Recipes For Running Goals

Food is undoubtedly one of life’s great pleasures, from taste to texture, it can evoke fond memories as well as leaving lasting impressions that we may want to forget. But one thing that is ever increasing in prominence, is the impact food can have on our running performance.

What we include in our diet can not only help us run faster for longer, but also combat injury, aid recovery and boost your running motivation. With this in mind here are some of our favourite recipes for specific running goals.

Recipe for recovering quicker

Post-run recovery is all about muscle repair. The stress that is put on the body as you run is high, and your muscles have to work hard to propel you towards your peak performance. The secret (or not so secret) dietary weapon when it comes to running recovery, is protein . When your muscles work hard they break down, cue the need for amino acids. Amino acids are a key ingredient of muscle tissue regeneration, helping to speed up your recovery, and consequently allowing you to get back out there and continue your training.

Protein is a great source of amino acids. Red meat contains large quantities of amino acids, while poultry, fish, and eggs are also great sources of protein that can help you recover. One of our favourite protein filled recipes that can help with your recovery is chicken with a pomegranate glaze and almond couscous .

What you’ll need:

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 200g couscous
• 1 chicken / vegetable stock cube
• 1 large red onion thinly sliced
• 600g chicken fillets (a salmon fillet is another good option)
• 2 tbsp harissa
• 190ml bottle pomegranate juice
• 100g pomegranate seeds
• 100g toasted flaked almonds
• Mint leaf, chopped

Method:

1. Boil the water for the couscous. Crumble half your chosen stock cube over your couscous, before adding the water, covering, and setting aside.

2. Add the sliced onion to a pan and fry on medium heat until it is soft. Now add the chicken fillets, searing on all sides until they are browned. Add the harissa and the pomegranate juice to the chicken and onions and then crumble the remainder of the stock cube into the pan.

3. Allow it to simmer for 10 minutes, this will allow the sauce to thicken and the chicken to finish cooking through.

4. After 5 minutes mix the almonds and chopped mint into the couscous and allow to infuse while the chicken simmers for the final 5 minutes.

5. Serve the chicken on the couscous and sprinkle over the pomegranate seeds for a little crunch.

Recipe for boosting motivation

Maintaining your physical fitness so that it will carry you through your next race provides great motivation to get out there and train. However, suffering from a lack of energy or finding yourself devoid of any will to get off the couch and lace up in the first place, can place a divide between you and your running goals. 

It’s important you stay motivated. A key component to feeling great is a chemical created in the body called Dopamine. This neurotransmitter sends signals to the brain, helping to motivate you, and has been linked to feelings of happiness and self confidence according to a 2006 study by Acevedo & Ekkekakis.

Your diet can play a big role in the creation of dopamine. The key is to eat foods high in tyrosine - a chemical the body uses to synthesise dopamine naturally. Avocados and almonds are both tyrosine rich as is chocolate. To help you get motivated before lacing up and heading out on your run, try our vegetarian friendly avocado brownies .

What you’ll need:

• 1 mashed avocado
• 50g almonds
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 tbsp water
• 100g dark chocolate
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• Hal tsp baking soda

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C and line an 8-inch square cake tin with greaseproof paper.

2. Melt your chocolate until it is runny. Mix the mashed avocado, eggs, vanilla essence and water until it creates a smooth batter texture, before adding your melted chocolate and mixing.

3. Stir the cocoa powder, and baking soda into the mixture.

4. Pour the mix into your greased cake tin (make sure it spread to each corner of the cake tin to ensure an even bake.)

5. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

6. After they are cooked leave on a tray to cool before removing them from the tin.

7. After they are cool, all that’s left to do is enjoy!

Recipe for running faster

Whether you’re facing your first 5k race or you're a seasoned marathon runner, the chances are you’ve set yourself a target finish time. Your pre-race training regime, chosen kit and even your warm up can help you to run faster during your race, but one thing that can often be overlooked, is your pre-race diet. It too can help you run faster. Muscle function and strong lungs are vital aspects of a fast run as they allow you to push your body harder, for longer. The omega 3 that is found in oil rich fish such as Salmon can help improve your muscle function and lung health allowing you to hit top speed, and maintain it for longer. The healthy fats within salmon have also been proven to help decrease the inflammation that occurs in your muscles after an intense run.

If you’re looking to add salmon into your diet (which you should) you can’t go wrong with our recipe for baked garlic salmon with boiled potatoes and salad .

What you’ll need:

• 1 medium salmon fillet
• 2 medium potatoes
• 3 cherry tomatoes
• Quarter of a cucumber
• salad leaves of your preference
• 2 large garlic cloves, crushed
• Half tbsp salt
• 2 tbsp regular olive oil (not extra virgin as it has a lower smoke point, which will give your salmon a bitter flavour).
• 2 tbsp lemon juice.

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 220 °C and bring a pan of water to the boil.

2. Line a baking sheet with foil. This will help avoid the salmon sticking to your tray.

3. Add the crushed garlic, olive oil, salt and lemon juice into a bowl and mix.

4. Lay the salmon skin-side down on the baking tray and baste generously with the lemon and crushed garlic dressing.

5. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes at 220°C.

6. While the salmon bakes, slice your potatoes in half and place in the boiling water (boil for 12-15 minutes, or until soft.)

7. While your potatoes and salmon are cooking, assemble your salad using the tomatoes, salad leaves and cucumber.

8. After 15 minutes remove the salmon place on the plate with the potatoes and salad and it’s ready to eat.

There you have it, three recipes that can help you stay motivated, run faster and recover quicker. So tuck in, and enjoy the effects these delicious treats can have on your running.