Injured: A Guide to Eating For A Fast Recovery

Now this is not my normal food post (no yummy recipe unfortunately, sorry!). But I think equally important, so I felt I should share. When a person is injured, either a sports related injury or any accident, how important diet is in the recovery, mentally and physically! After all it would be easy to just eat rubbish junk food while on bed rest or not being able to exercise. This however is not the solution and have discussed these points below. Please do comment after reading this post and let me know your thoughts on this interesting subject.

I will start at the beginning on how intrigued I became with the subject of recovery. A few weeks ago I had a car accident. I was the only person in the car thankfully and I came out very lucky... Glass cuts, bruises and a very sore back but overall okay! I was told to rest, and to be honest I had no choice as my back was very sore standing and even sitting down. This continued for a good week after my accident. In the first few days after I completely lost my appetite presumably due to shock (anyone who knows me knows I am a complete foodie, yes hence the name). Not being able to eat the smallest bowl of porridge was surprising. But then it occurred to me that I wasn't active, doing my usual routine of work, gym or swimming. So it was good I wasn't eating as much food as my regular diet because I didn't need to. It was more about listening to my body, eating when hungry and stop when my stomach felt content.

Focusing on the quality of what I was eating was of course another light bulb moment. Just like an injured runner I needed to eat right for a fast recovery. I eat clean anyway but this was adapting my diet to aid the repair of my muscles, tissue and ligaments specifically. This meant eating a balance of the following and definitely not cutting out any food group: 

Powders and Spices for Optimum Health

I think it is so important to add additional nutrients, vitamins and minerals in your daily routine. 

Mainly these do come from the meals we eat for example sweet potato which is so rich in Vitamin A as well as high in Vitamin B-6 , magnesium and potassium. But these powders are the nutritions and minerals in their most raw and potent form that will aid the bodies functions to perform and live to our best!

After adding these in my, already healthy diet, I have more energy and am able to keep healthy at optimum level (AKA no sick days needed from work- Literally!)

Dont stress about adding all of these straight away because it might not be what your body needs. Read below the benefits of each powder and if you feel like you could improve that area of your health then try it out! Small changes do make a big difference.

My personal Top Five are: 

Homemade Garlic and Basil Pesto

Got a perfect dish like a salad or rice pasta but cannot think to add to it, that is clean and tasty?! Enter pesto!

There are many different pesto flavours, and this is a recipe for Garlic and Basil, which means I can use my basil plant! So great and satisfying using your own fresh produce, not just for freshness and flavour but also a lot more cost efficient.

Also so quick to whip up a batch, can be easily done for last minute flavour!

Warming Vegetable Bolognese

The most famous pasta dish is Spaghetti Bolognese, everyone knows and loves it (well almost everyone!). Warming, nourishing, filling and the rich tomato, garlic and herb flavours combined creates a quick dish for anyone to enjoy. But for all you vegetarians and vegans out there, here is a recipe for you! 

The bolognese can be combined with many different options! The lightest meal would be to add it to a base of my marinated kale and spinach salad (click here for the recipe). In contrast for a more comfort food dish that is still clean, is on a bed of spaghetti rice pasta (gluten free)! This is the closest to the 'traditional' Spaghetti Bolognese and tastes amazing! 

Quinoa, Almond and Mint Salad

I am feeling really inspired at the moment with Moroccan food! The mix of flavours are amazing and create an unbelievable combination. This salad is inspired by a Moroccan couscous salad, that includes sweet raisins, crunchy salted almonds and fresh herbs!

This dish is not only gluten free it is also vegan too! I cannot get over the taste of this salad, the quinoa makes it so filling, as well as the avocado. No green leaves are this recipe so it is very much a hearty salad.

Almond Butter Biscuits

Nut butters are just heaven (apart from peanut, sorry). If you are like me I could go through a pot of almond butter in a couple of days! I kept seeing peanut biscuit recipes everywhere, but as I do not like the taste of peanuts I thought almond butter would be unbelievable in a cookie!! Sweet and packed with protein!

So I experimented and came up with a recipe I am proud of and so happy to share with all of you! 

The Trick to a Great Kale Salad

A portion of kale is hard to beat when talking about the number of nutrients and minerals it contains. It is great to include if you want a healthy and balanced diet. There are so many benefits of eating the green stuff including a high source of vitamins A, C and K, as well as improve blood glucose control in diabetics, lowering the risk of cancer and blood pressure and improving bone healthy!

So that leads me on to introducing a trick to creating a great Kale Salad.