I have suspected for a long time that I don’t get enough protein in my diet. With a heavy training load, busy family, work etc. I have been finding it hard to get enough protein so decided to try adding in a plant protein shake. Initially I was just using this after harder runs to aid recovery but in the last six months I have tried to add in a shake most days. The most noticeable difference has been if I have a protein shake in the mornings I am not needing to snack and am not super hungry by lunch. I am unsure if it has improved my recovery as so many factors come into play, but I think it can only be a benefit when I have a high training load and busy race calendar… so the protein shake is a success and here to stay! I usually make mine up with oat milk rather than water as I prefer the taste and consistency and I tend to drink it mid morning after my run to work.
Before Rasselbock Backyard Ultra I was thinking about my race fueling and was looking at ways to get more protein into my snack selection. I was looking for a snack that was easy to eat, kept well and was high in both sugar and protein. The solution was to combine a family favourite gluten free chocolate cookie recipe with some of my plant protein powder to make my very own protein cookies. Yes, they are full of sugar and not healthy but they were perfect during Rasselbock BYU and I will be making some for all future races. They kept well, were easy to eat and both Iain and I enjoyed them even in the later stages of the race.
The original recipe comes from Laura at My Gluten Free Guide – thanks to Laura for allowing me to share my version. If you are gluten free and looking for a sweet treat they are great just as they are 😋
To add protein my modified recipe just involves swapping 60g of flour with 60g of the plant protein powder. I don’t know if you could swap a higher proportion with success (let me know if you try)! Swapping this amount of the flour makes the cookies slightly softer and they don’t spread as much when you bake them, so I flatten mine out more when I put them on the tray, otherwise they come out very domed!
Iain is a big fan and has taken them on some of his recent hill runs… the only challenge is getting hold of them before they get eaten by the kids 🤣