One of the biggest races happens in San Francisco every year in October, it’s the Nike Women’s Half Marathon.  It has become insanely popular because of who organizes it, for the beautiful sites of the city and as well as for happens at the finish line: firemen in tuxedos handing you a Tiffany necklace at the beach. One of the sponsors this year is Whole Foods Market, known for its high-quality natural and organic products and local community ties.

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Popular among the fitness community

Whole Foods has become a well-known destination (yes, it’s a destination, their store’s are a transcendent experience”) among the fitness community for their organic products, gluten-free options, and local produce. The whole store is basically a healthy-food option and with many members of the active community looking to make healthier food options, it has become the place to shop. With the birth of our daughter several years ago, we started looking for organic foods for her to start eating. I started reading labels like it was an homework assignment. I’m comfortable saying that 90% of what we give her is organic and having places to shop that cater those needs is important.

 

An organic score! From dinner to healthy snack options for the entire family.

An organic score! From dinner to healthy snack options for the entire family.

Meal-prep all set, just for you.

Meal-prep all set, just for you.

Make meals easy with their freshly prepared Take 'n' Shake options.

Make meals easy with their freshly prepared Take ‘n’ Shake options.

Pre-Race Fuel

When Whole Foods Market reached out to me to share a pre-race meal, my first thought was to share what I tend to eat leading up to race day: PASTA. It’s a staple in most runner’s routine race week and I wanted to share a simple version, as well as one with options you can have any day of the week.

Ingredients: Tomatoes, garlic, balsamic vinegar, oregano, salt, extra-virgin olive-oil, pasta
Additions: spinach, mushrooms, feta cheese

I made the marinara sauce in a blender, it’s pretty simple and you can adjust as needed for taste. The First Lady eats her pasta plain, so her plate was pretty straight-forward. We added a side of corn to make sure she gets some veggies on her plate. I’ve also previously blended carrots in the sauce as another option to make sure that veggies are involved in the eating process. It adds a different taste to what some might consider, normal pasta sauce. For us, I separately sautéed mushrooms and spinach in a separate pan to add on top of the pasta with some feta cheese as well. If this was race week, I would eat the pasta plain without the mushrooms, spinach, and feta,  but adding those options helps to mix things up — add some crushed red peppers for some kick!

 

Dinner for the First Lady

Organic dinner for the First Lady (our daughter)

100% organic dinner with options to spice things up.

Organic dinner with options (mushrooms, spinach, feta cheese) to mix things up… add crushed red peppers for a kick.

 

Nike Women’s Half Marathon (in San Francisco) Giveaway

As a sponsor, Whole Foods Market has given me FOUR guaranteed race entries to giveaway to YOU! These are non-paid entries, which means you are responsible for paying the race registration fee and any travel expenses, but your spot is guaranteed. And since race entry through the random draw has closed, these are pretty much gold — er, perhaps Tiffany silver?

FOUR randomly selected winners will be selected on Friday, Aug. 22 and must confirm before Aug. 25.

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow Whole Foods on the interwebs:

Twitter: @WholeFoodsNorCA
Facebook: /WFMWalnutCreek (Walnut Creek, CA location)
Instagram: @wholefoodsmarket

 

What is your pre-race fuel?

 

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