Chris Carmichael Blog: A Recipe for Adding Quality Calories as Training Workload Increases

With the Amgen Tour of California Race Experience coming up very soon, I’ve been spending as much time as possible on the bike recently. This may very well be the biggest endurance challenge I’ve participated in since I retired from professional cycling. La Ruta was hard, but there wasn’t a field of professional riders coming up from behind us, and I didn’t have to keep up with a specific team of riders every step of the way, either. An increased appetite and increased daily caloric requirement are consequences of my increased training workload, but with the climbing that’s going to be involved during the ATOC, I’ve also been trying to avoid gaining weight. I don’t necessarily care if I lose weight, I’m not obsessing over getting down to a certain weight; I just want to be careful not to let my increased appetite trigger a calorically-excessive response.

Before I get to the recipe I’ve been using for increasing my caloric intake, I wanted to let you know about a new indoor cycling DVD we’ve just released: “Amgen Tour of California: The Workout”. This new workout DVD was produced in partnership with AEG and the Amgen Tour of California and I lead you through a hard workout that’s set against exciting race footage from the 2010 ATOC! No more watching other people sweat on their trainers while you sweat on yours! It’s a very cool DVD, and due to the use of real race footage, we were only able to produce a limited quantity of these discs. Additionally, they are available exclusively from Trainright.com and AmgenTourofCalifornia.com.

Over the past few years I’ve gradually increased the amount of fruits and vegetables in my diet while reducing the amount of animal products. I haven’t cut out meat or dairy, I’ve just made a shift to more vegetable and less animal. So, as I noticed an increase in my appetite and need for calories, I went looking for a vegetable-based solution that would add calories and quality nutrients. I found it in a recipe from one of my older books, “Food for Fitness: Eat Right to Train Right”. The recipe is available at the following link:

Black Bean Hummus
Traditionally made with garbanzo beans, hummus can also be made with black beans. Prepared either way, I’ve found hummus to be a great way to add some calories and nutrients to my diet. I was already eating plenty of vegetables (carrots, yellow and red bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.), now I just dip them in black bean hummus sometimes. The hummus adds a good source of protein and fiber , which helps make it more filling with fewer calories.

Ready in: approx. 5 minutes. Makes 8 servings.

1 clove garlic
1 (15 ounce) can black beans; drain and reserve liquid
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Directions
Mince garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Add black beans, 2 tablespoons reserved liquid, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, tahini, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper; process until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Add additional seasoning and liquid to taste. Garnish with paprika.

Servings: 8
Nutrition Information (per serving)
Carb/Protein/Fat Ratio (%): 62-20-18
Calories: 98
Carbohydrate (grams): 15
Protein (grams): 5
Fat (grams): 2
Fiber (grams): 5

Sincerely,
Chris Carmichael
Founder, Head Coach
Carmichael Training Systems