A Balanced Diet Is A Cookie In Each Hand

Last week when Tom threw out the idea of food, nutrition, and recipes for Take It and Run Thursday, I have to admit that I hesitated a bit about choosing it as the topic.   It's not that I don't believe in food - and even nutritious food - I do! I love to cook and love to eat!  But, I really didn't feel like I was a good person to blog about tips on this topic.

In the spirit of full disclosure, here is one of the signs hanging in my kitchen.   

And it's not just there for decoration, there is a piece of me deep down that really believes it to be true.  Or at least wishes it was true.  Life feels just right when there are many cookies in my life.   I wish the little fat fairy agreed.   She seems to think that a balanced diet doesn't have quite so many cookies in the mix.

But nonetheless, this is a good topic, because it was kick in the pants to take a few minutes to remind myself of what I need to keep working on and go out and collect some good information.   Here are some great articles if you are looking for reminders about nutrition for runners:

• The 4B's from Coach Mindy at Marathonguide.com - This article is a good one for me because it reminds me that if you can't do it all, at least try to eat foods from the 4Bs- Broccoli, Beans, Bananas, and Bagels.
• 10 tips from Runners World UK - Nice summary of eating, nutrition tips
• Overview of nutrition basics from Running Advisor or About.com- Good refresher of what you need and why
• Interesting Facts from Runnergirl - I like this one!  Informative and a bit fun.
• 15 great foods for runners from Runners World - RW has a great nutrition section - I liked this article best because it was easy to compare what I am doing well and what foods I need more of.

And if you are recipe starved and need great sites, here are a few I use on a regular basis. 

Allrecipes.com

Simple Healthy Recipes

Sparkrecipes.com

Mayo clinic Healthy Recipes

And if you are looking for tips and ideas on being a vegetarian or vegan, don't forget to check out the "Vegetarian Runners" Lounge Group.   This is a topic I debate in my head often and didn't know where to start.   When I posed the question to the Group, Christie provided a wonderful list of resources.   Check out the discussion!

And as for portion control, I have to agree with Tom's post - it still is my biggest challenge after cookies.  I found a good article on About.com on 7 ways to control portion size.  I think education of what a portion size actually is helping me the most.

And last but not least, I know the best way for me to remember to give my body the right fuel to keep me running best is to keep the issue in front of me.   I like these widgets as a way to spruce up the Bulletin Board on my profile but also remind me every time I visit.

Fresh Squeezed Living

Healthy Cooking Recipes

Well Tip of the Day

Comments

[Marcy]

Thanks Amy! Oy, do I need some good recipes LOL Makign the stuff is another story . . .

[Tony Baker]

Ha! I love your Balanced Diet sign ;-)

[Viv]

Amy that is the best sign ever! LOL!!

I so struggle with nutrition while training is in full swing. Ugh! Looking forward to take it and run this week.

[Tony Baker]

Hey guys... Try my recipes... http://www.spaghettisauceandmeatballs.com hard work but oh so worth it.. and you will have to jog more than normal to shake off the fat ;-) It's true, you can eat authentic Italian and still be in good shape.

[tfh]

That's a great sign...if nothing else, to remind me to try to keep it to two cookies!

[Running Knitter]

Great post. Thanks!

[Nat]

So you're telling me cookies aren't a food group?

[Amy]

Nat - I never said that :} That would be crazy talk! Cookies aren't just a food group - they are nature's gift to runners.

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[Wholesale Hats]

It is and

encouragement to me and I have had many occasions that I can pass that

encouragement along to others!

[Nike Shox]

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[coach outlet store]

This is the one we did, isn't it??? It's one of my all time favorite runs.