals, just on how to use nutrition as a tool to help build a better athlete. 

So, now I'm going to start including some more serious, performance-nutrition related posts on this blog since I thought they were worth sharing with anyone interested in trying to use his or her diet to complement their active lifestyle. Whether running, biking, swimming, hiking, trying to stay in shape, whether racing or just having fun (racing does not preclude having fun, just sayin!) this may be helpful in optimizing your food choices and preparation to help you feel better, stronger, and faster during your training or events.

A good diet can make a world of difference in your mood.  If I’m stressed after work or because of something that I can’t control, like when I was injured this summer and couldn’t run, I need to make sure that instead of going to things which SOUND like they would provide relief and be soothing, such as full-saturated fat ice cream, greasy fries, super salty pizza, whatever, I instead needed to make myself eat as healthy as possible.  This practice applies ESPECIALLY on days I can’t exercise.   Since I’m not getting those endorphin boosts from running or working up a sweat, the positive-inner-vibes need to come through diet.  Or from cuddling with my cute-as-a-button Beagle, Madison.

Composed of 22 Amino Acids, protein is the only macro-nutrient that replenishes serotonin, the brains main mood and sleep-regulating chemical, which helps control depression, aggression, and anxiety.  (yes, sometimes a little aggression is good to get you to pass that guy in the annoying tri-suit ahead of you in the 50k, but overall you would like to go through your day and your running with a zen-like disposition, eh?)  Its also important for the production of endorphins, neurotransmitters that convey feelings of pleasure, oh yeahJ  Great lean (low-bad-fat) protein sources are Salmon and Steelhead, Salmon’s rainbow-trout cousin of the northwest.  These pink fish contain significant amounts per serving of the omega-3 essential fatty acids, which help boost your brain’s  production of the anti-depressant  dopamine.  In a study in 2005, a combination of omega-3 and omega-6 was shown to lower blood cortisol levels (Nutritional Neuroscience, 2005, vol. 8, no. 4).  Cortisol, is a stress-coping hormone that, when you’re under prolonged pressure and anxiety, can actually make you feel MORE anxious and stressed.  Too much cortisol can also make your body hold on to fat, that is not burn as much fat for fuel as when you are less stressed and feeling positive.  So, it’s a cycle, exercise more, feel better, lose weight/maintain a healthy weight, since you feel better you’re more inclined to eat healthier, and by getting enough cortisol-lowering omega-3s in your diet, and eating enough health protein in general to maintain serotonin levels, you will feel even better.  Runner’s high, healthy-eating high! 

 

Did you know that the way most modern antidepressants work is by increasing the amount of serotonin in your blood by inhibiting the uptake back into cells?  They are called SSRIs, or, selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors.  By exercising and eating enough healthy-fat containing protein, you are essentially causing your body to have the same reaction that the drugs like Celexa, Prozac, Zoloft, etc are having on your body.  Then it makes sense when you feel a little down on the day or days you skip workouts and don’t eat healthy.  So, nature’s natural anti-depressants: running (or some form of aerobic/cardiovascular exercise) and lean, complete proteins! 

Recipe 1:

Smoked Salmon and Sweet Potato Salad 

Serves 4 Hungry Runners

Ingredients:

2 cups cubed sweet potato or butternut squash

1 tablespoon of Cajun Seasoning

1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil

2 tsp tamari or soy-sauce

6-8 cups mixed salad greens

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 yellow bell pepper, sliced

¼ small red onion, thinly sliced

6 sun dried tomatoes (packed in oil) thinly sliced

3 ounces of sunflower or broccoli sprouts

¾ cups of pecans, toasted and chopped

8 oz of smoked salmon (NOT lox) cut or torn into bite sized pieces 

For dressing:

¼ cup of fresh OJ

¼ cup olive oil

1 ½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard

Dash of black pepper

1 tsp agave nectar or honey

Instructions:

1. Steam cubed sweet potatoes until cooked but not mushy, about 10 minutes.  Place in a bowl to cool and dry for about 10 minutes.

2. Sprinkle Cajun seasoning, olive oil, and tamari over sweet potatoes.  Stir to distribute evenly.  Heat a skillet over medium high-heat.  Pour sweet potato mix into skillet.  Cook, stirring often and carefully until sweet potatoes are lightly toasted.  Transfer to paper towel to cool.

3. Place salad greens in a large bowl. Add sliced peppers, onion, sun-dried tomatoes, and sprouts.  Add cooled sweet potatoes and pecans.  Add Salmon.

4. Combine all dressing ingredients and blend well.  Pour over salad and toss gently.  Serve right away.

Recipe 2: Grilled Salmon with Banana-Fig Kabobs

Serves 2 hungry runners

 Little info: Your brain needs B6 to produce serotonin, and B5 is crucial to maintaining your adrenals-glands above the kidney that manage the stress response by producing cortisol and adnrenaline (epinephrine).  When you’re stressed, your body burns through these vitamins, leaving you susceptible to symptoms of adrenal fatigue, such as lethargy, mild depression, and scatter-brained concentration.  If you’re stressed out, you might be chronically deficient in vitamin B’s.  So try to have a diet high in avocados, bananas, sunflower seeds, oats, and turkey, which are great sources of the B-team.

Did you know: Figs, which are nearing the end of their season here in the Northwest, are high in calcium and potassium.  Your brain and bones need ample amounts of these calming minerals, which cortisol (there is that ubiquitous mood-hormone again!) leaches from your bone matrix during chronic stress.  So, eat figs and bananas, in moderation, to replenish your calcium and potassium stores!

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons of fresh lime juice, divided in half

½ cup of light-coconut milk

2 tsp agave nectar or honey

Pinch of salt

1 pound of Salmon or Steelhead fillet

Salt and pepper, to taste

2-3 ripe but firm (not mushy or starting to brown!) bananas

8 ripe fresh figs (not dried)

12-16 fresh pineapple chunks

2 tablespoons honey

1 tsp finely chopped jalapeno

Instructions:

1. In a small pot, gently heat 1 tablespoon lime juice, coconut milk, agave, and salt just long enough to melt any lumps.  Taste and adjust flavorings as desired (This sauce can be made a day ahead and kept covered in the fridge.  Reheat gently just prior to serving).

2. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper. Preheat grill (I use my George Foreman grill in the winter when its too cold to grill outside)

3. Peel bananas and cut into 1 ½ inch pieces.  If figs are large, cut into 1 inch pieces, otherwise leave whole.  Pineapple chunks should be about 1 inch across.  Snugly alternate banana, pineapple, and fig pieces onto four kabob skewers.  Maintain an even diameter for the length of the kabob so the fruit will cook evenly.

4. Mix remaining 4 tablespoons lime juice with honey and jalapeno.  Brush over kabobs and salmon (use separate brushes).  Reserve excess marinade for grilling.

5. Place salmon, skin-side up, on grill, along with kabobs.  Cook, turning Salmon once and kabobs about 4 times, brushing with marinade (make sure you don’t use the same brush on the raw fish as you use on the kabobs) until salmon is opaque and fruit is caramelized (about 6 minutes per side for salmon and 3 minutes per side for kabobs).  Do not char.  Serve hot, drizzled with lime-coconut sauce.

Mike after his first 100 miler, at 2 in the morning, surrounded by supportive friends.  Some, who had never run before, immediately took up the addictive, satisfying sport the next day!