More on the Recipe Challenge of 2012!

I was mulling over my last post regarding the Great Recipe Challenge of 2012, and thinking about where exactly I want to go with this challenge. So, being me, I started doing some goal setting.

So here are my current objectives with this challenge:

• Expand my daily eating repertoire
• Expand my potluck/ party recipe repertoire
• Explore new ways to cook and new cuisines
• Maintain a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet that optimizes my body composition, supports my training schedule, and enhances my race performance.

Whew! Looks like I want everything! Eat a variety of new and delicious foods that I can feed myself and my friends while still supporting my athletic lifestyle!

Since that last objective is a doozy, I'll expound on what exactly it is I'm looking for when testing out these recipes. First and foremost, I won't eat any meat, and limit my dairy to cheese and yogurt (I'm slightly lactose intolerant, so no straight up milk for me!)

Second, I had mentioned a few months ago that I was following the Precision Nutrition System. That's still going well, but the recipes would have to fit under the guidelines. Mainly, I'm looking for dishes that:

• Contain a higher protein food
• Vegetables and/or fruits
• Contain less that 25% whole grains (except after exercise)
• Include healthy fats
• Are comprised of mostly whole foods

Additionally, dishes that include my favorite superfoods will also be given priority:

• Omega-3 eggs
• Greek yogurt
• Dark leafy vegetables (kale, spinach, collards, etc)
• Tomatoes
• Avocados
• Berries
• Citrus fruits
• Nuts
• Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts
• Quinoa, flax seeds, steel cut oats
• Beans, lentils

So, I'll start thumbing through my recipe books for things that follow these criteria. Oh, and also look/taste good enough for me to feed to my friends and post on the blog :-P It'll be a fun adventure! :)