Real life has been so busy lately that I have fallen behind on the internets! March was busy with turning 42 (happy birthday to me), running a pretty mediocre 5K on St Patrick’s day (followed by not so mediocre beer and pizza), a family road trip to the Pacific Northwest – Seattle and Portland and celebrating my daughter’s 12th birthday (happy birthday to her). And lately I have been busy running a lot more – I’m trying a new plan, running much slower by heart rate but spending much more time running and logging many more miles (more on that later).
love Seattle!
beautiful Oregon coast
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A Recipe
I think you can pretty much put anything in a taco shell and kids will eat it… at least mine will. But one of our family favorites is quinoa and black bean tacos. The recipe is never exact because you can really put anything in a taco shell.. here is tonight’s concoction:
- 1 cup quinoa
- 14 oz. of cooked black beans
- 1 red pepper
- 1 onion
- sprouted tofu – cubed
- some baby carrots – roasted (because I happened to have them in my fridge)
- organic taco seasoning (or make your own: paprika, cumin, cayenne pepper)
I chopped the carrots and roasted them with a drizzle of olive oil and salt @ 425 in the oven for about 30 minutes.
In the meantime, chop the onion and pepper and sauté in a large pot with water or olive oil. Once these veggies are cooked, add 2 cups of water or vegetable broth and the seasonings and bring to a boil.
Add the cup of quinoa to the boiling mixture and cook about 16-20 minutes.
Add black beans, cooked carrots and mix in the tofu - Warm this mixture for a few minutes.
Put some in a warmed taco shell and add salsa and whatever other toppings that you like.
quinoa taco night!
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A Review
by Mark Modisette
FRS – (Fantastic Resiliency Substance). Actually FRS doesn’t stand for anything per their website FAQ, but it means plenty me and my friends. Sonal and I are always reading and researching food and drinks that are good for you or claim to help with performance. We’ve experimented with many different types of nutrition on our longer runs and endurance events and have found FRS to be the best solution for us!
A few years ago, we were vacationing in Encinitas, CA at our favorite beach house when we made a trip down to La Jolla where a Triathlon was just getting started. There was an FRS booth at the event and we got plenty of free samples (we love free stuff). We both tried some on the spot and packed some in our luggage so we could try it later.
As I mentioned, we try lots of stuff like chia seeds, beet juice, hemp protein, etc… It’s generally difficult to measure the immediate benefits of some of the things we try, but FRS proved to be an exception. I drank an FRS before a run one day and I felt unusually good. I did not put the two together until I had another similar experience on a run. I realized that my legs felt great the entire run and energy levels stayed high. I wanted to learn more so I started reading about FRS and the key ingredient, Quercetin. The ingredient Quercetin was developed for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, which causes energy levels to go down. Quercetin, which is made from the peels of fruits, was found to help improve the perceived energy levels of patients.
I ordered the free sample trial, which included some chews in addition to the canned drinks. The chews have proven to be a great alternative to some of the sweeter tasting nutrition products on the market. Overall, FRS has become our main supplement for endurance activities. I usually drink a can with my breakfast before a run and take 2 or 3 chews just before I start running. For longer runs, I’ll take more along the way. They really do provide an energy boost for those longer days. Don’t take my word for it though – try it for yourself. I have also had most of our friends in our running group try FRS and they all are now buying it regularly.
It is pricey at $2.50 a can, so I recommend shopping around – sometimes I get FRS from Vitamin Shoppe which offers free shipping and every once in a while, I can get it for about $1.00 a can! We also rely on friends to get us a deal at local military Base Exchanges (being a formal Air Force veteran I do not feel guilty).
Some friends have even mixed it with a little vodka and loved the healthy libation. :-)
Great product and really does what it says - If you try it and like it – you have to let me know!
