brunch – Page 5 – GUTSy Performance Nutrition

mushrooms + garbanzos on toast with cider + thyme

February 1, 2015July 23, 2015by Rebecca7 Comments

Growing up, I showed horses and my favorite discipline was dressage. I remember quite distinctly at the end of each test, after the final bow, of letting all my breath out, feeling suddenly exhausted, and realizing I had forgotten to breathe, again.

I’ve been taking a break from running these past few weeks because of an injury and the process has me going a bit mental. I’ve been turning instead to yoga to get me through. Bittersweet that it is, I can see progress in the yoga. I feel the difference in certain postures, that I can go a few breaths deeper than before. More importantly, through it I’m finally learning how to breathe.

The transition from running has opened up space, realizations. I’ve been using it to fill voids that I wish weren’t there, like a band-aid that isn’t fixing the problem but merely covering it up so it’s not so exposed. Problems and injuries don’t go away because of their band-aid. They go away because they’re given the other things necessary to heal: time, rest, honesty, fixing the underlying problem, giving up control to a higher power, breathing.

The truth is, I had an eating disorder. I used running, both physical running, and running away from the situation, to heal and band-aid the recovery. It was years ago and I long considered myself recovered, but there’s scar tissue; a lot of it. I’ve been tiptoeing around it for months, hoping the scars will sort themselves properly without too much mental muscle. It’s funny when I write it like that, how silly that sounds. Of course unaddressed issues don’t sort themselves without work.

I know there is no miracle fix to cure me in a week and my mind does not have to be my enemy. I don’t have to hate the things it thinks, beat it up for not being good enough, punish and restrict my body to master control of it, or band-aid it to ignore the ugliness of the wound. I have no business comparing or wishing things weren’t the case. I have to work at acceptance, at forgiveness, at okay-ness, and just be kind. I’m practicing gratefulness, daily.

The thing of it is, I love the goddamn band-aid and the kick-ass feeling of accomplishment. Running is simply what I do so there is grieving here too.

I’ve been praying a lot though this process. I’m motivated by achievement, by progress, by better, faster, another box checked. I have a tendency towards extremes, and there’s a fine line between achieving to be a better person and teetering off into unbalanced territory. Through yoga and prayer, I’m realizing I don’t always have to be achieving big things. Enjoyment doesn’t have to mean pushing so hard to go further, faster, better. Progress can stew together slowly, painfully slowly, and it’s alright to be cracked open, raw and exposed in the meantime. Just breathing.

Back to yoga. Each time I return to the mat I’m reminded how much tension I carry. Even though I’m not running, my muscles are so tightly wound up, my mind too, confused amidst the misaligned mental fibers. I’m reminded to return to the breath. Just breathe. Just breathe. Just breathe in and let it go.

mushrooms and garbanzos on toast with cider and thyme, serves 2

This dish is special simply because it’s quick and comforting. The cider melds in with the mushrooms and garbanzos to make a sweet little savory gravy. I used hard cider and splurged on fancy shitake mushrooms from our local mushroomery. A cider-juice and any type of mushroom will work, though the nicer ones will result in a richer flavor. Choose a thick, rustic-type bread to hold up to the mushrooms and garbanzos. If you eat gluten-free and want to make your own, I recommend Jennifer Katzinger’s Gluten-Free and Vegan Bread. My favorite is the Quinoa Sandwich Loaf, shown here. Unlike most gluten-free bread, Jennifer’s recipes are predominately whole grain and use chia seeds instead of tons of eggs to bind the flours, resulting in a real-bread texture.

1 Tbs. canola oil

1 shallot, minced

1/2 pound shitake mushrooms, chopped small

1-2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed

splash of apple cider vinegar

1 cup cooked chickpeas or other small white beans

3/8 tsp. poultry seasoning or make it yourself

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1-1 1/2 cups hard apple cider

1 tsp. arrowroot starch

splash of water

2 thick slices bread, toasted

In a medium sauté pan, heat oil over medium high. Toss in the shallots and cook until they are soft and sizzling, 4-5 minutes.
Add in the mushrooms, thyme, and vinegar, and cook until the mushrooms start to soften.
Stir in the seasonings and chickpeas, and then pour in the cider.
Once the cider starts to bubble, turn it down to a low simmer, and cook until the cider is reduced by half to three-quarters, stirring occasionally.
In a small dish, whisk the arrowroot starch with a splash of water and then pour into the mushrooms and beans. Let cook another minute or so, until it thickens up.
Toast the bread, and then lay each slice on a plate or in a shallow bowl. Spoon the mushroom mixture atop and serve warm.

Autumn, Winter

Garam Masala + Winter Squash Breakfast Porridge

December 7, 2014March 19, 2015by Rebecca3 Comments

If my hair looks slightly more orange than usual, it’s because I’ve been eating winter squash every meal of every day for the past four plus weeks.

Oh. Wait. The hair is actually going back to being blondish-orange, just like when I was five. By that I mean I’ve been plucking gray hairs with a vengeance because apparently two years past the quarter-century mark, and the aging process has progressed significantly. What’s more, I carry a heating pad around to warm my old-lady bones most days, and the stair handrails at work are especially useful for pulling my body up to the fourth floor office.

Okay. Slighht exaggeration. Turns out I can be lazy and dragging myself up the stairs is the best way to get to the top given the no-elevator-unless-more-than-three-minutes-late-to-an-important-meeting policy I’ve implemented. Heating pad story is true though(!) Okkkkay let’s skip the eye rolls and aging talk and get to this winter-squash porridge, now please.

There may be a fair amount of recipes for mornings in this space, but most are never eaten for breakfast!

I love breakfast foods, but I grew up regularly eating Stink Bug Porridge, aka oatmeal with raisins, and I’m ruined forever to anything but porridge-y foods in the morning. Don’t ask how my dad giving it that terrible nickname led me to beg for oatmeal even more.

William and I eat oats most mornings and though he never deviates from his stink bugs, I’m constantly changing up the ingredients, depending on the season. Lately I’ve been see-sawing between pears and pumpkins, always adding a bit of spice. I was inspired by this pie that uses Garam Masala, but since pie is not exactly an everyday food around here and our Thanksgiving last week involved pie eaters that favor traditional flavors like Chocolate pudding(?!?), porridge was a better bet to experiment with.

So…most other breakfasty items actually get rebranded as dessert. Don’t get me started, people that know me. Yes, I consider healthified muffins and granola dessert. Also, eating bacon earlier than 4pm should be outlawed and breakfast sausage is just not my thing. I knowwww. Girl grew up on a cattle ranch and can happily eat mostly-vegan for weeks at a time. So weird.

My siblings often joke about my first memory, age two, of being dropped on my head off a horse (a story for another day!), and if it weren’t for William being so completely normal–aka eating real dessert and bacon for breakfast–my parents would probably disown me.

Garam Masala + Winter Squash Porridge, serves 1

If you’re new to experimenting with these spices, start with less and add more to taste. I’m going to begin with only a dash of each to my dad’s Christmas stink bugs in a couple weeks… ;)

1/2 cup thick rolled oats, certified gluten-free if necessary

1 cup water

1 cup roasted winter squash

1/4 tsp. garam masala

pinch ground cardamom

dash cloves

dash salt

1 Tbs. ground flax or pumpkin seeds

Stevia, honey, brown sugar, or sweetener of choice

In a small saucepan, boil water, and then add oats and winter squash.
Turn down to medium heat and cook until most of the liquid is absorbed and the oats are tender, about 8 minutes. If the squash does not readily break apart, mash it with the back of a spoon.
Stir in the spices and seeds and turn into a serving bowl. Add sweetener to taste.

Autumn, Running, Winter

Quinoa + Winter Squash Bowl with Cumin + Lime

November 30, 2014by Rebecca5 Comments

Each year at the beginning of the holiday season, I try to reflect on the people and experiences for which I am grateful. This past week, I’ve been selecting snippets to share, either directly, over on Facebook, or here in this space. When I reflect on the objects that matter most in this life, there’s only a short list: My bible, my wedding ring, my running shoes. Perhaps another day I’ll share about the first two, but this reflection and recipe are about the symbolism of the shoes.

Each pair is temporary, special only for a time and then easily replaced. Once done, they get jammed into our tiny front closet, worn out completely in garden work, and eventually tossed in a donation bin once a sizeable pile has accumulated. I tend to treat each pair extra nice until it hits 400-500 miles and then all emotional attachment is heaped on the next. The shoes I’m currently running in are neon-orange and turquoise, and they contrast with whatever I tend to throw on above. Depending on the day, I can pull off looking like I’m late to a one-act circus show.

I started running within the first couple weeks of moving into my freshman dorm in college, and over the many years since, I’ve come to know each of the places I’ve lived and visited in my running shoes. I have run 5am dim streets in Limerick, jet-lagged, no phone, no idea where I was going, no one in the whole world knowing my location. I’ve run the streets of La Grande, all hours of the day and night, just to feel alive and at peace. I’ve gotten to know the nooks and crannies of Corvallis, the suburbs of Dublin north and south, the pear orchards and cattle ranches of Southern Oregon’s Phoenix and Eagle Point, the Christmas tree farms and nurseries of Sandy, the angry farmer’s dogs on the outskirts of Albany, the oak savannah, communter-town streets and horse farms of Wilsonville. There was a month when I ran the rural-ish Keizer roads, and then a school-year of running all the west-side neighborhoods of Roseburg. It’s safe to say I’ve seen a good portion of Oregon in my running shoes, both the streets, forested and mossy trails, the beach, and the infinite farm roads. And still, there are all the travel cities I’ve gotten to know in between.

Far more than what I’ve seen in these shoes and the ones that have come before, is what they’ve made me feel: Release from the worry and guilt that makes up my personality. Clarity; knowledge of what sits right in my soul. Cleansing from anger. Cleansing from feeling anything at all. I’ve caught up with good friends and high-fived others out on the paths. I’ve been visible and seen–a role model to the neighbors who knew me as “that runner girl,” and my current neighbor, a 55-year-old bachelor, who frequently runs out the door in his skivvies(!!) to ask, How many miles today? I’ve skipped biology lectures and headed for the trails instead. I’ve conjugated Spanish verbs over and over in my head, and I’ve run faster each mile, using my anger over a guy to fuel each step. I’ve pumped up the techno-dance-treadmill-tunes, and I’ve taken all my closest girl friends out for one last run as a single lady. I’ve listened for the first sounds of the birds in the morning and taken in countless sun rises that never fail to leave me astonished and breathless at the beauty of this world. I’ve meditated on simply living and breathing and just plain being a better me.

These shoes have enabled me to find out who I am, to push myself beyond the comfortable, to accomplish things, to release my competitive spirit. They’ve been a way to spend happy weekends with William–and most of all, they’ve helped me to develop a better relationship with my body, to be able to listen and nourish it with the foods and nutrients it needs.

This recipe is one I’ve eaten countless times these past few weeks. After a long or hard run, I tend to go through phases where I desire certain foods. I’m of the belief that my body is either telling me I need to eat those foods because of their nutrients–or I’m simply crazy. Perhaps, a little of both. ;) Eggs, quinoa, and winter squash have been on repeat lately and like many of my favorite recipes, this one came about when I grabbed a random bunch of ingredients from the fridge in a post-run hunger. It was perfect from that first time to every subsequent helping I’ve made since.

Quinoa + Winter Squash Bowl with Cumin + Lime, serves one

1 Tbs. cumin-lime dressing, see below

1 jalepeño or slightly spicy pepper, diced

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

1- 1 1/2 cups roasted winter squash, chopped

2 eggs

large handful of spinach or other greens

1 cup cooked quinoa

more dressing, to taste

In a medium-sized skillet, heat 1 Tbs. dressing on medium high. Sauté peppers for 5-10 minutes until soft, and then add roasted winter squash. Cook for 2-3 minutes more, until squash is warm.
Crack eggs directly into the skillet, and stir them amongst the vegetables, making a scramble.
When eggs are almost cooked through, add spinach and quinoa and heat through entirely.
Pour it all into a bowl to serve, and add more dressing to taste.

Cumin-Lime Dressing, adapted from Laura

1 small jalapeño, seeded
1 clove of garlic, peeled
2 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
juice of 2 limes + a little bit of zest
1 tsp. honey
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt + pepper