I Have To Feed Myself Now?

As many of you know, in addition to being a grad student, I live/work in an undergrad dorm, which means during the school year I get to eat 14 meals a week in our lovely dining hall.  But now it's summer, and I'm on my own for the whole feeding myself thing.  I've managed to get this far by a) going home for two weeks where my parents still feed me and b) cooking eating dinner with S most nights since I've been back.  But I'm not going home again until mid-July, and I just dropped S off at the airport for his 10-day cycling tour of Scotland, so now I'm really on my own.


One of my goals for this marathon training cycle is to put more thought and effort into my nutrition and hydration strategy instead of only focusing on logging miles.  For now, the goal isn't really to lose weight (although I certainly wouldn't mind that) but more to make sure my body has what it needs to get to October in the best shape I can be in.


First, it's confession time.  I'd love to say that I've been amazing about starting my day off right with a healthy breakfast, but lately breakfast has seen a lot more pop tarts than steel cut oats.  Normally I try to save the pop tarts for days when I have a race or a long run (since they give me a sugar boost and are easy on my stomach), but opening that little foil packet and firing up the toaster has definitely become a daily occurrence.    So one of my goals for next week is to fire up a big pot of steel cut oats and actually eat them.  Or at least finish off my box of Honey Nut Cheerios.

What I plan to have for breakfast

What I actually have for breakfast

Breakfast temptations aside, lunch is usually my biggest struggle.  I really don't like deli meat sandwiches and I got bored with salads, so I usually end up hitting Chipotle or snacking on cheese and crackers and fruit.  Today, I made some awesome deviled egg salad.

Hard boiled eggs, yellow mustard, light mayo, salt, pepper, and paprika

I put the egg salad on a toasted whole wheat English muffin to make an open-face sandwich and had some chips and salsa on the side.

For dinner, I pulled out one of Omaha steak burger patties that have been sitting in my freezer for a very long while and threw it on the George Foreman (currently competing with the crock pot for my favorite appliance).  I heated up some baked beans, sliced up what was left of a cantaloupe, and made a salad.  And of course finished off an open bottle of sangiovese.

Just ignore all the clothes on that other chair ...

The salad had baby spinach, broccoli, carrots, cranberries, goat cheese, sunflower seeds and homemade salad dressing (olive oil and apple cider vinegar with some seasoning).

I swear there was a lot of green stuff under the cheese crumbles

Klaus is very helpful when I cook.  He really likes to get involved.

"Getting involved" = keeping the couch warm

Ok, back to they Olympic trials!  And probably a few bites of Bunny Tracks ice cream.  And then hopefully early-ish to bed so I can get tomorrow's 6 mile pace run in before it gets too hot.

Any suggestions on quick, easy-to-make meals for runners?  I'd especially appreciate any breakfast or lunch suggestions!