Tag Archives: rice

Recovery Rice Pudding

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I really didn’t like rice pudding until I started running. It was too sweet, too creamy and just too much like nursery food for my liking. How things have changed…I can’t get enough of the stuff now! Rice Pudding is FANTASTIC recovery food!!!!! After a big bike ride, swim or long run out in the cold, it not only warms you up but it has a great combination of fast-acting high G.I. carbohydrate (short-grain pudding rice) to replenish your depleted glycogen stores, plus protein and calcium from the milk to help towards muscle repair.

Rice pudding is particularly good as it takes minutes to prepare before you leave the house – pop it into the oven at a low temperature and its ready two to three hours later on your return! All you have to do it take it out of the oven and eat it up. Yum Yum.

Take a look at Go Faster Food for some more rice pudding ideas, but here’s a basic version you can just leave in the oven while you are out for your long training session:

  • 100g short-grain pudding rice
  • 1.2 litre semi-skimmed milk (you can use skimmed, full fat, soya milk, rice milk, whatever you prefer)
  • 3 tbsp demerara sugar (less if using sweetened soya or rice milk)
  • good grating of nutmeg
  • 1 cinnamon stick (optional)
  • 1 bay leaf (optional)
  1. Preheat the oven – fan oven 130°C to cook in 3 hours, 150°C to cook in 2 hours.
  2. Place all the ingredients in an oven-proof dish and stir. Add an extra grating of nutmeg on top.
  3. Put in the oven and leave for 2-3 hours, depending on the temperature you have chosen until a lovely brown skin has formed on the surface.

This tastes good on its own as soon as you get back from training, eaten with a spoon straight out of the dish. Alternatively you could serve it with some fruit compote (rhubarb or apricots is good). Some like it cold as well, but not me.

Short-grain ‘pudding’ rice has a very high G.I. and is a great way to
get a serious amount of carbohydrate into your system after an
event like a triathlon or marathon or after one of your big training
sessions. There are hundreds of different recipes for rice pudding
and everyone has their particular likes and dislikes – some adore
the skin, some hate it; some like it cold, some hot. Whilst still fairly
traditional, this recipe uses semi-skimmed milk and no butter, but
don’t worry, it is still really creamy. You can cook it the fast way to
avoid skin or bake it slowly in the oven; you can even keep it in the
fridge to attack as soon as you get home.
Nutrition per serving
Energy (kcal) 250 Protein (g) 10
Carbohydrate (g) 44 Fat (g) 5
Of which sugars (g) 23 Of which saturates (g) 3
Salt (g) 0.3 Fibre (g) neg
Serves 4
Prep time – 2 minutes/Cooking time – 1½ hours
100g short-grain pudding rice
1 litre semi-skimmed milk
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp demerara to serve
good grating of nutmeg
½–1 tsp cinnamon (or 1 cinnamon stick)
1 bay leaf (optional)
Method One – creamed rice
1. Mix all the ingredients together in a heavy-bottomed saucepan
and bring to the boil.
2. Simmer on the lowest heat possible, using a diffuser if you Short-grain ‘pudding’ rice has a very high G.I. and is a great way to
get a serious amount of carbohydrate into your system after an
event like a triathlon or marathon or after one of your big training
sessions. There are hundreds of different recipes for rice pudding
and everyone has their particular likes and dislikes – some adore
the skin, some hate it; some like it cold, some hot. Whilst still fairly
traditional, this recipe uses semi-skimmed milk and no butter, but
don’t worry, it is still really creamy. You can cook it the fast way to
avoid skin or bake it slowly in the oven; you can even keep it in the
fridge to attack as soon as you get home.
Nutrition per serving
Energy (kcal) 250 Protein (g) 10
Carbohydrate (g) 44 Fat (g) 5
Of which sugars (g) 23 Of which saturates (g) 3
Salt (g) 0.3 Fibre (g) neg
Serves 4
Prep time – 2 minutes/Cooking time – 1½ hours
100g short-grain pudding rice
1 litre semi-skimmed milk
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp demerara to serve
good grating of nutmeg
½–1 tsp cinnamon (or 1 cinnamon stick)
1 bay leaf (optional)
Method One – creamed rice
1. Mix all the ingredients together in a heavy-bottomed saucepan
and bring to the boil.
2. Simmer on the lowest heat possible, using a diffuser if you have

Griddled lamb cutlets with chickpea and sweet potato pilau

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Griddled lamb cutlets with chickpea and sweet potato pilau

We’re getting to the end of the kids Summer holidays and stocks are getting pretty low. I’ve been delaying a big food shop in favour of much more interesting activities like long runs, bike rides with the kids or trips to buy new school shoes (?!) and so last night was most definitely a “scratch” meal….but sometimes they are the best. Within 10 minutes, a most delicious aroma had filled the house and supper was ready –  not only a tasty and speedy meal, but a perfect low G.I., high carbohydrate dish for my preparation for the Bristol Half Marathon on Sunday.

I had some fresh chicken stock and so decided on a risotto to accompany some lamb cutlets which had reached their best before date – it was only when I started to saute an onion as the first stage of the risotto that I discovered I had run out of risotto rice. When you’re running sometimes you have to be flexible and change your goals when things don’t go to plan – this can happen in just the same way with cooking and a quick change of plan was needed – it had to be a pilau with basmati rice. I threw in a sweet potato, some chopped celery, a spoon of madras paste, some crushed cardamom seeds and a tin of chickpeas. I added the rice to this mixture, mixed it all up and then covered it with the hot stock.  Ten minutes later the pilau was ready – finished off with some finely chopped green chilli and a big handful of fresh coriander, a healthy, energy-giving and tasty meal for five had been prepared in a blip….and subsequently demolished in about the same amount of time!

Ingredients – serves 5

  • 10 lamb cutlets ( I seasoned mine with herbes de provence and a little moroccan spice mix)
  • 350-375 g good quality basmati rice (about two big handfuls per person)
  • 1 onion, finely sliced
  • 1 stick celery, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
  • 1 scant tablespoon madras paste (I use Pataks)
  • the seeds of 3-4 cardamom pods, crushed in a pestle and mortar
  • 400g tin chickpeas
  • 1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
  • chicken stock
  • large handful of fresh coriander, chopped roughly
  • 1 large green chilli, finely sliced into rings
  • yoghurt sauce – mix a pinch of salt, pinch of sugar, pinch of chilli powder, pinch of coriander or ras-el-hanout spice mix into about 5 tablespoons natural yoghurt
  1. Prepare the lamb cutlets – coat them in whatever herbs and spices you have decided to use and heat up the griddle.
  2. Gently saute the onion and celery in the oil and then add the sweet potato after a couple of minutes. I use a large, deep frying pan with a lid – this sort of thing is perfect for a pilau. Add the madras paste, the cardamom seeds and the chickpeas and then stir it all around for a minute or so.
  3. Add the rice and stir so that all the ingredients are well mixed up.
  4. Add enough hot stock to cover the rice by about 1/2 cm. When the stock comes to the boil again, turn down the heat to very gently and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Basmati rice cooks really quickly so check to see if the rice is cooked after about 8 minutes.
  5. Meanwhile griddle the lamb cutlets. A good trick is to leave them on the griddle without turning until the fat goes really crisp, then turn them and finish them off on the other side.
  6. When the pilau is cooked, add the fresh coriander and the slices of chilli and serve with the cutlets and the yoghurt sauce.
  7. I found half a bag of watercress in the fridge which I livened up with a mustardy dressing – this went really well with the lamb and pilau.

Chicken Tagine, artichokes, green olives and basmati & wild rice

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This is a bit of a ‘cheatie’ tagine, but it is incredibly quick and easy, verKP Chicken 2y very tasty and packed with goodness. All you need to do is pop the chicken in the oven, surround it with some nice vegatables and spices, maybe something tasty that might be lurking in the fridge like a few green olives and hey presto, an hour later you have a delicious and healthy meal for four. We ate it last night with Basmati and wild rice, a good low G.I. option for sustained energy…and it seems that the whole family needs that extra little boost of energy at the moment what with the end of term rush with the kids, the launch of Go Faster Food and our new training schedule for the Bristol Half Marathon and the Monster Challenge in September.

basmati and wild rice

Mark and James have also started pre-season rugby training with the Old Bristolians. It looks like some kind of military torture to me,  but they seem to enjoy it! For me, it is just another evening activity around which I’ve got to fit a decent, energy-boosting meal. It is sometimes very hard to fit eating properly into such busy lifestyles!

We like to eat this sort of dish with a green salad tossed with a nice dijon mustard dressing.

Cheat’s Chicken, Artichoke and Green Olive Tagine with Basmati and Wild Rice

Ingredients – serves 4

1 whole free range chicken                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  1 large onion, finely sliced                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  1 tin artichokes,  1 tin chickpeas                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Handful of green olives                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        2 sticks celery, sliced into 5 cm lengths , 1 green pepper, chopped into chunks                                                                                                                                                                                                                        1 green chilli, deseeded and slcied finely                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     2 tsp cumin seeds and 2 tsp coriander seeds, roasted and roughly ground with pestle and mortar , 1 tsp Spanish smoked paprika , 1 cinnamon stick                                                                   Plenty of fresh flat-leaved parsley                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Salt and freshly ground black pepper                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Extra virgin olive oil (c. 3 tablespoons)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Chicken stock (enough to just cover the vegetables) plus a tbsp plain flour to thicken sauce                                                                                                                                                                                       Glass of white wine (optional)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    300g Basmati and Wild Rice

  1. Heat the oven to 200 C.
  2. Take the chicken and turn it upside down. With a sharp knife, cut through the bone and lay out the chicken “spatchcock style”, breast side up, on a large roasting pan. (If this worries you, take a look at the nice man in this YouTube video who demonstrates very clearly how to do it, although you don’t have to worry about removing the back bone -How to spatchcock a chicken )
  3. Scatter the onions, chickpeas and other vegetables around the pan.
  4. Put a tablespoon of plain flour into a jug and make a paste with a little of the stock, then gradually pour the rest of the stock into the jug.
  5. Pour the stock (and wine, if using) over the vegetables around the chicken but not over the chicken. Add the cinnamon stick.
  6. Drizzle the chicken with plenty of olive oil and then scatter the whole dish, including the chicken with the spice mix and season generously.
  7. Bake in the oven for about 1 hour, until the chicken is crispy on top and cooked through.
  8. Add the parsley and serve with the rice which you will have prepared according to the pack instructions while the chicken was cooking.

A fresh approach to carbo-loading

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A fresh approach to carbo-loading

I’ve just spent the past 9 hours doing a post-marathon clean of the house. What a workout! I have absolutely no need to run or go to the gym today! I have to say that when in training I do become a master of the art of “skim cleaning” – it is just one of those chores which gets put on the back burner as I hate it so much, so the place really needed some serious attention!


We had our first taste of the new season’s peas today. Exquisite and packed with nutrients, with good amounts of vitamins, minerals, fibre and protein. Popped directly from their pods, they taste unbelievably good. There are all sort of ways of cooking peas if you can manage not to eat them straight from the pod –  simply boil them in water for a couple of minutes and serve with a knob of butter and a few sprigs of mint or chervil, or with some feta cheese and bacon, or fresh tender baby leeks. You could also try them cooked in a little stock with a few fresh wilted lettuce leaves. But for us athletes, they make the most delicious summery risotto – fresh tasting, quick to make and really high in carbohydrate. The combination of risotto rice and fresh peas is pretty low G.I. and will keep you sustained for hours, fantastic for the night before a long training session or a race.
Creamy Risotto of Fresh Peas and Chervil (use mint or flat-leaf parsley as alternative).

Serves 4

50g unsalted butter, plus a knob of butter for the end

1 onion or leek, finely sliced

1 stick of celery, finely chopped

80g pancetta cubes, or bacon, cubed (optional)

350g Arborio risotto rice

1¼–1½ litres vegetable bouillon or chicken stock

250ml white wine

300g fresh peas, podded

large bunch of fresh chervil, chopped

100g freshly grated parmesan

salt and freshly ground black pepper

  1. Heat up the stock in a saucepan so that it is ready to ladle onto the rice.
  2. In a large heavy-bottomed pan, gently sauté the onion and celery in the butter/oil over a low heat until translucent. Add the pancetta and sauté for another couple of minutes.
  3. Add the rice and stir until the grains become translucent and glossy.
  4. Add the wine and stir until it has been absorbed.
  5. Add a ladle of hot stock and stir constantly until it is almost absorbed. Add the rest of the hot stock, a ladle at a time, stirring constantly. You need to make sure that each ladleful is absorbed by the rice before you add the next one. This should take about 18–20minutes. Youmay need more or less stock according to the type of rice and the rate of absorption.
  6. When the rice is almost cooked, add the peas and the chervil or mint (save a little to sprinkle over the top). The texture should be nice and creamy. You may need to add some salt at this point, it depends how salty your stock is.
  7. When the rice is cooked, turn off the heat, stir in the parmesan and a knob of butter. Let the mixture stand for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining chervil or mint and a few grinds of black pepper.
  8. Serve with a rocket salad and some fresh parmesan shavings