Trying new things: the parsnip

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Kelly

Yesterday I was talking with a co-worker about the most dangerous thing I’ve done lately. Obviously, I couldn’t think of a damn thing beside crossing the street when the little red hand is blinking furiously and cabs are revving their engines getting ready for the light to change. The thought of doing anything slightly risky freaks me the eff out, and I always play it on the safe side.

I’m the same way with trying new things in general – I like the comfort of familiarity and am a creature of habit. Change tends freaks me out and I stick with what I know.

But that’s not really any fun, is it? I always have to remind myself that sometimes it’s worth it to take that risk (like quitting my job a few months ago) or try that new thing.

Baby steps
My “comfort of the familiar” also translates to my food choices, and I will admit I tend to gravitate towards my usual fruits and vegetables – pears, grapes, apples, bell peppers, sweet potatoes, spinach, broccoli. I usually shy away from strange-looking root vegetables, mushrooms or herbs, especially the color-less ones.

Parsnips!

But last week, I saw some lonely looking parsnips at Whole Foods. They look like white carrot and are entirely unattractive and boring looking.

I’ve never eaten or cooked one before, but in the interest of trying new things (I know, this is an uber baby step), I bought a bag and tried them.

I didn’t do anything crazy, just chopped them up and sauteed with some other veggies.

And topped with a baked piece of fish that I can’t for the life of me remember what kind it is, just that it was on sale at Whole Foods (what can I say, I’m getting old).

The verdict: parsnips are delicious. They’re in the same family as carrots but sweeter, and can be used for a variety of things – roasts, soups, stir fries, etc. I want to try this recipe next.

Confession: I am *almost* an RD and still subconsciously equate a white vegetable like the parsnip with having little nutritional value. To prove myself wrong, I did some parsnip-related nutrition research and found they are a great source fiber and pack a ton of vitamins and minerals:

  • Folate
  • Vitamin C
  • Vitamin E
  • Vitamin K
  • Thiamine
  • Magnesium
  • Potassium
  • Copper
  • Pantothenic acid

While I don’t think I would ever do anything that could legitimately kill me (like subway surfing, ahem), I’m trying to make a conscious effort to get out of my comfort zone more often and do some stuff I normally wouldn’t. Even if it’s just eating a parsnip.

Quick running update
I ran 7 miles this morning, felt fantastic and may be running (not racing) a 10K this Saturday that I signed up for a long time ago. Guess there’s no better way to get back into it than to run with thousands of other crazy runners up really early on a Saturday morning to tackle the Harlem Hills, right?

Question: What is the most dangerous/scary thing you’ve done lately? DO YOU LIKE PARSNIPS? Are you racing this weekend?

Posted in Nutrition, Ponderings, Running | Tagged , , | 20 Comments

trial run & “no cook” recipes

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Kelly

This morning I woke up at 05:30 with one thing on my mind – running.

Ok, lies. The other things on my mind: I can’t believe I slept through the night without waking up to pee. Also, why is there a dead cockroach on the floor in my kitchen? I am a very clean person.

Anyways, I did my usual thing – stretched, foam rolled, ate a banana, got dressed and laced up my Brooks. It was 41 degrees, which to me is almost perfect running weather. I walked up my block and started running to the park for the first time in what seemed like forever.

You, my friend, are a sight for sore eyes.

I know, it’s only really been 18 or so days. And while I’ve been having some fun cross training, there really is nothing like an early morning run on the bridle path. The instant my footfalls began crunching along, I realized once again that nothing can really compare.

Since the hamstring had been feeling good, I wasn’t really that nervous it would start hurting during the run, but I was cautious and ready to turn around at the first sign of any pain.

6.5 miles later – my Garmin took about a mile to get a satellite! Apparently it was not as ready as I was to start running again – and I arrived back at my apartment sweaty and pain free.

Dr. Levine, when you said I should run 2 miles, you meant 6, right? Ooops.

I’m icing and stretching and sticking to the every other day plan for now, but I think this run was a definite step in the right direction. It’s good to be back :)

No cooking needed
Since basically the only things I have time to do right now are school/endless amounts of schoolwork, work, run/cross train and sleep, I don’t see myself trying any new, exciting recipes until the semester is over in early May.

BUT, I still make a giant batch of something once a week to eat for dinner because it saves a ton of time and money. Since I’ve pretty much overdosed on my usual quinoa/veggie salad and I’ve been craving avocado, I made this:

Black bean, corn and avocado salad with lime juice, cilantro, bell peppers and broccoli

The recipe doesn’t even require the use of a stove or oven, you just need to dump a few cans of stuff (beans, corn), chop some vegetables (broccoli, peppers, avocado) and mix them together with lime juice and cilantro.

Easy prep and full of:

  • Healthy fats (avocado)
  • Fiber (beans, veggies)
  • Vitamin A (broccoli, bell peppers)
  • Vitamin K (broccoli)
  • Vitamin C (broccoli, bell peppers)
  • Vitamin E (broccoli)
  • Folate (broccoli, corn)
  • Protein (beans, broccoli)

The healthy fats provided by the avocado help your body absorb the fat soluble vitamins (vitamins A, K and E) in the other veggies. I usually try to incorporate a source of fat into my meals to help with A, K and E absorption – cheese and hummus are other favorites.

I like my tupperware.

This recipe makes great leftovers because over time, everything marinates in the lime juice and gets even tastier.

It’s now April, which means there is about one month left of the first portion of my dietetic internship. I’ve spent endless hours at the library, working with my study group, obsessing over kcal/protein/fluid recommendations, learning how to counsel an actual person, but I probably love it more now than I did when I started.

It’s more work that I ever thought it would be, but like running, I think “It’s the hard that makes it great.” 

Question: Favorite “no bake/cook” recipe? I’m looking for new, easy ideas! What’s your idea of perfect running weather?

Posted in Nutrition, Recipes, Running | Tagged , , , , | 17 Comments

adventures in cross training

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Kelly

It has now been exactly 16 days since my last run.

Barely used Brooks Lauches. They haz a sad

I go back and forth between missing running a whole lot and being fine with my new routine of exploring various methods of cross training. While I don’t think I’ll ever become a gym rat – and you people on the treadmills during PERFECT spring mornings, I will never understand you – I think making cross training into somewhat of a game has made it a little more bearable while my hamstring continues to heal.

Usually I’ll do a combination of two things to help speed up workouts and prevent boredom – 30 minutes on the stairmaster, 30 minutes on the elliptical, 20 minutes on the spin bike, 40 minutes swimming, 45 minute spin class, 20 minutes on the elliptical – you get the idea.

I’ve also been doing some reading on the most beneficial forms of cross training for running and coming back from running injuries, and here’s what I’ve gathered.

Swimming
I’ve grown to like swimming in the past couple of months!

and after ruining a sports bra and compression shorts – pseudo-bathing suit – I scraped up enough $$ for a real one (thank you large work discount)

I’ve developed a great workout that never fails to kick my butt, am getting a little speedier and *almost* mastered the art of breathing without getting water up my nose. So this has to mean great things for my running, right?

Not completely. I was reading this book at work the other day, which said that while swimming is a great full body workout, it doesn’t really target running-specific muscles (quads, calves, hamstrings) as much.

So even though it probably shouldn’t be done as a runner’s ONLY cross training choice, the fact that it doesn’t use running-specific muscles as much as it uses the arms, shoulders and back makes it a perfect recovery workout after those really tough runs. Gliding through the water also feels pretty good on sore muscles.

Stairmaster
Before last night, I wouldn’t have even included this one on the list. But then I read a few pages of the new issue of Runner’s World, which answered a question from a reader about what the best cross training exercise is.

The unexpected answer was the Stairmaster.  Apparently, it most closely simulates hill running and definitely targets those running-related muscles to help keep them strong.

I did the Stairmaster this morning. It was a hot, sweaty success.

Cycling/Spinning
While you will not see me purchasing an insanely expensive bike and zooming around Central Park on two wheels (because I would fall, most likely break something and/or lose copious amounts of blood, obvi) I’ve been a longtime fan of spinning.

And it is arguably the best form of cross training for runners because helps strengthen the quads and can improve leg speed. The caveat is that you have to push yourself during a spin workout (note to the girl texting next to me at spin class the other day. You are NOT pushing yourself). Lately I’ve found taking a spin class as opposed to spinning on my own really helps push me – loud music, fun instructors and lots of sweat.

I’m too poor to try a fancy spin place right now, but the classes at NYSC have been suiting me just fine.

Elliptical
I have a love/hate relationship with the elliptical. It can be uber boring, but it does somewhat simulate the action of running without causing impact, making it a decent cross training option for the injured.

I’ve found that in order to benefit from the elliptical, similar to spinning, you really need to push yourself. It’s easy to lolly gag on the damn thing for an hour while watching a rerun of The Real Housewives or something, but it doesn’t do much good in terms of keeping running fitness up. To make it a bit more challenging, I usually do intervals of sprints and easier “running” with varying degrees of resistance. This also makes the time go by a lot faster.

Yoga
Besides the Bikram pose that caused this whole hamstring problem in the first place, I’m a big fan of yoga as cross training for running. It helps strengthen the core,  which helps hold us up while running and can help prevent injuries caused by imbalance or muscle weakness.

I try to practice once per week, even if it’s just in my apartment with virtual Baron Baptiste.

Ok, despite all of this cross training talk, homegirl wants to run. I’m thinking Tuesday will be a nice one to test the hamstring out, so we’ll see how it goes.

Note to the cherry blossoms in Central Park: please stick around a few more days so I can see you and all of your light pink loveliness, ok?

Question: Favorite form of cross training? Do you think one is best to keep up running fitness while injured?

Posted in Running | Tagged , , , , | 25 Comments

For your heart

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Kelly

Thanks for your comments to my last post. I hate being all whiney about injuries or when running isn’t going as well as I’d like – life is pretty good, after all – but it does help to write about it every once and a while to get my frustrations out.

An appropriate mantra I’ve been using this week?

“just keep swimming. just keep swimming. just keep swiiimmmmmming.”

Appropriate on all fronts, since I’ve been spending a considerable amount of time in the pool. Even so, I’m hoping that running talk will continue soon – the hamstring is feeling pretty good, and if all is well next week I’ll probably try a few cautious miles (hooray!).

But for now I’ll just talk about nutrition stuff
This week we’ve been studying cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Medical Nutrition Therapy, and like diabetes, it’s a chronic disease that we will likely see almost every day because of how prevalent it is in this country.

this is your heart. be nice to it.

Besides planning diets low in sodium and saturated fat, high in fiber, fruits, vegetables and whole grains and learning about various heart conditions during another marathon study weekend, one thing kept jumping out at me:

The modifiable risk factors are the ones you CAN change, and the non-modifiable are the ones you can’t. I’m studying nutrition, not math, but it’s pretty clear to see the odds are actually in our favor.

Healthy eating for your heart
You don’t have to be a certain age, have any risk factors or other chronic diseases to eat a heart healthy diet. If you ask me, if kind of makes sense for most of the population. I mean, it’s your heart! The thing that works 24 hours a day to keep you alive, yes?

The term “heart healthy” is all over the place lately, and you probably see these “heart check marks” on various foods in the grocery store.

(source)

But do they mean anything? And if so, what?

They do mean something! Foods labeled with the heart check mark MUST meet the following FDA standards for a single serving size:

  • Total Fat: Less than 6.5 g
  • Saturated Fat: 1 g or less and 15% or less total calories from saturated fat
  • Trans Fat: Less than 0.5 g
  • Cholesterol: 20 mg or less
  • Sodium: 480 mg or less
  • Beneficial Nutrients: 10% or more of the Daily Value of 1 of 6 nutrients (vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, calcium, protein or dietary fiber)

According to the American Heart Association, unsweetened popcorn is the only certifiable product in the snack category, and no desserts are eligible for certification.

I think the idea of putting these check marks on foods is a great way to help people quickly see what foods may be a little better for them than others. But this labeling still has some flaws, and in January 2014, the standards will be updated to include more limits on sugar in whole grains, yogurt, canned and frozen fruit and stricter fiber requirements for whole grains.

January 2014 is kind of a long ways away, so here’s my go-to list of heart-healthy foods that meet the old and new criteria:

Whole grains:

  • Whole wheat, sprouted grain bread
  • Quinoa
  • Brown rice
  • Kashi Heart to Heart
  • Oats

Fruits & Vegetables

  • Sweet potatoes
  • Bananas
  • Apples
  • Broccoli
  • Kale
  • Bell peppers
  • Pears
  • Grapes
  • Brussels sprouts

Low-fat dairy

  • Skim milk
  • Greek yogurt (0%, plain)
  • Cottage cheese (low fat or fat free)

Lean meats, poultry & fish*

  • Salmon
  • Chicken breast (skinless)
  • Lean turkey (95% or better)
  • Cod
*these aren’t measured against the FDA criteria, but are among the best choices for your heart

Question: Do you consider your diet “heart healthy”? What are some of your go-to foods?

Posted in Nutrition, Running | Tagged , , , , | 17 Comments

Jekyll and Hyde

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Kelly

I was feeling super positive when I wrote my last post – totally ok with not running and focusing on healing the hamstring. But two days later, and I’m finding myself gazing longingly at my neglected shoe pile.

My running fuel just itching to be used…

And having sadz about the beautiful cherry blossoms in Central Park that I am not seeing…

from last year.

The hamstring still isn’t ready to run yet, although I was secretly hoping a week off would magically heal it completely. I promised not to be stupid, but never said I was totally realistic... But focusing on the positive, I am feeling progress and Dr. Levine promises I’ll be back running soon as he continues to cause me ungodly pain work on the leg.

I think we all know that injuries and not running can be depressing sometimes. I guess it’s pretty similar to life – we’re not going to be totally happy and content all the time. Learning how to deal with the bad and the good is what makes us well-rounded people and runners. Yes?

be patient, guys. momma’s working on it.

Even though I’m feeling a little low this morning, I still know deep down that I need to focus on the positive to get me through this injury (uuhhh, and life). For me, that usually involves looking at the big picture – I’ll be running again pain-free in a month! Rather than – My hamstring hurts, I can’t run today and I am sad.  Ali said it best in her last post. 

Classes are back in full swing – I don’t know how I forgot how much work the dietetic internship is in one week of spring break, but LAWD. We’ve been studying CVD this week, and per usual it is fascinating me, so hopefully I’ll have my shit together to do a more informative post soon.

For now I’m off to learn about wetsuits before starting my shift at work… hopefully this will be the weirdest part of my day?

Question: When injuries (or life) get you down, what’s your number one way to power through it?

 

Posted in Running | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

changing plans…

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Kelly

So we’re going on no running day #8, and I *think* progress is starting to happen. The hamstring is starting to feel better, but not better enough for me to think about running just yet.

Even all of this free running stuff given to me by my employer will not convince me to run. See that? I’m still being smart. Wonders never cease.

Meantime, I’ve been channeling my inner fish and developed a nice little swim workout that hasn’t failed to kick my ass yet:

  • 20 laps freestyle warm-up
  • 2 laps breast/2 laps backstroke
  • 20 laps alternating sprint and easy laps breathing out of my right side
  • 2 laps breast/2 laps backstroke
  • 20 laps alternating sprint and easy laps breathing out of my left side
  • 2 laps breast/2 laps backstroke
  • 10 laps alternating sprint and easy laps breathing out of my right side
  • 2 laps breast/2 laps backstroke
  • 10 laps alternating sprint and easy laps breathing out of my left side
  • And repeat 10 more laps on each side with extra sprints thrown in at the end
  • 4-5 laps cool down

This workout takes about an hour because the pool I swim in is teeny:

teeny but functional

To be honest, I haven’t really been missing running that much yet; I’m more focused on getting better and the bigger picture – being healthy and running lots of spring/summer miles. HOWEVER, running still seems to have a presence in my subconscious. The other night I dreamt I ran a really fast half marathon (for me, that was 1:39 and change). It was awesome – I floated effortlessly though the miles and literally flew the last 0.1 to the finish.

Sidenote: Does anyone else ever dream they can fly? I do, often. I’m not too into dream interpretation, but I hope it means something good…

Anyways, I know I won’t really be flying through a half marathon any time soon, but I do have an itch to run a fast one. I haven’t run a half not during some sort of training cycle in a long time, and think I’ve got a pretty good shot at a nice PR if I actually race one.

Which brings me to…
A change in plans! I’ve pretty much decided to forgo the Buffalo Marathon at the end of May (Memorial weekend). No speedwork, missed long runs and a bum leg do not a good marathon make, no? I was really looking forward to seeing my fam and running the race, but it’s just not in the cards this year.

But I always have a backup plan, and I’m a big fan of this one. Since a specific birthday of mine is falling on Memorial weekend, I’ve decided to spend it in Boston alongside the person with whom I shared a womb.

It’s her birthday too, after all. It should be noted that mine is 8 minutes before hers.

In a strange twist of fate, there just so happens to be a half marathon in Boston on Memorial weekend. The race course is awesome – it goes through “historic” Boston, up Memorial Drive along the Charles and around the Common/Public Garden.

(source)

I used to live in Boston, and it’s where I first started running about halfway through college. I’ve had some great runs around the Charles, and it’s where I hit my first “double digit” run. Even though the bridle path is still my main squeeze, the paths along the Charles will always have a special place in my heart.

The challenge here is to convince my sister to wake up before dawn on a Sunday morning to spectate the race, and then avoid my early bedtime/grandma ways and somehow maintain enough stamina to party into the night for our birthday. I think we can do it :)

can you guess which one is me? we are so cute.

I’m excited about this new plan, but obviously won’t run the race if the hamstring takes longer to heal than anticipated. Right now though, I can’t think of a better way to spend the last day in my 20′s (omg, omg) than racing my little heart out and then partying the day/night away with my sister and friends.

Question: Any racing plans this spring? Or change of racing plans? Which twin am I in the picture above??

Posted in Nutrition, Running | Tagged , , , , | 21 Comments

No running, lots of antioxidants

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Kelly

Thanks for all of your supportive comments to my last post :)

Part of the reason why I wanted to “announce” I wasn’t going to run for at least a week is to help hold myself accountable and not be tempted to do something extremely idiotic like run. So far, so good. And shockingly, the world is still turning and I’m still alive.

So let’s talk about antioxidants
Remember my post about diabetes a few weeks ago? A new study just came out showing people that ate more blueberries, apples and pears had a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.

Bartlett pear, Macintosh apple

Why? Because blueberries, apples and pears are high in flavonoids, a type of antioxidant found in foods like fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Flavonoids help protect plants from oxidative damage caused by free radicals and environmental toxins, and we can benefit from this protective action when we eat foods rich in them. The study looked specifically at the flavanoids found in apples, blueberries and pears and found them to be potentially beneficial at reducing diabetes risk.

Berries!

The body naturally produces free radicals from certain processes, like eating, breathing and exercising, in addition to environmental factors like too much sun exposure and smoking. Antioxidants help prevent these free radicals from oxidizing and damaging cells in the body. Damage caused by oxidation may increase risk of cancer, heart disease, and as this study suggests, perhaps diabetes.

So go ahead and send your mom, grandfather, brother (etc.) a nice care package full of apples, pears and blueberries.

pear, grapes, cinnamon, walnuts and Greek yogurt

What can antioxidants do for us runners?
Antioxidants can also help reduce oxidative damage caused to our muscles after a hard run and may speed up recovery time! Most foods rich in antioxidants are also full of vitamins, minerals, fiber and other good stuff that help keep us healthy and ready to run, so eating them is kind of a win-win (if you ask me). My favorites:

  • Raspberries
  • Strawberries
  • Spinach
  • Kale
  • Red bell peppers
  • Sweet potatoes
  • Oranges
  • Grapes
  • Dark chocolate
  • Blackberries
  • Apples
  • Red wine
Red wine + dark chocolate after a long run? Yes, please.

Reason #345986 why this is my favorite breakfast

Obviously I like talking about all this nutrition stuff, but remember! I’m still an RD in training and these are my thoughts combined with evidence-based research. T-minus 11 months until I’ll finally be considered an official “expert.”

Question: Do you eat any of these antioxidant-rich foods? Favorites? See a difference in recovery time after tough runs?

Posted in Nutrition, Running | Tagged , , , | 18 Comments

Injured and giving in

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Kelly

I like to consider myself a fairly smart person. I get good grades in school, have a decent amount of common sense, am up on my current events and read lots of journals and books.

HOWEVER. When it comes to running and injuries I am a complete idiot. With each smack of my feet on the pavement or bridle path, every ounce of common sense, lessons learned from past experience or information gathered from research just flies right out of my body. It’s like I get tunnel vision with a side of denial and stubbornness, and going for that run always sounded like a good idea at the time.

So here I am, less than 11 weeks out from my planned marathon, more than one month in from when I first started feeling hamstring pain and feeling pretty screwed. After resting the leg for the first part of last week, I decided to give it a go on the roads on Thursday. And then on Friday and Saturday too.

Not smart.

I haven’t given it enough time to heal, and every time it starts to feel ok, I try to run on it and the cycle just repeats itself. If this were happening to anyone else, I would not hesitate to be like: “Well, DUH! You need to take more time off and just chill the eff out.” But when it’s me, I am a grade A moron.

10 slow miles. not one of them felt good.

I do not have the answer as to why this is the case (does anyone else?? Please tell me I’m not alone), but something finally clicked yesterday during my failure of a 10 miler that was supposed to be 16. All through the run I worried when the leg would start hurting, and then when it did I worried if it was going to get worse, when I should stop and how crappy I’d feel. It wasn’t FUN.

CLICK. I run because it’s fun and I want to feel good. I don’t want to run in pain, and I sure as hell don’t want to run another marathon in pain. So I’m going to take at last a week off from running. I may swim, I may yoga or spin, I may do nothing, and I’m not going to think about the spring marathon that is more and more unlikely to happen.

Even though running and I are in a fight right now, my day revolved around it starting at 05:30 yesterday morning, when I was scheduled to volunteer at the NYC Half.

Kara Goucher in white compression socks

Not going to lie, I was cold, tired, and jealous of every single one of the 20,000 runners frolicking around the park, down through Times Square and the West Side Highway, and jubilantly ending their race at the South Street Seaport.

The men’s pack

I hate feeling sorry for myself when I’m injured, but consider it part of the healing process (if that makes any sense at all). It usually comes and goes for me, and by the time I headed to work after my volunteer shift, the crankypants attitude started to dissipate. Which was good, because the rest of my day pretty much involved talking about running, running shoes and fitting people for new shoes. It almost made me forget about my gimp leg and remember that I like running a whole lot. Hopefully it’ll forgive me for being such an ass and we’ll be together again soon.

Question: Are you smart when it comes to running injuries? Recognize when you need a break? Or are you like me?

Posted in Nutrition, Running | Tagged , , , , | 27 Comments

on doubt and my core

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Kelly

For my nutrition counseling class we are assigned “practice” clients to work with as part of one of our main projects this semester. The clients are real people that were promised three free nutrition counseling sessions from graduate nutrition students. They have real goals, problems and barriers preventing them from reaching their goals. Sounds cool, right?

But wait. These aren’t books. They are REAL PEOPLE. So what I say will affect a REAL PERSON’S LIFE? And HEALTH?

This kind of stressed me out, and little inklings of doubt crept into my thoughts as I prepared for my first session on Wednesday.

I mean, I’m not an RD yet, so does that mean I have no idea what I’m talking about?

Is this person going to take me seriously?

Am I going to sound like a bumbling fool?

What if I can’t help her?

What if I give her the wrong advice? 

I’m a pretty confident person, but in sometimes I can’t help but doubt myself, my abilities and my knowledge. Luckily I realized that this kind of negative thinking will get me nowhere, I’ve been studying nutrition for a long time and have been wanting to get to this point for years. I could help this woman, but in order for her to trust my advice, I need to trust I know what I’m talking about and deliver said advice with confidence.

So as I rode the subway to my client’s NoHo office, I went over some notes and my confidence began to build. I was excited to use my nutrition knowledge on an actual person (finally!) and had to be confident and professional when meeting her for the first time or else it would compromise how much I can help her.

How did it go? Great! After a thorough discussion of diet, nutrition knowledge, typical meals and what my client wanted to get out of our sessions, I came up with four goals for her to work on before our next session. I’m looking forward to our next meeting and already brainstorming other things I can bring to the table to help her achieve long term goals.

In other news
My friend Rachel invited me to a Core Fusion class with her on Wednesday night.

Core Fusion in SoHo

I’ve heard of it before, but never given a thought to try it. Basically, Core Fusion is a combination of Pilates, ballet barre and yoga that is designed to cause serious pain tone and strengthen your core.

Going into it, I was all, “I run a million miles per week, this should be CAKE.” Uhmmm. I have never felt weaker in my life. As Rachel (a former ballet dancer) glided through each move, I shook, burned and basically had my ass handed to me by our peppy and encouraging instructor.

Lesson learned: my core is weak. Must increase core strengthening routine, STAT.

We hobbled over to Spring Street Natural after the workout, which made everything all better.

Monterey salad with Ancho roasted organic salmon, organic field greens roasted pumpkin seeds, pepper jack cheese, roasted yams, red onions, grape tomatoes, chipotle-tomato vinaigrette 

Delicious.

It’s Friday and my “core” is still sore. I’ve also been running a bit, but more about that later…

Question: Do you ever doubt your abilities at work, school, running? How do you get over it? AND, do you have a core strengthening routine? I thought I had one, but clearly it’s not working so well!

Posted in Nutrition, Running | Tagged , , , , | 20 Comments

On going “meatless”

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Kelly

Despite the ridiculously warm weather we’ve been having in NYC, there hasn’t been much running going on in these parts since my last post.

Sadz. The hamstring still isn’t feeling horrible, but it’s not 100% and I really want it to get better before I get back to regular training. So I’ve been swimming and spinning like a fool while pretending I’m on the bridle path watching the sunrise (this is hard when you’re mistakenly inhaling chlorinated water). Good thing I have a very active imagination.

Going meatless?
Have you heard of “Meatless Mondays“? It was started in 2003 by The Monday Campaigns, in association with Johns Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health, and is fairly well-known in the nutrition world.

Basically, the goal is to go “meatless” once a week for two reasons: reduce your risk of chronic disease like diabetes, heart disease, cancer and obesity; and at the same time reduce your carbon footprint.

I’ve always brushed off the whole “meatless” idea because I think eating lean meats like chicken, turkey or fish are the best way to get high quality protein, which is kind of important when you’re running lots of miles and your muscles need to rebuild themselves after every workout.

Salciccia (sausage) pizza from a Monday night date with Susan at Keste. Not meatless. Delicious.

BUT, there are days that go by when I don’t eat meat, and a lot of my favorite recipes and restaurants are actually vegetarian or vegan.

Vegan lasagna from Candle Cafe.

I think it’s totally possible to get adequate protein without meat, you just need to think about it a bit more, like:

  • Beans (black, kidney, garbanzo, lentils)
  • Low fat dairy
  • Soy-based products (tofu, milk, edamame)
  • Quinoa
  • Brown rice
  • Nuts and nut butter
  • Eggs
  • Seitan

Recently Meatless Mondays has been getting some attention in mainstream news, and a study published this week found people that eat more red meat have a higher risk of dying at an early age. People that eat a lot of processed meats, like hot dogs and bacon, had an even higher risk of early death.

Why? Red meats have a high saturated fat content, which increases risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity and some cancers. Cooking red meat at high temperatures can also produce dangerous carcinogens.

Mark Bittman recently wrote a piece about reducing consumption of inhumanely raised, dirty/disease ridden and unhealthful chicken in favor of fake vegetarian meats both for our health and the environment (and the chickens!). I’m not a big fan of fake meats – they’re expensive and can have lots of additives/preservatives – but he (like always) made some great points about the benefits of going “meatless” sometimes.

What do I think? Everything in moderation. I’m definitely going to be more conscious about where my chicken comes from when I buy it, and maybe give the fake stuff another go if the ingredients are all pronounceable. But I’m still going to enjoy a nice, juicy steak every now and again, probably just as much as I like my favorite vegetarian recipes and foods.

Sweet potato black bean chili

I’m curious again. Are you a vegetarian? If not, do you ever have a “meatless” day? Thoughts on going “meatless”?

Posted in Nutrition, Restaurants, Running | Tagged , , , , , , | 26 Comments