This West Coast heat wave is doing its best to derail my #100daysofAthleteFood challenge. Who wants to haul groceries home and then stand over a hot stove in the 100 degree heat? Oh yeah, I don't always do that on a perfect 70 degree day either, but I'm really making an effort these days!
We have a "house salad" for dinner at least 3 times a week. In the Athlete Food kitchen, this means combining the best, and least weird, ingredients from what's on hand in the refrigerator and pantry. The house dressing is almost always dressed with our Maple Curry Salad Dressing, but for last night's meal, I strayed and used tomatillo sauce.
When I returned from my trip to Vegas and Branson last Sunday night, I was depleted. In a five day stretch, I had competed in three races, navigated five different airports and checked in and out of four hotels, all on a diet that revolved mostly** around a jar of peanut butter.
When I first decided to go gluten free to help control allergies, I struggled to get enough carbs in my diet to fuel my workouts. Without carbs, my workouts would start off ok, but would start to fall apart halfway through. Unable to make it through a 6k swim without my pre-workout bagel, I started and stopped my wheat-free diet three times before it stuck.
After a double workout session last week—Bar Method then River Road run—Bec and I foraged at Trader Joe's in Edgewater, NJ. First we beelined to the sample station for a few bites of mini quesadillas. Then we each bought a snack to eat while we shopped, trail mix for me, a peach for Bec. 
As I dug my spoon into our shared pint of Stewart's ice cream, eyes fixated on Gaby Douglas’ uneven bars routine, my husband, John, turned to me and said, "Maybe we should be eating tofu or salads." I didn’t put my spoon up until the pint was gone. But the next night I cooked a salad appropriate for watching chiseled Olympians sweat over fractions of points and seconds.
Laurel's had pasta and red sauce the night before the Columbia Triathlon last weekend. I had a gluten-free quinoa and lentil salad. Here's how it was prepared:
