Tuna Brussels Sprout Salad

Happy Super Bowl Sunday! I don't really watch football at all, so today's kind of like a regular old Sunday for me. I'll be busy studying for my exams on Monday and Tuesday. I know, my life is so exciting, right?

When I get super busy, I tend to get really lazy about cooking. Especially when I'm cooking for one, my meals are usually very simple. I made this tuna salad for lunch today and added shredded brussels sprouts to boost the vegetable content. It's actually more "salad" than "tuna". The dressing is mayo-free and made with Greek yogurt for more protein. I threw in some shredded radishes and cranberries for added flavor, but this recipe is really customizable with whatever you usually like in your tuna salad. Try adding some chopped celery, onions, sunflower seeds, etc. I had my tuna salad on an open-faced sandwich, topped with some avocado. Yummy :)

Tuna Brussels Sprout Salad

You will need:

3 Tbsp Greek yogurt

juice of 1/2 lemon or lime

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste

1 6oz canned tuna

1.5 cups shredded brussels sprouts, about 6-7 sprouts

4 radishes, shredded

1/3 cup dried cranberries

To make the dressing, in a medium mixing bowl, whisk the yogurt, lemon juice, and Dijon mustard together. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Drain the tuna and add to the dressing. Add the shredded brussels sprouts, radishes, and cranberries and stir to combine evenly. 

Make it vegetarian- use a can of lightly smashed garbanzo beans instead of the tuna. Add dulse flakes if you desire, for a more umami flavor.

Make it vegan- do the same to make it vegetarian, and sub 3 Tbsp vegan mayonnaise for the Greek yogurt. 

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I'm the Worst Blogger Ever (but here's a soup recipe)

Let's pretend that it hasn't been over two months since my last blog post. And the fact that I am lazy and the only reason I am writing is because I have two snow days in a row due to the blizzard dumping 2 feet of snow in Boston.

The storm started Monday night, picking up early Tuesday morning and lasting throughout the day. I was notified of my school's closure midday Monday, so the evening was spent with plenty of wine and Netflix.

It was windy and nasty-looking out, and while I usually love snow and extreme weather, I didn't feel like venturing out. I kind of wish I did go out and brave the storm yesterday while the snow was still fresh. 

Instead, I finally bundled up this morning to explore the transformed city.

The city did a pretty great job at clearing major roads and walkways. I went down to the river, around Beacon Hill, and the Commons. A lot of the narrow streets were still snowy and cars were mostly buried. 

And now to my soup recipe, the perfect food for a blizzard. I made this on Tuesday and survived, so it's proven to be effective.

Broccoli and Kale Cheese Soup

You will need:

1/2 onion, diced

1 small sweet potato, diced

3 cloves garlic

1 small bunch green kale, chopped

1 head of broccoli, chopped into small florets

1 quart chicken or vegetable broth

3 tablespoons corn starch

2/3 cup shredded cheese

salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, sweat the onions and garlic for 2 minutes. Add the sweet potato and cook on medium heat until they are softened. Add half of the broth and bring to a simmer.

Pour the contents of the pot into a blender and blend until completely smooth. Add the cheese and cornstarch and blend again. Be careful to let the steam escape through the lid so that it doesn't pop off!

In the meantime, steam the kale and broccoli with the rest of the broth in the large pot (no need to wash it) until tender. Add the contents of the blender to the veggies and stir to combine. Simmer on low heat for a few more minutes. If you want to thicken the soup, add more cornstarch dissolved in a little water. Season to taste with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, sriracha, whatever your heart desires.

Ladle into bowls and eat, preferably while watching a snowstorm :) I topped mine with a sprinkle of cheese and sriracha sauce because I am obsessed.

Make it vegetarian- sub vegetable broth instead of chicken broth

Make it vegan- sub 1/3 cup nutritional yeast for the shredded cheese

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I Think I am Half Crazy

So... lately I haven't been running much. With all the cycling I've been doing, running just hasn't been a priority. I've done maybe a handful of runs this past month. Pshh, and I call myself a runner.

I actually miss it. I miss running consistently and training for races, running long on the weekends, and doing speedwork (yes, even speedwork!). So, to remedy this, I decided to sign up for another half marathon, because, why the hell not. Yesterday, I went ahead and registered for the Michelob ULTRA Boston 13.1 Marathon on September 14, 2014. By then, I would already have lived in Boston for about a month, and started dental school.

Am I crazy for registering for this race? With my cross-country cycling trip taking up most of my summer, I have absolutely no idea how much training I can do. When I get back from the trip, I will have less than a month to do 13.1-specific training. 

Here are the factors that influenced my decision:

• Fast and flat course
• A local race that I can get to via public transportation
• After the 2nd week of dental school, so hopefully I won't be super busy yet
• Running through my new city would be a great way to get familiar with it

Also, if I am going to run this race, I really want to get a PR. My last half marathon was Rock n' Roll Philly last September. After I finished that race, I told myself that my next goal would be to break 1 hour 40 minutes. I know that I have it in me, especially if it's a fast course. So for this 13.1, my goals are:

A) Break 1:40:00 (that's a 7:36 pace!!)

B) Get a PR (faster than my current PR of 1:44:39)

C) Enjoy the race in my new city 

Haha, let's see how this goes. Over the summer, I will see if I can run at least once a week. We will have rest days in different cities, and going for a run would be a great way to explore. Also, when I get to Portland, I am looking forward to seeing the city by running through it.

In other news, FOOD:

Last night, I met up with one of my college friends and had some great Ethiopian food in Silver Spring. I had a great time catching up with her, and we really enjoyed the delicious food. We got the combination platter that had chicken, lamb, beef, and collard greens. The lamb and chicken were so tender and flavorful. I don't get Ethiopian that often, so this was a treat.

Today, I went shopping with my mom and aunt at noon, and ended up getting lunch at a sushi buffet. The restaurant is owned by Koreans, so there is also good Korean food, as well. At night, they even have Korean BBQ, which is cooked table-side. I ate a lot of sushi and it was fabulous.

Also, this came in the mail today. I ran the Pike's Peek 10K in April and got 2nd place in my age division. This was the first time I actually placed in a running race and actually won something! A few years ago, I would have never dreamed that I would be fast enough to place in a race. Haha this is perfect; I will use the gift card the next time I need to carbo-load for a race.

Do you have any races on the calendar?
Have you ever tried Ethiopian food?

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Weekend Eats- a Mother's Day Meal

The weekend was off to a great start with delicious pizza from a local pizzeria. The restaurant makes one of the best wood-fired Neapolitan style pizzas in the area. I try to go at least once a month, always on Fridays. This time, I splurged on the special: porcini cream, mozz, cherry tomato, and ramps. It was mainly the ramps that caught my eye. The earthy, savory flavor of the porcini gave the pizza a nice depth of flavor, though I thought the ramps were a bit lackluster. And it was kind of hard to eat it off a pizza. I still inhaled the entire pizza.

For Mother's Day, I had a special dinner planned for my mother and my aunt. Earlier in the week, I had told them that we were going to a nice restaurant that I got reservations for. For the afternoon, my dad kept them out of the house by taking them shopping while I cooked. They got home right at dinner time, and what a surprise they had when the "restaurant" turned out to be in our own dining room! I got my younger cousins to help, and they played the host and waiter. They also helped pick out flowers, cards, and presents.

We started with some hor d'oeuvres. I made caprese salad stacks with tomato, mozzerella and basil, as well as cucumbers topped with cream cheese-filled smoked salmon.

We had a huge cobb salad with asparagus, radishes, avocado, strawberries, peas, and egg, tossed in a lemon-balsamic vinaigrette. The meat dish was steak stuffed with mushroom and bleu cheese.

For dessert, I made a lemon chiffon cake filled with lemon curd and frosted with lemon butter cream. I actually just added a bit of curd to a standard buttercream recipe, and it worked perfectly.

How did you celebrate Mother's Day?

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Weekend Eats- Cookies, Carbs, and Cake

This Weekend Eats doesn't sound so healthy, does it? Let's start with this huge batch of cookies I made on Friday to sell at my charity yard sale. I made about 7 dozen sugar and chocolate chip cookies. I still have some left over, since they didn't sell very well.

After baking cookies in the morning, I went to yoga and was running errands, so I didn't get to eat lunch until 2pm. A great way to spend over $10 on salad is to hit up the Whole Foods salad bar when you're really hungry.

Since I had my Pikes Peek 10K race on Sunday, I ate my traditional pre-race pasta dinner on Saturday. I always eat pasta before a race, regardless of whether I need it because it's tradition. My brother, cousin, and I went to Buca di Beppo. We made the mistake of ordering only a small seafood pasta and small eggplant parmesan. All three of us can put away a ton of food, and we demolished ALL of it. Plus two bread baskets. And only one of us was racing the next day!

Monday was my brother's birthday, so I spent the day making him a carrot cake that he requested. I frosted it with cream cheese frosting and decorated with buttercream frosting.

For his birthday dinner, the family went out to celebrate at a steakhouse. We started with a basket of freshly baked bread, fried shrimp, and parmesan asparagus for appetizers.

                                             

                                  

I got a 16 oz T-bone steak, medium rare. Only ate about half it and most of the baked potato. I like steak on occasion, but I'm not a huge fan of eating huge slabs of meat. This will go on top of a salad for lunch tomorrow :)

Dessert was the birthday cake, even though we got free dessert at the restaurant. There's also about 3/4 of the cake left, as well as leftover cookies from the yard sale. So many sweets! Send help.

What was the best thing you ate this weekend?

Do you usually go out to eat for birthdays? What is your favorite birthday meal?

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8 Staple Foods to Fuel my Active Lifestyle

Today I want to share with you the staple foods in my diet that I eat almost every day. You will find at least a few of these items in my grocery cart. I try to stick with whole foods because I believe that a varied diet consisting of mostly whole foods can provide all the nutrients the body needs. Since I am very active, I focus on getting enough protein and superfoods (foods with high nutrient density and antioxidants). Carbs are also my best friends, and I tend to eat a lot in the form of oatmeal, bread (preferably whole grain), and fruits.

To read more about the way I eat, check out my Food Philosophy here. Remember, what works for me might not work for everyone.

Peanut Butter

What would I do without my peanut butter? I eat a lot of PB, multiple times a day sometimes! My favorite way to eat it is slathered over toast and topped with sliced banana or raspberry jam (with seeds). PB&J is my go-to snack when I'm a bit hungry, and the healthy fats and proteins help satisfy my runger (running-induced hunger). I also sometimes add a spoonful into my oatmeal or green smoothie.

Egg Whites

I eat egg whites to add some protein to my usually carb-heavy breakfasts. I add a 1/4 cup to my oatmeal, stirring it in about 40 seconds before it's done cooking in the microwave. It makes the oatmeal fluffy and thick. I also sometimes use egg whites when I'm making French toast.

Oatmeal

I tend to eat a lot of oatmeal for breakfast in the colder months. I like my oatmeal on the runnier side, and I always prepare it with water, cinnamon, a pinch of salt, egg whites, and topped with almond milk and sliced banana. When it's warmer, I prepare muesli, and soak my oatmeal in almond milk the night before, and

Yogurt

I used to eat a lot of Greek yogurt, but I've switched to this lactose-free yogurt since dairy seems to be giving me issues. I really like this yogurt because since it's treated with lactase, the enzyme that I'm apparently lacking, the lactose sugars are broken down into galactose and glucose (sugar our taste buds detect as sweet), which makes the yogurt taste sweeter without added sugars. I usually have a bowl of yogurt topped with frozen berries and granola for a post-workout snack.

Blueberries

Blueberries are rich in antioxidants, which are important for people who are really active. I like to buy frozen blueberries and add some to my post-workout smoothies. I also add them to yogurt, oatmeal, or pancakes.

Bananas

You can bet that there are always bananas on my counter in various stages of ripeness. I can never have too many bananas because when they get overripe, I toss them in the fridge for smoothies or bake with them. I eat so many bananas, my friends make fun of me. But it's true, I eat a lot of bananas. They're cheap and full of potassium and easy to burn carbs, which is why they are great for athletes!

Spinach

Now that the weather is warmer, I've been making more green smoothies. I almost always use spinach for my smoothies, since it's an easy way to add some greens to my diet. Plus, I like the pretty color it adds. Spinach is great because it's rich in iron, vitamin K, A, fiber, and a host of other nutrients and antioxidants which are important for athletes who produce more free radicals.

Coffee

Not really a food, but I can't ignore coffee as an important part of my balanced diet! It might be a lie that I'm not addicted to coffee, but I usually only drink one cup a day. Making coffee is the first thing I do. I always make it in my French press with freshly ground beans. In the summer, I make cold-brewed coffee the night before, so it's ready in the morning. All I have to do is press and pour over ice. I like the ritual of waking up with my daily morning cup. There are also studies that show the benefits of caffeine for athletes, especially for endurance athletes since it reduces our perceived levels of fatigue.

What are the staple foods in your diet that you eat on a daily basis?

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The Way I Eat It: My Food Philosophy

If there's one thing to know about me, it's that I love food. And I eat a lot. I wrote a post on the "Run Fast" part of my blog name, and today's post is about the "Eat Lots" part. I'd like to share my philosophy on food, though I must make the disclaimer that I am not a dietitian. I don't think I am qualified to give any one nutrition advise, and what works for me probably won't work for everyone.

Let me start with a little background on my eating habits. Growing up, I was always a voracious eater and my parents tell me stories of how I was always crawling into the fridge! I grew up eating all the junk food that kids in the 90s ate: dunkaroos, Hostess cakes, Fruit Rollups, Cheetoes, Kid Cuisines. As I got older and hit my growth spurt in middle school, I swear I ate more than a teenage boy. I would also eat anything and everything, including vegetables, fruit, junk food, etc. I had a phase where I ate a bagel with cream cheese and Zebra cakes for lunch every day. And then I always ate some of my friend's Chef Boyardee.

In high school, I became more selective about my eating and educated myself on health foods. I decided to become vegetarian, much to my parent's concern. I was an athlete all four years of high school, and played volleyball on both the varsity team and a club team. They thought that I wasn't getting enough nutrition without meat, and since I was so active and still growing, they were really concerned about my health. I responded by going vegan (I was also going through a rebellious phase!) I taught myself how to cook and thought I was eating pretty well since I had cut out most junk food from my diet. In retrospect, I now see that my diet was a bit extreme, and I needed to be eating more for my level of activity. With the pressure from my parents, I slowly reintroduced animal products into my diet, and eventually went back to eating meat after I graduated high school.

Also, since I first learned how to cook vegan, I still sometimes cook and bake that way, which is why I have some vegan recipes on my blog :)

Vegan yogurt, pretty delicious!

Now, I eat a more balanced diet between the two extremes: I eat a healthy dose of plants along with a sensible portion of less than healthy foods. I consider myself fortunate that I love "rabbit food", and I feel like my meal isn't complete without a huge side of veggies. I am not strict in any way with fried foods or sweets. If I want it, I'll have it. I don't keep track of my calories, though I do check nutrition labels just to be informed of the ingredients. 

My fave pre-long run breakfast

When I am training, I usually eat a carb-heavy breakfast before my workout, and then a second breakfast with more protein, such as Greek yogurt with blueberries and granola or a protein smoothie.

My lunches are usually salads, because I love salads and think they are immensely satisfying. I'm still sometimes hungry if I only eat salad, so I like to have a slice of whole grain bread with PB and jelly.

I also really enjoy eating out a lot, even though it's not always the healthiest food. But it makes me happy, so I don't think there is any harm done.

I strongly believe that eating a healthy diet doesn't mean only eating healthy foods, and excluding everything else. I think most foods can be healthy, despite its nutritional value, as long as you eat a healthy portion of it. A scoop of ice cream is healthy if it makes you happy, because it is nourishing the soul. 

What matters more to me is to have a healthy relationship with food and not worrying about eating too much of one thing and compensating for it the next day. I've been down that path, and trust me, the emotional toll is so not worth it. Here are a few bullets that basically sums up my food philosophy:

• Eat mostly plant-based whole food
• Try to avoid artificial ingredients (HFCS, hydrogenated oils, preservatives, etc.) 
• Be more selective with animal products (hormone-free, cage-free, sustainably-caught, etc). It's more expensive, but I just consume less of it
• Buy local if possible, which is more important to me than organic 
• Indulge in sweets without a side of guilt

And when I indulge, I go big. Like Serendipity 3, $16 sundae BIG. This picture does not do justice to the sheer size of this monster sundae. There is a slice of peanut butter pie hidden under the whipped cream and fudge.

Haha, I devoured most of you and even though I felt kind of sick, IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT.

In your opinion, what is a healthy diet?

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Cold Day, Hot Yoga, Fake Yogurt

After snowing all day yesterday, today is cold, windy, and it even flurried a bit. I did not want to go for a run today, so I went to a Hot Power Vinyasa class instead. The heat was cranked up, and we did a lot of moves that worked the core and shoulders. My arms were already sore from yesterday, so today's class was a bit more challenging. I worked up quite a bit of sweat during the one hour class! It was nice to stretch those sore muscles in the heated room, though. Today was the last day of my introductory week and I took 5 different classes with five different yoga instructors. I really enjoyed the different styles of teaching and I think I am going to sign up for a month of unlimited classes.

Goal #1 for this week- so far so good. Reaching my other goals? Not looking too hot. I was really looking forward to this weekend to go on a nice bike ride to a small mountain near me, but it looks like there will be thunderstorms on Saturday! Also, it might rain on Sunday, the day of my first 10K. I rarely run in the rain (I hate getting wet), and I've been lucky so far with good weather for all of my races. I guess it's bound to rain on one of my race days, so I better get used to it. Or maybe I'll get lucky again!

In other news, I went to Whole Foods yesterday and bought some non-dairy yogurt to try. Lactose and I are not getting along so well these days, and I am putting my beloved Greek yogurt and cheese on the refrigerator shelf for now to see if I feel any better. I eat Greek yogurt for second breakfast, after my morning workouts, because it's really high in protein. Now, I am trying to find a non-dairy substitute.

First up, So Delicious cultured almond milk, with 6g of protein. I rarely say this about food, but this was almost inedible. It had a gritty texture from the pea protein powder and had a really thick and slimy mouthfeel with no yogurt-y tang whatsoever. So NOT worth the meager 6g of protein. I hate to waste food, so I choked it down. You disappoint me, Greek Style So Delicious :(

The other cultured non-dairy product I tried was the coconut milk version, non-Greek style. The flavor was delicious and the texture, though un-yogurt like, was pleasant and like coconut pudding. There was also a very slight tang to it. The downside is that there is basically no protein, only 1g, and it's mostly fat and sugar. NOT the nutritional profile I am looking for as a Greek yogurt replacement. It's also pricey and not worth the expense, even though it's pretty tasty.

As an alternative, I also bought some lactose-free yogurt. Although it's not Greek yogurt, it's still a good source of protein for post-workout recovery. I haven't tried it yet, but hopefully it won't give me pain like regular yogurt does.

Do you eat dairy? If not, what non-dairy replacements do you like?

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5 Things Friday: Run, Yoga, Eat

Happy Friday and happy second day of spring! Wishing you beautiful warm weather for the weekend :) 

Here are 5 things that are making my day awesome:

1. Started my day with a 5 mile tempo run. It was hard, but I was feeling good in general. My first race of the season is next weekend, so I am stoked that my times are improving!

2. I went to another yoga class this morning, this time bringing my aunt. We did a vinyasa flow class, and it was faster paced than yesterday's hatha class. It felt so good, and I worked up a bit of a sweat!

3. Had a salad and a blueberry banana smoothie topped with granola for lunch. So good!

4. Yesterday, my bosses at work gave me a donation for my 4K for Cancer ride. They put it in an envelope decorated with stickers. So adorable and sweet of them!

5. THIS

I've been checking the weekend weather all week, praying for no rain on Saturday (there was a 30% chance). Looks like my prayer's been answered! I am going cycling Saturday morning with a bike club, so I'm excited to meet new people :)

Anyone racing this weekend? Name one thing that put a smile on your face today!

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Healthy Green Eats for St. Patty's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! We had yet another snow day today, so it was a nice three-day weekend. I spent the day shoveling snow, having a snowball fight, eating lunch at an Indian buffet, and playing poker. I was wearing a green sweat shirt, so the luck was on my side and I won! As much as I want spring to hurry up, it's still nice to have an extra day off to spend with my family :)

I don't really celebrate St. Patrick's day, but I will have a beer in honor of it. Maybe I'll even color it green. Here is a recipe round-up of green (ish) foods to celebrate! 

My Green Smoothie Formula (customizable!)

Chinese Chive Turnovers

Sushi with Avocado

Spinach Alfredo

White Lasagna with Spinach and Sausage

Did you run a St. Patty's day themed race this weekend? What are you eating/drinking to celebrate?

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Saturday Shenanigans

On Saturday morning, I woke up at 6 am to start baking for my 4K for Cancer bake sale. I wasn't finished until about 9:30, and I ended up baking over 200 cookies! Let's just hope I can sell them all. My butter stick count: 8. Thank god for Costco

After baking and packaging everything, I went out to take my new road bike out for a spin. This is the bike that I will be biking across the country with! I got some nice Look road pedals and road biking shoes, but I will be using my old MTB shoes/pedals for the actual trip. They are more versatile and I can walk more in the shoes, as well as bike with sneakers. 

I met up with my cycling/ running buddy and we went for a short 4 mi trail run around a lake at a local state park. The weather was a perfect 63 degrees, and the run around the lake was scenic and very enjoyable. We went at a relaxed pace and chatted. Every time I go trail running, I tell myself that I should do it more!

After my trail run, we went to a creperie for brunch. I got the "King Samm", which was filled with nutella, bananas, almond powder, and coconut. Yummy. We ended up chatting for a long time, and it wasn't until 3 that I left and went to Whole Foods to pick up some groceries. I also needed to go home to shower and get ready to meet up with some old college friends for dinner.

Before I went out to dinner, I went to TJ Maxx and came across this shirt! I was debating whether to get it, but put it back on the rack. When I decided that I wanted it, I went back to find it and it was gone! I'm kicking myself for putting it back on the rack. Now I want to find something similar online.

I also found this dress that I liked as soon as I saw it. I looked at the price tag, and saw that it was $100, even though it was on clearance. I still wanted to try it on.

I liked it even better after I tried it. And ended up buying it :) Worth it!

Flexing dem muscles. Not...

For dinner, We went to a Peruvian place that I've never been to. We ordered ceviche and grilled beef heart for appetizers. For my entree, I got a seafood stew with calamari, mussels, clams, fish, and scallops. The broth had a great seafood flavor and I wanted to bathe in it.

                        
The meal was delicious, and I am definitely coming back!

How was your Saturday? 

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