Eating Out - Research your options.  Whether you are eating out near home, or on the road, see what is around.  Try to find places that let you create what you want.  For instance, Chipotle, Mad Greens, Noodles and Co will let you put whatever you want on your plate.  Look on their site and see how what you like shakes down nutritionally.  When I looked up my standard burrito at Chipotle I was surprised to see that a burrito could come out close to 1,000 calories.  So, I tweaked the fillings and made it fit to what I wanted.  No rice, yes beans, sour cream, but no cheese, add veggies, etc.  you get the picture.  A lot of restaurants have great nutrition pages on their site, look into them and after a while you will have an idea about what you are getting.

If you are in a position of eating out at a place where you don’t know all of the nutrition stats, you must rely on your intuition.  Focus on switching out what you need to in order to make what they have better for you.  If the standard dish includes fries, ask for a salad or their fresh veggies.  Top the salad with oil in vinegar instead of thousand island.  Choose either cheese, or mayo, but don’t do both. Really when it comes down to it, we all know what to do, it is just hard to do it sometimes.

Make Ahead - If you have some time on the weekend, start making preparations for the next weeks meals.  Here are a few things you can make ahead and reap the benefits of all week long

-Cut up a few days veggies so that you can either eat them straight out of the bag,  put them in a salad, or saute them quickly.

-Marinate and grill chicken, pork, lean steak, tofu so that you can quickly add a great source of protein to a salad, wrap, sandwich

-Make a pot of soup full of veggies, beans and chicken.  Anytime you need a quick snack you are sure to get a hearty and healthy meal.  Here are a few of my favorite recipes …

Veggie Drawer Soup (similar to Minestrone)

2 boneless skinless chicken breast cut in bite sized pieces

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 onion diced

2 garlic cloves

2 large carrots diced

1 green pepper diced

1 yellow squash diced

1 zucchini diced

1 can fire roasted tomatoes (diced of crushed)

2 cans low sodium chicken broth

1 cup water

1 can garbanzo beans (or kidney)

1/4 head of cabbage diced (or a 1/2 a bag of frozen chopped spinach)

salt and pepper to taste

red pepper flakes to taste

1 tbsp Italian seasoning

In a large pot, cook chicken in 1 tbsp olive oil on medium heat.  Once cooked, add in garlic, onion and carrots and cook until onions are transparent.  Add all veggies except cabbage (or spinach) add broth, water, tomatoes, beans and spices and allow to lightly simmer for 20 minutes.   Add in cabbage (or spinach) and allow to simmer for another 10 minutes.  The veggies should be tender crisp.

If you would like to add pasta to this, for more carbohydrates, I recommend cooking the pasta separately and adding it as needed.  Adding it to the pot will cause the pasta to become mushy as time draws on.

Another way to easily add veggies and high fiber carbohydrates to your diet is…

Corn and Bean Salsa

1 can black beans drained and rinsed

1/2 bag frozen sweet corn thawed

1/2 sweet pepper diced

1/2 small red onion

1 Roma tomato seeded and diced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

either 1 Serrano or 1 jalapeno (depending on heat tolerance) finely chopped

juice from 1 lime

salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Add to wraps, eggs, salads, top chicken or fish, eat with corn chips or with a spoon:)

In a hurry in the morning and want to up the nutrition in your bowl of oatmeal try making this oatmeal on the weekend and reheating it on a weekday morning…

Steel Cut Porridge

1 tbsp butter

1 cup steel cut oats (aka, pinhead oats, Irish oats, Scottish oats)

1 cup milk (cows, soy, almond, rice)

3 cups water

pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

3 tbsp brown sugar

Melt butter in saucepan, add oats and toast over medium heat stirring frequently.  When the oats start to smell nutty remove from heat and add in the milk, water, salt, vanilla, cinnamon and brown sugar.  Return to heat an allow to return to a low simmer over low to medium heat for about 45 minutes.  You will want to stir about every 5 minutes.

Variations include…

adding 2/3 cup pumpkin puree and nutmeg ( you can also use mashed sweet potatoes)

replacing brown sugar with maple syrup and adding sauteed apples

Topping options…

blueberries, pecans, Greek yogurt, bananas, etc

Steel cut oats are higher in fiber than instant oats. They have a chewy and hearty texture that will leave you feeling fuller, longer.

Planning Ahead is KEY!

Weekends go by fast and sometimes we start the week behind.  Make planning meals, shopping and prepping a priority.  When you are trying to figure it out at the last minute every time, you are more likely to grab what is quick and easy, not what is healthy and will help you achieve your goals.  If you have family to help, put them to work!  They can help you with meal ideas.  If your kids are old enough, let them help you chop veggies, or boil eggs, or cook up the chicken.  Once you get on top of staying organized with your nutrition, is really does get easier.

Please let me know if you have any more questions.  Good luck!

Carbohydrates -   As athletes, our bodies need carbohydrates to fuel our endevours and ambitions.  I am sure we have all heard the term “Carb Loading”.   Does this mean that we should eat platters of fettucine, coupled with breadsticks followed by brownies for dessert just the night before an event?  No, that is just not how it works folks!  The truth is that athletes should be eating a healthy dose and balance of carbohydrates every day. What is a healthy dose?  Consider that in Chris Carmichael’s  Food for Fitness, he recommends that during the base phase of training athletes consume 65% of their calories from carbohydrates.  This is A LOT of carbs, and it only goes higher during the peak phase of training.  Then what is a good balance of carbohydrates?  In our house, this means mostly whole grains, beans, potatoes, fruits, veggies and of course a few treats.

When you are planning your meals with carbohydrates in mind, think whole grain.  There are more and more varities of our favorite foods with whole grain hitting the shelves every day.  Switching to a whole grain will give you more sustained energy for the next days workout.  Potatoes, sweet or not are great sources of carbs the night before a big workout.  Leave the skins on for even more fiber, vitamins and minerals.  Brown rice, whole grain bread, oatmeal other ancient grains such a quinoa are great complex carbs.  Pair any of these main carb sources with lots of veggies and fruits and lean protein.  NOTE:  Fueling for the next days workout doesn’t just start at dinner, you should be focusing on fueling the body from the minute you wake.  So in short, when you are thinking about carb loading think about it being a focus everyday and make sure that you are putting in quality complex carbohydrates

Protein - Athletes need protein. It is vital to repairing damaged muscle. The day before try to stick to lean and easily digestible sources of protein.  For instance, avoid a large steak, or overly fatty cuts.  Stick to fish, poulty, small quantities of lean red meat, or vegetarian options like tofu or tempeh.

Fat - Again, stick to foods lower in fat the day before a workout.  This will help prevent digestive issues.  Fat should not be avoided all together, in fact it plays an important role.  The day before a workout stick to unsaturated fats.  At all costs, avoid trans fats or anything with hydrogenated oil,  even if the label says no trans fat.  But you should avoid this NO MATTER WHAT day it is.

Hydration!!!  Again, you cannot start to think about hydrating the night before, it should be the day before, or better yet everyday.  You don’t want to overdo it and flush out vital electrolytes, but be sure you are peeing frequently and that it is clear.  We usually add in an electrolyte drink just to make sure our balance is right.  It is recommended that you consume between 70 - 100 ounces a day if you are not training that day.  If you are a smaller person, you can stick to the lower end, if you are a larger person stick to the higher end of that.  If you did train the day before a big workout, you can up those numbers to 100 - 128 ounces.

Post Workout Nutrition -

Glycogen Stores - You have a window after a workout of about 15-20 minutes where you body will more readily accept glycogen stores lost during the workout.  Pairing this with a little bit of protein will help regulate blood sugar.  There are several recovery drinks out there that provide this specific balance.  One of my fav’s is Clif’s Mango Recovery Drink.  BUT, one of the best options is chocolate milk.  If you don’t like chocolate, you can put some sugar or honey in the milk.  Have it ready when you get in.   Shortly after drinking either the milk or recovery drink you should start thinking about putting a balanced meal in.

Red Meat - We almost always shoot to have some red meat the night of a big workout.  You need more protein to help the body repair damaged muscle.  The saturated fat in the meat actually plays an important role!  Saturated fat causes inflamation in damaged areas of the body.  This will help direct the body to areas in need of repair.  You don’t need to go searching for saturated fat however.  There is probably plenty even in a leaner cut of red meat.  Dairy also contains saturated fat, so if you don’t like red meat look to cheese:)

Jennifer Howie here.  I had a light bulb moment today.  We frequently hear our athletes comment on how they need more direction with nutrition, both daily and race nutrition.  While I am not an RD or a schooled nutritionist of any kind, I have learned a lot over the years.  For starters, I have managed Craig’s nutrition for over 10 years.  In addition to this, I have a great deal of experience in the kitchen developing recipes, and have even done consulting work doing nutritional analysis.  So again, while I am not a pro at this, I would like to think that my experiences have qualfied me to at least give some direction.  Back to the light bulb…a few of our athletes have asked me if I could put together a weekly meal plan for them.  I have found trying to do each plan individually far too time consuming to be feasible for me as an athlete, full time mom and co-owner of HEP.  This morning Craig was saying that he too wanted to lean down a bit over the off season in order to improve his performance next season.  What athlete doesn’t want this right???  For the most part, our goals are the same, the workout schedules are similiar because they are all written by Craig, so why not put all of us on the same meal plan!

My hope is to post our weeks meals on the blog along with tips and things you should know.  Then it is free to everyone and we can even create a dialog through your comments.  For instance, if you have to eat out due to time constraints or travel, you can share places that you eat that cater to health conscious athletes.  Ask me questions!

Here is a bit about my philosophy about food and nutrition.  I tend to avoid eating plans that put a lot of restrictions on certain foods or calories. In my experience, when you tell me I can’t have something, that will be all I want to eat.  I believe in eating as naturally as possible.  I don’t like things that are refined or modified from their natural source.  I like to use real butter, forget anything with hydrogenated fat.  I hate sugar substitutes!  If it was made in a lab, it isn’t for me.  Now, this doesn’t mean that I douse everything with butter, but when there is a place for it, I will use it.  We work hard, so eating food that is good for the body and soul is our right.  I don’t really like to count calories, but to use my instincts more as a guide.  When I count calories, I always seem more hungry.  We all know that having a scoop or ice cream is within reason, but that eating a whole pint is probably too much.

Life can get the best of me, from time to time.  So I am going to give it my best and try to be on top of this weekly.  If I fall short of that from time to time…I will make my apology and get back up on the horse.  This is an experiment, so let’s see how it all works.

Happy Eating!

 Lately I have formed the habit of listening to audio books on the long z2 sets that can be a bit boring.  I’ve heard many good books, but nothing can compare to my latest listen.  The Art of Racing In the Rain by Garth Stein is hands down my favorite book of all time.  Maybe it’s because the story is told through the eyes of a witty dog.  I’m a huge dog lover.  Maybe it’s because it involves racing.  Love racing.  Maybe it’s because I’m in the middle of a legal battle and I can identify with the David and Goliath situation the main character is in.  Whatever the reason, I thought it deserved a post.  Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book…..

 ”That which we manifest is before us; we are the creators of our own destiny. Be it through intention or ignorance, our successes and our failures have been brought on by none other than ourselves” 

“There is no dishonor in losing the race. There is only dishonor in not racing because you are afraid to lose.” 

“That which is around me does not affect my mood; my mood affects that which is around me.”
“To separate oneself from the burden, the angst, the anguish that we all encounter everyday. To say I am alive, I am wonderful, I am. I am. That is something to aspire to.” 

“The race is long - to finish first, first you must finish.” 

“This is a rule of racing: No race has ever been won in the first corner; many have been lost there.”

“The car goes where the eyes go.”

I’ll stop there, but trust me, there are so many more gems in this book.  I highly recommend it, and if you get to the end and do not shed a tear……you have no soul. 

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.
– M. Kathleen Casey 

I woke up this morning at 3:00am and realized I haven’t been sleeping well for weeks.  The weird thing is that I have been training hard enough to warrant coma sleep but no dice.  As I sat there in my insomnia I also realized my appetite has been weird for weeks.  My stomach has been acting very weird as well.  About an hour later I finally gave up on sleep and headed to my computer to check e-mails.  As I fired up my machine I thought about how grouchy I have been lately…….more than usual anyway.  A few e-mails down and I was out the door to run over to the pool for early morning masters.  My normal mojo just wasn’t there, on the run and as I started to warm up in the pool I was sluggish.  Finally it hit me.

Sleep disruption……check.  Loss of appetite…….check.  Weird digestion…….check.  Grouchy…….DOUBLE CHECK!  

Wow!  As I write this I can’t believe how blind I have been the last few weeks.  I’m a professional at this and I was still blind to the fact that I am totally over trained at the moment.  I would have spotted it in a second if it was someone else.  Time to practice what I preach. 

 I crawled out of the pool and walked home.  It’s time for a transition.  I need to forget that I’m a triathlete for at least a week.  Turns out I am not superman in spite of what my ego says.     

My parents taught me at a very young age that life will offer many lessons and not to worry if you forget these lessons…….life will surely re-teach the lessons to you as many times as needed until you learn them.  So true! 

 Yesterday I put in my long ride on the trainer and I just happened to put the front wheel block on a higher setting than normal.  Now today I am really sore!  Turns out even the slightest change in the angle of the bike on the trainer can make a big difference in how you ride.  Lesson re-learned.  Use a variety of height settings for the front wheel when riding on a trainer.  In fact, I plan on putting an extra block of some kind under my front wheel to get a nice steep angle in prep for climbing.   

As the bulk of our team is now beginning to ramp up training for the 2011 season I am reminded of how easy it can be to get discouraged this time of year.  Not too long ago most of us were hitting our peaks for the 2010 season and putting down personal best times.  Now, after a break, our minds want to go that fast again right away, but our bodies just are not ready.  Remember to cut yourself some slack as you beginning laying down your new base.  It’s okay to be slower right now.  Just trust in your training zones and your feel and forget about speed for a while.