Carb Loading with Sweet Potato Pancakes!

Pancakes! Everyone loves pancakes, right? You love them even more, when you are required to eat them AND they are healthy!
A friend of mine shared this recipe with me the other day, and I knew that it would be the perfect base to create some freezer pancakes for ultra marathon training. I learned during marathon training, that I would use carb loading as an excuse to eat what I wanted, rather than eating what was healthy for me. I'm planning for that now, by having things on hand, so I won't go out and get things that I should not eat.
I stocked up on some sweet potatoes at the farmers market yesterday, and put them to good use. I doubled this, and got about 28 decent size pancakes, that should get me through all my long runs for training. These are perfect for the freezer, just grab a couple and warm in the microwave.
If I added chocolate chips, I think my kids would eat them, too!

Ingredients:

1 cup sweet potato purée*

4 eggs
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup (optional)

1/8 cup almond flour

2 tsp cinnamon

Whisk together all ingredients, until well blended. Grease frying pan with coconut oil, and put on medium heat. Pour batter onto hot pan. These won't bubble, like regular pancakes, so make sure to flip them after approximately 2-3 minutes.
Allow to cool completely if you are planning on freezing. I place them in a zipper freezer bag, and freeze flat so they don't stick together. Then I can grab one or two, to reheat, and reseal the bag.

*I put my sweet potatoes in the crock pot, on low for a few hours, in order to bake them. Then scooped them up and mashed them up with a fork. EASY! 

Is Coconut water for you?

You see it everywhere these days. Coconut water is heavily advertised as a superfood with lots of health benefits, but is it something you should be drinking?

The answer depends on what you are doing as far as physical activity, and what else you are drinking throughout the day, along with how much of it you are drinking. Not an easy answer, right?

Let's start with the basics. 

An average serving of plain coconut water has approximately 50 calories, 0 fat, 50 mg of sodium, 480 mg potassium, 11g carbs, 11g natural sugars and 0 g of protein. 

According to WebMd, a serving of coconut water has more potassium than FOUR bananas. It's an easily digested carb in the form of natural sugars and electrolytes. Coconut water has less sugar than sports drinks and may be better at replacing lost fluids than a sports drink or water. But, that depends on your level of activity. If you are not an athlete or runner and do not workout on a regular basis, then there is probably too many natural sugars and calories for it to provide any benefit to you. If you are a distance runner, or engage in any physical activity that lasts an hour or more, coconut water can supply you with needed electrolytes, but is lacking in carbs and sodium. Coconut water, alone, will not reverse dehydration for this reason.
So, what's the answer for real food, or Paleo athletes and runners? Take 12 ounces of plain coconut water, add in your favorite fruit purée and a dash of salt, and you've got your own homemade sports drink that meets all the requirements that your body needs. For more information on that, and my own recipe check out this previous blog post. 

With all of that being said, if you don't drink any soft drinks, juices, sports drinks, an occasional coconut water is not going to hurt you. I drink water all day long, but I love to have an ice cold coconut water post workout or post run.
The taste has grown on me. When I first tried it, I was NOT a big fan. I only liked it with pineapple purée. Apparently it's an acquired taste (like coffee??!) and I now really enjoy it plain. My favorite brands are VitaCoco and the Whole Foods 365 brand, due to the flavor. When searching for a coconut water, make sure the only ingredient is Coconut water. There are a few brands out there that add some fruit, either as a purée or natural, "no sugar added" fruit juice. Those are ok for making your sports drink. Amy & Brian makes a Coconut juice with lime that is just coconut water and lime juice. It is AMAZING! I grab one from the cold cooler at Whole Foods every time I go! 

Last note: do not confuse coconut water with coconut milk. Coconut water is the liquid within a coconut. Coconut milk is made from the strained puree of coconut meat.  There is a BIG difference!

Note: This article is for informational purposes only, and not a substitute for medical advise.  Please consult with a doctor if you have any medical concerns.

Running on Real Food

Just over two years ago is when I started my clean eating journey. It's also around this same time that I wanted to increase my running distance. As I started researching the many running fuel options, I came to a conclusion. There's just not much to choose from in prepackaged fitness food or drink that meet my clean eating criteria. I've ended up settling for Honey Stingers gummy chews for all three of my distance races. They are organic, and at least minimal ingredients, most of which are recognizable.

Now, I'm starting to prepare for my first ultra race, and I really want to train for and run it as close to Paleo as I possibly can. Training starts in a little over a month, so I'm getting my plan together now.

I want to share my list of foods that I will use to train for the 50K race.
(You can see my distance running recommendations here, if you want more information on what I use and when.)

Protein for mid long run and post run recovery:

Epic bars and bites

Paleo Life bars

(If you missed my reviews on these 2 great products, you can find them here and here.) 

Fluids

Homemade sports drink. Coconut water, salt, and fruit purée. (My own recipe!)

Carbohydrates/Sugars

Dried mango

Freeze dried bananas 

Puréed high glycemic fruits (baby food punches are easy to carry)

Bananas

Pre cut "cutie" oranges

Pitted dates

Almond butter and honey (Justin's brand makes small individual pouches)

Lara Bars

Bearded Brother bars

Homemade energy bites made with maple syrup of honey, nut butters, cocoa, dried fruits, and seeds.

Once I sat down and put this list together, I realized it was not going to be as hard as I once thought. So, for the next few weeks I will dream of cooler temps, and start working on a plan on how to carry this stuff on me, efficiently. Stay tuned!!