For me, there's no distinction between eating for fun and eating for fuel. I need food to survive, of course, but I put a lot of effort into making sure each meal is as enjoyable as it can be—even when there is a lot on my figurative plate. I’ve let this principle guide me the past few months while training for the New York City Marathon. During runs, I often eschewed sport gels in favor of Starbursts and peanuts. After long runs, I happily downed piled-high tartines on olive oil-fried toast, or large amounts of grain-heavy salads. If hunger struck, I didn’t think twice about mid-afternoon cake snacks at the office.
It’s the final stretch now: The New York City Marathon is November 1st, and it’s time to carb-load. Carb-loading doesn’t just mean eating a bowl of pasta the night before a race. To do it well, you need to eat excess carbohydrates for three or four days prior. That means this week I need to eat a lot, and I still want to eat well. Here’s what’s on my menu to make sure that I get plenty of carbs, not too much fiber, and just a little fat:
Overnight Steel-Cut Oats with Almond Butter & Honey by ying
Heidi Swanson's Baked Oatmeal by Nicholas Day
Breakfast Fried Rice by Kathleen | Hapa Nom Nom
Baker's Sign Soft Pretzels by Nicholas Day
A Medley of Roasted Potatoes with Homemade Za'atar and Aleppo Pepper by onetribegourmet
Southwestern Spied Sweet Potato Fries with Chili-Cilantro Sour Cream by TasteFood
Braised Onion Sauce by Kenzi Wilbur
Pasta e Ceci (Pasta with Chickpeas) by Emiko
Sweet Potatoes Roasted in Coconut Oil by Gena Hamshaw
Vegetarian Carrot Fried Brown Rice by Erin (Naturally Ella)
Low-Sugar Oatmeal Raisin Cranberry Cookies by Joanne Chang
Do you have a ritual pre-race food? Tell us in the comments.
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