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Recipes for Success

By Dimity McDowell


	(Rita Maas/Envision)

Though we admire the ease of energy-replenishing snacks like Gu and PowerBars, man can't live on them alone. So we asked top athletes, from marathoners to pole-vaulters, to cough up their best recipes—after all, if the fuel in their tanks isn't effective, they're out of work. They offered a variety of well-balanced ideas which—according to Monique Ryan, (author of the 2002 book Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes), who evaluated the recipes—meet athletes' nutritional requirements: plenty of carbs, a good dose of protein, and some healthy fat. Not only will these recipes fuel your muscles for any run, ride, or climb you want to take on, they only require around 10 minutes of preparation time—a little more than what it takes to unwrap a PowerBar, we realize, but well worth the wait.

Best Breakfast
"'Oatmeal makes a hard day's work easier,' my grandpa always told me," says Michael Barry, a USPS cyclist married to Dede Demet-Barry, who rides for T-Mobile, "It's true; this power-packed, hearty dish of oats carries Dede and I up the mountains in Boulder even on the coldest spring day." The two, who compete on the US Pro Cycling Tour, add eggs to up the protein content. "You can also just use egg whites if you're concerned about fat, which is harder to digest before a race."

Grandpa Lapp's Porridge

2 cups oats
1/3 cup millet
6 cups water, soy milk or milk.
1/4 cup of raisins or currants.
4 eggs
Pinch of salt

Put all ingredients, except the eggs, in a pan and bring to a boil. Add eggs. Turn down the head to simmer. Stir with a wooden spoon vigorously for about 5 minutes, or until the oats have absorbed the liquid. If you like, add any of the following: honey, apples, bananas, pumpkin or sunflower seeds, maple syrup, or a splash of cold milk or soymilk.

Best Power Lunch
"I keep this in my fridge all week long and eat it before I run," says Jenny Adams, an Olympic-hopeful hurdler, who likes to add fresh herbs from her garden to the salad. To keep it light, Adams prefers to top whole wheat crackers with the salad; for people going out for at least an hour, Ryan recommends making a sandwich on multi-grain bread with it, and eating it two to three hours before a workout.

Chicken Salad

1 cup cooked, chopped chicken
1/2 cup of plain, non-fat yogurt
1 apple, diced
1 celery stick, diced
1/2 c of red grapes, cut in half
fresh chives
salt and pepper to taste
Add any other fresh herbs you like: parsley, cilantro, etc.

Mix ingredients together, chill and serve.

Best Training Dinner
While this Thai chicken recipe, a favorite of Olympic high jumper Amy Acuff, takes a little longer than ten minutes to prepare, it's time well spent: the well-balanced meal is prepared according to the healthy, healing tenets of traditional Chinese medicine. "The cool water chestnuts and bean sprouts neutralize the warming chili oil and balsamic vinegar," says Acuff, currently studying the discipline. If you're going to use this as a pre-race dinner, be sure the spices don't upset your stomach, warns Ryan.

Quick Thai Chicken

1 cup basmati rice
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon chili oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 chicken breasts, chopped into small pieces
2 tablespoons grated ginger
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 can water chestnuts
1 cup bean sprouts
1 cup smooth peanut butter

Boil the rice. In another pan, heat the oil, soy sauce, chile oil and vinegar, then add the chicken. Cook for five minutes, or until thoroughly cooked. Add the ginger, garlic, water chestnuts, and sprouts and cook until the water chestnuts and sprouts soften—about 2-3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the peanut butter and rice. Mix thoroughly, top with the chopped cilantro, and serve.

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