So, it’s your long training day. You GET to put in 4-5 hours on the bike or hit the trail for a 20 mile run. Its likely that you are waking up at the crack of dawn to make this magic happen cause you still have a life outside of training (oh, wait….no you don’t cause last night was Friday night and you were in bed by 8:30pm so you could get up at 4am and be on the bike by 5am to get your 80 miles done before the rest of the world wakes up, so no partying for you…not even TGIF on TV – do they still have that? Anyway, I digress).
A long training session requires lots of things in order to be successful…a rested hydrated body (starting out), the right equipment (for example, running shoes that are not on their last leg or a sports bra that will not rub the skin right off your side by mile 5 or water bottles that won’t leak all over you spilling your necessary hydration), maybe some solid beats to help pass the hours and of course, all the drive and motivation to finish. But, you also need some food to get you through the mess. You could buy something in a squeeze packet that feels like you’re swallowing snot or you could make cookies, pack them in a ziploc and carry them with you. Granted, these may be a little easier to eat while on a long training ride rather than a run, but they would definitely be a great choice to eat 45 minutes to an hour BEFORE your run. You want to evaluate how well your body responds to protein while training. If you have a hard time dealing with it digestively, then you may want to eat these prior to a workout as opposed to during. But, you are not going to be eating 3 large cookies all at once, the beauty is you can make them into bite size cookies and just pop a small one every hour or so.
What’s in these cookies that is going to fuel your training session, you ask? Not only do we have oats (carbohydrates for easily accessible energy), quinoa (a lower glycemic grain that will keep your insulin levels in check AND its a complete protein, what what?!), and honey (quick release energy). But, we have CHI CHI CHI CHIA seeds (nuggets of magic, an ancient grain that will literally breath for you if you ask it to!). Oh, did I mention a little dark chocolate, cause, WHY NOT!?! All I know, is I just baked about 30 large cookies, ate 2 of them and am going to brave the freezing temps outside to utilize the goodness of these magical guys. Seriously, do yourself a favor, make them, eat them and then RUN or RIDE past all those other guys slurping snot from a tube.
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Cookies
- ½ cup honey
- ¾ coconut palm sugar
- ¼ cup butter at room temperature (I used grass fed butter)
- 1 cup natural peanut butter
- 2 eggs (cage-free, organic)
- 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
- 1 TBS. bourbon vanilla
- 2 ½ cup rolled oats
- ¾ cup cooked quinoa
- 1 ½ TBS. whole chia seeds
- ½-¾ c. mini dark chocolate chips
Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, add the honey, coconut palm sugar and butter and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Then, mix in the peanut butter, baking soda, eggs, chia seeds and vanilla. Add the oats and stir. Finally, mix in the chocolate chips. Drop by the spoonful onto a baking sheet with a silicon liner (or parchment paper). Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes (until golden brown). Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes.
Thanks for joining me on another Foodie Friday! Food is a constant journey that takes you to new places… & I love being part of your journey.
~ Jamie
For more information on Jamie’s services check out our Nutrition page or contact us today.
