Health Made Simple for Athletes, Days 5-7

Friday was my fifth day on the whole food, plant-based Health Made Simple meal plan from No Meat Athlete. Friday morning started with bootcamp at my gym, so I had a Carrot Cake Larabar and some masala chai with almond milk before class.

Breakfast was another Strawberry Raspberry Protein Smoothie. Morning snack was Baby Carrots with Goddess Dressing, a tahini-based recipe on the meal plan.

Lunch was leftover red lentils and brown rice from Thursday's dinner, and my afternoon snack was another fruit bowl with flax (fruit every day!). Dinner was a classic Grain/Green/Bean Bowl with tahini sauce.

I had plans to go to my friend Stephanie's house for a full moon celebration, and I knew there'd be snacks. I figured I'd eat dinner and then graze at her gathering. But I had no idea she was going ALL OUT. When I arrived, she'd made Tea Sandwiches with cream cheese and cucumber, Vegan Chicken Salad Sandwiches, and Scones with Vegan Clotted Cream. Plus, another friend brought Vegan Taquitos with all kinds of dipping sauces. So I basically had two dinners on Friday night! 

Stephanie even made Moon Milk with almond milk, cocoa butter, butterfly pea powder, ashwagandha, and dried blueberries. She is AMAZING. 

On Saturday morning, I had a 12-mile trail run on my 50K training plan, so I had my usual long run breakfast of a Plain Bagel with Hummus (this one has cauliflower hummus!).

We had a tornado Saturday morning (while I slept!) and super heavy rain, but the trail was calling! As much as it sucks to run through muddy puddles with soaked feet for three hours, it's great practice since you never know what race day will be like. So I went out to Shelby Farms and ran two 6-mile loops on the very muddy Tour de Wolf trail. This stream crossing was knee deep! Yes, I was very wet the whole time, but it was fun!

I typically eat gels and blocks to fuel my long runs, but I get tired of sweet stuff. So I'm experimenting with some other real food options. There's a recipe for these Sesame Rice Balls in the No Meat Athlete Cookbook, and I've been wanting to try them for awhile. This was my first run with rice balls, and they were so good! A little challenging to eat on the run, but I love an excuse to slow down and walk.

After my run, I had a banana, and then I went home to another rice bowl with kale, pintos, and tahini. My friend Sheridan was in town for the day unexpectedly, and she couldn't stay long. But she wanted to meet up at Imagine Vegan Cafe. Since I had just eaten, I only ordered a Hibiscus Kombucha.

Dinner was a super carb-heavy bowl (yay!) of whole wheat Pasta with Pesto, Green Beans, and Potatoes. The pesto is oil-free and is made with basil and kale. It's really yummy! Enjoyed with a salad with goddess dressing.

On Saturday night, I had plans to go to our favorite gay bar, Dru's Place, for our friend Tyler's birthday. I'd planned to have one beer there and head home, but his friend Andy surprised him (and all of us) with cupcakes from Muddy's Bake Shop. And he got a vegan chocolate one especially for me. So I had to eat it!

One of the best things about eating whole foods all the time is, when treats like this are around, I feel pretty good about eating them! Like I've done so well, so of course I want that cupcake to go with my beer! Ha!

On Sunday morning, I had another 12-miler on the training plan (50K training is tough!), but I also had signed up for the Overton Park 3K trail race later in the day, so I just went out for 10 training miles. I had my bagel with hummus first! And I had another rice ball during my run. 

After my run, I had a blueberry peach smoothie. Then I changed into clean running clothes and headed back out for my race!

The race went well! It was still super muddy on the trail, but thankfully, there are no stream crossings in Overton Park! Post-race, I had a couple of Black Bean, Brown Rice, and Veggie Burritos with kale, mushrooms, bell pepper, avocado, tomato, lettuce, cilantro, and scallions. Really yummy!

And finally, for dinner, I had the rest of the leftover whole wheat pasta with pesto! Oh, and I had a Sweet Baby Jesus Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter because I earned a beer after all that running! What a great, active weekend! My leg muscles are killing me, but it's a good soreness.