I have started a side project - it is a not-so-serious look into the sport of triathlon.
Its called 100 Things to Love about Triathlon. I am hoping to update these at least once a week.
Hope you enjoy reading these updates.
x Ev
Showing posts with label Eat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eat. Show all posts
Wednesday, 16 October 2013
Monday, 30 September 2013
Weekly Reflection 23/09 - 29/09
Wow....what a week it was. In summary, I did 3 x swims (2 with squad), a double Tuesday (morning run, pm, windtrainer, first since Feb 2013), sadly I didn't complete a whole week in training. Due to my little dog having a dental operation, I didn't do the am ride nor did I do the pm run session on the Thursday. Instead, I cleaned the house, did some washing, cooking and just getting my life back together.
The week was also filled with coaches' commitments too. I already spoke about the up-skill session we had on the Sunday but we were also involved in the Gatorade Tri season launch on Monday night at MSAC. We were there from about 6pm through to 9pm helping set up, general queries and then packing up. This is also the longest running week leading up to Melbourne Marathon weekend for most so many people in the squad are getting pretty fatigued yet kicking big goals. I finally got my bib number in the mail too for my half marathon.
Due to the Grand Final on Saturday, I decided on Friday that I was going to swap my long ride and long run days around (do long run on Sat). When I woke up on Sat morning, my nose was blocked and my throat was really sore, for a moment there, I thought I was coming down with a cold but after a few more hours of sleep, it went away (was a bad moment of hay fever which occurred overnight).
Overall, I had only completed one run session, two rides and 3 swims and one body balance session.
Highlight of my week was that the Hawks did win the GF. The low light of my weekend would be that I fell up the stairs (we had seats in the nose bleed section) and so both of my knees are now bruised and sore. It also did not help my ride on Sunday - more of this below.
Favourite (and least favourite) session of the week: There was one session of the week which was my best and my worst. I did my long ride on Sunday instead of Saturday (due to the Grand Final). I decided that I was going to ride down towards the Peninsula instead of the city. The Canadian rode with me so I was slightly less hesitant about heading down that way. We rode down Beach Rd from the house until Station St and then Nepean Hwy all through (passed the Freeway) and came out to Point Nepean Rd. I thought then that I was going to head back home from Safety Beach but instead, we rode towards Arthur's Seat. We knew there was a pretty strong Northerly as it took us only 90min or so to ride 50km.
Now I have never done Arthur's Seat before. From what people have told me, it is a steep (but short) climb. I haven't done many hills around Victoria (and one in NSW). I have done Benwerrin several times, Dandenongs and Kinglake. I have to say wholeheartedly that Arthur's Seat was probably the most hardest climb I have done. Mind you, I haven't done many other hills along the Coast such as Skeene's creek or Wild Dog rd. I was told the Arthur's Seat climb is about 4-5km long but the gradient is greater, especially along the sharp turns. It wasn't long before I was in the granny gear on the small chain ring. I found my speed along the 5km/h-8km/hr and I was surprised I was still on the bike at some points of the climb. I found the left hand turns of the climb the hardest as they were sharp turns so I had to stand up off my seat to get through those.
My mind did wonder off a bit. I started to think about how I was going to come down the descent and that got my stressed out a bit more. I haven't had a chance to download my data but I know it took a while to get up there. Once I got up the top, I was stuffed. Took the obligatory photo of the bike in front of the seat and the we discussed where to ride next.
Due to my fear of descents and Arthur's seat was a steep one, we decided to ride the back way along Arthur's Seat rd. It was a route I had never done before and would be beneficial for me to get familiar to the back roads of the Peninsula. We did get swooped on several times by magpies along the back, I had one clip my ear and then a stab on the helmet with the beak. We turned left onto White Hill rd which was a fast ride (I reached a speed of 60km/hr +) until I realised I was going too fast along a pretty busy road and so I applied on the brakes. The road ended along Nepean Hwy again and it was the same route back. Instead of riding all the way home, we decided that we would stop for lunch (it was about 2:30pm by then) along one of the cafes on Main Street in Mornington.
After a good feed, we headed back towards Frankston along the Esplanade (more rolling hills) and came back onto Nepean Hwy along Beleura Hill Rd. By then my legs were aching to stop. The inflammation in my knees (from the fall up the stairs at the MCG) were more prominent at this stage and I was starting to get tired.
Apart from the 3 gels I had prior to the ride up Arthur's Seat (at this stage, it was a gel every 35min/300Cal), I didn't have anything after than for about 90min prior to lunch. Having lunch in the middle of my ride really screwed me over for my nutrition training. I did have potato rosti, eggs, spinach and avocado in as part of my lunch and an orange juice but I had no idea what energy equivalence I would get out of it compared to my gels at every 35min/300Cal. I ignored my alarms after lunch and just kept riding and observed how I went.
The stupid headwind on the way back to Mentone didn't help either. Luckily I had an opportunity to draft off the back of the Canadian for most of it (until he wanted to do the extra loop in Mount Eliza) and I then rode by myself from Mt Eliza to the BP in Frankston. I do remember seeing my Garmin and I had done 90km at that point, only half way through an Ironman ride. I thought to myself considering how over it I was at that point of the day, I would have stopped the race as I didn't want to go through Arthur's seat again.
Another reason why I don't eat anything but gels on my rides is the toilet stops. I had to visit the loo at Frankston and bought a Gatorade as I felt I was feeling tired.
Nothing much happened on the way back to the house from BP in Frankston, I was fatigued and I just kept turning my legs over. Instead of riding along Beach Rd home, we decided to take Railway/Como Parade through Parkdale which also took me home via the suburbs at super slow speed (I was on the small chain ring at this stage just turning my legs over - just to get home).
When we got home, I was tired, hungry and admitedly, very moody. That ride destroyed me. I was asked if I would do that ride everyday instead of work, I had to think hard about it....would it get easier everyday? I definitely said yes to the only for a week scenario.
Advice of the week: I don't think I will ever do a meal as part of my training nutrition again. Not only did it confuse the bejesus out of me for the rest of the 40km ride home and I had to do a toilet stop (luckily we had Frankston BP). I understand other cyclists who do this as a recreational thing but for me (at this stage), out on the bike is training for an event. I need to practice my nutrition and hydration. I have also changed my Garmin alerts to 35min as well as 300Cal and they have come pretty much at the same time which is good. I have done this on purpose as sometimes my heart rate monitor plays funny - either reads that my heart rate is at 220bpm or I am burning around 200Cal/hr.
The week was also filled with coaches' commitments too. I already spoke about the up-skill session we had on the Sunday but we were also involved in the Gatorade Tri season launch on Monday night at MSAC. We were there from about 6pm through to 9pm helping set up, general queries and then packing up. This is also the longest running week leading up to Melbourne Marathon weekend for most so many people in the squad are getting pretty fatigued yet kicking big goals. I finally got my bib number in the mail too for my half marathon.
Due to the Grand Final on Saturday, I decided on Friday that I was going to swap my long ride and long run days around (do long run on Sat). When I woke up on Sat morning, my nose was blocked and my throat was really sore, for a moment there, I thought I was coming down with a cold but after a few more hours of sleep, it went away (was a bad moment of hay fever which occurred overnight).
Overall, I had only completed one run session, two rides and 3 swims and one body balance session.
Highlight of my week was that the Hawks did win the GF. The low light of my weekend would be that I fell up the stairs (we had seats in the nose bleed section) and so both of my knees are now bruised and sore. It also did not help my ride on Sunday - more of this below.
Favourite (and least favourite) session of the week: There was one session of the week which was my best and my worst. I did my long ride on Sunday instead of Saturday (due to the Grand Final). I decided that I was going to ride down towards the Peninsula instead of the city. The Canadian rode with me so I was slightly less hesitant about heading down that way. We rode down Beach Rd from the house until Station St and then Nepean Hwy all through (passed the Freeway) and came out to Point Nepean Rd. I thought then that I was going to head back home from Safety Beach but instead, we rode towards Arthur's Seat. We knew there was a pretty strong Northerly as it took us only 90min or so to ride 50km.
Now I have never done Arthur's Seat before. From what people have told me, it is a steep (but short) climb. I haven't done many hills around Victoria (and one in NSW). I have done Benwerrin several times, Dandenongs and Kinglake. I have to say wholeheartedly that Arthur's Seat was probably the most hardest climb I have done. Mind you, I haven't done many other hills along the Coast such as Skeene's creek or Wild Dog rd. I was told the Arthur's Seat climb is about 4-5km long but the gradient is greater, especially along the sharp turns. It wasn't long before I was in the granny gear on the small chain ring. I found my speed along the 5km/h-8km/hr and I was surprised I was still on the bike at some points of the climb. I found the left hand turns of the climb the hardest as they were sharp turns so I had to stand up off my seat to get through those.
My mind did wonder off a bit. I started to think about how I was going to come down the descent and that got my stressed out a bit more. I haven't had a chance to download my data but I know it took a while to get up there. Once I got up the top, I was stuffed. Took the obligatory photo of the bike in front of the seat and the we discussed where to ride next.
Due to my fear of descents and Arthur's seat was a steep one, we decided to ride the back way along Arthur's Seat rd. It was a route I had never done before and would be beneficial for me to get familiar to the back roads of the Peninsula. We did get swooped on several times by magpies along the back, I had one clip my ear and then a stab on the helmet with the beak. We turned left onto White Hill rd which was a fast ride (I reached a speed of 60km/hr +) until I realised I was going too fast along a pretty busy road and so I applied on the brakes. The road ended along Nepean Hwy again and it was the same route back. Instead of riding all the way home, we decided that we would stop for lunch (it was about 2:30pm by then) along one of the cafes on Main Street in Mornington.
After a good feed, we headed back towards Frankston along the Esplanade (more rolling hills) and came back onto Nepean Hwy along Beleura Hill Rd. By then my legs were aching to stop. The inflammation in my knees (from the fall up the stairs at the MCG) were more prominent at this stage and I was starting to get tired. Apart from the 3 gels I had prior to the ride up Arthur's Seat (at this stage, it was a gel every 35min/300Cal), I didn't have anything after than for about 90min prior to lunch. Having lunch in the middle of my ride really screwed me over for my nutrition training. I did have potato rosti, eggs, spinach and avocado in as part of my lunch and an orange juice but I had no idea what energy equivalence I would get out of it compared to my gels at every 35min/300Cal. I ignored my alarms after lunch and just kept riding and observed how I went.
The stupid headwind on the way back to Mentone didn't help either. Luckily I had an opportunity to draft off the back of the Canadian for most of it (until he wanted to do the extra loop in Mount Eliza) and I then rode by myself from Mt Eliza to the BP in Frankston. I do remember seeing my Garmin and I had done 90km at that point, only half way through an Ironman ride. I thought to myself considering how over it I was at that point of the day, I would have stopped the race as I didn't want to go through Arthur's seat again.
Another reason why I don't eat anything but gels on my rides is the toilet stops. I had to visit the loo at Frankston and bought a Gatorade as I felt I was feeling tired.
Nothing much happened on the way back to the house from BP in Frankston, I was fatigued and I just kept turning my legs over. Instead of riding along Beach Rd home, we decided to take Railway/Como Parade through Parkdale which also took me home via the suburbs at super slow speed (I was on the small chain ring at this stage just turning my legs over - just to get home).
When we got home, I was tired, hungry and admitedly, very moody. That ride destroyed me. I was asked if I would do that ride everyday instead of work, I had to think hard about it....would it get easier everyday? I definitely said yes to the only for a week scenario.
Advice of the week: I don't think I will ever do a meal as part of my training nutrition again. Not only did it confuse the bejesus out of me for the rest of the 40km ride home and I had to do a toilet stop (luckily we had Frankston BP). I understand other cyclists who do this as a recreational thing but for me (at this stage), out on the bike is training for an event. I need to practice my nutrition and hydration. I have also changed my Garmin alerts to 35min as well as 300Cal and they have come pretty much at the same time which is good. I have done this on purpose as sometimes my heart rate monitor plays funny - either reads that my heart rate is at 220bpm or I am burning around 200Cal/hr.
Thing I’m looking forward to next week: I am looking forward to taking my TT bike out on the road this weekend. I am hoping that my time on the TT position during the windtrainer sessions are beneficial for my long rides.
We have as part of our program, runs off the bike after every long ride which I will need to work on especially for my first triathlon event in about 4 weeks time. At the moment, they are only 3km runs but it is a good start.
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| Not a triathlon related photo - this is from the Grand Final |
Wednesday, 11 September 2013
Yo-yo-yoghurt!
I mentioned in my previous posts about how much I am enjoying cooking/baking foods over the last few months (pretty much post Ironman Melbourne 2013). This is a post about home-made yoghurt (or yogurt) and how easy it is to make your own.
So when I was young, my mum went through a phase of making yoghurt. Just a side note, I have a feeling I have the obsession traits from her. As we lived in Port Moresby (in Papua New Guinea), the microwave or pantry was the perfect temperature and humidity to cultivate bacteria and make natural yoghurt. I don't think my mum has made home made yogurt in years but she still makes her own soy milk which is very different from the store bought stuff....anyways back to the topic.
Since the nutritionist came to my work to talk about probiotics a few months ago, I have been increasing the amount of natural yoghurts in my diet*. I have stopped buying fruit yoghurts (even the Chobani) ones as they are often flavoured with fruit jams which means that their probiotic levels are not as high as the bad bacteria feeds on sugars. So I researched into yoghurt making - there appears to be two main methods. The first is growing your bacteria from existing yoghurts and the second is to introduce them via a probiotic source (i.e. powder in capsules that you swallow).
I have only used (cow's) milk in my recent yoghurt making experiments as I like my yoghurts quite thick and I also add milk powders to increase the milk content of my products. I have also bought a "yoghurt maker" so the temperature of my yoghurts are controlled but you can use other methods depending on your room temperature controls - some people just cover their yoghurt with a blanket or a heat pad, others can store their yoghurts in a small esky. I bought mine from Aldi for $15 (no joke!) and it comes with 7 glass jar servings.
So this is what I have been doing:
In a jug, I pour in ONE litre of UHT milk - If you want to use fresh milk, you have to heat treat it first, this means bringing your milk to near boiling point and bringing the temperature down to approx 100F or 40C. I like to take that process away and since I can buy UHT milk, this was easier. I then add 1 cup of milk powder (I like my yoghurts thick and full fat) to the milk and dissolve the milk powder in the milk.
So the first time I made yoghurt, I added a small tub of existing natural yoghurt (I used my Chobani) to the milk solution. The second time, I added 3 capsules of probiotics to the mixture instead. For both attempts, the yoghurts turned out great. I guess if you wanted to reduce the fat content of the yoghurts you can use skim milk and skim milk powder.
Once everything is stirred through, I pour the mixture into the 7 jars and then I turn on the machine for 8 hours. I then turn off the machine and let the yoghurts sit there for a further 2 hours before I put the jars into the fridge.
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| 7 jars in my yoghurt maker (I have taken the photo without the lids on each jar). You need to place the lids on each jar for the yoghurt making process. |
I really never have to buy yoghurt ever again as I am able to use my (made) yoghurt as my existing yoghurt to the mix too.
In the near future, I will try to make yoghurts with almond and coconut milk. I know that they will not be as thick as my milk yoghurt. Will report how it goes.
*I am not on a diet, I am using the term "diet" as "what I am eating".
Monday, 9 September 2013
Weekly Reflection 02/09 - 08/09
Before I go into my weekly entries, a bit of background to my training week. I couldn't stick with my usual routine as I had a family dinner (brother's bday and belated Fathers Day) so Tuesday was my non-training day. I only had one cycling session and it was the Saturday (more on this below), 3 swim sessions (2 with squad) and 2 runs (one half-arsed one before my coaching session).
I have also been home-cooking a few new food "things" - including home made yoghurt (2 ways). Amazing how easy it is and how much money I have saved so far. Currently obsessed with probiotics and eating foods which promote healthy bacteria. The other is some energy bars packed with seeds, bananas and dates.
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| Home-made energy bar |
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| Homemade yoghurt (with a drizzle of honey) |
Favourite session of the week: My Saturday long ride reminded me of the days when I was out on the road by myself. Just me and my bike. I had a pre-election dinner on Friday which meant that I didn't get to bed until 11pm. Being awake since 4:30am that morning, I was in no state to be doing my Saturday morning ride early so I opted for a later ride instead. I use to do (later) rides this time last year. I only do a later ride when we are made to ride Beach Rd as I wanted to avoid riding in big groups and amongst the craziness that is Beach Rd.
Beach Rd is a congested mess of crazy egos and aggressive tempers from 7am - 11am. Too many group rides happen at that time and everyone thinks they are entitled to their space. To avoid the stress, I had a great sleep in and started my ride at about 11am. At this time, the sunshine was abundant and the number of cyclists still riding on the roads were few and sparse. I rode towards Port Melbourne first and then turned around and headed towards Frankston.
Nothing too exciting happened on the roads except that I rode with intention and made sure that I fed myself at the right times. When I reached Frankston, the heavens opened and it started to rain so my ride from Frankston back to Mordialloc was as much of a TT as I could. I still stopped at lights and obeyed all road rules.
This was my favourite session as I was really positive about being out there by myself and being able to still ride with intention was all I wanted out of that morning. 100km completed (mostly) in the sunshine.
Least favourite session of the week: My Thursday night run was not the best. As I was coaching, I needed to do my own run session before helping out Emma-Lise with the sprint/olympic run group. The first few km was ok, I did start to feel slightly sluggish. After running the first lap, I started to warm up so I went to the car to drop off my long sleeve. I then ran the tan again but going the other direction (clockwise). As I was running by myself, I didn't really have the diligence to stick with the program, all I was doing was just running. I had done nearly 9km before the group's session and did a further 6km running back and forth whilst coaching.
I didn't really enjoy this session as I felt that I was training with no other intentions but just to run before I was coaching. I wasn't disciplined enough to push myself and walked several times around the tan track. Will assess how my week pans out to see if I am doing the Essendon run session or stick with the Tan.
Advice of the week: Healthy guts = Everything working well. Ever since I attended a presentation about probiotics a few months ago, I have been eating food high in probiotics. So far so good, my gut issues are subsided dramatically, my skin is much clearer (less swelling and rashes around the eyes and neck) and most importantly, I haven't had a big cold since I started this regime. You can take a daily probiotic if you want but probiotics occur naturally in so many foods we (can) eat. These include (not limited to):
- Plain yoghurt (not commercial yoghurts which contain no healthy bacteria)
- Sour kraut
- Kimchee
- Miso
- Preserved vegetables
Thing I’m looking forward to next week: This weekend is camp weekend and as I am not attending the camp due to budgeting for Noosa and 2014 Canada, I will try to develop a program for myself and hope to have my own training peak around Melbourne. I haven't really sat down to assess/plan my weekend training schedule just yet but it will consist of a long endurance swim, a long ride and a run off the bike (post ride).
I am also going to try a cycling group (this is a social ride) which happens on a Thursday mornings. I won't say too much about it just in case something happens and I end up not being able to attend. Watch this space!
Tuesday, 3 September 2013
Green Smoothie
In order to reduce my body fat % and to try and get a better balance between nutritional food as compared to training food, I have been changing a few things in my "diet". I have stopped drinking Up n Gos, reduced my reliance on grain-rich carbohydrates (for energy), spent less on packaged foods and increased the amount of vegetables and green food intake.
I have started on my green smoothie as part of my quick/easy/healthy meal replacement when I am in a rush or when I need to take in some food before I drive home after training. So far, I have discovered that I need to plan well ahead and may need to bring a few appliances into work to prepare ahead of time. I don't follow a set recipe however I do have guidelines. I don't remember where I got this from, most likely a post on social media:
1) Green Vegetable - I have been using either kale or spinach (or sometimes both) as my green base. Adding a teaspoon of vital greens into this smoothie does not make it green, it an added bonus but I don't count eating a teaspoon of vital greens as enough vegetables/greens as sufficient daily intake.
2) Fruit - I choose either half a (large) banana or an apple, pear (skin on for both), peaches etc - I limit this to one serving as I will have my next serving of fruit during the day. I always remember that this is a predominantly a vege smoothie and not a fruit smoothie.
3) Yogurt - plain - about 2-3 tablespoons. I am currently obsessed with Chobani. If I don't have Chobani, I will always have whole milk yoghurts and never low fat.
4) Coconut water or plain tap water - I sometimes will use milk but only if I will be consuming it straight away. I am yet to try other forms of liquids such as tea or non-dairy milks such as almond or soy. I am not a fan of many non-dairy milks out there as they have vegetable oils in them.
5) Supplements such as protein powder, vital greens, spices such as cinammon or nutmeg etc etc
If I need to thicken the smoothie, I will sometimes add chia seeds. I find that the smoothie also thickens over time with added chia (as they absorb loads of liquid) when I don't drink it straight away.
I generally don't add anymore sweeteners as I do enjoy the taste and sweetness from the greens and fruits already. If I am making this ahead of time for my post-workout meal-drink then I keep it in a thermos bottle. If I make it for breakfast, then I pour it into a reusable tumbler (with a straw) and drink it on the way to work.
I have started on my green smoothie as part of my quick/easy/healthy meal replacement when I am in a rush or when I need to take in some food before I drive home after training. So far, I have discovered that I need to plan well ahead and may need to bring a few appliances into work to prepare ahead of time. I don't follow a set recipe however I do have guidelines. I don't remember where I got this from, most likely a post on social media:
1) Green Vegetable - I have been using either kale or spinach (or sometimes both) as my green base. Adding a teaspoon of vital greens into this smoothie does not make it green, it an added bonus but I don't count eating a teaspoon of vital greens as enough vegetables/greens as sufficient daily intake.
2) Fruit - I choose either half a (large) banana or an apple, pear (skin on for both), peaches etc - I limit this to one serving as I will have my next serving of fruit during the day. I always remember that this is a predominantly a vege smoothie and not a fruit smoothie.
3) Yogurt - plain - about 2-3 tablespoons. I am currently obsessed with Chobani. If I don't have Chobani, I will always have whole milk yoghurts and never low fat.
4) Coconut water or plain tap water - I sometimes will use milk but only if I will be consuming it straight away. I am yet to try other forms of liquids such as tea or non-dairy milks such as almond or soy. I am not a fan of many non-dairy milks out there as they have vegetable oils in them.
5) Supplements such as protein powder, vital greens, spices such as cinammon or nutmeg etc etc
If I need to thicken the smoothie, I will sometimes add chia seeds. I find that the smoothie also thickens over time with added chia (as they absorb loads of liquid) when I don't drink it straight away.
I generally don't add anymore sweeteners as I do enjoy the taste and sweetness from the greens and fruits already. If I am making this ahead of time for my post-workout meal-drink then I keep it in a thermos bottle. If I make it for breakfast, then I pour it into a reusable tumbler (with a straw) and drink it on the way to work.
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| My IM Tumbler (a gift from Kona) |
Monday, 29 July 2013
Bircher Muesli - Recipe #1
Lately, I have had to do plenty of preparation regarding nutrition just so that I can feed myself proper food instead of the quick a coffee for breakfast, rice and tuna for lunch and "couple of boiled eggs" for dinner. I also want to reduce my intake of processed supplements such as protein shakes as they should not be used as a meal replacement.
I often get hungry after swimming (I call it swumgry) and since the drive from pool to work takes up to 50min, I am totally starving and may attack 4 pieces of Vegemite on toast as soon as my feet land within my office doors. I don't need 4 pieces of toast for post swim breakfast, it is eaten purely due to the hunger feeling rather consuming what my body really needs.
So this is something which a friend of mine got me onto and it works great. Bircher muesli made the night before which can be eaten post swim and by the time I get to work, I won't be reaching for the huge bowl of porridge (which I always make too much of) or ladling my vegemite onto toast.
A few weeks ago, I also bought a mini food processor when I bought my multi cooker and I swear on the one time I came first in an open water swim race, I don't know what I would do without both these appliances now. One chops things up so quick and the other cooks things so well! Anyways, back to the muesli...
So in the food processor, I add the following:
Last night, I didn't add honey as the dates provide plenty of sweetness already.
I sometimes may mix things up by adding honey (less dates), Cinnamon, pear, fresh fruit, quinoa etc....my friend adds a carrot and vanilla bean paste into hers (I will give that a go soon).
I often get hungry after swimming (I call it swumgry) and since the drive from pool to work takes up to 50min, I am totally starving and may attack 4 pieces of Vegemite on toast as soon as my feet land within my office doors. I don't need 4 pieces of toast for post swim breakfast, it is eaten purely due to the hunger feeling rather consuming what my body really needs.
So this is something which a friend of mine got me onto and it works great. Bircher muesli made the night before which can be eaten post swim and by the time I get to work, I won't be reaching for the huge bowl of porridge (which I always make too much of) or ladling my vegemite onto toast.
A few weeks ago, I also bought a mini food processor when I bought my multi cooker and I swear on the one time I came first in an open water swim race, I don't know what I would do without both these appliances now. One chops things up so quick and the other cooks things so well! Anyways, back to the muesli...
So in the food processor, I add the following:
- 1/2 x Cup of rolled oats
- 1 x 170g tub of Chobani yoghurt (I used blueberry last night - thats why the photo is slightly purple)
- 1 x Apple (skin on) chopped into cubes for easy processing
- 2 x Medjool Dates (take pits out)
- 1/4 x Milk (this I add if the mixture is too dry)
Last night, I didn't add honey as the dates provide plenty of sweetness already.
I sometimes may mix things up by adding honey (less dates), Cinnamon, pear, fresh fruit, quinoa etc....my friend adds a carrot and vanilla bean paste into hers (I will give that a go soon).
Thursday, 25 July 2013
The Journey Continues...
So I had my 2nd appointment with my sports dietitian on Tuesday (23d July). I have had to reduce my training load recently so I wanted to double check what I have adjusted to the eating plan was OK.
We then spoke about race day nutrition (especially for the full marathon run in October), speaking specifically about the carbohydrates I need per hour and carbo loading prior to race day. So far, based on my nutrition plan over the weekend, it is pretty spot on to his advice.
The dietitian's advice is aligned with what I had been doing regarding cutting down on fibre-rich foods days before a race but trying to increase the carbohydrate intake at the same time. Interestingly, carbohydrate intake not only comes from pasta, breads and rice but also from carbo-rich drinks too (such as soft drink and Gatorade).
Things we also spoke about:
My weight has not decreased dramatically but my clothes are starting to becomeloose not as tight again.
We then spoke about race day nutrition (especially for the full marathon run in October), speaking specifically about the carbohydrates I need per hour and carbo loading prior to race day. So far, based on my nutrition plan over the weekend, it is pretty spot on to his advice.
The dietitian's advice is aligned with what I had been doing regarding cutting down on fibre-rich foods days before a race but trying to increase the carbohydrate intake at the same time. Interestingly, carbohydrate intake not only comes from pasta, breads and rice but also from carbo-rich drinks too (such as soft drink and Gatorade).
Things we also spoke about:
- Proteins - for muscle repair/recovery. Also makes you feel fuller for longer
- Carbohydrates - for energy levels
- How much carbohydrates your gut can take and how much you need to take per hour
- Carbo loading training in preparation for days when my runs will exceed 20km
- Servings of vegetables/salads can increase if I wanted to
- Swap my latte to an espresso + yoghurt to curb my hunger at about 10-11am and stay awake during work whilst keeping calories the same
- BCAA vs Protein Shakes - both do the same thing in terms of muscle repair but a protein shake will have the calories. Choose protein shake over BCAA when I have a big break in between training and a (real) meal (e.g. Thursday night run at Essendon and taking an hour to get home to Mentone).
My weight has not decreased dramatically but my clothes are starting to become
Wednesday, 3 July 2013
The Stir Fry
Stir fry cooking is an Asian method of putting things into a wok/pan and at the end of the cooking process - one complete dish is done! Stir fry cooking is also a quick a convenient way for triathletes (or other athlete-kind) to cook up a meal. This post is not about recipes nor will it give you any photos of the thousands of stir fries I have cooked up in my lifetime but it is more an educational piece.
Why? Because so many people are doing it wrong! That's why.
In basic Asian stir fry cooking - it comes in 3 parts/steps.
1) Add oil and your Asian aromats to hot wok/pan.
What are these aromats you speak of? They are your garlic, ginger, onions, chillies which set the tone of your dish and adds the flavour to your cooking oil.
I don't have a recommendation to the oils you use. There are many studies out there which recommend and oppose the use of different oils for cooking. I will leave this up to you. What will add here is that I never recommend the use of Olive oil in Asian stir fry cooking. Why? Olive oils and Asian cooking don't go hand in hand, Asian stir fry cooking requires oils with a high smoke point. I personally use coconut oil, rice bran and sometimes vegetable. I often add (a few drops of) sesame oils - it should never be used as the sole oil for cooking - it is only added to perk up the flavour of the oil.
Different proteins suit different aromats. From what is passed down to me from my mum...and her mum etc...
Only after your aromats are cooked through (become transparent/smell of the aromats can be noticeable). After I add the protein to my wok/pan and stir through to evenly coat the contents, I turn down the heat so that the proteins can be cooked through. Why? You don't want to over cook your proteins on the outside whilst it is still raw on the insides. I never use frozen proteins, I always cook either fresh from the supermarket/markets or I will defrost ahead of time. Nothing worse that icy meat and excess liquids in stir fries.
If you have more than one protein in your dish, the one which requires a longer time to cook goes into the wok first etc. The time it takes for proteins to cook through also depend on how thick you have you prepared them. This is why it is important that you cut proteins as evenly as possible.
Tofu can be used as a protein and I will often cook it the same time as my vegetables as they don't need to be cooked through as they can be eaten raw. They are added to the wok to be heated only.
3) Add your vegetables.
They don't take as long to cook through as proteins. If you have a mix of vegetables - try to sort (or know) which ones takes longer to cook than others and thrown them into the wok/pan in the order of duration to cook. If it is not obvious enough, you want your dish to have its contents cooked through - the last thing you need is to have one vegetable overcooked and the others raw.
Sometimes I might blanch vegetables before I add them into a stir fry - this method allows the vegetables to cook through without losing too much of its colour and will not require too much stirring through to cook.
Always add salt to your stir fry dishes. I tend to add the salt once everything is cooked through. The other sauces or flavours you wish for your stir fries to have can also be added now. If you are having a sweet-ish dish, you still need to add the salt, (trust me) without salt, it will not work. I sometimes add fresh chopped chillies at the end of the cooking phase too.
Have you noticed that when you eat out in Asian restaurants that when the meals come out they are all shiny and often have the thick liquid/gravy on the bottom (full of flavour)? This is cornflour mixed with cold water and added to the stir fry and cooked for about 30sec prior to serving.
Well there you go - I have just given away the secret to Asian stir fry cooking. I don't have recipes as I have always been taught to cook by feel/taste.
Some excellent combinations I often make are:
- Garlic, beef and snow peas
- Ginger, prawns, Chinese cabbage
- Garlic, chilly, pork, honey and soy sauce (childhood favorite as the honey and soy sauce caramelises the pork)
- Ginger, chicken, tofu, bok choy*
- Garlic, white fish, capsicum with sweet and sour sauce (my family recipe of tomato sauce and pineapple juice) - this can also be sweet and sour pork if you replace fish with pork.
- Garlic, ginger, tofu & bean sprouts
*with vegetables such as bok choy, always cut/separate the stems with from the leaves as they cook at different rates - stems go in the wok prior to leaves.
These are only a few that I can think of off the top of my head...I have cooked so many stir fries in my life that I don't particularly have a specialty.
Hope this helps people with their stir fry adventures. There is more to stir fries than just throwing everything into a wok and stir through. Do you have a dish you want me to personally make and post? Let me know, I have cooked most stir fry dishes in the past.
Happy Stir-Fry!
Why? Because so many people are doing it wrong! That's why.
In basic Asian stir fry cooking - it comes in 3 parts/steps.
1) Add oil and your Asian aromats to hot wok/pan.
What are these aromats you speak of? They are your garlic, ginger, onions, chillies which set the tone of your dish and adds the flavour to your cooking oil.
I don't have a recommendation to the oils you use. There are many studies out there which recommend and oppose the use of different oils for cooking. I will leave this up to you. What will add here is that I never recommend the use of Olive oil in Asian stir fry cooking. Why? Olive oils and Asian cooking don't go hand in hand, Asian stir fry cooking requires oils with a high smoke point. I personally use coconut oil, rice bran and sometimes vegetable. I often add (a few drops of) sesame oils - it should never be used as the sole oil for cooking - it is only added to perk up the flavour of the oil.
Different proteins suit different aromats. From what is passed down to me from my mum...and her mum etc...
- Ginger suits white meats such as chicken, fish etc
- Garlic goes well with everything
- Chillies are good for added spice - I add it more with beef or pork
- Onions I don't use too much personally but it goes well with most proteins
Only after your aromats are cooked through (become transparent/smell of the aromats can be noticeable). After I add the protein to my wok/pan and stir through to evenly coat the contents, I turn down the heat so that the proteins can be cooked through. Why? You don't want to over cook your proteins on the outside whilst it is still raw on the insides. I never use frozen proteins, I always cook either fresh from the supermarket/markets or I will defrost ahead of time. Nothing worse that icy meat and excess liquids in stir fries.
If you have more than one protein in your dish, the one which requires a longer time to cook goes into the wok first etc. The time it takes for proteins to cook through also depend on how thick you have you prepared them. This is why it is important that you cut proteins as evenly as possible.
Tofu can be used as a protein and I will often cook it the same time as my vegetables as they don't need to be cooked through as they can be eaten raw. They are added to the wok to be heated only.
3) Add your vegetables.
They don't take as long to cook through as proteins. If you have a mix of vegetables - try to sort (or know) which ones takes longer to cook than others and thrown them into the wok/pan in the order of duration to cook. If it is not obvious enough, you want your dish to have its contents cooked through - the last thing you need is to have one vegetable overcooked and the others raw.
Sometimes I might blanch vegetables before I add them into a stir fry - this method allows the vegetables to cook through without losing too much of its colour and will not require too much stirring through to cook.
Always add salt to your stir fry dishes. I tend to add the salt once everything is cooked through. The other sauces or flavours you wish for your stir fries to have can also be added now. If you are having a sweet-ish dish, you still need to add the salt, (trust me) without salt, it will not work. I sometimes add fresh chopped chillies at the end of the cooking phase too.
Have you noticed that when you eat out in Asian restaurants that when the meals come out they are all shiny and often have the thick liquid/gravy on the bottom (full of flavour)? This is cornflour mixed with cold water and added to the stir fry and cooked for about 30sec prior to serving.
Well there you go - I have just given away the secret to Asian stir fry cooking. I don't have recipes as I have always been taught to cook by feel/taste.
Some excellent combinations I often make are:
- Garlic, beef and snow peas
- Ginger, prawns, Chinese cabbage
- Garlic, chilly, pork, honey and soy sauce (childhood favorite as the honey and soy sauce caramelises the pork)
- Ginger, chicken, tofu, bok choy*
- Garlic, white fish, capsicum with sweet and sour sauce (my family recipe of tomato sauce and pineapple juice) - this can also be sweet and sour pork if you replace fish with pork.
- Garlic, ginger, tofu & bean sprouts
 |
| Crab I cooked once - served with boiled eggs |
These are only a few that I can think of off the top of my head...I have cooked so many stir fries in my life that I don't particularly have a specialty.
Hope this helps people with their stir fry adventures. There is more to stir fries than just throwing everything into a wok and stir through. Do you have a dish you want me to personally make and post? Let me know, I have cooked most stir fry dishes in the past.
Happy Stir-Fry!
Wednesday, 19 June 2013
Nutrition & Triathlon - My Journey
As you all know, nutrition is a vital part of triathlon training and racing. I am not an expert in this field and therefore, won't be able to give any advice however there are plenty of qualified professionals out there - my recommendation is to ask a professional you feel comfortable with - either by their reputation, research, publications or even diet/method beliefs.
Every nutritionist/dietitian out there will have their own personal views in terms of nutrition just like a triathlon coach. Methods of weight loss or maintaining energy levels will vary from one to another. Methods of perceiving food/nutrition will also be projected differently. This is why it is good to be comfortable with who you are seeing - if you don't feel comfortable/trust their advice, it will not work.
As I had mentioned before, I am seeing a sports dietitian to refine my weight loss/energy levels to enable me to be a better athlete. I did some research in dietitians who have consulted reputable triathletes as well as knowing what athletes need to perform. The person I am seeing at the moment currently consults for several triathlon squads/clubs, provides advice to cycling/triathlon blogs as well as being part of the SDA's committee. I personally wanted a dietitian who is not necessarily a triathlete themselves but one who knows what a triathlete's regime looks like and also the different phases in training and racing.
So my first appointment was last night. We went through my typical training week and then down to what my typical food plan looks like on a weekday and then a weekend (as my weekends vary).
What I learnt from the consultation was:
The food plan will be adjusted when my training regime changes closer to racing season. This will be done through the review appointments in the near future.
I did learn plenty of things from this consultation. I think (personally) it is also good to take advice from a single source rather than following various methods. I am comfortable with the advice I have received.
Will keep this updated in the coming weeks.
Every nutritionist/dietitian out there will have their own personal views in terms of nutrition just like a triathlon coach. Methods of weight loss or maintaining energy levels will vary from one to another. Methods of perceiving food/nutrition will also be projected differently. This is why it is good to be comfortable with who you are seeing - if you don't feel comfortable/trust their advice, it will not work.
As I had mentioned before, I am seeing a sports dietitian to refine my weight loss/energy levels to enable me to be a better athlete. I did some research in dietitians who have consulted reputable triathletes as well as knowing what athletes need to perform. The person I am seeing at the moment currently consults for several triathlon squads/clubs, provides advice to cycling/triathlon blogs as well as being part of the SDA's committee. I personally wanted a dietitian who is not necessarily a triathlete themselves but one who knows what a triathlete's regime looks like and also the different phases in training and racing.
So my first appointment was last night. We went through my typical training week and then down to what my typical food plan looks like on a weekday and then a weekend (as my weekends vary).
What I learnt from the consultation was:
- There is no need for me to cut down on fats (like changing from full fat to skim dairy) due to the amount I am currently consuming. This will be different for someone who is obese and needs to cut down on their calories. I do need to watch/monitor the calories which comes from fats/oils.
- I don't need to worry too much about sugar - I was actually advised to consume yogurts with fruits (e.g. Fruit Chobani) in between my double session days (Tues, Thurs, Sat) as my sugar consumption is not that high and the carbohydrates are required.
- Re-think sugar - carbohydrates can be complex or simple. They are digested the same way in our guts but it is about the choice of sugars we eat. On my days where I don't need to refuel, I can/should reduce my carbohydrates in order to cut down my calories. This can be as simple as reducing portion sizes. Excess carbohydrates will make you fat.
- Fuel up adequately prior to intense sessions rather than re-fueling post sessions to keep up energy levels.
- The body can only use a certain amount of protein and any further extra proteins we consume will be excess calories. A huge steak is not more beneficial than a small (palm size) one as the excess proteins won't be used up by our muscles.
- A vegetarian source of protein will require a greater quantity - e.g. you would require more tofu to make up for the [X]g protein compared to a small serving of steak. Find a balance with calories.
The food plan will be adjusted when my training regime changes closer to racing season. This will be done through the review appointments in the near future.
I did learn plenty of things from this consultation. I think (personally) it is also good to take advice from a single source rather than following various methods. I am comfortable with the advice I have received.
Will keep this updated in the coming weeks.
Friday, 17 May 2013
Laugh, Train, Eat and stuff...
LAUGH
Here are some more photos from the Tri Alliance EOSPN and a link to the rest of the photo album (you need to have access to Facebook).
TRAIN
The 2nd week of training hasn't really gone off to the best start. Due to my lack of going out over the last few months, I was badly dehydrated over the weekend (from the TA party) and as a result, the not-so-good news is that I currently have a kidney infection. I won't go into detail about what I have had to go through over the last 48 hours or so, you can google search that stuff. I will add however that my lower back and my hips feels like it has been compressed tightly for a while. I had kidney infection about 6 years ago which left some scarring on one of my kidneys but I am not sure if the infection is on the same one or occurring on the other one too...anyways, I was home-bound on Wednesday and Thursday due to the urgency of toilet stops, visits to the doctors and this morning (Friday) had a little sleep-in due to the effects anti-biotics. But all that infection/sickness aside, I am feeling ok and grateful that I have access to modern medicine and good doctors.
This weekend's training is to be mixed up a bit to accommodate some minor changes. My ride will start early again at Studley Park before the Week 3 of the Bike Skills course which starts at 8am. As I don't have any plans other than a 3pm appointment near my house, I may stay back and do a few more laps - lets see how I go.
Last week, I could only get in 2 laps (< 30km) prior to 8am and as part of Bike Skills, we only did a 10km TT of the tear drop loop (my slowest 10km TT ever due to my lack of strength) and then some slow bike skills sessions (at which I had a stack). I ended up only having done 40-45km of hills (short and steep) rather than a 90km of Beach Rd. To better prepare me for Lorne Weekend, I want to ride close to 60-80km this week and happy to do this on Studley Park.
On Sunday, we won't be going to Fairfield for the run as Coach Greg is away. I will either join the MSAC group or run close to my house, see how I am feeling on Saturday night.
EAT
On the side, I have also been exploring more recipes - for training (see my other posts on homemade gels) and for meals. I have been following The Natural Nutritionist and so I have been trialing some ideas. I don't follow recipes (never been good at being told what to do) and so I look at the ingredients and just do my own thing.
For dinner one night, I made quinao again. The difference between what I had been doing (which lead me to stop eating quinoa) and what I am doing now is that I am soaking them to remove the stuff which causes inflammation... I followed her quinoa cooking tips and I just cooked something which I felt like eating - salmon with quinao salad (quinoa, olives, avocado, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, celery, lemon zest and juice, white wine vinegar, olive oil, salt). Don't ask me for the recipe as I don't measure - never have as I just cook based on instinct.
This meal took me about 12min to do (the total time for the quinoa to cook). A tip I have is to buy fresh fish rather than the frozen stuff from the frozen food aisle - I find that the fish will be cooked more evenly (no frozen spots) and you will save on packaging waste - a small plastic bag which can be used for waste scraps when chopping vegies versus cardboard, plastic sealed wrapping etc.
Here are some more photos from the Tri Alliance EOSPN and a link to the rest of the photo album (you need to have access to Facebook).
 |
| Tim, Belinda, Dave, Kerri, Me and Narelle |
 |
| Bdette, Mick, Daz, Greg, Des, me and Paddy - Some of the Tri Alliance Coaches. |
TRAIN
The 2nd week of training hasn't really gone off to the best start. Due to my lack of going out over the last few months, I was badly dehydrated over the weekend (from the TA party) and as a result, the not-so-good news is that I currently have a kidney infection. I won't go into detail about what I have had to go through over the last 48 hours or so, you can google search that stuff. I will add however that my lower back and my hips feels like it has been compressed tightly for a while. I had kidney infection about 6 years ago which left some scarring on one of my kidneys but I am not sure if the infection is on the same one or occurring on the other one too...anyways, I was home-bound on Wednesday and Thursday due to the urgency of toilet stops, visits to the doctors and this morning (Friday) had a little sleep-in due to the effects anti-biotics. But all that infection/sickness aside, I am feeling ok and grateful that I have access to modern medicine and good doctors.
This weekend's training is to be mixed up a bit to accommodate some minor changes. My ride will start early again at Studley Park before the Week 3 of the Bike Skills course which starts at 8am. As I don't have any plans other than a 3pm appointment near my house, I may stay back and do a few more laps - lets see how I go.
Last week, I could only get in 2 laps (< 30km) prior to 8am and as part of Bike Skills, we only did a 10km TT of the tear drop loop (my slowest 10km TT ever due to my lack of strength) and then some slow bike skills sessions (at which I had a stack). I ended up only having done 40-45km of hills (short and steep) rather than a 90km of Beach Rd. To better prepare me for Lorne Weekend, I want to ride close to 60-80km this week and happy to do this on Studley Park.
On Sunday, we won't be going to Fairfield for the run as Coach Greg is away. I will either join the MSAC group or run close to my house, see how I am feeling on Saturday night.
EAT
On the side, I have also been exploring more recipes - for training (see my other posts on homemade gels) and for meals. I have been following The Natural Nutritionist and so I have been trialing some ideas. I don't follow recipes (never been good at being told what to do) and so I look at the ingredients and just do my own thing.
For dinner one night, I made quinao again. The difference between what I had been doing (which lead me to stop eating quinoa) and what I am doing now is that I am soaking them to remove the stuff which causes inflammation... I followed her quinoa cooking tips and I just cooked something which I felt like eating - salmon with quinao salad (quinoa, olives, avocado, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, celery, lemon zest and juice, white wine vinegar, olive oil, salt). Don't ask me for the recipe as I don't measure - never have as I just cook based on instinct.
This meal took me about 12min to do (the total time for the quinoa to cook). A tip I have is to buy fresh fish rather than the frozen stuff from the frozen food aisle - I find that the fish will be cooked more evenly (no frozen spots) and you will save on packaging waste - a small plastic bag which can be used for waste scraps when chopping vegies versus cardboard, plastic sealed wrapping etc.
 |
| Obligatory food photo - don't mind the Endura bottle on the side. |
Monday, 6 May 2013
Homemade Gel #2 - Base Gel Recipe
I had time to gather a few more key ingredients over the last few days to be able to make the basic gel mixture. I wanted to make this base mix based on the nutritional panel of a Gu gel.
Notes:
- The final mixture made 4 servings of energy gel with the following nutritional value per serving: Energy 106 Cal (510kJ), Carbs 26g with 6g of Sugar.
- This gel recipe is not suitable if you have fructose intolerance (as the sugar is pure fructose sugar crystals).
- At first taste, the mixture reminded me of Endura Gel in Vanilla flavour (not my favourite) so I don't know how I will enjoy this...may taste better whilst I am training
Conclusion & Comments
TBC
 |
| Maltodextrin |
This is my second homemade gel attempt. I wanted to make a Gu-like recipe. I had a look at the nutritional panel on my Gu packet and noted the ingredients and nutritional info for a Gu is: maltodextrin, water, fructose and some amino acids and salts. 481kJ (approx 100Cal), Carbs 25 g with 6g sugar.
The maltodextrin I was using had the following - 100g mixture with 384 Cal (1598kJ) with 94g Carbs with 16g sugar so based on the ratio of sugar of the Gu mixture, I needed approx 8-10g of fructose mixture to my 100g maltodextrin.
I added the maltodextrin and fructose mixture into a small saucepan and added some water to dissolve. The mixture was cloudy until the powder dissolved well into the water. Citric acid was added to the liquid as per instructions. I didn't want the gel mixture to be flavourless and so I added some vanilla extract and salt. The mixture did not thicken as my previous batch so I added pectin to hopefully thicken it up (didn't work, maybe I didn't add enough or I had too much water).
So this mixture was not as thick compared to what I am use to and the colour was slightly yellow due to the vanilla extract. All the energy needs were in there. When the mixture cooled, I poured it into a flask and left in the fridge.
 |
| Final product & its ingredients |
- The final mixture made 4 servings of energy gel with the following nutritional value per serving: Energy 106 Cal (510kJ), Carbs 26g with 6g of Sugar.
- This gel recipe is not suitable if you have fructose intolerance (as the sugar is pure fructose sugar crystals).
- At first taste, the mixture reminded me of Endura Gel in Vanilla flavour (not my favourite) so I don't know how I will enjoy this...may taste better whilst I am training
Conclusion & Comments
TBC
Thursday, 2 May 2013
Homemade Gel #1 - Juice, Maltodextrin & Citric Acid
As I didn't have some of the basic ingredients in my pantry last night - such as Fructose and Pectin to make the basic gel base, I decided to follow a basic recipe which I found online here.
What I did:
I boiled the 1 cup of raspberry juice into a concentrate (reduced the volume slightly). I did have a taste of the juice prior to boiling and during to gauge the level of acidity (sourness) and did notice a significant difference with the more concentrated juice. I didn't really noticed how long I simmered it for....maybe 10min.
I then added the maltodextrin - used my old Gatorade scoops and spooned 2 in at a time, stirred until dissolved and repeat. I ended up adding about 6 scoops until the powder refused to dissolve any further. The liquid was clumpy and cloudy until the maltodextrin dissolved completely into a clear liquid. I added a few drops of lemon juice (the ones you buy in a yellow squeezy bottle in the supermarket) in the mix, don't ask me why, I just did it because most recipes call for citric acid. The finished product had the consistency of honey.
 |
| Final Product - Raspberry Gel #1 |
Their basic method was 3 parts maltodextrin and 1 part juice. I used Emma & Tom's Thirst Quencher in Raspberry (I like Hammer Raspberry gels) and the maltodextrin I had in the house..not sure what brand it was brand so here is a picture Natural Health Supplements (NHS) . I bought it from Evelyn Faye on Bourke St Melbourne but they also have an online shop.
I boiled the 1 cup of raspberry juice into a concentrate (reduced the volume slightly). I did have a taste of the juice prior to boiling and during to gauge the level of acidity (sourness) and did notice a significant difference with the more concentrated juice. I didn't really noticed how long I simmered it for....maybe 10min.
I then added the maltodextrin - used my old Gatorade scoops and spooned 2 in at a time, stirred until dissolved and repeat. I ended up adding about 6 scoops until the powder refused to dissolve any further. The liquid was clumpy and cloudy until the maltodextrin dissolved completely into a clear liquid. I added a few drops of lemon juice (the ones you buy in a yellow squeezy bottle in the supermarket) in the mix, don't ask me why, I just did it because most recipes call for citric acid. The finished product had the consistency of honey.
 |
| When all powder was dissolved |
I took the saucepan off the stove and poured the liquid into a glass to cool. I did notice a thin film was formed on the top quick.
Once cooled, I poured the gel into one of my flask and placed in the fridge. I will try out the formula on the weekend (half during ride and half during the trail run).
Notes:
- Even though I had added 8 scoops of powder, only about 6 dissolved properly (approx 100g of maltodextrin): Energy 382 Cal (1598kJ), 94g carbohydrates (16g sugar), <1g salt.
- 1 cup of juice has about the following: Energy 40 Cal (165kJ), 9g carbohydrates (100% sugar), 7mg salt, Vitamin C (65mg).
- I am not a food scientist but with basic mathematics skills, the formula which I made is for about 4 servings based on the nutritional panel of some gels I had lying around the house
- Keeping in mind the 4:1 formula for energy gels (4 parts complex to 1 part simple) - 1 serving of my gel would equate to 100-105Cal made up of 26g of carbohydrates (with 6.5g of simple sugars). Will try out this weekend to see how it goes!
- Cost of this experiment (4 serves of gels) approximately $4 (Australian).
Conclusion & Comments:
Tried out this recipe (consumed it) over the weekend (5th May) and I am happy to report that it worked well. I didn't have an upset stomach and the consistency of the gel worked once it was out of the fridge.
I will use this same method and use apple juice instead and see how the taste carries in a gel form.
I will use this same method and use apple juice instead and see how the taste carries in a gel form.
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
Homemade Gels - The Introduction
I have always wanted to try some homemade (energy) gel recipes and as we are in the beginning of the training phase, I thought this would be the best time to try and make some energy gels from scratch. No point in trying out new things so close to race day.
When I first started training, a friend introduced to me his method of energy/nutrition on his bike rides - he would mix about 3 tablespoons of maltodextrin into his 500ml bottle, add 1 Nuun/Shotz tablet and add water. Essentially, he had his complex sugars, salts and water all mixed into a bottle. Since then, I have always had some maltodextrin around my house.
Researching further into the ingredients of gels - the ones which I am comfortable about making all have maltodextrin as their base ingredient. Another gel brand uses Brown Rice Syrup as their main complex sugar but the heavy wheat taste needs to be masked with chocolate, coffee or peanut butter flavours. Over the years, my tolerances to flavours have been narrowed to the following:
carbohydrates complex (maltodextrin) sugars to simple sugars (fructose, sucrose, glucose, dextrose). Some gels use fruit juices (concentrated, not puree), agave syrup, honey whilst others use plain fructose powder. I will experiment with them over the coming weeks and see how they turn out.
First I will start with the Energy Gel Base. This is made up of the simple 4:1 ratio of maltodextrin and fructose powder and with it, added citric acid, salt and water - simple hey?! Will report on how I go soon.
When I first started training, a friend introduced to me his method of energy/nutrition on his bike rides - he would mix about 3 tablespoons of maltodextrin into his 500ml bottle, add 1 Nuun/Shotz tablet and add water. Essentially, he had his complex sugars, salts and water all mixed into a bottle. Since then, I have always had some maltodextrin around my house.
Researching further into the ingredients of gels - the ones which I am comfortable about making all have maltodextrin as their base ingredient. Another gel brand uses Brown Rice Syrup as their main complex sugar but the heavy wheat taste needs to be masked with chocolate, coffee or peanut butter flavours. Over the years, my tolerances to flavours have been narrowed to the following:
- Plain - no flavour or least offensive
- Berries/Raspberry - this has to be alike the taste of strawberry/raspberry jam and not cough medicine
- Chocolate - but the consistency is important and also not too fake
- Mint - this is more of a pallet cleansing flavour I need in between other gels or to take away the salt mouthwash straight after a swim
First I will start with the Energy Gel Base. This is made up of the simple 4:1 ratio of maltodextrin and fructose powder and with it, added citric acid, salt and water - simple hey?! Will report on how I go soon.
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