Blueberry Cheesecake Fluff + WIAW

January 23, 2013 By Laura

I must confess something.

Don’t worry, this isn’t another TMI post.

I haven’t had a perfect Junk-Free January. Being sick and doing some crazy endurance work has derailed me. However, I did lay off the booze and I really don’t regret the times I ate deliciousness like this:

I listened to my body and my body wanted calories. Trashy calories. Post-stomach flu and post-crazy racing I’d lost a couple of LBs. They have been found. 🙂

This could also have something to do with a killer Chest and Bicep workout with my trainer on Monday. We did supersets, alternating between chest and bis, to get done in an hour. I benched pressed about 8 lbs more than my body weight and then preacher curled a little more than half my body weight. And now I can’t lift a glass of water.

________________________________________________________________________________________

I’m back on track for this WIAW. Still hungry ALL the time, but I’m keeping it clean and fueling my body with good stuff. It’s crazy how your body still demands replenishment days after a big event!

Check out my 7 meals below, and then click here to head over to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to get to see how others dined this week!

________________________________________________________________________________________

Meal 1:

After my morning cocktail (mix of Apple Cider Vinegar, Glutamine, and Fitmixer Aminos), I broiled a grapefruit according to this method with coconut butter, cinnamon, and cardamom. That was “dessert” after I demolished an herbs de provence egg white omelette.

Meal 2:

A rare thing happened – I went to the gym in the morning. Never fear – hell didn’t freeze over. I’m still not a morning person – this trip wasn’t exactly early. It was a killer leg day though!

I packed a protein-rich treat to refuel in the car before an appointment:

This was delicious chocolate pudding made with 1/2 C Greek yogurt, 1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder, almond milk, and cinnamon.

The topping was a crumbled Sweet Potato Baked Oatmeal, straight from my freezer. I’m so obsessed with these.

Meal 3:

Lunch was an old favorite: Salmon Pizza with Sweet Potato “Sauce.” I used tortilla crust and topped it with spinach, artichokes, and onions.

Meal 4:

I developed an addiction to Whole Foods’ Naked (read: no salt) roasted chicken. Not a cheap habit, but worth my sanity as I hate touching raw chicken. Every Sunday I buy one and pull off all the white meat to eat throughout the week. Today I ate it chicken salad-style, but with a hummus mix rather than mayo.

Hummus Chicken Salad

Shredded chicken
Broccoli slaw
Red peppers, chopped
Hummus
Apple Cider Vinegar
Cumin and red pepper flakes, to taste

I didn’t measure, but the hummus and ACV is about a 1:1 ratio.

Meal 5:

I could hardly wait for dinner. I’ve been eyeing Kristina’s Cholar Dal recipe for a couple of weeks and this frigid day seemed the be the perfect time to try it out.

It was AMAZING! I licked my plate clean. I ate it alongside some pan-seared tempeh and roasted brussels, broccoli, and mushrooms.

There is something in my head that will not allow me to simply follow a recipe. Here are my modifications:

Added 1/2 red pepper
Used 1/4 C tomato paste rather than fresh tomatoes
Added 1/4 tsp fenugreek and 1/2 tsp coriander
Increased cayenne to 3/4 tsp
Didn’t use the salt, butter, and dried chilis

Meal 6:

Please don’t get bored with me. I love carrots. And peanut butter. And eggs. PB & Ceggs. Again.

Meal 7:

Casein is good to have at night for muscle recovery. unfortunately, I can’t stand the texture. No matter – I really like having dairy before bed. Maybe a carry over from a youth filled with nighttime ice cream bowls?

This creation is going to be in heavy rotation. I’m scraping the bottom of the bowl and trying to convince myself that I don’t need another as I type this. It’s like blueberry cheesecake with hot brownie on top.

Need I say more?

______________________________________________________________________________________

Blueberry Cheesecake Fluff

1/2 C cottage cheese
1/4 C blueberries
1/4 tsp butter extract
1/4 tsp coconut extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
Pinch of cardamom
6-7 drops liquid stevia
Water or milk
1 rice cake

Place everything except the rice cake in a blender with enough liquid to blend. Blend until mostly smooth.

Pour over a rice cake. Tops as desired – I warmed a Cookies ‘n Cream Think Thin bar in the microwave and crumbled it on top with more fresh berries and cinnamon.

Devour.

Note: if you don’t have butter and coconut extracts, simply sub vanilla and/or almond extract.

***

The protein count for the day: 183.2g. Nailed that one!

Don’t forget to join the Strange But Good link up this Friday!!! 🙂

What trashy calories does your body crave? When do you give in?

What is your most recent fitness accomplishment/milestone?

Sweet Potato Baked Oatmeal

January 21, 2013 By Laura

I am not a morning person.

That’s an understatement.

After hitting snooze too many a few times, I’m forced to race through my morning routine. I squeeze in a quick workout, shower, try to make my face look presentable for work, and inhale breakfast. This means I NEVER have time for something a decadent as baked oatmeal.

Then light bulb went off. Pre-Baked Oatmeal. I made this Raspberry version last spring, but wanted to create one for the winter months.

Sweet Potatoes are one of the seasonal items I most look forward to. The sweet potato helps to bind these bakes together, and provides a creamy texture that is excellent against the chewy rolled oats.

Aside from the pie-like taste they add, sweet potatoes also pack a ton of nutrients. They are rich in Vitamins B6, C, D, and are good sources of iron and magnesium.

When you freeze them, all you have to do is pull one or two out and pop it in the microwave to defrost. 45 seconds later you can be ~~shoveling~~ delicately eating your oatmeal on the run.

Yes, this baked oatmeal recipe was created to be made in advance to freeze… however, I dare you not to eat one hot out of the oven. I “iced” mine with a mixture of Greek yogurt, cinnamon, and a couple of drops of liquid Stevia.

Sweet Potato Baked Oatmeal

1 ½ C canned or mashed sweet potato
1 egg
½ tsp almond extract
¼ tsp maple extract
3 C rolled oats
1 T cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
20 drops liquid stevia
¾ C Silk Pure Almond Unsweetened Vanilla

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners, or grease with cooking spray.

Mix together sweet potato, egg, milk, and extracts. Stir in oats, spices, baking powder, and sweetener. Mix in milk and stir until combined.

Pour batter evenly into tins. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until a tooth pick comes out clean.

Enjoy a few fresh, and allow the remaining to cool completely before placing in a freezer bag for storage. For a quick breakfast, remove muffin from the freezer and microwave ~30 seconds (until warmed through).

Makes 12 muffins.

Notes:

Use a flax egg (1T ground flax + 3T water) to make the recipe vegan
Use Gluten-Free Oatmeal to make these gluten-free
Can sub ¼ C sugar for the Stevia
Using Silk Pure Almond Unsweetened Vanilla rather than skim milk saves you 42 calories in this recipe

Be sure to check out Silk Pure Almond website and Facebook page to see more delicious, creative recipes!

This post is part of a sponsored campaign with Silk and FitFluential, LLC. All opinions are my own. Learn more about Silk Pure Almond Unsweetened on Facebook andTwitter.

***

Thank you all SO much for all of your support during the past weekend’s race. It was SO much fun, and we didn’t come in last. 🙂 I’m working on a recap!

Are you a morning person?

What is your favorite “quick” breakfast?

Cramming 101: Endurance Training and Recovery

January 17, 2013 By Laura

Endurance isn’t for the weak.

It also probably should not be prepared for in a cram session.

This Saturday I’m doing an adventure/orienteering race that my cousin talked me in to. 8 hours in the woods with a GPS. They give you the start, the finish, and a couple of mandatory check points along the way. It will be running, hiking, mountain biking, and canoeing. ~~I hope I live.~~

Some of you may not know it, but before I got into lifting seriously, I was a runner. I was a decently fast 5K’er, loved adventure races (hellllloooo Tough Mudder) and ran a few Halfs. I wanted to run a full but one day my knee said no. If I ever want to run distances again I need to have surgery. That won’t be happening.

All of this to say, I haven’t been running in 8 months! Saturday that changed. My cousin recommended I get 6 hours of continuous exercise/training in before the race. Cramming.

Kat agreed to keep me company for half of that by taking me on one of her trail run/hikes.

Kat and Me

13 STEEP miles in 3 hours. We hiked up steep incline filled with wet leaves, leapt over creeks, and ran power lines. It was the perfect day for it – record high 75 degree temps and partly cloudy.

~~I was sore half way through.~~

Nutrition is something I struggle with. I have a hard time eating or drinking during a run – it makes me slosh and cramp. In our 3 hour run, I just ate a mini über Lara Bar (the one with the nuts) and sipped some water. Will have to be sure to take in more fuel while biking and canoeing this weekend.

We finished (thank you, Kat, for being patient with me) and did a little yoga to loosen up. I chugged water.

Kat dropped me at my place where I ran up to pee, change shoes, and eat. In that order.

I broke out an old favorite for fuel:

Sweet Potato “Cereal”

1/2 sweet potato, bakes and cubed
1 scoop protein powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Unsweetened almond milk

Place sweet potato in a cereal bowl. Mix together remaining ingredients in a separate bowl, adding milk until the mixture thins to a milk consistency.

Pour protein milk over the ‘taters and inhale.

Then I grabbed my bike, water bottle, and a GU and took off. (Note: Espresso GU is tasty!)

Gingerly set out may be a better way to describe it. I was tired. What I considered to be “flat” ground before seems quite hilly. I rode about 15 miles (had to stop for air in my tires and forgot to re-start my RunKeeper app). After I loosened up a bit, it turned into a fun ride. I followed Atlanta’s new Beltline Path and got to see the city in a whole new way. I even took a tour to ride the Krog Street Tunnel (infamous for its graffiti):

Krog Street Tunnel

I decided to get back on the path and head back when I rode past a woman on her porch yelling at her neighbor, “Don’t mess with me or I will HURT your dog!” Scary lady.

Honestly, after I got back within a mile of my place I’d convinced myself to call it quits at 5 hours. I was tired, sore, bored, and hungry. Then I ran into Carol and her sweet puppy Bailey! She was walking home from an afternoon at the dog park, so I joined her to catch up. 30 mins walking there, then another 30 back to my house = 6 hours DONE.

When I got home I was famished. I would have eaten my right hand (I’m left-handed). Instead, I stood in the door of my fridge and ate half a rotisserie chicken with my bare hands. After washing my hands, of course.

Then I cleaned my sticky self:

And finally it was dinner time. Burger topped with avocado, black bean dip, jalapeno, and pico de gallo, with a side of house-made crinkly-crispy sweet potato fries dipped in sriracha and mustard. Then… there may have been an (unpictured) apple pie milkshake. I’ve been boycotting the burger trend (I HATE Yeah! Burger), but Grindhouse Killer Burgers changed my mind.

Yes, it’s Junk-Free January. I needed calories… and it was junk-free-ish. The meat for the burger is freshly ground by a small North Carolina producer and delivered every day, and the bun is a soft potato roll made by a Pennsylvania Dutch bakery. The sauces are homemade. The shakes are homemade. I have no regrets.

Then I crashed. And got hungry again. Banana. Cottage Cheese. Protein powder. Cinnamon. Face plant in bed.

Then, in the wee hours of Monday morning, I got the stomach flu. I think I would have gotten sick despite the cram session… but it probably didn’t help. In the future, I’ll plan better. Thank you all SO much for the well-wishes!

2 days ’til race day!!! I’m eating my carbs and doing to light workouts to prepare.

***

I was nominated for something I’m really excited about: Top Health and Fitness Blog of 2013. I’d be honored to have your vote! It’s really easy – no registration required. Click here to Vote.

How do you fuel before/during/after races?

What is the toughest race/physical activity you’ve ever done?

High Fat Fail + 5-Spice Roasted Veggies

January 14, 2013 By Laura

Ever think something sounds fun… only to learn it is just the opposite?

I wish I didn’t make this mistake so often…

Last week I decided to experiment with a high-fat/low-carb diet. Nut butter, oils, avocados, nuts, egg yolks, red meat… it sounded like a brilliant idea! Notsomuch.

Nut butter needs toast or oats. ‘Nough said. It turns out that all of those thing are delicious… but much better with a carb. Runny eggs need a piece of bread to soak up the goop.

Red meat is better on a bun… but this was still good:

But it wasn’t just the carbs that had me regretting the high fat thing. Regret is the wrong word. I learned a lot, and I do not regret that. Here are the side effects:

Constipation – this was the worst; I am grumpy without a good morning poop (TMI?)
Gas/Bloating – I could clear a room in 5 seconds
Lower energy – I felt like I was in slow motion
Slower muscle recovery time – leg day soreness lasted FIVE days
Hunger – fat digests faster than carbs, so I would eat and be hungry an hour later
Lower veggie intake – veggies have carbs and I found myself cutting them in order to keep my carbs low
Flat muscles – even after a hard bicep day I didn’t have the same “pump” I usually do

Hard workout, yet pretty flat-looking

PLEASE do not take this as a deterrent if you are on/want to try a higher fat diet yourself. Like I said in the ab/nutrition post, diet is personal. This was just my experience. Don’t be afraid to experiment! You will learn a lot about your body.

________________________________________________________________________________________

One of my favorite things about Heather’s Meatless Monday challenge is that it forces me to try new things. Like this week – Turnips.

I know I’ve had turnips before… but I can’t remember when! After a little research I learned that turnips are a lot like rutabagas, and have a potato-like taste (but better…. I hate potatoes). Long ago I made Rutabaga Fries, complete with a vegan cheese sauce. I liked it, but for some reason I don’t often buy veggies in that family.

Sunday while on my weekly grocery trip I picked up a turnip. When I got home I realized I had no idea what to do with it… but with potato on the brain, I decided to make a roasted veggie dish using another fun find: a purple sweet potato! It tastes a lot like a sweet potato, but slightly less sweet.

I diced my new finds and tossed them with the usual suspects: oil, apple cider vinegar, garlic, onion, and rosemary. Then I decided that such cool veggies couldn’t be treated in such a pedestrian manner. And that’s how I ended up with Roasted Turnips & Purple Sweet Potatoes with Five-Spice. And brussels, but that’s too long of a title. 😉

A little sweet from the ‘taters, heat from Chinese 5-Spice, and a whole lot of staying-power from the starchy. I’ll be enjoying this in my packed lunches at work all week. If it lasts that long.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Five-Spice Roasted Turnips & Purple Sweet Potatoes

1 turnip
1 purple sweet potato (can use regular sweet potato)
1/4 C red onion
1 T fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp olive oil extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder*

Preheat to 450°F.

Slice turnips and potato into 1/2-inch-thick cubes. Toss with onion, rosemary, oil, garlic, and 5-spice in a roasting pan until well coated.

Roast for 20-25 mins, stirring once halfway through.

*Note: Chinese 5-spice can be found at most major grocery stores and Asian markets. It’s a blend of Szechuan pepper, cinnamon, fennel seed, cloves and star anise.

***

I told some of you today would be it, but the 6 hour endurance training cram session recap is coming tomorrow… sorry!

Have you experimented with your diet? What did you learn?

Have you ever seen a purple sweet potato?

My Morning Cocktail + WIAW

January 9, 2013 By Laura

I love a cocktail.

Shameless, I tell you.

During Junk-Free January, my sole cocktail is my Morning Cocktail. If you’ve been reading for a while, you know I start every day with this apple cider vinegar-laced gem:

My Morning Cocktail:

12 oz water
1 T apple cider vinegar (with the mother)
1 tsp Glutamine Powder
1 scoop Amino Energy (I changed brands since the above pic, but the link is correct)

Glutamine and Aminos are both great for synthesizing muscle protein and preventing catabolism (muscle breakdown). Key if you are trying to build muscle.

The Apple Cider Vinegar is what I get more questions about. Here’s why it’s my jam:

It improves digestion and “regularity” (hence the glory of taking it first thing in the morning…)
Helps clear up acne (I also use it as toner)
Relieves joint pain and prevents muscle fatigue after exercise
Strengthens the immune system
Increases metabolism
Breaks down fats so that your body can use them rather than store them
Natural heartburn remedy
Lowers/regulates blood pressure, bad cholesterol, and glucose levels
May control fleas (hopefully this is more applicable to your pets)

Drinking this each morning truly is energizing. I no longer need coffee… until mid-afternoon when I’m freezing and getting tired of the computer screen.

This WIAW post features 4 meals (meals #2-5) that were totally prepped on Sunday evening. Planning is the #1 thing you can do to start your year off right in terms of nutrition!

Check out my 7 meals below, and then click here to head over to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to get to see how others dined this week!