Breakfast / Cheese / Light lunch / Vegetarian

Leek and Cheese Muffins

The perfect snack after a strength training session provides carbohydrate to replenish muscle glycogen, the body’s premium source of fuel for strenuous exercise and protein to repair and regenerate muscle fibres damaged during exercise. The presence of amino acids in the bloodstream and their availability to muscle cells is vital for repair and growth after exercise. The most rapidly digested protein is whey, found predominantly in milk and dairy products. Once digested, whey protein delivers high levels of amino acids that seem to stimulate growth and repair of the muscles. These muffins deliver on both counts there is plenty of carbohydrate from the flour and whey protein from the milk and cheese, nicely flavoured with the leek and tomatoes.

Breakfast / Light lunch / Side dish / Vegetarian

Leek and Oat Savoury Pancakes

When it comes to endurance events the key is plenty of carbohydrate in the diet. Carbohydrate is the fuel your muscles use while you are exercising but stores in the body are small, so a regular intake of carbohydrate-rich foods is necessary to keep them topped up. Low stores will result in poor performance and increase the risk of injury. Choose carbohydrate foods that release their energy slowly such as the oats used in this pancake recipe and flavoured with the leeks and tomatoes.

Cheese / Light lunch / Salad / Side dish / Vegetarian

Leek, Feta and Pomegranate Couscous

Research has shown that the best way to lose weight is to choose meals that help you feel fuller for longer while being low in calories. This means choosing meals that are balanced in carbohydrates, protein and plenty of fruit and vegetables. This couscous salad is a perfect match. The couscous provides some starchy carbohydrate, the feta provides protein and the leeks and other ingredients contribute to you 5-a-day whilst keeping the calorie content low.

Cheese / Main course / Pasta / Vegetarian

Leek, Red Pepper and Cashew Nut Lasagne

Whether you are doing a lot of weight bearing exercise such as running or non-weight bearing such as swimming, it is vital you look after your bone health by meeting your calcium needs. Milk and low fat cheese are an important source of calcium, which is needed to build and maintain healthy strong bones and the calcium in dairy products is easily absorbed. Other sources of calcium include nuts and green vegetables such as leeks.