Marathon Banana Bread + then some

While training for my first marathon in 2008, I learned that my diet played a big role in my training.  I learned about balancing electrolytes, and for me that meant taking in enough potassium to maintain my sodium levels. It was interesting to look at my skin on some of the hot days after a training run and see salt sporadically laced across my skin.  To avoid getting sick and loosing too much salt, I started to run with electrolyte tab enhanced water - not Gatorade because it often upset my stomach.

Similarly, I took to the internet to find some yummy recipes that might offer some potassium benefits as well as keep me entertained on the nights I stay in before a long run the next day. I stumbled across this banana bread recipe compliments of Flour’s Bakery in Boston which was featured in Runner’s World magazine. This bread is not only amazing for marathon runners, but possibly the most delicious and buttery banana bread I have ever tasted.  I have to restrain myself from calling it moist since I despise that word, but the bread really is that, too.

I baked the bread this weekend for my girlfriends and me to indulge in after our 12 mile run Saturday morning followed by hours of imbibing wine at the Virginia vineyards tours we planned.  For an extra little zah, zah, zous… I candied my own walnuts to be incorporated into the bread.   It was a great pairing to our tastings and we even got one of the Vineyard owners to try it and ask for seconds- I felt like a proud mother. 

This is the link to the runners world article on the bread:

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-303-504-11861-0,00.html

and this is the link to the 5-star rated Food Network post of it (so if you don’t trust my judgment maybe you will trust that of the ever elusive food network’s):

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giadas-weekend-getaways/flours-famous-banana-bread-recipe/index.html

RECIPE:
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 1/2 bananas, very ripe, mashed

2 tablespoons low-fat sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift together first four ingredients. Beat sugar and eggs with a whisk until light and fluffy. Drizzle in oil. Add bananas, sour cream, and vanilla. Fold in flour mixture and nuts. Pour batter into a buttered 9" x 4" loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Makes 12 servings. Lower-fat version: Reduce oil to 1/4 cup, add 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce (260 calories, 9 grams of fat).

Calories: 310

Fat: 15 g

Carbs: 41 g

Protein: 4 g

A few notes about this bread:

-          Caution: you can never have just a small bite – it’s so yummy you will be going back for seconds

-          Use over ripe bananas – they are easier to mash and add better banana flavor

-          Check the center to ensure the bread has baked through – all ovens are different

-          Adding chocolate chips is NEVER a bad idea

Listen to Your Body: Friday FitFunFact #4

Your body is one smart machine, just ask it. When you tune into your body, it'll tell you important things like when you're tired, energetic, hungry, stressed or sick.  Your body also has ways of indicating when you're sore, injured, or exhausted. Pretty impressive, huh? If you can learn to trust these signals and honor what your body needs on most occasions, you are on your way to healthy balanced living. 

Honing in on these clues is the best way to stay injury free and some might even say in the best shape for your body. The negative signals can indicate your body may need a day off or time to recover. Don’t worry about being lazy if you take a day or two or three off – your body probably needed it  as well as time to re-charge like a battery so that you can keep moving forward. The opposite is also true; for me, when I have energy to burn it manifests itself in my inability to sit still - which often happens if I'm stressed or slacking on my work outs. On those days, I want and NEED a good, tough workout to combat stress and use my pent up energy.  Expelling that energy makes me ready for the next day and more in tune with what my body needs.

The same thing holds true with eating.  Your body – well most likely your energy level will let you know when it needs fuel (food).  According to balancedweightmanagement.com, “Hunger is your body's natural signal to help you balance your body's energy needs with how much food you eat. When this mechanism is in balance, your body will naturally stay at a constant weight.” Not only will your body benefit and stay fit from eating what you need when you’re hungry – it can also keep you from being cranky and irritable and help maintain your energy levels to push you during your work outs. 

Well – that’s it for this addition of Friday’s fitfunfact…. Have a great weekend and stay tuned for next week’s big recipe release!!!

Best Food for Runners - part deux

So, in response to my previous post about the best foods for runners and the questions I posed - I scoured the internet as well as my nutrition class’s notes and text books. Basically, what I realized was, YES, wow - these articles are telling you about some great basic foods to eat based on the nutrition they supply for a runner, but they lack the in depth details about how you should consume these foods for best results. I cannot entirely answer these questions as a blog isn’t the most complete forum, and especially because everyone is different, but know the answers below are sufficient for the general population:

When you should eat, What: Depends on the type of run/ work out you are doing...
.
Short Runs and Sprint Workouts (up to 4 miles) - You do not need to eat right before or during this type of workout.  I would suggest carbs before the workout, unless it’s the first thing you do in the morning and then eat more protein based foods after to help repair your muscles after the workout. Be mindful you are not going for a long time and as a result, using quick twitch muscles and ATP energy.  The best way to recover is with protein - like the previously suggested post some of the best sources of protein are eggs, tuna, and quinoa.  To reiterate, one of the amazing benefits of quinoa is that it is one of the few complete proteins and thus contains all the amino acids needed to fully absorb and metabolize protein in your body.

Avg. Pace + Medium Distance (4-10 miles) – Relatively the same as above, however you might not need as much protein immediately after.  You may want to eat something with fat an hour or so before the run to keep you full through the run.  Post run try to immediately have something carbohydrate based to replenish the energy (glucose) used.  Your body at this time will more readily accept and metabolize it.  Again protein after the work out helps repair your muscles.  

Long Distance (10 miles+) - You do not need to carbo-overload pre-run as you may have heard; however, while you are running you will want to replenish carbohydrates in your body.  Your body uses glucose stored for energy and that gets depleted approx 10 miles into the run.  At that point you can start burning energy from fat and protein, but you don't want to do that for too long because you can be at risk of depleting more nutrients from your muscles and cause more harm than good.  Some of the best ways to replenish these carbs is through “gu” and other products created for on the go running. The reason these are good is they also balance the electrolytes you need to help keep hydrated and they are relatively easy to consume in motion compared to say a PB&J sandwich.  But, after the run that’s another story, a PB&J or tuna sandwich could be the perfect remedy.

How much you should eat: Similar to above depending on your workout.  Figure out what your goals are and what you need to eat to meet your RDA (recommended dietary allowance).  These are all the nutrients you should consume in one day to maintain your health as determined by the government for most Americans - so it has to be right - catch the sarcasm???  But in all seriousness, it is the best avgerage for you to determine how much you should eat in a day of each nutrient. Macro Nutrients are Carbohydrates, Fats, & Protein à the things you need in large quantities.  Below is the suggested break-out of the percentage of your diet that should be fulfilled daily – this is easier to follow than calorie count, because that varies so much by the person:

Macronutrient	% of daily intake
Carbohydrate	40-60%
Proteins	20-30%
Fats	20-30%

Another helpful portion chart by webMD (http://www.webmd.com/diet/printable/wallet-portion-control-size-guide) to understand what a portion looks like and some other helpful links to understand what you are eating:

Food Prep: Eat the food however you like it.  Remember that cooking veggies and greens will deplete some nutrients, but if that is the only way you can get yourself to eat them, then better to eat it the way you like than not at all.

*Most importantly – do not forget to drink water and keep well hydrated throughout the day!

** I will post some follow up blogs in the best food for runners series that have my diet per day based on each run categorized above to give you a good idea of a basic day as well and not overwhelm this post with more writing than is already here…

DeLish Healthy Pasta

I had a craving for pasta tonight - something that happens from time to time,  and decided I would go the healthy route (not typical for my Sunday night cheat meal - since every fit guy or gal needs a lil food cheat to keep sane).  However, it was still super delicious!!

I trekked the couple of blocks from my apartment to Whole Foods and picked up the requisite ingredients for my meal. I gathered grape tomatoes, broccoli, baby spinach, and onion, a box of Di Boles Angel Hair pasta + flax, and the Whole Foods 3 cheese blend. I even somehow magically managed to escape the Sunday family throngs that seem to plague super markets on the weekend, which was a super unexpected treat.

I got home, and the rumble in my tummy told me it was time to start cooking. I prepped the veggies and put water on to boil for the pasta.  Cooking included the basics - pasta in water with a tiny bit of olive oil and salt and then the veggies were cooked in a wok pan with some olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, basil, oregano & crushed red pepper flakes.  When each was almost done I added the pasta into the wok pan with the cheese and continued to cook for a minute or two longer and Boom - dinner is served.

Why this is healthy: the pasta has flax and omega-3 as well as a good amount of protein - so it’s a fantastic well rounded dish with all the veggies in it as well. I recommend for more protein one of 2 options - ground turkey or shrimp.  Another great thing about this meal is the fact that it’s all natural real food nutrients that are easily absorbed by your body rather that health from a supplemental form. 

This meal is a great Sunday night treat and is also easy to make on weeknights after a long day of work. It is also a great meal the first night you eat it - or for leftovers the next day. My fit followers – try this recipe for yourselves and thank me later with how much you like it… :)

Best Foods for Runners - and why

I came across this post today from Self Magazine on Facebook for "The 6 Best Foods for Runners".  Obviously, considering myself an amateur runner and into nutrition for running, I was inspired to check it out. Here is the link: http://www.self.com/fooddiet/2010/06/six-best-foods-for-runners-slideshow?mobify=0&mobify=0#slide=1

According to the article, allegedly the following 6 food items are the best for runners and a basic reason reason why:
1. Almonds - supply a great amount of Vitamin E... they offer a few uses as in sprinkled in oatmeal or tablespoon of almond butter, but warn not to eat too much because they are high calorie.
2.  Eggs - for protein and energy to help repair post run. Suggests keeping hard boiled eggs in the fridge among other ways to eat them.
3. Leafy Greens - proposed for their Vitamin K and calcium content to support your bones.  Specifically, spinach, collard greens, kale, and bok choy.
4. Oranges - for their (big surprise) Vitamin C - helps absorb calcium and possibly help increase fat burn.
5. Quinoa - as a complete protein it boasts 8 amino-acids and a great alternative to whole grains.
6. Sweet Potato - Great complex carb for long-term energy as well as protein, fiber, potassium and vitamins C & A.

My observations from reading this article left me with a few questions based on some of the information I have learned in my nutrition classes and just my own basic curiosity:
 - How do I know when I should eat the suggested food: right before my run/ right after my run or a few hours from my run?
 - How much of each of these foods should I eat?
 - Do I eat a combination of all of these in one day?
 - How should the food be prepared/ does it matter?

These questions led me to go look and see if anyone else might know the answer. My quest returned a lot of information and made me realize this is a very pop-runner type article that many of the trendy female health and fitness magazines like to write about every few months.  Below are some other links with similar information... but my interest has been spiked and I am now determined to investigate further and find the answers to my questions.... TBC my faithful fit followers......

http://www.hungryrunnergirl.com/2011/08/15-best-foods-for-runners.html (possibly my favorite post found - maybe because she is a girl after my own heart that eats OREOS!!!!)
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-301--10200-1-1X2X3X4X6X7-7,00.html
http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20411333,00.html
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/healthy-eating/nutrition/best-foods-for-runners/

Cooldown De-Lite

Oh my goodness - after these past few oppressive days in the district between the storms, heat, and stiff air I think we all deserve a treat.  Many people's go to as a summer time treat is ice cream, or the new fad on every block, fro-yo. However, for some, like my roommate, who recently found out that she can no longer eat dairy this was a totally downer so we googled how do I get my ice cream fix on dairy and soy free?


We found the answer - coconut milk ice cream.  There is no soy or dairy in it so if you have any of those allergies or sensitivities- you cant eat this stuff and still get your ice cream fix! Be prepared however, that you must like the under taste (and yes I think I just made that expression up - but it works and you will know exactly what I mean by it when you try your first bite) of coconut because you can't escape it even in the chocolate version as seen below, but I promise it's still pretty yummy:

Oh and I forgot to mention the best part - how this is a complete non-guilty pleasure.  One serving boasts only 100 calories and there are 4 servings in the carton.  Not only is this great treat lo-cal, it also provides some other perks - like iron, so if you are vegan this could be a great treat for you as well as a source of iron. 


Hope you all are safe and cool after this past weekend.  Don't forget to keep hydrated and drink your water as well <-- says the fitfunfact mom.