Fit Fare

The night before a race, it’s nice to get together with your friends, other participants as well as family, significant others and other cheerleaders. While many races offer a pre-race pasta party or something along those lines, I’m usually completely afraid of those, with visions of starving athletes and troughs of Chef Boyardee-esque spaghetti. As an alternative, I love the homemade pizza party - fewer people to deal with, a wide array of topping possibilities, interactive but easy so you don’t tire yourself out the night before your big event.

The pizza dough is the key: you want to use whole wheat flour so you don’t just have the useless insulin spike you’d get with white flour. With a whole wheat flour, you a better slower carb that has a better chance of building up your glucagon stores so you’re ready for your event the next morning. You can even experiment with different types of flours, such as spelt flour, flax meal or brown rice flour or combine several flour types to get the perfect blend. (Though you may want to do the experimenting on a different night so you don’t end up with a hard, chewy inedible crust at your carbo-loading party)

The other great thing about the Make-Your-Own-Pizza party is that you can offer a wide range of toppings but steer yourself and the other athletes from anything that would be overly fatty or greasy. So while you might have tons of mozzarella and pepperoni available, you can keep your toppings light enough but not deprive your friends who might want a richer or more decadent meal that night.

Here’s what I prepared for my last carbo-loading pizza dinner:

• A double batch of honey-whole wheat pizza dough
• A big pot of tomato sauce
• Pre-prepared basil pesto
• Prosciutto or other cured meat
• Lightly steamed broccoli rabe
• Thinly sliced red onion
• Thinly sliced meyer lemons
• Mozzarella cheese
• Goat cheese
• Pecorino Romano cheese
• Chopped fresh basil
• Chopped fresh thyme

Serve the pizzas with a big salad and lots of water, and you’ll have an easy, healthful dinner party that’s great for all the athletes, but also tasty enough for your other guests.