Food!

I thought it would be good for me to keep track of food on here. Well, at least when I remember to do so. Doing this may help me nail down a pattern of what works and doesn't work when preparing for a run. This may not be as big a deal for smaller runs...but it definitely will be for long ones.

I started off yesterday morning with Dannon Light & Fit vanilla yogurt. I would normally go for the Yoplait Light (fat free), but that was still loaded with sugar/carbs. Plus, I could never actually finish the whole thing in one sitting. I know, it is not exactly a big container. But it was still a bit much for me. This Dannon one is about half the size of the Yoplait one, and so a much better size for me. And the very few carbs and no added sugar makes it more appealing.

The chocolate granola is homemade and was a recipe I found on pinterest. I will share the recipe at the end of this post in case you all are interested. It is fantastic...great in yogurt or even just as a snack on its own.

I wasn't overwhelmingly hungry at lunch time, so I just had something light to eat.

I sliced up a Honeycrisp apple (my favorite!) and wrapped some deli turkey slices around them. It was both delicious and satisfying.

Dinner came around and I made homemade enchilada suizas. I made sure to get in my run before dinner otherwise I think it would have been too heavy in my stomach.

I know the above picture looks like I burned the tomatoes and jalapeno. I assure you, I did not. In making the enchilada sauce, you have to roast them. This means putting them under broiler until the skin is blackened and blistered. Cool them a bit, then peel off the skin...and they are officially roasted! The final enchilada product was fantastic!!

This recipe comes courtesy of the amazing Chef Rick Bayless and can be found here. Enchiladas are not exactly the most healthy food you can eat. But, you can make them healthier by preparing the sauce from scratch. Never depend on jarred or canned sauce just because it is a quick fix. Not only do they lack the amazing flavor that homemade sauce has, but they are typically loaded with sugar (bad carbs!) and preservatives. When you make the sauce from scratch, as I did here, you control what goes in. This particular sauce has only a few ingredients: less than a tablespoon of oil (as I halved the recipe), tomatoes, a jalapeno, fat free/low sodium chicken broth, a small bit of onion powder (I am not crazy about onions so I use powder instead), a wee bit of salt, and a bit of crema (note: not sour cream). That's it! No sugar. No unknown preservatives. Nothing processed. Just ingredients you know and recognize. This is my favorite enchilada recipe and I highly recommend it.

I went for my run yesterday evening and felt great. I was a bit worried, thinking it was going to reach the near 90 degree temperature that had been the predicted high. But it never even hit 70 due to rain. This made my run fantastic. Now, my pace is still slow; I only went 14:49mpm. My total distance was 2.17 miles. But what made it great for me is that I finished my run without being out of breath at all. Not at all. I felt like I could have kept going for way longer than what I was scheduled to do and still feel great at the end. This is so encouraging to me. I don't expect that my pace will magically drop to some amazing number. That is ok with me. As long as I can maintain a pace under 16mpm throughout the course and finish...then I am not going to beat myself up over a slow pace.

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Chocolate Granola
Courtesy of Mom's Frugal, found on pinterest

5 cups quick oats
1/2 cup cocoa
3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix oats, salt, and cocoa in a large bowl. At a low temperature, melt butter. Remove from heat and stir in honey, vanilla, and brown sugar. Pour over oat mixture and stir until coated. Spread on buttered baking sheet. Bake at 350 for approximately 25 minutes. Stir occasionally so the edges do not get too dark. Cool and store in an airtight container.