What a nutritionist says about my week of “strengthening” meals

I shared the recipes with the brilliant dietitian Tai Ibitoye, along with how I felt throughout the week. Sharing her feedback on the challenge, she gave these main takeaways:

You consumed a variety of fruits and vegetables, such as spinach, tomatoes, courgettes, peas and beans within main meals and oranges and bananas as snacks. Fruits and vegetables are great sources of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals (naturally occurring plant substances) and fibre that are vital for good health.
You consumed good sources of protein like butterbeans, peas, tofu and caramel nougat bar which can help with the muscle repair process especially when working out. But it would be great to include a bit more variety.
The meals contained some essential micronutrients such as calcium, iron and B vitamins – which have various roles in the body like keeping bones healthy, making hemoglobin (a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to all parts of the body) and supporting energy production.
Ensuring that you’re well-hydrated is so important for performance when working out and it also restores hydration levels afterwards in order to replace the water and salts that are lost through sweat. Also, having soups like the vegan soup contributes towards fluid intake too (it’s not just water!) which is good.
I suggest including more starchy carbohydrate food sources in your meal plan as a diet low in carbohydrates can lead to a lack of energy during exercise, early fatigue and delayed recovery. Carbohydrate is stored in muscles as glycogen. The body’s stores of glycogen are limited and need to be replenished each day, particularly if you are exercising frequently. This may explain why you sometimes felt very tired.

“I batch cooked these ‘strengthening’ meals for a week – and the results surprised me”