vegan – Page 49 – GUTSy Performance Nutrition

Kale Chopped Salad with Roots, Millet and Chickpeas

April 6, 2014September 27, 2014by RebeccaLeave a Comment

7:35 am. End-of-March morning. We were up, out, and running.

From the Inn, we ran a block over to Beacon Hill Park, along the bark trail up Cook Street, past the daffodils waving their morning hellos, to Dallas Road and the Sea Wall.

The sun was shining brilliantly over the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the water smooth and clear. Nature’s morning show stopped and held us multiple times. We shared an experience of taking it in, the view, the moment, our connection to the place—before beginning again.

Will waved hello and called out good morning as is his usual, making an instant connection with strangers. I smiled my greeting and couldn’t help but let my thoughts and gaze glide out towards the sea. “Welcome to this new place,” the sun beamed. My feelings in those miles reflected the spectacular light around us.

“You are not separate from the whole. You are one with the sun, the earth, the air. You don’t have a life. You are life.” – Eckhart Tolle

Often, despite nearly-contant connectivity, I feel disconnected. Not up on what the rest of the world is doing, feeling as if something out there is not getting experienced, feeling left behind. In this mindset, I prompt myself out the door to experience life outside, where I draw my energy from running.

This last week was no exception. We semi-spontaneously took a few days to travel to Victoria, British Columbia, a place we have longed to visit. Pots of tea, delicious food, and reading by the fire were all in order, but first, those mornings spent out on the Sea Wall.

There is a certain energy about the early morning hours, and to me, it is best experienced over a few miles by foot. The locals are slowly coming about their daily business and the world is unspoiled. Out on the trails, I share a connection to this place, these people, and all the daily concerns and uncertainties fade.

Victoria, we found, is a city of runners. We spent the inbetweens of the days walking the better part of the downtown neighborhoods and no matter the time of day, there were runners about. Friendly. Hardcore. Peaceful. University girls talking sorority topics. Ladies clearly out for a run-chat. With their pooches. Visitors from our section of the world. Displaying their I-Conquered-That-Race shirts. They were all out and about, running the city.

When I venture off to other places, I am reminded we are all visitors in this space we inhabit. We wander about all our lives, knocking into each other, waving cheerfully, yelling obsenitites, and feeling alone.

We are not alone. Over the miles, I am reminded of our connection. We live different experiences and we wake each day viewing a unique piece of the world. There are scars that we accumulate and monumental joys that we have to live through to understand. In the moments when we feel the most separate, we can draw together, smile in greeting to a stranger, and have faith that we are all in this life together. Whether it is through running, cooking, eating, or wherever your passion lies, know that ours is a life meant for celebrating our kinship with the whole of each other.

Kale Chopped Salad with Roots, Millet & Chickpeas, serves 3

Not only did we run in Victoria, but we ate. Amazing food. This salad was inspired by one I ate at Irish Times Pub in Bastion Square. Live music, a cozy nook, Bulmers Cider, and this salad were all I could ask of a good evening. Quinoa was in the pub salad, and can easily be subbed in for the millet. Among all the other ingredients, the flavor and texture comes out quite similar either way.

1 large bunch kale, destemmed and chopped

6 small beets, cooked, peeled and diced

3 large carrots, shredded

1 1/2 cups cooked millet or quinoa, warm

3/4 cup chickpeas, cooked and warm

3/4 cup edamame, gently steamed and warm

1 Tbs. dijon mustard

1 1/2 Tbs. honey

6 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

3 Tbs. white wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, toss chopped kale, diced beets and shredded carrots.
If not already, warm the grains and beans. Then toss them on top of the vegetables.
In a small bowl, stir in mustard, honey, oil and vinegar. Whisk together, and then add salt and pepper to taste.
Pour dressing on top of the mixture, and stir together. Enjoy!

Running, Winter

Blood Orange & Rhubarb Smoothie {Recipe Redux}

February 22, 2014September 27, 2014by Rebecca5 Comments

Last Valentine’s weekend William and I competed in a couple’s 5k race. This was the first time we’ve run such a race, where our scores and ages were combined and pitted up against a crazy-fast group of local runners. We’re often asked about running together, and though we do so only every now and again these days, our relationship did begin in part because of our mutual interest in running.

We were in the same college at OSU and happened to take a class together the last term of my senior year. Will strolled around like a laid-back California dude with his casual persona and curly blonde hair. He also routinely wore his Hood to Coast shirts. He was definitely the only guy in the class to do so. I was intrigued.

When we started hanging out, running was our first common ground and we began running together before we were officially dating, in the final weeks before Will’s annual Hood to Coast race. A year later, we both ran Hood to Coast. Through that experience, I learned that I could still find some speed after two hours of sleep, which was periodically interrupted by manic, nearby, cowbell ringing. Having a warm-up buddy at 4:30 am after those two unrestfull hours was a definite motivational plus.

Even though we haven’t been running together quite as often these days, Will has remained my biggest supporter. He routinely wakes up early and comes to races with me, and even when he doesn’t race, he dons his run outfit and champions me through the warm up and cool down. He stands right off the starting line and takes all my extra layers at the last moment and then strategically places himself near the finish and yells at me to sprint as if my life depends on it. I jokingly refer to him as my coach because he’s been at this racing business longer than I have and he is a true encourager.

Valentine’s Day may be past for this year, and we don’t truly celebrate it anyway, but we do celebrate the early mornings and post-workout meal of our favorite shared hobby as frequently as we can. We also share a love for healthy smoothies, and turn to them more often when amping up mileage.

As far as ingredients go, I tend to mix together stronger or more seasonal flavors, while Will consistently opts for a heavy dose of berries. I am a huge fan of rhubarb and have been hoarding last summer’s crop in the freezer for months now. Rhubarb happens to pair beautifully with oranges. Cue blood orange season, and our blender has been in a near constant state of pink-smoothie-use for several weeks straight!

It may not feel like it lately, but spring is just around the corner and rhubarb is one of the earliest spring crops in these parts of Western Oregon. If you’re lucky enough to have your own plant, throw a dark pot over it, and you can begin to force it out of its winter dormancy. I did this at the school garden in early January, and we are well on our way to having rhubarb ready to harvest a couple months earlier! If you are not in possession of a rhubarb plant or a freezer full of last year’s cache, you can bet there is a farmer that knows this trick and will have the first rhubarb of the season in the market soon, just in time for the last of the blood oranges! Happy smoothie sipping and early season running!

Rhubarb & Blood Orange Smoothie, serves 2

2 blood oranges, peeled and diced

1 Tbs. chia seeds

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 1/2 cups rhubarb sauce*

stevia drops or sweetener, to taste

Pour all the ingredients into a blender and mix until it is thick and creamy. Season to taste with sweetener.

*For rhubarb sauce, chop rhubarb into small pieces, pour into a medium stock pot, add about an inch of water, and heat to boiling. Turn down to a simmer and cook until the fibers have broken down and the mixture begins to get thick. I don’t add any sweetener at this point, but you certainly can sweeten it to taste, if you like.

Summertime

Blackberry Lemon Coconut Cream Bars

September 21, 2013by Rebecca2 Comments

Friday morning, summer ended. From my office window, I watched dark clouds blow in and with them came all autumn’s wet and windy glory, leaves swirling through the mist. I trudged through the garden after school, feet tingly wet, and with muddy fingers, pulled fallen cornstalks, bolted lettuce, and withered melon vines. I reminisced back to July and August, and even the day before, Thursday, when I was still picking blackberries, knowing all too soon, the weather would change.

Each year I hoped they’d keep, knew they would not. – Seamus Heaney

Blackberries. Blackberry picking. Our new apartment complex cozies up to the forest on this edge of town. Wild briers take over here, and to my delight, I have noshed on blackberries for weeks. While not many have found their way into a bucket for later, I’ve made it a mission to send summer off proper like with lemony-coconut cream blackberry bars. They just so happen to be raw, vegan, gluten-free, and super easy.

Though the photos are a delicious mess, I’d still like to tell you about all the layers of goodness. Dates, nuts and spices make up the salty-sweet bottom layer, followed by fluffy coconut cream with a hint of lemon. The topping, so simple and divine, is pureed berries mixed with a bit of chia seeds to help it set. If they fall apart coming out of the pan, that means you were like me and in being overly anxious to taste, weren’t patient. That’s fine. As is running to snag some frozen berries from the store if all the wild ones in your area are long gone. Relish the last day of summer with me before snuggling into that sweater and pumpkin spice latte.

This recipe is part of September’s Recipe Redux challenge to create a healthy no-cook dessert.

Lemon Coconut Cream Blackberry Bars {raw, vegan & gluten-free}, inspired by Sprouted Kitchen

4-5 medjool dates, pitted

1/4 cup raw walnut pieces, toasted

1/4 cup raw almonds, toasted

1/2 cup almond meal

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. coconut oil

pinch of salt

1 15 oz. can full-fat coconut milk, chilled

2 Tbs. powdered sugar

zest from 1/2 a lemon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups blackberries

1 Tbs. chia seed

Stevia extract, to taste

In a food processor, combine dates, nuts, cinnamon, oil and salt. Puree until finely chopped and the mixture sticks together when pinched with your fingers. Turn out into a square baking dish (I used a 6 x 8 glass container).
Open the chilled coconut milk and without stirring, spoon out the cream layer into a medium bowl. With a fine mesh strainer, pour out the remainder of the can and keep all the cream that is in the top. Reserve the watery milk for another use.
Whip the coconut cream along with the powdered sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla. Pour atop the nut layer.
In the food processor, puree berries and chia seed until smooth. Add stevia or sugar to taste. Pour atop the cream layer, and set into the refrigerator to set for at least 2 hours. (Or dig in and make a mess, like I did!)