Thanksgiving is around the corner!  Runners rejoice!  Endurance athletes love to eat and carbs are king when it comes to going further, faster.  There’s a reason everyone from the elites down to the final finisher enjoy a good carb load prior to a marathon.  If you’re training for or racing distance events, carbs = better performance and carb deficit = impaired performance.  In the spirit of the holidays we’ve compiled some of the Trivium Racing family’s favorite carb-filled Thanksgiving recipes for your enjoyment with grams of carbohydrates noted!

Green Bean Artichoke Casserole

from Michigan Digital Marketing Manager, Megan’s New Orleans family

Ingredients

88.6g total carbs

• 2 small onions, chopped (14g)
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped (3g)
• 1 cup chopped ham (I get the cubed ham and chop it smaller) (12g)
• 2 x 16 oz. cans French style green beans, drained (7g)
• 2x 8 ½ oz cans artichoke hearts, drained (14g)
• 1 small jar of artichoke hearts in olive oil, chopped (12g)
• 2 cups grated Romano cheese (0g)
• 2 cups Progresso Italian bread crumbs (26g)
• 6 slices lean bacon fried crispy and crumbled (.6g)
• Olive Oil (5 tbs for sautéing, but use less and add more later if the casserole is too dry.) (0g)

Directions

• Sauté onions, garlic, and ham in olive oil till tender (about 5 mins)
• Add drained artichoke hearts, ham, bacon, cheese, and the bread crumbs, being careful when adding the bread crumbs as too much bread can make it dry.  If that happens, you can add more olive oil – ya just got to play with those two ingredients.
• Mix together, taste to see if you need salt, and pour into large casserole dish
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes

Cornbread

Recipe comes from a Detroit restaurant no longer operating, Bourbon Steak.  From Michigan Digital Marketing Manager, Megan.  This is, without a doubt, the best cornbread you’ll ever eat.

Ingredients

381.4g total carbs

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (0g)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar (150g)
• 2 eggs (1.4g)
• 1 cup sour cream (10g)
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda (0g)
• 1 cup corn meal (125g)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (95g)
• 1 tbs. + 1 tsp. sea salt (0g)

Directions

• Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature.  In a mixer, whip butter, sugar, and salt until it resembles mayonnaise.
• Add eggs, sour cream, mix thoroughly on high, scrape down sides.
• Add flour, corn meal, and baking soda to mixture and mix on medium speed until just incorporated.
• Scrape down sides of bowl, mix with a spatula until homogeneous.
• Spray dark pan, portion mixture into pan, bake at 350F for about 20 minutes.
• Depending on what pan I use, I can easily get 10 mini loaves or 20 regular muffins from this recipe.

Vegan Pot Pie with Biscuit Topping

from North Carolina Digital Marketing Manager, Mel

Original recipe from Vegan Richa

Ingredients

144-235g total carbs, depending on veggie choices

• 1 cup chopped onion (15g)
• 3 gloves garlic, finely chopped (3g)
• 4 oz mushroom, thinly sliced or chopped (4g)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (24g) (use 2 tbsp. rice flour + 2 tbsp. tapioca starch for gluten-free)
• 2 bay leaves (0g)
• 1 tsp. dried rosemary (.77g)
• 1/2 tsp. salt (0g)
• 2 cups veggie broth (3g)
• 2.5 cups veggies (Frozen or fresh, chopped veggies such as green beans (7g), sweet, yellow canned corn (40g), carrots (11g), peas (21g), zucchini (3.5g), white potatoes (12g), etc.  Some veggies have more carbs than others!  We’re showing grams of carbohydrate per 1 cup.)

Biscuit Topping

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (72g) (or a mixture of all-purpose and wheat flour)
• 1/4 almond flour (6g) (or ground cashews)
• 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder (2.5g)
• 1/2 tsp. salt (0g)
• 2 tsp. nutritional yeast (2g)
• 2 tsp. dried herbs like oregano, rosemary, basil (~1.4g)
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper. (.25g)  More for garnish.
• 3/4 cup chilled non-dairy milk (almond milk, light coconut milk, or soy milk) (~1g)

Directions

• Pot Pie Filling: Heat a saucepan over medium heat. Add 2 tbsp. broth or 1 tsp. oil. Add onion, garlic, and a good pinch of salt and cook until translucent; 4 to 6 mins.  Add mushrooms, mix, and cook for 3 mins.
• Add the bay leaves, herbs, salt and mix. Add the flour and mix. Add 1/2 cup broth and mix until there are no lumps, then add the rest of the broth. Stir well to combine. Bring to a boil. Add the veggies, mix, and continue to cook for 4 to 6 minutes. If the mixture is not thick to preference, mix in 1 tbsp flour and 2 tbsp broth and add to the saucepan and bring to a boil again. The mixture thickens on cooling, so you just want a slightly thick filling.
• Transfer the mixture to a 9×9″ baking dish. Remove the bay leaves. Let it cool for 10 mins. Meanwhile, prepare the biscuit topping. Preheat the oven to 435 F.
• Biscuit Topping: Add flour, almond flour, baking powder, salt, nutritional yeast, herbs, and black pepper in a bowl. Mix well.
• Add 1/2 cup chilled non dairy milk and mix in. Add 1 tbsp. milk at a time to make a soft sticky dough. Let it sit for 5 mins, then add spoonfuls of the mixture on top of the pot pie filling.
• Bake at 435F for 17-20 mins. or until the topping is golden. Garnish with fresh herbs and freshly ground black pepper. Let it sit for 5 mins then serve.

Chocolate Pie

from North Carolina Race Director, Becky’s Kentucky Grandma, B Barr.

Directions and Ingredients

555.84g total carbs, depending on pie crust

In double boiler melt:

• 2 squares unsweetened chocolate (8g)
• 2 tbs. margarine (.2g)

Scald 2 1/2 cups milk (~30g).  After milk is scalded, add to chocolate mixture.  Mix well with whisk.

Add sugar mixture to chocolate mixture.  Stir well:

• 1/2 cup flour (48g)
• 1 cup sugar (200g)

Mix these well in a bowl before adding:

• 1/4 tsp. salt (0g)

Stir mixture until thickened, about 15 minutes.

Separate 3 eggs (1.8g).

• Keep 3 whites for meringue.
• Keep 3 yolks for pudding mixture.

After above pudding mixture (chocolate + sugar mixtures) has thickened, add yolks and stir constantly for 2 minutes.

Take off heat and add 3/4 tsp. vanilla (.38g).

Pour pudding mixture into cooked pie shell (~200g).

With electric mixer, mix until soft peaks form:

• 3 egg whites (above)
• 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar (.46g)
• 2 tbsp. ice water (0g)
• 1/3 cup sugar (67g)

Put merengue on top of pudding mixture and bake at 350F until peaks brown.

Corn Pudding

from North Carolina Race Director, Becky’s Virginia Grandma, B Barr.

Ingredients

226.2g total carbs

• 3 eggs (1.8g)
• 1/2 cup sugar (100g)
• 2 cups corn (82g)
• 3 tbsp. flour (18g)
• 2 cups milk (~24g)
• 1/2 tsp. salt (0g)
• 1/2 stick margarine (.4g)

Directions

• Melt margarine in casserole dish.
• Mix sugar and flour to get lumps out.
• In a bowl, mix:
  • Milk
  • Corn
  • Sugar & flour mixture
  • Eggs
  • Salt
• Pour into baking dish.
• Bake at 350F for about 45 minutes until golden brown.

Pumpkin Bread

from Michigan Events and Operations Manager, Hannah

Ingredients

487.9g total carbs

Dry Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups flour (167g)
• 1 tsp. baking soda (0g)
• 1 tsp. salt (0g)
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon (.9g)

Wet Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups sugar (300g)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (0g)
• 1 cup pumpkin (20g)
• 1/3 cup water (0g)

Directions

Cranberry Orange Salad

from Michigan Race Director & Coordinator, Cathi

Ingredients

~246.5-258.5g total carbs

• 1 package raspberry Jello (19g)
• 1.5 cups boiling water (0g)
• 1 14 oz can whole berry cranberry sauce or jellied cranberry sauce (~ 168-180g)
• 1 14 oz can mandarin oranges (~59.5g, depending on brand and syrup)

Directions