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| Copyright 2012 - Human Spirit of Adventure |
Proper nutrition is essential for any adventurer. Spending
hours, days, or even weeks on the trail can take a major toll on the body.
Hiking, backpacking, skiing, climbing, and many other adventure sports require
the body to spend its reserves to keep pushing through the tough times.
In this series, we will be discussing various ways to keep
the body nourished both prior to your adventure and during.
Proper nutrition and body preparation starts at home long
before your adventure begins. We all know that exercise and keeping the body
conditioned is essential, but most of us lack on the proper diet. Eating right,
if not your everyday thing, should become a priority during the months leading
up to your adventure.
To gear your body, you should take in the proper amounts of
protein, carbs, and fats… yes, fats. Fat is what you want your body to feed
from when it goes into the reserves. If your fat content is too low, the body
will begin to burn its lean muscle (after all, muscle is nutritious).
One area where people have a common failing is getting the
proper amounts of fruits and vegetables in their diets. The old adage of “5
cups of fruits and vegetables a day” is no longer adequate says the medical
guru’s. According to the CDC, Adults need anywhere from 7-13 cups of produce
daily to get all the health benefits of fruits and vegetables -- including
possible protection against obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and
cancer.
I know what you’re saying… “How am I going to fit 7 to 13
cups of fruit or vegetables into my diet?”
The best way that I have found to do this is to drink my fruits and eat my vegetables. That’s right… I eat my vegetables like
cucumbers, squash, carrots, etc. as their regular chunky and crunchy selves,
but I drink my fruits. No, I’m not talking about buying expensive fruit juices,
loaded with extra sugars either… I make non-dairy smoothies.
Smoothies are an easy way to get the servings down because
it is far easier to drink than to eat. Now I’m not talking about buying those
wallet-draining, calorie-loaded, sugar-filled, smoothies from Whole Foods or
somewhere like that. I make mine right at home using whole fruits bought from
the local market, tossing them into the blender, adding a little water, and
viola… a perfect non-dairy smoothie.
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| Copyright 2012 - Human Spirit of Adventure |
Here is one of my favorite recipes:
½ cup of blueberries
½ cup of raspberries
½ cup of blackberries
1 cup of grapes
1 large banana
1 large orange
3 cups water
Blend or puree to desired consistency. Leave in the pulp for
needed fiber
It's important to eat a rainbow of colored fruits and
vegetables every day. The pigments act as antioxidants -- helping to rid your
body of "free radicals," that can damage cells.
This blended smoothie yields about eight servings of fruit…
if you drink half today, along with the hard veggies at your regular meals,
then you have it made and didn’t have to overstuff your gut to do it.
So in your preparations for your next adventure, remember to
eat right, get all of your fruits and veggies, and get strong. So go make
yourself a smoothie and enjoy!
Next: Fruit on the trail
