You know the seasons are changing in my household by my breakfast cravings. That, and also if I have a race coming up. With the NYC Urbanathlon this Saturday, I’m gearing up by adding more carbs in my diet the week before. It’s important not to just eat at a pasta buffet the night before but to gradually increase the number of calories you get from good carbs during the week before the race. This week my obsession is with making Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Rolled Oats with chia seeds in my rice cooker.
I like to add double the water suggested, 1/2 tablespoon of chia seeds, and cinnamon. The oatmeal literally triples in size creating a huge bowl of yummy nutty goodness. I’m sure this would work in the morning but it’s easy to make after dinner. Just set it and go. Turn off before bed.
The first time I made the rolled oats in the rice cooker, I made a mistake leaving it on all night. They were still edible but the sides were crusty. I kinda like the crust to eat, but not to clean. I wake up at least once in the night, so now I just try to remember to turn it off half way through. It only takes about 2.5 hours so if you can remember to do it 2 hours before bed, you don’t need to worry about over cooking it. You just add in the chia seeds and rolled oats with 1.5 times extra the amount of water suggested (1/2 cup of oats with 1.5 cups of water).
I made a 1/2 serving yesterday to eat before my 5 mile tempo run (1/4 cup of oats with .75-1 cup of water). I love how the chia seeds expand and seem to attach onto the cinnamon. I added a splash of almond milk with some NuNaturals stevia as well for sweetness.
For some extra protein and healthy fats, this morning I added a 1/4 cup of greek yogurt and a handful of walnut. For a fall twist, I also sprinkled on some pumpkin pie spice from Trader Joe’s.
Now I’m off to take Barre Burn at Equinox, their knock-off version of The Bar Method.
Have you ever made the carbo loading mistake and had an unfortunate race day running to the porto-potties??
