As a vegetarian it is very easy to fall into the trap of eating the same dishes. I often find myself getting bored of food and when this happens I eat the wrong food.

In order to ensure I get all the nutrients I need and to stay on track I have been researching various recipes that are full of fuel for the increased training.

Lentil Casserole

The first recipe I stumbled across was from the London Marathon website itself. With the title “one pot dinners” I read on to find a “Sausage and Lentil Casserole”. Due to the fact that Lentils are packed with protein this recipe is perfect to help muscle repair after a training session. Obviously, as I am a vegetarian I skipped adding the sausages and also their suggestion for Chick Peas as a replacement – giving it my own twist and removing ingredients I am not too keen on.

Ingredients:

2 cups of red lentils, 1 onion, garlic, carrots, courgettes, celery, spinach, tinned tomatoes, vegetable stock, cumin and olive oil.

Not one for following recipes exactly; I fried up the vegetables in a little olive oil and garlic until slightly browned – then added the cumin.

The next stage was to add the pre-washed lentils; stirring them in with the tinned tomatoes.

Cover with vegetable stock, stirring occasionally and adding more water as the lentils start to absorb the liquid.

Once cooked (for me it took around 30-45 minutes cooking on a very low heat) season to taste and box into portions for the week ahead.

Raw “Snickers” Bar

Over the last two years I have really been getting into making “clean treats.” Not only are they great alternatives to sugary snacks, but most of those I have made to date are extremely tasty.

After Christmas I really had a craving for snickers bars. So, thinking there must be a clean version out there, I discovered a recipe from A Sunshine Mission. Again, with all recipes I find I alter them slightly – sometimes due to the fact that ingredients are hard to find. For example, with this recipe it lists “brown rice syrup”. However, of all the health stores I went to I could not find this. Therefore I replaced this with maple syrup.

Ingredients.

For the base – 1 1/2 cups of cashews, 1/2 cup of shredded coconut, 8 medjool dates (I used regular dates), 3 tablespoons of maple syrup.

From the peanut butter caramel – 8 dates, 1/4 cup of peanut better (I used Meridian 100% peanut butter), 2 tablespoons of almond milk, 1 tablespoon of maple syrup.

For assembly – 1/4 cup of peanuts, 1/2 a bar of raw chocolate (75% and above).

Method:

The base:

1. In a food processor, process the cashews into small pieces
2. Add coconut, dates and maple syrup and process until it forms a sticky dough.
3. Press into a loaf pan and place into the freezer

The Caramel

1. Process all ingredients, adding almond milk a little at a time until a smooth caramel forms.
2. Spread the caramel over the base.

For Assembly

1. Scatter peanuts on top of the caramel and press down lightly.
2. Melt the chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 15 seconds until completely melted.
3. Drizzle chocolate over the top of the bars.
4. Place back in the freezer until hardened.
5. When ready cut into bars.

I found that storing these in the freezer after cut stopped them from melting and loosing shape – plus they keep longer. I take one out the freezer each time I fancy a sweet treat.

They are so tasty! I thoroughly recommend trying these yourself.