Bike Rides and Trying Vegan

Do you every feel like you need to give your eating a kick in the butt?  I tend to eat pretty healthy but recently I have slacked a little and I can tell my body is craving better foods.  In order to give myself a kick start, I am attempting to go vegan for a week.  For those that know me, this will be a huge challenge since I am an egg lover.  I am working out my meal plan and will share the best (and maybe the worst) recipes I try.  The biggest challenge for me will be making sure I get enough good protein in my diet and behaving while I am at work.  There is always tasty food to snack on and in the middle of the night, its hard to have good self control.  In order to get ready for this challenge, I have been doing research on recipes and found a great website for grocery delivery, thrivemarket.com.  I have ordered the staples for the week and will head to Costco tomorrow to pick up fruits and veggies.  If you have any great vegan recipes to share please let me know, the adventure starts Monday.  

On a side note, here is a fun pic from our first bike ride outside.  I ride with 3 other ladies and we tend to really push each other.  Today was a windy ride at the downtown airport but we conquered the conditions and even managed to have some fun.   This group is women is awesome and each one of us has our strengths, there is Mary the queen of the hills, Nichole the speedster and Amy who never seems to tire no matter how far we go. Our group has 4+ Ironmans, 8+ half Ironmans, countless shorter triathlons and 4 broken arms from bike crashes among us.  I do have to share a funny story about these girls.  The first time I went biking with Amy and Nichole I crashed about 100 feet into our bike.  Yes we had just started and I flipped over the handlebars going down a hill and crashed.  I got up laughing and finished the ride but have to admit-it hurt a lot.  Despite this rough start, they still let me ride with them.  


This is what 20K in TT bikes looks like with downtown KC in the background.  Looking forward to many more rides this season with this powerhouse crew of women!

Hash

Whenever I go home, my mom always wants me to make hash.  I started loving hash after working out with Coach Tom.  After Saturday morning runs Tom and Steph would make hash for the team.  Who knew so many vegetables could make their way into a tasty breakfast.  After seeing how easy it was, I started making it at home.  After a morning workout, this is the best!  You can substitute any kind of potato (sweet potatoes are especially good) and meat. Todays version is with chorizo, new potatoes, pablano peppers and mini sweet peppers.  Top with eggs and you have a filling and tasty treat.

Todays recipe- about 4 meals
4 small new potatoes
1/2 lb pork chorizo
1 pablano pepper
9 mini peppers (3 each of red, yellow and orange)
1/2 white onion
1/2 jalapeño



1.  Cook the meat in a large pan (I love my green pan)
2.  Chop the potatoes and add to the pan
3.  Chop the peppers, onions and jalapeno, add to the pan
4.  Let it cook over medium heat until potatoes are soft
5.  Top with an egg or 2, I like my over easy so that the yolk is nice and runny, add avocado, cilantro

Shout out for coach Tom and TMT.  If you are looking for a triathlon/running/swimming/CCskiing coach and all around cool guy, check him out.  I started working with Tom in 2011 and he has helped me finish 2 half ironmans and countless other triathlons, swim meets, bike tours and running races while in residency and fellowship, no small feat.  And he is a cool guy with amazing teammates to motivate you when you need an extra push.  Check out the team website at TrainMeTom.