Once I had finished my C25k now more than a year ago, I had a hard look at my breakfasting to ensure the timing fit with morning runs and workouts, whilst finetuning ingredients.
The tweaking included trying out having protein smoothies first thing before my workouts in the morning instead of my then usual tea or coffee. Originally I thought protein powders were only for men doing strengths workouts (e.g.my hubby at the time), but boy was I missing out on something!
Over the last month I changed to having a simple lemon iced water in the morning, and then going straight to a run on run days, with yoga sessions straight after. Protein smoothies are then a post workout thing, a daily breakfast treat for afterwards.
Inconceivable before I started this running journey, but nowadays I just about manage to pack all this in and then head to work and sit at my desk at 9am. This is much harder in days I have to go in to work. Home-working has allowed my running/workout routines to much better fit around my work, with me often using my lunch break for a quick 30 min yoga session if I’ve not done it in the morning.
But I’m also enjoying my newfound delight in my morning protein smoothies, with my fall back basic recipe being
- oat milk
- pea protein powder
- almond nut butter (or avocados)
- half a celery stick
- handful of frozen blueberries or bananas
But I’m still in the process of finding out different smoothie recipes, therefore the pic of the perfect smoothie blueprint that I think I will print out and tape to a kitchen cabinet door!
So what is your perfect breakfast for before or after your running or workouts! Any secret recipes?
So what gets you going in the morning?
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I was thinking about the collagen powder. We have added gelatine (self made jelly puddings) to our diet recently, but I had not come across collagen powder before.
I realise now that it seems gelatine and collagen is pretty much interchangeable.
While I can do exercise empty, I don't like the feeling! For me out has to be homemade musli (I get lovely UK grown musli base from hodmedods, I highly recommend them) with lots of nuts, not too many sultanas, soya milk and homemade soya yogurt. Maybe some blueberries when they're in season.
I'm not an early bird runner though. Usually evening or after breakfast runs for me. The only special thing I do is avoid very spicy food just before a run and down a pint of water when I get in.
The same as dairy really. Whisk a spoon of your last batch into some milk and leave it somewhere warm.
I think the soya milk needs to be unsweetened, I've found sojade brand makes the nicest yoghurt and alpro organic is second best. My original starter was Tesco free from plain soya yogurt and I now use a Lakeland electric yoghurt maker because it's very convenient (I used to use my little combi oven on a 40 degree setting, I think you can also use a towel and hot water bottle).
Great. Yes, we’ve made yoghurt quite regularly in the past but not anymore, as I went dairy free.
I wonder if this also works with oat milk. (For thyroid issues, it’s been advised not to digest a lot of soya products, so I’m staying pretty clear of soya these days)
A bit of googling will probably give you an idea. I wonder if it needs a bit more protein than oat milk has, my Sandor Katz book on fermented foods says he hasn't had any success making yoghurt with seed milks, but doesn't mention oat milk. I imagine kefir might work well with oat milk though, I think kefir works on sugars.
Soya doesn’t actually agree with me, but I am definitely going raise the thyroid thing next time asks me why I can’t have it.
You can make water kefir - I think the ‘seeds’ are different? - so I don’t see why you can’t make it with oat milk. I can’t see it’s lack of protein being a problem…
Well I have never tried making a smoothie!! Nothing before a run and sometimes on run days miss breakfast and have an early lunch. Breakfast is usually porridge with oat milk, banana and sometimes soft fruit. I am clearly very unimaginative 😂
CBDBAdministratorGraduate Gold in reply to skysue16
Well, a porridge breakfast is great! Wether you wizz it up or eat it as porridge or muesli, it all sounds great! In winter, I’m sure I’ll switch again from ice-cold protein smoothie to soothing and warming hot porridge.
Hmmm 🤔 not sure… I would have thought the same not so long ago, until I looked up how pea protein powder is made and it’s very simple. wikihow.com/Make-Pea-Protei...
So I wouldn’t class it as highly processed. And yes, this diagram doesn’t show that it’s perfectly possible to replace it with other fats and proteins in a shake, like nut butters or avocado.
But upping my protein was a real game-changer for my health journey, I have to say.
I'm not a smoothie fan, I just don't really like the texture. I like to chew my foods 🤣
Workdays my (1st) breakfast is a combination of cereal, 20 g cheerios (my one non-vegan item, still to be replaced) 55g nut and maple crisp (like a granola mix), flaked almonds, milled flax, mixed seeds, chia seeds, maca powder, raw cacao powder and oat milk. 2nd breakfast is a banana, an apple, a pear and a belvita soft bake around 11 am
Run days, just because they're usually my day off I like to have something different so it's either crumpets or wholemeal pancakes with almond butter, date syrup and fruit or if I can't be bothered, peanut butter on toast with banana and chia seeds with a drizzle of agave syrup.
I do have a protein shake after long runs or when I have pushed hard to aid with recovery post run.
CBDBAdministratorGraduate Gold in reply to GoGo_JoJo
Nice! Sounds all very yummy! Especially the peanut butter on toast with banana, chia seeds and agave syrup! 😛😋🤤
Ooh I forgot the other alternative: marmite and avocado on toast with mixed seeds, flaked almonds and balsamic glaze but that tends to be when I feel I need the fats 👍🏻
Not long ago I wouldn’t have thought of using a much protein/collagen powder as I do now, but there’s a current train of thought that menopausal women should be consuming more protein, and I find it hard to eat enough real food to get what is now considered enough for me.
Double espresso and a mug of tea before my morning run. (It might just be the espresso)
Sometimes my pint of hot lemon water (or will drink after), and a smidge of a fresh raspberry raw milkshake…I have about 200-250 mls chilled at tea time, and the excess that doesn’t fit in the glass I drink when it’s made in the morning!
250-500 mls of water after the run, depending on distance/weather etc. I usually end up eating 11-12ish…fruit compote, fresh berries, FF Greek yogurt, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, flaked almonds and a splash of double cream. Sometimes it’s the #BreakfastOfChampions…bacon, egg, sausage, tomatoes, mushrooms 😋
CBDBAdministratorGraduate Gold in reply to LottieMW
Oh that Greek yoghurt sounds great. 💭💭💭💭😋 I love Greek yoghurt but had to move over to dairy free one, but it’s not the same!
Your raspberry shake, do you make it just with raspberries and milk?
Just came across this old post of mine and the amazing suggestions in the replies! So in an attempt to make this list appear in the feed again, here I am commenting on it! 😃🤤🥤
I’m still very pro-protein smoothie, but for quite some time now, my pattern is:
- first thing still in bed as a morning drink is iced lemon water
- then exercise (yoga or running if I run that morning)
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