I think change is good so I re-did my blog a little.

Great sunrise my friend and I got to see as we reached the top! So worth getting out of a warm bed for.

So far  I am not complaining about our winter. It has been wonderful for running. A few wind storms here and there so I use those as my days off.  A few inches of snow here and there. Those days are great for some hill work. Just strap on some microspikes and hit the hills.

I have my race schedule set for 2013.  If I can keep my two left feet from crashing on the trail and injuring myself I should be set for a fun race season. And yes I race for fun! I mean if I took it seriously it wouldn't be any fun.  Races never go the way you want them too.

Food/training
Early breakfast:  3 gluten free pancakes with a touch of peanut butter with maple syrup and a glass of hemp milk

training: 12 miles/3600' of vertical. I brought dried apples and dried figs with me. Tasty!

lunch: red quinoa, red potatoes, black bean burger, tomatoes and kale

snack: 2 apples

dinner:  a big bowl of millet puff and flax ceral, and one apple

My new love is dino kale (or called black dino kale).  This is the best kale I have ever had! It is so delish raw and you can lightly steam it and it cooks up so nicely.  I can't get enough of this stuff. The flavor is really amazing!

Doesn't this look pretty? This was one of my lunches. I bought some purple potatoes and combined them with yams.  I like the colors togethers.
I just bought a case of yams. These have been great for running fuel. Along with orange juice.

I am building up my running mileage again. I backed way off on my running in Sept/Oct. As I usually do every year. I averaged about 30 miles a week. I still maintained a good base.  I feel this time off helps prevent injuries and lets your body rest.  Over training is not good for the body. I feel so rested and ready for some spring races. 

breakfast - yams and apples
run 10 miles
lunch - yams and apples (needed to eat this again.  I have to help out at the junior high basketball practice. Have to scrimmage with them. They are short players) should be fun.
dinner - will be quinoa, steam veggies, black bean burger and a green drink (kale/oj/carrots)

Top pic breakfast - kabocha squash/apple/raisin/maple syrup
bottome pic lunch - quinoa, green beans, broccoli, tomatoes, Sunshine fresh herb burger

My new love now is delicata squash and kabocha squash. I am really enjoying their sweet flavor.  I chop them up in cubes and steam them.  This has been my breakfast lately.  I eat this a few hours before my runs.  I also put apples in there too. So I get fast and slow carbs together. This has done wonders for my running. I run a minimum of 9 miles when  I go out. So this dish fuels me for the long haul.  So I steam the squash for about 10-15ish minutes (depends on the kind of squash). Then the last 3 minutes I throw in an apple with raisin for a quick steam.  I lightly drizzle maple syrup.  Such a great dish.  If I eat this at night, I do not steam my apple.  I only steam the apple before my run.

The next dish was lunch today. I pretty much call it my mush, and my mush contains a variery of steam/raw veggies, tomatoes, grain (quinoa/brown rice/millet), starch (yams/sweet potato/squash), and beans or bean burger which is either homemade. But lately with my busy schedule I have been eating Sunshine burgers.  The are so flavorful, with whole ingredients.  I tend to just throw everything into my wooden bowl and mix. And then after my lunch I had a large glass of fresh orange juice. It hits the spot.

These are HUGE organic keitt mangos.  And so super orange and sweet!  I got these by the case for cheap so I bought 10 cases.  We ate a few cases but they all came ripe at once so I froze most of them.  They make great ice cream for the kids.  And I picked a ton of blackberries off my property and froze 3 large bags of them.  So I have a good amount of frozen fruit. Mango and blackberry and oj go great together in a smoothie for kids.  And make a great combo for ice cream too!

So here is sample of my meals. 
Breakfast - oatmeal with handful of walnuts, raisins, maple syrup, one banana, some berries and a handful of granola cereal.  If I have a long run then I add more fruit.  I love this breakfast.  I get the fast carbs from the fruit and then the slow carbs from the oats.  I tend not to have to bring extra fuel on my run when I eat this. I run about 2 hours after this meal.

lunch - this is still my biggest meal of the day and  it varries what I eat.  Usually some type of bean with a potato  or rice with steamed veggies and tomatoes.  I vary this up alot with different beans, tubers and veggies.  Never dull. I am loving my bean burgers too.  And I wait about a 1/2 hour and have a piece of fruit.  If  I don't run that day then I omit the potato or rice and add more veggies. 

So that whole food combining thing has gone out the window.  The other day I had a 20 mile run.  I had my usual breakfast and lunch and when I was done my body wanted something sweet. So I listened to it. Immediately after my bean and rice lunch I had on huge sweet cantaloupe. I had no issues at all.

I made a black bean burger for the family.  Everyone liked it.  Very simple ingredients and full of flavor. All I did was add black beans in a bowl, with some green peppers, yams, and onion. I added cumin for the spice. Mush up real good and form into patties.  It doesn't hold together very well so if you want something like this to put on a bun then I think adding some oats to it to hold it together better.

Our summer has been one of the driest in a long time.  And warm.  So our growing season here is awesome.  Best garden I have ever had.   I have been foraging my meals daily from what I grow. In the garden I have a ton of cukes, kale, peas, and potatoes.  And we have acres of wild blackberries.  I have been freezing a lot of berries.  Nothing like eating fresh picked fruit and greens.  This is how we all should eat year around.  From your own garden.  Unfortuately, I can't. Though people do so now I have to try to figure that out.

I have 5 pumpkins growing too! And they are already turning orange.  Last year I waited until mid October for my pumpkis to turn orange and they never did. So I carved them green.. They still looked cool.  Last years growing season wasn't as warm.

Running is going great.  Hoping to pick up a race in October.  Didn't do the 100 miler.  So I will try one here again soon.  I am in such great running shape right now and if I can keep it that way going into my 100 I should do REALLY well.   

How does a busy mom and endurance athlete eat healthy day in and day out?  Preparation and some planning.
Actually what I eat changes with the season. Whatever is in season is what I eat and if I come up with a great seasonal recipe I will eat it for the next few weeks. Then on to the next recipe.

I buy my organic/non-gmo beans and rice/quinoa in bulk.  I make a huge batch of rice and keep it in a bowl that lasts for about 3 days. And the beans I soak over night and cook up a big batch too. When I want some I just put the rice and beans in a steamer basket and it takes like two mintues to warm it up. So for busy people this is a good idea too.  I am just not into canned beans or minute rice.  Tyically I like to prepare my food that day but if I know my days will be busy making a bunch ahead of time works well!

Today we did a fruit and veggie haul. We have a great organic wholesaler. With a family of 5 it helps.  Here is what we got:
1 case blueberries
1 case raspberries
1 case plout
1 case of yellow grape toms
1/2 case cauliflower
1/2 case broccoli
1 case tuscan cantaloupe
1/2 case cantaloupe
1 case greens
1 case yams
1 case valenica

Today's menu:
breakfast -oatmeal (GF oats)- on top is apples, raisins, walnuts, maple syrup.
lunch - cantaloup and nectarines (ohhhh heavenly)
dinner - salad with tomatoes and beans