I am in Walt Disney World with the family until June 14th. Want to follow me along in the fun? I will be on Social Media  :) Facebook , Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest 


It is Monday so we are linking up with another Magical Mickey with John at run.geek.rundisney and Katie from Adventures by Katie.




Over Memorial Day weekend, I ate at Carthay Circle twice to use their World of Color dining package. The first time I was so hungry I didn't take any pics of the food but the second time I did! 

Carthay circle offers lunch and dinner packages where it's a 3 course meal and you get a world of color ticket for a show. The Lunch is 39/person and Dinner is 61/person. 

The menu at Carthay is seasonal so it's always changing but they usually offer 2 appetizers, 6 or so entrees and 2 desserts for your choosing. 

Since I'm gluten free, they also gave me an allergy menu and I was able to cross reference what I could have. They are one of the most accommodating restaurants as they are willing to modify almost anything which is great. 

The service is top notch and we all enjoyed the meal. I highly recommend it to anyone seeing world of color. That way you don't stress about getting a fastpass and the viewing area is dead center and not crowded. 

Anyone else ever done the dining package before? Any eaten at Carthay? 

It is Monday so we are linking up with another Magical Mickey with John at run.geek.rundisney and Katie from Adventures by Katie.


During Princess Half weekend, I was lucky enough to attend a facebook group meet up from the Glass Slipper Group at Afternoon tea at the grand Floridian. They have just changed their menu so I was not sure how it would all work out especially with gluten free eating. 

Everything is now ordered in a set, no more pots of tea by themselves. I was able to order the Chesire package which comes with a pot of tea, glass of champagne, and 3 courses-sandwich, scone and dessert.  

The chef came out to talk to me and said they could substitute gluten free bread for everything and make me a special dessert. 

Everytime I have been here, I have always gotten the Mad Hatter tea as its my favorite. This time I went with our servers recommendation and tried the Eros with  notes of vanilla and mandarin orange and was fantastic! 

The first course was the sandwiches. I had gluten free bread on all the sandwiches and cheese which was awesome. The next course was gluten free bread (cinnamon and regular) to use with all of the spreads. The last course was dessert where the chef especially made me macaroons! 

Overall I had a great time getting to know the ladies I have been conversing with online and the food was great. Since we had a reservation around 4, it actually served as my dinner. 

A few tips: 
1. Service is very relaxed (read:slow!) so keep that in mind. I enjoy it but don't expect to be in and out in an hour. 
2. Their gluten free accommodations were wonderful 
3. They are only open in the afternoon (2pm-5pm) and since the service is long, it can be hard to get a reservation
 4. It is expensive (we paid 50 each) but it is a hearty meal and they do take Tables in Wonderland!

Anyone else been to get tea at the Grand Floridian?

Another Tuesday, another Tuesday on the Run hosted by our favorites: 
April from Run the Great Wide Somewhere, Erika from MCM Mama Runs, and Patty from No-Guilt Life. This week's topic is Runner's Nutrition. I am going to discuss a bit of my journey with gluten free eating! 

Oh gluten. I just know in the past, after I had a carb heavy meal I would get so tired but I never thought anything of it as everyone I knew was the same way. The more I have gotten into healthy eating, the more I have gotten into the primal/paleo mindset and wanted to try the low carb thing. I realized its more low grain than carbs which I decided to give it a go.

I first broke the food script of always needing a carb at every meal and next went having rice with stir frys. I found if I loaded up on vegetables I felt much better.

After a few months of that, I went over a week without grains but it was by luck. The grocery store had a huge veggie sale so I bought a ton and needed to finish them before they went bad. The next week when I had pasta, my body freaked and that's when I knew I had a problem.

Since then, I have monitored how I have felt having grains and it is always the same: brain fog, gas, bloating, tiredness. I learned from the Gluten Summit that brain fog is one of the first signs in a non celiac gluten sensitivity person that something is wrong.

The more I have adopted going gluten free, the more severe the side effects have been when I have small amounts of gluten. It is a tough adjustment to takes a lot of research and time but it is all worth it because I feel much better (the weight loss has been a good side effect!)

Within gluten free eating, I've replaced former grain based carbs with naturally free gluten free grains (rice and gluten free pasta) when needed. Usually I just have more fruits and vegetables and also added in more fat based on a primal lifestyle. Now I believe in balance so there are times I will eat gluten but it always has to be worth it. I will have brain fog, be bloated, feel off and have awful stomach pains so I have to be willing to "embrace the stomach ache". Treats like this include small pieces of cake, donuts, the grey stuff from Be Our Guest, and other fun treats. 

I do try and buy exclusively gluten free and when I'm out to eat, I try to make the choice of food that is naturally gluten free and doesn't need to be modified. Oftentimes, gluten free things like bread are very dense and have to be cooked just right to taste good. I will often just avoid them as more times than not, they are kinda gross.  

And also to give a shout out, Disney really does a great job with food allergies. I was about 90% gluten free during dopey weekend and never ran into problems with getting the food I needed and everyone was accommodating.

Another big tip, do research at restaurants before going out to eat. Most menus now have allergy information so know what you can have. At Disney this was crucial and also really speeds up the process. 

Where am I struggling? With carb loading before runs. I started getting more serious about this on runs longer than 6 miles and any race. I eat low carb during the week (I don't think I get over 100 carbs a day on some days) and have been trying to become a fat burner-which is much harder than you would think! I have mostly been carbloading with fruits, veggies, a bit of rice and pasta and small things like adding sweetner to my coffee and tea, buying yogurt with fruit and having desserts. the only issue with adding this much sugar is I break out all over my face! eek! I promise to keep working on it. 

One more thing I get asked a lot-do I count calories? Nope, I don't. I have no idea how many calories I eat-I eat when I am hungry, stop when I am full and go from there. Some days I eat more than others and I am okay with that. 

Anyone else have gluten sensitivities? What are some of your nutrition rules for running? 

Last week, I was lucky enough to finally go to Napa Rose for dinner. My friends and I sat in the Lounge and got a table no problem. We did go at 5:30 though right when they opened.  

We started the meal with ordering a great bottle of white wine and each ordering appetizers. I ordered the "Smiling Tiger Salad" with tempura fried lobster, spicy beef, greens and coconut-lime vinaigrette which was phenomenal! The spicy beef was amazing as was the sauce. 

Next we ordered entrees and I got the Grilled Colorado Lamb Rack (it was just one rib for the rack haha) and a lamb brisket wrapped in bacon with yams. The yams was amazing and the lamb was cooked to perfection but was very fatty.

Next came dessert-I got 2 things: hot chocolate with raspberry croissant, eggnog donut and apple cake  and also got 3 scoops of sorbet for us to share: Orange-cranberry, salted caramel and apple cider. Dessert was out of this world! I will be going back asap and probably just order dessert. 

Overall, Napa rose definitely lived up the hype and the service was great: not rushed yet very attentive. I would love to plan ahead and do chefs table where the menu is created right there for you. 

Afterwards we went to see the Christmas tree and the new gingerbread house and found a christmas food stand and got spiked hot cider that hit the spot! 

Have you ever dined at Napa rose?

**the picture is all of the food I had last week  and it was all epic!  
I got a salted caramel macaroon, gingerbread man and tomato basil soup in a souvenir mug for lunch, then we did a wine tasting in the early evening, then dinner and hot cider and then I had some dill pickle popcorn to top off the night

Made it safely to WDW! Here is a quick recipe for you that I have enjoyed making. 

FINALLY got kernels for my popcorn maker and he is a festive and easy recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• oil (I used bacon fat)
  
• popcorn kernels
  
• salt
  
• spices (I used pumpkin spice)
  

STEPS

• put oil in pan and let it melt
  
• add in kernels. I used 1/4 a cup
  
• let it heat up and start to turn the crank
  
• keep turning as you hear the corn pop
  
• stop when you don't hear any pops
  
• total time: less than 5 minutes
  

I had way too much popcorn this time. Next time, I would do 1/8 a cup

anyone else have a homemade popcorn maker?

Hi all! In an effort to keep myself accountable and monitor my carbloading, here is a list of everything I had leading up to the race. I went completely gluten free the whole week and went into the race feeling good.

WEDNESDAY

• Coffee with sugar
• Chicken tikka masala
  

THURSDAY

• Yogurt
• Banana
• Veggies with rice
• Fruit
• Pasta with pumpkin sauce
• Pumpkin spice salsa with pumpkin seed chips
  

FRIDAY

• Yogurt
• Banana
• Veggies with rice
• Bbq with sweet potato fries and baked beans
  

SATURDAY

• Hot cereal with maple syrup
• Banana
• Gluten free snack bar-25 g
• Split pea soup 
• Rice-1 cup
• 2 gluten free pastries-
• powerade
• pasta
  

SUNDAY

• Hot cereal with maple syrup
• Banana
• Fruit before run
• tea
  

Overall, I think I carbloaded well. I did not get a bad stomachache or felt too full. I do think I need to rethink my fueling strategies during the race. I felt very sick and had stomach cramps throughout most of the race and after I couldn’t eat anything with being in pain. I think the problem is coming from what is essentially carb cycling (low carb and high carb days interchanged) and I am hoping my body is becoming fat adaptive. But with this fat adaptive strategy, I am still using sugar to fuel my long runs so my stomach is not happy. I would love to switch to fat adaptive strategies (using peanut butter, etc for fueling) but I need to have a few months to work on it and I am in high training time until at least mid-January. I may work on it then (depending on how I feel after Dopey and Rebel Challenge) or it may have to wait until after the LA Marathon. We will see!

Any one fuel with fat during races? 

I have had my magic bullet about a month and I LOVE IT!!! 

I can't believe I lived so long without one! It has made my life so much easier. It is smaller and easier to deal with than my blender and also better quality too. 

A few times a week, I use it for my green smoothie. Here is how easy the process is

• Take magic bullet out
  
• Add in ingredients
  
• Put in magic bullet
  
• Mix it and serve. 
  
• The whole process is about 2 minutes and it is awesome. 
  

I also use it to make my boyfriends shakes, my bulletproof coffee and even chop blocks of cheese. (Cheese is so much cheaper when you chop it yourself).

Do you have a magic bullet? What else do you use it for? 

**I was not paid or sponsored to write this review. I just really love my Magicbullet!**

Another Friday, another linkup!  Thanks to our amazing hostesses: the DC Trifecta Bloggers (Courtney from Eat Pray Run DC, Mar from Mar on the Run, and Cynthia from You Signed Up For What?!)


 This Friday's theme is Free so I decided to combine my typical Friday grocery post with the linkup. I am obsessed with grocery shopping-it is seriously the highlight of my Friday every week.  

So You can see below all that I bought but in the meantime, here are the 5 things I am most excited about to cook this week!

1. Blueberry Vans Waffles
Yall, they are gluten free! I tried the plain ones this week (as a carbloading strategy) and my body has reacted amazingly. I am OBSESSED! I plan on using them as breakfast options for carbloading (recipe coming next week) so imagine my surprise when I found blueberry flavored ones! Can't wait to try these! 

2. Eggplant
So I have never cooked an eggplant so I decided that this week I am going to be adventurous and try and make a gluten free version of eggplant parmigiana since I have a jar of tomato sauce I need to finish up. 

3. Tomatoes
I am in the process right now of roasting the tomatoes to make a creamy tomato soup. I love carbloading with grilled cheese and tomato soup!

4. Honey Almond Granola
It's also gluten free. I bought a bag last week to test how I liked it and I loved it! You can't 

5. Vega 
The blogosphere loves Vega but before I splurge on it, I decided to spend a bit and grab a sample. I am going to try it at some point this weekend. 
I also bought a bar that I ate in the car on the way home and I enjoyed it but it was a bit expensive (1.99 for a bar) so I would probably only buy them if they are on sale. 

GROCERY STORE RECAP
Such a small shopping trip for the week as there weren't too many deals. 

SPROUTS-spent 26.20

• Spinach-1.29
  
• Eggplant-98 cents
  
• Hatch Chiles- 22 cents
  
• Green grapes-1.75
  
• Red Grapes-1.00
  
• Green Beans-45 cents
  
• Grapefruit-50 cents x 2
  
• Organic lettuce-98 cents
  
• Tomatoes-1.30
  
• Organic fruit spread-3.49 for 2
  
• Fruit strips-4 for 1.00
  
• Honey Almond granola-3.99
  
• Vega shake-3.49
  
• Vega snack bar-1.99
  
• Vans waffles-2.30
  

RALPH'S-spent 8.76

• Eggs-1.88 x 2
  
• Blueberries (18oz)-2.50 x 2
  

I will be going to Trader Joe's after dinner to buy some bread and some fun stuff and I'll update!
TRADER JOE'S


Do you enjoy grocery shopping? What have you bought this week? 

According to Kyle Pfafflebach, there are 10 foods he would recommend for runners. 

GROUP 1-High Complex Carbohydrates

• Sweet Potatoes
• Whole Wheat Pasta
• Quinoa

**these help to fill glycogen stores which is a great source of energy as maximum glycogen stores help to improve performance

GROUP 2-Good Proteins

• Salmon
• Eggs
• Mixed Nuts (almonds, walnuts, etc)

**salmon and eggs are complete proteins (contain all 9 essential amino acids). Protein helps with recovery from workouts. 


GROUP 3-

• Radishes
• Tomatoes
• Apples
• Mixed Greens (spinach, spring mix, arugula)
  

**fruits and vegetables provide vitamins, minerals and nutrients to help the immune system and metabolic processes

To me, these all make sense and I have been trying to work on incorporating them more into my diet especially on CARBLOADING weeks like this one.

I eat mixed greens, eggs and nuts every day.

I add group 1 when I'm CARBLOADING before a race to fill glycogen stores.

I add fruits and veggies everyday and increase that as high training miles get closer.

What does everyone else think of the list?