When I wrote my last post about food, I had no idea how the post would be perceived. Since I no longer write much about food, you never know how readers might respond. Everyone needs to eat, and food and nutrition are an important part of running and working out.
I thought it would be interesting to showcase some of my favorite foods and meal staples. I’m not great at cooking, and I don’t shop at a lot of specialty stores. Most of my shopping comes from the three closest grocery stores to me: Wegmans, Shoprite and Whole Foods.
I shop at Wegmans and Shoprite for most of my groceries and Whole Foods for fish, steak, and some produce.
When someone asks your favorite food, I feel like it’s a weird question. You can’t compare items like steak to donuts, both are delicious but it’s hard to compare. I have a lot of favorite foods. I like sugary treats, but I also like a big juicy steak too.
Favorite breakfast item:
Breakfast is easy for me. I have a waffle with peanut butter. I’ve been doing this for years, and it’s always worked for me. I eat a waffle every morning, whether I’m running, racing or just resting. I’ve never had a stomach issue. I use Bisquick and just add water. I also use flour, egg, baking powder and milk if I don’t have the mix. I can usually run between 1-2 hours after eating. I don’t like to run on an empty stomach. I generally eat within 20 minutes of waking up, relax and then go for a run 1-2 hours later.
Lunch:
Lunch depends on if I’m at home or if I’m at work. Most people know I work at a local running store. It’s hard to predict a day in a retail store and no two days are the same. I can’t plan to bring a big meal because I might not have time to eat it. I could have plenty of time, or I could be snacking the entire day. I’ve become used to it, though, and I honestly don’t mind either way.
I usually pack easy to eat sandwiches or bars so that if we get slammed, I can still eat. It’s not like I can tell a customer “Go away I’ve got to get my lunch on”. I’ve been looking for an easy “bar” recipe if anyone has any.
Some quick and easy staples. Sometimes quick and easy means I order down the road from work:
Dinner:
I’ve said this more times than I can remember, but I am a very simple dinner person. I like meat, potato and vegetable. I rotate through all of them, but both my husband and I aren’t fancy cooks. Our meals tend to take between 15-30 minutes to cook. Luckily my husband is the same way. He cooks the meat, and I prepare everything else.
Some of our favorite meats:
- steak
- salmon or any pink fish (we aren’t fans of too many white fish)
- chicken
- Squid (yes, one of my favorite, if not favorite meats is squid)
The usual suspects
We frequently cook some vegetable or have a salad. My current favorite vegetables are eggplant and squash, but it varies.
Vegetables of (current) choice:
- eggplant and squash
- asparagus
Then, of course, there is the grain/potato portion of dinner. Current favorites include
- Pasta or rice (because it takes 5 minutes!) I went through a phase with pasta where I didn’t eat it much and always chose other items over it. Now I can’t get enough.
- Sweet or normal potatoes
- Bread from Panera. If you recall, my husband won a year supply of Panera bread from a race last year, and we use it to buy a loaf. Panera bread goes well with everything in my life.
As you can see, my husband and I are simple eaters. We don’t spend hours creating perfect food dishes. Spending a few hours is some people’s hobby, but we know we like fast, simple and easy food! We save fancy eating for going out.
Questions for you:
Do you prefer cooking simple food or fancier recipes?
Does anyone have any “bar” recipes?