Cleanse = Fries

November 9, 2010 By Laura

The Cleanse is going really well. I love that I’m trying so many new things and my energy level is great!

Funny what I don’t crave – the thought of fried food makes me nauseous. Not that I ate a lot of fried foods before, but I did have a penchant for tater tots and really good fried chicken.

And what I do crave – ice cream. I have never eaten a lot of it. Right now I would run over my own mother for a bowl. (Just kidding, Mom!!!)

I ran 3 miles on the treadmill last night to test my new running shoes. The guy at Fleet Feet recommended inserts, so I’m testing those too. The jury is still out.

What I don’t like:

The inserts feel hard (not rocks, but harder than just shoes)
Inserts make me feel like my heel isn’t deep enough in the shoe
The show may be a bit narrow… they do stretch though…

What I like:

With the inserts, my overpronation problem felt much improved
The length is perfect
The laces don’t slip (they are the wavy kind)
They are pretty

Sooooo… I’m not sure what to do. I will definitely need a couple more treadmill tests before deciding.

Side note: I used to run exclusively on a treadmill and couldn’t imagine running without a TV. Tonight I realized I now much prefer running outside and was bored to tears on the “hamster wheel.”

I had work to do and was up until nearly 1 am, so no Whittle My Middle. However, I got up this morning and did it!

Here’s the latest:

Front plank: 90 secs
Side plank: 60 secs each side
Torso twists: 40 reps
Plank ups: 14 reps
Boat pose: 25 reps
Bicycle: 2 sets of 30 reps, 1 set of 40
Side plank w/ twists: 15 reps each side

Has anyone ever heard of the snack cake diet? I am considering it after my cleanse…

Rutabaga fries. They almost taste like real fries. Seriously.

I like mine extra crispy

These fries are really, really good. I’m pretty sure the San Francisco McDonald’s franchises are going to begin serving them with Happy Meals (sans toy, of course).

Rutabaga Fries

1 rutabaga
1T olive oil
2 rosemary springs
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp sea salt (ground to “flaky” texture)
3-4 shakes of cayenne

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Peel rutabaga and cut into thin fry-like slices. Toss with extra virgin olive oil.

Rough chop rosemary and mince garlic. Sprinkle over rutabaga slices. Add sea salt and cayenne. Toss until each piece is coated.

Spread evenly on non-stick baking sheet. Place in oven ~20 mins, turning twice. Remove, taste, and adjust spices as needed.

Note: Omit the cayenne if you don’t like you nose to run!

How about some vegan cheese sauce with that? We can’t have real cheese on our cleanse, but this isn’t bad. It definitely doesn’t taste like actual cheese, so I hesitate to call it that… but there weren’t any leftovers!

Cheesy Vegan Non-Cheese Sauce

1/4 C Tahini sauce
1/4 C EVOO
1 T Miso Tamari

Place ingredients in mixing bowl and combine until smooth.

***

Whether it be food, running, low-rise jeans, etc… are you ever shocked by how your preferences change?

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html?hpt=T2

Healthiest Crackers Ever Made

November 8, 2010 By Laura

Baby Sis and I went for a rockstar run. We braved the cold (and the dark) and conquered 7 MILES!

The best part: when we got home, we both said we could have gone longer. I never thought I’d be saying this… but I didn’t mean to start running more than 2-3 miles at a time. It just happened.

Note to self: File under “Things that I never thought I’d say.”

Stats:

Distance – 7 miles
Time – 60:00 mins
Avg Pace – 8:57 mins

I think we are going to be just fine for our Thanksgiving 10K Gobble Jog.

Disclaimer: We made a pit stop at Old Navy about half way though for 10 mins for a quick peek. Girls will be girls…

Prior to the run, I did my Whittle My Middle with Mom. She held a very impressive 90 second plank!

Following the run, Baby Sis and I completed the Yoga for Runners DVD, which really helped keep the soreness to a minimum today for both of us.

The narration is a tad cheesy, but its effective!

For some reason I have a hard time making myself take time to stretch after a workout, but I am always glad when I do. I need to get better about doing it!

On to the big cracker win!

Unbelievably, I figured out how to make cleanse-approved crackers. These are probably the healthiest crackers ever created. AND they are packed with flavor!

Mixing the fillings

At first there were 2

Then there was 1

Asian-Spiced Flax Crackers

1 C flax meal (mine were roughly ground)
1/4 C chia seed
1 carrot
1 kale leaf
1/4 C cilantro
1/4 C mint
1/2 jalapeño (seeded)
1/8 large yellow onion
2 T tamari miso
2 T lime juice (freshly squeezed)
1 T cumin
1 T coriander
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 150 degrees.

Combine flax meal and chia seeds in a medium bowl. Place remaining ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the puree to the seed mixture and stir until combined evenly.

Line a baking sheet with Silpat (non-stick aluminum foil works too!). Spread mixture about 1/8 in thick onto sheet.

Place in oven and bake for 2 hours, until firm enough to flip. Flip the cracker and bake 2 hours more. Turn off the oven and leave crackers in to dehydrate overnight.

Break into pieces and they are ready to eat!

Notes: You may crack the oven door if crackers are too moist. Ideally you would use a dehydrator for this, so feel free if you have one!

***

The fail part: I tried for a sweet flax cracker but adding coconut butter, cinnamon, and pumpkin spice. The butter made it too moist (ewww…) and we had to turn it into a topping for the grilled pineapple.

Halloween and Squash

November 5, 2010 By Laura

First the fun part – Halloween in San Francisco.

I woke up and ran through the city – along the Embarcadero and through Chinatown. I didn’t save it on my watch, but it was something like 5.1 miles in 43 mins. Not bad with all the hills!

Then the day was ON. After a few minutes in Urban Outfitters where we purchased sumos, Mallory and I had an awesome brunch at Orson (Elizabeth Falkner from Top Chef’s restaurant).

Sumo Thumb Wrestling

We had some “Apple Juice.”

Waiter... there's a sumo in my drink!

Then some toast.

French toast, maple syrup, pumpkin pie butter, and cinnamon cream

And some eggs.

Eggs benedict on house-made english muffin, canadian bacon, spinach, and cheddar mornay sauce

We opted to pass on dessert.

What better way to spend Halloween than at a famous prison?!

Arriving at Alcatraz

Apparently Native Americans occupied the island for 19 months from 1969-1971. All the history surrounding Alcatraz was really neat.

The Sumos enjoyed the view

Gorgeous day for prison!

: I wore stripes, ironically.

Back in San Fran, we took a looooog walk.

Coit Tower

Somehow we ended up in Chinatown right at snack time.

Pork Sticky Buns

The Sumos felt at home

We finally made it home and spent the next hour rushing around to get ready for Halloween!

It was a lazy costume year

We walked through the Mission to get dinner. Kids there trick-or-treat at businesses (the neighborhood isn’t safe conducive to the pastime).

They aren't as well stocked as Laura would have hoped.

Pit stop for ice cream at Humphry Solcombe before dinner (priorities, people!).

Bacon in ice cream. Brilliant.

Once we devoured finished our dessert, we headed to El Metate for dinner.

El Metate = El Tasty

Tacos with corn tortillas are my favorite. I ordered one veggie and one salsa verde shredded pork. The tortilla chips on the side were freshly baked into a nice, thick chip. The spicy array of treats from the salsa bar were delish too.

Taco heaven

My friends had the veggie burrito and the fried chicken. Do yourself a favor and don’t ever get the fried chicken. It was sinfully good and I’ll be craving it for a looooong time. The guac was also hauntingly good.

Finally, we were off to celebrate All Hallows Eve and oogle other people’s costumes!

The Sumos are party animals!

Now that I’ve posted about all that food… what am I eating on the detox?!

…

Read More »

She’s gone country… wine country, that is

October 28, 2010 By Laura

First off, Happy Birthday to my awesome mom!!!

(It was yesterday, but who’s counting?)

My baby sis drove in from college to surprise her (Mamma cried) and we took her to dinner at Miller Union. Of course, I forgot to bring my camera to capture one of the best meals I’ve had in a while. BUT, if you are in Atlanta go eat there. Immediately. If not sooner.

My Recommendations: Miller Thyme cocktail, a glass of the Frederic Mabileau St. Nicolas de Bourgeil Loire France 2008, creamy grit fritters, skillet NY Strip, any of the veggies, and the warm plum crisp. And don’t bother sticking to a “diet” – dig into the bread they bring out. It’s worth it.

After dinner, Baby Sis came home with me for a sleepover and to try a 6am boot camp. I was shocked we woke up in time.

Between the humidity and crazy workout involving lots of stairs, we worked up an appetite! I made the Grilled French Banana Sandwich from last week and served it with apple sliced on the side.

Guess where I’m going tomorrow!?

It was just a good the second time around! Next time I’m doing it with Chocolate Almond Butter.

Baby sis was also my guinea pig. I tried out a version of the Pumpkin Spiced Latte from Peas and Thank You.

It was soooo good I started drinking this and ALMOST forgot to take a pic!

Pumpkin Spiced Latte

4 c strongly brewed coffee (I used 4 c water to 6 T coffee)
1 1/2 c skim milk
5 T canned pumpkin
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Brew coffee. Meanwhile, heat milk, pumpkin, and spices until hot (about 2 mins) on the stove… or in the microwave (I can be lazy in the morning). Pour mixture into blender and blend on high until frothy.

Pour frothy milk mixture into 2 large cups (I had some leftover), and add coffee. Mix lightly and serve.

AND I did my Whittle My Middle moves. The stats:

Front plank: 90 secs
Side plank: 60 secs each side
Torso twists: 50 reps
Plank ups: 16 reps
Boat pose: 25 reps
Bicycle: 2 sets of 30 reps
Side plank w/ twists: 12 reps each side

I’m all out of order though! Rewind to Monday.

I started my week here:

Serenbe Inn

This was my cabin:

Magnolia Cabin

Serenbe (“Be Serene”… get it?!) is this awesome 1000 acre sustainable community just 45 mins outside of Atlanta. My team at work had a short retreat there – it felt days away from the city. We had meetings, ate some awesome farm-to-table food at The Farmhouse (our chicken at dinner came from a farm 30 mins away!), and I went on a 4 mile trail run. Two thumbs up.

I also learned about their Southern Chef Series. They bring in popular chefs (Linton Hopkins of Restaurant Eugene and Holeman & Finch fame is coming in January!) and for a small fee you get to cook dinner with them, stay over night, and make breakfast together in the morning. That’s my kind of retreat!

After all the fattening delicious Southern cooking, I was craving some oats. Do you ever put chocolate chips in your pumpkin bread/muffins/pancakes?

In honor of the gorgeous fall leaves, I decided to add some orange to my chocolate overnight oats.

Chocolate-Pumpkin Oats

Chocolate-Pumpkin Overnight Oats

1/4 c oatmeal
1/2 c milk
1/2 scoop Juice Plus powder
Generous shakes of cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg

Toppings:

Pumpkin puree
Pecans

There has been some nasty weather in Atlanta and this was the perfect breakfast on a rainy fall morning!

Fast forward again.

I’m ending my week here:

San Francisco, here I come!

And here:

Watch out, Napa!

My BFF and I are going to San Francisco and Napa to visit an old friend for Halloween.

Back in a few days with lots of stories, pictures, and wine!

http://www.millerunion.com/site/

The most important meal of the day

October 25, 2010 By Laura

On Sunday, that meal is brunch. Yesterday I tried out the new brunch at the Inman Park Pure with one of my favorite partners-in-crime.

Reason #1 she is one of my favs: we ordered dessert first. I think it may have even been her idea.

Churros y Chocolate Caliente

Churros are basically Spain’s answer to doughnuts beignets. They’re fried and then coated in cinnamon and sugar.

The exterior of these was perfectly crisp, not greasy at all. The inside was airy – the dough was just cooked through. Watch out, Krispy Kreme.

Airy churro goodness

Served with a cup of hot chocolate perfection. It wasn’t too sweet (a must given the fried sugary goodness) or too heavy (to the point that we questioned whether it was made with skim milk). In fact, it only got better as we dunked the churros in it.

From the partner-in-crime:

I can’t not smile when I’m eating these.

Georgia has a silly law that you can’t serve alcohol in a restaurant on Sundays until 12:30p (after the good Southerns have attended church services). After the churros were inhaled eaten, we were allowed to enjoy a mimosa.

Mimosa

Then it was on the the main: breakfast burrito. It had a Mexican name that I naturally forgot to write down, but it was basically a chorizo, potato, and egg burrito (beans on the side, thankyouverymuch).

Breakfast Burrito

The burrito was topped with a medium salsa (just tiny kick to it), avocado slices, and oxaca cheese. I ordered a side of salsa verde too!

Burrito insides

It was good. Not great. The chorizo wasn’t very flavorful and the eggs were a bit over done. The rice a dry and would have benefited from more seasoning. The salsas were definitely the best thing on that plate.

The guy at the table next to use ordered a breakfast version of salsa-verde soaked chicken fajitas. Should I go back (and I will – those churros are crave-worthy), I’ll be ordering that.

We also took time to walk around the Inman Park neighborhood. There are so many cute shops! I bought a Life magazine from 1944.

July 3, 1944

It is so neat to leaf through and look at the ads and story topics (there are 10 pages dedicated to color printing!).

The discovery of the day was an adorable market, Savi. It had some neat food items and a great beer/wine selection. They aslo do beer and wine tastings – we were fascinated by the wines on tap, priced by the ounce for a self-serve tasting.

The owner was friendly and talked with us for a good 10 minutes about the wine selection. He even offered to hunt down my beloved wine from a Barcelona trip 3 years ago. They have a cozy–looking fire place and seating area. I see a wine tasting in my near future!

In true Sunday fashion, I took a nice nap when I got home. Then went for a ~4 mile run. I think I could have gone longer. It was such a nice night and my legs were feeling strong.

That was a nice surprise, as I’ll be adding miles to my runs in preparation for the 10K Gobble Jog with my baby sis on Thanksgiving.

This morning’s Whittle My Middle:

Front plank: 90 secs
Side plank: 60 secs each side
Torso twists: 50 reps
Plank ups: 14 reps
Boat pose: 25 reps
Bicycle: 4 sets of 30 reps
Side plank w/ twists: 15 reps each side
Double crunches: 30*

*I just added this one in today. These are great for working the whole core, crunching your upper and lower half together.

Source

I’m headed out the the airport to pickup a co-worker on the way to our team retreat.

In other news, I am turning into my mother. I washed the sheets before leaving town so that I will come home to clean sheets. Is anyone else this crazy?!

Protein Powder #2 + Asian Tofu

October 12, 2010 By Laura

Powder #2

This morning I made hot oatmeal with the chocolate Vega powder. (I know it technically is not just a protein powder, but neither is my current Juice Plus.) It wasn’t my favorite.

In the oats:

90% of my breakfast decision was influenced by the fact that I still have these giant blueberries. I love blueberries in hot oatmeal because they get all melty and juicy from the oatmeal heat. YUM.

In addition to the berries, I used 1/2 the packet of Vega. Half a serving gave me 5.5g protein, 0g sugar, and 55 cals. I took a taste and promptly added a generous pile couple ‘o shakes of cinnamon.

I’ve made chocolate oats before… but these looked a bit… green.

Color, I can get over. But they also tasted a little off. You know when stuff tastes healthy? My oatmeal tasted too healthy. (Not that this prevented me from eating it.)

I’m still going to eat the other half, but this may be better in a fruit-filled smoothie.

New Challenge today – I started my first boot camp! It was definitely a challenge. We started with 5 mins of stairs. One guy puked. I did not. Lots of boot camp-ish stuff (marching bands, planks, push ups, dips, etc.). Then sprints. Lots and lots of sprints (maybe this will help my 5K time?!). The workout was rounded out with ab work. I’m already sore.

Two things I’m really proud of:

I stayed up with the “in shape” guys the whole time
I ran to the boot camp and home after.

After that craziness I was starving.

Thankfully, dinner was less… green… than lunch. I diced some extra-firm tofu and tossed it in an Asian-style marinade before boot camp.

When I got home, I put the mixture in a grill pan on medium heat.

Meanwhile, I sautéed some red onion and asparagus with a little olive oil and lemon juice.

Then I tossed all of that with arugula, carrots, celery, and cucumbers.

I couldn’t get this on the table fast enough!

Asian-Marinated Tofu

2/5 block Extra-firm Tofu, cubed1T Toasted Sesame Oil
1T Soy Sauce
1/4 tsp Red Curry Paste
1/2 tsp Thai Chile Sauce
1/2 tsp Ginger
1/2 tsp Garlic, minced (about 1 small clove)

Whisk marinade in medium bowl and toss with tofu cubes. Marinate ~1 hour.

Grill on stove top over medium heat until browned (about 4-5 mins on each side). Remove from heat and enjoy!

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/5077127060_93cc39ddbe.jpg

Mission: Protein Powder

October 10, 2010 By Laura

Yesterday was GA Tech’s homecoming game against Virginia. It was great to see my fellow alum’s at the tailgate. Smoak (on the left) even loaned me his festive bow tie!

Go Jackets!

We won the game and I had a great time catching up with my baby sister. I was a bit worried about the outcome, since we haven’t been looking terribly strong and for some reason they didn’t schedule a high school for us to play. Ye of little faith. Other than a couple of turnovers, we looked great.

Today’s run: my pace was a little slower, but I was still pleased with my time since I was sore from yesterday’s run and all the walking we did (my quad has been pulled since July). I came back and did 15 mins of ab work too (more punishment for Friday night’s beer).

Distance: 3.65 miles
Duration: 31:28
Average Pace: 8:57

After all that, I had to get my protein in… which brings us to…

Mission: Protein Powder

I am in the market for a new protein powder. The one I have now is a Juice Plus powder. The flavor is good, but it only has 13g of protein (most powders have 20-25g) AND it contains 12g of sugar (no wonder it is so tasty!).

Yesterday I went to Whole Paycheck (my term of endearment for Whole Foods) and purchased a 1 serving packet of every brand of protein powder they carry. To do a true test I probably should have gotten all the same flavor… but variety is the spice of life.

Protein galore!

First batter up:

Jay Robb - Strawberry

I used this to make this morning’s breakfast – Berry Overnight Oats.

I mixed all the ingredients and placed in the fridge overnight. This morning, the mix had not absorbed as much of the milk as usual… it looked a bit soupy. Maybe this powder isn’t as absorbent?

Either way, it tasted good! I added some blueberries for a topping. These are the biggest blueberries I have ever seen. Nearly the size of a quarter! The strawberry protein powder made the oats taste like strawberry Nestle Quik. This is a very good thing, in my opinion.

Berry Overnight Oats

1/4 C Oats

1/2 serving Jay Robb Strawberry Whey Protein powder

1/2 C milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

Goji berries

Blueberries

Mix the oat and powder in a bowl. Add milk and vanilla and stir until combined. Add small handful of goji berries.

Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, remove from fridge and stir. Add blueberries (or topping of your choice).

The Verdict: Pretty good. I loved the strawberry Quik taste (warning: it could be a bit sweet for some people). Half of the packet gave me 12.5g protein, 0g sugar, and 55 cals. My only complaint is how runny my oats were, but that can easily be remedied by not using as much milk. I have the other half of the packet to go and I’m thinking this would make an awesome Green Monster.

Friday Wrap Up + Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

October 1, 2010 By Laura

This is my first official food post!

Very exciting.

Today was filled with good stuff. It was a Friday and I was working from home – that is a recipe for some good eating! It was a day for wraps.

Breakfast was an accidental egg wrap – a side effect of putting scrambled eggs in a pan on medium heat, and promptly forgetting about them while logging into my computer. Luckily, I caught it just before they burned and added some bacon, feta cheese, and salsa to make the wrap.

The Accidental Egg Mexican Wrap

Word of Caution: When you buy salsa at the Mexican grocery store it is going to be hot. They don’t even bother stocking varying degrees of heat or indicating on the bottle that it is spicy. But I love spicy food.

I needed to read a bunch of material for a new project at work, so instead of sitting on my butt I took it down to the gym in my building and read for an hour on the stationary bike. It is amazing how that makes the time fly! Before I knew it, my stomach was growling for lunch. The end of the week means using up the things in my fridge that I bought/made at the beginning of the week.

Today that resulted in a veggie wrap: homemade red pepper white bean dip, homemade pesto, the most delicious arugula EVER from the Piedmont Park Green Market, carrots, and red onion all wrapped in a spinach Flat Out.

Veggie Wrap Construction

Flat Out wraps are awesome – flavorful, 90 cals, 9g protein, and 9g of protein, and no sugar. If you haven’t tried these, I highly recommend!

Served with a side of crunchy cucumber slices and a big glass of ice water. It was so beautiful outside I decided to enjoy my lunch on the deck:

The best way to eat!

One of my Sake teammates – Samwise Banshee – is getting married in a few weeks. We (her teammates) are making the cake for her Bachelorette party tomorrow night. In true Bachelorette fashion, the cake will be creatively shaped…

I am in charge of making a cannoli cream to spread between the layers. So I took a jog to Publix for ricotta cheese. It is so nice to be able to walk to the store on days like this!

I didn’t take a picture of the delicious cream, but will hopefully have a shot of the cake to post tomorrow.

Cannoli Cream

32oz of good ricotta (this is not the time for a fat-free or off brand)
1 C of powdered sugar (you can add more to taste – I did!)
2 tsp cinnamon
2T orange liquor

Put it all in a bowl and beat it with a mixer until it is smooth and creamy. Mine took about 3 minutes. You can also reduce the sugar a bit and use the cream for a tasty fresh fruit topping!

What I did get a picture of was the bacon chocolate chip cookies I made for a softball teammate who had emergency surgery Wednesday night. Bacon makes everything better, right?

This is closely based on a recipe featured on NPR last winter, by Susan from Food Blogga. I added coffee, reduced the butter (they were pretty greasy with all the bacon), didn’t add the salt (I used salted butter – it added enough), and reduced the flour a tad.

The coffee addition was good, but I was afraid of putting too much in. Next time I will definitely add the whole teaspoon ’cause what goes better with bacon than coffee???

Bacon Coffee Chocolate Chip DeliciousnessMmmmm… serve with a glass of milk. Then bag the rest up ASAP so you don’t eat them all before you can give them to your buddy!

I saw my friend at our softball game tonight. The doctor benched her for 6 weeks, but she was so bored of laying around a good sport and came out to cheer on the team. We won – 3-2. It was a great game. I even threw a girl out at 2nd from center field! This is an accomplishment since a) I am used to playing 1st base and b) the accuracy of my throws is somewhat unreliable.

Bacon Coffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

5 strips bacon
Just under 1 C all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 stick (1/2 C) salted butter at room temperature
1/2 C white sugar
1/3 C light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 C chopped pecans
1T instant coffee granules

Cook bacon until browned and done (about 8 mins – it is better/more crispy when you cook it slowly). Crumple a paper town over a plate and lay bacon across to drain and cool. Chop finely.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a small-ish bowl, whisk flour and baking soda.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer (I used a hand mixer), cream the butter and sugars until smooth.

Add egg and vanilla extract, and beat until just blended.

Add the dry ingredients; beat until just incorporated and the flour is dissolved. Fold in the chocolate chips, pecans, and bacon.

Mix the instant coffee with ~ 1tsp of hot water (no need to microwave – hot water from the tap works). Drizzle the coffee mix into the batter and ever so slightly fold. You should still be able to see the streaks of black coffee.

Drop one large tablespoon cookie dough 2 to 3 inches apart (they spread a lot) on a baking sheet.

Bake for 12 minutes, or until firm and golden brown around the edges, and still slightly soft in the center.

Cool for 15 minutes.

Can be stored on the counter for 1-2 days, then refrigerated in an airtight container.

Makes ~15 cookies.

***

BIG day tomorrow – I just got a ticket to the Braves game! It is Bobby Cox’s 2nd to last one was the Braves’ manager. Hopefully, the Phillies will not beat us like they did tonight.