The Feed Zone Cookbook: Fast and Flavorful Food for Athletes [Hardcover]

Biju K. Thomas (Author), Allen Lim PhD (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2011 | Series: The Feed Zone

The Feed Zone Cookbook offers 150 athlete-friendly recipes that are simple, delicious, and easy to prepare.

When Dr. Allen Lim left the lab to work with professional cyclists, he found a peloton weary of eating. For years the sport's elite athletes had been underperforming on bland fare and processed bars and gels. Science held few easy answers for nutrition in the real world, where hungry athletes must buy ingredients; make meals; and enjoy eating before, during, and after each workout, day after day.

So Lim set out to make eating delicious and practical. His journey began with his mom, took him inside the kitchens of the Tour de France, and delivered him to a dinner party where he met celebrated chef Biju Thomas.

Chef Biju and Dr. Lim vetted countless meals with the world's best endurance athletes in the most demanding test kitchens. In The Feed Zone Cookbook: Fast and Flavorful Food for Athletes, Thomas and Lim share their energy-packed, wholesome recipes to make meals easy to prepare, delicious to eat, and better for performance.

The Feed Zone Cookbook provides 150 delicious recipes that even the busiest athletes can prepare in less time than it takes to warm up for a workout. With simple recipes requiring just a handful of ingredients, Biju and Lim show how easy it is for athletes to prepare their own food, whether at home or on the go.

The Feed Zone Cookbook strikes the perfect balance between science and practice so that athletes will change the way they think about food, replacing highly processed food substitutes with real, nourishing foods that will satisfy every athlete's cravings.

The Feed Zone Cookbook includes

• 150 delicious recipes illustrated with full-color photographs
• Allen Lim’s take on the science and practice of food
• Portable whole foods, including Lim's famous rice cakes and more
• Dozens of quick-prep meals for before and after workouts
• Shortcuts, substitutions, and techniques to save time in the kitchen
• Over 100 gluten-free and vegetarian alternatives to favorite dishes

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Velo Press; First Printing edition (November 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934030767
• ISBN-13: 978-1934030769
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.2 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (111 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #903 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Triathlons
  • #44 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Nutrition

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The Feed Zone Cookbook features unique, simple recipes for quick meals that will help fuel your workouts and speed recovery.” — Men’s Journal

 

“The beauty of The Feed Zone Cookbook is that it is practical and based on real-life experience—not just theory...Let The Feed Zone Cookbook help you find your way into the kitchen with enthusiasm.” — Active.com

 

“[The Feed Zone Cookbook is] packed with recipes that will not only offer healthy alternatives, but actually taste good as well.” — NBCSports.com

 

“The chapter on homemade energy bars, which are made from rice and eggs and other savories, is probably the single most unique feature. However, there's also tons of straightforward meal recipes (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) that are both quick and easy to prepare.” — Outside magazine

 

“The foods described are intentionally simple to prepare, impressively flavorful, easy to digest…Just honest to goodness recipes made with real food.” — BikeRadar

 

“The Feed Zone Cookbook is allowing us to have our cake and eat it too…Packed with tasty recipes.” — Paved magazine

 

“The Feed Zone Cookbook is the ultimate guide for triathletes who want to support their training with delicious, wholesome food.” — Triathlete magazine

 

“Dr. Lim’s experience is just the kind of thing us serious athletes look for in a cookbook author….For the athlete on your list who trains hard and appreciates fresh, wholesome food and creative fusions of flavors, The Feed Zone Cookbook won’t disappoint.” — LAVA magazine

 

“[A cookbook] geared towards athletes that actually has recipes that make you excited to hit the kitchen…Creative, beautiful, and inspiring…straightforward, yummy, and yes, actually good for us athletes.” — 3/GO magazine

 

“Biju and Allen actually got me into the kitchen, cooking these recipes.” — Levi Leipheimer, professional cyclist for Omega Pharma-Quickstep, from his foreword to The Feed Zone Cookbook

 

“Biju makes cooking high-quality, nourishing food easy. His recipes are mind-blowingly simple, but their flavors and quality are as high as a five-star restaurant. Biju will inspire you to want to cook.” — Matthew Busche, professional cyclist for Team RadioShack Nissan Trek and U.S. national road cycling champion

 

“Allen Lim has helped me fill my gas tank for many years: everything from breakfast burritos in Georgia to rice cakes and scrambled eggs in the Alps. Some of Lim’s foods are scientific and others just feel good, but one ingredient was always present: passion from the Asian Equation.” — Christian Vande Velde, professional cyclist for Team Garmin-Sharp

From the Back Cover

The Feed Zone Cookbook is a no-fuss guide to preparing good food that will change the way endurance athletes eat.

With refreshingly simple ingredients that measure up to the demands of training and racing, Biju’s recipes are easy to follow and big on flavor. His tantalizing mix of salty, sweet, and savory satisfies an athlete’s cravings and prepares the body for top performance.

Eat like the pros. Feed Zone meals are the perfect balance of science and practice from Dr. Allen Lim and Chef Biju Thomas.

When Dr. Allen Lim left the lab to work with pro cyclists, he found a peloton weary of food. The sport’s elite athletes were underperforming on bland fare and processed bars and gels. So Lim set out to make eating delicious and practical. His journey took him inside the kitchens of the Tour de France and delivered him to a dinner party where he met celebrated chef Biju Thomas. Chef Biju and Dr. Lim vetted countless meals with the world’s best endurance athletes. Now they share their energy-packed, wholesome recipes to make your meals easy to prepare, delicious to eat, and better for your performance.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Velo Press; First Printing edition (November 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934030767
• ISBN-13: 978-1934030769
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.2 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (111 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #903 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Triathlons
  • #44 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Nutrition

More About the Author

Biju is a professional chef who has worked most every job in a kitchen starting out as a dishwasher when he was 15. Since then he has worked in numerous kitchens and helped to develop the menus of restaurants across Colorado. Around this same time Biju discovered a love for road cycling and began racing as a jr. in CO.

In the late 90's Chef Biju was able to combine his two loves by cooking for sports fundraisers, teams and events. He has worked with numerous cycling personalities from Andy Hampsten, and Davis Phinney to Jonathan Vaughters, and the Slipstream Sports cycling team. Cooking at one of Vaughters' dinner parties, Biju met sports physiologist Dr. Allen Lim, who loved the chef's light and flavorful approach to food.

With Lim, Biju has cooked for many of the world's top endurance athletes and cycling teams. In 2012 Chef Biju was part of the team who launched sports hydration company Skratch Labs in Boulder CO. During the 2013 Cycling Season Biju will be chef to Team BMC, supporting Taylor Phinney, Tejay Vangarderen and Cadel Evans.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 48 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical Options November 17, 2011

By Carl

Format:Hardcover

I really like this cookbook. I've been following Allen Lim for sometime and was excited to see his book, which I had preordered. I'm glad I did.

I have a couple of athlete inspired cookbooks (some from VeloPress) and they all tend to have unusual ingredients. In our young family household, we just don't have them and I never remember to add them to the grocery list. Yes, I could plan ahead, but who has time for that with kids?

This cookbook is very accessable in that many of their recipes are built from stuff we already have around the house. For example, they have a fantastic pancake which is leftover rice, eggs, milk, banana, and some other stuff that you mix in a blender. Everyone loves them. Simple to make and I have everything I need.

It has become my go-to athlete inspired cookbook.

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars elegant simplicity December 29, 2011

By PeteStetina

Format:Hardcover

I highly recommend this book for anyone, even non athletes. The biggest issue I have with cookbooks is that they always require special ingredients that one has to buy for $20 just to make the dish. Biju and Allen have made masterful dishes out of ingredients normally found in the fridge and pantry. Plus, one can experience first-hand how some dishes so complex that one usually reserves for dining out can be made QUICKLY at home.

All the suggestions for food to go is great for riding or for anyone on the go to work, ect. Since getting this book, I routinely make a dish each night from it as I usually have all the supplies already and they taste "restaurant good".

If sport is your thing. The the intro alone is worth the purchase of this book, as Allen shares complex diet theory in layman's terms for all to comprehend. One can totally rediscover the kitchen as a performance-enhancing yet delicious tool.

If you really are what you eat, then with this book you'll be fast and healthy.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Pragmatic Recipes for Active People October 30, 2011

By A. Valentine

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I pre-ordered this book randomly as I saw it on a twitter feed of one of the pro cyclists I follow. The book arrived the day of our first snowstorm, so it was perfect timing to try out some recipes.

The few recipes we tried from the Feed Zone have turned out great. Our first attempt was meatballs in red wine sauce, and it was excellent. The recipes in general can be made relatively quickly; I would say 90% can be made during the week. I really like the format of this book. Each item has big photo and more importantly nutritional information. The included bookmark is a nice touch too.

Overall, I would would recommend this book to anyone who wants to eat better.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Feed Zone Review December 8, 2011

By RB

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of this book. As a fledgling cook and serious amateur cyclist, this book has been a treat to read and use. It is very readable and presents the recipes in a straightforward manner. I love the nutritional information it provides and it has exposed me to many new, but common ingredients that I have gotten to spring on my family...much to their delight. The book is formatted in a very helpful way, breakfast section, post ride recovery food, dinner, deserts, etcetera. I have not stopped recommending it and will be giving it as a gift to fellow riders and non riders this holiday season season.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Feed Zone is great for people from all walks of life! December 3, 2011

By MaryKM

Format:Hardcover

Being a student its hard to find recipes that are nutritious, tasty, easy to make, and affordable all at the same time- and I've found The Feed Zone Cookbook to meet all those needs! The book is filled with a great variety of recipes that include each of the dishes nutritional information, which I find beneficial. The "portables" section are especially helpful for when I'm on the run to classes, and when I don't have enough time to cook but still want to eat a healthy and substantial snack. They are easy to pack and carry for long hikes or if your going snowboarding, or whatever your choice of activity. Of all the recipes I've made so far, the Chicken Tikka Masala and Allen's Rice Cakes are definitely my favorite!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Feed Me the Feed Zone November 21, 2011

By S. Levy

Format:Hardcover

These guys are charismatic, intelligent and passionate about great food. They combine tasty cuisine with hard science. I'm impressed by the recipes I've tried so far. A great cookbook.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars New appreciation for rice May 1, 2013

By Shawna H. Browne

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I haven't tried everything, but love burritos and rice cakes. My son is 15 and competitive bicyclist. Wanted to get away from things like cliff bars and zone bars that he snacks on during the day as he eats constantly. He loves the food so far and there is so much more to try. Burritos are great for taking out of fridge straight to races. They keep well and taste great without heating up. Also got the new book, portables, and even more great ideas. Hard for me to find calrose rice here in grocery store. Jasmine works well for burritos but not as good for the rice cakes. Did find a sushi rice that holds together perfectly but expensive. Will probably have to order calrose online. Like the intro with lots of great information.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Creative, fresh take on healthful food for athletes (and others) June 3, 2012

By Cynthia J. Brothers

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have to admit I smiled a little when I saw the name Alan Lim associated with a cookbook, as he and my husband were working towards their PhDs at the same time in Boulder's Integrative Phys department. Out of curiosity, I started paging through it and was pleasantly surprised with the recipes I found. As both a distance runner and 'foodie' feeding a husband who is a competitive XC skier (not to mention three young kids who fancy themselves pro cyclists in the making), I am always on the lookout for fresh, nutritious and somewhat inspired recipes and meal ideas to shake up our routines a bit throughout the year, while providing a good balance of 'fuels' for all of us. Well, this cookbook delivers! The recipes offer a variety of twists and accommodations for various diets (GF, DF, vegetarian, vegan, etc.) with little to no consequence to overall flavor and effect. I've already tossed my old quiche recipe in favor of the one in the cookbook since it got such rave reviews from my family, when I swapped out my regular crust for one made from a high-protein sprouted-grain bread. Genius!

I have already recommended the book to another family of athletes as well as foodie friends who appreciate fresh, eclectic menus. Several of the recipes within it have risen to the top of my "to try" list very quickly.