Flights, Food and Time with Family

We’re 38,000 feet over Texas right now (ah, the miracle of in-flight WiFi), which makes it the perfect time to post about our mini-vacation weekend, a must-read book, and a flavorful beef and broccoli stir fry recipe we meant to share before we left last week.

Thursday we flew from San Diego to South Alabama to visit C’s family and celebrate her parents’ wedding anniversary. July is a notoriously hot and humid month in the Deep South, but 10 straight days of rain prior to our visit kept things abnormally cool.

We had a great time, but unfortunately, there really isn’t a great place to do a long run nearby (no bike lanes or sidewalks), so we decided to eat as healthy as one possibly can in the South and return to our training schedule tomorrow.

G read Christopher McDougall’s “Born to Run” during a flight we took a couple of months ago, and C was able to read it on this trip. Wow! Regardless of whether you’re ever planning to run an ultra marathon, this book is incredibly inspiring and reminded us both why we love to run. If you haven’t checked it out, we definitely encourage you to do so!

Finally, we wanted to share a protein-packed meal that is easy to make a large batch of on a Sunday night in preparation for weekday lunches, and has enough carbs to serve as a pre-long run meal. Note: Be sure to slice the beef into bite-size portions so it’s easier to eat at work.

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

• 3  cups of whole grain brown rice, cooked
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry, divided
• 2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce, divided
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 pound boneless sirloin steak, cut diagonally across grain into thin slices
• 1/2 cup lower-sodium beef broth
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha (hot chile sauce) or 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
• 1 tablespoon bottled ground fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 4 cups prechopped broccoli florets
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup sliced green onions

Preparation

1. Cook rice according to directions. We use a rice cooker, and love the results every time.

   

   Rice cookers yield perfect rice every time and allow you to focus on the rest of the recipe.

2. While rice cooks, combine 1 tablespoon sherry, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, sugar, and beef. Stir together 1 tablespoon sherry, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, broth, cornstarch, hoisin, and Sriracha.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef mixture; sauté 3 minutes or until browned. Remove beef from pan. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan. Add ginger and garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add broccoli and 1/4 cup water; cook 1 minute. Add onions; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add broth mixture and beef mixture; cook 2 minutes or until beef is thoroughly heated and sauce is slightly thick. Serve beef mixture over rice.

I like to combine the beef/broccoli with the rice prior to serving so the rice can soak up the stir fry flavors.

This recipe makes about 4 servings, and has the following nutritional breakdown:

Calories: 476

Fat: 12.9 g

Protein: 32.1 g

Carbohydrates: 52 g

We’re really looking forward to getting back into training mode tomorrow. The America’s Finest City Half is just five weeks away!

Have a great week,

GnC