Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate

So after reading the latest blog post from No Meat Athlete's Matt Frazier (http://www.nomeatathlete.com/), I decided to jump on board.

This 16 oz bottle cost me $14.99 at the local natural foods store, but it's located on Amazon, for a little over $10 which is a pretty good price. I blended 1 tablespoon of the concentrate with some almond milk and a banana and it was delicious! My next try might include two bananas for a thicker smoothie and some cacao powder for added deliciousness and nutrients.  

According to the NMA post, after a week of consuming the cherry concentrate, Matt's shoulder, which has pretty much always been a bother, began to improve and he was able to sleep through the night which was apparently a rarity. I figured that since I had slight knee pain that comes and goes (ever since sprinting for my HS track team) I might as well give it a try. What I think is really going to be a plus though is the boost in recovery for athletes. I have quite a season of ultras (possibly 4 or more in the next 4 months) and I think I can use all of the antioxidants and muscle recovery boosters (vegan and natural) that I can find.

I'll be sure to keep you all update on how I feel the cherry concentrate is working. Basically, I'll be letting you know how my body felt during a run after a previous day's hard run/workout. Given that the knee pain isn't too persistent, it is not likely I will notice any effects until a month or more after I realized I haven't felt pain, if that's the case.

Read more about Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate here: http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/benefits-tart-cherry-juice-concentrate-7126.html



So while Val and I were driving down to Asheville, I heard on a Rich Roll Podcast that Killian Jornet (the most amazing sky runner on the planet) has a book out that was published last year! As soon as we got to the B&B, while Val was getting ready for dinner, I got onto Amazon and ordered the book. It just came in the mail yesterday and while I have a couple books I need to read for teacher orientation that starts in less than 2 weeks, I will be weaving this book into my reading sessions for sure!


Check it out and order Here


My runs today were a bit sporadic. I had no idea what the weather was going to be like in the morning after a couple of days of weird stormy weather here in central NJ. I figured I'd wake up early and just see what my body felt like doing. I did just that and as I was grabbing the newspaper form outside, it began to rain and the skies didn't look to pleasant. I decided that I will just get in a quick 3 miles and then take off again in the afternoon after the skies cleared up a bit. So all in all I got in a good 10 miles today after a pretty tough 13 total miles (including a track workout) in yesterday's humidity.

Needing the protein, but avoiding energy/protein bars for the time being, I whipped up some tofu scramble which, come one, definitely looks like the real deal! And by "real" deal, I mean the old egg version deal that I would love for you to cut back on. If you cook up scrambled eggs for you or someone else at home pretty often, I encourage (okay, I challenge) you to try substituting firm tofu for eggs.

It's super easy to make. Cut the tofu into small cubes and as it is cooking, just keep cutting or dicing as you would some eggs. Add whatever vegetables you want and if you are a cheesy scrambled eggs person, add some vegan cheese or add nutritional yeast like I did. Find them at the links or look for them at your local natural foods store.


That's all for today!

Happy Running everybody!