Country Music Marathon

It's almost time!

And yes, I am beginning to freak out. No, I didn't train enough... No, I did get to my goal race weight... No no no...

So I am trying to focus on the positive! Like non race things... like where to shop and eat. =)

Since Huntsville is currently without decent grocery shopping, I will definitely be heading to Whole Foods and Trader Joes to pick up some yummy treats. Because this race cost a huge enterance fee, plus hotel, gas, etc... I am on a budget for meals! When GF and on a budget, planning is key. After some googling I found what I was looking for. It took awhile b/c I was avoiding all southern food...and being in the south, that is like 90% of all the eating options. But I'm not a chicken fried steak kind of person, and shrimp & grits as a pre-race dinner sounds gross.


To avoid high costs, I have decided to buy dinner from Whole Foods. This will likely be some soy sauce free brown rice sushi. I love their tuna/salmon rolls. And it is a good dinner for before a big race. The brown rice makes it hearty and filling. The fish lends a grease free protein source. And the fat from the avocado makes increases the satiety level and makes the calories be digested more slowly. I think I'll add a smoothie or side salad too.

Lunch is the cheap option for going out. I found this place called PM. Its a little sushi cafe, with affordable meals. No I won't be having sushi for both meals, that would be overkill (though still delicious). At PM they have salads, rice bowls, sushi, desserts, and even thai nachoes (yum!). Their featured rice bowl for Fridays is a duck and pineapple fried rice bowl. That is what I am going for and requesting fried rice without soy sauce usually isn't a big deal. If I'm lucky they'll serve bubble tea too, though I didn't see it on the menu (hey, a girl can hope!).

Okay well that's my positive note for Nashville. I should probably start thinking more about the actual running part of this trip...

Marathon Breakfast

Alright, so normally I don't eat before runs. Maybe a banana if I know I'll be out for a while, but generally thats all. Well in order to achieve better results, I am working on perfecting a breakfast that will be hearty and healthy, without upsetting my stomach! I tend to get mad GI upset before races. This has nothing to do with gluten, but with the fact that I am a ball of freaken nerves before a race. Normally I don't get too stressed or anxious about anything life throws my way... until it throws me a starting line. Then forget it, I'm a wreck.So this breakfast needs to have enough calories and carbs to fuel 26.2 miles... but no grease, no fat, and nothing too refined ( i don't want to crash at mile 20 b/c of silly simple sugars!). Oh and this breakfast should have some vegetables in it b/c I am always looking to stuff more roughage down my throat. Of course it has to be GF, but that's obvious.


Here is what I've come up with...



GF Oats, dried cranberries, shredded zucchini, walnut pieces, cinnamon, nutmeg, and fleur de sel. Very tasty. Add a little milk if you want!
I made a large batch so I can have this healthy treat all week long.

BLT

Does it get any simpler or more delicious than a BLT? It does if you use Maverick Ranch's uncured, all natural bacon and a spread of avocado mashed with vegannaise.

The 'bread' is a skillet flat bread that I conjured up using buckwheat, millet, flax meal, and other GF friendly stuff. =) I love being 'forced' to eat healthy whole grains instead of that shit tasteless white bread. Bummer....

Eating this way gives us glutarded athletes a huge advantage. Or glucose levels aren't prone to spiking as much since our diets are high in unprocessed, fibrous grains. Advantage goes to GF eaters!

Glutarded Easter

Holiday meals are a struggle for all new glutards. Avoiding some of your old favorites, stressing out about consuming some hidden gluten, getting annoyed with family members that ask if you're on a 'low carb' diet... the list goes on. I've had my fair share of those, well okay, one years worth of glutenless holiday meals, but I've got it down now.

This Easter Tyler (my husband) and I were sans family, so it was just dinner for two. Since I had the Oak Barrel 1/2 marathon the day before, I started the day with a 3 mile, slow recovery run. My legs were screaming 'stop moving' the entire time. They burned and ached, so I decided not to push it. After the short bout of exercise, it was time to concentrate on the eating. Of course, there was one thing to do before the cooking began; pour some mimosas. I don't think any Easter morning would be complete without mimosas.

Like any traditional holiday dinner, we started with the meat. Ham in this case. I scored the top, rubbed on a mix of mustard, spices, honey, and OJ then shoved the giant hunk of animal flesh into the oven. In no time it was smelling delicious. We wanted a light, spring meal so our sides consisted of charred asparagus and a cold potato salad. I think the salad was the highlight of the meal. Steamed and cooled fingerling potatoes, sliced radishes, chopped sugar snap peas, and sliced red and yellow bell peppers all tossed lightly in a Caesar dressing. Yum! (and yes, most caesar dressing do contain gluten in the form of soy sauce, so make sure you find one without that harmful ingredient).

This meal was everything I hoped it would be! We finished the day with some chocolate covered strawberries. I've never missed gluten less!

Day Before Racing

I've decided to do the Oak Barrel 1/2 Marathon in Lynchburg, TN. This decision came just days before the actual race... so of course, I was going through a list of pre-race anxieties; Did I train enough? Did I really train at all?? Should I be doing such a hilly course? What should I eat today? How much should I run? and so on....
Well to answer a few of those nagging questions...

I ran an easy 6 miles this morning. I figured that should be enough to keep my legs loose without over doing it. Some core work also got done. Nothing crazy, just a mix of p90x and insanity moves.

As for the eating... Yum. Before a race, especially one of longer distances, it is really important to eat well the day before a race. Nothing greasy, too fatty, too light, too much dairy... oh the list goes on. And us poor celiac athletes... we have finicky stomachs which is only amplified by pre-race gitters.

I found a bag of Bobs Red Mill Pizza Dough in the pantry and whipped that up with a bit of skim ricotta, mozzarella, handful or canned tomatoes, basil, and caramelized onions.


The result was perfection. Just because we can't eat normal gluteny pizza, doesn't mean we can't have a delicious alternative!

Prana Bars

Gluten free bars at their best. These are super tasty, come in a good variety of flavors, and contain nutrients to promote athletic performance. However, like most bar foods, they are pricey. I think I'll try to whip these up myself...shouldn't be hard since they are made of ingredients I have in my pantry.
When I get the recipe down, I'll post it!

Caramalized Onion Salad

In my attempt to eat lighter dinners, hearty salads are a delicious and satisfying option. I know us celiacs get sick of salads, but this one will not let you down. Its simple but not at all bland.

Most people immediately associate salads with health food, but some salads can fall short in the nutrition department. They can contain fried items, too much cheese, fatty dressings, etc, and some restaurant salads can top 1000 calories! This salad delivers the nutrients a runner needs and nothing extra. Spinach is loaded with iron, walnuts contain healthy fats, and the balsamic vinegar has enough flavor that no extra dressing is needed.


Recipe:

4 cups Baby Spinach
1/4 c. Walnuts, halves or pieces
1 Yellow Onion, sliced
1 tbps Olive Oil
1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 c. Shredded Chicken
1 ounce Blue Cheese, crumbled ( I used stilton)

Heat the oil in a skillet, add the onions and saute over med-low until nice and caramelized. Stir in the balsamic, walnuts, and chicken. After about two minutes, remove from heat. Divide the spinach onto two plates. Top each pile of green with half the onion mixture and sprinkle with the blue cheese. Enjoy!

Tuna Rolls

I was feeling great after a 12 mile run with an ave pace/mile of 7:27 so I wanted some healthy grub to keep my high going.
A chunk of tuna in the fridge was calling my name...
After marinating the tuna in a little gluten free soy sauce and lime juice, tyler seared up the seafood (just seared, we like it RARE) while I sliced and diced some plants. Carrots, romain, red onions, cilantro, mango, and cucumber along with slices of tuna got rolled up in rice paper. I dipped them in a bit of sweet pepper sauce and devoured them.

It's easy to come home from a run and scarf some junk food to replenish, but sometimes...usually... its worth the effort to prepare a fresh, clean meal.

Post Run Meal

I just finished a 14 mile run. Due to heavy wind gusts, I logged these miles on a treadmill. Boring, but still effective. And still deserving of a good post run meal. This has got to be one of my favorite options.

Best part is it is very simple to prepare this when you're exhausted after a hard effort. In just 5 minutes you can have a healthy meal to fuel your recovery.

Used here...

Brown rice bread (I like Food for Life)
Garden vegetable cream cheese
Alfalfa sprouts
Roma tomatoes
Smoked salmon
Dijon mustard

Toast the bread, then assemble the ingredients. Ta Da! You have a meal! Easy as that.

Salmon is a great ingredient for athletes. It is very high in omegas which boosts oxygen flow, clears free radicals, and improves your mood. I love having smoked salmon on hand b/c of how easy it is to incorporate into meals without having to cook a fillet.

DeBoles Doesn't Make the Cut

When I first saw DeBoles gluten free pasta at Walmart, I was thrilled! Gluten free pasta finally at Walmart and finally at an affordable price. I should have known it was too good to be true. Somethings are worth paying for; like flavor. After two attempts at cooking this pasta, I gave up and threw out the box. This stuff tastes horrible. UGH. Being Celiac doesn't mean we have to suffer! It was gummy, fell apart, and completely flavorless. I mean most gf pastas I've tried taste great. Even my gluten lovin' husband prefers corn spaghetti over the normal stuff. So DeBoles can't blame their poor quality of product on the lack of gluten. Sigh, someday there will be affordable pasta, but don't even bother trying to get by on this junk.

12 Mile Cookies

Yesterday I had a 12 mile run. It was an easy run, well, just slower than a tempo pace. I enjoy my 12 milers. They let me reflect and focus and get that runners high we all enjoy so much. Of course it was pouring rain outside and I was stuck indoors on a treadmill.

When doing a long run, the body needs fuel! When I'm running 12 miles or less (and not racing) I don't eat anything during the run. So I need a meal before hand to keep me going. 1-2 hours prior to running seems to be the best time to eat without making you feel sluggish and groggy.

Now even though I am a dietitian, this doesn't mean I eat vegetables 24/7. Sometimes I need something sweet and caloric. These cookies are awesome for preparing your body for an endurance event. They are still healthy though! I've used some 'too ripe' bananas, walnuts, quinoa flour, and honey to make these cookies. It is my personal philosophy to incorporate 'super foods' into every meal, even if that meal is cookies!

Breakfast for Performance

When I'm going to be working out later in the day, I know I need a hearty breakfast to fuel my performance. Being celiac cuts out many options here, but not to worry. Cereals are poor performance foods, and bagels are loaded with the wrong type of carbs, so being celiac actually helps restrict you to healthy foods.





This meal is loaded with healthy carbs, fiber, protein, and flavor! The carbohydrates used here are low GI foods, meaning they will keep you full and keep your blood sugar stable.

Serves 2:

1 c. Diced pre-cooked potatoes (use sweet potatoes, or purple ones like I have!)
1 c. Kidney Beans (rinse and drain)
1/4 c. Onion - diced
3 Eggs (organic or farm fresh)
1 handful Parsley
1/4 c. Sharp Cheddar - shredded
1 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt/Pepper

Saute the oinons, beans, and potato in the oil. Stir frequently to avoid burning. You want the potatoes to get a bit crispy. When this happens, crack the eggs in the skillet over the sauteing ingredients. Let the eggs cook until the whites become solid. Add the parsley, cheese, then season with salt and pepper. Cook the eggs to your desired preference. Enjoy!