Sprint 2 the Table

Appetites and Adventures

A Case of the Tuesdays + WIAW

By

Total monkey.

There’s nothing more distracting than wanting to be somewhere you’re not.

Actually, I don’t really care where I am.  It’s more about who’s with me.  The company makes the location.  Which is why yesterday I had a case of the Tuesdays.

Case of the Tuesdays

But now it’s Wednesday.  The next sunrise I see will be with Vegas.  With the first Christmas tree I’ve had in 5 or 6 years.  And flowers.  I bought a poinsettia for the first time ever.  Who am I?!

ATL sunrise

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This WIAW I turned out a lot more prepared-looking than it felt!  Either way, it was good.

WIAWbutton

Read on for my eats, and then check out Jenn’s blog for everyone else’s delicious creations!

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Breakfast:

After my morning cocktail, I ate my morning sludge.  While baking a pie.  ‘Tis the season!

Breakfast was a concoction I’ve been eating a lot lately.  TVP and oats made with carob powder, cinnamon, chcolate liquid stevia, and an egg white.  Topped with blackberries. It’s actually really good!

TVP Carob Oats

Mid-Morning Snack:

Arugula salad with raw zucchini, pepper, and fresh lemon juice with my Sizzlefish salmon. I really love salmon.  Would it be acceptable to eat it every meal?

Salmon and Arugula

Lunch:

Shredded up no-salt deli turkey with red bell pepper and tossed with salsa, nutritional yeast, and balsamic vinegar.  With one of my Apple Carrot Protein Muffins for dessert.

Turkey Salad and Muffin

Mid-Afternoon Snack(s):

I was feeling a bar.  Have you guys tried Think Thin bars?  I think they changed formulas… for the better!  I got this at Whole Paycheck Foods (obvi).  That Pumpkin Spice.  Get.  It.

Think Thin Pumpkin Spice

Dinner:

This… well… it was a little hurried.  But whatever.  Corn tortilla topped with red peppers, egg whites, nutritional yeast, and one tasty local #yolkporn moment.

#yolkporn

Dessert:

Milkshake Greek yogurt bowl topped with popcorn, chocolate chips, and cocoa powder sauce.  I used the new Quest vanilla milkshake protein powder, which I love.  It was an excellent post-workout dessert.

Milkshake Greek Yogurt Popcorn Bowl

***

Is it just me, or has this been the longest week ever?  An. Tici. Pation.  (Name that movie.)

What is your favorite oatmeal mix-in?  Besides nut butter… too easy! 😉

What’s your favorite holiday decoration?  I love having a real tree – they smell so good! 

Sriracha. The New Pumpkin.

By

I’m ahead of the “trendy” curve.

 

This is a first.

According to this article, sriracha may be the new pumpkin.  Many of you saw the chips.  They have now gone so far as to turn it into a vodka flavor.

sriracha vodka

 

Why does EVERYTHING good need to be turned into vodka?  I like a good drink, and I admit that a sriracha Bloody Mary sounds good… but PB&J?  Really?

The point was going to be that I like sriracha before it was cool.  Before the pumpkin obsession.  Before even the bacon obsession.  So there.  Pass me a pumpkin-bacon-sriracha martini.  

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This WIAW felt like it was going to be “meh” after a rushed food prep.  Looking back it didn’t turn out too badly.  I’m pressed for time, but having quick proteins has helped – on busy weeks I rely on no-salt deli turkey and rotisserie chicken.  With a few simple flavor adds, semi-homemade tastes pretty good!   WIAWbuttonRead on for my eats, and then check out Jenn’s blog for everyone else delicious creations!… 

Read More »

Back to Reality with Sizzlefish + WIAW

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Competition diets aren’t realistic. long-term

 

Disclosure: The following post is sponsored by Fitfluential LLC on behalf of Sizzlefish.

Eating like I have been leading up to my competition was a short-lived reality… again, it isn’t how you should eat forever.  This week I’m thrilled that food is back to being fun again this week.  I haven’t had time for a proper grocery store run, but I’ve had some help!

 Sizzlefish shipment

 

Sizzlefish provided me with a Sizzlefish sampler of their Omega-3 Protein Mix.  It included Coho salmon, Atlantic salmon, sablefish, rainbow trout, catfish, Atlantic cod, haddock, and catfish.

Did you know that studies have shown that a diet high in fish, particularly fish high in Omega 3 fatty acids, enhances athletic performance and health?

Sizzlefish

 

My fish were frozen at the peak of quality, pre-portioned, and shipped on dry ice to have on-hand when I was back to “normal” food.  After cutting fat, I couldn’t bust into this fast enough!

I came home late from a crazy work day, it was the perfect thing to quickly cook up.  I was surprised by how fresh the frozen fish was!  Check out my dinner below for more.

Side note: wouldn’t this make a an awesome holiday gift?!  Mamma may be received a Christmas shipment from Sizzlefish… 

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Since I haven’t done a full re-stock yet, this isn’t quite a normal WIAW, but it’s much improved from last week!

WIAWbutton

Read on for my eats, and then check out Jenn’s blog for everyone else delicious creations!

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Breakfast:

My healthiest addiction began my day – Aminos and ACV morning cocktail. 

Breakfast is not long turkey or chicken – hooray!  I traveled all the way from Colorado with this almost-empty jar of Justin’s almond butter in order to make overnight oats in a jar.  Can you believe Heather’s hubby was going to throw it away?!  All that nutty deliciousness hiding at the bottom of a mixture of oats, Greek yogurt, and goji berries laced with cinnamon and ginger.

Justins OOIAJ

 

Mid-Morning Snack:

Lisa, my competition buddy and co-worker, surprised me with homemade cocoa cookie bites.  I asked if they were “healthy” and she said they are all-organic.  Works for me! 😉

See the black dot on my pinky?  That’s where I slammed a weight on my hand 3 weeks ago!  Blood blisters are the gift that keeps on giving.

 

Lunch:

A quick trip to Whole Foods the night before resulted in a lunch of smoked rotisserie chicken mixed with shallots, paprika, nutritional yeast, ACV, and pepper over a slice of sesame Ezekial bread, mustard, and spinach.

This was the first time I’d seen smoked chicken at Whole Food – it is the best rotisserie I’ve ever gotten there!

smoked rotisserie chicken

 

Mid-Afternoon Snack:

Think Thin was nice enough to send me a little treat a few weeks back.  I hadn’t gotten to dive into the box yet, but it has come in handy this week!  I really enjoyed the Caramel Fudge flavor as a mid-afternoon pick-me-up.  With the rest of the cookies from earlier… 

Think Thin

 

Dinner:

Dinner was when I enjoyed my Sizzlefish.  I got home really late, but was still able to have a good dinner!  I couldn’t decide whether I wanted salmon or trout, so I had both.  Life is short, why choose?

I had put them in the fridge the night before to haw, so when I got home I tossed them under the broiler with lemon juice and pepper for about 7 mins along with roasted veggies I’d picked up from Whole Foods.

Sizzlefish

 

Dessert:

I feel really lame… but I wasn’t hungry for dessert after eating dinner at 10pm.  Instead, I had another holiday kombucha and called it a night.

***

I am so very excited to buy all of the foods at the international market this weekend!  Grocery shopping should be an Olympic sport.  I’d medal.

Have you ever had frozen seafood?  What is your favorite?

Have you started thinking about holiday shopping yet?  Would you gift food?  I couldn’t believe it when I realized Thanksgiving is next week!

 

Mocha Mint Protein Muffins + Giveaway

By

M is for Monday.

I swear I didn’t plan this.

This weekend had an M theme, which happens to work really well for Katie’s Marvelous Monday link up.  See what I did there? 😉

1. Meringues

My company is a cloud-based technology. Rather than handing out boring collateral like pens at the executive meeting, I ordered cloud-like meringue cookies!  Dyed blue and stuffed in pumpkins for Halloween.

Essential Pumpkin

Thanks to Henri’s Bakery for doing a great job on this custom order – I’ve been going there since I was a kid!

NO, I didn’t eat one… 2 weeks to go!

2. Muscles

Speaking of 2 weeks to go, I had my second to last posting practice with my trainer before my competitions!  I have never loved posing, but I’m learning to look forward these Saturday sessions – I get to spend the day posing and training with some of the most inspiring competitors around.

This Saturday’s session made me more excited than ever for these next competitions, and for the next year where I’m 100% committed to hardcore BUILDING.  I love lifting.

3. Mom

This weekend was my mom’s birthday.  She’s turning 29, once again. 😉

I was really excited to have her over for brunch.  She opened presents  and I made her my jicama nachos with shrimp, pico, yellow tomato, and #yolkporn.  She save this #strangebutgood creation two thumbs up, which means the world since she is the one I have to thank for my love of food and creating in the kitchen.

Mom

4. Muffins

Not just any muffins.  I accidentally made Mocha Mint Protein Muffins.

These were going to be a version of my coffee pancakes.  I accidentally added too much egg, so I decided to bake them instead. This is what a Thin Mint would taste like as a muffin.  Talk about an awesome mistake!

I used Dunkin Donuts’ seasonal Mocha Mint coffee, but you could use any flavor and add extracts.  I added peppermint extract because the DD coffee isn’t actually very mint-y.

Mocha Mint Protein Muffins

Mocha Mint Muffins

  • 2 T oats
  • 1 T coconut flour
  • 1 T (10g) chocolate protein powder
  • 1 tsp chia seeds
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp no-salt baking powder
  • 1/4 C egg whites
  • 1/4 cup brewed coffee (I used mocha mint)
  • 1/4 tsp peppermint extract
  • 6-8 drops vanilla liquid stevia
  • Optional: chocolate chips, cocoa powder, nuts

In a small bowl, mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and stir to combine.

Pour into prepared muffin tins and bake ~25 mins.

Makes 2 muffins (or 3 squares in my slightly smaller silicone mold).

Note: I learned that this recipe can be doubled when I made more to have for breakfast this coming week.

This mistake was even sweeter because it gave me a recipe to link up to Heather’s MMAZ.  She told me seeds could count as nuts.

BWV-Round2-October1

5. Munchies

It’s Halloween.  You have candy coming out the you-know-what.

Just in case you want to give your blood sugar a break, I have a giveaway for one of my favorite bars.  One of you will win a whole box of thinkThin High Protein Bars.

thinkThin

Normally a “thin” bar wouldn’t appeal to me; however, my dad actually got me into these.  When he was getting chemo, all he wanted where the chocolate fudge bars.  Random craving, right?

I came to love them.  The 20g protein is perfect for a quick fix post-workout or on the run.  It keeps you full, gives you a pop of energy, and has 0g of sugar.  They’re also gluten-free!

My favorites right now are the Cookies ‘n Cream and the Chocolate Toffee Nut, but you can choose your own!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***

I am literally back-to-back in meetings all week.  Between that and gym time, blogging may be sporadic.  Does anyone else think of Clueless when they use the word sporadic? 

What is your favorite protein-filled snack to-go?

What was the last happy kitchen accident you had?

Mile-a-Day Challenge + WIAW

By

Waking up to an alarm was cruel and unusual punishment this morning.

 

Thank god it’s a short week because after so much time off (or at least out of the office), getting back to normalcy hurt a little.  Like a good back-on-track human, I only hit snooze 3 times before getting up and hitting the gym for a quick Body Rock workout and a 1 mile run.

 

1 mile everyday is January is my goal.  It’s about the longest I can stay on the dreadmill and I refuse to run outside when it’s 22 degrees outside.  When I saw the January Mile-a-Day challenge on The Sweaty Betties, I knew it was the perfect fit for me.

This is my way of *hopefully* maintaining some semblance of running shape while on my running “break.”

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Another benefit of a short week is that it feels like What I Ate Wednesday came faster!  Happy 50th, Jenn!!!

 

 

I’m in full-on snack mode.  I want to eat veggies and protein, and I want to eat them often.

 

Breakfast:

Post-workout breakfasts are usually cold, but this morning was a mini workout… and it was only 22 degrees outside.  A warm Pumpkin Zucchini Muffin topped with melty peanut butter and a side of hot green tea hit the spot.

 

 

 

Lunch:

“Meat” loaf leftovers!  This vegan loaf was even more awesome on day 2.  The flavors came together even more and provided a delicious, warming work lunch.

 

In case you missed it, check out the recipe for my (vegan!) Asian-Inspired Sweet Potato Lentil Loaf here.  I can’t tell you enough to try it – I can’t believe it took me so long to make one!

Today I ate it with raw zucchini sticks (if you on’t already eat it raw you have to try it) and red pepper hummus.

 

Dinner:

Since I’m obsessed with my new discovery – miso – I made a miso soup!


 

This was an amazing, hearty noodle-filled soup with plenty of green and just enough spice to make my nose run.

Recipe to come tomorrow!

 

Snacks:

Most people are probably the opposite, but I snack MORE when I’m a work.  It is my equivalent of a smoke break. 🙂

 

Cutie + lots of water

 

Primal Vegan Jerky

 

Think Thin Cookies n' Cream Bar

 

Attempt #1 at a Protein Microwave Muffin. #Fail

 

***

I was feeling under the weather… but I SWEAR the miso cured me.

Are you doing any January challenge?  Want to run with me? 🙂

Do you snack more at work or at home?  The same?

 

WIAW: The Rockies Edition

By

Starting the week 3 hours behind is weird.

 

I woke up Monday morning in Denver, CO.

  • The Good: I woke up super early because I was on East Coast time
  • The Bad: By the end of the day I was pooped
  • The Weird, cont.: Now I’m in Chicago… in another time zone

 

Have you guys ever been in the Denver airport?  Having a massive airplane inside the airport gives it extra cool points.

I checked into the Hampton Inn (which was surprisingly well-kept/updated) and discovered that they had little pictures outside each guest room.  Pretty cool – they were all different!

However… don’t you think mine was a little risque?!

I swear I’m not running a prostitution business out of my hotel room.

Waking up super early meant I got in a couple of good workouts.  Hooray for hotel gyms!  Note the motivational sign across the mirror.

The WIAW part of my week is… weak…

Don’t kick me out, Jenn!

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Breakfast:

Luke-warm hotel instant oatmeal.  Made with water.  Eaten out of a styro-foam bowl with a plastic spoon.  Thank god for peanut butter.

Instead, let’s pretend I ate some of this:

Zucchini Bread Oatmeal with homemade quick blueberry “jam” was one of my better ideas.

I may stop for zucchini on my way back from the airport Friday…

Lunch:

How one conference could offer SO MUCH bad food is beyond me.

This was some sort of attempt at enchiladas.  I picked out the chicken and made a salad with the shredded lettuce.  Maybe one of those tortilla chips was eaten – they were ridiculously salty (even for a generic brand).

Snacks:

Not pictured, but these items were key to my survival:

  • Apple taken from the hotel breakfast bar
  • Peanuts I saved from my flight
  • Chocolate-Toffee Think Thin bar from home

 

 

Plus copious amount of tea to keep warm in the very well-air conditioned room and remain heavily caffeinated.

 

Dinner:

Again, not worthy of a picture.  It was an airport salad with 2 cucumbers and 2 tomatoes (not kidding).  I did manage to convince them to give me some hummus then regretted it.

This would have been much more delicious:

 

A big salad with hummus dressing (basil hummus mixed with a bit of apple cider  vinaigrette) and a side of roasted brussel sprouts (coated with herbed dijon mustard and olive oil).

Served with 1/2 a Food for Life Sprouted Grain and Seed English muffin and a big ‘ol scoop of my new favorite oil-free, vegan condiment:

Beet Sunflower Pesto.

 

You should try the pesto.  No need to like beets.  Guaranteed.

***

For a whole slew of eats MUCH better than mine, please hop over to Peas and Crayons. 

Do you prefer East Coast time?  West?  Somewhere in between or far away?

Let me live vicariously through you – what deliciousness are you eating this week?

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