Fitness Training
3 great recipe ideas for a post-workout lunch
Banish the soggy sandwich and get inspired by nutritionist Anita Bean's delicious recovery-boosting lunches.
Red Bull is encouraging office workers to get away from their desks and Get Active When On Lunch this May.
While, in theory, it's a great way to fit some daily exercise into your working day, you might wonder what this means when it comes to having lunch itself. After all, if you spend your lunch hour getting to, doing, and then returning from your chosen activity, it leaves little time to go and grab (and eat) your usual sarnie or salad.
Fortunately, there is a solution: prepping your own meal the night before. A meal brought in from home can save you time, money and will be far tastier – and more nutritious – than any overpriced store-bought sandwich you end up with. And you can eat it at your desk after your workout.
To give you some inspiration, we asked nutritionist and sports nutrition expert Anita Bean to provide some recipes that are just what's needed for a post-workout al desko lunch.
1. Oven-baked falafel with tomato salsa
Falafel is packed with protein, and perfect for a post-workout meal
© Anita Bean
Falafel is ideal for post-workout recovery. Chickpeas are packed with protein, helping to repair and rebuild muscles, as well as fibre, iron, manganese and magnesium. They also contain fructo-oligosaccharides, which feed the ‘good’ bacteria in your gut and improve immunity, mood and exercise performance.
Serves: 2 (makes approximately 12 falafels)
Per serving: 323 cals, 15g protein, 11g fat (1g saturates), 36g carbs (7g total sugars), 10g fibre
Ingredients
For the falafel
400g (14oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
½ onion, chopped
1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
1 tbsp mint or parsley, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp gram flour (or plain flour) mixed with 2 tbsp water
1 tbsp olive oil
For the tomato salsa
2 large ripe tomatoes, skinned
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped
Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas mark 6. Lightly oil a baking sheet.
2. Put the chickpeas in a blender or food processor and process for a few seconds. Add the onion, coriander, mint or parsley, garlic, spices, gram flour paste and olive oil. Process for a few seconds until combined and a fairly smooth, stiff purée. Season with salt.
3. Form the mixture into balls about the size of a walnut. You should be able to make about 12. Coat lightly with a little gram flour. Place on the oiled baking sheet and cook in the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes (or until golden), turning once.
4. Meanwhile, make the salsa. Finely chop the tomatoes and mix with the onion and coriander. Season to taste. Chill.
5. Serve the cooked falafel with tomato salsa, salad and wholewheat pitta breads
2. Halloumi and red pepper salad
Choose a post-workout lunch packed with vitamin-rich veggies
© Anita Bean
Peppers and tomatoes are excellent sources of vitamin C and phytonutrients, which promote muscle adaptations after exercise. Throw these into a salad with halloumi, which is lower in fat than most hard cheeses but equally rich in protein and calcium, and you've got a great recovery-boosting lunch. Avocado and pine nuts are also a great addition to this recipe, as they both provide healthy monounsaturated fats and vitamin E.
Serves: 2
Per serving: 559cals, 19g protein, 47g fat (15g saturates), 11g carbs (8g total sugars), 8g fibre
Ingredients
125g (4oz) halloumi
2 tbsp pine nuts
2 large handfuls of salad leaves (e.g. baby spinach, rocket, watercress)
1 red pepper, sliced
150g (5oz) cherry tomatoes, halved
1 avocado, sliced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
A squeeze of lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Method
1. Heat a griddle or frying pan over a high heat. Cut the halloumi into 5mm (¼ in) thick slices and fry for 1-1½ minutes on each side until golden. Set aside.
2. Toast the pine nuts in the dry frying pan.
3. Arrange the salad leaves into two Tupperware containers. Scatter over the peppers, tomatoes and avocado slices. Arrange the halloumi slices on top.
4. Whisk together the oil, lemon juice and seasoning. Drizzle over the salad and scatter over the pine nuts.
3. Black bean and spinach burgers
These black bean burgers will leave your colleagues feeling very envious
© Anita Bean
These easy-to-make burgers, based on black beans, are full of flavour and packed with protein, fibre, vitamins and iron. Infinitely more nutritious and delicious than shop-bought veggie burgers, which tend to be either very high in salt or lacking in flavour and texture, they can be varied by substituting different types of beans, lentils or chickpeas for the black beans. They are also a brilliant way of adding extra veg to your lunch but feel free to substitute in other vegetables, such as leftover cooked sweet potatoes or red peppers.
Serves: 4 (makes 8 burgers)
Per burger: 107cals, 5g protein, 4g fat (1g saturates), 10g carbs (2g total sugars), 4g fibre
Ingredients
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
½-1 small red chilli, deseeded (optional)
400g (14oz) tin black beans, drained and rinsed
A handful of baby spinach
1 carrot, chopped
50g (2oz) fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp paprika
2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp mixed seeds
1 egg
To serve: 4 flatbreads or wraps, avocado slices, red peppers and coriander
Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C/fan 170°/gas mark 5.
2. Put all the ingredients except the seeds and egg in a food processor and process for 30 seconds until combined (you may need to stop to scrape down the bowl a couple of times). Alternatively, mix the ingredients together with a potato masher or fork. Once mixed, stir in the seeds and egg.
3. Shape into eight burgers and place on an oiled baking tray. Flatten lightly with your palm then brush with olive oil. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes (or until they are lightly browned and crisp on the outside).
4. Wrap two burgers in each flatbread with baby spinach, red peppers, avocado slices and fresh coriander, and a little tzatziki or mayo.
