Since
C-U hosted a marathon last weekend, and thus we're all feeling like, "hey, with the proper training and motivation,
I could do that," I think it's an appropriate time to tell you about a new iPhone app called
Nancy Clark's Recipes for Athletes. Because whether you're thinking marathon, half-marathon, 10K, or 5K—or whether you'd just like to work up to taking yourself out for a walk every day, it's never to early (or too late!) to start training.
The Recipes for Athletes app may help you in your quest. This app was produced by a company called
Human Kinetics, which is based right here in Champaign, Illinois, and has subsidiaries around the world. I happen to work for the company, and I even played a small part in the creation of the app (I took some of the photos).
Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook is the basis for the app. The book includes a ton of valuable info and tips for healthy eating in general and eating to fuel your workouts specifically. It also addresses some of the myths and misinformation related to diet, exercise, and weight loss and provides sane advice about listening to your body instead of to numbers, scores, tests, advertisements, and the like. Who is this Nancy Clark, you ask? You can
find out more about her on her website.
The
Sports Nutrition Guidebook has a recipes section, and this is where the app comes in—the app gives you ALL of the recipes from the book (71 total) in a portable, easy-to-check-while-at-the-grocery-store format. The recipes cover breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, as well as beverages.
I particularly like Nancy's recipe for a homemade sports drink (think homemade Gatorade). It's super easy to put together, it tastes better than the commercial sports drinks I've tried—which isn't surprising, as it has fresh, natural ingredients in it rather than stuff you can't pronounce—and it's very economical.
Another recipe from the book and app that I like a lot is the one for Nancy's version of salmon cakes. The cakes come together quickly and easily (quick and easy being the hallmark of all the recipes in the book and app), they taste great, and they provide a healthy balance of protein, carbs, and fats.
Simple Salmon Patties
From
Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook and the
Nancy Clark's Recipes for Athletes iPhone/iPad app
Headnote to the recipe: "These salmon patties are made with canned salmon, an inexpensive source of healh-protective omega-3 fat. Enjoy them with Pasta with Spinach and Feta or with brown rice and a green vegetable for a complete meal."
1 14-ounce (420 g) can pink salmon, drained and flaked (remove the skin, but keep the bones for added calcium)
1 cup (70 g) crushed whole-wheat saltine crackers or bread crumbs
1 egg or egg substitute, slightly beaten
1 cup (150 g) diced bell pepper, green or red
1/2 diced onion, preferably a sweet onion such as a Vidalia
1/4 cup (60 ml) milk, preferably low fat
Lemon pepper or black pepper, as desired
1 to 2 tablespoons olive or canola oil, for cooking
Optional: 1 teaspoon Worcestershire or soy sauce; dash of hot pepper sauce; 1/2 teaspoon dried dill or 2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
In a large bowl, stir together salmon, cracker or bread crumbs, egg, bell pepper, and onion. Mix in milk (and Worcestershire sauce and hot pepper sauce, as desired). Add lemon pepper or black pepper (and dill, if desired), and mix well with your hands. Lightly press the mixture into 8 patties.
Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Once oil is hot, place the patties in the pan and cook on both sides until lightly browned, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Yield: 4 servings (8 patties)
Nutrition info: 300 calories per serving (2 patties); 24 g carbohydrate; 27 g protein; 11 g fat (2 g omega-3)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Now, I cannot tell a lie, so I will admit that I used (white) panko instead of whole-wheat cracker or bread crumbs and whole milk instead of low fat. But the patties still seemed vibrantly healthy! Ha. Also, I added some Old Bay seasoning to the mix, used the Worcestershire and hot pepper sauces and the fresh dill, and served the patties with wedges of fresh lemon. Mm, mm, good.
Another recipe that has become a staple around our house is Nancy's Mustard Dill Salmon, which takes virtually NO prep time and is a great way to get your omega-3s, or omega-6s, or beta-whatevers. But more important, it's a weeknight-friendly, delicious dish.
Pasta with Spinach and Garbanzo Beans was a keeper, as well. I added leftover roasted chicken to the dish, since I had it around. Again—quick and easy to whip up, and the leftovers made great take-to-work lunches.
The app also has a recipe for a little number called Oven French Fries (photo courtesy of Holly Gilly) that I want to try ASAP. A potato, some olive oil, sea salt, and fresh pepper come together to produce an elegantly simple, guilt-free potato snack. In the recipe, Nancy shares a tip for making them extra crispy outside and tender inside.
What's nice about these recipes is that though they're targeted for beginning cooks and people who don't want to invest much time or energy in creating meals, experienced cooks can modify and gourmet-up the dishes as desired.
The app is also nice because using the Quick Find feature, you can search for recipes in specific categories. I just did a search for gluten-free recipes and found that there are 32 of them. As well as 22 vegan-friendly recipes, 47 that are (or can be made) vegetarian, and 36 that are totally free of dairy products! My esteemed life partner wanted to know why there's not a Beef Lovers search category, so I had to point out that there's an entire Beef and Pork section in the recipes list. Whew—thanks, Nancy. That was close.
Oh, and you can set the app to show either imperial or metric measurements (you do that in your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad's Settings area; click on Settings on the home screen, scroll down to the Apps section, click on Nancy Clark, and touch either Imperial or Metric).
But Lisa, you moan,
I don't have an iPod, iPhone, iPad, or iAnything! Don't worry, there's a product called a
printed book that you can buy, and it has all the recipes the app has. (You can purchase
the e-book instead if you're a little bit high-tech.)
Gotta run. Having downed my Nancy Clark Fruit Smoothie and chomped on some homemade Honey Nut Granola, I'm out the door for a quick 10-mile jog. Yeah, right. I'm just hoping to fit in a 20-minute walk later. I may not actually
be an athlete, but thanks to
Ms. Clark's app, I can at least eat like one on occasion.
Labels: apps, cookbooks, nutrition, quick and easy, recipes