I am very excited to have been asked by Michelle to do guest post, this is my first official guest post as I am still new to the blogging world.

All About What Makes Me Chelsea
I am currently living in Blair, Nebraska and teach 3rd grade in Bennington NE. I am originally from Omaha, which is a bigger city. It has taken some time to get used to the small town atmosphere. I live with my boyfriend of 2 years, who works in agriculture, along with my puppy Cooper. We are hoping to buy a house soon and I am looking forward to a hopefully soon engagement.

I really got into fitness during my Senior year of high school. I had always been athletic (cheerleading, track and swim team), but had the mentality that I could eat whatever I pleased, it caught up to me quickly!! Throughout the years after high school, I slowly learned more and more about eating healthy and becoming more involved with exercise.

When it comes to working out, I really like to mix things up. You can say I go in spurts…I will go a year focusing on running then turn to more high impact cardio mixed with weights. I love everything about exercise, and if my body could allow it I would spend all day in the gym or on the trails running. I have done several shorter races in my past, 5k’s and 10 k’s. I have found that running shorter distances works well with my body. When I increase my running to longer distances, my blood sugar levels get harder to stabilize (I am hypoglycemia).                               

I just started my blog this year, and I was shocked and amazed to find out how many people out there have the same desire for eating healthy and staying fit as I do. I enjoy blogging because it gives me a chance to relate to others and also express my ideas and thoughts. I have learned a lot about running, weight lifting and nutrition over the past year just from reading blogs alone.

I hope you enjoyed my guest post, and thanks again to Michelle for letting me get a chance to talk a little bit about me!!

How did you start your running or blogging journey?

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Go check out Chelsea’s blog: Workout Warrior!

Hi Runner’s Plate readers! I am so excited to be guest blogging for Michelle while she is on vacation in Minnesota! My name is Megan and I blog at Running Foodie, a blog about, yes, running and food.    

Second, we both make a mean muffin.

Michelle’s Lemon Pistachio Muffins & my Spiced Peach Muffins

Third, we both love to run (although I’m no marathon-er!).

Fourth, we’ve both taken a picture with our hubby in front of the Space Needle.

And finally, we are both teachers, which means one very important thing – we are both on summer vacation right now!

I’ve written on my blog before about how much I enjoy LUNCH during my summer break, so I thought I would share a few quick but delicious recipes with you all that will really make your summer lunches (or dinners!) shine: a mayo-free chipotle chicken salad and an heirloom tomato salad. I seriously cannot get enough heirloom tomatoes right now!

Mayo-Free Chipotle Chicken Salad
adapted from The Family Kitchen

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs – fat trimmed
• Broth or water
• 3T chipotle hummus
• 1/4 of a red bell pepper, diced
• 2T cilantro, minced
• juice of half a lime, to taste

Method

1. Place chicken thighs in the bottom of a slow cooker and cover with broth or water. Cook on low for 3-4 hours, until chicken is cooked through*.
2. Remove chicken and allow to cool until you can handle it, then shred it or dice it into cubes.
3. In a small bowl, mix the chicken, hummus, red bell pepper, cilantro, and lime juice. Refrigerate until cool, then enjoy on a sandwich.

*Alternatively, you could shred a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken.

This chicken salad is really delicious on whole-grain bread with fresh spinach and tomatoes. My husband likes to add extra chipotle hummus, but I think it’s spicy enough!

Heirloom Tomato Salad

Ingredients

• 2-3 heirloom tomatoes, cored and cut into large chunks
• 1 small avocado, diced
• ~1/4c crumbled blue cheese
• 2T olive oil
• 1 1/2T balsamic vinegar
• 1/4c thinly sliced fresh basil
• salt and pepper, to taste

Method

1. Mix tomatoes, avocado, and blue cheese in a bowl and stir gently to combine. Add oil, vinegar, basil, salt and pepper and toss.

Thanks so much, Michelle, for letting me share these recipes with your readers! I hope you are all having a fantastic summer, whether you are on vacation or not! Please stop by Running Foodie and visit sometime!

xoxo,
Megan