Pre-Bridge Run Recipe

The Charleston Bridge Run is tomorrow and the Charleston is PACKED. This year there are about 30,000 runners but sadly, I am not one of them. Between an in-home cooking class tonight and attending a wedding tomorrow, I made an executive desicion to sleep in and run it solo.

People LOVE to ask "What should I eat the night before a race?" and probably one of the best answer I've heard is "Whatever you normally eat the night before a long run." It was pretty amusingly written about here.

But the thing about the bridge run is that it's only a 10k so many people running it don't have "long" runs or have even followed a strict training regimen. So I'd recommend eating a balanced meal that's similar to something you'd eat for dinner if you were making your "This is so healthy and balanced and following guidelines, I'm so proud of myself" meal. So about 4 ounces protein, healthy carbs and veggies. My recipe for a Vietnamese Beef & Broccoli Noodle Bowl below fits the bill! Make sure you use 100% Buckwheat soba noodles. They have more flavor and are gluten-free.

Just make sure you don't make it too spicy. I'm not going to explain this, you know why ....

Vietnamese Beef & Broccoli Noodle Bowl

makes 4 servings

4 cups broccoli florets

8 ounces 100% Buckwheat soba noodles

1 pound flat iron steak, cut into ½ inch cubes

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 teaspoon brown sugar

2 teaspoons canola oil

4 garlic cloves, sliced thinly

3 tablespoons oyster sauce

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

¼ red onion, thinly sliced

1 lime, cut in half

½ cup chopped cilantro leaves

1. Heat a large pot of salted water until boiling. Add the broccoli and let cook until tender. Remove the broccoli and place in an ice water bath to cool rapidly. Drain the broccoli in a colander.

2. Add the soba noodles to the boiling water and cook according to package directions. Remove from the water and drain in a colander.

3. Toss the steak with the fish sauce and brown sugar. Let sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes.

4. Heat a large wok or saute pan over medium high heat.

5. Once hot, add enough canola oil to lightly coat the pan.

6. Add the garlic and stir-fry a couple seconds, until lightly browning.

7. Add ½ the beef, quickly shaking the wok to cook on all sides. Once browned on all edges, remove and place in a bowl.

8. Repeat step 6 with the remaining beef, adding more oil if needed.

9. Toss the hot beef with the oyster sauce. Add the soba noodles and broccoli to the bowl along with the red onion and sesame oil.

10. Season with the juice from ½ the lime. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

11. To serve, garnish with fresh cilantro and a lime wedge.

#healthy #personalchef #dairyfree #glutenfree #Charleston #dinnerparty #cookingclasses #vietnamese