5 BEST RUNNER’S BREAKFASTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD – RUNNING DIET PART 1

A quick google search for “running diet” will provide you with list after list of the “best” breakfasts, lunches and dinners for runners. And there is a lot of good information out there. 

However, most of us know by now that we should be eating plenty of fruit and veg within a balanced diet. And it doesn’t take long to find that the same old running diets can get….well, boring.

At Go! Running Tours, we have running experts leading guided tours in over 60 cities, spanning six continents (sorry Antarctica). Surely, we thought, there’s more to life than eating the same old healthy runner’s meals every day.

So, we got together and compiled a list of great running meals from around the world. In this first post, we list 5 of best runner’s breakfasts to get us ready for a day of running.

1) ECUADOR – MASHED PLANTAIN WITH EGG AND CHEESE

Roberto, our Quito tour leader, says he loves to start his morning off with some tropical fruit – and in Ecuador the fruit is fresh! After a morning run, he refuels on some majado de platano – a carb rich meal of mashed green plantains with fried onion and garlic, topped with a fried egg and some fresh cheese for some proteins and fats. A perfect breakfast for runners that will keep you going all day.

Check out this majado de verde recipe.

2) MEXICO – CHILAQUILES

I could write a whole post on Mexican breakfasts. Citla, our Mexico City guide, recommends chilaquiles, or fried tortillas. The basic recipe involves frying up pieces of corn tortillas and cooking them in red or green salsa (both salsa roja and salsa verde are made of tomatoes, the colour of the salsa depending on the colour of the tomato used. Salsa verde also contains coriander, giving it a herby flavour). Serve up the chilaquiles with plenty of sour cream and cheese. If you really want a protein packed meal, some recipes include meat or eggs and a side of refried beans.

For an extra energy boost, finish off your breakfast with a cup of Mexican coffee, made with cinnamon and raw sugar.

Click here for a great chilaquiles in salsa roja recipe.

3) KENYA – UGALI WITH SUKUMA WIKI (KALE)

Ugali, a type of cornmeal porridge rich in carbohydrates and fibre, is a staple of the Kenyan diet. It is made by boiling maize (cornmeal) in water until it reaches a doughy consistency. The ugali is then torn by hand and used to scoop up the vegetable or meat dish. Sukuma wiki, a type of kale, is a popular vegetable to eat with ugali. Also popular is ugali with beef stew and ugali with fried fish. 

An alternative to ugali is chapati or flatbread. For the true Kenyan experience, Daniel, our Nairobi tour guide, recommends that you wash down the meal with a Kenyan black tea, served with or without milk.

Check out this ugali recipe.

4) BRAZIL – VITAMINAS

The healthy breakfast option for runners in São Paulo, according to our guide Marcio, is vitaminas – a simple blend of fruit with milk (regular, almond or soy) or coconut water. With the variety of fruit in Sao Paulo, variations are endless and most shops allow you to make your own creations. Marcio’s favourites? “Either açai pulp with coconut water and a pinch of guarana seed powder, or cupuacu with banana and coconut water.

5) EUROPE AND CANADA

Many of our runners from Europe and Canada base their breakfasts around two key ingredients: oats and bread. Here are a few different varieties you can try out, as recommended by the experts.

OATS: Oats are a popular choice with many of our runners, Steffen in Vienna starting his morning with oatmeal and dark bread with cheese, tomatoes and eggs, Emer in Dublin ditching her preferred fried breakfast for a banana and oats on weekdays and John in Madrid eating some oat biscuits with a coffee. Arantxa, our Barcelona guide, loves to start off her morning with a big grapefruit, followed by a bowl of oats with a tablespoon of chia seeds, cinnamon and soy milk. Before a run or race, Sian in Manchester starts her day with some protein rich pancakes of banana, eggs, oats, cinnamon, honey and a scoop of protein powder served with strawberries and blueberries.

TOAST: Toast is also a runner’s breakfast favourite. Chifuno in Toronto fuels up on a toast with banana and peanut butter, and Steffen in Vienna follows up his oatmeal with some dark bread with cheese, tomatoes and eggs. Lapo, our guide from Florence, eats some bread with honey. Not just any honey though, as Lapo explains, Italian honey varies from region to region: “We have really nice honey in Italy. From different regions you can get different tastes, such as orange flower honey from Sicily or my preferred arbutus flower honey from Sardinia which has a bitter taste!”

Still hungry? Check out our post on the 5 best runner’s lunches and dinners from around the world.