pink wraps

My life, much like many of you I imagine, revolves around the ritual of feeding myself & food for fuel, food for comfort & food for creation, food for thought & food for the soul. 
I make healthy hearty soups, curries, chillis, potato variations, veggie combinations, warming foods for my dinners in winter & cool salads in the summer.
& nutty cacao coconut desserts figure a lot in my food fancies.
For my lunches tho, they have to fit into my work schedule day, a dynamic diarised day, so that involves the chopping & slopping together of a sandwich made early in the morning before work whilst still half asleep. 
But now I have a fave. & it's pink. It's pretty perfect then. Well, slightly wilting by lunchtime but still full of goodness & filling my insatiable appetite for the latter half of the working day.

My perfect lunch of luv... 

X2 mountain bread wraps together 
beetroot hummus (the pinkness)
1/4 avocado
sprouted beans
tomato
cucumber slices
spinach leaves
squeeze of lemon juice
pink himalayan salt

& pop in the lunchbox; a handful of almonds & a pink lady apple for lunchtime protein & dessert...

energy for my 50ks

My super special recipe for amazing surprisingly tasty yet so healthy, homemade protein/energy bars to promote great power to the people.

11/2 cups (soaked & cooked & drained) chickpeas
tblsp honey
1/4 cup almond butter
tsp cardamom 
1 cup oats
1/4 cup raw cacao
tblsp maca powder
salt & pepper
6 chopped fresh dates
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Blend the ingredients in a food processor (add the oats in last & pulse) spread the mixture onto a baking sheet & bake for 15 mins... Cut into 12 squares.

This helped me to knock out 50ks of running around this weekend.. I am certainly not taking on this ultra training with an ounce of irreverence, total respect to the distance & to the art of endurance sports. Yours with sore feet, tired legs but strong heart & focused mind xox 

ultra affirmation...

centennial park ultra entered!!!

Um this just happened...

Yes 100k Centennial park run entered... 
Yes I am excited/nervous/petrified/determined/pumped!!!
This happens on August 3rd. 28 laps of the pretty park in Sydney. In under 12 hours. Better get focused. Better get running!

Last week:
SAT - 40k (6 hours) trail running in the mountains
SUN - 10k (11/2 hours) trail running in the mountains
MON - rest + 2x 20 min walks
TUE - 11/2 k swim + 2x 20 min walks
WED - 20 mins intervals + 20 mins strength + 1 hour walks
THU - 11/2 k swim + 2x 20 min walks
FRI - 1 hour yoga + 2x 20 min walks

This week:
SAT - 1 hour yoga
SUN - 16k tempo run
MON - rest
TUE - 10k run
WED - 2k swim + 2x 20 min walks
THU - 30 min intervals + 30 min strength training
FRI - 1.5k swim + 2x 20 min walks

Tomorrow: a 50+k run around the scene of the event in Centennial park, see just where I'm at! Running around (& around & around...) I'll get back to you on that! 

less is more...

bean burgers

My long weekend invite was to a BBQ yesterday. A veggie vegans not-so-favoured feast of well, meat & more meat!! I however made some scrumptious spicy bean burgers to take with me & still enjoy my whole foods & as they were so damn good (even the meat devourers giving them a chance & some culinary compliments) I'm sharing my recipe.. Serve with barbecue baked potatoes (bake in foil rubbed with olive oil, garlic, salt & pepper)

2 tins red kidney beans (rinsed & drained)

2 carrots (grated) I got mine from farmers market =)

1/2 cup organic rolled oats

1/4 cup pepitas

tblsp olive oil (chilli infused)

tsp coriander

tsp cumin

tsp cinnamon

tsp cayenne pepper

tsp onion salt

tsp sea & black pepper

Pop the oats & pepitas in food processor & roughly chop up for 10 secs.

Add 3/4 beans, carrots, & oil & spices. Blend it. Then move the mixture to a mixing bowl, Mix in the remaining beans. & with wet hands shape the stickiness into patties.

Bake on a sheet in the oven 200* for 40 mins. Then later warm thru on the barbie...

beautiful blue

My beautiful blue tinted photos from my flounce in the mounts this weekend. The blue mountains is pretty chilly around this time of year but I escaped the heavenly downpour on Sunday by an hour, my 40k run on Saturday & 10k on Sunday completed in cool but clear climes. 
The weather all weekend was overcast but that didn't take away the stunning scenes & nature vibes I felt as I ran/walked along the trail serenaded by some sounds of birds so brill & shrill.
I made mountain bread sandwiches =) of natural peanut & cacao butter with mashed bananas for great energy & had some salted peanuts too for maintaining my electrolyte balance. Washed down with lots of water so no fluoro sugary nastiness just fresh whole foods & H2o. 

I was out there for 6 hours pretty much on my lonesome but there were some strange growling noises going down at one point, clearly my mind wandered & I was certain I was being stalked by a predatory killer cat ready to pounce on me, I even had my defence all planned out - to curl into a ball & play dead. & if that didn't work, to share my sandwiches with the savage =)

I survived. I also stormed up the mountain that looms large at the end of the 40k's. Without stopping. Good feeling. Great running. Happy days.

 the Blue mountains National park of sheer beauty & steep hills...

 super scary bridge - before...

 & after!!

the six foot track & I - besties!!

& that mountain way back in the distance - my finish line.