Kentucky Muscle Weekend

November 11, 2013 By Laura

Body building has no finish line.

This is both inspiring and frustrating.

You work every day – like all goals in life – to be better than you were the day before. This past weekend’s competition, Kentucky Muscle, was the biggest one I’ve ever done. I didn’t place in the Top 5 (I came in 6th)… and while I knew I probably wouldn’t it was still a little disappointing.

Not going to lie… the “trophy” was a sword, and that just made me want to place more. Who doesn’t want a sword to display at home?!

What I am proud of is how I’ve progressed since my last show. This time around I had made gains and, more importantly, I felt better than I ever had before. This morning of the show I felt centered, confident, and ready to get one stage with my best package yet.

On stage, I wasn’t as uncomfortable as I’d been in the past. My posing still isn’t the best, but it’s better. I am confident enough to walk out with a smile, know I’m not going to fall over in my stripper heels, and look directly at each and every judge while I move through each pose (that part is maybe the hardest!).

Back stage was also fun. I met some new friends and had time to hang out with my House of Payne teammates. It’s a crowded space, but everyone made the best of it; I’m continually amazed by how kind other competitors are. I bummed rice cakes (which I’d forgotten) and goofed off with the girls in my class as we lined up to get on stage. I almost had them convinced to enter the stage doing the “walk like an egyptian” dance. 😉

You may recognize my partner-in-crime, Lisa, from my last show and birthday trip to Napa. Hannah, the blonde in the picture below, won overall Physique!

The best part is always the meal afterwards. We didn’t finish until almost midnight, but that didn’t stop our group from heading to a local late-night pizza spot. See the pizza on the top right below? I ate the entire thing. With a Kentucky bourbon barrel beer. And a peanut butter Oreo (which are fantastic, btw).

My trainer and I stopped at a local brunch sport, Toast, on the way out of town for one final indulgence before I got back on the wagon foe next weekend’s show. We split some #yolkporn served on toasted brioche with harissa hot sauce and bacon, and a fantastically decadent bread pudding pancake served with a blend of warm rum raisin syrup and Irish crème sauce. Sugar coma heaven.

Last, but certainly not least, I was especially excited to see Brittany! She lives nearby and came to hang out between after pre-judging and for the night show. Seeing one of my favorite Blends made the waiting game so much easier. She is hilarious and kept my trainer and I laughing the entire time.

Thank you, Brittany!!! I can’t tell you how much seeing a familiar face helps!

I’ll do a longer recap after next week’s Colorado show. I spent the few hours after I got home grocery shopping and meal prepping to make it through a crazy week of work, workouts, and travel. Lisa and I are headed to compete with the lovely Heather in her bikini debut at the end of the week!

I hope you all have a marvelous start to the week!

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That’s the short and sweet recap… I’m about to fall asleep. Thank you all so much for the tweets, texts, comments on last week’s posts (I swear I’ll catch up one day), Facebook, and Instagram. It meant the world!

Do you view your goals as a progression, or is there a finish line?

What would be your “treat” food of choice after something like this? Heather just texted me with an amazing food idea for next weekend… woo hoo!

Strange But Good: Tofu Jalapeño Poppers

November 8, 2013 By Laura

You could stuff jalapeños with the typical mixture of cheeses.

But you know I need my protein.

In a strange twist, I found the solution in the form of a vegan protein source. Tofu.

Tofu is the chicken of the vegetarian world. It is a neutral protein that can take on any flavor. I’ve use it in the past to as a cheese replacement in Eggplant Rollatini, as an egg replacement in an Indian-Inspired Scramble, a chicken replacement in baked Chili-Nutty Tofu, as a thickener in Carrot Cake Batter Protein Shake, and even a protein add in this Tofu Grilled PB&J.

I use tofu here with a delicious mix of garlic and onions cooked with Mexican-inspired herbs and spices. You can experiment with any type of filling in these poppers! It makes for a fantastically creamy, low-fat, high protein stuffing!

Tofu Jalapeño Poppers

12 fresh jalapeños
9 oz extra firm tofu, squeezed of excess water and crumbled
Juice of 1 small lime
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T nutritional yeast
1 tsp dried cilantro
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried cilantro

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Slice the jalapeños and remove ribbing and seeds. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients using a fork to smash together.

Stuff each pepper half with tofu mixture.

Set each pepper on a foil-lined baking sheet. Place in oven and bake for ~20 mins, until the peppers have softened.

Let cool slightly and enjoy!

How have you enjoyed making co-workers, friends, or family stare with strange but good creations this week? The link up rules can be found here or by clicking on “Strange But Good” in the menu bar above. In short, I want to see what concoctions have earned you weird looks from co-workers, family and friends! Post your Strange But Good creations, grab the logo below for your blog, and link up here.

Remember to use #strangebutgood in any Tweets and Instagrams of your creations. 🙂

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I’m on the road to KY for my competition this weekend! Thank you all SO MUCH for the well-wishes. I’ll be over-sharing (as usual) on Instagram. 😉

What is your favorite way to use tofu?

Have you made anything strange but good lately?

A Day of Food at 4 Days Out

November 6, 2013 By Laura

Change is often slow.

The bane of my impatient existence.

Change does come to those who stay the course. When I started training for competitions I had some muscle tone, but was underweight and had literally run my ass off. I posted about my journey here so I won’t rehash. What I will say (again) is that there is NOTHING you can’t accomplish with hard work and the unwavering belief that you can do anything you want to if you want to badly enough.

Yes, I’m still small for Figure; I know I have a long way to go. This weekend’s show is the most competitive one I’ve ever done and I know I won’t place. That doesn’t lessen my excitement to have the experience, and to be around so many inspiring competitors. AND – regardless of the outcome – I’m pretty damn proud of this progress in about a year and a half.

Competing isn’t easy. Some days I don’t want to get up and do cardio or eat healthy food or hear snarky comments from people… but it is worth it. The good days and the personal satisfaction outweigh the bad.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: find something you’re passionate about and go do it to the fullest extent. It could be running, lifting, painting, writing code… whatever! You will be more fulfilled and SO MUCH happier – it has made all the difference for me.

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Enough inspirational mush! This WIAW I am 4 days from my 3rd figure competition! Bring on the lean protein, complex carbs, and yes… the asparagus.

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

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Breakfast:

As usual, I started the day I with my Aminos and ACV morning cocktail. I swear it’s more energizing than coffee.

Breakfast was pancakes. Not as good as my usual. These were just oat flour, an egg white, baking powder, and cinnamon. BUT… I got to have pancakes! The sauce was the best part. I mashed up raspberries, added a dash of maple extract, and microwaved them for ~10 secs to create a syrup. I’d eat that outside of competition prep!

With a side of Cinnamon-Flax Baked Chicken.

Mid-Morning Snack:

Leftover Parrot Fish with asparagus and sugar peas. Nom.

The fish looked prettier on Instagram 2 nights ago. For those that were curious on Monday, the fish was tasty but nothing out of the ordinary. It was a mild white fish, on the meaty side and slightly buttery.

Lunch:

I froze last week’s leftover lean beef burgers for lunches this week. It was just as good warmed up and eaten with sweet potato rounds, asparagus, and red peppers.

Some have asked why I eat the majority of my asparagus raw. The reason is VERY important: I like it better raw. It has a sweet crunchiness.

Mid-Afternoon Snack:

I gave in to a cliché and went back to an old recipe this week… Tequila Lime Tilapia. Tilapia is “the” source of protein for many in the bodybuilding community. Variety is a better choice for me; if I had to eat the same thing every meal I’d never make it. Tilapia is fine in moderation though! ~~Especially with tequila.~~

The fish and calabaza squash were cooked during my Sunday meal prep. I reheated them ate at it with a quick raw salad of yellow cherry tomatoes and white asparagus tossed in a mix of nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, and a homemade Mexican spice blend.

Dinner:

Dinner was a roasted veggie fest – part of this week’s food prep was a giant pan of white and green asparagus, red bell pepper, shiitake mushrooms, garlic, green onion, and fresh herbs in Meyer lemon juice. I also tossed pieces of the actual lemon in the pan too. It’s completely edible and not too sour after a good roast.

Eaten with my favorite protein: Sea Bass.

Dessert:

No more diary and no more protein powder in my diet… it’s Cinnamon-Flax Baked Chicken and carrots for dessert. Admittedly, this is NOT my favorite part about competing.

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“I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I have just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.” ~Diane Ackerman

What are you passionate about?

Do you prefer veggies raw or cooked? I generally like ’em raw… though I do love a good ~~char~~ roast.

Work It Out: 15 Minutes Is All It Takes

November 5, 2013 By Laura

Who doesn’t love a quickie?

Cardio! What are you thinking?!

In my last couple of weeks of competition prep I’ve added cardio. 15 minutes per day, high intensity. Normally I run sprints but – of course – I pulled my hamstring. No more sprints.

In effort to get my cardio in, I’ve had to adjust. This week’s Work It Out is dedicated to my back up plan.

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I dislike forced cardio. Some days when I’m antsy or when the weather is nice I love a good run, but when it’s prescribed I’m less enthusiastic.

Mindset is important. I get up in the morning and get it done. 15 minutes of fasted cardio. 15 minutes is all it takes is my mantra.

You can do anything for 15 minutes!

You are probably familiar with most of these moves. When you do the jumping jack and running portions, do them quickly to ensure you keep the intensity up.

Wacky Jacks may be the one you haven’t tried. I “borrowed” it from my P90X days. What I like about them is that they work your core too. You start like a regular jumping jack with your hands behind head. Then drive your elbow to the hip or knee, jumping to alternating sides. Click here for a quick video demo.

Pop Squats I’ve talked about before here in the Save Your Knees Work It Out. I love these for the burst of energy. They are great for the buns!

Note: You can modify these movement to accommodate your specific needs or limitations. For instance, do the push ups from your knees, or replace pop squats with regular squats. Listen to your body. If it hurts, stop. NO need to be a super hero and risk injury!

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With a few days left till my competition, I’m doing these or getting on the elliptical doing intervals, forward and backward, every day!

What is your favorite “quickie” exercise?

Do you prefer cardio or lifting? Neither? Both?

Weekend Warrior

November 4, 2013 By Laura

Who said weekends are for rest?

Thought let’s be honest – I appreciated the extra hour.

Weekend warrior-ing has been my M.O. in the past, but in recent years my warrior-style has changed. These days it’s all about productivity. Rest is a good thing… and I did rest from job-related activities. The work I did was fun to me!

I spent fun time in the kitchen making 72 of my Sweet Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins to take to a men’s shelter for a chili dinner. It was fun to do – I love baking for others!

Saturday my cousin (the one I did the adventure race with) treated me to a pre-game sideline tour of the Georgia Tech field and seats to the Homecoming game. We are all huge Tech fans in my family; I grew up going to games with my dad. It was a big treat to watch the team warm up on the field.

Those guys are HUGE!

Can you tell we’re related?

We were gone all evening, so I had to smuggle in food in my purse. Turkey roll-ups, anyone?

My 20-year-old self is making fun of me for sneaking in heath food rather than whiskey. 😉

Saturday and Sunday both included workouts. I love when you get to the week before competition – it’s added motivation knowing it’s your last workout for each muscle group. This time next week I’ll be done with my 3rd figure competition and less than a week out from my 4th in Denver with Heather!

The Breakfast Club got me through my cardio – I even stayed an extra 5 mins to hear the closing monologue. Then I had to take of pic of the Famous Amos bag on the locker room floor… I resisted the urge to check and see if there were any cookies left and went for a photo shoot instead.

You see us as you want to see us: in the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions…

Sunday Funday concluded with a trip to my favorite international farmers market! It’s always a crowded on a weekend afternoon, but I put on my ninja socks and kicked it.

Of course I bought plenty of lean protein and asparagus for my final week of prep, but I also scored with super cheap pomegranate! I refrained from the avocado drink mix, but had to get a pic as proof that my favorite #strangebutgood protein shake add isn’t THAT weird.

Other highlights included the kabocha squash Thai curry they were sampling… let’s pretend I didn’t take a bite... and a new-to-me fish. The Parrot Fish was too pretty not to try! I had them fillet it for me before taking it home. Can’t wait to make dinner with it tonight!

Sunday night I realized I hadn’t sat down all day long. I get it honest – my mom is the same way. Some might prefer a more laid back weekend, but I am not happy unless my hair is on fire. It’s pretty marvelous.

***

There are, of course, exceptions. I’m going to have a full, restful weekend to recover from back-to-back shows. Anyone want to come over for chocolate cake and red wine? 😉

Have you ever heard of Parrot Fish? Any preparation suggestions?

Do you prefer a super-active weekend or a restful one? What are your to-dos on your days off?

StrangeBut Good: Curry Sweet Potato Burger

November 1, 2013 By Laura

Sometimes you just need a good burger.

I’m not one to deny myself.

The craving has hit me hard toward the end of this prep. The beef is easy – most grocers sell some form of “super lean” grass-fed ground beef (my veggie friends could use a bean burger or tempeh here).

The bun is a bit harder to replicate… until I remembered my eggplant chips! They are delicious alone, but they also make for a perfect burger vehicle.

For my eggplant bun I cut the slices a bit thicker so that they were hearty enough to stand up to a festive fall spread. Festive in color… perhaps a little nontraditional flavor-wise. Some might call it strange, but I call it good.

During my meal prep each week, I bake a few sweet potatoes. I mashed up part of one with nutritional yeast, curry powder, and smoked paprika to make a pleasantly sweet, Indian-spiced cheesy spread.

Craving = satisfied.

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Curry Sweet Potato Burger

Burger patty (or protein of your choosing)
Eggplant chips
1/4 C sweet potato, mashed
2 T nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp curry powder
Juice of 1/4 lime
Smoked paprika, to taste

Prepare burger and chips.

Meanwhile, prepare your sweet potato spread by mixing sweet potato, nutritional yeast, spices, and lime in a small bowl. You may need to add water depending on the moisture content of your sweet potato.

Construct your burger and enjoy!

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Remember to use #strangebutgood in any Tweets and Instagrams of your creations. 🙂

***

I eat a TON of orange food. How my palms are glowing in the dark yet it beyond me!

What was the best costume you saw this Halloween?

Are you a curry fan? Have you ever used it with sweet potato?

Creating a Life & Creating Fun Recipes

October 31, 2013 By Laura

Who doesn’t love a holiday?

Especially one that lends itself to so many inappropriate jokes…

Step 1…

I know Halloween isn’t technically a holiday (i.e. we still have to work), but it one of my favorite festive events. I won’t be party-ing it up this year, so I’d like to ask all of you benevolent ghouls to have an extra drink/Reese’s pumpkin/costume fun for me.

Not to worry, I plan to taking a nice walk through a neighborhood to scope out the trick-or-treater costumes ~~while trying not to look like a creeper~~. Watching all the kids having so much fun in pursuit of a sugar-high is the best part anyway. Well, second only to knowing I don’t have to come home and try to put an over-stimulated child to bed. 😉

Kat is in the spirit too! She has some new to share… I think you’ll agree that she deserves to celebrate a little extra tonight…

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Creating a Life & Creating Fun Recipes

by: Kat

Even when you think you have it all figured out, you still have a chance to change and create.

It just occurred to me recently how much change has happened in my life this year that I don’t even really recognize my life (Editor’s note: that happened to me a couple of years ago… crazy, isn’t it?! Life is so good.). With all the changes happening, it is a chance to really think about how I want to create my life, and how I want to see thing unfold.

This year, I graduated, leaving the perceived safety of an academic environment, spent a summer barely working while studying for the bar, started a new relationship, our families of animals (3 dogs and 3 cats) have come together in one home (yes, I now have pet hair-I only had two hairless cats for the longest time)…

…and I’ve OFFICIALLY PASSED the bar, so I can try to stop working just part-time and really practice law. (Editor’s note: SO insanely proud of you. I can’t wait to celebrate your success!)

I got SWORN IN yesterday! This is me signing my attorney’s oath.

Now – how do I create my life so that it feels good – so I’m doing work that inspires me, motivates me, and fills me up? How do I navigate a home-space so different from where I was comfortable for so many years to have an even more comfortable, more happy environment? I have options, and I’m excited (and nervous!).

All of this change has sent me right back to therapy. (Editor’s note: you’re a smart girl – I should have done that when change was busting my balls.) I have an awesome new creative, holistic therapist helping me use my personality strengths so they can be guiding my new life (instead of letting those not so pretty reactive parts shine through)!

Also, Happy Halloween! To those of us not handing out candy…

And you can also get creative by being wickedly inappropriate. (Editor’s note: I think it’s a boy…)

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Or you can be boring like me and go about your daily life making recipes inspired by your cravings.

Lately, I have been craving EGGS. You can only eat so many over-easy eggs with toast in one week before you really want something different (Editor’s note: blasphemy!). I saved some sautéed peppers, onions, and mushrooms from a pizza night and used them to make this Pesto Omelette.

What I love about this recipe is that it really creates a great meal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and it’s loaded with healthy fats, protein, minerals and vitamins. It’s also super fast, and the pesto/drunken goat cheese combo make it super special!

I have a ton of fall recipes I’m getting ready to hone in on and share. First is my Butternut Squash with Brown Butter Sage Sauce (Editor’s note: you needed a taste-tester for that, right???). This will be happening soon, along with a new surprise squash I’ll be getting with my next veggie delivery! So stay tuned!

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Pesto Omelette

2 large organic eggs
2 ½ T coconut milk
2-3 T sautéed veggies
Garlic salt, to taste
2 T pesto
2-3 T drunken goat cheese, sliced
2 T coconut oil
Sliced tomatoes (optional)

Preheat a nonstick pan over med-high heat and add coconut oil.

Whisk the eggs in a bowl until they fluff up a bit, add the coconut milk and whip a little more (this is important for any fluff).

Pour the mixture into preheated pan, add garlic salt evenly over the entire mixture. Stir vigorously with a rubber spatula for 5 seconds, then add the sautéed veggies, cheese, and pesto to one half of the egg mixture.

Let it cook until you start to see that most of the eggs on the side without the veggies is forming a solid mass. Lift the pan so that the excess liquid/egg mixture distributes, and then use your spatula to loosen the edges from the pan.

Shake the pan to loosen the eggs, and slide the spatula under and around the side without the veggies. Let it cook for another 45 sec – 1:15 on each side.

Plate and serve with sliced tomatoes.

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The thinkThin bar giveaway winner has been selected! Check out the original post to see if YOU won this treat.

What are you doing to create your life so that it feels good to you?

What exciting fall recipes or ingredients are you playing with?

Sexy Food + WIAW

October 30, 2013 By Laura

Food is sexy.

Food porn is a real thing.

But what about food costumes? Forget the “traditional” sexy cat. This article brought to light a new concept: sexy food Halloween costumes.

With costumes like this, sriracha has no need to invest in advertising!

Then we have bacon. Whats sexier than a salty piece of meat?

Sure, they’re good for a laugh… but would you really wear one of these costumes? I guess a lot of people would. If they didn’t make money, no one would sell them!

GiGi clearly thinks salad qualifies as sexy. (← hilarious video!)

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This WIAW I am 10 days from my next figure competition! My food may not be sexy in the traditional sense of the word, but it tasted pretty good! 🙂

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

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