Meat on a stick is delicious, especially when it’s wrapped up in carbs. Restore the kebab’s good name. These athlete-friendly pita recipes are the four most powerful in their class.
RECOVERY PACK
Teriyaki Salmon
Ingredients
• 2 salmon fillets
• 12 cherry tomatoes
• 4 wholewheat pitas
Marinade
• 4 garlic cloves
• pinch of chilli
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• splash of sesame oil
Serves 4
Prep time: 5 min
Cooking time: 4 min
Method:
01. This salmon kebab is the best-tasting recovery meal you can knock up in 10 minutes, packed with antioxidants and omega-3 fats. Chop the fish fillets, crush the garlic and leave to marinate for as long as
you can be patient.
02. Thread the salmon and tomatoes onto skewers, then grill for 4 minutes. The honey adds high-GI carbs to restock your muscles with glycogen – handy if you can’t justify an afternoon on the couch. Now stuff those pitas and eat.
POWER PROVIDER
Satay Beef Sticks
Ingredients
• 2 steaks
• 8 mushrooms
• 2 red chillies
• 2 garlic cloves
• lettuce leaves
• 4 wholewheat pitas
Satay sauce
• 150ml coconut milk
• grated ginger
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
Serves 4
Prep time: 8 min
Cooking time: 10 min
Method:
01. This is full of the fats and amino acids you need when training hard. Beef provides creatine for muscle energy, while mushrooms inhibit production of growth-limiting
oestrogen. Rub the steak with
chilli slices and crushed garlic.
02. Chop the meat and skewer with the ’shrooms. Grill for 7 minutes – less if you prefer rare steak. In a pan, heat the coconut milk, ginger,
peanut butter and fish sauce until
it thickens. Put the lettuce and meat into pitas and pour on the sauce.
INJURY BLOCKER
Pesto-glazed Veg and Halloumi
Ingredients
• 1 large pack of
Halloumi cheese
• 8 mushrooms
• 2 small
baby marrows
• 2 peppers
• 4 tbsp pesto
• ½ juiced lemon
• glug olive oil
• 4 wholewheat pitas
Serves 4
Prep time: 5 min
Cooking time: 20 min
Method:
01. Strength doesn’t always mean steak. Vitamin C from the peppers and calcium in Halloumi boost collagen synthesis for bone health and cartilage repair. Chop the veg and cheese, and stir through the pesto, lemon and oil.
02. Grill the lot on a medium heat
for 20 minutes to blacken the
Halloumi, getting more flavour from the protein-dense cheese. Tuck in before a big lifting session to prep your joints and muscles with the nutrients they need.
ENERGY SKEWERS
Hot Chicken Shish
Ingredients
• 2 chicken breasts
• 12 cherry tomatoes
• chilli powder,
cayenne pepper
and cumin, pinch
of each
• 4 white pitas
Serves 4
Prep time: 5 min
Cooking time: 7 min
Method:
01. The quick-release carbs in white pitas provide instant energy and trigger your body’s insulin response; when combined with protein this increases muscle synthesis. Chop your chicken and give it a good rub with the spices.
02. Thread the chicken and tomatoes onto skewers and stick them under the grill for 7 minutes or so. Stuff ’em into the pita pockets for easy energy replenishment – now wolf it down like you’re rushing for the last train home.
