Top nutrition tips for The March Charge

Want to set and smash a personal fitness goal and raise funds for life-saving cancer research? Then sign up to The March Charge! 

The March Charge is the month-long fitness challenge anyone can do – because you set the goal yourself.  Choose a distance for your Charge, walk or run it by yourself or as a team, and raise vital funds for life-saving cancer research. 

To help your Charge, we have come up with top nutrition tips to help you fuel up and reach your fitness goal! 

Breakfast of champion chargers  

Break the overnight fast with one of these nutritious breakfast ideas to replenish your energy stores and kick start your day so that you are ready and alert to charge into your fitness routine.    

• Zuccini and corn fritters: make a batch ahead of time and freeze to save time in the morning. 
• Breakfast muffin cups: eggs are a great source of protein for building muscles. 
• Banana pikelets: bananas are rich in nutrients that are important for exercise and are easy to digest.

Or if time is an issue, try these recipes that can be made the night before ready to grab and go in the morning: 

• Fruit salad parfairs: use canned, frozen or fresh fruit 
• Yoghurt oats sultanas: oats are packed full of nutrients for sustained energy throughout your day. 

Healthy snacks for your Charge

Keeping your energy levels up is important during training.   

Here are some healthy snacks to keep you charged: 

• No bake cookies: packed full of fibre and great for sustained energy 
• Crunchy snack mix: a quick and easy recipe 
• Oaty biscuits: a healthier alternative to when you feel tempted to reach into the sweet biscuit tin 
• Carrot zucchini muffins: these muffins are a delicious snack that will add to your daily vegetable intake too! 

Check out the Healthy Lunch Box website for more healthy snack ideas! 

Post Charge–workout meals 

It’s important to replenish your glycogen stores and repair muscles by eating a nutritious meal that contains carbohydrates and protein. 

Check out these healthy meal ideas: 

• Pizza and salad –  just because you are training, doesn’t mean you can’t have pizza! Try our easy pizza and our vegetarian caesar salad recipes.
• Soy and ginger chicken noodle salad – not feeling like a big meal? Try this fresh and crunchy salad. 
• Sesame crusted snapper and coleslaw – great source of protein and can be popped into a wrap for extra carbohydrates. 
• Fried rice – packed full with vegies, the meal is a one pot wonder! 
• Beef koftas and tabouli – great source of iron which helps carry oxygen to your muscles. 

Remember to hydrate!  

Staying well hydrated while you charge towards your goal is just as important as eating nutritious food, especially if the weather is hot.  The general rule is: if you’re sweating, you need to be drinking fluids.    

While you may think a soft drink, cordial, iced tea or sports drink is best for when you exercise, sweet drinks can make you thirstier.  So rather than reaching for a sugary drink, plain tap water is the best drink choice.  It’s inexpensive and quenches your thirst.    

However, if you’re looking for something different, here are some good options:    

• Water flavoured with slices of lemon, cucumber, strawberries or mint.  You could even add some berries or cucumber slices to a bottle of water and freeze.  
• Frappes made with ice and blended frozen fruit make for a nice treat and are also packed with fibre.   
• Fruit and vegies are full of fluid, so take some snacks during training like oranges, melon or cucumber sticks.    

To hydrate before or after you exercise, good old plain milk is a great combination of protein and carbohydrate.  You could also blend the milk with fruit of your choice for a delicious filling smoothie. Remember there is no need to add expensive protein powders!  Try out these recipes: berrylicious smoothie or green smoothie. 

Sign up for The March Charge to raise funds for life-saving cancer research.