Ruth Marie Dales- Ruth Marie Dales
Bug Busting Recipes
No one wants to get ill and when you have invested so much time, money, physical and emotional effort in your fitness journey it can feel devastating. These simple recipes, along with my Quick Guide to improving your chances against coughs and colds might be just what you need for that boost this winter.
These simple recipes are great to start the day, or as a pre/ post-training meal. They pack in vitamin C and other anti-oxidants, helping you towards your 200mg of Vitamin C daily, shown to reduce the incidence of colds in athletes (PEN). Carbohydrates help counter the immunosuppressant effects of hard training (BASES) and protein aids recovery. For extra power I’ve added milled chia seed, which contains selenium and zinc, both of which are needed for optimum immune function. And if that wasn’t enough, to top it off I’ve added an absolutely awesome gem I found: Milled Flaxseed with Bio Cultures and Vitamin D (Made by Linwoods). There is conclusive evidence that probiotics modulate the intestinal and systemic immune systems (PEN). And vitamin D is needed in our defences against respiratory tract infections (BMJ).
Super Smoothie (2 servings)
Fat 8g | CHO 45g | Pro 14g | per serving
200ml Cranberry juice (unsweetened)
125g Strawberries
100g 0% fat, high protein, strawberry yoghurt
200ml Skimmed Milk
20g Oats
30g Milled flaxseed with Bio Cultures and vitamin D
Directions:
Blend all the ingredients together, chill then serve with a straw!
Bug Busting Breakfast Jar (2 servings)
Fat 8.5g | CHO 56.5g | Pro 16g | per serving
Layer 1
20g Puffed rice
Layer 2
1 frozen banana
60g strawberries
100g 0% fat, high protein, strawberry yoghurt
20g cashew nut butter
10g Milled Flaxseed with Bio Cultures and vitamin D
Layer 3
½ teaspoon spirulina
1 frozen banana
60g frozen blueberries
1 teaspoon milled chia seed
100g 0% fat, high protein, plain yoghurt
Decoration
30g Frozen blueberries
1 fresh fig,
Directions
Put layer 1 into the jars
Blend the ingredients for layer 2, place half into the jars. Add half a fig to each jar and then the remainder of the layer.
Blend all the ingredients for layer 3 and place in the jars.
Decorate with blueberries
Serve with a spoon!
References:
The BASES Expert Statement on Exercise, Immunity and Infection (2011)
PEN The Global Resource for Nutrition Practice (accessed January 2017)
BMJ: Vitamin D supplementation to prevent acute respiratory tract infections: systematic review and meta-analysis of individual participant data. (British Medical Journal 2017)