There’s a reason I combine lunch and dinner recipes. These meals are pretty interchangeable for me. I’ll often eat these recipes for breakfast, especially as training intensity increases.
Once eggs were off the table, and since I don’t love eating a lot of meat for breakfast (not a huge bacon fan. I know I know, how un-American, however! When my dad grills bacon?? I’m all over that.) I had to get the idea of a typical American breakfast out of my head. Except for pancakes and waffles. Because we’ll never break up.
The only thing to keep in mind, because this is totally personal and body-specific, is when I feel like I need more carbs vs. more protein. I’ve gotten a lot better at listening to my body over the last couple of years, and some days it just wants more carbs. Some days, it wants more protein. So while I try to keep a good balance of both, and eat accordingly for training goals, I listen to my body. And will gladly give it more potatoes if it wants more potatoes.
‘Cause check it out. I’m not trying to look model-ready for a swimsuit photo shoot in the morning. You know what I am trying to do? Crush my morning run and/or weight lifting session. Eating basically no carbs the night before not only makes me hella grouchy (sorry roomie) but I also notice a significant difference in my a.m. training sessions. If I’m not aiming for a training session in the a.m. I don’t eat as many carbs for dinner because I won’t be using them for fuel. I notice, though, that the closer race day becomes, this is not a thing! I’m more like all-carbs-all-the-time as race day approaches.
All this to say, listen to your body, get in touch with it and find out which fuels makes it happy. With that in mind, here are my go-to’s:
Roasted Veggies + Protein of Choice
Really, I just wanted to rant and rave about how much I love roasted vegetables. The amount of vegetables I love and make on a weekly basis is kind of hilarious (#favoritechild). Roasted vegetables are super versatile and delicious. Click the title to read more about my fave proteins to pair with roasted veggies.
Salmon + Asparagus + Second Vegetable of Choice or Quinoa
Now, this is a great and yummy recipe. I love and make it often. But let’s be real — just salmon and asparagus isn’t sustaining for me. So I like to add sauteed or roasted zucchini + squash or some quinoa.
Veggie Fajitas
I recently got into portobello mushrooms and oh, how I love them. We’re quickly becoming bff’s. (Also, can we just talk for a moment about how it boggles my mind that there’s not set spelling for this mushroom?? Portobello and Portabella are apparently both accepted spellings.)
If I’m not chowing down on these with corn tortillas, I’ll eat this yummy dish on a big bowl of greens. Don’t forget to add avocado (always add avocado) and a squeeze of lime juice. (Like, I won’t judge if you don’t… I’ll just question.)
Sausage and Rice Skillet
Because yum is an understatement. This is a classic for a reason. You can modify this recipe here and there and it’s a pretty forgiving dish, but like, why mess with perfection? I also love shrimp and will toss that in here whenever I’m feelin’ it.
Spaghetti Squash + Protein of Choice
Or as I like to call it, Sketti Squash. Now, for sketti squash I like to do all kind of things with it. Sometimes, I’ll just add marinara and some lightly sauteed mushrooms. Other times, I like to add ground beef to above mixture of marinara and mushrooms. Other times, I’ll mix it with some spinach and balsamic and olive oil. (I always feel so fancy when I do this.)
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