Hello, fellow sports enthusiasts! Welcome in the weekend edition of Masha’s Jars Nutrition Week. The end of this series is near, but remember you can always follow me on my Instagram or blog and ask me all your questions anytime!
In the first blog post of this week you saw one of my typical jars with yoghurt, granola and fruit. Today, I’m starting with another type of jar full of nutrients.
Breakfast: overnight PB&J oats
PB&J, peanut butter and jelly, one of America’s favourite food combinations. And after living there, I admit I got a little addicted as well. The creamy saltiness of the peanuts simply goes so well with the fresh sweetness of jelly or just fresh fruits. And the best thing is: this combination is miraculous. Both the fats in the peanuts and the sugars in the jelly (especially when homemade!) work together towards a longer feeling of satisfaction. These fats slow down your absorption of glucose (sugar) and make it feel like you’ve eaten whole grain pasta or something similarly slow.
Furthermore, we’ve talked about oats on Wednesday, which are a great source of important vitamins, minerals, fibre and antioxidants. They digest slowly as well and fuel your body with protein and carbs.
INGREDIENTS – 1 jar
- ½ coffee cup (not those ridiculously small ones) of rolled oats
- the same amount of full milk or any plant-based milk
- 1 good teaspoon of peanut butter (check the ingredients label: it should really say 100% peanuts and nothing else!)
- a small handful of frozen berries
- some fresh raspberries or other berries on top
- I like to add some chia seeds for extra texture and nutrition
INSTRUCTIONS
Mix the oats and milk in a separate bowl and let it sit while you take a jar and fill the bottom with frozen berries. Meanwhile, wash your fresh berries to get rid of any chemical toxins.
Add the chia seeds and peanut butter to the oats and stir very well till all is evenly mixed.
Pour the mixture over the frozen berries and top off with fresh ones. Or you can wait till the morning to add the fresh berries.
Put the jar in the fridge overnight and the next morning you’ll have a great healthy breakfast!
PROTIP: Eat 30 grams of protein in your breakfast. It…
- digests slowly and keeps you away from snacks or a too-large lunch
- helps you build muscle during your morning training sessions
Lastly, I’d like to explain some of the nutrients in this specific breakfast. Why did I explicitly say full milk or plant-based milk? Well, I prefer plant-based kinds of milk because of their much lower impact on the environment. They do have an impact, but according to studies, it’s much lower than cow milk. But if you want cow milk, why full milk? Because (semi-)skimmed milk is basically robbed from all its healthy nutrients and leftover with some water, flavour and fat. Doctors recommend full milk for full nutrition, maybe even mixed with water if you want a ‘lighter’ milk.
Are berries carbs? Not really. Most berries, and especially blueberries, are quite low in carbs. But they do have some glucose, which is sugar, that matches well with the fats in peanut butter, as I explained before. Moreover, some berries use up more calories than they bring. Real fat burners!
Why chia seeds? So, seeds are a premature version of a plant, right. They carry all of the nutrients and the energy of a full-grown plant. So one little seed is a bomb full of protein, fats and carbs and everything else your body needs. Similar to eggs being so rich in protein because they are supposed to become an entire chicken! Get me?
Lunch: Risotto with goat cheese
Okay, maybe this is more of dinner because a risotto can be quite heavy. Although I tend to make all my recipes lighter and easier to digest, so don’t be scared to try this one during lunchtime as well!
Based on rice, this dish is naturally packed carbs, which help you boost your glycogen levels and thus your energy. TIP: If you’d rather be easy on the carbs and add more protein to this dish, simply replace rice with quinoa!
INGREDIENTS – 2 portions
- 2 cups of thick rice (I mean coffee or teacups, and not basmati rice)
- OR 2 cups of quinoa
- 3 of the same cups filled with water
- olive oil
- 5-6 pecans per plate
- 1 roll of goat cheese
- 1 leek with lots of white rather than green
- 3 frozen spinach cubes
- 2 tablespoons of cooked lentils (I use them canned)
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 stock cube (I used vegetable stock)
- 100ml white wine
- salt, pepper, thyme (fresh, if you have any)
INSTRUCTIONS
First, roast the nuts. Either fry them lightly in a dry pan or pop them in the oven for just 10 minutes. Also, defrost your spinach before starting: I usually boil it with some water in a pan and then drain the water through a colander.
Now, let’s really start. Heat up a good layer of olive oil in a saucepan on medium heat (6-7 out of 9).
Meanwhile, cut the leek into circles of 3-4mm thickness and chop or smash the garlic. Add both to the saucepan. Add thyme as well and stir.
Get the water boiling in a separate pot and add the stock to it. Turn off the heat after reaching the boiling point and stir well.
When the leek seems soft and done, add the uncooked rice into the saucepan and mix it into the leek and garlic. Add the white wine and let the alcohol boil out.
Then add some stock water to the saucepan to just cover the rice. Let it all boil till all water has evaporated and then repeat till all stock is used up.
Now, mix in the spinach, lentils and enough pepper and salt, and put some scoops of risotto on a plate or in a bowl. Sprinkle some olive oil over the rice, add sliced goat cheese, some pecans, and finish off with freshly ground pepper and salt.
Bon appetit!
Ad for nutrition, this dish is tricky. Firstly, as I said you can choose carbs or protein, meaning rice or quinoa. That is totally up to you. Secondly, the vegetables in it are all very low in calories and very high in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and everything that is good for you. Yet, they do not stand out in protein, fats or carbs. Leek, spinach and garlic are simply a good addition to your carb-based or protein-based meal. Furthermore, the sprinkle of olive oil and the addition of roasted nuts brings in the healthy fats that help you absorb fat-soluble vitamins. Lastly, goat cheese doesn’t really do much more than add great taste to your meal. If you want a more ‘useful’ dish, go ahead and bring in the feta instead of a goat cheese roll, but flavorwise I promise goat cheese is the cherry on top!