"Meatless Balls" (vegan)

It's hard to find a good vegan meatball... wait, that sounds weird... meat-less ball!  I find that the store bought ones lack OUMFF!  They are bland and boring, NOT FOR ME!  I also hate when they are packed with crap, and lacking on the nutrients.  It took me a few tries to get these right, but I really feel like they're exactly what I was after, so ENJOY!

For the Meatless Balls:
1 cup cold (can be old) brown rice (can use half quinoa, half rice)
1 cup finely diced sweet potato (I cheat and wisk it around my food processor)
8 oz mushroom, chopped (again, food processor)
1 medium onion, chopped (yup, food processor - seeing a pattern here?)
2 cloves garlic
handfull of basil
2tsp cayenne (1 if you don't like heat)
salt + pepper
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup+ 2tbs flour (I use either spelt or whole wheat)
1tsp oil + more for frying

For spicy tomato cashew cream sauce:
1 cup cashews (soaked in warm water)
1 cup tomatoes (I use grape or cherry tomatoes)
1 cayenne or spicy pepper - finely chopped
5 leafs of basil
salt + pepper

Directions:
1. Heat 1tsp of oil in pan over med-low heat
2. Add sweet potato, mushroom and onion, cook until onion starts to turn translucent - add garlic, cook another 3 mins, stirring frequently.
3. remove from heat and place into food processor - don't turn on yet!
4. add your cold rice (or rice and quinoa mix) - now pulse the food processor gently, you don't want mush! Your aim is to mix it well, but not pulverize the rice! Be kind ;)
5. toss in your basil, cayenne and salt and pepper, pulse a few times to combine
6. add the breadcrumbs and flour, pulse again!  (to test, I take a small amount and form into a ball... does it stick? If yes, you're good-to-go! If no, add a touch more flour, pulse again, test again!)
7. Form all mixture into balls and place on a plate (or a cutting board)
8. Heat 2tsp of oil in a NON-STICK pan over medium heat - wait for it to be FULLY HEATED OR YOUR BALLS WILL BE SOGGY - EWWWWWWWWW
9. Gently place the balls into the oil, give them a little squish down with a fork or spatula
10. cook for about 5-7 mins, until golden brown, then flip! do the same on the other side!
11. Remove from pan and place on a paper towel for a few mins

While those are cooking:
1. toss cashews with 1 cup of the water into food processor (I use my smoothie cup blender)
2. ... wait for it...
3.  keep blending
4. BOOM - cashew cream! YOU WANT IT TO BE THICK!!!
5.  Add your tomatoes, basil, cayenne, salt and pepper
6. blend for a few mins, scrape down the sides as you go!
7. try not to eat it all before the balls are done!

* serve balls with sauce and top with some fresh arugula! YUMMMMMMMM!!!

Vegan Potato and Broccoli Fritters

So, every time I post a recipe on my Facebook or my Insta pages I get bombarded with people asking me for the recipe!!  I feel bad when they ask "can I get the recipe" and I have to respond "it's in my head".

See, herein lies the problem.  I NEVER write anything down, I wing all my meals!  I love cooking, I always have.  I never follow recipes, I always CREATE my own yummy little vegan dishes.

STARTING TODAY I WILL BE BLOGGING MY FOOD CREATIONS! (I will do my best)

Today's recipe started with Corey and I buying WAAAAAAY too many potatoes (is that even possible?!?!? YUP!)  So I decided to whip up some potato fritters... but then I got thinking "geesh, that's boring as heck..."  I wanted to up the health factor with some greens, and didn't want them to be bland or boring.  What's green and delicious, and makes Corey (my hubby) go "ewwwwwww"? - Broccoli!!  Yup, must add that.

Here is the recipe:

3 cups shredded white potato
1 cup shredded broccoli
1 small onion shredded or finely chopped
1/4 cup + 2 tbs spelt flour or whole wheat flour
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbs nutritional yeast
salt + pepper to taste

1tsp oil (I used coconut)
arugula (garnish)


1.  place shredded white potato in a strainer and squeeze the CRAP OUT OF IT!  get the excess water out!
2. transfer to a bowl and combine with the broccoli and onion, mix well
3. add your flour - mix well
4. add all seasoning - taste it... yummmm raw potato ;)
5. Heat oil in non-stick pan and pre-heat oven to 425 degrees (I used pastry brush to spread the oil, cause you don't need a lot of oil!)
6. Form mix into patties, remember to squeeze out excess water as you form them!!
7. place patties into pan and press down with a spatula to ensure even cooking
8. after 3 mins or when golden brown - flip those puppies!!
9. transfer into oven when both sides are brown, give then about 8 mins in the oven :)
10. Top with fresh arugula... cause it's the bomb.com!!!  YUMMERS!!

EAT! And tell your spouse afterwards that they were loaded with broccoli goodness!!! Muahahaha!!

MEC 5k Trail Race: 1st place female

Run a 5k they said... it will be fun they said!! LOL!!  AND IT WAS FUN!!!

So, I don't really consider myself a short distance runner, I prefer races over 50km.  The idea of a 5km trail race scared me... terrified me actually.  I knew that I normally don't start to feel good until about 20km into a race!! What was I thinking?!?!

We arrived at the race site bright and early, as I had offered to volunteer and hand out race bibs the morning of the race.  What a blast that was!  I got to chat with other runners and answer their questions about the course and about what to expect.  Shortly before 9am I headed outside to line up with the other runners... all I could think was "man, some of these people look speedy, what the heck have I gotten myself into?!?!" UGH!

The RD had a volunteer lead us in a group warmup, which was really nice and fostered a really fun community feel to the race.  Everyone was laughing and having a great time!  We then lined up and the horn went off signaling the start!  Eeeeeeek!!! I tucked myself pretty far back, behind some other women, I wanted to get my legs rolling before starting to push.  As we rounded some technical trail I decided that the pace was a little to conservative for me, and I pushed past the women that were ahead of me.  I settled into a comfortable pace as we entered a long steady climb. The 9k race was coming back in the opposite direction, so I got to high-five friends and cheer others on as I headed out! AWESOME!

We turned a corner and entered into some awesome trails, I was moving and feeling great!  I emerged from the trails and headed back down that first out and back section.  I got to cheer on runners in my race and  high-fived some awesome kids who were KILLING IT!

The volunteers on the course were awesome and they definitely made me laugh a few times!!  There was a unique community feel to this race, I absolutely loved it.

After a brief jaunt on some flat-ish trails I entered a climb! YES!!! I FREAKING LOVE CLIMBING!! it was here that I was able to really hammer and pass some of the guys that were ahead of me.  There's something about that burning in my quads that makes me smile :)

Then a LONG technical downhill!!!! WOOOOOOHOOOOOO!!! #acceptthedownhill

My favourite part of the course was "Brian's Trail" which started with a wicked, technical climb! I loved it and felt right in my element.  I emerged to the final 300m stretch to the finish with one man, we battled hard to the finish - a full out sprint! (I beat him! Heee heee)

What an amazing race!!

1st place female, 5th overall!!  I was stoked!! SO happy that I jumped for joy off the podium!

A few notes about the race:

AMAZING COURSE!!! Beautiful trails: technical, hilly, varied terrain.

PERFECT COURSE MARKINGS! I never once questioned whether I was on-course! ;)

AWESOME VOLUNTEERS!!  They were so encouraging  :)

SUPPORTIVE RUNNERS!  Everyone cheered for each other, a real community event!

Huge thanks to Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) for the amazing race, and kudos to RD Chris Chapman for another successful event. 

As always, thank you to my amazing sponsors Salomon, Suunto, Bearded Brothers, GU Energy Labs, Julbo, Drymax and Bellefleur Physiotherapy.  

After the race Corey and I hit the trails with our wonder-pup for some extra miles.  My legs were toast! LOL!

New Horizons

So the "off-season" is over and done with! The snow is melting and the new race season is on the horizon!  With this new season comes a few changes for me as well!

For the past 2 years I have represented the Nike Trail Team in Canada.  I am thankful for the support that I received and was definitely proud to be represent such an amazing brand :)

With 2016 comes a new sponsorship, and truly an AMAZING opportunity for me!  I will now be representing Salomon and Suunto!!  The Salomon Team has been a dream of mine for so long and I'm so thrilled to be part of the team!  The Salomon brand represents everything that I believe in and truly speaks to my approach to trail running.  Their passion for the trails and for nature align so perfectly with my personal beliefs, it is such a perfect fit.

So what does 2016 have in store for me??  Well, HUGE THINGS!!  I will be representing  Salomon at Zugspitz Ultratrail in Germany AND at LEADVILLE 100!!!!  Yes, LEADVILLE!!  MY DREAM ULTRA!!!!  I couldn't be happier about this :) Seriously, sometimes dreams do come true!!  I can't thank Greg Vollet (Salomon Team Manager) enough for this CRAZY-AWESOME-DREAM opportunity.

Most of all, I am thankful to be able to explore trails around the world, and share my passion for nature with others.

#timetoplay

You can see the rest of my race calendar on the right side bar -------------->

vegan butternut squash and sweet potato "mac & cheese"

So the one thing that I was sure that I was going to miss as a vegan was CHEESE!! I loved cheese :(  Then I discovered the magic of cashew cream, and the fact that I could turn nutritious veggies into cream sauces!!  I have now learned to make Alfredo sauce, rosé sauce, and various “cheese” sauces without ever touching EVIL DAIRY! 

1 medium butternut squash, diced (about 2.5 cups)

1 medium sweet potato, diced (about 1.5 cups)

1 onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, miced

2 portobello mushrooms, diced

handfull grape tomatoes, cut in half

1 cup of raw cashews (soaked in warm water)

1 tbs red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup of nutritional yeast (more for finishing)

Pasta of choice (I used boxed pasta)

2tbs olive oil- divided

** optional ingredients: seitan

Preheat oven to 400

Toss diced butternut squash and sweet potato in 1tbs olive oil and dash of salt and pepper

Spread squash and potato evenly over baking sheet

Cook for about 30mins (or until soft)

Remove from oven and let cool for about 15mins

Heat 1tbs of oil over medium- low heat in a deep pan

Add onion, sprinkle salt over onions

Cook, stirring frequently until translucent

Add garlic, portobello and tomatoes to pan

Continue to stir frequently, you want to Portobello to become soft

While the above is cooking:

Drain and rinse cashews

Place into high speed blender

Pulse until smooth

If you have chunks, you can add a touch of water or unsweetened almond milk to get a creamy consistency

Place cashew cream in bowl aside

When your butternut squash sweet potato has slightly cooled, add to high-speed blender

Pulse until smooth and creamy

Add your cashew cream, pulse another few times

Add red pepper flakes, nutritional yeast, 1tsp salt and 1tsp pepper (you can add more if you like)

Pour your cream sauce over the cooked onion/porto mixture, reduce heat to low and cover.

Cook your pasta, drain and rinse!  Return pasta to pot, and pour the sauce over top! Fold together!  Add more nutritional yeast if needed, also check salt and pepper for taste.

** I often end by adding fresh herbs (cilantro or basil), or I fold in baby spinach or vegan cheese (just a touch!)

VOILA! CREAMY VEGAN DELICIOUSNESS!!

Virgil Crest 100 - 1st place female, 2nd place overall!!!

Ok, so I have had a month to reflect on Virgil Crest 100 and I’m still in shock and disbelief about how it all unfolded. My first race since going vegan!!! Yaaaahooooooo! 

First off, I should say the reason why I signed up for Virgil Crest 100:

I suck at hills… I hate hills… climbing mountains sucks!

So I decided to sign up for a race that I knew would force me to work on my greatest weakness.  I wanted to prove to myself that I could do this.

Virgil Crest 100: over 48,000ft of elevation change, over 24,000ft of climbing!!

~ it was definitely out of my comfort zone

One of the hardest things about the race was the fact that my parents could not be there to support me. My dad was fighting his own personal health battle, so I made sure he would be with me every step of the way.

Race Morning

I had an awesome sleep and woke up easily at 3:50am.  Corey prepared my coffee and pre-race bagel (with natural PB and banana).  My nerves were through the roof, so I couldn’t eat more than half the bagel :(  Oh well, what can you do!??!

We were very lucky to score a condo 1 mile from the start line, so we weren’t in any rush to get out the door!

I arrived at the start line at approximately 5:40am and immediately felt the nervous energy around me.  For those who don’t know, I am perhaps the most nervous person on the face of the earth, so being around 100s of other nervous runners only made things worse! UGH! Immediately I was consumed by negative thoughts and doubt.  What the hell was I doing?!?! I hate hills!!! Virgil is nothing but hills!!!  This was a stupid move, I shouldn’t be here, but there wasn’t much I could do about it now.

0-25 miles

The RD Ian Golden counted down for the start of the 50 and 100 mile races, and before I could run away screaming in the other direction we were off!!   I told myself “start slow, you KNOW what’s coming”.  I was reminding myself of a section called “the Hurt Locker”, it is a brutal series of steep climbs up and down ski hills.  It was what I thought would be my greatest challenge… funny that it actually became my greatest strength!

The first section of the race was 10km, and it just flew by! I had a blast running on beautiful, single-track through the darkness.  My legs felt fresh and my attitude was very positive.  When I arrived at the 1^st Aid Station my crew (Corey, Michelle and Anatoly) changed out my bottle, stuffed gels into my pocket and forced me to eat a bite of a Thoz Bar.

The next section took us up s a few steady climbs and into more amazing technical single-tack!  I LOVED this section!!  I felt like I could bound over rocks, and roots like I was weightless.  I seriously lost track of time on this section… well, until the horrible road section! BLAH! Nothing worse than bounding through enchanting trails, only to come out to a LONG road stretch! Luckily it was all downhill, well, until the way back! (this is a double out and back course).  Again, I came into the Aid Station and my Nascar PitCrew had me out in a minute.

Having way too much fun!

The next section was new, so I had no idea what to expect!  (It had changed from the previous year)  I thought to myself “it can’t possibly be harder than last year”… I WAS WRONG!! SO VERY WRONG!!!  The RD had to re-route the course through this section, and we were met with climb after climb after climb… and oh, so more climbing! And not your usual trail climbs.  These were mini-goat trails that seemed to climb forever! Slippery, technical and so FREAKING CHALLENGING! Oddly enough I LOVED THEM!!  I kept a constant steady grind going on the uphills and noticed that my steady effort was really paying off! I was passing guys on uphills!! This made me smile!

Then came my nemesis: the ski hills!!! I kept the same approach, slow consistent climbing.  No breaks, no bitching, just forward progress.  Again, I was passing guys on the uphills!!! What the heck was going on?!?! I knew I wasn’t pushing too much, I felt great. Maybe I don’t suck at climbing as much as I thought! TALK ABOUT A MAJOR MENTAL BREAKTHROUGH!

I came into the Trailsroc Aid Station feeling accomplished and very proud!

The final section of this first out was my favourite section.  I felt like I could really get a rhythm going.  I saw some of my great ultra running friends who were doing the 50 miler on their way back after the turnaround.  Cole Crosby was killing it, moving effortlessly as usual,  Jim Blandford, who is such an inspiration to me, and Kristina Folcik-Welts who has the most contagious energy and positivity!   Seeing them made me want to push just a little bit more.

On my way back, I got into the zone, and really dialed into myself.  I ran pretty effortlessly, and made sure to keep my breathing steady.

My crew was on-point with my nutrition and I knew my calories and hydration were bang on!

Now because the 50 and 100 start at the same time, I had absolutely NO CLUE where I was in the standings.  I knew that only Kristina was ahead of me for women in the 50M (I passed the 2^nd and 3^rd place women in the 50M on my way back to the start/finish), but aside from that I didn’t really know who was ahead of me.

When I came into the 50M turnaround Corey told me “you’re in a 3-way tie for 1^st!!!” WHAT?!?!?!!? NO WAY!! The lead men were at the turnaround when I arrived!

My pacer Anatoly jumped in, he was a man on a mission! He said to me “let’s go, no wasting time!”  WE WERE OFF!!!

As we passed one of men (Scotie Jacobs) on our way out his pacer (my friend Ryan Welts) said to me “now you’re the one who has to look over their shoulder!”  I didn’t think anything of it at the time and I kinda laughed it off as completely insane, but this would turn out to be very true.  I simply figured that eventually the lead men would pass me…  Scotie is one hell of a runner (he beat me in 2014 in the 50k).

I will spare you all the details of the next 25 miles, all that needs to be said is: when you have a Russian pacer, expect him to push you FAR BEYOND YOUR LIMITS!! Anatoly was amazing, he was also unrelenting.  He knew what I was capable of, and truly pushed me!  He didn’t baby me, or give into my moments of weakness. Instead, he called me on my BS and reminded me to find my strength.  He truly believed in me! We laughed, we had great conversation, I cried (sometimes), and he yelled at me.  He was truly a phenomenal pacer and friend! THANK YOU ANATOLY!!! I OWE YOU!! And I plan on returning the favour when you run ES100 in 2016 ;) muhahahaha!

Oh, if you haven’t heard about Virgil: it always rains! And we weren’t spared of that.  We were lucky that we had pretty decent weather during the day…BUT THEN: MONSOON force rain overnight.  I have NEVER witnessed rain like this.  I’m pretty sure I was swimming through an ocean at some points!  It was INSANE!  People always talk about Haliburton 2012 and the rain there, well THAT WAS NOTHING!  I was freezing, soaked to the bone and miserable.  My feet were destroyed!  Anatoly and I laughed it off as much as we could, and Corey reminded me at the aid stations “you run well in the rain”… this is true, but this wasn’t “rain”, this was seriously some form of natural disaster!! SPLISH SPLASH!!

The out and back course provided us with the opportunity to see where the other lead guys were at the 75M turnaround.  Gary Twoey had about 30 mins on me, and was looking so strong! When he and I passed on the trail I seriously gained so much strength from seeing his energy! What an amazing runner! 

After the turnaround we saw Scotie about 1km (2km total) back from me.  It didn’t really phase me much, cause I was really trying to just focus on my race.  HOWEVER, seeing how close he was ignited something in Anatoly, and he then became my pacer-dictator-slave driver!  NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!

HOLY CRAP!! I have never been pushed that hard in my life!  The way back certainly had its challenges, but Anatoly, Michelle and Corey were there to keep me moving and keep me positive.  My legs, knees, hips and glutes were completely destoyed from the non-stop ups and downs, yet somehow I kept running.  Maybe it was my desire to not let ANYONE pass me, or maybe it was Anatoly yelling at me to “run faster”, but something was ignited inside of me, and I wasn’t going to stop fighting!

The last 10k was brutal! Everything hurt! Anatoly would not let me slow down.  As we emerged from the trails and entered the last LONG stretch around Hope Lake Park I started to cry, partly because I was so happy to be done, but mainly because I was so damn proud of myself!  I could hear Corey and Michelle cheering for me from across the lake, and this helped to pull me towards the finish.

1^st place female, 2^nd place overall : 24:52!!!

A huge thank you to my amazing crew and pacer:

Corey:  my awesome husband.  You are my world, my biggest supporter and the best crew-captain a girl could ask for.  Thanks for always believing in me!

Michelle: You are a true friend and such an amazing person! I can’t wait to pace you next year!!

Anatoly:  words can not express how thankful I am for your friendship! here’s to many more adventures together!

Michelle, Me, Corey and Anatoly

Thanks to my sponsors:

Nike (shoes: Terra Kiger 3s, clothing: Epic Run Luxe shorts, Breeze tank and Nike Trail trucker hat)

Orange Mud (HydraQuiver Single Barrel)

Julbo (Race Sunglasses)

Bellefleur Physiotherapy

Thoz Barz

GU Energy Labs (gels consumed: far too many!)

Drymax Socks (Trail lite ¼ crew)

CW-X Compression

Physio and Massage!! SO IMPORTANT!!

I have received a ton of questions lately about what I do to take care of my body between training sessions.  On top of your regular stretching, rolling and mobility work I have regular appointments with my physio and massage therapists!

I can't stress how important physio and massage are for athletes, not just for injury treatment, but for week-to-week maintenance.

Many of my athletes and friends have asked me lately for recommendations for both Physio and Massage Therapy, so here they are:

Bellefleur Physiotherapy (click on the link) 

 So many reasons why I love Bellefleur Physio... where to begin?!?!  The clinic is beautiful, and welcoming.  You are not forced into a giant room with multiple beds (like some clinics in Ottawa), instead you get your own private treatment room. 

The staff are AMAZING!!! Jason, Dave and Danielle truly take their time in getting to know their patients, and I have never once felt like they were rushed during my treatments.  They are all very knowledgeable and offer a very wide variety of techniques and treatments (Graston and Dry Needling being my favs)

I highly recommend getting into see them if you are a runner!! They understand what it takes to train, and can really help keep your body working at its optimal level. 

Did I mention that they have won multiple awards!??!  Ya, they're just that good :)

NEXT UP:

Orleans Core Elements Massage Therapy

Again, almost too many amazing things to say about the team at Core Elements!!  I have been seeing Dawn and Celeste for almost 4 years now (after some failed attempts with other massage treatments  in the past).  Dawn and Celeste (and the rest of the team - My hubby has seen Nicole and Shannon) understand runners unique needs and exactly what muscles may need some extra attention.

Dawn (who is also the owner) has gone above and beyond with the clinic to ensure the highest level of treatment and service.  

Massage has made a huge difference in my training, recovery and racing!!