WIAW: What I Ate & Why

 

Wednesday = Food. I may not know what date it is on the calendar but when I see Wednesday roll around, I do know it’s time to look at and talk about what I have been eating…

Breakfast:

I run my best when I eat oatmeal with some banana before a workout but determining how much of each changes each day depending upon my early morning appetite and how many miles I will be running. I try to find the right balance of filling my stomach without eating too much before a run.

Some days I am full, some days I am still a little hungry (and I can’t run hungry!) so I grab an extra piece of banana or another spoonful of oatmeal. It’s never an exact science so I just go with it as it changes each day.

oatmeal

Post-Run breakfast is eaten immediately after I shower. The sooner I eat after a run, the better and more satisfied I feel for the rest of the day. Waiting too long to eat after a run not only sacrifices your muscles and your recovery but will throw off your appetite, leaving you hungrier later on. Trust me.

Yesterday morning I made my blueberry pie protein oatmeal but I wasn’t in the mood for a lot of blueberries so it’s mostly oatmeal mixed with Skoop, some almond milk and a drop of peanut butter swirled in too.

post run oatmeal

Lunch:

The grain free English muffin with pb & j for lunch thing is still going strong. To be honest with you, I love the simplicity of pb & j for lunch. I don’t want to think about what else I may be in the mood for and I don’t feel like getting creative.

grain free english muffin with peanut butter and jelly

I also love how I feel after I eat this! It doesn’t weigh me down yet keeps me full and satisfied not just from the protein and fat but from the flavors. Hello, I live on peanut butter because it’s my favorite food so the more I eat it, the happier I am.

Lately I feel as though the less vegetables I consume, the better I feel. As healthy as vegetables are for you, I can’t keep up a diet that is overloaded with produce. It just doesn’t work for me on a regular, daily basis. The digestion process for breaking down vegetables slows me down and makes me feel kinda bleh which is not the feeling I want during the day.

Dinner:

I made the lentil & black bean chili with sweet potato wedges as per my dinner plan post. I think that’s why I love doing those dinner plan posts, they really get me out of my usual meals and in the kitchen trying new recipes.

lentil and black bean chili

The flavors for this chili were just terrific and I also added some spinach and roasted broccoli (which isn’t pictured). Between the lentils, black beans and spinach leaves, we are talking about an iron-packed tasty meal! We all need our iron but especially us female runners (and if you are a female, vegetarian runner like me, you definitely need to pay attention to iron!).

Snacks & Dessert:

I need a lot of watermelon in my life. It hydrates me the best which is so important following a run and even to help me balance my electrolytes for the next day’s workout.

watermelon

I treated myself yesterday to a Synergy Kombucha. I haven’t had one in forever.

synergy kombucha

Dessert is all over the place at night lately. Apples with peanut butter, dark chocolate bars and even a Quest Bar all of a sudden.

snacks and dessert

I stopped eating Quest Bars randomly last year but then picked up a few at Trader Joe’s before we left for Boston to have as emergency portable snacks.

I really liked the S’mores bar (not pictured because I ate it) but still like the double chocolate chunk and cookie dough too.

I had every intention of making these flourless & grain free fudge brownie bites last night but since I couldn’t shake an inner chill all day, getting up from the couch from under a blanket seemed impossible.

What I'm eating lately and why #WIAW #oatmeal #runner #questbars #watermelon #fitfluential #peanutbutter Click To Tweet

See what everyone else is eating here!

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Quest Bar fans? Which is your favorite?

Are you a creative lunch eater or creature of habit same thing every day lunch eater?

Favorite post-run meal lately?

 

 

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Comments

  1. says

    I have never tried a quest bar! I have heard mixed things about them. I am a creature of habit wit breakfast foods (lately- I was much more creative when I didn’t have to leave so early for work), but my lunch is always based on leftovers so that just depends on what we have been eating for dinner that week. I wish I could afford to drink Kombucha every day! I am still too scared to try to make my own:)
    Lisa @ Running Out Of Wine recently posted…Why I Decided To Work With A Running CoachMy Profile

    • says

      I had stopped buying Quest Bars because I felt like I didn’t need them for their price but then I wanted something to take with me to Boston to keep in my bag. It was weird at first tasting them again but overall for a protein bar, they are the best in my opinion. They aren’t a daily thing for me but good to have around.

  4. says

    I recently rekindled my love for PB&J! It’s just so creamy, sweet and filling and makes me happy. I also haven’t been eating as many veggies lately, at least raw ones. Starches are where it’s at for me this winter. We’ll see if warmer weather changes that, but for now I’m rolling with it!
    Faith VanderMolen recently posted…WIAW: A Day in my Life Living in ChinaMy Profile

  5. says

    Very tough call those questies. My top 3 (despite that being insanely difficult)…Peanut Butter supreme (baked especially), white chocolate raspberry and either C&C or cookie dough (baked). Nomz Couldn’t live without them haha

    I tend to have the same thing for lunch as it’s my post workout from lifting. Brown unsalted rice cakes + protein icing + nanner. I may have a starry once and a while but I find the rice cakes wake me up faster when I’m shaking post lift.

    I also share your love of oatmeal. Can’t start a day off without them!

  6. says

    Yes! I love Quest bars but haven’t had them recently. I love the chocolate chip one. Warmed up a little in the microwave. So good! I go through lunch phases. Sometimes I plan all week and eat the same thing, sometimes it’s all leftovers.
    melissa recently posted…WIAW #45: Friday, FridayMy Profile

  15. says

    I feel best when I limit my vegetables during the day. I’ve been eating more fruit at lunchtime and then dinner sticking with my salad since I’m going to bed and I don’t have to be awake feeling bloated and blah. It’s crazy that we can tell how differently we feel based on what we’re eating. I am loving pizza at lunch again. Sesame sticks are my current favorite snack but they have a lot of fiber in them so they do make me feel a bit more weighed down. The fat in them keeps me full for hours though so it’s worth it. The struggles of finding our perfect diet…
    Sarah @pickyrunner recently posted…Not-Training 1/3-1/9My Profile

  16. says

    Time and time again I’m reninded of how similar our taste buds are. Oatmeal for breakfast is a given, peanut butter a necessity and can’t-live-without fuel and that chili for dinner? Yes, please.
    I’m a major meal repeater but lunch has to be different almost every day. That’s probably going to change once I start working full-time again and won’t be able to prep it at home daily.
    Miss Polkadot recently posted…Week in review: The Clean[ing] and Fast EditionMy Profile

  17. says

    I squealed with delight when I read the part about you backing off the produce a bit. My body is the same way with veggies, especially raw ones. YOWCH. Speaking of which, I started eating Quest bars after seeing all these athlete bloggers rave on about them but each day I had one, I’d get ferocious (SUCH a great word) diarrhea. I was like hmmm… what’s in these things? They have quite a bit of fibre in them, WAY more than I eat day to day. Let’s just say I don’t need as much fibre as everyone else. Ahem. But anyway, lesson learned.
    Suzy recently posted…Woozy Wednesday: Cough SlurrupMy Profile

    • says

      Yeah I definitely avoid the raw ones when I can, veggie platters are not my friend! I do like the quest bars and can handle a good amount of fiber but I doubt I will eat them regularly.

  19. says

    I still haven’t tried kombucha, but I’m so tempted to ferment my own. I’ve had good luck making my own sauerkraut, so maybe it’s time to give that a try.
    And I hear you on backing off on vegetables! I cut out cruciferous vegetables and it helped my digestion so much. I still love my veggies (especially potatoes), but they can’t be 80% of my diet like they are for some people.
    Laura @ This Runner’s Recipes recently posted…How I Improved My Fueling and Hydration for Long Runs {Part One}My Profile

  21. says

    I’m a creature of habit when it comes to meals but lately I’m boring myself with my lunches so I’m trying new things this week. Smoked salmon, cream cheese and brown soda bread is my new favourite! I eat a lot of melon too & apparently pretty good for combatting inflammation of muscles post-run 🙂
    Fiona recently posted…SnapshotMy Profile

  22. Jennifer says

    Ah, the classic PB&J! Major love for using the English muffin as the vehicle..those nooks and crannies arw great to catch the PB&J in those nooks and crannies .

    My favorite quest bars are Double Chocolate Chunk, Cookies and Cream, and Chocolate mint. But I do like the Strawberry Cheesecake a lot too.