Runner's Kitchen: Fettuccine Alfredo

Today is an exciting day because we're finally discussing food and nutrition here at Unexpected Abundance! I've been wanting to make this post for a while, but I wanted to develop some of my recipes first. For me, nutrition has always been overwhelming. I was overweight for most of my young adult life, so I had a love hate relationship with food. It wasn't until a few years ago where I learned that you could have fun with the food you ate and still hit your fitness goals. Since I've started running, I've learned that nutrition plays an even more important role in training and racing. You can run 10 miles and burn close to 2,000 calories, but if you eat like crap, those 10 miles are wasted. Imagine running 10 miles and working your butt off, just to gain a pound or two the next day.

Eating as a runner is very different than other sports. Sure, you burn a ton of calories, but that doesn't mean you get to eat 3500 calories and bulk your body up. To be a successful runner, you need to be lean and strong, something I'm still working towards. What you put into your body determines your success as a runner, and it can be the last piece of you becoming an ELITE runner. I've said this before, but Unexpected Abundance is a community for all things running. There are no right or wrong answers here, just information sharing between runners.

With that said, I'm very excited to announce our first segment on Unexpected Abundance: The Runner's Kitchen! In this segment, I'll be writing about different recipes that I've learned over the years that have benefited me for my runs. I'll include prep time, ingredients, serving size, and other variations of the recipe that you can try out. For the first Runner's Kitchen segment ever, we're talking fettuccine alfredo! This dish is a classic Italian recipe that I absolutely love. For long runs, I like to have a carb heavy meal two days so my body has enough time to digest and I'm not feeling slow when it's time to run. Over the years, I've tried different ways to make fettuccine alfredo without using the premade sauce, and I think you'll like this one. Without further ado, let's get into the FIRST Runner's Kitchen blog!

NOTE: This recipe is the vegetarian version. This can be made with different proteins, which I'll include the different seasonings to use with each protein.

Recipe: Fettuccine Alfredo

Source: Italian

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Serving Size: 4 people

Ingredients:

• Salt

• Pepper

• Minced garlic or garlic cloves

• Olive oil

• 1 whole bell pepper

• 1 half onion

• Broccoli

• Spinach

• Heavy cream

• Barilla fettuccine pasta

• Parmesan cheese (optional)

Bell peppers, onions, heavy cream, and Barilla fettuccine pasta.

Ingredients

PREP WORK

• Cut 1 whole bell pepper in slices and season with 1 tablespoon of salt and pepper.

• Cut a half onion in thin slices and season with 1 tablespoon of salt and pepper.

Chopped bell pepper and half onion.

COOK WORK

• Fill a pot with water and boil until water is bubbling. Once water is bubbling, insert a box of Barilla fettuccine pasta into the boiling pot.

• Heat a sauce pan to make the alfredo sauce.

  • Pour two tablespoons of olive oil

  • Insert one tablespoon of minced garlic, or two chopped garlic cloves. Cook until garlic is lightly blackened.

  • Once garlic is blackened, toss the chopped bell pepper and onion into the sauce pan. Be sure to use a spatula to mix around the onion, garlic, and bell pepper so the flavors can begin to fuse together.

  • Once the onion and bell pepper are sauteed, add two cups of spinach. Saute until spinach is soft.

  • Once vegetables are fully sauteed, add 2 cups of heavy cream. Season with salt and pepper until taste of heavy cream has subsided. The sauce should have a creamy taste. You can continue seasoning until the desired taste is achieved.

  • Continue to stir sauce with vegetables.

  • Add 1 cup of broccoli and let the broccoli soak in the sauce.

  • Stir the sauce until it becomes firmer and less watery.

• Check the pot to see if pasta is cooked. Drain the pot and add fettuccine noodles to sauce.

• Mix noodles with sauce and stir until both are mixed well.

• Serve in bowl and enjoy!

Fettuccine Alfredo!

ALTERNATE VERSIONS

• Shrimp: Season with salt, pepper, and Cajun seasoning. Cook in separate pan and add to sauce once cooked.

• Chicken Breast: Season with salt, pepper, lemon, and citrus garlic seasoning. Cook in separate pan and add to sauce once cooked.

• Steak: Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and butter. Cook in separate pan and add to sauce once cooked.

Thanks for joining me for the first Runner's Kitchen blog! I'm excited to post more recipes, and if you have any suggestions for recipes, be sure to reach out.

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Until next time, happy running!