Smack dab in the middle of marathon training is when the roar in my stomach cannot be tamed and I start to get more careless with my diet. I grab whatever is around me, or let’s be honest—whatever my husband is eating at the moment that hunger strikes.
Before I’ve realized it, I’m eating all day long and no longer making the healthful choices I’d really like to be making. Deep down I know I want to fill my body with healthful foods so I can repair, rebuild and run more miles. But there often seems to be a mismatch between the choices I make and the goals I make for myself when it comes to dealing with hunger and marathon training.
It’s easy for me to push during hard workouts, run my easy miles slow and take my rest days seriously. What’s the most challenging for me is not reaching for a bag of chips after a long run or justifying that second glass of red wine at dinner. However, the past few weeks I’ve been trekking over to Trader Joe’s once a week to stock up on healthy, easy to make foods. Going there takes a lot more time than I’d like for it to but so far it’s been worth it. I’ve been eating more home-cooked meals and been better able to keep my runger under control lately.
Here are the runner-friendly foods I’m stocking my kitchen with from Trader Joe’s.
Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Ancient Grain & Super Seed
My favorite way to eat these is cold with blueberries, unsweetened almond milk and a little maple syrup.
Trader Joe’s Organic Baked Tofu
A great way to make a simple stir fry to take to work for lunch for a few days. It’s a little high in sodium and the ingredient list isn’t short, but I still think it’s a good item for me to have on hand for quick meals.
Organic Riced Cauliflower
Since I’m marathon training, I’m not trying to limit my carb intake. I do however like mixing this in with regular brown rice or quinoa when making stir fry’s for lunch in order to get in an extra serving of veggies.
Organic Chia Seeds
You can get chia seeds nearly everywhere these days, but the price at Trader Joe’s is better than anywhere else in my neighborhood. I usually toss these into smoothies or sprinkle them on top of a rice cake slathered with nut butter.
Picky Bars
I love the fact that I no longer have to order these online. I always have a drawer full of them at home ready to grab and eat before or after a run – when I don’t have time to make anything.
Organic Coconut Water
I’m not a huge fan of coconut water on its own, but I love it in smoothies. Throwing this in my cart while at Trader Joe’s saves me money. The bodega on my block sells coconut water for twice the price.
What are your favorite items from Trader Joe’s?
*This post first appeared on Women’s Running, where I blog weekly.
Lol, I must be the only runner on earth that doesn’t become a food monster during marathon training. Running actually seems to make me LESS hungry so sometimes I have to remind myself to refuel lest I feel terrible the next day.