Monday, December 12, 2011

Just another Meatless Monday!

So I read THIS Small Food Wonders article in the latest addition of Runner's World.  (Those of you who know me, know that as soon as I get my magazine in the mail, I read it cover to cover - BUT I always look in the back to see who the "I'm a Runner" piece is about first).  Anyway, the article focused on small changes that you can make in your diet instead of restricting.  Because "making smaller, more managable changes that will keep you motivated and reshape the way you approach food.  When you decide to train for a marathon, you wouldn't run all those miles right off the bat"...Touche, Runner's World, touche.

Here is the part of the article that interested me the most:

JOIN THE MEATLESS MONDAY MOVEMENT
The average American eats about eight ounces of meat daily, which is roughly 45 percent more than the USDA recommends.  Eating too much fatty meat increases your saturated fat intake, and increases your risk for heart disease.  "By going meatless one day a week, you can cut back on saturated fat while incorporating other nutrient-dense, plant-based protein sources into your diet including edamame, tofu, nuts, beans, and quiona.  The last two are particularly runner-friendly since they also contain slow-releasing complete carbohydrates that supply energy for runs." - Marissa Lippert, M.S., R.D.

Hmm, interesting.  I thought to myself about the amount of meat that I eat daily, which really isn't much (sandwich at lunch and the normally some at dinner), and realized that it was probably about 8 ounces.(!) I wondered if Meatless Monday could be manageable.  I decided that I was going to give it a shot.  I knew the perfect recipe for my first week!  My very good friend from college, Christina Nicole Castleman (pictured below with me and her adorable son, Warren in Chicago last year), gave me a recipe for black bean soup years and years ago.  In college, everyone used to beg CNC to make her infamous BB soup, and she used to deliver it to us poor college students in huge Ziploc bags.



Fast forward a few years, and I've made BB soup SO many times.  And now my family and friends ask me for it!  The best thing about the recipe that there are really no measurements, it's just to taste.  And you can add corn or chicken or whatever and it still turns out delicious.  Here is the recipe:

BLACK BEAN SOUP
1 red onion
Salt
Pepper
Garlic
2 cans black beans
2 cans diced tomato (with or without spices)
1 can water
olive oil

Start by chopping the onion, put in a stock pot and add a little bit olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic to taste.  I like to cook the onions until they are a little brown on the edges and then add both cans of black beans and tomatoes, and one can of water.  Put in a little more salt, pepper, and garlic (I like a lot of garlic, but if you don't I wouldn't add as much).  Let cook for 30 minutes and then seperate half of the mixture in to a blender and pulse.  Pour back into the stock pot.

That's it!  You can serve over brown rice (my favorite) or top with cheddar cheese, sour cream, or tortilla chips.

Will keep y'all posted on my "Meatless Monday Movement".  So far, so good!

This weekend was another busy one!  Saturday morning, I met Chris at the Upper Tampa Bay Trail for a long(er) run.  One of the reasons that I love running with Chris is because he does the majority of the talking.  All I have to do is listen and interject my opinion every so often.  Chris is also the only person that has been able to consistently run with both me and Ben, and he held the sign at our engagement so he holds a special place in our lives.  Anyway, we Chris was talking about the RnR St. Pete and how he thinks I can honestly break two hours - if I don't get mentally messed up.

Once we got about 6 miles in to the run, Chris said that we were going to really push it back to the start.  I silently rolled my eyes and agreed - such a follower.  This was probably the one and only time that Chris and I did not speak but a few words to each other (besides "I'm NOT stopping until we get there!") for FOUR whole miles!  And we got exactly what we were hoping for, right around 9:07 minute miles the whole way.  Check it out(!):


Laps11

Split
Time
Distance
Avg Pace
Summary1:31:12.010.019:07
19:30.91.009:31
29:21.21.009:21
39:17.41.009:17
49:19.11.009:19
59:19.11.009:19
69:26.81.009:27
78:45.01.008:45
88:36.81.008:37
98:47.01.008:47
108:46.81.008:47
11:02.10.016:21

The plan for RnR is to go out at about a 8:45/8:50 pace per mile and then, if necessary, we can take it easy for a few miles.  Chris agreed to pace me to a sub 2:00 half. (YAY!)  At least I know I won't have to worry about talking....;)

Ben and I were also working on our "First Dance" song this weekend.  We have been having a hard time coming up with a song - mainly because we don't really have "a song".  But we found these two (both country - WHAT?!?) songs that are good contenders (in my mind, anyway).  First, Rascal's Flatt's "Broken Road" (my favorite):


And Brad Paisley's "Then":


I think both pretty much sum up our history very nicely.  Now, I will just have to find myself some cowgirl  boots to compliment my dress...

1 comment:

  1. Because my vote matters so much - I vote brad paisley. I LOVE HIM! .. and I dislike rascal flatts. heh.

    Nice run w/ Chris! Woot for RnR (although I'm really concerned it's going to be a huge cluster since it's inaugural). I'm running. Not sure if a PR will be happening, we shall see.

    ReplyDelete