Caprese Pasta Salad

Caprese Pasta Salad Planted Performance (Plant Based Athlete, Vegetarian Cookbook, Vegan Cookbook): Easy Plant-Based Recipes, Meal Plans, and Nutrition for All Athletes by Natalie Rizzo MS RD. Food photography © 2023 by Natalie Rizzo, MS, RD.

Planted Performance (Plant Based Athlete, Vegetarian Cookbook, Vegan Cookbook): Easy Plant-Based Recipes, Meal Plans, and Nutrition for All Athletes by Natalie Rizzo MS RD

Transform your health and improve your endurance as a plant-based athlete with recipes and advice from marathon runner and nutritionist Natalie Rizzo, MS, RD.

Planted Performance lays the sports nutrition groundwork of plant-based nutrition for everyday endurance athletes looking to fuel their activity and aid recovery. Meal plans to cover every day in a training plan (including rest and recovery days), 68 simple and tasty recipes, and meal prep tips ensure plant-based athletes have the energy they need to bring them past the finish line.

Nutrition for everyday athletes is more than just the overall consumption of the right nutrients—it’s about when and how to get what’s needed to fuel their bodies—and the growing number of plant-based athletes need answers and advice about the proper amount of nutrients. Am I getting enough protein? How much iron and B12 are in meatless foods? Here to guide is Natalie Rizzo, a New York City-based media dietitian and owner of Greenletes, a compilation of vegetarian and vegan recipes and practical sports nutrition articles, to all this and more.

Planted Performance is a cookbook not just for vegetarian or vegan athletes, but also for meat eaters looking to integrate more plant-based dishes in their diets. Packed with nutritional guidance, you’ll quickly become a stronger, better athlete before, during, and after race day.

68 WELL-BALANCED RECIPES: With nutrient-rich recipes, there’s no need to count calories or track macros

SCIENCE-BASED SPORTS NUTRITION: Learn how to stay properly nourished while on a vegan or vegetarian diet to ensure you’re getting the right protein, iron, calcium, and Vitamin D

VEGAN SUBSTITUTES: All the recipes are vegetarian, and whenever an animal-derived product is an ingredient, a vegan substitute is provided

MEAL PREP TIPS: Learn the benefits of meal prepping and become a pro with the simple tips provided, such as focusing your meal around a protein source

4 MEAL PLANS: Each meal plan includes 6 recipes and caters to different types of workouts: training day, rest day, intense day, and strength-training day

Planted Performance (Plant Based Athlete, Vegetarian Cookbook, Vegan Cookbook): Easy Plant-Based Recipes, Meal Plans, and Nutrition for All Athletes by Natalie Rizzo MS RD is available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Indigo.ca.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS • PREP TIME: 5 MINUTES / COOK TIME: 10 MINUTES

If you love the flavours of a good caprese salad, you’ll really enjoy this pasta salad. Made with farfalle (otherwise known as bow tie) pasta, cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, pesto, and fresh mozzarella, this pasta dish tastes great either warm or cold. The pasta gives you the carb boost you need for heavy training sessions, while the cherry tomatoes are full of antioxidants to fight off inflammation. And as a bonus, this one-pot meal comes together in about 15 minutes.

8 ounces farfalle pasta

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

1 cup fresh mozzarella balls or vegan mozzarella

2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves

3 tablespoons pesto

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions, usually about 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and place it in a large bowl.

Add the tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and pesto and mix well. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Serve immediately as a warm dish or store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days and serve cold.

PER SERVING: Calories: 350, Fat: 12g, Sat Fat: 4g, Sodium: 450mg, Carbohydrates: 49g, Dietary Fiber: 3g, Added Sugar: 0g, Protein: 14g, Vitamin D: 0mcg, Calcium: 226mg, Iron: 0mg, Potassium: 387mg

Fun Facts

A 3:1 carb-to-protein ratio is ideal for helping muscles recover. Take in 3 grams of carbs for every 1 gram of protein after a workout.

Recipe published with permission from Insight Editions.