Bianca Phillips's Blog, page 81

Marathon Roadmap Meal Plan, Week 2 (Days 3-4)

Still on the healthy whole foods kick as I prepare for Saturday's Nashville Rock & Roll Marathon. I'm following week two of the 2-week No Meat Athlete Marathon Roadmap meal plan this week, and here's what I ate on days 3 and 4 (Wednesday and Thursday).

Wednesday morning started with another Strawberry-Raspberry-Banana Smoothie (same as Monday), but morning snack was different — Celery with Peanut Butter. One of my faves that I always forget about. Celery is the ultimate vehicle for PB. I know I need to paint my nails. Don't judge.


Lunch was leftover Lemony Lentils & Brown Rice from Tuesday night's dinner, and afternoon snack was another salad with cashew ranch. I also had a Blueberry Muffin Larabar before my 5:30 pm 3-miler with the Crosstown Running Crew.

We enjoyed post-run beers at Crosstown Brewing, and then I headed home for this dinner of NMA Grill-Worthy Veggie Burgers and Air-Fried Potatoes with Curry Ketchup. 


The burgers are so good! They're made with lentils, mushrooms, and walnuts and baked in the oven. I had mine on a whole wheat pita instead of a bun because I'm out of buns. The meal plan didn't mention a side for this burger, but I figured carb-y air-fried potatoes would be perfect. The curry ketchup is imported fro Germany, and it's my current fave condiment.

Thursday morning started with a Lemon Larabar and a 4-mile run on the treadmill because it was raining. I typically prefer rainy runs over the treadmill, but I didn't want my shoes to still be wet for Saturday's race! After my run, I had a banana for post-run carbs, followed by a Blueberry-Peach Smoothie.

Morning snack was Baked Tortilla Chips with Salsa. I made my own in the air fryer using a whole wheat tortilla. 8 minutes at 350 degrees for perfect crispy, oil-free chips.


Lunch was a leftover veggie burger in a pita with more roasted potatoes. And in the afternoon, I had this yummy salad that my co-worker Rita brought to share. It has strange combo of ingredients (pineapple, peaches, pickles, tomato, onion, and bell pepper), and she made a vegan mayo-based herb dressing! Sounds weird, but it was really good!


Dinner was Sweet Potato Curry over brown rice with tofu. This creamy coconut milk-based curry was seasoned with Thai red curry paste. So very good!

I'm tucking in early for bed tonight since the best time to sleep pre-marathon is the night before the night before the race. I'll check back in early next week with a "what I ate before my marathon" post and a race recap

Marathon Roadmap Meal Plan, Week 2 (Days 1-2)

Now that I'm back from vacation and only a few days out from the Nashville Rock & Roll Marathon (eeeeek!), I'm following week two of the No Meat Athlete Marathon Roadmap meal plan. It's a two-week, whole foods-based plan that's perfect for getting your eating goals in line during the taper period. I did week one the week before vacation and then took a little break from healthy eating while in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

But on Monday (don't all good healthy goals start on Mondays??), I started back on week two of the plan. Each day starts with a smoothie, and Monday, that was the Raspberry Strawberry Banana Smoothie with walnuts and baby spinach. My fave smoothie on the plan! I took a rest day from working out on Monday so I could catch up on sleep after my trip.


Morning snack was Whole Wheat Pita with Hummus, Lemon, & Pea Shoots. Fun snack! It's really important to load up on carbs the week before a big race, and I'm loving all the carbs on this plan.

Lunch was Grilled Portabellas with Caramelized Shallot & Spinach-Beet Salad. Fancy! The mushrooms were coated in a vegan worcestershire-dijon mustard sauce and grilled in a grill pan. Served atop grilled sprouted grain bread.

Afternoon snack every day is a salad with whatever toppings you choose. This one has a homemade oil-free cashew ranch, chickpeas, cucumber, bell pepper, carrots, and red cabbage. 

Dinner on Monday night was this beautiful bowl of Whole Wheat Bowtie Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes, Chickpeas, and Spinach. For the tomatoes, you coat chopped plum tomatoes in a little olive oil, garlic, and herbs, and then roast in the oven. OMG SO AMAZING. Also, the recipe called for arugula, but I'm not a fan so I subbed spinach. 

I enjoyed a nice glass of my dad's homemade blackberry wine for dessert!
Breakfast on Tuesday morning was another smoothie. This time, it was a Blueberry Peach Smoothie with banana, spinach, and walnuts.

Morning snack was an Avocado with Lemon & Sea Salt. It didn't say how much avocado to eat, so I started with a half, thinking that'd be plenty for a snack. But I was still hungry after that half, so I ate the whole thing!

Lunch was leftover bowtie pasta, and my afternoon snack was another (very similar) salad. I had plans to attend a Nashville Marathon course preview event at Overton Park, and that included a fun run. So I fueled with a Blueberry Muffin Larabar before the run.

I had a beer at the Overton Park Clubhouse after the run (they have $2.50 craft beers!) and watched St. Jude coach Kevin Leathers go over the marathon course. I feel slightly more prepared but still very intimidated by the large size of this race!! I've never done a Rock & Roll series race, but I hear they're huge. I got home from that event pretty late (around 8 pm) so I was hungry. But luckily, I'd already prepped last night's dinner — Lemony Lentils with Brown Rice.

This very brown dish is actually REALLY good and very simple — just lentils cooked with caramelized onions and seasoned with salt and lemon juice. 

Eating Vegan in Ft. Lauderdale, Days 5-6

Here's the final wrap-up post from my week-long trip to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida! You can see what I ate (and what we did for fun) on the first four days in my last two posts. But tonight, I'm focusing on Day 5 (Thursday) and Day 6 (Friday). We were actually there all day Saturday as well, but we literally spent every waking moment sitting at the beach and only ate our leftovers for meals (because we wanted to waste as little food as possible!).
Paul and I had the first couple days to ourselves, and on Wednesday, our friend Nicole flew in from Chicago. On Thursday, our friend Misti flew in from Memphis. We picked her up from the airport Thursday morning. She was hungry, so we had vegan deli meat sandwiches with Violife cheese on the beach rental porch before heading to the beach.

We spent most of the day at the beach, but that evening, we decided to go on a group run! Before I left, I posted on the No Meat Athlete Pulse Facebook page asking for suggestions on places to eat in Ft. Lauderdale. Turns out Esther of the NMA team lives there! And she suggested we check out her Thursday group run, the Funky Fun Run put on by the Running Wild running store. It's free and starts at 6:30 pm at the store every Thursday. It was close to our place, so we took the rental car out and joined the group. Here's me and Esther, both sporting our No Meat Athlete shirts.

And here's my crew — Paul, Nicole, Misti and me!

After the 3-mile(ish) run, the group meets up for FREE local craft beer on the roof of the Westin resort. Yay!!!

After the run, we caught a shuttle back to the running store, and we made some friends from the Funky Fun Run group! They invited us our for burgers at Burger Fi (where Funky Fun runners get a discount on run night!). I had another Beyond Burger and Fries (we ate at Burger Fi on our first night in town, but I was more than happy to eat there again!).

See that birthday cake in the background? Paul's birthday was Friday, and when one of the runners found out, he ran over to the next door Publix and ordered a super fast cake (and even had them scribble "Happy Birthday Paul" on it!!!!). Paul was so touched that he cried.
We spent the rest of the evening chilling at the beach after the sun went down, watching the waves crash on the shore under a full moon. And yes, we brought a box of wine!
The next day, Friday, we decided to take a quick trip to nearby Miami since we had the rental car for one last day. The drive took about an hour and a half, but that's because we got lost a few times. Oops. We finally found South Beach, where we lucked into a great street parking spot and settled into a bar with GIANT cocktails! It was Paul's birthday on Friday, and he wanted a Classic Margarita. Nicole and Misti picked a Miami Vice daiquiri. We all shared two drinks. They were big but not very strong.

After cocktails, we checked out the Miami Beach before heading back to Ft. Lauderdale. 

For Paul's birthday dinner, he requested Thai food, so I found a vegan-friendly spot in Ft. Lauderdale called Thai Spice. They can make any dish veg with tofu! Misti (also vegetarian) and I split an app of Veggie Spring Rolls.

And for my entree, I ordered my favorite Thai dish — Pad See Ew with tofu!!

So good! And man, those leftovers were amazing on Saturday. We had a great trip, but I'm so glad to be back at home. My parents house-sat my pets while I was gone, and they went on a bit of a home makeover spree! So I came home to a newly painting guest room, new blinds in the living room, sparkling clean bathtubs, and so much more. I seriously have the best parents in the world. 

Eating Vegan in Ft. Lauderdale, Days 3-4

We got home from a 7-day vacation in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida yesterday! I totally meant to post more while I was there, but I was just too busy being a beach bum to break out my computer. Can you blame me? Ha!


I recapped the first two days in a post while we were there, and now that I'm back, I'll be recapping the rest. Here's what we ate and did on days 3 and 4 (that would be Tuesday and Wednesday of last week).

On Tuesday, Paul and I went on a short 3-mile run around the neighborhood by our beach rental. Then I had some oats with nut butter. We spent most of the morning lounging on the beach. Paul played in the ocean, while I caught up on reading. Currently reading this great running memoir by Catra Corbett called Reborn on the Run. She's a former goth party kid turned ultramarathoner. Very inspiring.


After a few hours at the beach, we snacked on sandwiches made at our rental. Eating in saved us a lot of money!

We even stayed in to eat that evening. We made a romantic pasta dinner in our room using the copper conduction hot plate and microwave in our mini-kitchen. We'd bought boxed rotini, a jarred sauce, bagged salad, vegan ranch, toast, and Earth Balance at the Publix down the street, so we had all the fixins for Pasta Night! We also grabbed a box of wine. Yes, we burned the bread in the toaster but you make do.


We went back to the beach later that night to watch the waves in the dark. The ocean is extra beautiful at night.
Wednesday, day 4, started with another morning run. This time, I went alone and did a little speedwork.

Our friend Nicole from Chicago was planning to stay with us for the latter half of the trip, and she arrived that morning after my run. We spent the day at the beach with her, and then we cleaned up and went out for dinner at Tacocraft, a taco/tequila bar by the beach rental.

We started with Guac & Chips.

They had a few vegan taco options, so I chose the Crispy Tofu Taco and the Kale Sweet Potato Taco. Both were excellent, but that crispy fried tofu was out of this world!

And of course, I had a margarita! Or two (hey, they were half-off for happy hour!).

We ended out the evening hanging in the hot tub at the beach rental, until the neighbors complained that we were being too loud. Ha!

Eating Vegan in Ft. Lauderdale, Days 1-2

Hey everyone! I'm checking in from sunny Ft. Lauderdale, Florida! Paul and I are here for a week-long vacation, and we have some friends meeting us down here tomorrow. We left Sunday morning on a 6:40 am flight.


Even though I had a big breakfast at home, I was famished by 10 am. Luckily, I found this portable Veggie Wrap with hummus, quinoa, farro, veggies, and avocado lime dressing in the Houston airport (where we had a layover).


I snacked on that on the plane, along with some Vegan Rob's Vegan Cheddar Puffs that I brought from home.


Washed down with a tomato-vodka cocktail because that's the best thing about flying! Booze in the morning!

When we finally landed, Uber-ed to our beach rental, and got settled in, we were starving again. I did a quick Google scan of restaurants around us and found a Burger Fi just two blocks away! So we walked over and enjoyed burgers (Beyond Burger for me!), fries, and Landshark ale.

We're staying a block from the beach, so after dinner, we went to check it out. Paul hasn't seen an ocean in 21 years (I was thinking he'd never been to the ocean, but turns out, it's just been a long time).

The rest of the night was spent chilling in the hot tub and enjoying some vodka-cranberry cocktails. On Monday morning, we woke up and headed to Publix to stock up on food for the house. It has a small kitchen with hot plate and microwave, so we can do a little cooking here to save money. When we returned, we made sandwiches. Mine has Field Roast Lentil Sage deli slices and a Violife American slice. Salad on the side with Follow Your Heart vegan ranch.

After lunch, we walked down to the pier and just watched the water for a bit.

And we met a pelican! This guy was not scared of people at all! He was just looking for free snacks.

For dinner, I found a vegan-friendly pizza wrap place! Pizza Crek serves pizza all rolled up, and they have vegan and non-vegan options. I opted for the Soy Cheese & Vegan Pepperoni Wrap! So good.

It's Tuesday morning now, and we just finished a 3-mile run. I had some oatmeal with nut butter and fruit, and we're thinking about heading back to the beach. I'll check in again soon!

No Meat Athlete Marathon Road Map Meals, Days 5-7

I'm eating the first week of a two-week meal plan from the No Meat Athlete Marathon Roadmap 3.0 this week. My marathon is April 27, but I started the 2-week "get ready for the race" plan a week early so I could take a week break in the middle while I'm vacationing in FLORIDA! We fly out to Ft. Lauderdale Sunday morning, so I wanted to check in and share the meals I had in days 5 and 6 (and breakfast on Day 7) before I start sharing delicious vacation meals!

Friday morning started with an apple-spinach-flax-banana smoothie, and morning snack was coconut oil-popped popcorn with sea salt (didn't take a pic, but you know what popcorn looks like). Lunch was leftover quinoa stir-fry from Thursday night (pic in my last post). Afternoon snack was, as always on this plan, a salad.

And dinner was Seared Tofu with Broccoli Over Brown Rice. This simple stir-fry was made with air-fried tofu, sauteed broccoli (plus a few brussels that I needed to use up before my trip), sesame seeds, and soy sauce. That's it. Served over brown rice.


I was supposed to run 13 miles on Saturday morning, but I woke up to a very rainy day and a very busy schedule with so much to do before I can leave town. So I did something I rarely ever do — I skipped a training run! I hate not checking the boxes on my training plan, but sometimes you know you just need a rest day. I'm in the taper period of training anyway, so I think it's okay. 
I had a mango-jalapeno smoothie, followed by an Apple with Peanut Butter while I cleaned my house. My parents are house-sitting so I wanted the place to be clean!

Lunch was leftover tofu and broccoli stir-fry, and my afternoon snack was another salad. Dinner was Black Beans & Brown Rice with salsa, avocado sauce, and green hot sauce. Oh, and I mixed some baby spinach in there! Beans and rice really hit the spot sometimes!

Sunday morning isn't here yet! But I'm supposed to have the Easy and Awesome Tofu Scramble, which is the same recipe from the No Meat Athlete Health Made Simple plan I did last fall. Here's a pic from a past plate of that. I'll be eating this bright and early (around 4 am!!) since we have a very early flight. I like to eat a big breakfast before flying since you never know how long it will be before you can find vegan food!

I hope to get a few blog posts done while we're there. But if you don't hear from me for a bit, it's cause I'm having too much fun to post!

No Meat Athlete Marathon Road Map Meals, Days 3-4

I'm back with another recap of my meals on week one of the No Meat Athlete Marathon Roadmap 3.0 meal plan. It's a two-week plan, and I'm doing week one now (and saving week two for after I get back from vacation week after next). I figure focusing on whole foods before my vacation will make me feel great about pigging out while I'm lounging on the beach!

Wednesday morning (day 3) started with another Greens Fruit Flax Smoothie with apple, banana, spinach, and flax. Morning snack was Steamed Broccoli with Pine Nut Hummus and a side of fresh berries.


Lunch was leftover Lentil Potato Curry from the night before (pictured in my last post). And afternoon snack was another salad (I have a salad every afternoon on this plan) — this time with roasted brussels, lemon-thyme dressing, bell pepper, carrot, and romaine.


I had a cocktail and a glass of wine at Art Bar at Crosstown Arts (where I work) before heading home since we had a going-away party for a co-worker/friend.

Dinner was a yummy and filling bowl of Whole Wheat Pasta with Squash & Tomatoes. This is a simple dish with sauteed yellow squash, cherry tomato, a smidge of olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.


Breakfast this morning was another Mango Jalapeno Smoothie (the smoothies alternate every day for a week, and then I'll get two different smoothie recipes for week two). Morning snack was Trail Mix with cashews, almonds, pumpkin seeds, and dried cherries. I bought all the stuff individually from the bulk bins at Sprouts and mixed together!


Lunch was beautiful! I decided to eat lunch in the cafe at Crosstown Arts instead of having leftover bowtie pasta because I wanted to try the Daily Veggie Plate special with a Mushroom-Eggplant Stuffed Zucchini Boat with Braised Cabbage, Vegan Ranch, & Sizzled Kale (like kale chips but deep-fried). Soooooo good.


Another salad (the same as yesterday's) for my snack! And then dinner was Quinoa Stir-fry with Cashews and Orange. Love this dish! It's made with frozen stir-fry veggies, mandarin orange slices, cashews, and quinoa. Simple and delicious.

No Meat Athlete Marathon Road Map Meals, Days 1-2

So my next marathon — the Nashville Rock & Roll Marathon — is April 27! I'm using the No Meat Athlete marathon roadmap 3.0 training plan, and it includes a 2-week meal plan to try during the lead-up to the race. The race is 3 weeks away, but I'll be in sunny Florida next week! On vacay! So I'm doing week one of the meal plan this week to get my eating in line before I pig the heck out in Fort Lauderdale. And then I'll do week two of the meal plan when I return to Memphis.

I've followed this plan before, so some of these dishes may seem familiar, but it was several races ago. And that was from version 2.0, so this meal plan is just a little different. Lots of the same recipes though (also some of the same recipes from the No Meat Athlete Health Made Simple plan I did last fall). I'll recap Monday and Tuesday's meals tonight and save the rest for tomorrow.

Monday morning started with a Greens Fruit Flax Smoothie with apple, banana, flax, and spinach. I took a rest day from running/working out since I ran 20 miles on Sunday!


Morning snack was an Orange & Raw Almonds.

Lunch was Brown Rice with Bragg's, Lime, and Avocado. And sriracha for me! I loved this simple meal. I'd never think to just have rice and avocado and call it lunch, but why not?

Afternoon snack every day is a Giant Salad, but mine have been sort of mid-sized so far. This one has strawberries, red cabbage, carrots, bell pepper, spinach, and an oil-free lemon-thyme dressing. The creepy elephant is in our breakroom at work.

Dinner was Orzo with Citrus Veggies. I LOVE orzo pasta because it's like rice made from spaghetti! This cold pasta salad was tossed with avocado, cherry tomato, shallot, garlic, lime, and fresh orange juice.

On Tuesday, I decided to save my run for the afternoon. So I slept in and had a Mango Jalapeno Smoothie with mango, banana, walnuts, jalapeno, lime, and spinach. Love this spicy combo!

Morning snack was a Veggie Hummus Wrap. That sounded like a huge snack (my wraps are like 210 calories alone, before filling!), so I opted for a half-wrap. I used pine nut hummus, carrot, red cabbage, bell pepper, and spinach.

Lunch was leftover orzo pasta salad. Since I had an afternoon run planned, I had an extra snack of a Blueberry Muffin Larabar. I love Larabars for pre-run since they're made with quick-digesting dates.

I ran about 3.5 miles after work, and then I had some apple juice (for quick post-run carbs). Then, I snacked on my salad (similar to Monday's but with added cooked orzo since I had some leftover) while I cooked dinner. My dinner was really awesome — Potato Lentil Curry over Brown Rice! It was made with coconut milk and lots of spices. So good!

Tofu & Muffins & Juice & Burgers!

I met my friend Stephanie for lunch last Friday at Phuong Long, and I ordered the BEST THING ON THE MENU — Tofu Salt & Jalapeno. This is basically salt-and-pepper tofu, a traditional Vietnamese dish, but it's listed as "tofu salt & jalapeno" on the menu, so that's what we call it. It's crispy, breaded fried tofu with the yummiest salt and pepper seasoning, fried with lemongrass, onion, and jalapenos.


The lunch portion comes with a Veggie Spring Roll — my fave!


Last Wednesday, before my evening yoga class, I grabbed a Vegan Strawberry Muffin from the cafe at Crosstown Arts, as I was leaving work.


There's also a Juice Bar in Crosstown Concourse (the building that houses Crosstown Arts, where I work), so I grabbed a Fresh Greens Juice to drink with my muffin. This has cucumber, celery, lemon, kale, spinach, and parsley.


This past Saturday, I had my big 20-mile long run — the longest run in a marathon training plan — so I made sure to carb-load on Friday night with a big bowl of Bowtie Pasta with Chickpea Marinara, Roasted Brussels, and Cashew Cheese. Also some Garlic Bread with Cherry Tomato. Yay carbs!


That was perfect fuel for the next day! Paul and I had a great 20-mile run (his longest distance yet!). After we celebrated, with burgers and beers at Farm Burger in Crosstown Concourse. I had an Impossible Burger with pickles, mushrooms, jalapeno, tomato, red onion, lettuce, and grainy mustard. Fries and a Crosstown Brewing Co. Traffic IPA on the side. Damn, that burger hit the spot!

Bowls & Biscuits!

I stopped by the Cooper Young Farmers Market on Saturday morning and picked up a Blackeyed Pea Sausage Biscuit from the Lulu's booth! Added some berry jam when I got home and devoured it. Perfection.


The special for Thursday at the cafe at Crosstown Arts, where I work, was the Southern Bowl!! So you know I had to order that. This had grits, fried cabbage, fried green tomatoes, and pickled okra. This was amazing.

I met up with Pam and Megan to celebrate the New Moon last week. I made Just Cookies (birthday cake flavor!) and some IKEA veggie balls (no pics), and Pam had Vegan Mandarin Chicken with Roasted Pineapple and some Treeline Cashew Cheese and Crackers.


Here's a Savory Oat Bowl from a few days ago. I used the savory oat recipe in The No Meat Athlete Cookbook with spinach, carrot, salsa, nooch, and toasted pumpkin seeds.

Speaking of the NMA Cookbook, I had several of these Lifesaving Bowls from the book last week. It's a blueprint recipe, meaning you can mix and match ingredients. The base is quinoa with any raw veggies you want (for me, that was zoodles, carrot, bell pepper, and red cabbage). It's topped with kraut and nooch. For some versions, I also used hummus and toasted sesame seed as a topper. But for this one, I used avocado, salsa, and toasted sunflower seeds. This is a fun twist on salad!