Fueling our Favorite Athletes: Part 4

Stefanie Reid: Protien, carbs, & oatmeal, oh my!

 We’ve had such a fun time sharing healthy and tasty recipes and menus from athletes sponsored by WillowWood! We hope you enjoyed reading about foods that help fuel these guys during their training and prior to competitions.

Stefanie Reid is one busy lady! When Stefanie isn’t modeling for photo shoots, being featured in Visa ads for the British market, or being interviewed by the media, she spends her time training, training, and training. Stefanie is a member of Great Britain’s Paralympic Team with her areas of expertise being the long jump, the 200 m, and the 100 m. Stefanie is also serious about food and nutrition. After the 2012 Paralympics, she’ll return to her academic studies to pursue a Master’s in Nutrition.

So how does Stefanie keep herself charged? We’ll just let her share the details:

“Post training is the most important time to hit your body with protein and carbs.  You have a window of about half an hour to reduce cortisol levels, promote muscle growth, and take advantage of an extra release of growth hormone.  And why not do this in a delicious way?  I like to mix 1 scoop of high quality strawberry protein powder, 1 ripe banana (the more ripe, the more flavour), 1 tbsp of peanut butter, a good handful of spinach (seriously, you don’t taste it), 300 ml of your liquid of choice (I usually go with water, but you can use milk, almond milk, coconut milk, etc), and 6-10 ice cubes.  Blend it up and it makes for an awesome post workout treat.  It also works well with chocolate protein powder.

My typical pre-competition meal is my ‘Awesome Oatmeal’. I make my steel cut oats according to the recipe (which is 3/4 cup water and 1/4 cup oats), but while boiling the water, I dump in 3/4 cup of frozen or fresh blueberries, and a handful of gogi berries (only use organic ones, otherwise they are quite heavily laced with pesticides).  Then I add in my oats, and let simmer until thickened.  Then, I dump the mixture into a bowl, and add a scoop of vanilla whey protein powder, and mix in.  I add in 2 dessert spoonfuls of ground flax seed, cinnamon and nutmeg to taste, and top with some walnuts.  It is the best because the slow-release carbs keep you feeling full and satisfied without having a heavy load in your stomach.”

Stefanie is a wonder in the kitchen and knows a ton about the science behind the food. Keep on reading at Stef’s blog: Inspired Grazing.

Stefanie relaxes in the stands after competing in Indianapolis at the US Paralympic Track & Field Trials, which were open to international competitors.