Last summer when I made the decision to go grain free as part of healing my lymphocytic colitis, I have to admit I was a bit skeptical. Not skeptical that eating a grain free diet would help my colitis, but I was not sure that I would be able to successfully increase my mileage and have the energy I needed for speed sessions.

As a student at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition I studied several dietary theories including the Paleo diet which is grain free. I was aware that many athletes follow a Paleo diet, so I decided to do more research to figure out how I was going to run without eating pasta, granola bars, whole wheat bread, oatmeal or rice.

Ultimately I chose not to label myself as following any particular diet. Each individual is different and our bodies react differently to certain foods. What I learned about grains is unless they are fortified, they don’t have near the nutritional value as carbohydrates from vegetables and fruits. And the grains that have been fortified, have been processed so they may have other ingredients added to to them such as sugar. They tend to lead you to crave more of them, especially sugar, which over time crowds out the good stuff in favor more carbohydrates. I mean seriously who stops with one cookie or one brownie to eat a celery stick!

I’m not gonna lie: walking away from grains and processed carbohydrates was not easy. But I learned that adding in certain vegetables high in complex carbohydrates left me with more energy. After a short period of time I no longer craved grains. In fact without all the calories from grains I actually got to eat a whole lot more food that was way more nutritious for my body. Generally 2 cups of high carb vegetables are equivalent in carbs to  1 cup of pasta with half the calories.

The key for me was learning how to prepare these foods in a way that was delicious and satisfying. My research taught me that fat was also an important fuel source. Plus adding fat to my meals made the vegetables taste so much better Before long I actually craved meals with greens such as kale and chard prepared with high carbohydrate foods such as squash and sweet potatoes.

Below is a list of my favorite grain free alternative sources of carbohydrates along with recipes that I enjoy. This list of grain free carbohydrates is by no means all encompassing, they just happen to be my favorite sources that have become staples in my diet. You will notice that there are no fruits on the list. Certainly fruits are also high in energizing carbohydrates, however keep in mind that they are high in sugar as well and should be limited to 1 to 3 servings per day. (FYI, my g0-to fruits are blueberries, fuji apples, and bananas.)

1. Sweet Potatoes (Roasted Sweet Potatoes)
2. Butternut Squash (Roasted Butternut Squash Kale Sauté)
3. Spaghetti Squash (Spaghetti Squash with Chicken and Spinach)
4. Acorn Squash (Baked Acorn Squash)
5. Carrots (Easy and Delicious Post Run Breakfast)
6. Parsnips (Sautéed Chard with Parsnip)
7. Brussel Sprouts (Easy Brussel Sprouts Sauté)
8. Black Beans (Southwestern Sweet Potato & Black Bean Salad)

You may not need to eliminate grains from your diet, but you can certainly benefit from cutting back and adding some of the vegetables above. Surprising benefits that I found were increased energy and quicker recovery from speed workouts and long runs. I attribute that to the high nutritional value found in the above foods and that fact that I was eating also eating more healthy fats.

My advice is to be open to experimenting with new recipes until you find ones you like. I really didn’t care for spaghetti squash the first few times I tried it. If you don’t like something, don’t force yourself to eat it because it’s good for you. Beets are high in carbohydrates, but they are not on the list above, because I just can’t make myself like them. (Maybe I haven’t found the right recipe yet.) Once you find foods that are filling and satisfying, you will find you really don’t miss the grains and your cravings for refined carbohydrates will diminish.

What grain free foods would you ad to the list above? Share in the comments below.