Guest Post – Basecamp Nutrition creators Michelle and Tom

Guest Post – Basecamp Nutrition creators Michelle and Tom

This post is a little different instead of a story of adventure I asked Michelle Reed creator of Basecamp Nutrition, bad ass mountain bike racer, and of course super team mate for the Bike Trans Alp to share some nutritional wisdom and recipe selection to getting those pedals turning through the winter.

But first.. an introduction from team Basecamp.

Hi everyone, my name is Michelle.

I am a South African currently living and working in Germany. I am a qualified BSc (Hons) Nutritional Scientist and currently completing a Nutritional Therapist diploma. I have a great passion for living a healthy lifestyle and helping others create the same for themselves and their families.

My aim is to further my studies to become a sports nutritionist and to always keep up with the latest and greatest in the world of nutrition, to educate those who require my services. 

Remember health is not a diet, it’s a lifestyle.

 

Hey guys, my name is Tom.

I am currently living and studying in Bayreuth, Germany. I am doing my masters in Sports Economics with a focus on competitive sports. 

As a competitive cyclist, currently riding for a German mountain bike team, Kreidler, I have gained a lot of experience regarding what to eat and what to avoid.

With all the knowledge Michelle has and my experience as an athlete, we hope to present you with a lot of great recipes that will support your healthy lifestyle.

Never lose the fun when cooking and eating! The recipes presented here should only give you an idea. You can (and should) adapt them to your very individual taste.

Healthy recipes for winter training

 In my (Michelle’s) opinion an athletes performance revolves around 3 aspects; head strength, physical fitness and nutrition. Nutrition is one of the easiest ways to help improve performance and keep your body well conditioned.

Training through winter is never an easy process and it is the time of the year when many are preparing for their upcoming season. Come rain or snow training comes first to ensure you are earning that 1% over your competitors. The long hours in the saddle are accumulating to set up a strong base for the new season.

With intense training and a change in conditions, your body is put to the test in more ways than one, which makes taking care of it highly essential. This means supporting its processes in order to ensure that you are recovering quickly and not catching any colds along the way.

As a natural process with the increase in training, comes an increase in cortisol and inflammation. Cortisol is a stress hormone that is not only secreted at the sign of a stressor but also during intense and prolonged exercise. This natural increase has a tendency to lower immunity, which is why during this time many athletes battle with illness.

In order to help support your body by strengthening immunity, aiding digestion and absorption of nutrients and regulating inflammation, it is important to eat foods that hold the properties to do so.

Here are the links to our healthy recipes to keep you going through winter.

Breakfast – Warming raspberry oats

Lunch – Broccoli salad

Dinner – Pumpkin soup

Basecamp Nutrition – Warming Raspberry Oats

Basecamp Nutrition – Warming Raspberry Oats

Breakfast – Warm oats

Serves: 1

  • 1 handful oat flakes
  • 200-250ml unsweetened oat milk
  • ½ apple
  • ½ tbs maca powder
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp virgin coconut oil
  • 1 tbs chia seeds
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tbs raspberries

Oats

  • Slow release carbohydrate keeping blood sugar in check and provide sustainable energy
  • Source of fibre helping fill the stomach giving a feeling of being full with only a small portion
  • High in beta-glucans, immune fighting compounds found in other protective foods like mushrooms, which enhance immune function by fighting infection

 Maca root powder

  • Boosting mood and decreasing anxiety due to its effect on hormonal balancing
  • Increasing stamina and energy; however, the reasoning behind this is still unknown. Various studies believe it may be due to its ability to support the adrenal glands and balance blood sugar levels, thus helping release a constant source of energy throughout the day

Cinnamon

  • Improves blood sugar balance and appetite control. Balancing blood sugar is highly important for preventing energy slumps, food cravings (specifically for sugar) or irritability
  • Improves insulin sensitivity. Insulin is the hormone that regulates metabolism and energy production and transports blood glucose from the blood into cells. Insulin resistance (poor insulin sensitivity) has been associated with metabolic syndrome as well as T2D

Virgin coconut oil

  • Holds anti-inflammatory properties
  • Source of healthy fats.

Chia seeds

  • Source of plant-based protein and fibre
  • Healthy fats (alpha-linolenic and linoleic acid), which have anti-inflammatory properties
  • High in antioxidants (compounds that protect our cells from damage) specifically vitamin E.

Raspberries

  • Rich in antioxidants and other plant compounds that help counteract inflammation and protect cells from damage

Method:

  • Place the oats and milk into a pot and allow to cook. Add water or more milk if mixture gets too dry.
  • Chop up the apple and place into the pot along with the maca powder, cinnamon, chia seeds and a pinch of salt. Allow to cook on a low heat.
  • While the oats are cooking, place the sunflower seeds into a pan with 1/2 tsp of coconut oil and allow to roast. They are ready when they are slightly golden brown.
  • Once oats have softened, add the coconut oil and mix in.
  • Serve up the oats and place raspberries on top along with the roasted sunflower seeds.
    And last but not least – enjoy!
Basecamp Nutrition – Broccoli Salad

Basecamp Nutrition – Broccoli Salad

Lunch – Broccoli salad

Serves: 4-5

  • 1-2 Broccoli trees, chopped
  • ½ Apple, finely chopped
  • 2-3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
  • 60g Feta cheese
  • 1 handful nuts (either walnuts, almonds or mixed nuts), roasted
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Peanut butter sauce:

  • 1 tbs peanut butter
  • 2-3 tbs water
  • Juice of ½ a lemon

Broccoli

  • Plant-based protein source
  • Highest in vitamin K, C, A, iron and folate and provides 4g of protein
  • Cancer fighting agent due to its high antioxidant content, as this has been shown to help inhibit tumour growth and help prevent DNA damage
  • Due to the high levels of vitamin K, broccoli is a great food for maintaining strong bones

Nuts

  • Source of healthy omega 3 fats responsible for regulating inflammation
  • Source of plant-based protein

Lemon

  • Digestive aid helping prevent indigestion
  • Alkalising agent helping reduce acidity in the body

Extra virgin olive oil

  • Source of healthy omega 3 fats, which helps reduce inflammation and promote healthy hair and skin
  • Helps lower LDL (“bad” cholesterol) and increase HDL (“good” cholesterol)

Note: make sure to only buy your olive oil in a dark glass bottle, as these have not been exposed to light, which can cause heat tampering and damage the beneficial properties.

Only use olive oil as a raw dressing and when cooking at low temperatures and use coconut oil raw and for cooking at higher temperatures (frying and in the oven).

Method:

  • Wash the broccoli and break into bite size pieces. 
  • Place the broccoli into a pot with a small amount of water at the bottom. Place the lid on and allow to steam for 2-3 minutes (until the broccoli is slightly tender).
  • Finely slice the apple into medium size pieces.
  • Roast the mixed nuts in a pan until golden brown.
  • When all is ready place the broccoli, roasted nuts, apple and peanut butter sauce into a bowl.
  • Crumble the feta cheese over along with the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
Spiralizing my way through the week.

Spiralizing my way through the week.

Last weekend my Mum came to stay and introduced me to my new favourite kitchen item, the spiralizer!

I have been having spiral vegetables in all my salads for lunch. Grilled chicken, spiralled carrot, cucumber, chopped pepper and cherry tomatoes on top of cous cous and red split bulgar wheat is a healthy lunch dream!

Healthy eating can seem like a bit of a mine field one day sugar is the enemy and the next it’s fat. My thoughts are that you should eat a variety of foods in all the colours of the rainbow, stay away from processed, unnatural looking products and make sure you pack loads of vegetables and protein into your diet.

As an endurance athlete carbs are my best friend! So I can’t cut them out, I tried a reduced carb diet whisky training for the Trans Alp Bike Race, but it made me crave sugar so now I reduce carbs slightly (like no carbs at lunch) on non-training days. The rest of the time I eat wholewheat pasta, rice and bread to make sure I am refilling my glycogen stores and can push myself in training knowing their is enough fuel in the tank.

Tonight I made courgetti and wanted to share with you this super quick, super healthy dinner idea.

Ingredients:

  • Courgettes
  • Spinach Tagliatelle
  • Fish cake / Salmon
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Lemon
  • Pepper
  • Garlic

Method:

  • I cheated and brought Thai fish cakes from Morrison’s – pop those or your alternative in the oven at the temperature on the packet
  • Get your spiralizer out and chop your courgette, then create the spirals, put to the side
  • Put on your tagliatelle
  • Squeeze one lemon into a frying pan with a dash of pepper and garlic
  • Put your cherry tomes in the oven
  • Once your fish cake/ salmon is done turn off the oven and your pasta
  • Add your courgette to the warm lemon juice and cook until soft – add pepper to taste

    Let me know what you think, happy cooking!

Power Bar – Natural Energy Cereal

Power Bar – Natural Energy Cereal

The Power Bar natural energy cereal is one of the samples I had through being a Power Bar product tester.

I have been really impressed with the products I have tasted and this is no exception!

During my 3 hour training ride I used this as an energy snack. The session was mid to high intensity and I found I had to slow down to eat this bar. However the taste was brilliant a mixture of wholegrain oats, fruit pieces, pumpkin seeds and peanuts. It was the right balance of flavours and the mix sweet and savoury.

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The texture was like a normal cereal bar and it was easy to chew when riding at a steady pace.

I found later during my ride that my energy levels had been maintained and I did not get a sugar rush or a low which was great. On long rides you want your fuelling to maintain your energy levels for the duration of your workout without major changes in your energy levels.

Nutritional Information:

Nutrition Information per 100g per bar (40 g)
Energy kJ (kcal) 1549 (367) 620 (147)
Fat 7,2 g 2,9 g
of which saturates 2,6 g 1,0 g
Carbohydrate 65 g 26 g
of which sugars 22 g 9,0 g
Fibre 5,8 g 2,3 g
Protein 7,2 g 2,9 g
Salt 0,33 g 0,13 g
Magnesium 180 mg 72,0 mg
(48%**) (19%**)

I would recommend this bar for a pre-training snack and on long steady training rides its great to have as a crunchy snack.

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