Falling for Greenville cycling (and food)

It doesn't matter the time of the year as any ride in Greenville is a great ride. However, there's something extra special about the fall season as nature has a way of keeping us smiling. 

The other day I captured this beautiful rainbow during my easy spin on the trail. It was a magnificent sight as it was so clear and perfect in the sky. 

During our 2:45 hr ride on Saturday morning, we ended up on the Doodle trail in the middle of our ride, which made for a nice EZ spin for a few miles. 

Back on the country roads with no shortage of farm animals. I always make sure to say hi to all of the horses, cows, cow puppies, goats, sheep and chickens. 

So many beautiful sights on two wheels! No photo editing needed! 

I spent a little extra time this weekend in the kitchen as I was in the mood for some sweet treats. With some spotty bananas calling my name, I put them to good use and made a loaf of delicious banana bread. I followed this recipe but only used 1/4 cup sugar instead of 1 cup. And per the request of Karel, our banana bread has raisins, chocolate chips and walnuts instead. 

In honor of Shalane's kick-butt performance at the NYC marathon, I also made sweet potato cookies (from the Run Fast Eat Slow cookbook) but used Teff flour instead of Almond flour. I also added chocolate chips because, why not?

For the last few weeks we have been joining a group swim at Furman, lead by our friend and former pro triathlete and college swimmer Kristen. The swim has been great for us as it gives us a social outlet to workout with others and it also allows us to turn off our coaching brain and just follow the prescribed set from the coach on deck. The swim is from 5-6:15pm every Sunday so in order to avoid coming home with a hungry belly and no planned meal, I always try to make dinner before we go to swim so that it's ready when we get home. On Sunday, my dish included sauteed mushrooms and onions, along with a mix of veggies (cauliflower, carrots and broccoli) and seasoned it with salt, pepper and spicy mustard, along with nutritional yeast. I tossed in some peanuts and added cooked farro and yumed my way through the bowl. 

Waffles and pancakes make me so happy so one or the other is often consumed before my morning workout. Lately, I have been enjoying a Belgium waffle topped with PB, syrup, banana slices, granola and yogurt before my longer workouts on the weekend (which is similar to what I eat on race day morning).

And.....
For your viewing entertainment, Karel made a short video with our new Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 from our Saturday morning ride to show off our amazing cycling routes with little to no car traffic (and 99% patient and nice drivers). Enjoy! 

More Run Fast Eat Slow recipes - Yummy carbs!

I can't believe it. We are now under 4 weeks away from the start of our first Trimarni camp of 2017 in Clermont, FL, which means that we will be racing our first triathlon of the season (Olympic distance) in just 4 weeks! And then three weeks later, Karel and I will be returning back to Florida to race the Ironman Haines City 70.3 event as our first endurance event of 2017.

To keep us well fueled, healthy and happy, I have been keeping our house filled with carbohydrates. In addition to making sure that our fridge always has some type of cooked grain/rice/potato assortment in it, I've been making good use of my Run Fast Eat Slow cookbook as there are so many delicious recipes that are perfect for helping us meet our daily carb intake. Plus, we love carbs so it's not that difficult for me to get excited to make something new.

I tried out two new recipes from the cookbook and I think you will just love them. Of course, I had to make another loaf of the banana bread.

Enjoy!

(All recipes are from the cookbook. However, the ingredients listed are with my modifications.)

We love having muffins in our house - homemade, that is. I love that this recipe includes zucchini and carrots to bump up the nutritional value of each muffin. The chocolate chips and walnuts give it a nice texture (and yummy taste) and the muffins are not too dense - just moist enough to yum with every bite. 

Superhero muffinsPg. 42


INGREDIENTS

2 cups gluten free flour (or almond meal)
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chocolate chips
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup grated zucchini (about 1 zucchini)
1 cup grated carrots (about 2 carrots)
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper muffin cups (I sprayed the tin with non stick sprayed and ended up with 17 muffins instead of 12 as I filled each 3/4th full instead of to the brim).
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt, walnuts and chocolate chips.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, zucchini, carrots, oil, maple syrup and vanilla. Add to the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. The batter will be thick.
4. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins, filling each about 3/4th full. Bake until the muffins are nicely browned on top and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. About 25-30 minutes.

Let's get real. Pancakes are amazing. I can't imagine my life without pancakes. My dad loved pancakes so every time I eat one, I think of him.
Pancakes taste great after a hard or long workout but they are also amazingly good for brinner or for breakfast, on a recovery day. I love pancakes as they provide a great source of carbohydrates and a fluffy base to dress up with yogurt, syrup, butter, nut butter, berries and anything that your taste-buds desire.
Having pancakes pre-made is such a great feeling when you finish a long or hard workout and you know that homemade pancakes are ready for you and you don't have to spend 20+ minutes mixing together ingredients and flipping pancakes on a skillet.
These pancakes came out really fluffy and they offer a nice pumpkin taste that isn't too overpowering. This recipe made ~23 pancakes so I kept about 15 in the fridge and froze the rest. 

TEFF PUMPKIN PANCAKES
Pg. 44

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups teff flour 
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp nutmeg (it called for pumpkin spice but I used nutmeg)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 3/4 cups milk (it also called for 1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt but I left that out as I didn't have any - still turned out ok!)
2 tbsp sugar (It called for 2 tbsp honey but I used sugar instead)
(it called for currants or raisins but I left those out since I wanted to make these plain - more fun for dressing up later!)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the teff flour, baking powder, nutmeg/pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and salt.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin, milk, (yogurt if using) and sugar (or honey). Pour over the dry mixture and stir until just combined. 

3. Fold in the currants/raisins if using.
4. Heat a stove-top griddle or skillet over medium-low heat (I used two skillets so that I could make more at the same time). Use oil for brushing the pan.
5. Ladle a heaping spoonful of the batter into the hot pain. Cook the pancakes on one side until the bottom starts to brown, about 1 1/2 - 2 minutes. Using a spatula, flip the pancakes over and cook on the other side until nicely browned and cooked through, 1-2 minutes. Continue with the remaining batter, brushing the pan with oil as needed.
(The book recommends to place the pancakes in the toaster to reheat from the freezer - great idea!) 

We are just loving this banana bread recipe - it's oh-so-good. I prefer my bananas on the yellow side but now, it makes me excited to see my bananas get brown spots as I have a recipe to use them for! 

For the recipe: banana bread. 

In this recent creation (picture above), I used walnuts and raisins and it was so good! 

Healthy, delicious homemade banana bread

I love bananas. Karel calls me a monkey.
I certainly didn't take after my mom who has a slight banana allergy but instead, my dad just loved his daily banana (or two).

It's no surprise that I would love banana bread simple because it contains bananas. Plus, I hate wasting food so when my yellow bananas turn spotty, throwing them in the freezer for a future smoothie is a great option but I can't go wrong with making them the star ingredient in banana bread.

I'm still having so much fun with my Run Fast Eat Slow cookbook and I was literally waiting all week for my bananas to turn very ripe so that I could make the Spelt banana bread recipe on pg. 183 of the book. 

To learn more about Spelt, you can read more here. 

Spelt is an ancient form of wheat (cultivated since 5000 BC) and contains much less gluten than wheat so it may be tolerable for those who are gluten intolerant (but it should be avoided by those who have Celiac disease). 

Like many other grains, spelt contains fiber and protein, along with iron, copper, manganese, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, zinc, selenium, B vitamins and folic acid.

I hope you enjoy this delicious recipe. It is super moist and satisfying with just enough sweetness to excite your taste buds.
I adapted the recipe from the cookbook and modified the ingredients just slightly. 

Spelt Banana Bread

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups spelt flour (or gluten free flour)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp pink Himalayan salt
1 stick salted butter (Plugra or Kerrygold are our favorite butter brands)
1/4 cup brown sugar (yep - that's it!)
2 eggs
2 large very ripe bananas (mashed)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Handful of unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)
1/2 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Use cooking spray to grease a 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaf pan (or use butter).
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
3. In a separate mixing bowl, use a handheld mixer or stand mixer to beat together the butter and sugar on low until combined. Add the eggs and continue to beat for 1 minute. Add the bananas and vanilla and beat just until combined.
4. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the nuts.
5. Pour into the loaf pan and shake the pan to spread out the batter evenly. Sprinkle the top with coconut if using.  Bake in the center of the oven until the top is golden brown and a toothpick in the center comes out clean (about 50-60 minutes). 

6. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes. Use a knife around the edges to loosen and to carefully remove the loaf.

ENJOY!!! 

Let's eat! Trimarni sushi, pomegranate banana bread and more!

Pomegranate smoothie
1/3 cup pomegranate seeds
1/2 large orange (without peel)
1 large celery stick (chopped)
1/2 large banana (very ripe)
1 tsp ginger chopped
1 tbsp chia seeds
1/2 cup  milk
1/3 cup greek yogurt (Fage 0% plain)
Small handful spinach
1 tsp cinnamon
~25g protein powder
10 ice cubes
water to meet consistency needs.

1. Blend ingredients for 90 seconds to make a smoothie meal that is thick enough to eat with a spoon. 

Zucchini pomegranate banana bread
2 bananas (very ripe), mashed
1 egg
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup skim milk
Pinch nutmeg
Pinch all spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup zucchini (shredded)
1 cup pomegranate seeds.
2 tbsp white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup oat flour

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 8 x 1 1/2 inch pans with non stick spray.
2. Combine all ingredients except flour and mix well.
3. Add the flour until evenly combined.
4. Pour batter in one pan until 3/4th filled. Pour leftover batter in other pan (will make a thinner bread for pan #2).
5. Bake for 45-50 minutes. 

Mixed greens salad w/ fresh fruit and pistachiosMixed greens with pistachios, pomegranate, avocado, raspberries, apples, orange pepper, chives, purple onion, edamame and Parmesan topped with olive oil and a side of bakery fresh bread.

Avocado Sushi
Wild rice (cooked)
Sauteed onions and mushrooms (in oven or skillet - tossed in a little olive oil) or raw
Avocado - chopped

1. Take seaweed "paper" and lay flat on plate.
2. On 1/2 of paper, spread with semi warm rice. Top with onions, avocado and mushrooms.
3. Roll seaweed into roll and enjoy. 

Taco saladMixed greens, avocado, onion, green and red pepper, cucumber, tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, salsa, pinto beans and carrots topped with crumbles chips (from Miami 70.3 travel home stop at Moe's) and a side of cottage cheese.

Why I love my real food diet: It is not a mass marketed diet fad, temporary change or extreme approach. It's real food in a balanced way that fuels life and reduces risk for disease....and it tastes great!
Happy eating!