Marathon Roadmap Meal Plan, Day 4

I'm on day four of my 2-week No Meat Athlete Marathon Roadmap meal plan. It's a sample plan that's included in my race training program, all of which is available for purchase as an e-book on the No Meat Athlete website. I've been using this running plan for 16 weeks for instructions on how long to run on what days and which days to do speedwork. And there's also a sample two-week meal plan that I opted to do in the two weeks before my December 2 marathon.

Every morning starts with a smoothie. This morning, I made the Bulked Up Protein Smoothie from the No Meat Athlete Cookbook (not from the e-book, but Matt Frazier's awesome hardcopy cookbook). This smoothie doesn't have protein powder but instead relies on a combo of beans and almond butter for protein, plus oats, banana, berries, cocoa powder, and greens (I used a greens powder rather than fresh greens). I used no-salt-added cannelini beans, and you can't taste them at all, but they do make for a creamy, delicious smoothie.

By the way, I don't run on Wednesdays, so I typically hit up the gym for Butts & Guts class. Today's class was super-challenging with lots of weight lifting, ab work, spinning, and sprinting on the treadmill. This smoothie was the perfect post-workout treat.

My morning snack — enjoyed at my desk — was a Trail Mix made with raw cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds, pepitas, dried apples, cherries, and cranberries.

Lunch was leftovers from last night — Spiral Pasta with Squash and Tomatoes. This is made with gluten-free brown rice and quinoa pasta, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and garlic.

My afternoon snack every day is a salad, but I left that at home to nibble on before dinner. I started to get hungry at my desk at work around 4 pm, so I snacked on the last of my Rosemary Pecans from So Nuts (the nut roastery inside Crosstown Concourse, where I work). I figured this was a whole foods snack that would be No Meat Athlete-approved! Enjoyed out of the lid of a Mason jar, like you do.

When I got home, I had my salad, which had romaine, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, and a ginger-tahini dressing (made by mixing fresh ginger, tahini, and rice vinegar).

And finally, dinner! This Quinoa with Cashews & Oranges was AWESOME. It was basically a stir-fry with a sauce made from the canned mandarin orange juice (thickened with cornstarch). For the veggies, I picked a frozen stir-fry mix that had asparagus, zucchini, carrot, and green beans. Plus, there were orange bits, cashews, and some fresh mushrooms.

Tomorrow — Thanksgiving!!! — I'm giving myself a day off the meal plan (except I'll stick with the morning smoothie). And I'm taking Black Friday off too since it's my 14-year veganaversary. I'll post a recap soon! And I'm back on the meal plan this Saturday. Happy Thankgiving, y'all.