Start your day with a breakfast fit for Olympians.
We’re told breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and none more so than for Olympic athletes — if they can be persuaded to eat.
‘They do the cooking themselves, so there’s no point putting a fillet steak on the menu if they can’t afford it.’
Here, we show you the recipes designed by the English Institute of Sport for some of the Team GB athletes competing at Rio.
Not only are these recipes tasty and cheap — they could be good for you, too, says nutritionist Angela Dowden, who identifies the breakfast to best suit your lifestyle . . .
Elinor Barker, world champion at UCI World Championships in 2013 and 2014.
Watch out for her: Team pursuit 4km, August 11.
A photo posted by Elinor Barker (@elinorbarker) on Jul 14, 2016 at 10:42am PDT
BREAKFAST: Manuka honey muesli with apple, sultanas, cinnamon, nutmeg and milk.
Soak 75g porridge oats overnight. Mix with 100ml Greek yoghurt, 1 tbsp sultanas, orange zest and the juice of half an orange, half a grated apple, ½ tbsp manuka honey, ½ tsp cinammon and a pinch of nutmeg. Serve with milk.
‘Sprint cyclists are quite slight, so they need fewer calories for breakfast than athletes such as boxers might (around 100-150 fewer),’ says Dr Currell.
‘This muesli provides a nice mixture of protein and carbohydrates, in the form of the oats, which will release energy really slowly and fuel the cyclist around the track. The protein — the milk and yoghurt — is going to help their muscles repair themselves after a session.
‘Cinnamon is a great antioxidant, and nutmeg helps blood flow, which will allow the athlete to recover quickly the morning after a race or training.
‘The apple provides vitamin C, key to staving off coughs and colds. One thing we try to concentrate on across all sports is reducing the number of training days that are lost to sickness.
‘The more days you can train, the better your performance.’
On race day, sprint cyclists might remove the muesli bit, because it can upset the stomach if you’re nervous, says Wendy Martinson, a Team GB performance nutritionist. ‘Toast and jam is a popular alternative.’
GOOD Breakfast FOR: Active commuters — if you’re cycling to work, or having a reasonably active morning of any kind, this breakfast will provide healthy carbs to help sustain activity. Oats help keep cholesterol in check, too.
Savannah Marshall, first British woman to win a world title (AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships) in 2012; gold medallist in middleweight division (69.9-72.5kg) Commonwealth Games, 2014.
Watch out for her: August 14.
Breakfast: Four scrambled eggs on a muffin with spinach and avocado.
Whisk the eggs, heat a knob of butter in a pan, then add the eggs. When cooked, fold in half a chopped plum tomato, a quarter red chilli, ½ tbsp fresh coriander and a handful of spinach leaves. Mash a quarter of an avocado and spread on a muffin then top with the eggs.
‘The most important thing for boxers is a lot of protein, because they need to maintain as much muscle as possible, so that they can throw the hardest punches at their opponent,’ says Dr Currell.
‘But they also need to lose body fat to keep them agile, so can’t have high calorie intakes or consume too many “bad” fats, found in very sugary foods such as cakes and pastries.
‘Managing their weight and keeping it the same is really key because most boxers will be competing in a particular weight category.
‘We include so many eggs here because they are a fantastic source of protein, but they also make this breakfast very filling —you don’t want boxers to snack between meals and put on fat instead of muscle.
‘They do need some fat — and that’s why we add avocado, a “good” fat that is a rich source of energy but won’t lead to weight gain. Boxing is an endurance event, so it’s vital that athletes aren’t tiring too soon.
‘Spinach is very high in nitrates, which help blood flow around the body by relaxing the blood vessels and, in turn, making it work more efficiently.’
GOOD BREAKFAST FOR: Gymgoers — a couple of eggs on a wholemeal muffin with the spinach and avocado is a great balanced breakfast to kick-start an active day.
Becky Downie, bronze medallist at the World Championships, 2015; gold medallist in bars and silver medallist in beam at the European Championships, 2016.
Watch out for her: Today, Women’s Team final.
BREAKFAST: Nutty Greek yoghurt bowl.
Crush 50g almonds in a food processor to form the base. Layer with yoghurt, top with berries and sprinkle with chia seeds.
‘The priority for gymnasts is dairy — as they need a lot of calcium for bone strength — so this yoghurt pot is perfect,’ says Dr Currell.
‘One of the most common injuries gymnasts suffer are stress fractures because they’re jumping and bounding about so much. If they don’t get enough calcium, their bones can’t take the stress.’
But keeping their weight down is also key. ‘We use low-fat yoghurt because gymnasts also have to be light and lean — they have to defy gravity in a lot of their routines.
‘They need what is known as a high power-to-weight ratio — that means producing a lot of force to jump as high as possible to do all those twists and turns while also weighing as little as possible in order to make defying gravity less difficult.’
Wendy Martinson adds: ‘On event day, a gymnast might add a small amount of carbohydrate to their breakfast — some toast or cereal — because glucose fuels the brain and they don’t want to lose concentration on the beam.
‘But they have to wear leotards and are judged on what they look like, so they don’t want to look or feel bloated — and definitely don’t want to feel full.’
GOOD Breakfast FOR: Women up to the age of 30. We only lay down bone mass up to this age, so it’s important to get as much calcium before then as possible — beyond that, we only maintain bone rather than make new bone.
Non Stanford, gold medallist at ITU Triathlon World Championships in 2012; gold medallist ITU World Triathlon relay, 2013.
Watch out for her: August 20.
BREAKFAST: Three-egg omelette with smoked salmon and asparagus.
Heat olive oil in a frying pan on a medium heat. Whisk the eggs in a bowl and add the mixture to a pan, cooking until it starts to set. Sprinkle with 75g salmon, three cooked, sliced asparagus spears and parsley and finish under the grill until golden.
‘This high-protein, low-carb breakfast is the kind a triathlete would have, especially in colder winter months, when they’re doing long, slow bike rides and trying to build up their cardiovascular fitness,’ says Dr Currell.
Removing carbs from the breakfast helped the triathletes get fitter quicker because glycogen — what the body uses for fuel and is stored in the muscle — depletes quicker when it isn’t topped up at breakfast, meaning athletes have to work harder in training, which, in turn, builds fitness.
‘Triathletes don’t want to build muscle, they want to maintain it, so they need lots of protein — in this case, the eggs and salmon — but not a lot else.
‘You need to fill them up, because there’s nothing worse than being hungry on a long bike ride, but you don’t want them to eat too much and then feel sick on a big ride.’
On race days, they’d want to add carbs, says Wendy Martinson.
‘Bagels with jam, porridge and bananas are some of the things that have been requested by the triathletes for breakfast in Rio — triathlons require a lot of strength which they wouldn’t get from just protein.’
GOOD Breakfast FOR: Slimmers — this is a good choice if you’re trying to lose weight fast. The high protein is so filling that you won’t want biscuits and sweets mid-morning.
Charlie Grice, current British indoor 1500m champion.
Watch out for hIM: 1500m, August 16.
BREAKFAST: Chia porridge with Greek yoghurt, banana and cherries.
Warm 40g rolled oats in a pan with 180ml semi-skimmed milk, stirring regularly. Stir in 1 tbsp of Greek yoghurt, ½ tbsp of almonds, ½ tbsp of chia seeds, 25g pitted cherries and half a sliced banana.
‘Chia seeds are a great source of “good” fats,’ says Dr Currell. ‘They’re found in a lot of Central American diets and many of the ultra-endurance runners in Mexico eat them because they have anti-inflammatory qualities, which help muscles to repair themselves.
‘Middle and long-distance runners get a lot of muscle damage because of the miles and miles that they run. Compared to sprinters, who are exercising for a shorter and more intermittent time, they need a lot more slow-release carbohydrates (such as from porridge), which will release energy slowly and carry them through the race.
‘The pitted cherries are important as they’re a really good source of antioxidants — much better than apples — helping the body cope with the stress of running, say, 20 miles.
‘Quick recovery is key for long-distance running because, after a 20-mile run, they need to wake up the next morning feeling like they can do it again.’
Dr Killer adds: ‘There’s no reason why this breakfast wouldn’t work well on race day, too. It’s got everything he needs. He might just add a coffee in for good measure.’
GOOD Breakfast FOR: Older people and vegetarians. This is a fab breakfast for the latter, because the anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats it contains are usually only found in any good quantity in oily fish. Chia is also a good source of iron, which can be lower in vegetarian diets.
Elderly people will benefit from the slow-release energy from porridge and the omega-3, which, as well as being anti-inflammatory, are good for the heart. Chia also has significant levels of calcium and magnesium to help older people keep bones strong. And cherries —dried sour ones are best — have been shown to help gout.
Hannah Miley, gold medallist (400m) FINA World Swimming Championships, 2012.
Watch out for her: Qualified for today’s 200m individual medley, semi-final.
Breakfast: Banana flapjacks with apple, almonds, pumpkin seeds and raisins.
Preheat the oven to 150c. Put 50g butter, 2 tbsp almond butter and 2 tbsp honey in a saucepan and heat until runny. Add 1 grated apple, 2 over-ripe mashed bananas and 100ml water. Remove from the heat, add 100g almonds, 70g pumpkin seeds, 100g raisins and 250g oats and mix. Pour into a lined baking tray and bake for 40 minutes. Cool and cut into 12 bars.
The key to a swimmer’s breakfast is that it’s portable, says Dr Currell. ‘They tend to train very early in the morning, and so they’re in the pool by 6am or 7am. No swimmer wants to have to get up at 5am to make breakfast, so the key is to give them something handy.
‘They can make a batch of these and keep them in the fridge. Then, on the way to training, they can grab one and eat it in the car.
‘The oats provide slow-release energy and the nuts and seeds add calcium, magnesium and potassium that support muscle contraction.
‘That’s key in swimming, because they need to power through the water, a resistant force: the muscles must contract to move bones against that. We suggest they have a glass of milk with it for protein, which improves their muscle strength, helping speed and race times.’
On race day, ‘the main player at breakfast is porridge or muesli with yoghurt,’ says Wendy Martinson. ‘It depends what makes them feel bloated, because that’s the last feeling they need when they climb into the pool.’
GOOD Breakfast FOR: Frantic mums — on-the-run choices such as this suit busy people. It would be perfect for anyone doing the nursery or school run and then going straight to work.
GABBY ADCOCK, mixed doubles joint world number seven, with husband Chris. World Super Series champions 2015.
A photo posted by G A B B Y • A D C O C K (@gabbyadcock1) on Jul 4, 2016 at 10:20am PDT
Breakfast: Mixed bean burrito with sweet potato, peppers, tomatoes and feta cheese.
Chop 1 sweet potato into bite-sized pieces and microwave for 5 minutes. Fry 200g chopped tinned tomatoes in a pan on a low heat, then add half a chopped red pepper and ½ tbsp paprika. Simmer until soft. Add 200g tinned mixed beans and heat. Place the mixture on a wholemeal tortilla wrap, top with sweet potato and sprinkle with 25g feta. Roll, then grill until golden.
Georgina Impson Davey, the performance nutritionist for GB Badminton, says: ‘The key for badminton when it comes to breakfast is variation as the types of training they do are very different.
‘On high-intensity court days, when they are hitting a shuttle back and forth for hours, they need to start with something like a burrito because the sweet potato and vegetables provide the energy they need to sprint around the court and jump and smash the shuttle.
‘Men’s doubles players in particular need a lot of carbs because they are likely to perform the most smash shots. On a low-intensity training day, working on tactics or their serve, for example, and not running about as much, they’d cut the carbohydrate — in this case, the sweet potato.’
GOOD Breakfast FOR: Hikers — a substantial breakfast with plenty of slow-release energy, this would work as a great start to the day if you were going on a long walk or outing.
Rowing
Jono Clegg, gold medallist, World U23 Champion Lightweight Men’s Four; silver medallist European Lightweight Men’s Four, 2012 and 2016.
Watch out for hIM: He came fourth in the coxless lightweight four (weight category, 70kg).
BREAKFAST 1:
1 ½ white bagels with strawberry jam and peanut butter and half a glass of orange juice. Then, after the weigh-in . . .
Breakfast 2:
1 white bagel with strawberry jam and peanut butter, an espresso and 2 litres of water.
‘Rowers who compete in specific categories, including the “lightweight” category, are weighed two hours before the race and will be disqualified if they weigh more than they should,’ explains Wendy Martinson.
‘So they have two breakfasts — one before and one after the weigh-in. The first is designed to be simple and easy to digest but, most importantly, only weighs 400g.
‘The two bagels make these breakfasts carb-heavy — the race is very high-intensity, with the rowers going full tilt for 2km, and the start and end of the race require a lot of anaerobic fitness, which uses glycogen stored in the muscles and is topped up by carbohydrate they’ve consumed.
‘But they’re not carb-loading, like marathon runners, because they don’t want food sitting uncomfortably in their stomach when they have to lean forward to row.
‘They have white, rather than brown, bread because it’s less fibrous and easier to digest — also, cutting fibre is a big focus for rowers because it soaks up fluid in the gut and makes you weigh more. Dropping fibre in the days before weigh-ins always helps.
‘Strawberry jam is good as it releases its energy very quickly and peanut butter provides a little protein.
‘For rowers, managing liquid intake is vital as fluids weigh a lot. In his pre-race breakfast, Jono only has half a glass of orange juice because if he drank two litres of water, he’d weigh an extra 2kg on the scales and could knock his team out the competition.
‘They heavily rehydrate after a weigh-in, often drinking litres of water.’
GOOD Breakfast FOR: People with IBS — during flare-ups, they need a low-fibre intake, so a white bagel is good. Ditch the jam and top with smooth peanut butter.
Daily Mail