30-Day NEURO Plan, Days 15-16

Ooooh-ooooh, we're halfway there! Ohhh-ohhhh, livin' on a prayer! Sorry, I can't help but sing because I've surpassed the halfway point on the 30-Day Alzheimer's Solution NEURO Plan. Since January 2, I've been avoiding processed foods and (mostly) avoiding sugar, working on increasing my meditation time, running and doing yoga EVERY SINGLE DAY, learning basic Spanish, playing word games, learning chess (!!), and attempting to get restorative sleep — all in an effort to set myself up for a good year of healthy habits aimed at preventing dementia. I'm using Dean and Ayesha Sherzai's 30-Day Alzheimer's Solution book for the 30-day plan and recipes. 

On Sunday (Day 15), I slept in and then woke up to a Chickpea Omelet with mushrooms, spinach, and tomatoes with a side salad and homemade hummus. I've always loved a good chickpea omelet, and this one was fantastic!

I had an afternoon 3K race as part of the annual Memphis Runners Track Club Winter Off-Road Series 3K, so rather than have a big lunch, I had a bowl of Fruit Salad with Peanut Butter Tahini Energy Bites (from the book). Fruit and nuts are the perfect pre-race fuel. The energy bite is made with PB, tahini, oat flour, monkfruit, and cinnamon. They're really good. They're soft and don't really hold their shape well, so I've been stashing them in the freezer.

At 2 pm, I met my friend Megan at Overton Park for the 3K race. A 3K is just 1.8 miles, so this was a quick race. It was all on trail, and we had a snow dusting Saturday night, so we got VERY muddy!

After my run, I had some Protein Plant Bites (from Complement). And for dinner, I turned my Plantastic Neuroplastic Meatballs from Friday into a burger on a sprouted Ezekiel bun with sweet potato fries! The burger was made with sweet potato, quinoa, beets, spinach, and cilantro.

I washed that down with an n/a Juicy IPA from Untitled Art. So far, Untitled Art has the best n/a beers I've tried!

I was off work for MLK Day on Monday, so slept in again. And then I made a Cherry Matcha Smoothie as my pre-run fuel. I'm avoiding sugar on this plan, but I did add some agave to this since it was pre-run. Sugar breaks down for quick energy, so I'm not counting workout nutrition in my no-sugar rule.

After my 6-miler, I had a Chickpea & Seeds Sandwich with a side salad.

And dinner was Chickpea Barley Soup with Cashew Cream! This hearty soup has pearled barley, collards, chickpeas, mushrooms carrots, celery, and leeks, and it really warmed me up on this cold night! I love the texture of barley. It's probably my favorite grain, but I so rarely cook with it. This was a reminder that I need more barley in my life.