Indecisive Love

August 9, 2012 By Laura

It’s a travel week at work

That means a quiz post is on order. I always do these when I’m short on time, thinking it will be a quick post.

The joke’s on me. These almost take me longer than a regular post because I debate so much over the choices. Indecisiveness prevails.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE MORE?(Copied from a bazillion other bloggers.)

1. Strength training or cardio?

Strength training all th way. Which is convenient since I’m going to do a figure competition. 😉

I do hate this machine though:

My Nemesis: Hack Squats

2. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner?

Brinner! (That’s breakfast for dinner.) I’d eat breakfast for any meal. PB & Jeggs, anyone?

3. Dress up or workout clothes?

Workout clothes. Getting me to wear “real” clothes is like pulling teeth. If you really think about it, it’s pretty stupid that we have to dress uncomfortably to go sit behind a desk all day.

4. Wine or beer?

Hi, have we met? I love wine. I traveled to Italy to drink it. If I could, I’d live on a vineyard. ~~Or in a wine glass.~~

5. Peanut butter or almond butter?

I love all nut butters. Especially these Nutty Butters. If forces to choose… I’d have to go with my childhood classic: peanut butter. Preferably in the form of a simple, grilled PB & J.

6. Heels or flats?

I’ll get even more specific than that. Flip flops.

Please ignore the ugly feet, but these are a must-have. (Click for source.)

More terrifying than wearing a bikini on stage for my competition is the though of having to walk across that stage in stripper heels.

7. The actual cake or the frosting?

20 years ago (wow… that make me feel old), I would have said icing. Now I’m all about the cake. Unless it’s cream cheese-pecan icing on carrot cake. That required equal parts of both. 🙂

8. Spring, summer, fall, or winter?

Either spring or fall. Maybe a little more fall because I love trips to the mountains to get apples and see the leaves change. But spring is so fresh and full of possibility.

Ohhhh… just remembered that fall also means college football season. FALL. Go Jackets!

9. Real animal or stuffed animal?

Stuffed. I love the idea of a real animal. I’m a cat lover. However, I am terribly selfish.

My boss and I were actually just talking about this and she said I’m centered around self right now. Not self-centered, but focused on accomplishing specific goals. So much so that it’s all I can do to keep my house plant alive. Is that a terrible thing to admit?

10. Bright or light?

Errrrr… black? If you look in my closet, it’s all black. To me, it’s comfy like workout clothes. Black workout clothes, that is. 🙂

Black with accents of gray.

***

I’m in Texas selling (I hope) some work today. I forgot my cowboy hat, but the dude on the plane next to me let me borrow his. (Not really, but he was wearing one.)

Don’t forget: click here to enter my giveaway for a loaf of high protein bread from P28 High Protein Bread – ends tonight at 11:59p!

Are you/have you ever been centered around self?

How about you? Pick a couple and tell me your loves!

Banana Creme Brownie Parfait + WIAW

August 8, 2012 By Laura

Bad smells piss me off.

You know when you’re in the gym and someone has offensively bad body odor? That makes me insane.

I think I was that girl. With garlic, not BO. During leg day on Monday with my trainer, he asked what I had eaten that day. I sheepishly had to admit to have excessive garlic. He could smell it on my skin! Is that weird? I’ve never noticed that… have you?

On the flip side, there was a guy in the weight room yesterday morning that smelled really good. ~~I was going to thank him, but I thought maybe that would be creepy.~~

Speaking of training… no changes in my nutrition plan to report this week. Yet.

While I’ve been obviously gaining muscle, I haven’t actually gained weight.I think we’re increasing carbs a bit, and adding some addition little more fat. I’m excited about the increase in fats – I’ve been craving avocados! I also get to start doing some sprints. Apparently sprinters have nice bums… I have no bum. That asset is an important one in figure competitions. 😉

Lolo may not have earned a medal, but I will admit her body is bootylicious.

I’m going to assume you didn’t come here to talk about BO and butts… let’s move on to the What I Ate Wednesday goodies.

Check out my summertime appropriate eats below, then click here to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to see everyone else’s summer eats!

Meal 1:

This is an old pic; I now use Optimum Nutrition Orange Amino Energy mixed with ~2T of apple cider vinegar and water. Enjoy this first thing, about 30 mins prior to meal one for its benefits related to energy, digestion, and skin. I don’t even drink coffee anymore thanks to this.

I added another treat to my digestive system this week too: Good Belly.

These kind people sent me coupon to try out their probiotic shots. I was pleased to see that there is a no-sugar-added option! The taste was good – fairly neutral actually. Probiotics are known to help keep your body’s bacteria in balance, and help the digestive system. Nothing yet to report on the digestive end (get it? end? tee hee!), but I am a believer in the benefits of probiotics.

Isn’t the smiley face cute?

As I mentioned last week, I’m doing some meal-order-swapping around my workouts. Since I went to the gym early, I swapped meals 1 and 2, meaning I need a fruit and a protein first thing and my post-workout meal would include my carb.

I’m on a PB & Feggs (fruit + eggs) bender. Remember these PB & Jeggs? Or these PB & Aggs? This week it’s PB & Peggs!

I knew it would be good since I liked the others, but I didn’t remember exactly how awesome warm peaches are. I used the now in season donut peaches to make what might be my favorite Feggs creation to date!

PB & Peggs:

1/2 C egg whites
2 T peanut flour
2 T unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 tsp cinnamon
1 donut peach, cut into ~1/2 in pieces

See this post for detailed instructions.

Meal 2:

Post-workout I felt like a little treat. I’ve had Brittany’s Sweet Potato Pancakes bookmarked for a while, and had just mashed some sweet potatoes. Perfect timing. I followed her recipe closely. My sweet potato mash was about 1/2 C. I used just 1/2 a scoop of protein powder and added 2 tsp of chia seeds. I only needed 1 T of the milk. Oh, and I was verrrry generous with the cinnamon.

For my topping, I mixed equal parts Sunbutter and coconut flour with enough water to form a paste. I also threw on some caramelized bananas, using the same method from my French Elvis Toast.

Meal 3:

This lunch packed some color! I made Lauren’s Beet Burgers earlier in the week… only I got too creative with the recipe and they won’t hold together. They did taste fantastic (especially with the extra garlic I added… sorry again to my trainer)! I used my burger crumbles to top a spinach salad sprinkled with nooch.

My carb and additional protein was a slice of my favorite P28 High Protein Bread with a schemer of artichoke spread sprinkled with red pepper flakes.

Meal 4:

I pride myself in making different meal constantly. Repeats don’t happen often in my kitchen… until recently. I’m absolutely obsessed with the Capella Cake Batter Flavor Drops I shared here last week. This and the Carrot Cake Batter Shake happened at least 2x a week these days. Good thing carrots are so sweet and flavorful this season!

Meal 5:

I was inspired by Heather’s field trip to the Asian market to make my own tofu Tofu Spring Rolls. Heather even sent me this handy tutorial on how to roll them. Seems easy enough…

Apparently I am not as skilled as my broccoli kissing friend because mine didn’t exactly hold together.

At least the sauce was good. It was a simple spicy peanut sauce made from peanut flour, water, lime juice, and sriracha.

Served with a side of quinoa that I tossed in a very small amount of miso tamari, rice vinegar, avocado oil, and red pepper flakes. It was healthy fried rice!

Meal 6:

I happened to see on Pinterest that someone pinned my parsnip fries. It was a great reminder to make them again!

Of course, I couldn’t do it the same way twice. And when I ate this it was 9:30pm, which to me = dessert time.

Cinnamon sticks with a protein frosting dipper. Holy yum. I simply tossed my parsnips in a teeny bit of coconut oil and a ton of cinnamon before roasting. The dip was vanilla protein powder, stevia, a splash of vanilla, and water to mix. I also added a few drops of the Capella Cake Batter Flavor Drops. Easy and OMG good.

Meal 7:

They say that everyone has a twin somewhere. I don’t know about that, but I certainly have a food twin. Meg @ A Dash of Meg and I share the same palate. I’ve made several of her dishes and am always blown away. She is a HUGE source of inspiration not only for healthy eating, but also for pushing harder in the gym.

It was her recipe for a Chocolate Brownie and Raspberry Parfait that inspired this lovely creation that I downed ~~like a fat kid at recess~~.

This Banana Creme Brownie Parfait rocked my socks off. A couple of my favorite summertime potluck desserts are banana pudding and brownies. This killed two cravings with one stone. As I slowly worked my way through the wine glass (that’s right – I eat wine parfaits), the creme was soaking into the brownies leaving a decadent, spongy, slightly gooey bedtime snack of champions.

Banana Creme Brownie Parfait

For the Brownie:

1/4 cup oats
1 T pumpkin puree
1/4 C egg whites
1 T cocoa powder
1/2 scoop (1T) Chocolate Rice Protein Powder
1/8 tsp baking powder
8 drops cocoa liquid stevia

For the Creme:

1 C plain greek yogurt
1/4 tsp banana extract
1 tsp cinnamon
Bananas

Mix the brownie ingredients in a small bowl. Microwave until just done, ~ 1 min.

Meanwhile, stir together the yogurt ingredients.

To assemble: layer yogurt, brownie pieces, and bananas in a pretty glass (yes, it must be pretty), alternating until you’re out of each.

Enjoy!

***

Are you keeping track? I managed 158.5g of protein – all vegetarian!

Does body odor make you mad?

What is your favorite way to eat eggs? Have you tried the PB & Feggs? Or do you think I’m insane?

French Elvis Toast

August 7, 2012 By Laura

My love affair with breakfast continues.

I couldn’t choose between something peanut butter-y and French toast. Like a true healthy-living blogger I want nut butter at every meal, but I’d been thinking about french toast ever since receiving a loaf of P28 Bread.

French toast was my favorite childhood breakfast. Mom used to make it on challah bread with lots of cinnamon and a drizzle of honey. She would then warm syrup with butter to pour over the decadent toast.

Obviously that’s not on my training diet, and I had not attempted to make a healthy version due to my protein requirements. There’s no way French toast would pack 20g of protein… until I received high protein bread.

You may have seen me mention P28 bread in previous posts. I absolutely love it. One slice packs 14g of protein! Count me in.

P28 bread is chewier than regular bread. Some people (Lee‘s husband) like that. I don’t mind it, but prefer the bread toasted. The toasting turns it perfectly soft with a nice crunchy exterior. Note: Due to the whey, it toasts faster than regular bread, so keep an eye on it.

Now about the french toast…

Peanut butter-coated and topped with caramelized bananas, I had to name it after The King.

You know how good warm, runny nut butter is? Imagine that, but soaked into bread. A little vanilla and cinnamon makes it almost like eating dessert for breakfast. Dessefast? Deckfast?

For my topping, I sliced the bananas and let them briefly caramelize in the pan. Arranged atop of the peanut-y toast and drizzled with cinnamon-lace syrup, those bananas added just the right amount of richness and creamy texture.

No peanut flour? No problem! Just use regular peanut butter. (It will be easier to mix if you warm it just a bit.)

But really, you should order this peanut flour via iHerb. Use coupon code USO924 for $5 off your first order. It’s awesome, and it’s made in Georgia. 😉

Let’s pretend I didn’t lick my plate clean like a little kid…

Recipe at the end.

And now for the fun part. P28 has offered an opportunity for 3 readers to try their bread!

P28 is made with 100% Whole Wheat, Whey Protein Isolate, Oats, Flaxseed, Sunflower Seed and Millet. It’s 100% Natural, and is a great source of Omega 3s and 8 essential Amino Acids needed for growth, energy, and vibrant health.

Want a loaf of your very own? Receive up to 4 entries by:

Follow me on Twitter or Subscribe to the Sprint 2 the Table RSS feed or email
Tweet: You could say something like: I’ve entered to win a loaf of high protein bread from @P28bread with @sprint2thetable http://wp.me/p16jDn-1uR #giveaway
Be Social: Twitter Follow P28, Pinterest Follow Me and/or Pin Something of Mine, Instagram Follow Me
Comment: What would you make first with your bread?

Please leave a separate comment for each entry!

Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST Thursday night, August 9th. The winner will be announced here on Friday, August 10th!

Open to US Residents only. If you’d like to try these bars but didn’t win, check out their website to find a local retailer, or to order your a sample pack.

French Elvis Toast

2 T peanut flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 C egg whites
2-3 T milk (I used unsweetened almond)
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 drops liquid stevia
1slice P28 Bread (or bread of choice)
1/2 banana, sliced

For Syrup:

2 T sugar-free maple syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp butter extract

For the Toast:

Combine all ingredients in wide bowl. Dip bread in mixture until saturated.

Cook in pan over med-high heat until golden brown on each side.

When almost done, place banana slices in pan and allow to caramelize slightly (they will turn a bit brown on top).

For the Syrup:

Pour syrup in small bowl. Mix in cinnamon and butter extract. Microwave for ~20 secs, until warm.

Plate your toast and top with caramelized bananas and syrup.

Makes 1 serving.

Note: If using regular bread, you may need 2 slices. P28 slices are large and more dense than a standard slice.

Vegan Option: First, use a vegan bread source. Second, replace the eggs with more almond milk and add a tablespoon of flax. Let it sit for 10 mins to thicken before dipping your bread. Proceed to cook.

Approximate Nutritionals (without syrup or bananas): 223 calories, 5.9g fat, 342.5mg sodium, 16.2 carbohydrates, 4.1g fiber, 4g sugar, 28.8g protein

***

I’m have a double serving for breakfast today. Last night was leg day with my trainger and I sort of want to die after those hack squats.

My trainer posing with his torture tool: the hack squat machine.

What was your favorite breakfast as a child?

Have you even done hack squats?

Finding the Bright Spots

August 3, 2012 By Laura

I’m going to go ahead and admit it.

I’ve had a shitty week. Work was frustrating, I didn’t sleep enough, my hamstring is pulled a bit, and I’m just grouchy. Last night I showed up at the gym out of habit rather than desire.

On top of all that, it was the dreaded leg day. I look forward to it because I love training with my coach, but I would honestly would rather work any other body part than my legs. It was raining and thundering when I left the house. I almost cancelled. Habit prevailed.

Coach said I’d have a revelation at the end of the workout. After squatting 2x my body weight and a set of leg presses with 8 plates on each side, I did have that revelation. Sometimes the worst days produce the best workouts. Mood = lifted.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Bad weeks can also product some amazing food. It’s not on purpose, but I tend to eat “fun” food when I’m having a bad day. Like it’s my bright spot.

There has been a whole lot of mood-lifting deliciousness in blog-land lately. My three latest addictions are thanks to fellow bloggers:

This Cauliflower Pizza Crust inspired by Gluten Free Happy Tummy. It’s the only cauliflower crust I’ve been able to pick up and eat like a slice of pizza. Also, the egg I included in round 2 was sinfully good. I heart runny eggs.

Kristen’s “Stuft”which – I do mine on P28 Protein Bread with sugar-free strawberry jam… sometimes I add a little Diaya and spinach. It’s the jam. 😉

My Protein Breakfast Tart based on Tessa’s recipe has become a staple in my kitchen. This one topped with “melted” blackberries (berries microwaved for 20-30 secs with 2-3 drops liquid stevia).

I have an ever-growing list of recipes to try. Look for these on I nstagram and #WIAW next week:

Meg’s Chocolate Brownie & Raspberry Parfait
Alysa’s Oatmeal Pancake
JL’s Tempeh Patties
Lauren’s Beet Burgers
Heather’s Almond Butter Granola Bars
Ari’s 60-second Chocolate Chip Muffin

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A bright spot in my week was the photos you guys shared with me of your takes on some recent recipes I’ve posted. I always wonder if people actually try anything I make… so please do share when you do. ~~Unless you hate it~~. 😉

Meg tried her hand at the previously mentioned Cauliflower Pizza Crust:

Heather made some gorgeous Paleo Oat-less Oatmeal, subbing coconut flour for the protein powder:

Allie enjoyed the Oatmeal Cookie Protein Shake I made per her request:

Min tried my PB & Jeggs the DAY I posted it… and vouched for its odd deliciousness:

Heather (miss you!!!) made my Mexican Vegan Crustless Quiche, but did it in mini springforms and added smokey hot sauce:

Soben rocked a Tiramisu Parfait, adding chia seeds:

I swear I drafted this post before I saw Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli‘s post today… it’s titled “Sprinting with Broccoli.” This girl – my prom date – wrote an entire POST about recipes of mine she’s tried. I’m so flattered… I’m speechless and I could cry happy tears.

Thanks for making my week 100x better, Heather. 🙂

***

The only thing I have left to say is TGIF.

What blogger recipes have you been loving lately?

What brightens your mood after a hard week?

150 Calorie Chocolate Protein Cake

August 2, 2012 By Laura

Kitchen failures are no fun.

Especially when they involve the microwave – an invention that is supposed to make things easier.

I’ve tried to make a good microwave protein cake over and over. And Over. And Over. My attempts failed repeatedly. God knows how much money I’ve wasted on protein powder. But I’m stubborn (and obsessed with desserts), so I kept trying.

And, just like Dr. Seuss 98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed, I did succeed! Finally a winner!

My only requirements for this cake were that it must be low sugar, less than 200 calories, and have at least 20g of protein. The spinach was just the icing on the proverbial cake. One can’t live on green smoothies alone.

This ever-so-slightly green-tinted treat is light, fluffy, and wonderfully moist (yeah, I said moist). It’s sweet and chocolate-y. Not flavorless, dry, and/or oddly flat like some of my other attempts.

Here’s what I learned in my experimentation:

It will work with 2T of applesauce or 2T of pumpkin puree
It will not work with Xylitol, but Stevia is delicious in it
Use high-quality cocoa powder (the Kroger brand is terrible)
You may need to add another tablespoon of cocoa powder depending on your protein powder
Make it vegan using a flax egg rather than egg whites… be warned that it won’t be quite as fluffy
It can be made in advance and transported to work for an afternoon delight
Yes, the spinach is optional 🙂

Did I mention it’s under 150 calories and packs 24.5g of protein? Can I get a gold medal?

Another pleasant discovery was the baking powder I used. My training plan has me watching my sodium intake, and typical baking powder has a TON of it. I was lamenting this fact when Sarena located this Hain sodium-free powder! I ordered it online and was thrilled when it worked just as well as the full-sodium stuff. (If you aren’t concerned with sodium, the standard stuff work too.)

Microwave Chocolate Protein Cake

2 T chocolate rice protein powder (~22g)
1 C fresh spinach (optional)
1 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp no sodium baking powder
1/4 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/4 C egg whites
2 T applesauce (no sugar added, can also use pumpkin puree)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp butter extract (optional)
~5-6 drops chocolate liquid stevia
Optional: vanilla protein powder, cherry on top

Place all ingredients in your blender of choice and mix until smooth. If not adding spinach, there is no need for a blender to mix.

Transfer to a large, greased (I use PAM) coffee mug and microwave for 3-4 mins (mine took 3:21).

Tip the cake out onto a plate and top as desired. My cake was topped with a sprinkle of vanilla protein “powdered sugar” and a cherry. I also really like to use melted cherries (cut into pieces and microwaved for 20 secs).

Makes 1 cake.

Approximate Nutritionals (will vary based on protein powder brand used; this is with Sun Warrior): 148 calories, 3g fat, 219.3mg sodium, 11g carbohydrates, 3.6g fiber, 3g sugar, 24.5g protein.

I was blown away by the positive responses when I posted this on the Chick-fil-a controversy. The Dean of the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business (my graduate alma mater) wrote a great op-ed piece for the New York Times on individual freedom. I respect his opinion, and hope you will take a second to read his thoughts. Click here to read.

What is your most memorable kitchen failure?

Have you reached microwave cake perfection? Do share!

PB & Aggs + Carrot Cake Batter {WIAW}

August 1, 2012 By Laura

I’m a big fan of modifications.

Have you seen the dishes I ~~bastardize~~ exercise creative license with?

This week my nutrition plan has had one awesome modification. After mentioning that I almost hurled last week after shoveling down lunch right before a workout, my trainer gave me an ~~life~~ stomach saving tip. If a workout is scheduled right after a carb meal (Meal 1, 3, 5, or 7), then I can switch the order of the meals. So instead of my scheduled Meal 3 carb + protein + veggie combo, I could have swapped it for Meal 4 which is just a veggie + protein.

3 Benefits to This:

Quick protein boost before a workout (and a little energy from the sugar if this occurs in the morning when I get fruit rather than a veggie)
Complex carbs post-workout are great for muscle repair/recovery
No risk of regurgitation

Similar to running, you don’t want to lift heavy on a full tummy. It’s hard work and being full just makes you feel draggy. When you’re in prep for a figure competition the last thing you want is to have a junk workout. I’ve been relishing in this modification all week. It has done wonders for my energy at the gym, as well as my comfort level!

Enough tummy talk. We have a new theme this week for What I Ate Wednesday!

Seasonal eating is a big deal to me. Food that is in season tastes better, and it is less expensive. Not to mention the fact that you can support your local farmers by purchasing your product through them rather than from far away places like Chile.

Check out my (mostly) summertime appropriate eats below, then click here to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to see everyone else’s fitness foods!