NUTRITION

Feeling the post-Christmas pinch? Then load up with some of the cheapest, yet most nutritious, ingredients for four delicious post-training meals

As we’re all too aware, as triathletes, there are many demands on our money, so anything that makes it stretch a little further must be a good thing, right? With that in mind, this month I’ve devised four recipes to really give you bang for your buck.

First up, Tagliatelle with roasted onions and tomatoes, harissa and crispy bacon. Onions cost next to nothing. Slow-roast them and they morph into caramelised delectableness. The same goes when you roast cheap, normally tasteless tomatoes. Pop them in the oven before a training ride, then once you’re back simply toss them and all their juices into your pasta, add harissa for even more depth of flavour and top with crispy bacon for a nicely balanced, highly nutritious

and sustaining meal for four for around £1 a portion.

Next, this simple and speedy Omelette with peas, potato, mushrooms and feta is a regular midweek feature in our house. Packed with great quality protein to help muscle recovery, we love it when we get home from the gym, often late evening. Keep a family-pack of peas in the freezer; they’re a great source of vitamin C, fibre and minerals such as potassium, magnesium and calcium. And cheap too!

You need to work a bit for this Sweet potato gnocchi with tomato sauce, but this is a delicious and very satisfying way to make one large sweet potato stretch to a meal for four. Toss with a flavoursome tomato sauce and fresh rosemary for an immune-boosting training supper, packed with slow-releasing carbohydrate to keep your energy levels sustained.

Lastly, I couldn’t write a piece on budget meals without mentioning lentils. Love them or hate them, they’re highly nutritious and incredibly good value. Spruced up with lots of anti-inflammatory garlic, ginger and spices in this comforting Red lentil dhal with chicken and cauliflower, they’re high fibre and low GI, keeping you fuller for longer and helping maintain stable blood glucose levels. Make this dish even better by serving with basmati rice, a chapati and a dollop of mango chutney.