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This gluten-free, plant-based green pasta is inspired by the classic herb sauce pesto with walnuts adding a nutty, creamy texture.
Above left: Overnight oats with mixed berry-chia jam are easy to make and a complex carbohydrate to eat before a morning run. Above right: This spice-rubbed salmon is chock-full of omega-3 fatty acids, which can help reduce inflammation after a long run.
This spice-rubbed salmon is chock-full of omega-3 fatty acids, which can help reduce inflammation after a long run.
This gluten-free, plant-based green pasta is inspired by the classic herb sauce pesto with walnuts adding a nutty, creamy texture.
Above left: Overnight oats with mixed berry-chia jam are easy to make and a complex carbohydrate to eat before a morning run. Above right: This spice-rubbed salmon is chock-full of omega-3 fatty acids, which can help reduce inflammation after a long run.
This spice-rubbed salmon is chock-full of omega-3 fatty acids, which can help reduce inflammation after a long run.
Lottie Bildirici learned the hard way that it’s not enough to train and have goals to become a better runner. What you eat before and after workouts also has a dramatic impact on your body’s health and endurance.
After taking up running in her senior year of high school, following a bout with cancer, the Brooklyn native entered a string of races. She got serious about the sport almost immediately and, in an effort to boost performance, became obsessed with eating only “healthy” foods.
Rather than propel her new heights, the restrictive diet ended up backfiring. The more pure her diet became, the more her young body broke down with multiple stress fractures.
Realizing she was on the wrong path, Bildirici — a baker and vegetarian since age 17 — decided to take a more mindful approach to her “so-called health obsession” as she entered college. She would view food not either as good or bad, but as fuel.
As she notes in her new cookbook “Running on Veggies” (Rodale, $25.99), the turnabout took significant effort, but restrictive eating eventually became intuitive eating, focused on nutrient-dense whole foods and lots of vegetables.
“I was determined to make it to the other side, emerge with a healthy body and mind,” she writes.
The book features more than 100 (mostly) vegetarian recipes aimed at helping you leverage your diet as a training tool — everything from fruit and vegetable smoothies and nourishing breakfasts to portable snacks, tasty sides, and plates and bowls that incorporate whole grains along with spices, nuts and sauces.
A pantry guide for those new to plant-based eating, plus sample meal guides to get your started, adds to its appeal.
Years in the making, the book was born of the Instagram account and blog of the same name she started in 2013 to connect with other runners of the same mindset. A communications student at Fashion Institute of Technology at the time, she’d fallen down the rabbit hole of sports nutrition books, and wanted to share.
“I wanted to understand the ‘why’ behind everything I was eating,” she said.
Endurance athletes, especially females, had little guidance on food and nutrition at the time. To help other runners achieve their nutritional and athletic goals, she logged what she ate pre- and post-workout, along with simple recipes that her followers could make at home.
What she didn’t expect was that professional runners like Kara Goucher soon would be among her biggest fans.
“She told me that she liked how I made healthy eating approachable,” Bildirici said.
While nutrient-rich vegetables play a starring role in her cookbook, Bildirici says “Running with Veggies” focuses not so much on what’s healthy or unhealthy but on the importance of whole foods in addition to plenty of veggies.
She also is a huge fan of keeping it simple, with recipes that can be prepared quickly using very basic ingredients.
Because all work and no play is no fun, the cookbook also includes portable “adventure snacks” you can stick in your backpack to fuel all different kinds of activities — think bars, trail mix and no-cook date bites. Her plant-based desserts are made with natural sweeteners like maple syrup and dates, which can help runners replace their glycemic stores after a workout.
And if you’re not particularly athletic? The book is for you, too, because good nutrition isn’t just for runners and other athletes. It plays an important role in everyone’s lives.
“It’s for anyone who wants to get in the kitchen and eat a little healthier,” she says, even if you don’t follow the recipes to a T.
People are always looking for that magic superfood, Bildirici says, but it’s really about a holistic lifestyle. Part of that is changing the way you think about food and your relationship with it.
“You have to reach for the right foods and have them ready in your fridge to go.”
Once you make the berry jam, this carbohydrate-rich recipe takes a minute to prepare for the next morning. Soaking the oats overnight makes them easier to digest, because it helps break down their natural enzymes.
1 tablespoon unsweetened natural almond butter, for garnish
Raspberries and blueberries, for garnish
Chopped toasted almonds, for garnish
2 cups fresh or frozen mixed berries
1 navel orange, zested and juiced
Prepare jam: In a small saucepan, combine berries, lemon zest and juice, orange zest and juice and chia seeds. Add water and bring to boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
Remove from heat and mash fruit with a potato masher or wooden spoon. Allow to cool for 20 minutes, or until mixture is thickened. Store in an airtight container in fridge for up to one week.
Prepare oats: In a small saucepan, heat nut milk until simmering. Meanwhile, place 2 tablespoons jam in a pint-size mason jar.
Top with oats, chia seeds, cinnamon, vanilla and salt. Pour warm milk over the top and stir to combine. Cover with a lid and place in the refrigerator overnight.
Before serving, stir the oat mixture again, then top with almond butter, fresh berries and toasted almonds.
Pasta is a favorite dish for runners because it’s a good source of carbohydrates. This recipe swaps traditional wheat pasta for penne made from brown rice. Instead of tomato sauce, it’s topped with a fresh-tasting chimichurri-like green sauce.
To make almond Parmesan, blend ½ cup raw almonds, ½ teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast and ½ teaspoon garlic powder in mini food processor until finely ground.
3 tablespoons each fresh parsley, cilantro and mint
8-ounce package brown rice penne, lentil penne or any plant-based pasta
1½ pound head of broccoli, cut into florets
2 tablespoons each roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley, cilantro and mint, for garnish
Make sauce: In the carafe of a high-speed blender, blend spinach, garlic, walnuts, herbs, olive oil, vinegar and water until well combined. Season with salt and pepper, then set aside.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 2 minutes less than the package instructions advise.
Meanwhile, line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. On the prepared baking sheet, toss the broccoli with avocado oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 15 minutes, tossing halfway through, until golden brown and crisp-tender. When finished roasting, remove broccoli from oven and allow to cool slightly.
Drain pasta, lightly rinse and transfer to a large bowl. Add the green sauce, roasted broccoli and baby spinach to the pasta and toss together. Garnish with chopped mint, parsley and cilantro, and sprinkle with almond Parmesan, if using,
CHILI-SPICED SALMON WITH MANGO SALSA
1 mango, pit removed, peeled and diced
½ red bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
1 jalapeño, seeded and finely diced
4 4-6 ounce skin-on salmon filets
Make salsa: In medium bowl, combine mango, onion, bell pepper, jalapeño, cilantro and lime juice. Season with salt and set aside to marinate while you prepare the fish.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In small bowl, mix together garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, chili powder, cumin and salt.
Place filets on the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle each one with the spice rub. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes on the middle rack, or until fish is opaque, cooked through and flakes easily with a fork.
Place filets on a serving platter and top with mango salsa. Serve with coconut rice.
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