Sparkling Fruit Tea

I drink A LOT of water. I always have my 32 oz water bottle on my desk, and I tote it around with me wherever I go. Who knows where my obsession with hydrating myself started? They say you're supposed to drink half your weight in water everyday, but I'm pretty sure I drink the full weight of linebacker. Is there such a thing as too much water? Probably...supposedly (so says Wikipedia) there's such a thing as water intoxication. I don't think I'm quite ready to go to Waterolics Anonymous or anything, but if I start acting funny (more than normal), you might want to cut me off. Thanks.

I've never been a big soda drinker, and although I love the taste of beer and miss it dearly, I've never been one of those people who can down two pints right after a 6-mile run. All I want is water for at least 45 minutes after I exercise. When it's hot outside and you're hanging out with friends, though, it is nice to have something besides water to drink. With my diet restrictions I'm a bit limited as to what I can have. How many (good tasting) cold beverages can you think of that have no sugar, gluten, dairy or yeast?

None?

Yeah, me either. Until this past weekend.

I was invited to celebrate the birthdays of two sweet friends. Everyone was bringing something to share, so I decided to bring drinks. Not everyone wants to eat and drink according to my diet, so I made a yummy sugary drink called Ginger Almond Tea that has been a staple in my family for the last 10 years. Then, I got creative and made a sparkling tea without sugar. Both were a big hit and I'll definitely be making this Sparkling Fruit Tea for other occasions. I even had a friend request that I make another batch of it when she came over to visit the next day.

This tea not only tastes good, but it's also good for you since it's made with green tea. I got this Orange, Passion Fruit, Jasmine Green Tea from Aldi, but you can really use any fruity hot tea that you like.

First step is to make it strong by steeping 6 tea bags in one cup of boiling water. Steep for as long as the directions say--for green tea it's usually 2-3 minutes. Then, add stevia to taste (I added between 1/8 and 1/4 of a teaspoon). Next, stir in the juice from one lemon, 1/2 Tbsp of pure vanilla extract and 4 cups of cold water. Chill (the tea...you can chill once the tea is ready).

Right before you serve it, add 1 liter of cold sparkling water (I used some generic soda water). Don't serve it over ice or else it will become watered-down and less fizzy. That's it.

You'll find me sipping this on my front porch for the rest of the summer. Come join me! 

Half Marathon Fuel

This past Saturday, I ran my second 1/2 marathon. I had so much fun! The runner's high is for real, and it's such a great feeling! I beat my time from last year by four minutes, which surprised me completely. I trained hard this season, but I was more concerned about having fun than beating my time. The weather was perfect and I had a lot of energy, so in the end I'm glad I pushed myself to see what my body could do. I've been running with East Nasty running club for a couple years, and it definitely makes a difference to have the friendship and support of so many fellow runners. My family also came out to cheer for me. Even though they only saw me for a few seconds as I ran by, it gave me such a boost to know they were there.

My five-year-old nieces, Sydney and Abigail, made these beautiful signs for me. (My family nickname is Miranda Panda.) "go! go go go to the finishshe," "Panda. fly" Love it. :)

As I've been training this season, many people haven asked me what I eat and drink to make sure I'm getting enough calories and carbohydrates. Lots of runners load up on bread and pasta, and I used to do that when I ran cross country in high school. It did not work for me. I ended up getting light-headed and weak during my runs. Now I know my body doesn't do well with so many carbs, so it makes sense why I struggled with running in high school. My diet of mostly veggies, meat, nuts/seeds and some gluten free grains works really well for me, even when I'm training for a long race. I've never had more energy than I do these days.

On Saturday, however, I decided to add in some fructose (fruit sugar) to my diet to give me an extra edge. Last year I only drank water during the race and I hit a wall at mile 12. My roommate and running budding, Katherine (in the pic above), encouraged me and helped me push through all the way to the finish. I wanted to avoid the wall this year, so I went to the Turnip Truck and bought a few natural snacks and drinks that I thought might help. They totally did. I was so energized the whole race (my legs got tired and I was breathing heavy, for sure, but I never felt like stopping). Here's what I ate and drank before and during the race. 

1. Amazing Grass Green SuperFood, chocolate flavor. It really is amazing. I drink this every morning mixed with water or coconut milk or in a smoothie. I've tried lots of green drinks and this is definitely the best tasting one. I love knowing that I've automatically gotten a huge serving of veggies and vitamins (and chocolate!) at the start of my day.

2. Yogi green tea. I also drink this every morning. Back in October I started drinking green tea instead of coffee. I miss coffee sometimes, but I'm really enjoying green tea. The caffeine in it doesn't ever make me jittery. Kombucha and Energy are my favorite Yogi flavors.

3. Fruit leather. I ate the apple one about 20 minutes before the race. I don't do well eating too much before I run, so I kept it light with one of these.

4. Recharge sports drink.  I am not a fan of Gatorade or any sports drinks really. They are too sweet for me, I can't take it. I was really excited to find this at the store and even though I won't make a habit of drinking it, I loved it! Its base is white grape juice, lemon/lime juice--no fake sugar at all. The taste was great and I felt good knowing that I was getting some electrolytes and sodium in me.

5. Yerba mate. Two years ago I spent some time in Argentina. Those people do not sleep and it's mostly due to the amount of this stuff that they consume. I drank about 4 oz. of this and, along with the green tea, I was sufficiently caffeinated.

6. Raw Revolution live food bar. Like I mentioned above, last year I hit a wall, so this year I made sure to carry some calories with me to keep me going. I pulled out this mini nutrition bar at the halfway point and I think it made a big difference in my finish.

That's what worked for me! I'd love to hear suggestions about what works for you because I'm definitely not an expert in this area.

Also, I wish I could share about my post-race food (it was much more exciting), but I don't have any pictures. First, I had loads of almond butter on rice cakes, then for dinner I had a grilled bison burger (no bun), guacamole, and sauteed cabbage. What a great day!