The other day I ran 12-miles which I have not done since the late 90's. My legs felt like rubber sticks but I felt really accomplished and indeed so hungry I swear I could eat the whole fridge.
It's at these moments when you have a choice. When I trained for a marathon long time ago, I actually gained weight because I used training as an excuse to overeat, and not healthily. It's easy to justify in your head, "Oh, I just ran 10 miles, I can eat a bacon cheeseburger with garlic fries, a bowl of chili, a couple beers, and cheesecake for dessert." This is fine occasionally as 20% food, but I was eating that like every day. Even though you workout like crazy, all that work can quickly be zapped with food.
I always live firm by that saying that you cannot exercise away bad eating habits.
So, after my 12-mile run, I chose to eat the meal you see above which is entirely vegan and gluten-free. Long runs like this usually make me crave meat like turkey or bison, but not this time. The bod wanted plants.
I made a big bowl of kale salad. This salad to be exact. I put a cup of the salad on the plate, and ate the rest later. There is about a cup of brown Jasmine rice mixed with red Quinoa, and a little over 1/2 a cup of Cuban Black Beans with sauteed onion and poblano pepper by the Better Bean Company. The beans are covering more Quinoa/rice.
I topped the beans with chunks of avocado, tomato, red onion, and hemp seeds. I've been loving hemp seeds lately for another plant-based protein source. I love the bean products from Better Bean Company because they are pre-made, just heat and eat, and the flavors they put into their beans are really unique. Better Bean is a great alternative between canned beans and homemade from scratch beans. Their packaging is also great for taking to work and on airplanes because you can reseal the container, and it looks pretty.
This plate of food with the additional kale salad really did fill me up and I felt energized. What kind of power meals do you eat after a hard workout?
