Sprint 2 the Table

Appetites and Adventures

Eggplant Chips + WIAW

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Life gets busy.

I know this isn’t news to any of you, but it’s hitting me hard this week.

I’m 10 days out from my next figure competition.  The asparagus (click here for the reason behind that) begins this weekend.  I’m thinking next Friday’s #strangebutgood link up will take a twist as my diet gets to the most strict point… not-so-strange but good, anyone?

Balancing work with the competition preparation is not easy.  In addition to my 7 meals and regular workouts, I’m running sprints every day.  It’s a lot of fit in, especially since I dislike working out at night.  I’m TIRED.  Cutting a good amount of carbs and basically all sodium and fat leaves my energy level a bit low.

But I’m focusing on May 4th (competition day) and staying motivated.  I don’t want to get on stage and have any regrets!

desire to succeed

I’ve been taking a couple of products I received from GNC through a FitFluentiual campaign that have helped me maintain my level of activity: Ultra 25 Probiotic Complex and TriFlex.

The probiotics (said to replenish good bacteria needed for digestion) made a BIG difference.  Those 25 billion active cultures kept my gut healthy (translation: I have no problem going #2).  This make me happy and had prevented bloating!  This particular pill also has “enzymes and ginger for additional digestion support.”

GNC supplements

The TriFlex I think I need to take longer to say 100% whether it’s made a difference.  It is supposed to “promote joint mobility & flexibility” and contains Glucosamine, Chondroitin, and MSM – all of which are great for joint health.  I have been taking it regularly.  That, in addition to seeing a new chiropractor, I *believe* have kept my joints are feeling good despite some crazy workouts!

 

My WIAW meals were still pretty good, despite and lack of yummy, yummy fat.  Mmmmm… peanut butter… I digress.

WIAWbutton

Check out my 7 low-fat, low-sodium, protein-laced meals below, and then click here to head over to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to get to see how more normal people are eating!

Meal 1:

My day began with my morning cocktail (apple cider vinegar, water, and Aminos), as always.

I was going to go ahead and run sprints before breakfast, but my metabolism is out of control lately… I am STARVING all the time.  Breakfast had to happen before I entertained the idea of working out.  I wanted everything at once… so I had it!  It was PB&J-ish… with a coffee flair!  After adding baking powder to my Mango-Coconut TVP Oats, I’m hooked.  I used it again here for an especially voluminious bowl.

PB & Raspberry TVP Oatmeal

PB & Raspberry TVP Oatmeal

  • 1/3 C Textured Vegetable Protein
  • 1 T oatmeal
  • 1 tsp coffee
  • 3/4 C water
  • 2 T peanut flour
  • 1 tsp ground flax
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ginger
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp butter extract
  • 1/4 tsp maple extract
  • 5-6 drops liquid stevia
  • Raspberries

Bring TVP, oats, coffee, and water to a boil.  Cook until liquid is mostly absorbed.  Add in remaining ingredients, adding additional water if needed.  

Allow to simmer until water is absorbed and your TVP oats reach your desired level of thickness.

Note:  I add 1/2 the berries at the end of cooking and use the other half to top because I can never decide if I like them better cooked or as a topping.

Meal 2:

First, I ran my sprints like a good kid.  Then I put a Mexican Sweet Potato Pie in the oven to bake.  It only made me wish I made a second one for myself.  This was to take to a good friend who is a new mom!

Mexican Sweet Potato Pie

Finally, it was food time.  And my continued bison obsession.  As part of my Sunday food prep, I made up several burgers to be able to grab quickly.

I ate this one atop a spinach, heirloom tomato and cilantro salad.  With red pepper flakes, obv.

bison burger

Meal 3:

Lunch was my current favorite – sea bass.  This is even better than swordfish right now… and that’s a big thing for me to say since I consider swordfish the “steak of the sea.”

Eaten  post-workout with a giant mound of lightly sautéed kale and a super-fast sweet potato and shiitakes with rosemary and garlic.

Sea Bass

Meal 4:

Clean chicken salad made from the “naked” (nothing added) Whole Foods rotisserie chicken, a little Greek yogurt, vinegar, cumin, and diced cucumber.

healthy chicken salad

Meal 5:

I couldn’t totally cheat on my favorite fish.  Steak of the Sea for dinner (swordfish)!  Served with my BBQ Roasted Cauliflower and eggplant chips.

Evey time I post eggplant chips on Instagram, I always get a billion questions about how to make them.  It’s the easiest thing ever, so I felt silly blogging it… but even simple meals can count a recipes, right?  The “secret” is at the bottom of this post. 🙂

Swordfish, BBQ cauliflower, and eggplant chips

Meal 6:

This was a hodge-podge.  I had a little chicken left and a little Monchong (fish) from last night.  So I made a combo to get my protein in.  I had celery sticks and sugar peas on the side.  I adore sugar peas – the dessert of vegetables!

Meal 7:

My favorite meal of the day is desert.  I took some non-fat Greek yogurt and mixed it with cocoa powder, cinnamon, vanilla, and a little stevia.  Then I melted some frozen cherries in the microwave with some ginger so my “sauce.”  Then I topped all that with homemade popcorn and more cinnamon.  Paradise.

Cocoa-Cherry Greek Yogurt Bowl

eggplant chips

Eggplant Chips

  • 1 eggplant
  • Olive oil spray
  • Optional toppings: onion, garlic, nutritional yeast, herbs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut eggplant into thin slices (~1/8 in thick).  Spray with olive oil and spread evenly across a foil-lined baking sheet.

Place in over and bake ~10 mins.  Remove from oven, flip slices, and top as desired.  Return to over for another 5 mins, or until crisp.

Note: These can be stored in the fridge – simply place them in the oven under broil for 2-3 mins to crisp back up.

I’m linking these up to Heather’s MMAZ – check out all the eggplant love!

MMAZ

***

Protein count for the day: 163g

What was the best thing you ate yesterday?

What keeps you motived when you’re tired/busy/etc?

Comments

  1. Oh my gosh. 10 days out!?!? For some reason, I had no clue it was that close. I swear like 2 days ago you were saying it was a month away. Time is passing by far too quickly for my liking.
    So glad you’re keeping that motivation up, I know you’re going to rock it!
    I take probiotics too and I definitely think they’ve helped with my digestion!
    And I need to buy eggplant now, so I can make these chips! I love eggplant.

  2. Wow competition day is SO soon and you GOT this, Laura…stay strong & focused :)! Reminding myself of the end results and reward keep me going when motivation hits rock bottom. Best thing I ate yesterday were freshly baked choc chipc cookies for my bestie’s birthday- YUMMY!

  3. I have an eggplant hanging out in my frigde, and now I know what to do with it.
    My motivation is non-existent when I’m busy. I need to work on that.
    Best thing I ate yesterday was curried sweet potatoes fries. Oh my yum!

  4. 10 days!! So exciting!! I love your meals, so clean and so creative. My favorite is the Yogurt-Popcorn-Cherry-dessert – looks and sounds absolutely delicious!!
    I killed the last 2 of my cinnamon-chicken-eggwhite-bites yesterday – that was the best meal of my day!!
    When I am busy, I try to spueeze in my workout first thing in the morning. It keeps me fresh throughout the day and I don’t need to drag myself to the gym after work when I’m tired.

  5. Not long til your comp! Good luck!! Bet you cant wait to tuck into a big spoonful of PB post comp haha; all your eats still look really yummy despite you having go to be so strict/limited – loving the look of your dessert topped with popcorn and your tvp oats..flavour combo sounds delicious.

    • That’s exactly what I did for the last competition – I was eating PB backstage with my fingers! 🙂

  6. Eggplant chips would be awesome right about night- seems I have a case of the midnight munchies 😉 P.s. I love the pretty pattern you made with your raspberries on your oats 🙂

  7. OMG only 10 days!!! How exciting! Just be thankful you only have to follow a diet/training regime like this for a couple of weeks, instead of 12-20 like most other (crazy) competitors!

    • I thank my lucky stars every day! It’s also what reminds me not to go nuts in the off season. 🙂

  8. I love you, Laura!!! I love eggplant and this sounds so good and so easy. I need to try this! Don’t know how I previously missed the Mexican Sweet Potato pie, but that sounds wonderful, too. I don’t need the chicken in there, but otherwise, perfect! Have a great day!

    • Thank you! It would be fantastic with tempeh or beans rather than the chicken. Easy one to make veggie. 🙂

  9. Yum! Eggplant chips! Why not? Sorry to hear that the asparagus begins now… this is the point where I sit back and am in awe of your discipline. Best of luck- you’re so close!!

  12. What keeps me motivated is that carrot at the end of the stick that says I get to sit on my ass in bed watching mindless tv with Tony. The past two weeks have been crazy town here!

    I LOVE roasted eggplant! Definitely one of my all time favorites.

  17. I don’t like eggplant, but it’s because it’s gummy tasting to me. Maybe I’d like it as chips! It’s one of those foods that I want to like. I’ll have to try this.

  21. I really really really want to try TVP. The last time or two that I looked for it at my local health food store, they were out. Crazy, right? Oh well… I’ll get around to it one of these days.

  22. i am suppppper excited for you and know that all the hard work you put in will be worth it!

  23. Oh the asparagus! It’s ok, it’s just 10 more days. You can do it! Plus you’ve done it before so you can do it for sure!

    Hmm eggplant chips, never thought of that before 😀

  25. Oh girl. Here comes the asparagus. I think of you every time I see (and eat) asparagus and apple pie gum! Bring on the “ordinary but good” link up 😉 it’s ok to take a break from the strange to meet your goal…as long as you bounce right back into the strange! I’m rooting for ya!!

  26. I can’t believe there’s only 10 days left until the competition. For solidarity (or maybe because it’s finally in season), I’m going to eat asparagus with you, although I’m I’ll be using olive oil as a garnish. Can you gt away with coconut oil at least?
    Either way, here’s an asparagus recipe, you might be able to do (there’s no oil at all), and I’ve eaten it before and really loved it. http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/chile_spiced_asparagus.html

  27. I made roasted broccoli last night with garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes – YUM! Love the parts that get all crispy. 🙂

    And you are absolutely right – consistency and hard work are key. As you know, the consistency thing just dawned on me recently. What can I say, I’m a little slow!

    • You aren’t slow!!! I’m so glad you’re seeing results – strength training is so gratifying!

  28. Sometimes simple, easy recipes are my favorite! I love eggplant but have never thought of making eggplant chips before, I am going to have to try these! 10 days is so close! I love asparagus but I have never had to eat it like you. I’ll be rooting for you these next few days, and maybe eating some asparagus too!

    • I USED to love asparagus… apparently there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. 😉

  30. I adore eggplant, having it tonight actually. i don’t know if this is a good thing but every time I see or eat asparagus I think of you. I love it but don’t think I could eat it as much as you have to

  31. The fact that all you can eat is asparagus alone (well, and swordfish, right?) is considered strange but good. Give me some diet parameters. I bet I can come up with something super weird you can eat. [I was able to meet the Nutty Butter challenge, wasn’t it?]

    I added baking powder to my oats this morning but didn’t really notice a difference. Maybe I’m not doing it right? How do you NOT do it ‘right’ though? Maybe my oats are just already as voluminous as they can be. 🙂

    Your eggplant ‘chips’ sound a whole lot like my sweet potato ‘chips.’ It’s amazing what giving something an ‘official’ title can do to elevate its glamor factor, as opposed to saying ‘sliced and baked eggplant.’

    • I’ll get the exact plan for the final week this weekend, but it will probably be back tot he patmeal at breakfast with 10 blueberries and a lean protein, followed by 6 meals of asparagus with lean white protein. And a 1/2C sweet potato at lunch. At least I have herbs and lemon to work with!!!

      Are you leaving the oats alone to “grow” after oyu add the baking powder? I stir and let it alone to cook for a couple mins to fluff.

  34. You always have such tasty eats! I love it. I’m going to try my hand at those eggplant chips. I’ve had the same feeling about recipes being too “easy” to put on the blog, but that doesn’t stop other people from wanting to read them, right?

  35. I hadn’t realized you were that close to competition day! Yowzers… so disciplined.

    I have been making eggplant chips to and love them!

  36. Hey Laura! We’re friends on Instagram, but I don’t think I’ve ever commented on your blog! It’s time for that to change! 🙂

    Your eats looks fantastic, and so colorful! I’m so inspired by your dedication to compete–you’re a testament to the fact that hard work and dedication pay off. You’ve got this girl!

    Thanks for sharing the eggplant chips recipe–I’m definitely going to give it a try. 🙂 Happy Wednesday!

    • Thank you so much for commenting!!! I love all your IG pics.

      Let me know if you try the chips… and I wanna see a pic. 😉

  37. So, you made sea bass sound good the other day, but BETTER than swordfish? Woah. That’s quite the claim! Also, I love the idea of PB&coffee flavor in one dish. Maybe odd, but of course that’s why I’d like it… I had asparagus for lunch today! I’m ready to see a week’s worth of asparagus cooking ideas ;D

      • Buttery?? Okay, I like the sound of that! Glanced at the freezer section of Trader Joe’s and didn’t see it. Guess this means I probably need to make a trip to Whole Foods…

  38. very excited for the competition – actually had no idea you were doing this, found your blog little late 🙁 anwyays good luck Laura! Best thing I ate hmm has to be homemade sushi I made 🙂 whenever I lose motivation or get tired, sometimes I let it go and be lazy and pick right back up the next day, and if its workout – i just switch to something different for a change.

  39. I LOVE that first quote! YES!!! It takes hard work & consistency & patience & finding what works for you!!! 🙂

    So… just a little bit about all you are doing. I have a FB friend that is competing soon… she has pretty much cut back most of her FB activity for a few weeks now. She has no blog. I know you need to do some of it BUT maybe cut back till it is over AND next time cut back earlier. All the stress of all you are doing takes away from your muscles & the effort you can put in to competing. I know it is hard to do that cause I talk about it all the time & I am not even doing all you are doing! 🙂 You need all your energy & rest NOW!!!! Mom talking here! 😉 PLUS from experience.. 🙂

    I am curious about the probiotic! As you know, I had a major allergic reaction to the Comfort one so I had to stop it….

    Great eats as usual!!!!!!

    • I’m just going to keep re-reading this comment until I actually follow your wise avice. I lack rest-related discipline.

    • Thank you so much, Liv!!! It doesn’t have to suck… though I would enjoy a cookie right about now. 😉

  41. Best thing I ate yesterday, today, tomorrow… and probably the next day too… SALMON SKIN!!!!! What motivates me when I am tired, cranky, etc… SALMON SKIN! Ahhhhh ha ha aha h!

  42. Stay focused for those 10 days my friend, you are gonna do brilliant 🙂
    And love your Wednesday eats of course, Si creative!

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

  43. I love eggplant choka, which is basically grilled eggplant stir-fried with garlic and other seasonings. I eat this with bake which is like a heavy bread i guess you can say, but eggplant choka is really good with roti skin as well (seeing as you love Indian)

  45. I know you know this already, but I just have to say it again, people on Instagram TRIP ME OUT!! Seriously, I’ve had people ask me the recipe for a packaged protein bar before (that I posted as a PACKAGED PROTEIN BAR!!!) Omg, people need help! And I swear, half the ACTUAL food that I make is just a random assortment of things that I throw either in a skillet or on a baking sheet. It’s not rocket science…people just need to go to the store first…and grab a pair of balls! Yup, I said it! ;P

Trackbacks

  1. […] I saw Laura’s recipe for baked eggplant chips, I knew I had to try […]

  2. […] bun is a bit harder to replicate… until I remembered my eggplant chips!  They are delicious alone, but they also make for a perfect burger […]

  3. […] I decided to try Laura from Sprint to the Table‘s super simple but super delicious recipe for eggplant chips. Because the full (very brief) recipe is over on Laura’s page, and I followed her […]

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