For the love of running... and healthy eating!

For the love of running is correct... Who wakes up at 5 am in the morning to run in the dark foggy weather? This girl right here!!!! Because now I have a roomie I can sneak out really early in the morning while everyone is sleeping and squeeze my run in... Today, 4 miles with a fellow runner friend, I can't be happier. 

My run felt so great and it was just easy, throughout the day I just felt great and I didn't have that constant worry of... will I be able to get my run in or not? Tomorrow we will do it again!  And Sophia loves it, by the time I get back I feed her breakfast, shower and have plenty of time to get ready.

One of the other things I've been working on has been nutrition, an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to having energy and successful runs. I cooked during the weekend certain home made foods that I could quickly have ready with all the healthy benefits. Below find a recipe that I brought back from Tennessee, I absolutely love it and will probably make it weekly!

Homemade Sweet Potato Gnocchi

This recipe literally has 2 ingredients and serves 4 portions, all you need is:

•  1 large sweet potato
• 2 cups of whole wheat flour

Some recipes call for baking the sweet potato, I instead boiled it! Peel and cut the sweet potato in small squares and boil until tender. Once it's tender puree the sweet potato and let it cool. I like using my hands but you could also use a kitchenaid, once the puree has cooled down start adding the flour in increments of 1/4 of a cup at a time. I ended up mixing only 1 1/2 cups and used the rest when making the little gnocchi balls.

Once the dough acquires the desired texture (doesn't stick to your hands) divide the dough in 4 equal balls and roll out each ball into a 1-inch wide rope. Then cut each rope into 1-inch pieces and roll the gnocchi over the tines of a fork. Transfer them to a baking sheet until you have finished with the remainder of the dough.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and start adding the gnocchi in small batches you will know they are ready once they start floating, cooking time should be about 5 minutes. You can now with a slotted spoon drain the gnocchi onto a baking sheet.

I then, because I was cooking for the week, proceeded to put the baking sheet in the freezer covering it with foil; that way you can freeze the gnocchi individually and they wont get stuck together. You can then separate portions in small freezer bags and have them ready to go, all you need to do is throw them back into boiling water for about 3 minutes and voila.

I made a spicy marinara to go with it which really pairs well with the mild sweetness of the sweet potato. Add a little bit of Parmesan and you have yourself a delicious, healthy home cooked meal!