Not all carbohydrate foods are equal. For athletes, it’s not just about eating mounds of rice and pasta. The quality of your carbs counts. Smart carb choices can help athletes to feel great and perform at their best. You can get more nutritional value from your fuel foods with selective choices. It could be as simple as wild or brown rice sometimes instead of white all the time, or choosing a wholemeal pasta. Or a wholegrain mix such as the one pictured above.
Here are 6 of my favourite carbohydrate foods for athletes, to boost nutrition, health and performance.
Sweet potato
Sweet potato is a terrific carbohydrate source for training and energy levels. Sweet potato has a lower glycemic index than white potato (remembering white potato is still good for you too!). Sweet potato contains more carbohydrate than white potato, but lower in carbohydrate than rice, pasta, and many other grains (for example, the carbohydrate content of white potato is ~12g/100g cooked, sweet potato ~15g/100g cooked, brown rice ~30g/100g cooked). More benefits - fibre, vitamins such as Vitamins A (beta-carotene) and C, and taste!
Barley
Not a fancy expensive ancient grain, and when you think of barley you may be reminiscing about your grandmother’s lamb and barley soup! But barley is now back in vogue and for good reason. Barley is a low GI wholegrain, packed with vitamins, minerals and fibre. Barley, like oats, contains beta-glucan, a soluble type of fibre applauded for its heart health benefits.
Super versatile, barley goes well in soups, casseroles, breakfast dishes, cold in salads and great in risottos – there is a great Barley Risotto recipe in my book Eat Right for Your Life.
Sourdough rye bread
If you love to eat bread, make it sourdough. Research is showing that sourdough bread, although it still contains gluten, can be more easily digested than regular wheat-based breads. Try to select fresh baked sourdough from a local bakery and experiment with the different varieties to see what works for you – rye or spelt are terrific options for nutrition and low GI energy pre-training.
Bananas
A banana is the perfect portable pre-training snack – just enough carbs to fill that space in your tummy and give you an energy boost for the session ahead. On their own, or part of a recovery smoothie or fruit/yoghurt/granola mix, bananas are a winner.
Sweetcorn
Sweetcorn is a sneaky source of nutritious carbohydrate, also packed with nutrients and fibre, and a similar carbohydrate content to white potato at ~13g/100g cooked. Great in salads, soups, main meals or a cob of corn as a snack.
Oats
One of the cheapest and best carb options around are oats. A small amount goes a long way and can keep your engine running for hours. Rich in fibre and nutrients, and with a surprising protein content, you can find more detailed info in one of my more popular blog posts Oats vs quinoa for health, energy and performance.
Sorry if I’ve missed your favourite, there are plenty of great carbohydrate-rich foods out there! Performance isn’t just about carbs though - plan your meals and snacks to meet your day-to-day, training and performance nutrition needs.
For more performance nutrition info, check out my blog page. You can also leave your details at http://www.lisamiddleton.com.au/thoughts-index/ if you would like me to send you freeperformance nutrition updates and recipes, plus you can fllow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
