Even though
my poor food budget cannot afford to sustain me on all of the following, at the
beginning of a week, right after I’ve gone grocery shopping (depending on my
life choices for that week), snack opportunities are endless. I can have granola bars of all varieties,
crackers and cheese (or crackers and peanut butter), tostitos and salsa,
carrots and hummus, a banana, etc… A handful of walnuts and raisins. A bowl of cereal with soymilk. And maybe if it’s a splurge week, there’ll be
some fig newtons laying around.
The best
part about all of those things is that a lot of them double as meals. Walnuts and raisins in a bowl of oatmeal with
a little brown sugar? May as well be
Julia Childs if you eat like that. A
pita with a little chicken, hummus, walnuts, apple slices, carrots, lettuce
even, is to die for. Veggie burgers in a
pita hit the spot too.
But,
instead of me ranting on and on about all the foods I love, let’s make
something clear. A runner’s must have
tastables:
1.
Peanut butter (It goes great with crackers of
any type, pitas, toast, jelly and bread, apples, celery, etcetera. I could go on all day, but my friends on the
ski team will tell you that oreos and peanut butter are the way to go (but
that’s not on your diet, is it?)
2.
Pasta: I
have no fewer than 5 pounds of spaghetti in my cupboard right now just begging
me to eat it. Add parmesan, cheddar,
tomato sauce, broccoli, butter… The possibilities are again endless. Just eat it.
You’ll want the carbs on race day.
3.
Granola Bars: Life without granola bars would be
very sad… I am a proud consumer of Belvita, Nature Valley, and Nutrigrain and I
love Chewy too. Bottom line: They’re
easy to pack, quick to eat, and good for breakfast or snack time any day.
4.
Gatorade: I used to only use Gatorade for
special situations, like race days, and then I became a marathoner. I usually keep a few bottles around, but
since that goes so fast, I buy the powdered type too, so that when I’m feeling
dehydrated, it’s easy to access.
5.
Popsicles: I really like Edy’s real fruit fruit
bars. The big strawberry ones are the
way to go, but the mixed packs with lime, wild berry and strawberry are
delicious too. I also discovered
Chapman’s “Electrolyte Sport Popsicles” this summer. It’s basically like frozen Gatorade on a
stick and it’s super fulfilling after a long run. Popsicles are basically unappealing (at least
for me) after about mid-September. As
soon as you start coming in from your runs freezing to death, it’s acceptable
to cross ‘em off the shopping list, but in the summer, when you barely survive
a hot run, definitely the way to go.
What are your top five foods at this moment?
That’s all I’ve got for now,
Sarah
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