Super Foods 3 - Oats

 

Renee McGregor (Dietitian, Author of ‘Training Food’) – nutrition expert

No matter who I am working with, elite, recreational or non-athletes, the key is to help them to tailor their nutritional intake to their training, lifestyle, family commitments and budget. Many of these so-called super foods on the market are costly; you need to eat an awful lot of kale to get the rich nutritional value that is quoted for health benefits.

In my new book, Training Food” and in my daily practice I have introduced my list of “hero foods” for athletes. The list is by no means exhaustive but in my opinion these particular budget friendly hero foods are my top 10 and are a must on all athletes shopping lists.

Hero Foods Oats

We’ve all been told time and time again how porridge is the best start to the day. It is low in fat, high in soluble fibre and also a great source of complex carbohydrate. This means that it releases energy slowly throughout the day, preventing blood sugar fluctuations or energy crashes. That said, they don’t necessarily need to be eaten as porridge. 

You can eat them cold in the form of Birchers or standard muesli or if you are feeling particularly creative, why not try the oaty pancakes. If you really are not a morning oat person, you could have oatcakes or even making your own energy bars which you could have as snack pre- or during training. Whichever way, they should definitely be on your list as a go to food to fuel long endurance training sessions.