Food Staples That Help Fuel My Running Each Week

You want to know my favorite day of the week? Normally it’s Thursdays because the glimmer of Friday is just around the corner, however I also really love Fridays (and no, it’s not because the weekend begins!). I love Fridays because that’s when I go grocery shopping. I LOVE to grocery shop. I partially blame this on living in a ridiculously isolated Mountain Town where there is literally no other place to go shop (unless you count the over-priced boutiques, which no thanks) and partially how much I love to make lists and plan. I.e. meal planning is one of my favorite activities that brings me such a sense of calm and serenity.

SO, if you’re still reading after all that—> CONGRATS! When meal-planning, I will almost always tie an ingredient into multiple meals to make it last (i.e. an onion may be used for multiple recipes or burger buns will be utilized multiple times throughout the week) and enjoy making most of our meals from scratch. I love to cook, try new recipes, and create a different flare of my own on an already pre-written recipe. My body feels better when ingredients are wholesome, limited amount of sugars are added, and I’ve helped create it in some aspect. This and this and this and this are all of my favorite cookbooks that I plan my meals from each week (sometimes I also use pinterest).

I plan my grocery shopping staples on what I need each week. Normally they stay relatively the same:

Popcorn for wholesome snacking and an excellent dessert option.

Coconut Milk yogurt for adding to smoothies, healthy fat, topped with homemade granola for breakfast or desert, or mixed with berries for a midday snack.

Hummus for carrots as a snack. I honestly think I could turn into hummus & carrots and never get tired of it. Excellent source of folic acid!

Almond milk creamer because it has limited sugar and dairy is a no-no for my GI system.

Almonds to roast and a healthy snack option when I’m starving post-run or while dinner is being made.

Spinach for salads, to add to smoothies, to saute and add to my eggs. I add spinach to almost everything. Excellent source of iron for us runners!

Garbanzo beans to roast from Run Fast, Cook Fast, Eat Slow cookbook. Probably my favorite recipe from this book and I double-up the amount that I roast each week because they are just that good

Whole wheat pasta to always have on hand because if I’m craving pasta —> I know that my body needs it and it’s a quick and relatively easy dinner option!

Unsweetened Almond/Coconut Milk blend for cereal (my current favorite dessert option), granola, smoothies, etc.

Dark Chocolate Almond Milk for when I don’t have a smoothie on hand post-run. Helps to speed up recovery from a run and since I can’t do dairy —> this is my favorite option! ALSO side tangent: WHY don’t they serve almond milk at the end of races?!? Why do they only have dairy options!? Race directors….take note!

Berries for antioxidants and easy snacking. I LOVE blueberries and while they aren’t always in season, I’ll gladly pay a bit extra because I just love them so much. I snack on them often, put them ontop of Almond butter toast & honey, add them to yogurt, add them to granola…you get the picture!

Fresh ground Almond or Peanut butter. I know Almond Butter is better for me, but I also really love peanut butter so we have both on-hand. My go-to before a hard workout or race: Toast with PB/AB, honey, and either sliced bananas or blueberries

Bananas for pre-run / post-run / during-run fueling. I love me some bananas!

Sweet potatoes for roasting, lunches, sweet potato breakfast cookies

Brown Rice for multiple meals throughout the week. I’ll normally cook a big batch of brown rice, roast some sweet potatoes and veggies on Sunday to have through the week for lunches, breakfasts (potatoes/veggies in eggs), and dinners. Super easy to have things already made and just re-heat them!

Cutting up veggies to roast and then Stella gets some of the veggies scraps for her dinner on Sunday too! She LOVES them all.

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We used these Salmon Burgers Sunday night for dinner and they are super good. While I stay away from frozen foods, it’s nice to have a relatively healthy (the ingredients are pretty good) option available that cooks in under 10 minutes!

I am OBSESSED with this book that I’m currently reading. I cannot put it down and have gone to bed late every night this week because I can’t put it down.

Another treadmill workout day! I’ve got some HILL REPEATS on the schedule and will be using the awesome incline trainer ‘mill at the gym this morning. Also will probably streaming Gilmore Girls because I’m basic like that.

This article on Women’s Running Magazine by Rachel Davis was SO good! Never worry about restricting your diet—> if your body is craving a big juicy burger or chocolate or salty something, don’t restrict yourself. I always try to find a healthy way to listen to my body, but sometimes if it wants something totally unhealthy (i.e. Five Guys) then that’s what I get.

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What are some things that are staples in your pantry and why?

Are you reading anything good right now?

Favorite quick and easy and healthy weeknight dinner recipes?