PUBLISHED 06/13/2007
You just came in from a run. You're dripping with sweat, and you know you need to eat something within a half-hour for optimal recovery. But you're not hungry. In fact, you don't feel like eating, which is perfectly normal since most of your blood is still in your muscles, not your stomach. What's a runner to do? Hit the freezer.
After a hot summer run, sorbet, Italian ice, and other frozen treats are much easier to stomach than solid food. Here are four make-your-own frozen foods, suggested by Florida nutrition expert Lisa Dorfman, R.D., author of The Vegetarian Sports Nutrition Guide.
1. Take a favorite fruit juice-or even Hawaiian Punch or a sports drink-and freeze it. To make sweeter-tasting fruit pops, use frozen fruit juice concentrate and mix in only half the amount of water the directions call for. If you don't own plastic Popsicle molds, simply pour the juice into paper cups or an ice-cube tray, cover with plastic wrap, and poke tongue depressors or toothpicks through the wrap.
2. Freeze your mushy, spotty, overripe bananas (peel them first). Once frozen they take on the consistency and sweetness of ice cream.
3. Remove a bunch of grapes from the stem, place them in a plastic bag and freeze them. You can also freeze blueberries and raspberries in plastic bags.
4. Make a drink by blending sweetened frozen strawberries with frozen mixed fruit, crushed ice, and juice. Or add yogurt or low-fat milk for a tasty smoothie.
