Meal and Snacks for the Runners Diet
Runners diet, here are some nutritious and tasty meal and snack ideas.
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Breakfast
One of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to loose weight is to cut breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
1) It gives you energy for the day.
2) if you don't eat a quality breakfast, your body thinks it is starving and therefore slows down the metabolism.
Here are some choices for a healthy breakfast. You can also have a glass of orange juice, tomato juice or any other juice you like with it. Just be sure and go for the 100% fruit and/or vegetable juice, not the one with all the added sugar.
I also think coffee is a must in the morning, but I try to switch to green tea for the rest of the day.
| Healthy Breakfast Ideas |
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| whole wheat toast with peanut butter and banana |
| whole wheat toast with lowfat creamcheese spread |
| oatmeal |
| egg muffins |
| lowfat cottage cheese with fruit |
| Greek yogurt |
| raisin brand crunch cereal with lowfat milk |
| salmon patties |
| fish and grits |
Lunch
Here are some of my favorite lunches. I'm a work from home mom of a toddler, so lunch is a break I look forward to. Sometimes I just make extra and eat the leftovers for dinner.
I also like to have a lunch that will fuel my run later in the day. The lentil soup and tasty salad are especially good for this!
| Tasty and Mostly Healthy Lunch Ideas |
|---|
| Genova tuna fish (it's WAY better than Bumble Bee) on whole wheat bread |
| tasty salad |
| crab cakes from the frozen aisle at Costos...add some lettuce and tomatos to make it healthy ;-) |
| souped up Raemon noodles |
| lentil soup |
| sushi |
| turkey burgers |
| black bean & turkey chili |
| good old cold cut sandwich w/ bread and butter pickle (it's the pickle that makes the sandwich!) |
Dinner
If you're a running, working mom, you already have a lot on your plate. Dinner doesn't have to be a big deal every night! Here is what an average week looks like for us.
| Dinner Menu |
|---|
| turkey tacos |
| baked Cajun chicken breasts with green beans |
| steamed fish |
| spinach fettuchini with salmon |
| crock pot chicken |
| pasta (preferably whole wheat) with your favorite sauce (here are some of my favorites) |
| crock pot corned beef & cabbage |
Don't Forget Your Vegies For a Healthy Runners Diet
Be sure to add a healthy vegetable to at least two of your meals each day, to complete your healthy runners diet and give you energy. Here are some of my favorites.
| broccoli | spinach |
| asparagus | green beans |
| cabbage | artichoke |
| brussel sprouts | zucchini |
| green peppers | onions |
| mushrooms | carrots |
| tomatos | cucumbers |
| cauliflower | okra |
Snacks
A snack should give you energy, not weigh you down.
| Snacks for During the Day |
|---|
| whole wheat crackers with hummus |
| veggie sticks with lowfat dip |
| nuts (my favorite are wasabi almonds by Blue Diamond) |
| fruit, fresh or dried |
| protein shake, ensure or lowfat chocolate milk |
| sardines with mustard on whole wheat bread |
| avocados with lemon squeezed on top |
| banana |
| Edamame (Japanese soy beans) |
| hard boiled egg |
| peanut butter oatmeal cookies |
| Snacks To Take On Your Run |
|---|
| NUUN |
| Gu |
| Pretzels |
| Potato chips |
| Marshmellows |
| Jelly beans or Sports beans |
| Cliff bars |
| Shot blocks |
| Ensure |
| Honey stickers |
| Rice crispy treats |
Healthy Carbs To Help Fuel Your Run
These carbs are especially good for the runners diet because they give you long-lasting energy. They are good to eat in the days leading up to a long run.
| Carbs...The Runners' Fuel |
|---|
| sweet potato |
| squash |
| whole wheat bread |
| whole wheat pasta |
| brown rice or wild rice |
| beans |
| barley |
Healthy Proteins To Help Recover From Your Run
| Great Low-Fat Proteins For Runners |
|---|
| low-fat cottage cheese |
| egg whites |
| Greek yogurt |
| chicken breast |
| weigh protein shake |
| protein bar |
| low-fat chocolate milk |
What About Fats?
Not all fats are bad.
When are fats bad? Right after a run, because they get in the way of helping you absorb the much needed nutrients that you need for recovery. Instead you want to stick with foods that are high in protein and carbs right after you run.
When are fats good? There are some fats that are really good for you and espeically good for runners' joints. They can be found in salmon and other fish, almonds and other nuts and in avocados.
Extra Bonus: These Foods Will Help You Feel Less Sore After Your Run
Do you ever feel really sore after a run and your body is just craving spinach? Well this is not just in your head. I recently learned that foods tht are high in alkeline are especially good in helping with recovery. Some examples of this are spinach and raisins. Stay tuned for my spinach raisin curry recipe...or if you have one...please share!
