Superbowl Sunday Eats!

Needless to say, I'm not out doing a long run today.  One of the things that I do not miss in the least about training for a full or half marathon is spending my Saturdays prepping (resting, worrying about food and hydration) for long run Sunday and spending my Sunday waking up at the crack of dawn, running in the freezing cold then spending the rest of the day in recovery mode.  Not that it doesn't feel damn good finishing a nice long run, it really, really does but so does chilling with the Sunday paper, a cup of tea followed by a massive green smoothie and time with my family.

And speaking of Saturday, yesterday I had to run to the mall for my all time favorite Clinique facial soap (kinda wish I could pick it up at the drug store, but oh well, it's so worth the trip) and as I was zipping past the food court, I noticed a kiosk for Sweetz Bakery.  They have gluten free, dairy free, AND vegan cupcakes.....holla!!!  Unfortunately, you could either get gluten free, dairy free OR vegan.  Why can't they do GF, DF and vegan in the same cupcake?  Weird.  Because I know for a fact that my stomach does not handle dairy, I decided to go with the double chocolate GF, DF instead of vegan.  And yes, I felt guilty knowing that there were eggs in my cupcake.  So why did I even bother?  Because I am always interested in trying new gluten free products especially those not containing dairy. 

I was shocked, totally, completely shocked at how good it was!  I'm kind of glad that I can't get GF, DF and vegan in the same cupcake or I'd be buying them by the bus load!

Today is even more fun because it's Superbowl Sunday - woot!  Not that I have care about either team....my poor Redskins are home watching on t.v....again, but I love, love, love the Superbowl and all the obnoxious hype that goes along with it. 

My husband had to leave for a business trip today so our normal Superbowl party had to get canned.  It's just me and my two boys.  We hit Harris Teeter for game day treats - loads of crunchy carbs for them (it's the Superbowl, I may have spoiled them a bit) and veggies for me.  Today I'm going to try my first recipe out of my newest cookbook, Cooking with Trader Joe's: Skinny Dish.  The book is filled with beautiful vegan eats and I have a ton marked to try.

I decided to keep it simple today and go with the Creamy Spinach Artichoke Dip.  I've got my spinach all thawed and the rest of the ingredients prepped and ready to go. 

The recipe says you can serve it cold but I prefer my spinach artichoke dip hot so I'm going to bake it for 25 minutes or so.  This is my first attempt at a vegan spinach artichoke dip so my fingers are crossed!  I've got a bunch of cut up veggies to go with it along side millet and flax crackers.  Bring on game time!  Later I'm going to have a roasted veggie filled quesadilla (my all time favorite food) and make the boys pasta.  Now this is what I call an easy Sunday!

Have We Talked About Pinterest?

I don't think I've brought up Pinterest before.  Are you on it?  Can I just tell you how stinking obsessed with it I am??  It has been the BEST thing ever for me during this transition to a plant based diet.  I have been discovering so many yummy dishes both on Pinterest (a search for "vegan" results in a ton good stuff) and on foodie blogs and now, I have them all 'pinned' in one, easy to find, totally organized place.  I love it.  I added a 'follow me' button right over there on the right if you want to check it out.

Recently I found a new-to-me blog Bev Cooks.  It is such a great blog!  I spent a crazy amount of time on her site and pinned a ton of things to try (she is not vegan or vegetarian but has a lot of veggie dishes as well as some that I could easily make veg).  The other night, I decided to give her Red Quinoa with Mushrooms and Kale recipe a try and I am so glad I did!

After mixing the cooked quinoa with the sauteed kale

Another kale hit - yahoo!  The only difference between her recipe and what I did was that I didn't have red quinoa so I used my regular Costco white and I only had a small package of pre-sliced shiitake  mushrooms which was less than what she called for.

Plated up with another favorite, squash with spinach and cranberries

Next time, I'll use the full amount of mushrooms if not more because I love me some mushrooms and I felt like they got a little lost under all that quinoa.  It turned out really great.  It's a nice change up from the Cosmic Kale that I've become obsessed with because it's not creamy so you get more of a crunch from the kale.

Yesterday I was at Harris Teeter and they had their Planters Peanuts on sale - buy one get one free - I'm a sucker for BOGO deals and for peanuts although I don't think my stomach loves peanuts!  Anyway, they had a flavor I hadn't seen before, Five Alarm Chili.

Being a lover of all things spicy, I decided to push my fear of too much sodium aside and buy them.  Oh mamma.  So stinking good.  This is the last jar I'll ever buy because seriously, they are like crack!

Still haven't run since the half marathon on Sunday.  My stomach is still not back to normal which has me a wee bit concerned.  I'm hoping I'll feel better by the weekend....I miss my cardio!

3M Half Marathon - Austin, TX

Sunday was like a blur.  I managed to run the 3M Half Marathon despite having major stomach issues in the days leading up to it.  First, the race.  I was very impressed with 3M's organization.  There were regular email updates and whoever was in charge of the Facebook page did an incredible job answering each and every question.  Everything, in my opinion, was very, very smooth.  It is billed as a 'fast, downhill' course and while it is downhill, it's certainly not noticeable.  It felt more flat to me than anything else.  It's such a gradual descent that you really don't notice that you are going down.  Having said that, it's better than 13.1 miles of a gradual uphill because I'm sure I would have felt that!

Check out that goodie bag FULL of 3M products!

I've mentioned my stomach problems many times on this blog.  Its been an ongoing issue for 4 years now and is as of right now, undiagnosed.  I've gotten the, "Oh, it's probably just IBS." talk from 3 different doctors.  They have had me convinced that it's no big deal, and to just live with it.  I'm not a big fan of going to the doctor, I typically have to be pretty ill before I'll go get checked out and part of the reason is that I (this is very strange) always assume I'll get in there, they'll tell me nothing is wrong with me and I will have wasted every one's time.  However, this intestinal issue for me has pushed itself into the forefront of my life and messed with my day to day living.  I've missed many morning plans because I just can't leave the house yet.  I've had days where I'm in pain for the entire day.  I've had days where there is no pain, I just need to be close to the bathroom - TMI.  I've tried going gluten free although to be perfectly honest, I can't say that I was ever 100% GF because it is in stinking everything and I didn't quiz servers when we went out to eat.  I did notice that I felt a bit better off gluten but I think only in the way that most people would - bloating eased, pain got more manageable, I was way less puffy, etc.  But I still felt bad so I took out dairy.  That made a big difference.  Then I took out all animal products.  I did, though, ease gluten back into my diet although made every effort to keep it at a minimum.

Fast forward to two weeks ago.  I had finally had it and went to see a GI dr.  He ran blood work and scheduled me for both an endoscopy and a colonscopy.  The blood work showed that I am vitamin D deficient so he put me on a prescription to get that back on par.  It also showed that I have immunoglobulin A deficiency which apparently made my celiacs panal non diagnostic.  Awesome.  So.  He is planning on doing a biopsy to check for celiacs and is hoping to rule out crohn's and colitis.  And I get to have that fun stuff done on Valentines Day....so romantic!

Back to the race.  I have no idea what happened but starting late Friday night, my stomach started acting up in a major way.  By mid-day Saturday, I was in so much pain, I could hardly stand up straight.  I know it sounds dramatic, but I really am actually pretty good with pain and am able to just deal most of the time but this time it was bad, real bad.  I don't know if it was something I ate - being away from home it's so hard to control what you are eating.  But whatever it was, it scared me.

I got up Sunday at 4:00am and finally made the call to go ahead and run at 5:30 so we headed up to the start.  I had many issues that morning and after that plus the day before, I was feeling pretty spent.

I felt ok for about 6 miles then I started feeling more tired than I should.  Then at mile 7, my watch ran out of batteries.  I know, I know....rule of racing number one - make sure all your shit is charged.  I totally slept on that one - completely forgot to even check it.  So from mile 7 on, I was running blind.  Had no idea how my pacing was....one minute I would feel like I was running way too fast, then the next, too slow.  By mile 10, the nausea kicked in.  I'm assuming that was dehydration.  I carried water and drank regularly but I think the day before and that morning had taken it's toll and I just hadn't caught up with my fluids.

I finished the race in 1:46:38 and given how I felt, I'm ok with that (but, ugh, could I get out of the 1:46's??).  I probably shouldn't have even run it because I still am not back to normal.  I'm still dragging and still dealing with cramping although much milder now.  It's good to be back home with my veggies and hopefully by this weekend, I'll feel much better.

Wow.  Longest, and probably the most boring, post ever!

I am leaving bright and early tomorrow morning....my father-in-law is picking me up at 6:15am, ouch - so today is my pull-everything-out-of-the-closet-and-attempt-to-jam-it-all-in-the-suitcase-day.  I'm pretty sure I'm the worst packer ever.  For some reason, I can't put together an outfit to save my life.  It's very strange because I consider myself a very organized person.  But all of a sudden, I'm going to be in a hotel without access to everything and I panic!  I keep walking into my closet to pull out more stuff then I stare at it all on my bedroom floor and have to walk out.  This obviously means I'll pack way more crap than I'll ever need.

Race day is hard to pack for too.  The race starts at 6:45 (wha??) and the sun doesn't even come up until 7:24 (yes, I checked)! 

I've for sure settled on carpi tights but from the waist up, I'm still clueless.  I almost always dress too warm for races and end up regretting it so I'm trying to not do that this time.  I think I may wear exactly what I wore for Richmond because it was very cold at the beginning but I never felt too cold or got too hot.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?  For the record, right now they are calling for a low of 44 and a high of 62.  I know 44 is perfect but my thought is that since we wont even see the sun until 45 minutes into the race, it's probably going to be quite chilly for most of the 13 miles.  Ugh.  Just decide!!

Stupid Butt Muscle

Tried out the glut again today.  What the hell is wrong with it!?  I really thought after that week off, I'd be magically cured.  I can't deal.  Why does this kind of thing always happen before a race?  Is it psychological?  I'm starting to think so.  I only ran 5 today just to test it and it was just a nagging pain until I tried to bump up the speed...that's when it turned into plain ol' pain.  Awesome.  So my plan now is to do nothing until race day.  Come race day, I think I'll start out real easy and just see how it feels.

So after I blogged about the Cosmic Kale yuminess the other day, I had a mad craving for it.  I hadn't had it in a while and suddenly couldn't stop thinking about it.  So last night I decided to make it but was out of kale!!  I know!!  Ack!!  So I made it anyway only with spinach.  And guess what?  Still totally fantastic.  It's because of that damn cashew 'cream' sauce.  I could probably slather that on a piece of cardboard and eat it up.  I took this picture just so you could see the creaminess.  I'm still totally amazed at how much it tastes like a million calorie cream sauce.

How can something so creamy be vegan??

I was eating it as my main meal this time so I mixed in some rice noodles for a little added oomph.  Delicious.  I was a very happy girl.

Best dish EVER

Then today, I went to Wegmans to pick up more kale and apparently I'm not the only one on the kale train....this was all that was left!! 

One little bunch of kale!! I kind of want it to go back to the green with a bad, bitter tasting reputation so I can have it all to myself.

Pre-Race Jitters

So once again, I'm a bundle of nerves during race week.  I'm running the 3M Half Marathon in Austin, TX this Sunday and while I'm super excited, I'm also freaking out a bit.  The last time I raced was The Richmond Half Marathon in November.  That race was my first since Boston last April so I went into it insanely nervous.  I hadn't raced in a long time, I didn't feel like my training had been at the level it should have been and to be perfectly honest, I was terrified of embarrassing myself.

It seems that qualifying for Boston is both a blessing and a curse.  Once you do, you feel like you can do anything which is a good thing.  But so does everyone around you which can be a bit daunting.  Everyone automatically thinks you are a Kenyan and can run like the wind.  I like to think I can get speedy with proper training but I'm certainly not born with a gift.  It takes work.  Lots of consistent work.  So when I don't put that work in, I panic.  Such was the case for Richmond.  I was sure I was going to bonk.  Turns out, it was fine.  Once I got started, the nerves vanished and I just ran.  I had a really great experience with friends and felt like, "Ok, I can do this. I can start racing again."

I signed up for Austin because my husband is there for business this week and wanted me to come spend the weekend.  As most runners do, the first thing I did was check for any possible races during that weekend....I know, I'm quite the romantic.  I was very excited to see that the 3M Half was happening on the same weekend so immediately signed up.

Training has been going really well, I felt 100% prepared until two weeks ago when after taking a step class, I felt a funky twinge in my right hamstring.  Actually, I think it's more lower glute than hamstring because it's up pretty high and doesn't travel down my leg, rather side to side.  I went on a group run of 12.5 miles on the 15th and all was well but starting around mile 6, I could feel it slowly creeping in.  I finished fine and it just felt like a mild annoyance more than anything else so I didn't give it much thought.  Oh, and as usual, I didn't stretch.  When am I going to learn how important it is to stretch??  The next morning, it was killing me.  I'm talking, limping around the house killing me.

The next week (last week), I didn't run at all.  Not a single mile.  I went to Body Pump once but that was it.  I rested it as best I could.  Then on Sunday, I decided to give it a try.  Hopped on the treadmill and made it to 4.5 before it started hurting again.  I stopped at 5 miles and worried.  And worried, and worried.  Yesterday morning, it seemed ok so like a moron, I decided to test it again.  I ran 6 miles yesterday and again, starting at the 4-5 mile mark it started talking to me.  Now this morning, it's quite sore.  I was hobbling to the bus stop with my son and seriously ready to cry.  What the hell?!  Obviously I'm going to rest it today and see how I feel tomorrow but I have no idea what to do.

Maybe I should just forget about the race - I don't mean not run it, I mean just go and try and "enjoy the experience" (ugh) - and instead, think about how much fun it will be to have a weekend away with my husband.  No kids! No dog! No toilets to clean!!!  I'm trying to see that glass as half full!

Kale Beautiful Kale!

I have a new love.  I've finally joined the masses and discovered just how yummy kale can be.  I know....I'm way late to the kale party.  It used to be that the only way I was getting kale in my body was via a green smoothie.  And even then, I would load the smoothie with spinach then put only lonely kale leaf in and I only did that because I knew what a nutritional powerhouse kale was.  Obviously getting one kale leaf every now and again wasn't really doing me much good.  I kept reading about the 'massaged kale salad' technique so decided to man up and give it a go.  Well, I'm here to tell you that taking that extra step to massage your kale is a very good thing!  Basically, you are massaging the dressing of your choice into the kale leaves and in the process, turning them into a softer, milder, all around yummier green.  I am now 100% addicted!  I make a big salad every Sunday and munch on it until Wednesday if I'm lucky then immediately make another!  The salad that did it for me is this one from Whole Living.

Totally addictive kale yuminess

When I make it, I find the best method is to put half of the dressing in with the kale, get in there with your hands - yes, totally messy but oh so worth it! - and massage away until it gets soft.  Then I add the rest of the ingredients and the remaining dressing.  So, so, so good....even my husband likes it which is saying a lot.  Also, I had my father and step-mother over for dinner last Sunday night and served it to them without telling them what the green was.  My step-mom loved it and halfway through it said, "This is so good! What is this green though?" Well of course I was so excited to practically scream, "Kale!  It's kaaaaaaaalllllleeeee!!!!"  They were both very surprised because of course, no one likes kale, it just too bitter!  Ha!

I was so proud of my raw kale consumption that I decided to search for something cooked that would be just as good.  I settled on a delicious sounding recipe from Fat Free Vegan.  With a name like Cosmic Cashew Kale and Chickpeas, I figured I couldn't go wrong!  Well it certainly delivered.  This was also my first try at a cashew dressing/sauce.  I know....what the hell?  This lifestyle change is one that I wanted to do right and by right, I mean I wanted to stay away from packaged food and too much fat.  I have been so frustrated by the number of blogs/recipes I see that use cashew 'cream'.  I feel like it adds so much fat to the recipe.  Sure, nuts are good for you, but I try to eat them in moderation and I was worried that if I started throwing cashew cream on every one of my dinners, I'd blow up like a balloon.  Again, I mean no disrespect to the cashew cream lovers of the world, I'm just trying to keep the fat/calories in check.  Anyway, I gave this one a go and really loved it.  My husband - who is not on my vegetarian train - really enjoyed this and couldn't believe there was no dairy involved.  He also said I should spring it on my father and step-mom next time they come over and wait until after to announce it vegan.  He is so getting in on my game!

On a personal note, I know I'm a pretty sketchy blogger.  My goal for this blog has always been to record my training process and race day experiences (I really do learn from past mistakes!) and now, to keep a running diary of my dietary changes in an effort to discover just what the heck is wrong with my belly and to get healthier.  Having said that, I'm very sporadic in my posting because I have a sick parent and it can be quiet overwhelming at times emotionally.  Some days (or weeks, months!) it takes a major effort to keep a sunshiny front for my kids and to put one foot in front of the other let alone blog about food and exercise.  So.  There you have it.  I love to blog and I love the connection that comes from reader comments and input so I don't want to give it up!