She’s gone country… wine country, that is

October 28, 2010 By Laura

First off, Happy Birthday to my awesome mom!!!

(It was yesterday, but who’s counting?)

My baby sis drove in from college to surprise her (Mamma cried) and we took her to dinner at Miller Union. Of course, I forgot to bring my camera to capture one of the best meals I’ve had in a while. BUT, if you are in Atlanta go eat there. Immediately. If not sooner.

My Recommendations: Miller Thyme cocktail, a glass of the Frederic Mabileau St. Nicolas de Bourgeil Loire France 2008, creamy grit fritters, skillet NY Strip, any of the veggies, and the warm plum crisp. And don’t bother sticking to a “diet” – dig into the bread they bring out. It’s worth it.

After dinner, Baby Sis came home with me for a sleepover and to try a 6am boot camp. I was shocked we woke up in time.

Between the humidity and crazy workout involving lots of stairs, we worked up an appetite! I made the Grilled French Banana Sandwich from last week and served it with apple sliced on the side.

Guess where I’m going tomorrow!?

It was just a good the second time around! Next time I’m doing it with Chocolate Almond Butter.

Baby sis was also my guinea pig. I tried out a version of the Pumpkin Spiced Latte from Peas and Thank You.

It was soooo good I started drinking this and ALMOST forgot to take a pic!

Pumpkin Spiced Latte

4 c strongly brewed coffee (I used 4 c water to 6 T coffee)
1 1/2 c skim milk
5 T canned pumpkin
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Brew coffee. Meanwhile, heat milk, pumpkin, and spices until hot (about 2 mins) on the stove… or in the microwave (I can be lazy in the morning). Pour mixture into blender and blend on high until frothy.

Pour frothy milk mixture into 2 large cups (I had some leftover), and add coffee. Mix lightly and serve.

AND I did my Whittle My Middle moves. The stats:

Front plank: 90 secs
Side plank: 60 secs each side
Torso twists: 50 reps
Plank ups: 16 reps
Boat pose: 25 reps
Bicycle: 2 sets of 30 reps
Side plank w/ twists: 12 reps each side

I’m all out of order though! Rewind to Monday.

I started my week here:

Serenbe Inn

This was my cabin:

Magnolia Cabin

Serenbe (“Be Serene”… get it?!) is this awesome 1000 acre sustainable community just 45 mins outside of Atlanta. My team at work had a short retreat there – it felt days away from the city. We had meetings, ate some awesome farm-to-table food at The Farmhouse (our chicken at dinner came from a farm 30 mins away!), and I went on a 4 mile trail run. Two thumbs up.

I also learned about their Southern Chef Series. They bring in popular chefs (Linton Hopkins of Restaurant Eugene and Holeman & Finch fame is coming in January!) and for a small fee you get to cook dinner with them, stay over night, and make breakfast together in the morning. That’s my kind of retreat!

After all the fattening delicious Southern cooking, I was craving some oats. Do you ever put chocolate chips in your pumpkin bread/muffins/pancakes?

In honor of the gorgeous fall leaves, I decided to add some orange to my chocolate overnight oats.

Chocolate-Pumpkin Oats

Chocolate-Pumpkin Overnight Oats

1/4 c oatmeal
1/2 c milk
1/2 scoop Juice Plus powder
Generous shakes of cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg

Toppings:

Pumpkin puree
Pecans

There has been some nasty weather in Atlanta and this was the perfect breakfast on a rainy fall morning!

Fast forward again.

I’m ending my week here:

San Francisco, here I come!

And here:

Watch out, Napa!

My BFF and I are going to San Francisco and Napa to visit an old friend for Halloween.

Back in a few days with lots of stories, pictures, and wine! 🙂

http://www.millerunion.com/site/

The most important meal of the day

October 25, 2010 By Laura

On Sunday, that meal is brunch. Yesterday I tried out the new brunch at the Inman Park Pure with one of my favorite partners-in-crime.

Reason #1 she is one of my favs: we ordered dessert first. I think it may have even been her idea.

Churros y Chocolate Caliente

Churros are basically Spain’s answer to doughnuts beignets. They’re fried and then coated in cinnamon and sugar.

The exterior of these was perfectly crisp, not greasy at all. The inside was airy – the dough was just cooked through. Watch out, Krispy Kreme.

Airy churro goodness

Served with a cup of hot chocolate perfection. It wasn’t too sweet (a must given the fried sugary goodness) or too heavy (to the point that we questioned whether it was made with skim milk). In fact, it only got better as we dunked the churros in it.

From the partner-in-crime:

I can’t not smile when I’m eating these.

Georgia has a silly law that you can’t serve alcohol in a restaurant on Sundays until 12:30p (after the good Southerns have attended church services). After the churros were inhaled eaten, we were allowed to enjoy a mimosa.

Mimosa

Then it was on the the main: breakfast burrito. It had a Mexican name that I naturally forgot to write down, but it was basically a chorizo, potato, and egg burrito (beans on the side, thankyouverymuch).

Breakfast Burrito

The burrito was topped with a medium salsa (just tiny kick to it), avocado slices, and oxaca cheese. I ordered a side of salsa verde too!

Burrito insides

It was good. Not great. The chorizo wasn’t very flavorful and the eggs were a bit over done. The rice a dry and would have benefited from more seasoning. The salsas were definitely the best thing on that plate.

The guy at the table next to use ordered a breakfast version of salsa-verde soaked chicken fajitas. Should I go back (and I will – those churros are crave-worthy), I’ll be ordering that. 🙂

We also took time to walk around the Inman Park neighborhood. There are so many cute shops! I bought a Life magazine from 1944.

July 3, 1944

It is so neat to leaf through and look at the ads and story topics (there are 10 pages dedicated to color printing!).

The discovery of the day was an adorable market, Savi. It had some neat food items and a great beer/wine selection. They aslo do beer and wine tastings – we were fascinated by the wines on tap, priced by the ounce for a self-serve tasting.

The owner was friendly and talked with us for a good 10 minutes about the wine selection. He even offered to hunt down my beloved wine from a Barcelona trip 3 years ago. They have a cozy–looking fire place and seating area. I see a wine tasting in my near future!

In true Sunday fashion, I took a nice nap when I got home. Then went for a ~4 mile run. I think I could have gone longer. It was such a nice night and my legs were feeling strong.

That was a nice surprise, as I’ll be adding miles to my runs in preparation for the 10K Gobble Jog with my baby sis on Thanksgiving.

This morning’s Whittle My Middle:

Front plank: 90 secs
Side plank: 60 secs each side
Torso twists: 50 reps
Plank ups: 14 reps
Boat pose: 25 reps
Bicycle: 4 sets of 30 reps
Side plank w/ twists: 15 reps each side
Double crunches: 30*

*I just added this one in today. These are great for working the whole core, crunching your upper and lower half together.

Source

I’m headed out the the airport to pickup a co-worker on the way to our team retreat.

In other news, I am turning into my mother. I washed the sheets before leaving town so that I will come home to clean sheets. Is anyone else this crazy?!

Cooking in Salt

October 14, 2010 By Laura

First, I have to say that I did deliver on my promise to complete the Whittle My Middle every other day. Yesterday I was a little slow, but got it done. I was so sore from boot camp. Here are the numbers I put up:

Front plank: 60 secs
Side plank: 60 secs each side
Torso twists: 25 reps
Plank ups: 10 reps
Boat pose: 20 reps
Bicycle: 2 sets of 30 reps
Side plank w/ twists: 10 reps each side

Last night I had a really cool meal prepared by a friend. I know its odd to describe a meal as “cool,” but I had never seen this method in action before: Beef in a Salt Crust.

This isn’t the actual beef but I think she made it based on an Alton Brown recipe, so the pic is from his recipe. Basically, you beat egg white until they are frothy, add some herbs (fresh from her garden!), and a TON of kosher salt.

It looks crazy to dump all of that salt on a perfectly good piece of meat! After it bakes for ~20 mins, the salt hardens into a crust. When it’s done, the salt breaks away and you are left with your beef. It was soooo cool to see and the taste was delish. Not too salty!

Boot camp #2 tonight. I may have to break out the running pants for the first time this season – it is finally feeling more like fall outside today!

Protein Powder #2 + Asian Tofu

October 12, 2010 By Laura

Powder #2

This morning I made hot oatmeal with the chocolate Vega powder. (I know it technically is not just a protein powder, but neither is my current Juice Plus.) It wasn’t my favorite.

In the oats:

90% of my breakfast decision was influenced by the fact that I still have these giant blueberries. I love blueberries in hot oatmeal because they get all melty and juicy from the oatmeal heat. YUM.

In addition to the berries, I used 1/2 the packet of Vega. Half a serving gave me 5.5g protein, 0g sugar, and 55 cals. I took a taste and promptly added a generous pile couple ‘o shakes of cinnamon.

I’ve made chocolate oats before… but these looked a bit… green.

Color, I can get over. But they also tasted a little off. You know when stuff tastes healthy? My oatmeal tasted too healthy. (Not that this prevented me from eating it.)

I’m still going to eat the other half, but this may be better in a fruit-filled smoothie.

New Challenge today – I started my first boot camp! It was definitely a challenge. We started with 5 mins of stairs. One guy puked. I did not. Lots of boot camp-ish stuff (marching bands, planks, push ups, dips, etc.). Then sprints. Lots and lots of sprints (maybe this will help my 5K time?!). The workout was rounded out with ab work. I’m already sore.

Two things I’m really proud of:

I stayed up with the “in shape” guys the whole time
I ran to the boot camp and home after.

After that craziness I was starving.

Thankfully, dinner was less… green… than lunch. I diced some extra-firm tofu and tossed it in an Asian-style marinade before boot camp.

When I got home, I put the mixture in a grill pan on medium heat.

Meanwhile, I sautéed some red onion and asparagus with a little olive oil and lemon juice.

Then I tossed all of that with arugula, carrots, celery, and cucumbers.

I couldn’t get this on the table fast enough!

Asian-Marinated Tofu

2/5 block Extra-firm Tofu, cubed1T Toasted Sesame Oil
1T Soy Sauce
1/4 tsp Red Curry Paste
1/2 tsp Thai Chile Sauce
1/2 tsp Ginger
1/2 tsp Garlic, minced (about 1 small clove)

Whisk marinade in medium bowl and toss with tofu cubes. Marinate ~1 hour.

Grill on stove top over medium heat until browned (about 4-5 mins on each side). Remove from heat and enjoy!

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/5077127060_93cc39ddbe.jpg

Intervals, Abs, and Monsters… Oh My!

October 12, 2010 By Laura

I’m a little behind due to all of the weekend’s festivities! I tried a new workout this weekend and LOVED it. Intervals that weren’t boring, killer biceps/back moves, followed by a core routine from Oh She Glows. All topped off with a Green Monster smoothie, inspired by the Green Monster Movement and fueled with protein powder from my Mission: Protein Powder exploration.

The interval workout is based on one from Fitness Magazine. It incorporates the stationary bike, elliptical, and treadmill and take 30 minutes total. Those 30 minutes flew by – I swear. (Note: RPE refers to your “rate of perceived exertion”)

The break down:

Bike

Minutes 0-5 @ level 1-3 (about 3 RPE)
Minutes 5-7 @ level 5-7 (about 7 RPE*)
Minutes 7-8 @ level 6-8 (about 8 RPE*)
Minutes 8-9 @ level 8-9 (about 9 RPE*)
Minutes 9-10 @ level 9-10 (about 10 RPE*)

Elliptical

Minutes 10-11 @ level 3-4 (about 3 RPE)
Minutes 11-13 @ level 7-9 (about 6 RPE*)
Minutes 13-15 @ level 9-12 (about 8 RPE*)
Minutes 15-18 @ level 12+ (about 9 RPE*)
Minutes 18-20 @ level 9-12 (about 8 RPE*)

Treadmill

Minutes 20-24 @ level 3.5-4.2 (about 3 RPE)
Minutes 24-25 @ level 5.2-6.5 (about 7 RPE*)
Minutes 25-27 @ level 4-4.5 (about 3 RPE*)
Minutes 27-29 @ level 7 (about 8 RPE*)
Minutes 29-30 @ level 3 (about 2 RPE*)

Then is was time for 30 mins in the weight room working on back and biceps.

All of this was topped off with the Whittle My Middle 30-Day Challenge #2 completed by Angela at Oh She Glows back in January. My goal is to do this daily for the next month. Results to be posted here. Anyone else in???

My starting points:

Front plank: 90 secs
Side plank: 60 secs each side
Torso twists: 20 reps
Plank ups: 12 reps
Boat pose: 20 reps
Bicycle: 3 sets of 30 reps
Side plank w/ twists: 12 reps each side

How do you follow up a killer workout like that?

…

Mission: Protein Powder

October 10, 2010 By Laura

Yesterday was GA Tech’s homecoming game against Virginia. It was great to see my fellow alum’s at the tailgate. Smoak (on the left) even loaned me his festive bow tie!

Go Jackets!

We won the game and I had a great time catching up with my baby sister. I was a bit worried about the outcome, since we haven’t been looking terribly strong and for some reason they didn’t schedule a high school for us to play. Ye of little faith. Other than a couple of turnovers, we looked great.

Today’s run: my pace was a little slower, but I was still pleased with my time since I was sore from yesterday’s run and all the walking we did (my quad has been pulled since July). I came back and did 15 mins of ab work too (more punishment for Friday night’s beer).

Distance: 3.65 miles
Duration: 31:28
Average Pace: 8:57

After all that, I had to get my protein in… which brings us to…

Mission: Protein Powder

I am in the market for a new protein powder. The one I have now is a Juice Plus powder. The flavor is good, but it only has 13g of protein (most powders have 20-25g) AND it contains 12g of sugar (no wonder it is so tasty!).

Yesterday I went to Whole Paycheck (my term of endearment for Whole Foods) and purchased a 1 serving packet of every brand of protein powder they carry. To do a true test I probably should have gotten all the same flavor… but variety is the spice of life.

Protein galore!

First batter up:

Jay Robb - Strawberry

I used this to make this morning’s breakfast – Berry Overnight Oats.

I mixed all the ingredients and placed in the fridge overnight. This morning, the mix had not absorbed as much of the milk as usual… it looked a bit soupy. Maybe this powder isn’t as absorbent?

Either way, it tasted good! I added some blueberries for a topping. These are the biggest blueberries I have ever seen. Nearly the size of a quarter! The strawberry protein powder made the oats taste like strawberry Nestle Quik. This is a very good thing, in my opinion. 🙂

Berry Overnight Oats

1/4 C Oats

1/2 serving Jay Robb Strawberry Whey Protein powder

1/2 C milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

Goji berries

Blueberries

Mix the oat and powder in a bowl. Add milk and vanilla and stir until combined. Add small handful of goji berries.

Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, remove from fridge and stir. Add blueberries (or topping of your choice).

The Verdict: Pretty good. I loved the strawberry Quik taste (warning: it could be a bit sweet for some people). Half of the packet gave me 12.5g protein, 0g sugar, and 55 cals. My only complaint is how runny my oats were, but that can easily be remedied by not using as much milk. I have the other half of the packet to go and I’m thinking this would make an awesome Green Monster.

Workout Fuel + Almond Cocoa “Laura” Bites

October 6, 2010 By Laura

This may sound bizarre, but I look forward to using hotel gyms.

They provide a good change of pace to a workout routine – the good ones have different machines and the bad ones force creativity. The one I visited this week was one of the good ones.

The Weight Room

I did a 1 mile warm up jog on the treadmill before heading to the weight room for a 50 minute bicep/back workout. All of this was rounded out with a quick core workout:

100 sit-ups on the ball
30 v-ups
60 baby crunches
60 toe touchers
60 second plank
60 second side plank on each side

Thanks to the cardio at the beginning, my heart rate stayed up the entire time and made the workout a bit more intense

Following the advice of the nutritionist I saw, I followed up my workout with a grilled chicken salad. Apparently you need at least 20g of protein within 30mins of completing a workout. Who knew? It is amazing what happens when you add more protein to your diet – in just a couple of weeks of aiming for 80-100g a day I have noticed a change in muscle.

First thing’s last: the fuel. I made my own version of Lara Bars. Lara Bars are date and nut bars that typically include some sort of fruit (creating flavors like “Apple Pie” and “Peanut Butter & Jelly”). They are yummy, but expensive. Half of one works well as a pre-workout pick-me-up. Why not make my own? They give you the ingredients on the package: dates and nuts. I already have basically the same name. Behold, Laura Bites. (Yes, I am that creative corny.)

It is that easy. You can play with the flavors – add some dry fruit, different nut varieties, coconut… anything you have in your pantry. Just be sure not to over-mix the nuts, as it will make the “batter” too greasy. These are approx. 100 calories per serving.

Almond Cocoa Laura Bites

2/3 C Dates
1/4 C Almonds
2 tsp Cocoa
Cinnamon (optional)

Place dates in food processor and blend until chopped.

Add nuts and cocoa and blend until mixed. It will look like a gooey ball – don’t worry.

Using your (clean) hands, form into 4 “bites.” I sprinkled my formed bites with cinnamon.

Cover tightly and store in cool place.

Makes 4 bites.

Friday Wrap Up + Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

October 1, 2010 By Laura

This is my first official food post!

Very exciting.

Today was filled with good stuff. It was a Friday and I was working from home – that is a recipe for some good eating! It was a day for wraps.

Breakfast was an accidental egg wrap – a side effect of putting scrambled eggs in a pan on medium heat, and promptly forgetting about them while logging into my computer. Luckily, I caught it just before they burned and added some bacon, feta cheese, and salsa to make the wrap.

The Accidental Egg Mexican Wrap

Word of Caution: When you buy salsa at the Mexican grocery store it is going to be hot. They don’t even bother stocking varying degrees of heat or indicating on the bottle that it is spicy. But I love spicy food.

I needed to read a bunch of material for a new project at work, so instead of sitting on my butt I took it down to the gym in my building and read for an hour on the stationary bike. It is amazing how that makes the time fly! Before I knew it, my stomach was growling for lunch. The end of the week means using up the things in my fridge that I bought/made at the beginning of the week.

Today that resulted in a veggie wrap: homemade red pepper white bean dip, homemade pesto, the most delicious arugula EVER from the Piedmont Park Green Market, carrots, and red onion all wrapped in a spinach Flat Out.

Veggie Wrap Construction

Flat Out wraps are awesome – flavorful, 90 cals, 9g protein, and 9g of protein, and no sugar. If you haven’t tried these, I highly recommend!

Served with a side of crunchy cucumber slices and a big glass of ice water. It was so beautiful outside I decided to enjoy my lunch on the deck:

The best way to eat!

One of my Sake teammates – Samwise Banshee – is getting married in a few weeks. We (her teammates) are making the cake for her Bachelorette party tomorrow night. In true Bachelorette fashion, the cake will be creatively shaped… 🙂

I am in charge of making a cannoli cream to spread between the layers. So I took a jog to Publix for ricotta cheese. It is so nice to be able to walk to the store on days like this!

I didn’t take a picture of the delicious cream, but will hopefully have a shot of the cake to post tomorrow.

Cannoli Cream

32oz of good ricotta (this is not the time for a fat-free or off brand)
1 C of powdered sugar (you can add more to taste – I did!)
2 tsp cinnamon
2T orange liquor

Put it all in a bowl and beat it with a mixer until it is smooth and creamy. Mine took about 3 minutes. You can also reduce the sugar a bit and use the cream for a tasty fresh fruit topping!

What I did get a picture of was the bacon chocolate chip cookies I made for a softball teammate who had emergency surgery Wednesday night. Bacon makes everything better, right?

This is closely based on a recipe featured on NPR last winter, by Susan from Food Blogga. I added coffee, reduced the butter (they were pretty greasy with all the bacon), didn’t add the salt (I used salted butter – it added enough), and reduced the flour a tad.

The coffee addition was good, but I was afraid of putting too much in. Next time I will definitely add the whole teaspoon ’cause what goes better with bacon than coffee???

Bacon Coffee Chocolate Chip DeliciousnessMmmmm… serve with a glass of milk. Then bag the rest up ASAP so you don’t eat them all before you can give them to your buddy!

I saw my friend at our softball game tonight. The doctor benched her for 6 weeks, but she was so bored of laying around a good sport and came out to cheer on the team. We won – 3-2. It was a great game. I even threw a girl out at 2nd from center field! This is an accomplishment since a) I am used to playing 1st base and b) the accuracy of my throws is somewhat unreliable.

Bacon Coffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

5 strips bacon
Just under 1 C all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 stick (1/2 C) salted butter at room temperature
1/2 C white sugar
1/3 C light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 C chopped pecans
1T instant coffee granules

Cook bacon until browned and done (about 8 mins – it is better/more crispy when you cook it slowly). Crumple a paper town over a plate and lay bacon across to drain and cool. Chop finely.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a small-ish bowl, whisk flour and baking soda.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer (I used a hand mixer), cream the butter and sugars until smooth.

Add egg and vanilla extract, and beat until just blended.

Add the dry ingredients; beat until just incorporated and the flour is dissolved. Fold in the chocolate chips, pecans, and bacon.

Mix the instant coffee with ~ 1tsp of hot water (no need to microwave – hot water from the tap works). Drizzle the coffee mix into the batter and ever so slightly fold. You should still be able to see the streaks of black coffee.

Drop one large tablespoon cookie dough 2 to 3 inches apart (they spread a lot) on a baking sheet.

Bake for 12 minutes, or until firm and golden brown around the edges, and still slightly soft in the center.

Cool for 15 minutes.

Can be stored on the counter for 1-2 days, then refrigerated in an airtight container.

Makes ~15 cookies.

***

BIG day tomorrow – I just got a ticket to the Braves game! It is Bobby Cox’s 2nd to last one was the Braves’ manager. Hopefully, the Phillies will not beat us like they did tonight. 🙁