Macronutrients

Carbohydrates, protein and fat – what are they, why do I need them, and what foods are they in?

When we talk about food and sports nutrition, we often talk about the 3 macronutrients: carbohydrate, protein and fat.  All of these are important for our health and for athletic performance.  The goal of this blog post is to make you understand why our bodies need these macronutrients, and what foods are good sources of each macronutrient.

 

Macronutrients – what are they?

 

Macronutrients are the main components that make up food.  They are carbohydrate, protein and fat.  All three of these macronutrients provide calories, meaning they all give your body the energy it needs to keep working, whether that is sitting at a desk or climbing pitch after pitch all day.

Each macronutrient also gives you more then just energy.  The macronutrients come in many different forms that also have special functions in the body that can benefit your climbing training and performance.

 

Carbohydrates – your body’s favourite source of energy

 

Even though all macronutrients give your body energy, your body prefers carbohydrate to the others for energy.  You’re body needs lots of fuel when you are training at high volumes and high intensity.  Just as a car runs better on a full tank of premium gasoline, your body performs better when you are fully fuelled with healthful carbohydrate foods.

 

What are carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates are sugar molecules and chains of sugar molecules.  Sugar, starch and fibre are all different types of carbohydrate.  Although fibre does not give your body energy (it provides almost no calories), it is important for your digestive system, helps regulate cholesterol, has a role in preventing certain diseases (such as cancer), and is used by bacteria in your gut to give you vitamins.

 

Why do I need carbohydrates?

All the cells in the body – from brain to muscle to immune system cells – prefer carbohydrate for energy.  Without the energy from carbohydrates, your brain may not be able to focus as well, your immune system may not be able to fight off colds and flu, and your muscles will not have enough energy to train or compete for long hours or at high levels.  Symptoms of low energy levels due to not getting enough energy through food are:

·      Poor strength

·      Poor endurance

·      Fatigue

·      Injury

·      Illness

·      Longer recovery time needed after training

·      Poor bone growth, menstrual problems and muscle loss in severe cases

 

When we eat carbohydrate foods, the carbohydrate is broken down in our body, and then put back together and stored in a form our body can use.  The body stores carbohydrate in the muscles and liver, but muscles store the most.  The stored carbohydrate is released during training to allow the muscles to work and to maintain blood sugar levels and delay fatigue.  Therefore, if you don’t eat carbohydrate foods, you will have low stores of carbohydrate in your liver and muscles – you will not be able to train as long or as hard.

You need carbohydrates because:

·      They are your body’s preferred source of energy.

·      Your muscles store a lot for training and competition.

·      Your muscles use a lot during training and competition.

·      Carbohydrates fuel your brain to help your focus and mental attitude (especially important in the sport of rock climbing).

·      Not getting enough carbohydrate increases your risk of illness and injury.

 

What foods are good sources of carbohydrate?

Carbohydrates come from foods such as vegetables, fruit, milk products and grain products.  Following Canada’s Food Guide, these are the first 3 food groups.  The best sources of carbohydrates are generally grain products such as breads, crackers, cereals, rices and pastas.  Vegetables such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn and squash are starchy and contain a lot of carbohydrate.  Meat alternatives such as beans, lentils and chickpeas are also great sources of carbohydrate.

 

Protein – repairing your muscle after intense training

 

What is protein?

Proteins are made up of chains of smaller molecules called amino acids.  There are both plant and animal sources of protein, made up of different combinations of the amino acids.  Whether your protein comes from plant or animal sources, all can be beneficial for athletic performance.

 

Why do I need protein?

Although protein can provide your body with energy, it is better used for giving you a sense of fullness after meals and repairing muscle after intense training.

Protein takes longer to empty from the stomach, and therefore sits in the stomach longer then carbohydrate.  This can be useful for a person who is trying to maintain a certain body weight – spreading out protein intake throughout the day by having a little bit of protein at each meal will help a person feel full for longer after meals.  A “little bit” of protein is only one serving – only 75 g or ½ cup of meat or ¾ cup of beans, lentils, tofu, etc.  For an athlete, a large amount of protein just before training will sit in the stomach and may cause nausea or unpleasant fullness during training.

When we train and exert our muscles, we are actually causing small tears in the muscle.  These tears are not bad because when they are repaired, the muscle grows bigger and stronger.  For the muscle to repair, it needs both carbohydrate and protein.  When we eat protein foods, the protein is broken down into its amino acids.  The amino acids travel to the torn muscle fibres, and help repair them while the carbohydrate slows down further breakdown of the muscle fibres.  This recovery of the muscle by team carbohydrate and protein is what strengthens the muscle after exercise.

 

You need protein because:

·      Protein helps keep you feeling full for longer, which may help on long outdoor trips when meals may be spread apart.

·      Protein along with carbohydrate rebuilds and repairs muscles after intense training.

·      Without protein and carbohydrate after training, muscles may not fully recover, and next day training may be impaired.

 

What foods are good sources of protein?

There are both animal and plant sources of protein.  Following Canada’s Food Guide, the last 2 food groups, milk and alternatives and meat and alternatives provide the most good quality protein.  Some breads and pastas also contribute protein.

 

Animal sources:

·      Beef

·      Poultry

·      Fish

·      Eggs

·      Cheese, milk, yogurt

 

Plant sources:

·      Chickpeas

·      Beans

·      Lentils

·      Soybeans, tofu

·      Peanuts, almonds, nut butters

·      Seeds

 

Fat – important for the normal functioning of your body and reducing risk of injury

 

What is fat?

Fat as a macronutrient is a group of more complex molecules.  Generally, fats are made up of long chains of carbons that house a lot of energy.  The number of carbons in the chain and the types of links between the carbons make up the different types of fats.  These types can be variations of saturated, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, trans, omega-3, omega-6, etc.

 

Why do I need fat?

Fats have a lot of functions in the body.  When most people think of fat, they think of its storage form – the type of fat that is stored in the body under the skin.  But fats in food are very important.  All the cell membranes in our body are made up of fat – they protect the cell and help regulate what gets in and out.  This also helps cells in the body communicate, especially cells in the nervous system.  Fat molecules in our food carry and allow us to absorb important vitamins such as vitamins A, D, E and K.  Special fats, such as omega-3 fats also lower inflammation in the body – this not only decreases risk of heart disease, but also lowers risk of injury related to inflammation.

Remember how when we train, small tears form in the muscle?  Although this damage helps us build stronger muscle, it also causes some inflammation.  With overtraining (which happens when we put repeated burns on the same problem) this causes extra damage and leads to overuse injuries (those sore pulleys and tendons that never seem to heal).  Having some healthful omega-3 fats in the diet help to prevent this extra damage, and therefore help us recover better, and prevent injury.

 

You need fat because:

·      All your cells in your body are wrapped in an envelop of fat molecules.

·      Fat molecules help your cells in your body communicate.

·      Important vitamins are found in the fat portion of foods.  These vitamins need that fat to help them be transported into your body.

·      Omega-3 fats reduce inflammation, which helps you recover from training, and reduce the risk of injury.

 

What foods are good sources of healthful fats?

Because fats give us more energy then the other macronutrients (are higher in calories) we generally don’t need a lot of added fats in our diet.  So we need to make sure that the foods we are choosing are good sources of healthful fats.

Healthful fats contain lower levels of saturated and industry-produced trans fats, and higher levels of polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and omega-3 fats.  Cold-water fatty fish are great sources of healthful omega-3 fats.  If you are able to eat fish, aim for 2 to 3 meals with fish per week.

 

Good sources of healthful fats:

·      Fatty fish (cold water)

·      Flaxseed (must be ground up)

·      Walnuts

·      Canola and olive oils

·      Omega-3 enriched products, such as enriched eggs, milk and margarine

 

Cold-water fatty fish to have 2-3 times per week:

·      Mackerel

·      Chunk light tuna

·      Salmon

·      Atlantic herring

·      Lake trout

·      Sardines

 

Summary:

·      Carbohydrate is the most important macronutrient for athletic performance.

·      Your body prefers carbohydrate to other macronutrients for fuel.

·      Vegetables, fruit, milk and alternatives and meat alternatives are great sources of carbohydrates.

·      Protein stays in your stomach longer (is digested slower) so keeps you fuller for longer.

·      Protein right after a training sessions helps build and repair muscle, so that muscles grow stronger and you perform better in your next training session.  Get this protein from food from milk and alternatives or meat and alternatives.

·      Fats are important!  Your body needs them to absorb and transport certain vitamins, and your cells need them to communicate with the rest of you body.

·      Choose foods that are lower in saturated and industry-produced trans fats.  Regularly have sources of healthful fats such as cold-water fish, canola and olive oils, and nuts and seeds.  These are low in saturated fat and sources of omega-3 fats that help reduce inflammation and therefore risk of injury.

 

Conclusion

All of the macronutrients are important for your health and for your performance.  How much you need of each depends on your gender, body weight, how often you train, at what intensity, medical history, etc.  It’s important to get a variety of each macronutrient through food, and to choose healthful choices.  For more information and to help you figure out your exact needs and how these can fit into your everyday life, find a Sports Dietitian close to you.  In Canada, you can find one here:

·      Coaching Association of Canada

·      Dietitian’s of Canada

Carbohydrate	Protein	Fat
Your body’s favourite source of energy	Repairing your muscle after intense training	Important for the normal functioning of your body and reducing risk of injury
·      Whole wheat, whole grain or enriched breads, crackers, cereals and pastas ·      Rice ·      Buckwheat ·      Vegetables such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn and squash ·      Meat alternatives such as beans, lentils and chickpeas	Animal sources: ·      Lean cuts of beef ·      Chicken and turkey ·      Cold-water fish ·      Eggs ·      Cheese, milk, yogurt   Plant sources: ·      Chickpeas ·      Beans ·      Lentils ·      Soybeans, tofu ·      Peanuts, almonds, nut butters ·      Seeds	·      Ground up flaxseed ·      Walnuts ·      Canola and olive oils ·      Omega-3 enriched products, such as enriched eggs, milk and margarine ·      Mackerel ·      Chunk light tuna ·      Salmon ·      Atlantic herring ·      Lake trout ·      Sardines

Stay tuned!

The next blog post will be up shortly discussing what to eat before, during, and after training, sending or competition!

Mini Nutrition Guide

Mini Nutrition Guide to Albarracín Spain

As mentioned in the last posting, here is the mini nutrition guide for the Albarracín Spain climbing area. Here you will find information on shopping, food culture, and food and meal ideas when climbing in this area.

Because I like to use photos and tables to make the information easier to read, the mini guide has been made into a pdf format. You can download it for free by CLICKING HERE.

Comments and questions are welcome at onsitenutrition@gmail.com.

Thanks!

Krystal

Mini Nutrition Guides

Mini Nutrition Guides for the Traveling Climber

Just this spring, I spent 68 days traveling, climbing, and taking in the food culture throughout Europe.  I figured, while I was there, that I take notes on the food and culture that may help a traveling climber’s nutrition when abroad.

A recent research survey I did showed that on climbing trips, we climbers tend to choose less foods from all the food groups.  Instead of consuming available whole foods, which are packed with vitamins, minerals, and energy, we rely mostly on trail mix and protein bars for energy and nutrition.  This shows that our nutrition on climbing trips is lacking.

When we’re outdoors and active all day, our nutrition can help make our climbing day more successful, no matter what our level.  Knowing what foods are available at our favourite outdoor crags might help us make better food choices, and improve our nutrition on trips.

A future goal of mine is to one day offer detailed nutrition guides to popular climbing destinations world wide.  But, for now, this is my novice attempt.  On my recent 68-day long trip, I visited and compiled information for Albarracín Spain, Magic Woods Switzerland, and Fontainebleau France.  In the blog posts to come, you will find mini nutrition guides for these places that will include information on local foods and eating (gastronomy), eating out tips, supermarket and farmer’s markets, currency, language, stove fuels, potable water sources and camping recipes.

Although I take a sport nutrition approach to these mini nutrition guides, I also want to emphasize the love of food!!  Trying new foods is also a part of experiencing the culture of the areas we visit.  I hope for you to get the most out of your travels.

Because this is my first attempt, I would like to hear back from you.  Tell me what about these guides are useful, and what sucks.  I welcome any constructive criticism on these guides so that in the future, I can make them better.  Plus, the more criticism I get, the more reason for me to return to these European climbing spots (and what a shame that would be, lol).

The country specific posts are to come.  First, some general traveling tips.

Enjoy!

General Nutrition Traveling Tips

Checklist for the traveling climber

Here’s a list of food prep-related items to pack (Table 1):

Table 1. Traveling checklist.

r    Camping pots
r    Camping stove	A multi-fuel stove is ideal.  Some countries use different fuels, or certain fuels may be more economical.
r    Extra fuel bottles	Make sure they are empty when in transit.
r    Can opener
r    Lighters or strike-anywhere matches
r    Bowl	Can be used to mix ingredients and eat from.
r    Spork or Foon	Any form of spoon-fork hybrid.
r    A good knife and sharpener
r    Your favourite spices	Pack these in small containers or plastic bags.
r    Flaxseed	Only a few teaspoons per day are needed to help maintain bowel movements.
r    Enough dry food for 2 meals	This is so that when you arrive at your destination, you have a meal ready.  You may arrive when the stores are closed.
r    About $200 cash	In case you arrive and banks are closed.
r    Dromedary bag and water bottles	Empty if traveling by plane.
r    Gatorade or juice powder	These may be hard to find at some destinations.
r    Favourite sports/cereal/granola bars	These may not be available at some destinations.
r    Ziploc or other plastic bags	Good for packing leftovers and storing food from ripped store packaging.
r    Towels	To wash, dry, and handle hot pots.
r    Mug
r    Mini cutting board
r    Garbage bag
r    Hand sanitizer or wet naps
r    Bottle opener	For sampling local beer and wines J

Nutrition During Travel

Whether by plane, train or automobile, the pressurized cabins and the air conditioning can dehydrate you.  Dehydration en route can give you headaches, tiredness, and poor bowel movements.  Stay hydrated by drinking at least 1 cup of fluid every hour.  Water, juice, sport drinks, tea, and coffee all count.  This may make you pee more, but this encourages you to get up and stretch.  Moving and stretching is especially more important on long trips, when your muscles can become cramped or stiff.

If traveling by plane, remember to bring an EMPTY water bottle, and fill it once you’ve passed through security checks.  Any bottle containing liquids will be thrown out at the security check.

Check to see if your flights offer a meal service, or if your trains have a cafeteria on board.  You may want to pack your own snacks and meals on long traveling days.  You will be getting better nutrition packing food yourself when choosing foods from all the food groups.  Packing your own food also ensures that the food available to you won’t make you sick.

Tips for Safe Food so you don’t get sick

Some people may not tolerate foreign food well.  Follow these tips if you are concerned about getting sick from food.

If concerned about water:

·      Use bottled water for drinking, mixing sport drinks, rinsing cooking equipment, and brushing teeth.  Be aware that this may become costly.

·      You can boil water for 10 minutes, or purchase a water filter.

·      Be aware of ice cubes and ice drinks.  These may not be made from boiled or filtered water.

Inspect food products before purchase:

·      Make sure food and drink seals are unbroken before consuming contents.

·      Dents in cans may weaken the seal.

·      Avoid fruit with damaged skin.

When eating out:

·      Meals should be sold to you either steaming hot or refrigerated.  Avoid lukewarm foods.

·      Avoid food sold by street vendors.  Public food is less safe when not kept at the right temperature, when raw and prepared foods are mixed, and when served without utensils.

Foods that are less likely to make you sick:

·      Foods that have been thoroughly cooked (steaming hot).

·      Raw foods that have been washed in safe water.

·      Foods that can be peeled.

Foods most likely to make you sick:

·      Pre-prepared salads, rare meats, hamburger meat, cream fillings, fish.

The easiest way to prevent food borne illness:

·      Wash your hands before preparing food!

Organize your food

Eating foods from all the food groups gives us the energy, nutrients, vitamins and minerals needed to stay healthy and climb hard all trip long.  When you return to your campsite from the grocery store, separate your food into bags based on the following food groups (Table 2).

Table 2.  Food groups, what they do for us, and examples.
Vegetables and Fruit	Starch	Milk and Alternatives	Meat and Alternatives
·       Vitamins and minerals from these help prevent sickness and may help against oxidative stress. ·       Their fibre keeps the intestines healthy and our BMs regular.	·       Huge source of energy for our muscles and our mind. ·       Helps muscle recovery. ·       Enriched varieties give us needed vitamins and minerals.	·       Source of calcium for our skeleton. ·       Source of good quality protein for muscle recovery. ·       Liquid varieties help us hydrate.	·       Long lasting energy. ·       Increases satiety. ·       Good source of protein for muscle recovery. ·       Give us minerals that are important for all athletes.
Zucchini, squash, carrots, cauliflower, bananas, grapes, strawberries	Potatoes, corn, pasta, rice, couscous, cereals, flour, bread	Cow’s milk, soymilk, yogurt, cheeses, puddings	Ham, eggs, chicken, lentils, chickpeas, tofu, navy beans, kidney beans

If you organize your food into four different bags (one for each food group), then you just need to make sure you choose foods from each bag every day.  This is an easy start to making sure you are getting balanced nutrition while you are away.

Good resource for worldly climbers:

Survival Around the World, Australian Institute of Sport, 2004

Nutrition Research Survey Results

Results from my nutrition research survey!

The first set of results is in! Thank you to all who participated in my nutrition research survey on rock climbers. I have been very busy compiling the first set of data, and have summarized it here for you to see! Much more statistical analysis is going to be done over the summer months so that this study can be published.

For now, here is a broad summary of my main preliminary results:

Why did I do this research survey?

• In 2008, I published the very first rock climbing nutrition case study (link). In that study, I showed that rock climbers might have different issues in regards to food and nutrition, then other athletes.
• In other sports, common issues that influence what foods athletes chose are pressures in the sport to have a certain body type or size, the belief that achieving a certain body weight or composition improves performance, purposely avoiding drinking fluids, and difficulties choosing or finding food when traveling. These issues may be based on false beliefs and may harm the athlete’s health.
• As rock climbers, we know that our environment changes when we go climbing and camping to different outdoor areas – some foods available in Hueco may be different from those in Squamish. Plus, what foods we choose outdoors, and how we prepare them, may be different when on a climbing trip compared to when we are at home, or training on indoor walls.
• As of now, nutrition issues are known for other sports, but not for rock climbing. By looking at what foods we choose, and why, we can find out the issues. This will help us create solutions so that we can eat like champs, both indoors and outdoors. This is important to help maintain our health so that we can climb at the best of our ability and enjoy our sport for years to come.

What was the purpose of this study?

• The main purpose was to determine issues that affect nutrition in rock climbers. In other words: What are some reasons for why climbers may not be getting all the foods they need, to stay healthy and climb hard?
• I also wanted to find out if the issues are different when living at home, compared to when on a climbing trip.
• To clarify, this study was NOT to find the “magic climbing diet” – diets fail and they don’t always promote health. This study was designed to determine practical food and nutrition tips to help climbers at all levels of ability; even high-level climbers can benefit from nutrition information to improve their health so that they can climb at that level for longer. Keep in mind, no diet will automatically make you the best climber in the world, but choosing certain foods will help your muscles recover better, will keep your energy up over long climbing days, will help prevent injury, and will keep your body in tip top shape, so that you can climb for many years to come! This is all good for your performance and your health, regardless of how hard you climb.

The bottom line: no magic food or magic diet will be found here.

What did I find?

What foods climbers choose, and why they choose those foods, is different from indoors to outdoors.

What foods do climbers choose?

• When on a climbing trip, climbers choose certain foods less often. These are: vegetables and fruit (fresh, canned or dried), starchy foods (grains, bread, pastas, rice), milk or alternatives (milk, cheese, yogurt), meat and added fats (oils, mayo, crèmes).
• When outdoors, climbers choose more often some form of trail mix or granola, and…(this is my favourite stat of the study)…choose more alcohol!
• Outdoors, we climbers also tend to stick to common staples such as oatmeal, apples and bananas. We also rely more on protein bars, instead of increasing the amount of vegetable or canned sources of meat, which are also convenient and don’t spoil.

Why do we choose the foods we do?

• People choose certain foods for all sorts of reasons: price, mood, taste, convenience, for body weight, for natural content of the food, how the food affects our health, etc.
• When living at home and training indoors, we climbers appear to choose food firstly based on reasons for health. It is next most important to us the natural content of the food, then price, then convenience.
• Outdoors, the reasons we choose foods are ranked spoilage as the most important, then convenience, health, and price.
• One interesting result is that choosing foods for body weight control was NOT important to us climbers. Good job us! Choosing foods for body weight, shape, or size is a common issue in other sports, and can lead to dangerous behaviours that hurt the athlete. Body shape, weight, and size don’t necessarily say anything about a person’s health. Focusing on HEALTH for food choice is much more important so that we can enjoy lots of different types of foods while enjoying our sport.

So what are the food and nutrition issues in rock climbing?

This study showed that when we go climbing and camping outdoors, a few issues arise that affect our food and nutrition:

Outdoors…

1. We choose vegetables and fruit less often. Vegetables and fruit are packed with vitamins and minerals, and other good things. Vitamin and mineral requirements are higher in athletes.
2. We choose fewer carbohydrate foods and may not be getting enough energy. Not getting enough carbohydrate suggests not getting enough calories overall – in this study, it seemed that most climbers did not eat frequent snacks during days when climbing outdoors. When we don’t consume enough calories, it hurts our performance, and can cancel out benefits of training.
3. We choose less milk and milk alternatives. We all know that milk is good for our bones. On top of not getting enough calcium and vitamin D, combined with low food energy intake and a slight body build, there is increased risk of bone stress fracture.
4. We choose fewer food items that are high in protein. We rely more on protein supplements, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But, food sources of protein have other benefits, and can be a better source of iron. Low iron intake (even before deficiency) can cause fatigue and poor performance in athletes.
5. Spoilage and convenience of food influences our food choices most when outdoors. At home, HEALTH is the most important factor for us when it comes to what foods we eat. Health is still important to us climbers outdoors, but becomes relatively less important considering our environment. So what we climbers want is healthful food that also keeps well, and is easy to prepare.


Practical Information

Based on what I have found in this research study, there are a few practical tips I can give. Stay tuned! As I continue to do more analysis of the results, I’m sure to have more!

1. Bring more snacks to the crag! Trail mix is an obvious snack choice. Try adding different and more food items to it: dried mango, corn nuts, pumpkin seeds, dry cereal, croutons, dried vegetables, chocolate chunks, shaved coconut, oats, honey, etc. A snack can also be a can of tuna (you can get flavoured kinds too), a PB&J sandwich, edamame beans, crackers, pretzels, granola or protein bars, vegetable sticks, fruit, etc.

2. Consider non-perishable milk and alternatives. You can now get milk (or soymilk) in UHT packaging. These are heated to a high temperature during processing, so that they don’t spoil as quickly. In fact, UHT packaged products don’t need to be refrigerated until the package is opened, making them great for camping as you can get milk in juice box size. Also consider adding milk powder to oatmeal, trail mix or granola, and pasta sauces. Yogurt also doesn’t spoil as quickly because it is slightly acidic.

3. Consider food sources of protein. Vegetable sources of protein and canned meats don’t spoil as quickly. Try adding canned tuna, canned chicken, beans, lentils and chickpeas to pasta sauces, stir frys and soups. Mix peanut or other nut butter into breakfast oatmeal, mix seeds into stir frys. Adding milk powder to your meals also increases the protein content. Some grains are also high in protein: pot barley has 10 grams of protein in ½ cup.

Pot barley stir fry:

1 cup pot barley (20 grams protein)
1 cup lentils (44 grams protein)
Vegetable stock or bouillon cube
Variety of vegetables: carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, bell peppers
Balsamic vinegar and brown sugar
Almonds, pine nuts, or seeds

1. Rinse barley in cold water. Boil in 3 cups of water with bouillon cube, or in 3 cups of vegetable stock.
2. Rinse lentils. Boil in up to 5 cups of water.
3. Chop and fry vegetables. Add balsamic vinegar and brown sugar, then mix.
4. Top barley with lentils and vegetables. Sprinkle nuts and seeds on top.
5. Enjoy!

This may serve about 3 people, providing 21 grams of protein per meal.


What do I still have to do with this study?

I still have more stats to run on the data. This will help me determine if there are other factors that influence food choice, and if there are differences in food choices and influences between guys and girls. Going through your responses and comments will also help me bring you more practical tips.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at onsitenutrition@gmail.com.

Thanks!

Krystal Merrells

Culinary Camping

New Recipes from the Desert

I just got back from an awesome trip to Hueco Tanks, Texas! I thought I’d share some of my new recipes with you.

In general, I think these recipes will feed 2 very hungry climbers, or 4 lazy climbers.

Feel free to switch up or add any other vegetables to the recipes. This past trip, we often grated carrots just with a knife and added them to many pastas, sauces, and stir frys.

Mark’s Favourite Desert Jambalaya
First of all, this isn’t exactly Jambalaya. Another climber at the campsite said that’s what our dinner looked like, so it stuck! This dinner creation came from needing to use leftover pasta sauce and rice.

Note the CACTUS in the recipe!!! Go to the Vista Mercado. Walk to the back of the produce section, and look on the refrigerated shelves of produce. You’ll find bags of local farmed cactus!!! They are pre-sliced and taste SO GOOD!!! Like cucumber and kiwi combined. You can eat them on their own (like fruit), or you can fry them up for dinner (like vegetables).

2 cups dry rice
Water to make the rice
½ can/jar of tomato sauce
1 can kidney or black beans
Cactus
Bell peppers, sliced
Cayenne pepper
Cumin
Cilantro (optional)
Cheese (optional)

1. Make rice in one pot.
2. In another pot, fry cactus and bell pepper until soft.
3. Add sauce to fried cactus and bell pepper.
4. Drain and add beans to sauce and add as much spices as you want. Heat covered until sauce bubbles.
5. Add cilantro to sauce just before eating.
6. Mix sauce and rice together.
7. Top with cheese for extra goodness!


Impressive Mushroom Pineapple Cream Sauce
This looks really impressive camping, but is really easy to make. Put it on top of rice or pasta.

Vegetable oil
Garlic cloves, minced
Small onion, chopped
1 can mushroom soup (condensed)
1 can pineapple chunks/tidbits
1 can of meat (tuna, chicken, etc)
Broccoli, chopped

1. Heat oil in pot and fry garlic and onions until the onions are soft.
2. Add can of mushroom soup.
3. Add just the pineapple juice (not the chunks) into the pot and mix.
4. Add can of meat and mix.
5. Add broccoli.
6. Heat until sauce is bubbling, stir often.
7. Eat pineapple chunks on the side or mix in right before eating.
8. Place on top of rice or pasta.

** This goes well with carrots on the side.


More then just Pasta and Cheese
If you like tomatoes and cheese, this pasta is for you.

Pasta
Broccoli
Garlic cloves, minced
1 can (540 ml) diced tomatoes, drained
¼ cup (1 handful) of skim milk powder
¾ cup (or as much as you like) parmesan cheese

1. Prepare pasta in a pot. When pasta is almost ready, add in broccoli (broccoli only needs to boil for about 5 minutes).
2. Drain cooked pasta.
3. Add in all other ingredients, and mix well.

** This goes well with fried zucchini (or any other squash) on the side. We also fried canned chickpeas (until soft) with spices (basil, thyme), and had it with this pasta.


Vegetable Chicken Noodle Soup
I know you can buy a can of soup, but this tastes better and makes a lot.

2 cups (500 ml) water
1 can chicken broth
1 cup (8 oz) small pasta (macaroni, shells, etc.)
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried thyme
1 can chicken
1 can mixed vegetables, drained

1. In a pot, bring to boil water, broth, pasta and spices.
2. Add chicken and vegetables.
3. Ta Da! It’s done.

** This goes good with a potato and cheese. At the Hueco Rock Ranch, they have a microwave. Spear your potato a few times with a fork or knife before microwaving.


Double Stuffed Potato
Because the Hueco Rock Ranch has a microwave, I was able to make my favourite potatoes! They take extra effort, but I love them ☺

Potato
Vegetables, chopped
Cheese

1. Microwave potato until soft on the inside (about 10 or more minutes).
2. Cut potato in half.
3. Scoop out the insides (leaving 2 potato skin shells). Careful, the potatoes will be hot on your worn fingertips!
4. In a bowl, mash the potato insides and add chopped vegetables, such as chopped broccoli, carrots or spinach.
5. Line the potato skin shells with cheese.
6. Fill the potato skin shells with the mashed mixture and top with more cheese.
7. Put back in microwave to melt the cheesy goodness.
8. Enjoy!

** At home, I do the same but bake them in the oven.


Hueco Lunch at the Boulders
At the Vista Mercado, you can buy avocados for cheap!! You can also buy fresh made whole-wheat tortillas. Here’s a delicious wrap to pack for a day in the park.

Whole-wheat tortilla
Cheese
Avocado
Dried apple

1. Line centre of tortilla with cheese.
2. Slice avocado centre into strips and line on top of cheese.
3. Add dried apple pieces on top (seriously, this tastes REALLY GOOD!)
4. Fold, pack, and go!

** You can also put these sandwich fixings on regular bread.
** Be sure to bring some fruit, snack bars, jerky, juice, and other snacks. You want to stay fueled during the day. Also, bring plenty of water! In the desert, the day may get hotter then you think!


On the Fly Sports Drink
When we got to the Vista Mercado, we could not find Gatorade powder. So, we made our own sports drink for our climbing days.

Fruit juice powder
Water
Salt

1. Whatever the juice powder container says, put HALF of the powder measurement listed, in the same amount of water.
2. Add a pinch of salt (we found a salt shaker in the cooking shack at the Rock Ranch).
3. Shake and go.

** Note: the amount of juice powder you use may depend on your tolerance. Even some people can’t tolerate full strength Gatorade, and must dilute it.



Stay Tuned!!!

The first question I ever got on my Onsite Nutrition Facebook group page was about Protein Powders, and how much is too much. Since then, I have been searching and preparing a blog post on protein and climbing.

Just this January, new research was published on maximum amounts of protein needed for muscle! I contacted the researcher and now have more resources to use for the protein blog post.

Because protein is a large topic, another nutrition and rock climbing buddy of mine is helping me write the posts: there will be a series, of maybe 3 posts, coming in the near future.

So stay tuned!


Krystal Merrells
onsitenutrition@gmail.com

Published!!

Hello All!

Hope the Holidays are going well. I have received a great gift this season...my rock climbing research paper has officially been published!!!

You may remember my September 22, 2008 blog post, where I described my research study on two guys who essentially ate rice for a month-long climbing trip. I wrote a scientific paper on the study, and it has been published!

My paper is titled: "Following 2 diet-restricted male outdoor rock climbers: impact on oxidative stress and improvements in markers of cardiovascular risk".

It is in Volume 33, Issue 6, pp 1250-1256 of Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism.

You can find the paper on the journal's website at: http://pubs.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/rp-ps/journalDetail.jsp?jcode=apnm&lang=eng

Thanks to all those who helped out with my research! Hopefully more research into rock climbing is yet to come!

Krystal Merrells

Crag Cooking

Hey, it’s the holidays!! That means some climbers are packing up and heading to better temperatures and outdoor rock.

With nothing but a pot, a stove, and some utensils, its unlikely you will be cooking up a turkey at the campsite. But this holiday season, prepare more then just a pot of rice for your post-climbing meal.

Here are some simple recipes that you can cook at the crag.
For ingredient measurements that are “close enough”, use:
• 250 ml on a Nalgene bottle = 1 Cup
• Any camping mug ~ 1 Cup
• Any camping spoon ~ 1 Tbsp
• Half of any camping spoon ~ 1 Tsp

Vegetable Couscous and Chickpeas
This is so delicious and incredibly simple! I don’t even need to look at the recipe anymore to prepare it.

Couscous
2 Tbsp of oil
½ an onion and as much minced garlic as you like
1 Cup couscous
1 Envelope of vegetable soup mix (Example: Knorr, but any brand will do)
2 Cups boiling water

1. Heat oil in pot.
2. Stir/sauté onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add couscous to pot. Stir to coat grains with oil: 2-3 minutes.
4. Take pot off of burner.
5. Boil ~2 cups of water in another pot and add to couscous. Stir and cover.
6. Let couscous stand for ~7 minutes (it will almost quadruple in volume).
7. “Fluff” couscous (stir it) and serve it with chickpeas.

Chickpeas
1 Can of chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans)
2 Tbsp of oil
Herbs and spices of any kind (Examples: basil, oregano, cilantro, thyme, bay leaf)

1. Heat oil in pot/pan/pot lid.
2. Add chickpeas and constantly stir.
3. Add herbs.
4. Ready when chickpeas are soft.
5. Mix in with couscous.

This goes good with fresh zucchini if you have access to fresh vegetables:
1. Cut zucchini into even slices.
2. Fry in pan until soft.
3. Add whatever herbs you like or soy sauce (if available).
4. Grate cheese on top (optional).

Tuna Casserole
This is one way to rock Macaroni and Cheese. You can use any pasta in place of Mac n’ Cheese…just be sure to add some cheese to the recipe. Add a fruit and a glass of milk to this dish and you’ve got yourself a complete and balanced meal.

1 Box Mac n’ Cheese
1 Can tuna
2 Cups of vegetables (canned, frozen, fresh)
1 Can cream of mushroom soup

1. Make Mac n’ Cheese.
2. Add rest of ingredients to Mac n’ Cheese.
3. Stir and eat.

Coconut Risotto
You can purchase coconut milk in cans that do not need to be refrigerated, and bell peppers will last about 4 days in cooler drier environments (from my experience). Cumin is an awesome spice that makes a lot of things taste better…I suggest you get some ☺ Mix in some lentils or some canned tuna to this recipe to add a source of meat or alternatives.

1 Cup of rice
2 Tsp cumin
2 Bell peppers, minced
2 Garlic cloves, minced
½ Cup coconut milk

1. Cook rice, mix in the rest.

Burrito Night
I can’t take credit for this “recipe”, but I love burritos ☺ If you’ve been to Hueco Tanks, you know you can order up some fresh homemade burritos in the meat market behind the Vista Mercado for only a couple of bucks. You can also easily make burritos with just one pot at your campsite:

1 Can of chili
1 Can of refried beans
Carrot, grated/peeled/minced
Bell peppers, diced
Tomatoes, diced
Cheese, grated (optional)
Tortillas

1. Combine chili and refried beans in pot. Heat until bubbly.
2. Turn down heat and add vegetables.
3. Spoon mixture into tortillas, add cheese. Fold and enjoy.

* This is messy, but delicious.
* Add any other vegetables you like.
* Use vegetarian chili if you don’t want any meat.

What about pulses?
On climbing trips, you may like to bring different types of pulses (beans, chickpeas and lentils) because they store well and are a good source of protein when fresh meat isn’t always available. Dry pulses may need to be soaked before preparation. Here are some soaking methods you can use when you only have access to dry, and not canned beans or chickpeas:

Overnight soak method (not for lentils or split peas)
1. Rinse beans and put in water: throw away those that float or are shriveled.
2. Soak in 3 to 4 times the amount of water. Ex. 2 cups of beans would need 6 to 8 cups of water.
3. Soak for 10 hours.
4. Simmer until tender with lid partially covering: This requires a long slow cook.
a. Simmer times:

Garbanzo (chick peas): 4 hours
Mung beans: 3 hours
Soy beans: 2 hours
Pinto: 2 hours
Black beans: 1.5 hours
Kidney: 1.5 hours
Black-eyed peas: 1 hour

b. Add water while simmering to replace water that has been evaporated

Short soak method (especially used for lentils or split peas)
1. Rinse beans and put in water: throw away those that float or are shriveled.
2. Bring beans in water to full boil for 2 minutes.
3. Remove from heat.
4. Soak in the hot water for 1 hour.
5. Return to stove - simmer in same liquid until tender (if not already).

* Without soaking, beans would need to be boiled for several hours (twice as much water and twice as long as above), which may be a waste of fuel.

* Do not use hard water or add salt or lemon juice to the water, as these will prevent softening of your beans and chickpeas.

General Tips
From my climbing trips, I have learned a few tips to help keep variety in my diet, and to assure I’m getting foods from each food group everyday. If you have any tips that have worked for you, send them to me at onsitenutrition@gmail.com, so that I can share them with everyone else! Here are my tips:

Vegetables and fruit

• Bring a variety of dried fruit: apple rings, dried pineapple, banana chips, dried mango, raisins, craisins, etc.
• Buy potatoes and yams (sweet potatoes), avocados, apples, oranges (anything with a tough outer skin or that needs to be peeled): these last longer in the trunk of your car, or in the food containers at the campsite.
• Other vegetables that may last longer outdoors are: carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, snap peas.

Grains

• Try different kinds: pasta, couscous, quinoa, oats, rice, hot cereal, cold cereal…mix it up! If you get bored with your food, you’ll eat less, which means your body may not be getting all the fuel and nutrients it needs to recover and climb hard the next day.
• Pancake mix: just add water, fry, and you’ve got pancakes! You don’t even need syrup: add chunks of fruit into the mix and top with peanut butter or Nutella.

Milk and alternatives

• Get milk powder: it’s cheap, it’s an extra source of protein (same protein as in those protein powders some of us buy) and you can stir it into your morning cereals or into certain soups.
• Try shelf-stable milks: you can get these in regular cow milk or soymilk. These packages are aseptic containers that don’t need to be refrigerated until opened. You can buy these in 1 L sizes, or juice box-sized containers.
• Yogurt lasts longer: yogurt lasts longer then milk when not refrigerated because yogurt is slightly acidic. The last time I was in Hueco, we bought those yogurt tubes…they were great to throw into our crash pads and have for lunch on the mountain. Yogurt cups also work well.
• Cheese: harder cheese tends to last longer.

Meat and alternatives

• Experiment with pulses: beans, chickpeas, lentils.
• Add nuts and seeds to trail mix, breakfast cereals, wraps and pastas: sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, etc.
• Spread peanut butter, almond butter, soy butter on sandwiches, wraps, crackers or fruit.
• Beef or other jerkys may be high in sodium, but it may satisfy what some of you are craving.
• If you have frequent access to a store, you could purchase some eggs and hard cook them.
• Canned tuna and salmon are common favourites: add them to any pasta or other grain dish.

Oatmeal
A lot can be done to oatmeal to make it more of a balanced meal:

• Top with dried or fresh fruit: raisins, apple rings, craisins, banana chips, berries.
• Add milk powder when preparing.
• Mix in a spoon of peanut (or other nut) butter.
• Stir in seeds.
• Add in flaxseed: flaxseed is becoming very popular in nutrition news. It is a source of omega-3 fats, and an excellent source of fibre, meaning it may help keep your bowels moving when some climbers’ diets may be a bit refined ☺ You can buy flaxseed in seed form, ground up, or powder form. The form changes the taste.

Wherever you travel to this season, enjoy the climbing and enjoy your food!

Happy Holidays,

Krystal Merrells