If you’re like me, something sweet as a reward for a good run is always nice. I have just made a batch of lavender pudding with rhubarb compote. As I was making it, it struck me how easy and quick this recipe was. It would easily be made first thing in the morning and enjoyed after your afternoon run. And to boot, it has all the things you would like to have after a run. Milk protein, fruit, and as I said, just the right amount of sweet reward. Feel free to swap out the flavourings for things you have around the house. No lavender flowers, substitute vanilla. No rhubarb, substitute cherries, or raspberries. The recipe is pretty easy to change. Try out your favourite combinations and let me know how it went.

Lavender pudding:

2 cups 35% cream

1 cup full fat buttermilk

1 tbsp Lavender flowers

1/3 cup honey (wildflower or lavender honey if you have it)

1 tbsp gelatine powder (or 3 sheets)

1/4 cup water

Mix gelatine and water in a small bowl and set aside to bloom. Combine cream, buttermilk, honey and lavender in a pot and bring to a boil. As soon as it boils, remove from heat and stir gelatine mix into cream to dissolve. Strain through a fine strainer and pour into small ramekins or glasses. Allow to sit at room temp for about 1/2 hour, then cover and place in fridge till set.

Fruit compote (easily switched to fruit you have on hand)

1/2 cup orange juice

3 cups rhubarb or other fruit. Cut into 1/2″ pieces. If using berries leave whole.

3 tbsp honey (again wildflower or lavender honey)

Lemon juice to taste.

Place all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook down till syrupy. Taste and adjust with a little lemon juice.

This can be spooned on top of the pudding and served. It could also be spooned over ice cream or even granola, it’s that good.

I hope you go out and get ahold of some fresh rhubarb while still around. Lavender flowers can be found in most health food shops. Just be sure to buy edible lavender, even if you strain it out. Let me know what variations of this sweet treat you opt for. And enjoy a little indulgence after your next run. And remember don’t eat them all yourself.

Cheers.

I had a blast. It was my first half marathon, and I ran it as if it were my first too. I had a really great weekend. The race was really just the icing on the cake. I was fortunate enough to be at the Expo with iRun speed freak, Josh (not really a freak, but anyone who can run that fast has some freak in them). We had a ton of fun collecting iRun statements  and video. The following morning we packed the family up for the 2km family run. My two older boys did fantastic finishing in roughly 15minutes. Then came the media pass and video of the top 10km runners. What a treat to be behind the finish banner for the first runners coming in. I hope to post the video of Josh here in the coming days. He ran a blistering fast race, and came in 16th to boot. I won’t spoil his fun in letting you know his time. Make sure you check his blog for the details in his words. At home after all the fun, I had a simple pasta dinner and relaxed as best I could, for the race to come.

The following morning I biked down to the course and started my warm up. Getting into the coral was a nightmare. And finding the 1:45 pace bunny was not so easy either. I probably should have just lined up and raced my own race. The pace bunnie’s pace out of the gun was a little more than I should have been doing. It was shoulder to shoulder for the first couple of km. I think we were running harder to break free of the log jam. At the first water station I realized I need to practice drinking from a cup. I was really just throwing at my mouth and hoping to get some in. The same could be said for the gels. I dropped 3 in my race. So much for fueling on the run. IN the end my salvation was the sponges. GOD love the sponges. they saved me for sure. Our running group seemed pretty well on pace. We even had some time in the bank. I felt strong, but we still needed to cross the bridge back into Ottawa. At the end of the bridge I realized I was starting to hurt.

By the 14km mark I was toast. I had nothing left to give and had to let go of the pace bunny. We had a minute or two in the bank, but they were still going hard. I was hardly going. After passing people for 1:20 I was relegated to watching everyone pass me. Totally infuriating. I had made the rookie mistake of going out too hard. Oh well, at least I was still in front of the 1:50 bunny. Not for long though, by 1:40 that bunny had come right up on my heels. I now had to dig deep into some place I didn’t know existed. I could pick up the pace for about 20 sec. then back down to shuffling speed. All I could do was hope my repeated bursts were enough to stay ahead.

With 1km to go the crowds were all the endorphins I required. I must make a heartfelt huge thank you to all the amazing spectators lining the streets. And to all of you who read my bib and encouraged me by name…..I owe you huge! That is an amazing feeling. At 750m I started to sprint. I couldn’t believe it. Where did this energy come from? I crossed the line just in front of the 1:50 pace bunny. Agony and extacy at the same time. Another race in the books, and one I will not forget anytime soon. Especially now that I have a PB to beat in the next half.

Again congrats to all finishers. Leave me a post on your feelings. It might just get you some iRun swag.

And to keep it somewhat about the food. Was there something you ate after your race that rewarded you for your effort? Even if you were taken out for dinner (especially in Ottawa) let me know where and how it went. I would love to hear from you.

We are going to make a risotto of farro with spring vegetables and pancetta. For good measure, and to make it a little meatier without extra meat, we are going to sautee some King mushrooms for a tasty and filling garnish.

Most of the farro you are going to find is sold as pearlatto or semi pearlatto. Meaning that a portion of the bran has been removed. Making it easier to cook. Always soak your farro for about a 1/2 hour before cooking. In doing this you can rinse the farro as well as remove any unwanted bits and bad grains.

4 tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic finely minced

1/2 cup diced shallot (you can substitute red onion)

1/2 oz diced pancetta (I prefer cubes but you can buy sliced pancetta and dice that)

1 cup farro

2 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth

1/2 cup white wine

1 tsp lemon zest

12 oz blanched asparagus cut into 1″ pieces

12 oz shelled fava beans

1/3 cup finely chopped herbs (Itlian flat parsley and thyme are great)

Olive oil to drizzle over the bowls.

Start by crisping the pancetta in pot large enough to make the rissotto.

Remove from pot and drain fat leaving 1 tbsp. Add onions and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook till softened. Add the farro, stirring to coat all the grains. Add broth and wine and cook over med low heat stirring from time to time for about 25 minutes. You are looking for grains that are still a little chewy and the liquid should be mostly absorbed. Add asparagus and fava beans and crisped pancetta and heat them through. Add herbs and divide among bowls.

For the king mushrooms.

Slice 4 large king mushrooms from top to stem. You should be able to get 3 slices of each.

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

Heat oil in a pan large enough to hold all the mushrooms. Sautee mushrooms till golden and season with salt and pepper.

At this point you can put these on top of your bowl of farro. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and serve. You are sure to love this dish as much as me. And it’s full of all kinds of good for you nutrients. Enjoy it after your next training run for Race Weekend.

Good luck to everyone racing next week.

What are you making this week to get you ready for Race weekend? Or do you have a favorite pre/post race meal. Leave your suggestions for all to see in the comments section. I will be giving an iRun hat to one lucky person. There will be no rhyme or reason to my choice. Just the most yummy sounding recipe.

Good luck and good running.

Jay

Wild mushroom bruschetta with pancetta and poached egg. Simple enough. The real focus when getting groceries should be to find some nice fresh wild mushrooms. Chanterelles, oyster, lobster, shitake, and king trumpet are all pretty easy to find, and are perfect for this dish.

1 slice pancetta cut 1″ thick. Cubed (ask your butcher)

2 cups mixed wild mushrooms

3 cloves garlic minced

1.5 tbsp snipped chives

4 slices crusty Italian loaf

4 lg eggs

Olive oil

1 tbsp butter

salt and pepper

In a pan fry the pancetta on med. low heat till crisped and has rendered alot of it’s fat. Drain and set aside. Clean pan. In a pot large enough for all four eggs to fit with room, bring water to a simmer. In the pan from the pancetta put a good 3 tbsp olive in the same pan and raise heat to med high. Add mushrooms and garlic. Cook until they start to color. Add butter and reduce heat to med low. Toast the bread. Working quickly whisk the water in the pot so it creates a current moving in one direction. Break each egg into the flow. Allow to cook at a bare simmer till set. Around 2 minutes. If you prefer your yolks set a little firmer, cook for a further minute. Adjust the seasoning of the mushrooms with salt and pepper to taste. Add reserved pancetta and snipped chives. Place 2 pieces of toast on each plate. Top with mushrooms. With a slotted spoon removed eggs and place on top of mushrooms. Season eggs lightly with a little salt and pepper. Serve.

I prefer to have this dish with some chive cream sauce, but the calories go up quickly this way. I prefer to eat what tastes great and deal with the calories in my training. If you would like to go this route, take 1/2 cup 35% cream and reduce in a pan till reduced by half. Give a squeeze of 1/2 a lemon and 1/2 tbsp chopped herbs. In this case the chives would be great again. Spoon this around the 2 toasts on each plate, and enjoy.

This meal is sure to satisfy even the most ravenous hunger. Breakfast , lunch or dinner.

As for my first race of the season. I competed in the Cumberland Duathlon last weekend. I registered in the sprint so I could compare last years time to my performance this year. 2.5 km run/20km bike/2.5 run. I finished in 58:01. A significant improvement over last year. And this dish would have been wonderful afterwords. Sadly I had not thought of it. Next up Ottawa race weekend. I am registered in the half marathon. My goal is to get out in front of the 1:50 pace bunny, and hold on for dear life. Wish me luck. Maybe wild mushroom bruschetta will help me get it done. We’ll see.

Cheers.

So what to eat on Friday night. Well, I figured pasta was a sure fire solution. So what could we make that would be both tasty and easy. Penne with sundried tomato puree and sauteed broccoli with seared sirloin. Sounded good to me. We make a sun dried tomato puree (not quite pesto) at work for many different uses. Add to it some broccoli and beef, and you have a great easy meal. And with the fact that the puree lasts weeks in the fridge, you’ll be pulling it out for all kinds of uses. Some of my faves are; as a condiment for all manner of sandwich, on grilled vegetables, used in making dressings and vinaigrettes, and obviously as pasta sauce.

Here it is:

500gr sun dried tomatoes. I prefer semi dry, very red coloured tomatoes.

5 lg cloves of garlic, smashed

1/2 cup parmesan

1 cup (approx) good quality olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste.

You will notice there is no pine nuts in this mix. Which is why we don’t call it a pesto. I have found over the past couple of years the numbers of people with nut allergies is ever growing. We leave it out of this paste in order to be able to serve it to everyone. Feel free to add 1/3 cup nuts of your choice. You might need to adjust the oil quantity though.

Put all the ingredients in a food processor using only half the oil. Blitz until coming together. Add the remaining oil with the machine running. You are looking for a nicely mixed and slightly chunky mix. Now depending on what you’re using it for, you can process it more or less. It’s up to you. With so little ingredients though, you’ll want to source quality tomatoes and olive oil.

For my pasta I sauteed some blanched broccoli and added it to my pasta. I coated cubed sirloin with freshly ground fennel, coriander, black pepper, and salt. Seared it in a hot pan till rare and added it to the bowl with pasta and broccoli. Spoon some of your amazing sun dried tomato puree over and mix thoroughly. Top with some more parmesan and some chili flakes and serve.

Pretty easy, fast, and loaded with carbs, protein and nutirients from the broccoli (a super food). And you have a sure pre race winner.

As for my race. It didn’t make me fast enough to keep up with Josh, but it helped me shave 9 minutes off of last year’s time. Pretty happy with that. As I’m sure you will be of this versatile sauce.

Enjoy

This week my smoothie preference has been this:

2 cups 2% milk

half a banana sliced (my wife freezes them in a container in the fridge for ease of use)

1/2 cup of frozen mixed berries (from the frozen section of the grocery store)

1/3 cup silken tofu (if you can get flavoured tofus go for it)

1 scoop of protein powder.

Blend on high for a minute or so. Consume right away.

Super tasty, super easy, and your muscles will thank you for it. That is the one I have been making this week. Next week I’ll post a new one, that I am making. NO sense in running the same routes every week, so why would you drink the same smoothie over and over.

As for the dinner portion. Tonight  made a simple but really tasty grilled fish dish. Grilled Halibut with chermoula crust and cous cous salad. This is a pretty great marinade with lots of flavour for fish or chicken. It’s great on the grill, so perfect for the summer time.

Chermoula spice marinade

• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 small red onion, roughly chopped
• 4 tbsp chopped coriander
• 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 2 tsp  cumin ground
• 1/2 tsp coriander ground
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp chilli flakes OR more if you like it spicey
• 1/2 tsp turmeric ground
• Juice and grated rind of 1 lemon
• 1 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Reserve about 4 tbsp to the side to drizzle on the plate just before serving. Pour remaining marinade over 4 halibut fillets and leave in the fridge for 1-2 hours. Grill or bake till about medium, which is about 5 minutes for a 5oz fillet. Serve with a side of cous cous salad for a flavourful meal that will replenish your energy stores and put a smile on your face.

Cous Cous salad:

1 cup regular cous cous

1.5 cups broth of your choice (chicken or vegetable or water)

2 cloves garlic minced

PInch of salt and pepper

1 can chickpeas rinsed

1/2 cup roasted pistachios

1/2 cup sultana raisins

1/2 cup cilantro chopped

Juice and rind of 1 lemon

Bring broth or water to a boil with garlic and salt and pepper.  Add cous cous and remove from heat and cover. Let stand for about 8-10 minutes.  Fluff witha fork and add remaining ingredients. Let sit for about 20 minutes before serving to allow flavours to marry.

You can easily make this dish look as stellar as it tastes by placing a large spoonful of cous cous in the middle of a plate. Top with the grilled fish. Drizzle with some reserved marinade around the plate.

Enjoy

IF you have a suggestion for a great meal leave it in the replies and we’ll make it and see how it tastes.

1 cup Quinoa (you will have no problem finding this grain at health food stores) white or red or a mix of the two.

1.5 cups water.

3 tbsp olive oil

1/2 spanish onion diced finely

2 cloves garlic minced

2 green onions sliced

2 tbsp chopped herbs. Your choice here. What’s in your fridge?

1 cup corn (frozen is just fine if it’s not corn season)

1 tbsp smoked paprika (we use our BBQ spice mix but smoked paprika is fine alone)

Salt and pepper

In a pot saute garlic and onions with 2 tbsp oil on med heat till very soft but not browned. Season with salt and pepper. Add quinoa and stir to get all grains coated in oil. Add water and cover with a lid. Cook about 20 minutes or until all liquid has been absorbed. Remove from heat and leave lid on.

In a saute pan heat remaining tbsp oil and add corn. Sautee for one minute and add paprika. Continue to cook for another minute or so. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired. Mix with the quinoa. I now add the green onions and herbs.

All done ready for the plate. Hot or cold this pilaf is great. You can serve it alone or with your favourite meat on top. I love grilled salmon with this one. Cold it will keep in the fridge for about 4 days. So make extra and have it any time.

Enjoy

It was Friday at noon, and I was already thinking of my first run of the year the following day. My wife and I decided to go for some sushi at a new restaurant nearby. During what was a nice break from children, work, the day to day grind, my wife leans over and says,”I invited so and so for dinner tonight. Burgers in particular on the BBQ and your famous margaritas”. Well how do I resolve this dilemma?

Obviously I make the burgers and margaritas, and totally fail at not consuming too much of both. After four margs and 2 burgers, I felt bad. I mean really bad, physiologically and emotionally. Better start drinking lots of water. And so my visions of a great race are starting to dissolve. Thankfully it’s only the first of many, and hey you never know, maybe I’ll post a good time none the less.

NO.

I jog the 5k to the race. Sign in, and get my timing chip. Feeling good but not great. In the line up I see plenty of my peers, and am asked on numerous occasions, “what pace are you looking for?” Good question. I had wanted to post a sub 21min.  I opt for the “well we’ll just have to see”, knowing a 21min time is out of the question, and just hoping that I come in under 24min. We’re lining up now. Last chance to get hurt. NO can do. I am just going to have to suffer through this one. It’s only 5km. How hard can that be? I decide to run along side a woman I train with who is likely to post a sub 21min. time.

BANG

We’re off. I am keeping my pace through the first 500m. Feeling pretty good. At the 1km mark I am now sucking air big time. By 2km I have lost my running mate. By 3km I am begging for it all to be over. I keep saying to no one in particular “just let me get to the finish, and I won’t drink before a race again”. With a little over 500m to go, I find what might qualify for a sprint or strong finish. But surely looks sad, even for me. Over the finish line and I’m done. Literally.

23 minutes and change. Not bad, but not what I had wanted. And why? Because I did not fuel the machine for proper performance. This will be a lesson for me to hopefully learn from. And if anything I will not suggest burgers and margaritas as a pre race meal again.

On a slightly more upbeat and interesting note. Tomorrow I have a meeting at the Peak Centre, to asses my vo2 max/threshold, and develop a training and nutritional program for the rest of the summer. I have offered myself up as a guinea pig to an intern for training. Hopefully I’ll have interesting topics for discussion in the coming weeks.

High up on this list is my food and liquid intake, before, during and after each race. We have all heard before the saying, “train like you race like you train”. I have tried this winter to incorporate this into all my workouts. I have had success and failure doing so. But more so to the success side.

My training day strategies have been as follows lately. I wake and make sure to eat before I have coffee. Otherwise the coffee makes me not want to eat. This has been the single most beneficial thing I have done food wise in the morning. I have until recently never eaten breakfast. And if I did, it certainly wasn’t before 9 or 10am. Getting up and right into training was difficult until I changed this one thing. I make sure to get something natural and full of carbs for  my first meal. Mostly it has been a bowl of granola. But I have started making energy bars (yes the ones I spoke last time about, and that  I will post the recipe of shortly). I love the fact that I can eat one before coffee and another just before training. During workouts I have tried to follow a guideline of 2 litres of liquid per hour. I have not faired so well here. So far I can reasonably get 1.5 litres down. Usually it’s a carb drink like “HEEd” or “Accelerade“. Each contain about 150 calories and about 38 gr of carbs the way I mix it up. Knowing that I also require about 60gr of carbs per hour for exercise or racing, I also consume 2 gels per hour. Although the gels I have used are odd to get used to, I have noticed increased energy throughout my training sessions. They provide an additional 25gr of carbs per shot. If you were to add it all up, I am taking in 88gr of carbs per hour, and 1.5 litres of liquid. This seems reasonable and has  worked so far. But is there a better way?

To find out I am going to get a full vo2 threshold test done. And get a full nutritional breakdown based on the results. I will post it all here in “part 2″. And hopefully discuss the results with those more informed than I. Also we will try to figure out the ins and outs of carb loading before the big race.

Since making “the statement”, I have had to go from couch potato to endurance athlete in pretty short order. Now I do understand that Triathlon consists of more than just running, but my focus for this blog is about nutrition. And specifically nutrition for runners.

My eating habits coming into this new challenge were way off the mark. As a fine food chef, my family and I eat very well, but there was no counting calories. We made sure to eat lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains, and lean meats (ok maybe not lean, but tasty) and plenty of seafood. But with an ever expanding waist line my first order of business was to change some of our eating habits. Going from eating whatever I felt like making,( and I have access to great food) to lean cooking, has been difficult to say the least. I started this venture at just over 200lbs, and realized that to be fast and have any hope of completing some longer distances, I needed to drop some weight.

I have accomplished this (or at least pretty close, I am now 183+-lbs), by first getting rid of all the crappy snacks that have made their way into our house. We focus on whole foods, and shun man-made pseudo food. Hopefully I will show you how to do it too.

We will also discuss how to get the necessary nutritional input during endurance events, an area I am still researching and figuring out as I go along. I have access to many first rate athletes to help me and you along the way. My trials and tribulations in this category will be documented for us all to see and discuss here.

I will also feature some local (to where ever we may be) farmers and producers worth taking note of. And one recipe every couple of weeks that is sure to get you up for your run, or fill up the void after one. I hope you all enjoy our food/run banter, and please ask any question you like. If I cannot answer it, I will endeavour to find the right person to do so.

Thanks and keep running.