Post Run Fuel

This post is dedicated to Joe for two reasons - first because he is the only one who told me I hadn't posted in a while and the second will be revealed at the end of this post.

Tonight I had what felt like a hard run.  I don't think it was very fast, but it was humid so it felt like I was working harder than usual and I was also talking a lot.  Talking is usually my trick to make whoever I'm running with slow down a bit, but tonight for some reason I couldn't stop talking. It must be my beautiful voice and clever wit that I couldn't get enough of.  I knew I should stop talking when Rick asked my why I was breathing so hard.  Running and trying to keep up with him while talking is just plain silly.

By the time I got home I was hot, hungry and tired.  I needed something super quick and filling.  What did I make you ask??? Why a salad of course.  I know what you're thinking "Come on a salad".  But it was perfect - filling and refreshing.  There will be no need for snacking tonight. Anyone who has seen my salads know they can feed a family of four and count for a weeks worth of your vegetable requirements under Canada's food guide, but I do think they are a perfect recovery food. 

Seriously - tell me that's something you wouldn't love to chomp on after a hot run.  They don't take much time to throw together if you've done some prep work.  Here are the basic steps to my Crazy Salads....

1) The base - the greens.  I usually wash all my lettuce and have it ready to go in the fridge.  I also buy prewashed baby greens.  I really like the PC Sassy Baby blend.  Its a mix of baby spinach and baby arugula.  I mix leaf lettuce and the baby blend together.

2) Veggie toppings.  I buy the PC carrot coleslaw blend.  Its basically julienned carrots and broccoli stems.  I also buy the regular coleslaw blend.  I know I could grate carrots and cabbage and add it and save a few bucks.  But I won't - and I like the uniformity of the carrots - my grater doesn't make squares.

3) More veggie toppings.  I also added cucumber, grape tomatoes and yellow pepper - all which I cut up by myself.

4) Protein. Sometimes I add chopped up hard boiled eggs or a crumbled homemade veggie burger.  Tonight I added pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and chia seed to the mix.  Chia seeds are suppose to help recovery, I'll let you know how I feel in the morning.

5) Fats.  I sometimes add an avocado or cheese to my salad. Your dressing also counts.  I usually make a simple vinaigrette with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

But that in a nut shell is my salad.  I ate these like crazy a few years ago.  They were my lunch for about 4 months and eating them helped my lose a lot of weight. After a while I do get sick of them, but now that the weather is warming up, they are the perfect meal. 

Oh yeah - reason number two this is dedicated to Joe.... tomorrows lunch.