carbs by candlelight

Just for fun, I took some photos as I made dinner on Thursday night - we do our groceries on a Saturday, so this literally was a "clean out the fridge and pantry" kind of meal as we approched the end of the week. I just wanted to show you how easy it is to make a quick and healthy meal that also tastes amazing. I was also carb-loading for my 9 mile training run on Friday :)

Rocket, ricotta and roast vegetable pasta

I chopped up one courgette (zucchini) and 1 red pepper, then sauteed them in a non stick pan with some garlic, balsamic vinegar and red wine:


Once the veggies are nicely charred, keep on low heat and set to one side. Get some water boiling:


Then add one packet of this:

Cook according to directions on the packet (wholewheat pasta takes about 11-13 minutes to cook). Drain in a colander and then return to the pan. Keep the heat low.

Then add one of these (any tomato based pasta sauce will do, or even a can of italian tomatoes):

And one packet of this:

You could use spinach instead of rocket if you like.

Your pan should look a bit like this:


Mmm, wilting!

Then add your pan of chargrilled vegies to the pasta, and a dollop or two of low fat ricotta:



Mix everything together thoroughly so the pasta is coated and the rocket has wilted.

And there you are! How easy is that?

Serve in the cutest bowls you have, with a little freshly grated Parmesan and black pepper on top.




It was such a lovely warm night so we ate outside in the garden, with candles :)

It made absolutely heaps - we were both stuffed and we had leftovers for Friday night, and another portion for me to freeze for lunch on Monday.

I've been doing a little reading up on eating for performance. When I was a lot heavier and trying to lose weight, all of my exercise was geared towards what would burn the most fat. I also watched what I ate accordingly - and would never dream of following a power walk or jog with food! "What would have been the point of the run/walk?" I used to think.

Sometimes I would go for a run/walk to burn food off, but that was normally when I'd been a bit indulgent and wanted to make myself feel a bit better about it. White chocolate custard is not exactly eating for performance, is it?!

It was funny breaking out of that mindset when I started doing triathlons three years ago, and again when I've been training for this half. You have to eat and, more to the point, you have to be smart about what you eat.

According to some books I've browsed through, a common complaint from people who train for long distance races is bemoaning the fact that while they get a lot fitter, they don't seem to lose weight, per se. It's not surprising though, because while you are certainly burning a lot of calories, you need to eat them first so you have the energy to be able to run for two (or more) hours! And undereating while training for a massive distance race really isn't an option. Running is challenging at the best of times, but if you have no energy and are feeling tired/lethargic then running is NO FUN at all!! So cutting back on your food, or not eating energy-dense foods when training doesn't really work - well, it never has for me, anyway.

If you want to train well and perform well, you have to be smart about what you eat, and (as I've learned) when you eat it. For me, carb loading with pasta the night before as I did here was a great idea for a morning run the next day. During the day, I usually allow 4 hours after a large meal to run, 2 hours for a light meal.

Readers who have done a half or a full marathon before, please share your night-before and morning-before food ideas with me! I'm thinking of having pasta the night before and then wholegrain bread with peanut butter and banana on the morning of the race. Does that sound about right?

Also, note to self, no more keeping liquorice in the sports bra. Buy running pants with a zip pocket for goodness sake.

6 days!! 6 days!!