But here are the foods that power our little athletes. Some recipes we tweaked for young palates. Others are recipes we designed for ourselves, but found that our kids' kept asking for "just one more taste," until they had devoured our entire meal, bite by stolen bite.
My previous attempts at DIY energy bars had all ended at the grocery store. I would walk in with a long list of ingredients, and walk out with a half-dozen pre-packaged, healthy-enough snacks from the aisle full of options. Baking bars had been high on my should-do list for years, but why spend time cooking something I could buy so easily?
Treats happen, especially in the weeks after big races. Wins call for celebratory sweets; losses require comfort food. Either way, the key for Laurel and Rebeccah at this midpoint in the triathlon season is to make sure the post-race treats don’t sabotage their three-a-day training sessions.
This spring at Athlete Food we have tossed around a dirty 5-letter word we rarely use: tired. Rebeccah and Laurel are training hard and racing often. This weekend Laurel drove three hours from Santa Monica to Pasa Robles, placed 3rd in the Wildflower Triathlon, then drove back. On Sunday Rebeccah rode 85 hilly miles, then ran a 10K.
As a carb-loving athlete, I’ve warmed up $1.99 jarred red sauce in motel room microwaves. I’ve splurged on $9.99 Rao's sauce (it’s good, but not that much better than Whole Foods 365 $3 sauces).
