Soup to Nuts

I have been feeling better, finally, after about 4 weeks on the iron.  Amazing what a little thing like iron being low can do to your entire being.  Fatigue and frequent illnesses as well as heart problems, a bit of depression and overall poor performance are how it had been affecting me.

I will admit that I have become lazy over the last few months in preparing proper nutritional fuel (aka REAL FOOD) for myself.  I am really the only hard core vegan in the house right now, although, everyone eats what we prepare, they grumble about how much they would prefer burgers or bacon or both.  Sometimes I miss them too.

So instead of putting energy into making food everyone will complain about, I make simple, fast meals for myself that usually are not as nutritionally dense as they should be, considering the amount of training I have been doing.  The result leaves me with an iron level too low to do what I love and little energy to care.

Fast forward a few weeks and I am finally feeling so much better.  I really didn't realize how bad I felt!  So I am investing a bit more time and effort into healthy foods that are vegan and gluten free.

I found a pretty awesome website, Vegan Coach, that I think, even if you aren't vegan, but want some ideas for how to prepare veggies, salads, and soups, you would be pleasantly surprised with the information she provides.

Today I made her Rustic Vegetable Soup.  It was wonderful.  I made it in the pressure cooker so that I could enjoy it for today's lunch.  It was worth the extra time to prepare it and as an added bonus, I now have a wonderful soup to eat everyday for the week!  That is unless I have to share... even my reluctant vegan son enjoyed it! 

I also made her nutrient-dense seedalicious topping for salads, soups, and even breakfast cereal.  It contains pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and flax seeds.  Very rich with Omegas 3 and 6 and 6 Fatty Acids.  I will serve it tonight with our salad and the cucumber-basil dressing I made. 

All in all, things are falling into place again with my nutrition and my running.  Finding that 'hard to find balance" and enjoying it!