Pre-run Meal - My Favourite Power Smoothy

Over the years I've been experimenting with different pre-run meals. I've tried everything from the regular bowl of muesli, pasta or a couple of bananas. The trouble with the solid foods is that you need to give yourself at least 30 minutes to digest them. Not ideal when you trying to get out early before work or before 30° sun beams start beating down on you. Bananas are a good all round nutritious and digestible option, except for me personally I can't stand eating plain bananas - they literally make me want to dry wretch! However, bananas blended with other tasty ingredients are a winner.

The great thing about a smoothie is that you can tailor the ingredients to match you nutritional needs, it's super digestible, quick to drink and tastes great. I usually have my smoothie first thing after getting up. By the time I'm dressed, got my gear together and warmed up, 20 minutes have passed and I'm good to go for up to 25 km.

These are the basic ingredients. You can throw in some extra grains, chia seeds, berries or whatever, but often I just keep it plain. In terms of the liquid, I prefer soy milk as dairy creates mucus, can upset the stomach and promotes inflammation. I also like to add some water or ice to make it thinner and easier to drink.

• 1 Banana - Carbohydrates, fats, sodium, protein, vitamins 
• Handful raw oat meal - Carbohydrates, Fiber
• 1 or 2 dates - Carbohydrates, Protein, Vitamins
• 10 Raw cashew nuts - Iron, Protein, Fats
• Tbls Goji berries - Vitamin A and C, Sodium
• Soy Milk - Protein, Potassium, Sodium, Calcium, Carbohydrates, fats
• Ice or water - Hydration

Now blend it. It's so worth getting a good blender. I got a 1000 watt Nutri-ninja® and it's a game changer. I recommend any blender with at least 800 watts of horse power to crunch the chunky stuff.