Recovery Meal Idea - Em's Burritos

You’ve just smashed yourself on a big session and need to replenish the stores. If you’re feeling tired cooking is probably the last thing you feel like doing, but this recipe is quick, easy, totally delicious and nutritious!

In addition to tasting great, this meal also exceeds the nutritional requirements for both carbohydrate and protein, serving as an ideal post-workout recovery feed. Within 30 minutes of finishing a hard workout, it’s recommendation that you consume 1.2g of carbohydrate per kilo of body weight and about 20g in protein, and then you repeat this every hour for the next three hours.

The harder and longer the session, the more important your recovery nutrition becomes. However, rather than having three additional feedings in the subsequent hours, a more practical approach is to have a quick smoothie in the first 30 minute window and then follow up with a nice big main meal, such as this—Em’s Rockin’ Recovery Burritos.

The high protein content in this burrito recipe is entirely plant-based, so it’s easy to digest, and it is complete protein due to the combination of starch, beans and vegetables. The fat comes from monounsaturated olive oil and pumpkin seeds which are good fats.

I’ve also added a generous dose of turmeric which is a natural anti-inflammatory, as well as a whopping bunch of mixed super-food greens; spinach, kale, silver beet and beet greens and stems. The ones used in this recipe all came from my garden; they are super easy to grow and don’t take up too much space—you can even grow them in pots. The greens add to the protein content as well as providing vitamins, minerals and powerful antioxidants. Follow these easy instructions to nutritional and culinary bliss. 

Ingredients

• Four large burrito wraps (I use spinach or wholegrain wraps)

• One can of refried beans

• One tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

• One medium onion

• Six to eight cloves of garlic

• One or two teaspoons each of coriander powder, turmeric and cayenne pepper

• Two medium tomatoes

• Large bowl of mixed greens – spinach, kale, silver beet, beet greens

• 60g pumpkin seeds

• Two handfuls fresh parsley and coriander, chopped

• Cracked black pepper

Method

Dice the onion and finely chop the garlic.

Measure up your spices.

Method Measure Spices 1

 

Rip up all the greens, and dice the tomato; set aside.

Add the olive oil to a large iron skillet on medium heat.

Add the onion, garlic and spices to the skillet and sauté for two or three minutes until translucent. If it is a little dry add a splash of water, rather than more oil to achieve a slightly pasty base.

Method saute 2

 

Add the refried beans and mix through.

Method add beans 3

 

Add the greens and tomato and fold through—they should be heaped over the skillet but will quickly reduce down.

Method add veggies 4

 

Continue to mix gently. Once the greens have reduced, which only takes a few minutes, the mix is ready!

Method mix ready 5

 

Remove from the heat and pile a quarter of the mixture onto each of the wraps.

Top with the chopped coriander, parsley, pumpkin seeds and fresh cracked pepper. Wrap them up and prepare for a symphony of flavours and goodness that your body is craving!

Method topping wraps 6

 

Method finished meal 7

General Info

Number of servings: Two

Serving size: Two wraps per person

Nutritional information per serve: Kcal 846, Carbohydrate 115g (54%), Protein 38g (18%), Fat 26g (28%)

This recipe can be adapted to include any mix of vegetables, such as broccoli, shredded carrot or mushrooms. It can also be topped with sunflower seeds or anything else you like. You will definitely feel like superwoman or superman after eating this and your body will thank you for it. Bon appetite!