Nutty days!
Mark and I decided to go to Snowdonia over the kids half-term break and as the weather seemed OK, we thought we’d brave it and camp – the site is beautiful, set on a lake at the foot of Snowdon…. and completely empty as there are few people nuts enough to camp in late October in North Wales. We had a wonderful evening next to a babbling brook, sausages cooked on the camp fire and all that jazz, only to be inundated a few hours later by torrential rain and woken to the discovery that our much-used and much-loved tents are no longer waterproof! Sponging out water at three o’clock in the morning is not my idea of heaven to put it mildly!! Anyway, the following day was fine, if a little damp, and we did a fantastic walk up a mountain called Moel Siabod (more challenging and much less busy than its neighbouring Snowdon, apparently)
Needless to say, we have returned with colds and Mark has even had the flu – I’m really cross as I’m never ill! As my lovely friend Annette said to me yesterday when I was bemoaning the fact ”even healthy people get ill sometimes, Kate!”
I have come back from the Supermarket armed with superfoods – going to make a Pineapple, Banana and Mango Power Smoothie, a Strawberry Mint Vitamin Rush (you’ll find the recipes for these in Go Faster Food) over the week end, and I’m just waiting for some nuts to finish slow-roasting in the oven for the family to snack on and hopefully ward off any more bugs.
Nuts really are a positive addition to the athlete’s diet. Research presented by the American College of Sports Medicine showed that elite cyclists who ate about 60 almonds a day before meals increased their anti-oxidant capacity by 43% after a time trial as compared to the group who ate an equal number of calories from biscuits. Apparently their time trial distance also improved by 5% compared to thegroup who ate the biscuits.
60 nuts a day is probably a little over the top for most of us, but certainly a handful of nuts in exchange for a couple of chocolate hobnobs will provide a lot more nutritional value – . they will satisfy food cravings and help reduce heart disease and they are absolutley packed with essential vitamins, good fats, minerals and fibre. Home-roasted nuts take minutes and are totally delicious:
SLOW ROASTED NUTS
Fill a large flat baking tray with one layer of nuts – a selection is good. Today I used packs of cashews, pine nuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, walnuts and brazil nuts. Pour over a scant tablespoon of rape seed oil and a sprinkling of salt (salt is optional) and roast in the oven for 30 mins at a low heat – 150 C – until golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the baking tray. Transfer to a bowl and eat or keep in an airtight container for later.
You might want to take a look at my blogging friend Runner Dude’s post on good food for runners – http://ncrunnerdude.blogspot.com/2009/11/10-must-have-foods-for-runners.html – it’s all good stuff!!
