Training

I haven't posted much about training lately. I haven't even been recording much in my training journal (in fact I can't remember the last time I did). I haven't stopped running or anything...just stopped wearing a watch! My watch just died out of no where and we can't afford to buy me a new one at the moment. So...I don't have much motivation to record my training since I am not even sure how fast I am going, lol. I do know that I am still doing 3, 3, and 6 during the week. Our long run is up to 12 now which is slower going because of all the storms.

The rain dumped on us yesterday during our run and we had to puddle jump (and some rivers) the whole way. JJ's knee is really bad at the moment too which worries me. Because of this, and some other factors, we decided not to do the 1/2 marathon this coming weekend. We will just keep increasing our long run mileage by 2-3 miles. My weekday mileage will increase next week too (to 4, 4, and 7).

So, basically everything is going really well. My energy is great! I am eating ETL now all the time and experimenting with long run fuel that isn't sport drinks or gels. So far, the best has been diluted carrot juice and a few dates. Because my nutrient intake is so high, I am not getting that post run starving feeling. I feel very healthy and have so much energy! My typical menu is:

Breakfast: blended salad (1/2 pound spinach, 1/2 cup pineapple, 1/2 cup cherries, carrot juice, and flax). Coffee w/splash of soy milk & agave

Lunch: Extra large salad w/mixed spring greens, broccoli, tomatoes, onions, 1/2 avocado, black beans, and homemade tahini and apple cidar vinegar dressing. 2 dates and a granny smith apple.

Snack: blended salad (1/2 pound spinach, 1 cup mixed berries, carrot juice),and 1/2 oz of almonds

Dinner: Italian stew (broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, onions, celery, garlic, carrot juice, chopped tomatoes, veggie broth, thyme, basil, oregano, and chickpeas.) 2 dates

Gluten-free Beet Muffins

Gluten-free Beet Muffins:

1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 cup amaranth flour (Quinoa, or sorghum)
1/2 tsp Xanthan gum
1/4 tsp salt (opt)
1/8 cup of egg replacer
1 tsp baking soda
2 T flax
1/3 cup canola oil (or non-fat sub)
Beets (3 circles cooked can get them @ Trader Joes)
2 big squirts of Agave Nector (or to taste)
1 cup carrot juice
T vanilla (gluten free)

Set oven to 350. Puree beets in food processor with carrot juice. Then mix in flax and let sit while you mix dry ingrediants in a seperate bowl (baking soda, egg replacer, flours, Xanthan gum, and salt). Add oil, agave, and vanilla to processor (with beets/flax) and blend well. Add wet mixture to dry flour mixture slowly and mix until combined. Spray cupcake holders lightly with oil and fill. Makes 12 small muffins. You can add a banana to make these taste more like banana muffins. If you don't need gluten free substitute all the flours with 2 cups whole wheat flour. You then don't need to add the Xanthan Gum.

Mexican stuffed Portabellos

Mexican Black bean stuffed portabellos (fills 18 small...6-9 servings)

2 can of black beans
2 T nutritional yeast.
1/2 cup-1 cup garbonzo flour
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 onion 1/2 cup salsa
1 red pepper
Handful cilantro
1 T cumin
4 cloves of garlic
1 T Baking powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Dry sauté onions. Process sunflower seeds alone first until they are ground. Add nut. yeast, 1/2 cup garbonzo flour, cilantro, baking powder, cumin, garlic, onions and 1 can of beans and process until mixed. Add last can of beans and pulse (some whole beans). Sauté (in its own juice) the salsa and chopped pepper. Put mixture in bowl and transfer the pepper and salsa mixture. Add more garbonzo flour if needed. Pull out stems and clean mushrooms. Fill to a mound. Cook covered for 40 minutes (35)...then 10-15 uncovered.

Santa Barbara in the winter

It is freakishly beautiful here. I think sometimes we take it for granted and complain about it raining only a few days. But the rains brought such beauty and health to all the vegetation.

We ran 10 miles for our long run this week (I also ran 3, 3, and 5 miles earlier in the week). It was a nice run because the weather was so nice. For 4 miles we ran through the neighborhoods and then headed to the beach to run on the trails for the remaining 6. We averaged a 11min/mi pace. I am feeling a bit tired today but that could be blaimed on the gremlins that creeped into my bed at 6 am this morning.

Burgers and Fries!

Doesn't this look like a real burger? Well it isn't!

I made these veggie burgers and sweet potato fries for dinner tonight with a little Annie's ketchup and the kids were psyched! The are very healthy and ETL friendly.

I have been trying to create a burger that the kids won't pick at and one that wouldn't fall apart. Plus, I really wanted one that wasn't full of grain flours, rice, or other starches. So this is what I came up with:

Veggie Burgers (serves 6)

1 can black beans

1 can red beans

4 cloves of garlic
2 onions
5 carrots
4 stalks of celery
2 cups garbonzo bean flour

1/2 cup walnuts
1 large handful of fresh parsley
1 large handful of fresh basil

2 T Nutritional Yeast

Dry saute onion, carrots, garlic and celery. Saute until soft.

In food processor, process walnuts until powdery then add garbonzo flour. Add remaining ingredients and process well (if you don't want any signs of vegetables) or pulse (if you want big chunks). I used silicon cupcake holders (12) to get them formed (consistancy was cake batter). Put them in 350 oven until brown on top then remove from oven. I popped them out onto a cookie sheet, squashed them a bit, and formed a little on the sides to create patty. Bake again (350) until they are crispy but not burnt.

Slightly Obsessed!

Ok, so I made a variation to the stuffed mushrooms with black beans, cilantro, salsa and walnuts and they were the best yet! I can't get enough of them.

I made a big pot of veggie soup tonight with green beans, broccoli, tomatoes, cabbage, bok choy, celery, onions, garlic, fresh basil, fresh parsley, and cannelini beans. I pureed a couple cups to make it thicker/creamier. My 3 year old ate two bowls of it! I tried pureeing it to get my 5 year old to eat it but he still claimed it made him "shiver." Still, he ate about a 1/2 a cup and said he liked it but still asked for spinach and pinenut sauce pasta. Did I mention we are gluten-free? It makes things pretty interesting around here.

I decided to not buy eggs this week and make these muffins for the kids. Beet Carrot cake: http://www.fatfreevegan.com/desserts/beet.shtml. I omitted a few things (like carrots and pineapple, and nuts) and added coconut flour, carrot juice, flaxeed meal, and rice milk (for B12 sources)...oh and subbed a gluten free blend for the flours. They turned out really nice!

Oh and I am slightly obsessed with greens. I make 2 green smoothies a day (4.5 oz of spinach in each) and I love them! With my salad, that means I am getting close to a pound of greens a day! yay!

Btw, we ran 5 miles today in the rain. It was kinda nice and I felt great throughout....waves were gigantic!

Eat to Live

Well I finally bit the bullet and committed to “Eat to Live”…a guide to health by Dr. Fuhrman. I have been dabbling in it for about a year but hadn’t fully jumped in. Well I did…..I am 7 days in and feel fantastic! Because I have been vegan for so long, it has been pretty easy because I have so many staples that fit right in. The hardest part (and this was a suggestion made by him because of my PCOS history) was giving up starches. But I really think it was all in my head because I hardly miss them now. He recommends 2 pounds of greens/veggies a day which has been challenging but I think I am up to a pound of raw greens  and ½ pound of cooked veggies. I have had to increase my nuts/seeds intake and eliminate all the oil (which is pretty easy because I rarely cook with it). I have increased the beans which I really LOVE. I guess I didn’t realize how much better I would feel. I am increasing starchy fruit on my longer run days to help refuel because I am burning around 800-900 calories….as my runs get longer, I will probably add more nuts/seeds and avocado. It was amazing how much more energy I had on my 8 miler today! I felt a little heavy in the legs around mile 7 but after I don’t feel fatigued at all.

 

Here is my latest recipe creation. I served it over the biggest salad I have ever seen… I had to actually put the mushroom on another plate entirely!

 

Stuffed Mushrooms:

 

6 portabellos (4 medium to  2 large)

8 oz frozen spinach

1 onion

4 cloves of garlic

handful of cilantro

1 T of cumin (ground)

1 can chickpeas

1 T nutritional yeast

1/4 cup of chickpea flour

1/4 cup of pine nuts

1 teaspoon baking powder

I sautéed (no oil) the onions, garlic, and spinach. I ground the pinenuts in the food processer. Then added the chickpea flour, spices, nutritional yeast, baking powder, cilantro and processed. After 5 minutes of cooking I added the onion mixture into the processor and mixed again. Then pulsed in the can of chickpeas. I spread the mixture into the portabellos with a spatula. They cooked for 30-40 minutes covered then about 15 minutes uncovered in a 350 degree oven.

 

My husband even loved them J

KElli

 

Oh the weather is a comin...so they say

The word on the street is that there are 3 big storms coming that will bring surf, rain and wind over the next 4-5 days. It is like Santa Barbara's version of a hurricane. I can't remember the last time it rained here. It never rains.

Anyway, because of this, I decided to get my long run out of the way while the weather was ok. I got myself a mini digital camera to capture some pictures on my runs and played around with it today while on my 8 mile long run. It was an awesome run and I enjoyed every minute of the hour and 26 minutes it took me to do it. I took some stops to get some shots and here they are.

Week #1

Here is an update on the running I did in the first week of official training. It didn't follow the plan because I didn't have a sitter so I could only run when the stars aligned.

I ran 3 miles, 6 miles, and 5 miles. I had to do some rearranging of the training schedule because of the holidays but I think it will all work out.