We’re all busy, we fit more into a life than most. To keep doing what we do and to stay healthy while maintaining a lean, muscular physique. We need to make sure we get enough vegetables in our diet. It’s very easy to fall into the trap of getting most of our carbs from wheat products.

There are a lot of athletes who would perform better if they got less of there carbs (energy) from wheat products. The “food pyramid” which shows grains/cereals as the base of our diet is something promoted by the cereal giants of the world.

If you look at the price of wheat or corn as raw products. Then look at the price of packaged cereals and other processed wheat and corn products. The enormous difference in price per kilo is why the cereal giants want you eating more of their products. They’re making a fortune out of carbs/grains.

There’s another way to get your energy. Fresh vegetables. A great way to eat healthily is to eat foods from the farm, not from the factory. These foods supply all of your energy, vitamin, mineral and fibre needs at a far cheaper price than manufactured wheat or corn products.  

The following simple recipe is something which you can cook up on a Sunday night. Have one meal off it while it’s hot, then store the remainder and reheat it in minutes and serve with a couple of eggs. With a can of tuna, a grilled steak or chicken breast for a fast nutritious meal. Just add a protein scource to balance the meal.

Oven roasted veges —

Start the oven heating to 200C – peel and chop into one inch cubes, a couple of large sweet potatoes - a quarter of a “Jap” pumpkin – two red spanish onions – four potatoes into one inch cubes – three carrots – four zucchinis chopped into half inch slices – four or five large cloves of garlic, one large red capsicum and two celery sticks chopped finely

Scatter all of the veges in one layer over the bottom of a large baking tray, (line it with alfoil to make cleaning up easier) - sprinkle the lot with sea salt and chilli flakes to taste – drizzle the lot generously with extra virgin olive oil and pop it into the oven for around fifty minutes. Or until all the veges are soft and roasted on top.

You now have fifty minutes to do something useful toward your week. While the veges are cooking you would have time to make a large spagetti bolognaise for through the week when you come home from training or work. A rice pudding could be made as well in this time for post training energy reloading. 90-100min of time spent in the kitchen on a Sunday afternoon, can help you to eat like a champion all week.

When the veges are getting close to being ready, a fillet of fish, a steak, or even some marinated tofu? can be grilled ready to serve with your mediterranean vegetables. Another nice touch is at around 40min, a large handful of cherry tomatoes can be scattered across the top of the veges to be allowed to wilt into the vege mixture. (you could even scatter a handful of black olives across with the tomatoes) You’ll look like a genius in the kitchen, and the whole thing only takes 90min from walking in the door to serving.

And then you have the leftovers to make simple meals through the week nutritious and tasty. It only takes about ten minutes more to double the recipe and make two trays of veges in the same oven.

The cold veges can be mixed with cooked brown rice, chopped spring onions, chopped tomatoes for a great healthy salad to take to work with cheese or boiled eggs for lunch. Save money, eat healthy, impress your friends, live the life of the champion.