Thirsty (for knowledge) Thursday: The BEST Performance Breakfast

Matt Fitzgerald (endurance coach, nutritionist, and author of "The Endurance Diet") has talked to a lot of elite athletes about their eating habits, and he says that OATMEAL comes up again and again. He wrote this article about it.

You’re most likely to see oatmeal served with a ton of fixin’s, but even a bowl of plain oats holds its own as a nutritional panacea. Oatmeal is a whole grain (unless you buy oat bran—just part of the seed—as opposed to rolled oats) filled with key vitamins and minerals, a low-glycemic carb that provides lasting energy for your workout and helps fuel recovery without causing a sugar crash, and high in fiber to aid your digestive and metabolic systems.

But a bowl of oats is also a big blank canvas, ready to be combined with a truckload of other high-quality, nutritious ingredients that make it even better training food. “That’s one of oatmeal’s great virtues. You can take it in so many directions,” says Fitzgerald.

We've been making a lot of steel cut oats with pumpkin lately - Henry loves to reheat it as breakfast for a few days.

It’s easy to make. All you have to do is boil a ratio of 1/2 cup rolled oats to one cup liquid—either water or a milk of your choice—and top it with whatever you need that day. (For steel-cut oats, change the ratio to 1/4 cup oats to one cup liquid.)

The article goes on to share 6 recipes from 6 different athletes. One of them is Gwen Jorgensen’s recipe that she eats 6 days/week and claims she never gets sick of it:

Big Bowl o’ Oats

- 4 cups water or milk
- 2 cups oats
- 4 eggs (Poach ahead of time in water with a bit of vinegar and salt)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil

Cook and top with generous servings of sliced banana, raisins, yogurt, berries, dried fruit, nuts, and/or peanut butter.

He also writes about Lucy Bartholomew's (ultrarunner) oatmeal, and Mark Healey's (surfer) sounds good because he adds in some brown sugar. Fitz also share's Cat Bradley's (ultrarunner) recipe, Kirsten Sweetland's (Olympic triathlete), and Steph Violett's (ultrarunner). Go check them out in this article.

For more "Thirsty Thursday" posts that highlight workouts, body science, and all kinds of interesting information, CLICK HERE. As always, back with some "Friday Funnies" tomorrow.