French Lentils with Beets and Beet Greens

I Instagram-ed a picture of my french lentils with beets and beet greens last week, so I thought I would post the easy recipe! It is a great way to use the whole beet to get the full powerful nutrient content of the vegetable. It is also an easy way to incorporate a different leafy green into your diet, that you might not typically eat. Don't throw out those beet greens and all their wonderful nutrients- eat them!

French Lentils with Beets and Beet Greens

Ingredients:

1 cup French Lentils

3 large beets or 4 small-medium beets (I used golden beets, but red beets would be great too!)

3 cloves garlic

1 yellow onion

1/2 lemon 

2 tbsp olive oil

Sea Salt to taste

1. Soak the lentils in water for 8 hours. If you don't have the time to soak for that long, soak for as long as possible since you will greatly increase the nutrient benefits. Soaking lentils increases the digestibility and increases the absorption of the vitamins and minerals. The soaking deactivates the enzyme inhibitors and the phytic acid found in the lentils. 

2. Cut off the beet greens and add the beets to a large pot. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the beets. Add some lemon juice to the water to prevent the beets from bleeding. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for about 40- 45 minutes.

3. Fill another saucepan with 2 cups of water and 1 cup of the drained and rinsed lentils. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and let simmer until tender, but not too soft. This is about 20 minutes.

4. In a skillet, add a tbsp of olive oil and sautee the chopped onion and garlic on medium heat until soft- bout 3 minutes. 

5. Chop the beet greens and add to the skillet with the onion and garlic. Cook for a about 2 minutes. 

6. Drain the lentils and add to the skillet with the onion, garlic and beet greens. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook on a low heat stirring occasionally. 

7. Drain beets and rinse with cold water. Use your hands to peel the skin off. It should come off pretty easily.

8. Chop beets and serve on top of lentil mixture. Stir in the other tbsp of olive oil and taste to see if more salt or pepper is needed.

If using golden beets, they will absorb the brown color of the french lentils if they sit too long, so serve immediately.
However, if you use red beets or don't mind the color change- this dish was fabulous left overs. I put some in my salad for lunch the next day.

Nutritional Benefits of Beets and Beet Greens:

I'm a full believer that foods work synergistically and the whole is much greater than the sum of its parts. So together the beets and the beet greens are a powerhouse that fully nourishes your body. 

-The beet root is rich in Betalains that have shown to have very powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and  detoxification properties. Betalains trigger activity of the enzymes that hook toxins up with the compound that neutralizes them and excretes them from the body, thus aiding in the body's detox process. 

-High in Vitamin A and C: Both these vitamins are important for a healthy immune system. This is especially important to bolster up that immune system as your training volume and intensity increases this spring.

-Rich in: 

      -Folate

      -Iron

      -Calcium

      -Manganese

Hearty Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash, Kale and Red Rice/Lou Ristaino Workout

As I sit here in the Florida sun with my feet up and resting up for Disney marathon on Sunday, it is hard to imagine that just 3 days ago I was running around a track in the cold, windy, frigid Boston weather. 

The 3 lil pugs sunbathing

Somerville Road Runners  are quite familiar with the "Lou Ristaino workout" that is traditionally run the tuesday before a marathon. It consists of a continuous 4800 on the track running the first 800 at your goal marathon pace. Each successive 800 is run 4 seconds faster than the previous one. The start should feel very easy and by the end you should be working somewhat hard. 
Since I was the only one running a marathon this weekend (at least in my pace group), I would be all alone doing the workout. I decided to stay home and go to my town's high school track and be done with the workout 2 hours earlier than if I would have waited to go to SRR. I am so grateful that my sister Meghan was willing to do the workout with me, it made it so much easier to get through. The workout wasn't bad, but the howling wind, the creaking trees, the pitch dark track and my completely numb feet made me grateful that I was hopping on a plane to run in warmer weather this weekend. 
Meghan and I cooked up this delicious Hearty Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash and Quinoa from Cookin Canuck's blog when we got home. Let me tell you it tasted so good on a cold night.

I made some slight adjustments:
-I cooked the onions and garlic in a separate pan while the chicken was cooking to speed up the prep time. 
-I added Kale for some extra greens: I used 4 large kale leaves, stripped them from the stem and  into the stew at the same time as when I added the shredded chicken
-Substituted Red Rice for the Quinoa. I really only did this because I had just bought this Heirloom Bhutan Red Rice at Whole Foods and wanted to try it.

Verdict on the Bhutan Red Rice: Delicious! Very quick cooking- only 20 minutes! Nutritious and mineral rich. The anthocyanins present in the rice are antioxidant nutrients and give the rice its deep color and support health. I will add red rice to my list of great gluten-free whole grains and definitely make it again! 

Salmon with Dijon Lentils and Kale and Seeking the Magic of Disney

Happy New Year! I like to think of each day as an opportunity to start fresh, set goals and set intentions. But there is nothing like the new year to reflect on what progress has been made in the past year and what has and has not been accomplished. The new year marks a great time to revisit your goals and intentions. I have been inspired and excited these past couple of days by the conversations I have had with people about their goals and by reading all the 2012 goals on twitter and FB.
I am excited about 2012 and all the opportunities that lie ahead. My first immediate goal of 2012 is on Sunday. I made somewhat of a haste decision about 8 weeks ago to not run Boston even though I was extremely excited to qualify and register with the more selective qualifying requirements this year. My decision was made when I realized that my goal "A" race this year is Ironman Mont Tremblant (I will write more on my race schedule soon) and I would be taking away too much precious training time if I were to run Boston. I would be doing 2 things poorly instead of one thing well. Not to mention that I would probably have a slim to none chance of qualifying for 2013 without a proper taper with the 5 minutes faster requirement this year. Without running Boston, I needed another marathon to run to qualify for Boston 2013 before Ironman training starts. Within a day of ruminating about the different options, I had signed up for Disney Marathon based on the date of the race, the flat course and the opportunity to visit my mama in FLO- RIDA! :)

So, in the words of my sister, I am heading to "Mickey Mouse's House" to attempt a 2013 BQ of 3:34 this weekend.  My PR is a 3:36, so I am a bit apprehensive about hitting a 3:34 with such a short training plan. Hopefully the magic of Disney will bring me some good luck.

On the food front, I made this dish last week. It is a quick and easy meal. The lentil portion can be easily doubled to eat for leftovers.

Salmon with Dijon Lentils and Kale
Serves 4
4 pieces of wild caught salmon
1 yellow onion
1 shallot
2 cups of lentils (french, green or a trio blend is fine. Buy sprouted or soak before cooking)
1 bunch of kale (I used curly green kale, but lacinato or red kale is fine too)
2 TBSP olive oil
3 TBSP dijon mustard (if eating gluten-free, make sure you buy a gluten-free brand)*
salt and pepper to taste

Soak lentils in water for about 8 hours**. If you buy sprouted lentils, this step is unnecessary. Rinse lentils and cook the 2 cups of lentils according to package in 3 cups of water or broth in sauce pan. After cooking, drain any extra liquid.  
Heat olive oil in large skillet. Cook chopped onion and shallot in pan (about 5 minutes). Strip washed kale off stems and rip into small pieces. Add to skillet. After about 2 minutes, stir in lentils to skillet and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Stir in salt, pepper and dijon mustard. You can add more or less mustard depending on taste.
Add olive oil to another large skillet and sear salmon in pan for about 4 minutes per side on medium high heat. Serve the salmon over lentils.

Enjoy!

*Many mustards contain gluten because of the vinegar used, so if you are eating gluten-free, make sure you chose a mustard that is certified GF. I use Organicville Dijon Mustard.

***Why soak the lentils? Soaking the lentils will remove enzyme inhibitors and provide better digestion of the lentils and better absorption of the vitamins and minerals present in the lentils. If you don't plan the the lentil soaking beforehand, you can soak for even a short amount of time for some of the benefit. You also can also buy already sprouted lentils for a bit more money:

Meghan's Morgan Hill Marathon and Sunflower Seed and Pumpkin Butter Brown Rice Tortilla wraps

3 weeks ago, my parents, Joe and I headed out to California to watch my sister Meghan run her first marathon. We stayed in Palo Alto, but the marathon was in Morgan Hill, which is located about 40 minutes south. The morning started off cool and in the 50s. Meghan was cold when she took off her jacket, so it was good we brought a trash bag to keep her warm until the 7:30am start.

We left Meghan at the start and drove out to Mile 3 to cheer her on as she passed. Our company included a dead deer on the side of the road and some very loud turkeys. I couldn't believe how desolate it was and that was the moment I realized it was going to be a quiet, lonely marathon for all the runners.

When we cheered, the turkeys squabbled loudly!

Meghan is in the purple tank top (for lululemon fans- Run:Swiftly in Royalty). Note the dead deer!

We had a couple of hours to kill before meeting Meghan at miles 18-19. We had quite an interesting breakfast experience to say the least, which left me with nothing to eat and starving. Let's just say Morgan Hill is not the place to go if you have food allergies or sensitivities. I fortunately found a Trader Joe's and was able to make a great on the go breakfast. I picked up bananas, brown rice tortillas, sunflower seed butter and pumpkin butter. I spread the sunflower seed butter and the pumpkin butter on the brown rice tortilla, topped with sliced banana and rolled it up and made a delicious wrap!

It was a great on the go breakfast, but it would be perfect for a recovery snack after a long ride or run. The pumpkin butter is a great seasonal treat that comes out in the fall. To be honest, I really bought it since I can't seem to get enough pumpkin in the fall and I was reminded by Averie's post at Love Veggies and Yoga that pumpkin butter was back.  Any other time of year, you can leave it out or substitute with jam or raw honey.

  

Why I love Sunflower Seed Butter:

One of the main reasons I love sunflower seed butter is that I can digest it much better than nut butters. It is also full of nutritional benefits.

-Excellent source of Vitamin E  - anti-inflammatory antioxidant that protects the body against free radicals

-Great source of Phytosterols- you know those labels on fake butter/margarine that claim to "lower cholesterol"? That is because the food manufacturers extract these phytosterols and insert in the processed foods. Sunflower seeds contain phytosterols in their natural state, which is more powerful since the whole food is working synergistically to provide your body with the cholesterol lowering benefits.

-Good source of Magnesium- lowers severity of asthma, migraine headaches. Magnesium counterbalances calcium and relaxes nerves and muscles. It is important to get a healthy balance of the both. Deficiency in magnesium can lead to muscle spasms, high blood pressure, muscle soreness and fatigue. 

And of course, I had to get my greens in, so I found Trader Joe's Essential Greens Juice which consisted of celery, spinach, parsley, kale, romaine and sprouts. It was a great convenient on the go green juice.

After the power breakfast, we parked ourselves between mile 18 and 19 and cheered for all the runners. It was so much fun cheering since we could see it in the runners' faces that they truly appreciated it especially since we were some of the only people out on the course supporting the runners. Meghan came by and Joe and I jumped in to run with her. 

She was looking strong and ready at a steady pace. We were running with the 4:00 pacer for a while who didn't have any runners with him. We chatted with him for a bit and then at mile 23 he stopped running all together! We kept going at a steady pace, the sun was beating down, the temperature was now in the 80s and Meghan was doing a great job battling the hills that kept coming up on us. 

It was weird to be the one not running the full distance. I have never jumped in as support for anyone and it was hard to know just what to do to be the best companion possible as you battle through the most grueling miles of your life. Even though she continued to look strong and run strong, I could just feel her pain as we ran miles 24-26. 

Mile 26! Meghan finishing strong as I amp up the crowd and get them cheering!

Meghan crossed the line with a time of 4:03. I am so happy for her and proud of her for finishing with not only a great time, but doing it on a desolate, lonely, hot and hilly course. I'm impressed she made it through the training which she did all by herself and while in college with all the studying (and partying!) pressures. To top things off, we found out a couple of days ago that she placed 2nd in her age group. Congratulations Meghan! We love you!

Cherry Chocolate "Green" Pudding

I love when cherries are in season! They are one of my favorite fruits not only for their sweet tart deliciousness, but for their powerful health benefits as well. I was inspired by the Whole Foods Cherry Recipe contest to create this recipe even though I never entered the contest. This is such a fast, easy recipe and quite decadent way to sneak in some extra greens!!

Chocolate Cherry "Green" Pudding

2 Avocados
3/4 cup Raw (ideally local!) Honey (or Maple Syrup. For completely raw vegan- raw agave or raw vegan sweetener of choice)
1 cup fresh cherries (if cherries are out of season, frozen can be used)
2 handfuls of baby spinach
1/2 cup raw cacao powder

Put all ingredients in a blender (if you don't have a powerful blender like a vitamix or blendtec, a food processor might be better) and blend until smooth. Put in fridge to chill. That is it! Easy!

Some tips:
It is important to make sure that the avocados are not too ripe. If they are overripe, they have a weird taste and you can definitely taste that in the pudding- not good. I have made this mistake before. I have also made this for my grandmother who is quite possibly the pickiest eater I know and she absolutely loved it and had no idea that there were avocados in it.
Raw cacao powder is typically found with other superfoods at whole foods or in your local health food store. It is not typically found in the baking aisle with regular cocoa powder.
Why raw cacao powder?
Raw cacao is unprocessed cacao with lots of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. There are a lot of health benefits that are lost when chocolate is processed. Chocolate turns unhealthy when all the dairy and sugar is added to a the nutrient stripped processed chocolate. Though a dark chocolate bar is considered beneficial in small amounts, it doesn't even come close to the health benefits of raw cacao. It has high levels of antioxidants like resveratrol and the polyphenols catechin and peicatechin. It contains the feel good neurotransmitter serotonin, the motivation booster neurotransmitter dopamine, and the feeling of bliss neurotransmitter anandamide. In addition, it is high in magnesium, chromium, iron, B vitamins and vitamin A, B and E.
I use Navitas Naturals Raw cacao powder which can be found at Whole Foods or most local health food stores:

Cherries- : I love cherries. They are packed with antioxidant anthocyanins which are responsible for the power anti-inflammatory properties. Studies have shown that muscle fatigue and pain was reduced in athletes who drank cherry juice. The study suggests that cherries before endurance training and after can help reduce muscle soreness and pain. It is a much better alternative to traditional NSAIDs (Advil, Aleve etc.)! Cherries also may help reduce inflammation in relation to heart disease and arthritis.

Avocados: some people shy away from avocados because of their bad rap for the high fat content, but they truly have a great kind of fat and are a nutrition powerhouse! We need fat in our diet especially good fat coming from plant based whole foods. The good fat content helps with increased nutrient absorption when eaten with other foods. For example, studies have shown significant increased beta-carotene and lycopene absorption (200%+!) when avocados are added to salads. Avocados are also anti-inflammatory due to their diverse cartenoids.In addition avocados are great sources of folate and vitamin E.

Spinach: We all could use some more greens in our diet! Spinach is full of neoxanthin and violaxanthin which are regulators of inflammation making spinach a great anti-inflammatory food. It contains high levels of calcium, vitamin K, vitamin C and E. It is a powerful food for boosting your immune system.

Raw Honey: Raw honey can look funny to those who have never seen it. It looks creamed or sometimes even hard. This is because the honey is in its natural form and unprocessed. Processing honey causes the loss of all the nutritional value packed in honey in its natural state. Raw honey is a natural energy booster, immune system booster, and contains antioxidant and antibacterial properties. I could go on for a while on the benefits of honey, but we will leave it at that for now! I do suggest buying a local raw honey either at a farmers market, a farm or read the label to see where it was made.

Salmon with Leeks and Peas

My mom did the work on this one- we adapted this recipe from a Boston Globe article last week. We adapted it to make it healthier, anti-inflammatory, allergen friendly and a little less labor intensive along. This is one of my favorite recipes - it was so delicious, I can’t wait to make it again!

Salmon with Leeks and Peas
(dairy-free, gluten-free)
Serves 4

10 oz frozen or fresh peas
5 large leeks, trimmed of dark green, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced crosswise
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 pieces (6 oz each) boneless wild organic salmon
Salt and pepper to taste
5 oz shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 package pasta (optional) –I suggest Quinoa or Brown rice pasta so it is not pro-inflammatory and gluten-free.

Method:
1.Rinse peas to defrost if using frozen peas (don’t even need to cook, just start letting them defrost.)
2. Start to boil water if cooking optional pasta.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add leeks, peas, salt and pepper to skillet. Cook for 5 minutes and stir often.
4. As leek mixture is cooking, sprinkle the salmon with salt and pepper. Add salmon to skillet with the skin side down and cook for 4 minutes. Turn and cook for another 3-4 minutes or until cooked through.
5. Optional pasta: Depending on type of pasta you chose, cook pasta for indicated time.
6. Add the mushrooms to leek mixture and cook for 5 minutes more continuing to stir. Stir chives and basil into the mixture.
7. Optional- if adding optional pasta, turn off the heat and add cooked pasta to skillet and mix into mixture.
8. Arrange the leeks and peas mixture on the 4 plates and top with salmon.
Enjoy!!

Nutritional Benefits:

Salmon: Why eat wild salmon over farmed salmon? Farmed salmon contains about 10 times more toxins than wild salmon (such as Polychlorinated biphenyls- PCBs) Farmed Salmon are typically raised in fish pens and fed grain (not their natural diet), and given antibiotics since disease can spread quickly in the farm environment. Wild salmon are not given any antibiotics since they are living and eating in their natural environment. Wild salmon have higher levels of critical omega 3s: DHA and EPA. The omega 3s promote normal cholesterol and triglyceride levels, improve blood flow, promote health skin, hair, promote optimal brain function and enhance immune function. Salmon is also high in protein, vitamin D and is anti-inflammatory. The majority of salmon is farmed, but it is worth the superior health benefits and extra cost to seek out wild salmon.

Leeks: Leeks are very similar to onions and garlic. They are high in vitamin C, vitamin B1, B2, B3, B6, folate, iron, potassium and manganese. They help with stabilizing blood sugar by ensuring the sugar in the body is properly metabolized. Leeks are also antiseptic and anti-inflammatory- great for fighting infection or inflammation.