Planning to Run.

Mother's Day 10k 

Toronto 5k

Besides cooking one of my most favorite things to do is run. Why? Well, there are many reasons. It's taken a number of years to develop this passion in me but, specifically with my tank dad as an inspiration, I have been encouraged to make fitness part of my everyday life. It's a great time for me to do some thinking or spend time not thinking- sometimes I just need a break! I have a great playlist of music that varies from upbeat top 40s, my favorite worship music, rap and cheesey J. Beibz. Don't judge me. I'm a Beleiber (well, I like the older stuff and especially the Christmas album! So good.)

Calgary Half Marathon 

Toronto Half Marathon

Not a fan of working out whether at the gym, home or outside? 

Well, I would like to encourage you to try it for a consistent number of days. It may seem at first like you are punishing yourself or your body is reacting with pain and wheezing to punish your decision to go, but I assure you that after a couple of days your body will thank you. For me, I have more energy, I can concentrate better and am motivated to continue to make healthy eating choices throughout my day.

One thing that I've learned through training and with a lot of tips from my dad is that on the eve of a long run, it's a good idea to eat something with mucho carbs. Now, of course this is a tempting opportunity to eat a zillion pounds of pasta for a 5k but lets get real people- that ain't what I'm talking about. For myself it has to be at least 10k for me to eat a moderate portion of carbs specifically to prepare for a run. 

This past weekend my dad turned to me and said: Mac n'Cheese. My response? As a very strict lactose intolerant person I said: Why of course. I wanted to take one of the classic carby foods and put my own spin on it. Traditionally, this dish is elbow maccaroni pasta + cream/milk + cheese and then baked. It is also one of the most beloved comfort foods around.

Apparently, according to a history channel comerical I saw the other day, Canadians eat more Mac n'Cheese per capital than any other country in the world! Also, believe it or not, this dish wasn't invented when Kraft Dinner hit the shelves. It actually was a very fashionable dish in Paris in the 18th century. Let's reclaim the classiness :)

There is a Crayola crayon with a the colour "Macaroni and Cheese". Who knew.

Although it is not what I would classify as either lactose-free or light, it accomplishes what I want: being delicious and packing my glycogen stores full. 

Also, FYI It is good to eat carbs. I am not coming down on carb-cutters. But like everything, it is good in moderation. Eating one unhealthy meal won't make you unhealthy nor will eating one healthy meal make you healthy. It's just about balance- something that I am still working on and will probably have to work on forever considering I am addicted to chocolate haha.

Mac N'Brie N'other Cheese 

Ingredients: this recipe is for my huge family. So adjust accordingly (maybe half it?)

1 tsp salt

1 package (16oz) 1% cottage cheese

1 wheel of light Brie (can use light cream cheese instead)

1 brick medium cheddar cheese

1 cup fat-free plain greek yogurt

1 cup egg whites

2 (900g) packages brown rice macaroni pasta
4 Italian uncooked sausages (I used pork but you can use whatever type you want!)

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan 

Preheat oven to 350F. Uncase the sausages and 'mash' in a frying pan. There is no need to add oil, as they will let their own off. Let the sausage brown (now broken up into chunks). Once done, strain off the fat and excess moisture. Add the sausage to a large mixing bowl. Next, boil water. Add tsp of salt to the water. This helps to increase it's boiling point slightly to cook the pasta faster and functions to flavor it!  Add pasta to the water. In the same large bowl as the sausage, add cottage cheese, egg whites, greek yogurt, grated cheddar cheese and cubed brie (make sure to remove the rhine- which is actually a form of mold! Don't want to eat that...well, you can if you want but I'm not going to haha). Once the pasta has reached an 'al dante' state (slightly softened but still firm. We don't want super mushy pasta) strain. Add to the mixing bowl containing other ingredients while the pasta is still warm. Stir and watch the cheese melt! Pour the mixture into large casserole dish and make sure evenly distributed. In a separate dish mix freshly grated parmesan and panko. Spread evenly over the top of the pasta in  the casserole dish. Feel free to add some lemon zest as well for brightness. Bake for 40 minutes or until the top it browned. 

If you need a touch of acidity in this dish, try adding some balsamic vinegar (~1 tbsp or to taste) on top of your serving. It brightens it up and really cuts through the heaviness of the cheese etc. 

Serve with fresh salad and sliced multigrain bread.