As shared on SportsDietitian.com
When I was training for my first IRONMAN - Ironman Cairns, in June 2021, my weekends quickly became filled with getting comfortable on the bike (or getting comfortable with being uncomfortable...) for 7 hours. It meant I needed to be fuelling regularly to keep my focus, delay my fatigue and keep my muscles moving well… and also get recovering asap.
For some endurance athletes, they work well or prefer liquids for their carbohydrates; others use sports foods like gels and bars; and some like whole foods. Any option is good, as long as it’s done well. Personally, I prefer a mix of all of the above. But to make sure I’m getting bang for my buck, especially since I don’t have much space to carry food on my bike, I like to pick foods that can pack in the carbohydrates.
This is where the idea for my BIKE BROWNIES came from. I’ve added maltodextrin powder to our sweet potato brownie recipe to double the carbohydrates - 21g in one square. It’s a mix of sweet and savoury, which breaks it up from gels and sports drink on the bike.
Maltodextrin is typically derived from corn and is what a lot of gels and many sports drinks are made from.
So, if you’re looking for a carbohydrate rich whole food for your long distance triathlon, running, trail running or swimming, give these ago!
BIKE BROWNIES | Makes 12 (21g carbohydrates, 72mg sodium, 2g protein)
Ingredients:
1 medium sweet potato (approx. 350g/12 oz), grated
2 eggs
¼ cup (2 fl. oz) self raising flour (or GF flour)
100g (3.5 oz) maltodextrin powder
*¼ cup (2 fl oz) honey (or other sweetener)
½ cup (4 fl oz) cacao or cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
METHOD:
Preheat oven to 180°C fan-forced / 356F.
Mix all ingredients into a medium bowl.
Pour into lined/ greased non-stick muffin holes or into a lamington tray to make bars.
Bake for 35-40 minutes.
Store in fridge for a week and freeze for up to 3 months in portions.
Let us know what you think! @multisport_nutrition Happy training and eating, Christie