Sprint 2 the Table

Appetites and Adventures

My Top 5

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I have an announcement: My skinny pants are too big.

 

OMGOMGOMGOMG.

When I started this blog, I had a gained a pretty significant amount of weight.  I had been out of grad school for a year, and had gotten accustomed to sitting at a desk all day and still eating anything I wanted.  My body revolted.

Basically, my fat pants became my skinny pants.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC0Nsba1fWQ&feature=related

***Disclaimer: I love my job – I just love this video. And I don’t like sitting all day.***

 

Last week my trainer made me get on a scale for the first time in a couple of months. Post-grad school sitting-on-my-butt weight is officially GONE!!!

Fat pants, be damned!!!

I still sit at a desk all day, but I adjusted my eating habits and made exercise a part of my daily routine.  Just like brushing my teeth.

How did I do it?

There were many, many habits I changed, new behaviors I learned, and – last but not least – an amazing amount of self-control.  I could write pages, but here are my Top 5 Factors (after the jump).

… 

Read More »

Calories on Your Menu

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There has been a recent push to include the calorie count on menu items at chain restaurants.  New York City chains have been doing this for quite some time, but I haven’t seen a lot of it in Georgia.  At a recent visit to IHOP was the first time I’d encountered it (thus ruining an already mediocre experience).

Did I really want to know that my Harvest ‘N Nuts pancakes were 1020 calories before adding syrup?!

Honestly, it is really rare that I eat at chain restaurants.  I love food and I generally find that local restaurants have more interesting items made with fresher ingredients.  I know there are exceptions to this – hello, Seasons 52 – but as a general rule, my belly supports the local economy.

All of this to say that I was ambushed surprised by calories on my Longhorn menu last night.

I was in a small town without many other options for food, so to the chain we went.  As far as chains go, Longhorn isn’t terrible.  What is terrible: trying to order food at Longhorn when you know how caloric it is.  They even listed the calories in desserts (Caramel Apple Goldrush = 1640 calories) and specialty drinks (Pomegranate Margarita = 440 calories).

30+ minutes later, we finally settled on dinner items.  My Sierra Chicken was one of the lowest calorie items on the list (410 calories). It wasn’t terrible… except that I think the Dead Sea has less salt content than my dinner did.

Given the impact calories staring at us in the face had on my dinner companion and me, I asked the waitress she has noticed a difference in the way people order since the menu addition.  She said it did a little on dinner items, but dessert sales were the most hard-hit.

On one hand I think its great to know what you are eating (the calorie counts for the salads were SCARY). On the other, do I really want to know?!

What if my local, independently-owned restaurants began doing this?  It would certainly put a damper on my experience.

Another problem is that calorie counts aren’t all that matter.  My chicken, for example.  410 calories isn’t terrible, but the sodium content must have been out of this world.  What about fat?  Or carbs?  How about the redeeming qualities like protein and vitamins?

The impact could have a really cool effect – will restaurants began offering healthier options or adjusting current items to improve calorie content?  Or here’s a novel idea – how about offering single-serving portions?

As a country we could obviously benefit from better food options, or at least hard-to-ignore information about what we’re about to eat.

At least Georgia isn’t the worst…

***

What do you think?  Do you know to know or is ignorance bliss?  Would this impact they way you order?


Slurp Your Sweet Potato

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Despite being up until 3am working, I woke up (late) this morning ready to MOVE.

Breakfast was a coffee, an apple, and a jalapeno-cheddar scone (recipe to come… it still needs a little work).  To fuel my energy, I read some neglected fitness magazines.

What resulted was an amazing workout:

  1. 5 min elliptical warm-up
  2. Wide grip lat pull-downs – 3 sets of 12
  3. Bent over dumbbell row – 3 sets of 15
  4. Seated cable row – 3 sets of 12
  5. 30 second planks as an active rest between sets in #2-4 (total 10)
  6. Dumbbell pullover – 3 sets of 12
  7. Row to raise – 2 sets of 12
  8. Push-ups- 3 sets of 15 – superset with…
  9. Standing dumbbell curl – 3 sets of 12
  10. Alternating dumbbell curl – 5 sets of 12
  11. Hammer curl – 4 sets of 15 (or to exhaustion)
  12. 1 min sprint intervals on the treadmill between each set in #10-11 (total 8  )

Then I took the stairs back up to my condo.  Whew!

 

That killer workout called for a gigantic protein shake.

You’re probably going to think this is weird… BUT just trust me.

Sweet Potato Smoothie

  • 1/4 large sweet potato, cooked (mine was left over from this)
  • 1 hand full of spinach
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ginger
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • Ice + water/milk to taste

Combine all ingredients in blender and process until smooth.  Slurp away!

***

Time to head out the door for the derby sleepover – so excited to hang out with the team off-skates!

Does anyone else have adult sleepovers?!

It’s like high school but now you don’t have to sneak in the alcohol.

Spice Up Your Dessert

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I don’t want to run.

At all.  

This frigid, icy weather has taken a toll on my workout motivation.  Yet I did.

Want to know the secret steps to success when you’re held captive by the weather?

  1. Make a plan – mine was a incline interval run
  2. Write it on a piece of paper
  3. Get dressed in workout gear (it helps you commit to going!)
  4. Get on the “dreadmill” WITH the written plan in front of you
  5. Promise yourself that if you go 10 mins and still feel terrible, you can stop
  6. Promise yourself a giant spaghetti squash dinner and a glass of wine
  7. Wait for about the 8 min mark
  8. Motivation/resolve sets in. At this point you realize you will go the full time and survive.

I have no idea how I got through that one, but I did.

Then I ate this:

Thank god for the cleanse and my discovery of Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti.

My derby teammates, the Sake Tuyas, are having a sleepover this weekend.  Everyone is bring a dish and the theme is Mexican.  Because I am crazy, as I was laying in bed last night I was contemplating the possibilities (doesn’t everyone lull their self to sleep thinking about food?).  Then it hit me.

When I made these Black Bean Brownies, I thought I had hit the jackpot.  But… no. There’s something better out there.

Black beans are in (I think) every taco at Moe’s (clearly an authentic Mexican specimen).

This alone qualifies them for the potluck.  But why stop there?

Amp it up and add some spicy-goodness!  The addition of cinnamon and spice and everything nice adds a depth of flavor that is not to be missed.

Protein-rich, fudgy brownie with ~150 calories per serving (less than the original since I reduced the sugar and egg). Does it get any better?

Mexican Black Bean Fudgy Brownies

  • 3/4 C cocoa powder
  • 1/2 C salted butter, melted
  • 1/2 C applesauce (unsweetened)
  • 15 oz canned black beans (1 can, drained and rinsed)
  • 1 C walnuts (chopped)
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 T instant coffee
  • 1 1/4 tsp roasted ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ancho chili powder
  • 3/4 tsp cayenne powder
  • Shake of kosher salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 C light agave nectar

Preheat the oven to 325° F.  Prepare an 11 x 7 in pyrex dish by lining with parchment paper or lightly oiling with Baker’s Joy/Pam/butter/etc.

In large bowl, mix together melted butter, applesauce, and  cocoa powder until combined.

Place the beans, 1/2 C of walnuts, vanilla extract, and 3-4 spoonfuls of the cocoa mixture into a food processor.  Blend until smooth (~ 1 min).  It will be very thick.  Set aside.

Add to the cocoa mixture the remaining 1/2 C walnuts, instant coffee, cinnamon, chili powder, cayenne, and salt and mix well.  Add bean mixture to cocoa mixture, manually stirring until well blended.

In a medium-sized bowl, beat the eggs with a mixer until light and creamy (~ 1-2 min).  Add agave nectar and beat well.  Fold the egg mixture (reserving 1/8 C to drizzle over top if desired) into the bean and cocoa mix until just combined.

Pour the batter into prepared pan.

Bake for ~45 mins, until the brownies are set.  Cool completely in the pan before cutting. You may need to refrigerate first – these are extremely soft.

Optional: Sprinkle top with a mixture of cinnamon, chili powder, and powdered sugar.

***

Now to do a quick core workout before bed.  If I can just get started…

What are your secrets to motivation for a bad-weather workout?

Snowmygawd!

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We’ve moved on from the snow to ice.  This city is shut down.  Even derby practice has been canceled all week!  In case you were wondering, ice is significantly less fun than snow.

Peachtree St. (the main drag through Atlanta) is literally a sheet of ice.  No joke – this dude was ice skating down the street.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iudRPyX4934

This is 2 blocks from my condo.

Being trapped has done a lot for productivity – I have gotten 2 big deliverables done for work, changed my sheets, hand washed dishes (I always put off doing hand wash-only dishes), worked out everyday, done laundry, and some other random “to do” items.

I did get out on Monday night for some fun.  Atlanta was in par-tay mode! 🙂

Picture taken by random guy on the street:

Told you I'm a red-head!

Last night I made some rockin’ roasted sweet potatoes.  I couldn’t take a picture, but my sister requested that directions be posted.  Here you go, Alli:

Lavender Roasted Sweet Potatoes

  • 1 Giant Sweet potato
  • 1/4-1/2 tsp Dried lavender blossoms
  • 1/2 tsp Dried rosemary
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 T EVOO

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Chop well-rinsed (I don’t peel mine) sweet potato into 1/2 in cubes and spread out on foil-lined baking sheet.  Toss with herbs, salt, and EVOO.

Roast in oven for ~40 mins, tossing once at 25 min mark.  Remove and enjoy!

***

I read an interesting article from my Active.com daily email.    It discusses training for a race vs. weight loss.

Many people begin running for weight loss.  One of the common stories I see is that of people signing up for a 5K as motivation to begin running and drop a few lbs.  I don’t think this article is necessarily referring to those people – this seems more related to longer races or more competitive racers – but it is an interesting read and can provide some perspective.

Major take-aways:

  1. Your body needs more calories when you’re seriously training.  This is not the time to cutting to under 1,500/day .
  2. Strength training shouldn’t be a focus while training.  Muscle burns fat, but lifting seriously can exhaust you and add more muscle than is ideal for a race.
  3. Endurance require some carbs.  Losing weight does not.  Eat more protein if you are trying to lose.  Sub in some carb-cals for the protein when you are in training.
  4. Many of the fitness magazines are highlighting the awesome weight-loss results you see from cardio intervals.  True story.  Just don’t make these the bulk of your workout if you are trying to run a marathon – they aren’t a substitute for a long run.
  5. “Fasting” workouts are when you workout first thing without any food on your stomach.  In theory, they burn straight fat rather than burning off carbs first.  I’m not a fan of these in general (it can also mean muscle breakdown as you body struggles to fuel the workout), but you especially don’t want to do this for longer/endurance runs.

***

What are your thoughts?  Can you focus on weight loss and training?  Anyone a fan of the fasting workout?

Speaking of… I’m off to the gym!  Gotta do what you can to warm up. 🙂

Snow Day

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Snow days are much more fun when you don’t have to work.  This is the downside of technology.

No matter – I did get to go sledding in the park last night at 1 am!

Check out my crazy-dark-red hair!

In the daylight this afternoon, I went for a walk/run around my neighborhood.

3.5 verrrry careful miles took 50 mins!

I did have to stop for some people-watching.  Lots of sledding (pool toys are the most popular sleds this year), snowboarding, and even spectating from the comfort of a couch.  Yep – someone hauled a couch out to the park so they could watch the action with all the comforts of home.

Source: AJC.com

The neighborhood bar is open (and packed).  A group was playing hockey in an icy parking lot.  People who decided to drive and just spinning their wheels in place.  Peachtree Street is a solid sheet of ice.

Source: AJC.com

I did my P90X – Ab Ripper X before lunch when I got home.

Apparently snow makes me eat random things.  Lunch was a corn tortilla with hummus, sautéed asparagus, red pepper, onion, and garlic with sides of cucumber, carrots, and yellow raspberries.  Followed by a Think Thin bar (6g of protein, 0g sugar, and reasonably tasty!).

This one is my fav - love the crunchy pieces of toffee!

Needles to say, I’m looking forward to a football-game-watching-worthy dinner.  I never thought I’d say this, but I’ll do it for Baby Sis…

Go Tigers!!! 🙂

I’m trying (holy snow-induced ADD, Batman) to get my work done so I can go play, too!

I’m going to stop procrastinating now.

Sunday Morning Frittata

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Important announcement:

I am now a red head.

Yesterday I visited my friend/stylist at Lava Hair Studio for a much-needed hair cut/color.  I love Karen – I walk in, say “I need a change,” and she creates a whole lot of awesome.

There’s nothing more satisfying about leaving the salon looking like a whole new person.

Pictures soon… I still need to get a new camera after the washing machine incident.

_____________________________________________________________

In the South we are expecting some winter weather tonight/tomorrow.  I think I’m the only one not making a panic-run the grocery store.

This means I am either:

a.) super smart

or

b.) a (soon to be stranded and starving) moron.

I’m actually pretty excited about it.  Last time it snowed here I walked across the street to the park and watched half of Atlanta try to sled on various household items.  Among my favorites:

  • Giant tupperware box lids
  • Trashcan lids
  • Cafeteria trays
  • Cardboard boxes
  • Other people
  • Those reflective silver things people put in their windshields
  • Bicycles with wood “skis” attached in place of wheels (this one gets the Darwin Award)

Southerners are creative.

Unfortunately, along with snow comes frigid temps.  It was 18 degrees when I woke up this morning.  The heaviest coat I have is a fleece Northface jacket.  And did I mention the crazy wind?

_____________________________________________________________

One of my favorite parts of the weekend is Sunday morning.

You can thank me later for the fact that you’re humming “Sunday morning coming down.”

Sunday is usually my “get stuff done” day.  I try to leave the day wide open for running errands/cleaning/working/etc.  That’s all fine, but what makes the morning my favorite is having the unscheduled time to drink coffee, watch the morning news, and make a good breakfast (a.k.a. brunch).

Not that I don’t think oatmeal is a good breakfast.  It’s just that oatmeal can be a quick-fix.  I will (almost) never take the time to make an egg dish during the week.

This morning I decided to raid the veggie drawer and make a spicy frittata.

I love using red pepper flakes to spice things up.  This morning I used the flakes, then remembered the Sweet Aardvark Habanero Hot Sauce my artist-sister gave me and used that too!

A little bit goes a long way. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Blurry cell phone picture. Desperate times...

Hands down, this was a Sunday-morning-worthy brunch.

I also used my coffee trick:

Add a couple shakes of cinnamon and a teeny shake of salt to the coffee before brewing.  Try it out – you’ll be surprised at the flavor it adds!

Spicy Frittata

  • 5 Asparagus stalks
  • 1/4 C Yellow onion
  • 1/4 C Red pepper
  • 2 Garlic cloves
  • 2 Eggs
  • Splash of water
  • Red pepper flakes
  • S + P
  • Sweet Aardvark Habanero Hot Sauce

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.  Rough chop the veggies and saute over med-high heat in an oven-proof pan with EVOO until just tender (about 6-7 mins).

Meanwhile, beat eggs in small bowl.  Add a couple splashes of water.  Add red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper to taste.

Turn down heat and pour eggs over veggies in saute pan and cook until beginning to set (about 5 mins).  Use your spatula to lift edges and tilt pan, allowing egg to run underneath.  Drizzle habanero sauce over top.

Place skillet in oven and cook until the eggs are set, about 7-8 mins.  You may crumble cheese over the top during final 2 mins.

Slide frittata on to your plate and enjoy!

Note: adding a bit of water to eggs makes the more fluffy.  Water actually works better than milk.

Resolution-Worthy Brownies

By

As always, I have started out the new year running.  Between work, derby, training, and family stuff, I have been home long enough to sleep 4-5 hours.

Just like I like it.

 

I really do try not to be a glutton for punishment, but I just have to own it: I hate to be still.

Does anyone else schedule their life to the very limit?!

Some where in between all the running around with my hair on fire, I did manage to find time to perfect (IMHO) a dessert recipe to address any lingering holiday-fudgy-goodness hunger pangs.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

In the grand tradition of good intentions, many of us are beginning 2011 with renewed zeal for healthy living.

We are also coming off of a 2-month sugar binge.

Have we learned nothing from Intervention?  Addicts need to be weaned off of the juice! 🙂

 

What better way to do this than with bean-filled desserts?!

 

 

Beans, beans… good for your heart…

You can’t tell there are beans in these fudgy bites.  I even tested them out with a few discerning co-workers and my building’s concierge.  No one suspected anything was amiss.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

 

Black Bean Fudgy Brownies

  • 3/4 C Cocoa powder
  • 1/2 C Salted butter
  • 1/2 C Applesauce (unsweetened)
  • 15 oz Canned black beans (1 can, drained and rinsed)
  • 1 C Walnuts (chopped)
  • 1 T Vanilla extract
  • 1 T Instant coffee
  • Shake of kosher salt
  • 4 eggs
  • 1½ C Light agave nectar

Preheat the oven to 325° F.  Prepare an 11 x 7 in pyrex dish by lining with parchment paper or lightly oiling with Baker’s Joy/Pam/butter/etc.

Melt butter in a small bowl in the microwave.  Stir in applesauce and  cocoa powder until combined.  Place the beans, 1/2 C of walnuts, vanilla extract, and 3-4 spoonfuls of the chocolate mixture into a food processor.  Blend until smooth (~ 1 min).  It will be very thick.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together remaining 1/2 C walnuts, the rest of the melted chocolate mixture, instant coffee, and salt.  Mix well and set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, beat the eggs with a mixer until light and creamy (~ 1-2 min).  Add agave nectar and beat well. Set aside.

Add bean mixture to butter mixture, manually stirring until blended well.  Then add the egg mixture (reserving 1/4 C to drizzle over top if desired), and hand mix until just combined.  Pour the batter into prepared pan.

Bake for ~45 mins, until the brownies are set.  Cool completely in the pan before cutting.  You may need to refrigerate first – these are extremely soft.

***

How curious are you about the nutritional info?!?! 🙂

I was.

If you cut them into 20 squares, here are the approximate

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 182.8

Fat: 10.0 g

Cholesterol: 49.6 mg

Sodium: 44.8 mg

Carbohydrates: 22.4 g

Fiber: 1.9 g

Protein: 3.0 g

There you have it.  Fudgy brownies that are under 200 calories and possess some redeeming qualities.

Try them out.  Guarenteed money back if you can taste the beans.*

*I’m not sending you any money, so don’t even try it.  I know you can’t taste the beans anyway, scammers. 🙂
 

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