Today is Kiwi Cotter’s birthday. He’s not a fan of birthdays. Well, not his own. I call him The Birthday Scrooge. He thinks he’s getting old (in triathlon years), but I beg to differ. I like to think he is aging like fine wine.. bolder and smoother with the years, yes? YES!
Anyway, this weekend he has another small race and since he missed so much training the past few weeks due to a virus, he has decided to train through it, meaning he won’t be tapering. He also needs lots of good fuel and recovery food to boost his immunity, especially after this past weekend’s race and fiasco. This means the birthday Mexican feast is postponed, but that does not mean good food won’t be had.
We’re focusing on dairy free and gluten free foods this week so that he can MAXIMIZE his nutrient intake. Now don’t get me wrong, we love our yogurts, kefir, etc. and we still have them in the fridge, but when intensity is higher therefore making recovery more crucial, we tweak his diet a bit. This allows more nutrient absorption,stronger immunity, and hopefully a decrease in inflammation.
Here’s a great article from another pro about GF pre race diet.
So more eggs, GF oats, fruit, greens, seeds/nuts, organic beef, fish, and dairy free protein smoothies. I like to add in more omega oils in the smoothies as well.
GF Oat, Egg, Strawberry, Nuttzo, and coconut bowl.
Steak, Strawberry, and Nut Salad.
Dairy Free/Gluten Free Mac and Chick Peas. Yep, this is his birthday meal. You must try it too! I promise you will not know be disappointed!
Kiwi Cotter’s favorite allergy friendly recipe
[print_this]Ingredients:
- Gluten Free Pasta (macaroni or rotini)
- Dairy Free shredded cheese (1/2 cup)- Go Veggie, Almond/cashew Cheese, or Daiya are great to use.
- 1 can chick peas
- 1 jar pimentos
- curry powder
- garlic- 1 to 2 tsp.
- sea salt and black pepper- to taste
- olive oil or other oil of choice (2 tbsp.)
- almond milk (unsweetened)- 1/4 to 1/2 cup
- Optional: diced chicken, tofu, tempeh, or beef
Directions:
First, drain the chicken peas and dry them off. Coat them in 1 tbsp. oil and curry powder. Spread on a baking sheet and bake at 400F for about 15 minutes or until gold brown. Set aside. Then cook pasta according to the directions. Strain the water and add it the milk, cheese, oil, and seasoning. Stir on low until cheese starts to melt. Once its starts to melt, add in your chick peas and pimentos until all the cheese is melted and coated onto the pasta and chick peas.
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Do you change the foods you eat during training or before a race?
I know this girl is changing a lot of foods this week in order to prep for her big COMPETITION!!! So close Laura!
Cheers and Happy Birthday Kiwi Cotter!
LC (aka sherpa wife)
Happy Birthday to James!! You can make that mac and cheese for me anytime! 😉 I hope you all have a great time celebrating.
this is definitely a Brittany recipe! YUM! I’ll make it for ya!
Happy birthday to your love… so interesting about what he eats before a big race, I find sports nutrition fascinating.. you guys make a great team!
I love the care and preparation you take to ensure your husband can be at his best! You seem to be a fantastic team and compliment each other so well. 🙂 Praying for a great race and a fabulous year ahead!
That recipe looks great! I don’t really change up my diet that much in training but I try to stick with 80/20 paleo most of the time!
Happy birthday to your hubby!!!
I am so trying these recipes. As someone who is DF, I am always looking for new recipes!
Your blog is seriously gorgeous! 🙂 I’m loving the looks of that Nuttzo- one of these days I need to invest in a jar!
Happy Birthday to the hubs! I hope he takes a few moments to celebrate, even if he’s not big on the whole birthday thing. 🙂
you had me at dairy free 🙂 Pinned it so I can make this when we get back from our travels!!
Do you every do 1-on-1 nutrition for folks other than your hubs?
let me know whatcha think! And yes, i do one on ones. When I have time. 😉
I am not huge on pasta, but that salad – steak and strawberries??! YUM. I’m guessing some kind of balsamic dressing to go on it. Maybe with an asian flair?
WANT IT.
Happy Birthday to James! He may not be a fan of birthdays, but I’ll gladly drink a glass in his honor… and enjoy a bowl of that birthday meal 😉
Happy birthday to James! I can understand putting the celebration on hold temporarily while reading. I think going to a mostly if not all gluten free diet may help me tremendously 🙂 find out Friday!
oh yes, keep me posted!!
Once again you baffle me with your creativity! LOL… Where is your cook book?! If you make one, I will go to your BOOK LAUNCH PARTY and interview you on the red carpet and then write a blog post and create a VIDEO! BAM!! How’s that for INCENTIVE! 😉
bahahah, i’m loving that incentive!! P.S. is your tuesday any better?
A little bit… Nothing life changingly AWESOME happened, but I guess I will have to settle – HA! Wow, I sound so unappreciative of my life – THAT is not the case! 🙂
Happy Birthday to him!!! I bet you made his day fabulous!!!
Love you!
Oh and excited for Laura too! Love her, she will rock!!
i know, i wish we could go cheer her on! how fun would that be? hehe
Thank you both!! I would LOVE it if you were there. 🙂
You are the greatest support system your husband could ever have!!
Hope his birthday was super!!!
He is a happy man right now! hehe. Content. Happy belly, happy husband.
What a helpful post. I’ve read some about inflammation causing foods. I’ve always avoided dairy in general because it doesn’t sit well with my stomach. I don’t seem to have any issues with gluten but I do with legumes. Do you find that legumes are a problem? Maybe it’s because I’ve gotten out of the habit of eating them regularly….hmm. Food for thought! haha.
i think it depends on your food sensitivities and over all allergies. I avoid legumes when i am stressed and have airborne allergies. So, often, LOL! But we still have peanut butter ever so often and it doesn’t bother us. Keep a food journal, you might have trigger foods, ya know?
well, tell James happy b-day for me—even though he isn’t a big birthday person! 🙂 That chick pea mac and cheese is my fave! H made it when I was visiting and I’ve been addicted ever since but I always add in kale…wierd but soo yummy! No pimentos either…they freak me out. Love the breakie bowl too—reminds me of Basik acai bowls in hawaii!
oh the acai bowls! those are amazing!! You doing better these days? <3
Happy birthday kiwi Cotter!
I am only 5 days of the 3 weeks into my GF/DF elimination diet. The preparation is tough. My family sat down for pizza tonight and I made myself a salad, sauteed up some summer squash, and baked some herbed potatoes. I can tell that since going GF/DF I have eaten much more “clean” or “whole” food, because it’s too much of a pain to try to find GF/DF food that’s already processed.
I am still on the hunt for the perfect GF cereal though. Most of it is downright cardboardy.
<3 you! Can't wait to order my first healthy bites! (lemon!!!!!)
Happy Birthday to James!!
I love reading about the nutrition aspect – you know I geek out on it.
And THANK YOU for the shout out. Your support and encouragement mean so much. Can’t wait to hug you at Blend!! xoxo
Happy Happy Birthday James!!
I am just catching up and was reading about last weekend–what a bummer! All of it! I love how you both made the best of it, though. Hope this weekend is better!
Wish James a happy birthday from me! That’s very smart to monitor the nutrition to maximize performance–I like it!
Hooray! Happy Birthday to the Kiwi… saving the Hokey Pokey for after the race, yes??? Love the sounds of the recipe, WISH we could get Daiya in Aussie!
haha yes, and pineapple lumps. Oh that boy is deprived. LOL! THink i could send you daiya??? Might work?
HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HIM!!!! I wish I could get my family on the gluten free… ugh so much resistance. Yummy beautiful food you have, come cook for me.
With meals like those, I really don’t feel like I’d be missing out on anything! Everything sounds delicious. Happy Birthday to Mr. Cotter! 🙂
Happy birthday to him! I love the creative eats… I just listened to a gluten free seminar yesterday (through INN) and she challenged us to go 3 months gluten free, to experiment with it (and also to be able to be empathetic for clients who need to cut gluten). I don’t eat much gluten now, so I’m thinking of taking the plunge, at least short term.
i just emailed JC to wish him happy birthday. yay!! i remember making that mac and cheese a few years ago and LOVED it! i just have to find that almond cheese that you suggest because i do NOT like daiya (neither does my tummy). tomorrow is my lactose/glucose breath test at the hospital – hope it will give me some answers with whats happening with my colitis tummy!
oh keep me posted!!! Email me the results! I still need to send you some almond cheese. You can use parmesan cheese here too or goat cheese, which is lower in lactose.
that’s really interesting about him cutting dairy before races… i definitely eat no dairy like the day of, but i don’t think that far in advance… you guys definitely know how to do it! 🙂
You are so smart and so useful in helping him train for these races! sherpaing at its finest 🙂 And yummy foods too, LOVE me some nuttzo 😉
Anytime you talk about how you fuel your hubs for races and prep him for the big day, I am SO impressed with all that you know and how you tweak his diet (and yours) as needed. It’s amazing. PS. happy birthday Mr. Cotter!!
well i LOVE doing it, so it makes it special, yes?
That’s interesting about the GF/DF diet for intense training… It’s hard for me to give up Greek yogurt, I can work around the bread/mini bagels/pasta easily enough. 🙂
Happy Birthday to James! I would call him a Birthday scrooge too…. I freaking LOVE (my own) birthdays! 🙂 🙂
We only switch things up for about a week, and that’s still tough. LOVE OUR GREEK too. hehe
I think James has an unfair advantage in his nutritionist/sherpa wife ;). But I won’t tell! Happy birthday to him! You will have to celebrate after the race. There are too many good restaurants in Austin not too! Best of luck and blessings this weekend! xoxo
i have a feeling we’ll be hitting up Maudies soon! Come join!
That steak salad and bowl of oats both look so pretty! 😉 Sending the hubs a birthday high-fives and hoping for a killer race this weekend and an even better Mexican birthday meal afterwards…I may need to pick some up this weekend since it is a holiday…LOL
YOu need to be here for the mexican feast.. just sayin.
Oh gosh that sounds like a wonderful dish! I just made a vegan mac and cheese recipe, but used nutritional yeast, white beans, and coconut milk. It was amazing. I like yours with daiya! That stuff is like a dream lactose free cheese.
Happy birthday to your hubby!
I also like how you said our aging is like a fine wine aging. I totally will agree with that!
oh i like your dish! okay, must try that next!
I pretty much eat the same before a race. Then again, there really isn’t much for me to still cut out. I do limit my already limited cheese
this is true. Hopefully you are feeling good though, yes?
Happy Kiwi bday!!!! He can celebrate after!!! 🙂 AND YES, Laura is so close! I have been there so I feel her pain! 😉
Love this post & you helping others that need to eat like this.. course I stopped in my tracks at Nuttzo! That looks delish! I have not had Nuttzo in a while cause I go thru to fast & it is costly for my budget. When things are better, I am adding it back in cause I LOVE IT!!!!!!
I have a recipe I am posting soon with Nuttzo, and a DISCOUNT AGAIN! YAY!!!
Happy Happy Birthday to the man of the house! I think you deserve wife of the year!! Your maccaroni looks delicious!
oh you are too kind, thank YOU Lauren!
I want a batch of that Mac N Chickpeas – that’s so something I would devour! And tell Mr Cotter he is NOT getting old, you get to race a little longer in triathlon. 🙂
And how have I not thought to add my omega oils to my morning smoothie?! Awesome idea!
yes, do it!! You will love the added nutrients!
Happy Birthday Hubby!!!! This looks and sounds like an AMAZING meal plan! I am putting this recipe in my calendar to make for dinner tomorrow night! It sounds amazing!!!! I have everything but the pimentos, so I guess I will just leave those out!
you can use bell pepper or other veggies. I bet you will get crafty! hehe Let me know whatcha think!
That mac & chickpeas looks incredible! I would eat that for daaaaays.
that was my plan. It lasted a day and a half. Guess it’s time to make more! hehe
Happy Birthday!!