Quinoa, Kale, & Chick Pea Bowls

I’ve mentioned (I think) that my husband is a runner. But he’s not just any runner; he’s like a super aggressive runner. What started out as a hobby has transformed into a way of life.

He started running in July of 2014 with the goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon in mind. In January of 2015, he ran his first marathon. Since then, he has run many marathons (I think seven), 5ks, 10ks, half marathons, a 50 mile race, a 100 mile race, and a couple long distance relays.

In December of 2017, he beat the Boston qualifying time for his age group (3 hours and 10 minutes) by 10 minutes. He had trained incredibly hard. Not just the running though. His diet was impeccable, he made sure he was getting plenty of sleep (which is hard for him to do), and didn’t drink any alcohol for the majority of his training time (also hard haha). He deserved that Boston qualification and I was so happy for him and so proud of him (and still am).

BUT a couple days after the marathon in December, we found out that the course had been marked wrong and was short by just a few yards. Disappointment is an understatement for what I felt when I read that. I actually shed some tears before I went and told him. The first thing he said when I told him was… “Well, I guess I better get back to training.”… and that’s one of the many reasons why I love him so much. Amazing attitude and resilient spirit.

We did take a couple weeks off and ate a lot of junk, but now we are back to “training food”… tons of vegetables, whole grains, and BEANS (sometimes meat). This is one of our favorite meals… chick pea, kale, and quinoa bowls. These three ingredients are of course the staple of the meal but I always switch up the other ingredients. Last night I added pickled onions, feta, and avocado. I hope you enjoy the recipe! We will be eating this a ton until the New Orleans Rock n’ Roll Marathon in 3 weeks and 2 days, then it’s back to pizza and beer (just kidding but I wish, mama still has to lose some lbs).