Sprint 2 the Table

Appetites and Adventures

Leftovers + Love Your Liver Cleanse Recap

By

People are always hating on leftovers.

They aren’t so bad!  They make great lunches for work, and you much know that last night’s pizza is best eaten cold while standing in the refrigerator door.

This post isn’t about pizza (sorry).  It’s about the tidbits leftover from the week that I wanted to share, but never found a spot in the belly of my posts for.  (See the leftover food tie-in?  Funny, right?)

1. My new favorite snack combo:

Blackberry Coconut Cottage Cheese

  • ~ 1/2 C cottage cheese
  • 2 T unsweetened coconut milk (I used So Delicious)
  • 1 T coconut flour
  • ~1/4 c blackberries, sliced in half
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp ground cardamom
  • 4-5 drops NuNaturals Vanilla Liquid Stevia
 Mix it all together, smashing the berries a big to release their juice.  Best enjoyed right out of the container. 🙂

2. Chilean late-night street food

It was a tasty adventure, but I’m still shocked I didn’t get food poisoning.  And I will never tell what time of night/morning this occurred.

Clockwise, Left to Right:  the line, a man cooking kabobs on a shopping cart, my sandwich being prepared, sandwich being shoved in my camera (they didn’t understand my need to take pics of everything).

I’m not sure what the sandwich it was, but it involved a delicious grilled bread with some sort of sketchy meat and lots of avocado.  Sold.

3. Guest posters are the best

I am forever indebted to my gracious guest-posters.  In case you missed any of them:

4. Travel Buddies

I don’t think I said it enough in all of the Chile recap posts, but these are the BEST travel companions in the world.  I have never spent so much time with such fun, laid back, drama-free women.

Julia and Katherine, thank you for a memorable, intoxicatingly fun, and sometimes bizarre (in the best way possible) adventure.

I can’t wait for our next excursion!!!

5. The “Love Your Liver” Arden’s Garden cleanse

I gave my live some love post-Chile trip.  Lindsay requested that I say a little more about my post-Chile recovery cleanse.  Here’s the basics from their website:

“Fatigue, depression, nausea, dizziness, and unexplained weight gain may indicate your liver needs some lovin’! This cleanse helps your body rid itself of toxins and cleanse the blood. The liver converts everything we eat and breathe into life-sustaining substances, while also filtering toxins at the rate of a quart of blood per minute.”

They give you the juices you need, and tell you when to drink what.  You are also told to drink as much water as possible.  Here’s the line-up:

  • 5 Multi-Max – afternoon snack was kale, spinach, cucumber, and celery
  • 3 Salad in a Glass – dinner was beets, carrots, celery, spinach, parsley, and cucumber
  • 3 pH Solution – breakfast (part 1) and mid-morning snack was distilled water, cucumber, celery, lemon, spinach, and parsley
  • 3 Apple – lunch
  • 2 Carrot (They only had 1 carrot, so I got a Carrot-Cocoa instead.  Poor me had to drink chocolate.) – this is breakfast part 2
  • 1 Pure Lemon – drink 2T with water first thing in the morning and again right before bed.

My favorite was the apple.  I used the Vitamix to turned it into an apple cider sorbet bowl (with some cinnamon):

The Multi was hard to choke down.  That just means it’s really good for you, right?  I added some cinnamon and Stevia.  It may be “cheating,” but you have to do what you have to do.

I was hungry the first day.  I cheated with salad with avocado and sunflower seeds at dinner.  After that I was used to the routine and didn’t suffer much from hunger pangs.

To get the full benefits, they suggest following the cleanse with two days of raw vegetables and fruits.  I mostly did that, with the exception of a much-needed casein protein shake.  This was a fabulous cleanse.  In 3 days I felt almost human; after the two raw days following I was back to 100%.

Added bonus: it tamed the sugar addiction that had been rearing its ugly head.

For more info, click here to visit the Arden’s website.

P.S. My sister’s band, Goose & Fox, is recording an album.  She begging for money via Kickstarter.  Click here to check out her project/video!  Here’s one of my favorite songs by the duo:

***

Ok – done with Chile for a bit.  Next week I’m back with a TON of recipes and an awesome giveaway!

Have you ever done a juice cleanse?  Did you like it?

Would you eat random street food in a foreign country?  Out of a shopping cart?

Argentina… errr… Chile!

By

What do you do when you get booted off of a flight to Buenos Aires just before takeoff?

Those of you who caught this post already know.  You get on the next flight out… which happened to be Santiago, Chile!

We landed in the morning feeling a little tired, but excited.  The first order of business was to find coffee and wi-fi so we could locate a hotel and form a plan.

Thanks to the Internet and a very nice Chilean man in the airport restaurant we booked a hotel in a nice neighborhood called Providencia and were on our way in just a couple of hours.

The first order of business was lunch.  Naturally we ended up at a French cafe.  I was craving greens and enjoyed a massive salad topped with egg, asparagus, broccoli, avocado, and olives.   We also enjoyed a glass of wine to mark the first of many beginning of vacation.

We sampled an empananda.  This is once of the most famous South American foods, and one of the most tasty.  It’s basically a pocket of dough filled with cheese and other items (often ham) that is either fried or baked.

More exploring/getting lost ensured before we found these gorgeous fountains.

And then we found wine.

And then we found dinner in a cute plaza called Patio Bellavista.  It was a Peruvian restaurant called Barandiaran.  Go figure.

The dinner was quite good.  That highlight was a shared ceviche dish that was wonderful.  I NEVER thought I’d eat seafood, let alone ceviche; however, I loved the sea bass!  Shrimp is still a bit much for me.

The next day we found parks!  A really cool sculpture park called Parque Las Esculturas:

Followed by an even better park that was filled with exercise equipment!  I busted my ass a move on the elliptical.

I should mention that these were all found on a walk that must have been close to 10 miles.  By the time we reached our original lunch destination in the Bellavista neighborhood we were starving.  Annnnnd… we discovered the restaurant no longer existed.  We did the only thing left to do: ate a greasy lunch at a trashy college dive.

Sometimes you need to be local.  However, when you order guacamole and it’s served with Doritos, you wish you were a little less local.

That was followed up with a “traditional” dish of fries topped with onions, sausage, and fried eggs.  I can’t lie… I didn’t hate it.

Doesn’t that first yolk look like a heart?

Post-lunch we really needed to walk more.  There is a giant mountain/hill called Cerro San Cristobal that holds one of the most popular tourist destinations in Santiago: the sanctuary of the Virgen de la Inmaculada Concepción.  It contains a 14 meter statue of Mary.  We hopped a funicular (a train built in 1925) to get to the top and visit Mary.

View of Santiago from the funicular

The view from Mary, looking down on the outdoor sanctuary and Santiago

The traveling trio with the Andes in the background

Random sight of the day: dude wearing a UGA sweatshirt.  He wasn’t American.

Come se dice “Go Dawgs” en espanol?

Santiago was an interesting experience; however, we were ready to move on after 2 days.  I hate to say it… but it’s a pretty dirty, crowded (7.5 million people) city.

One odd food note – when we sought out traditional “Chiliean” food, we were often directed to other cuisines such as French and Peruvian.  It seems like Chile is sort of like America in that they take foods from other cultures and modify.  It was good, but a shock having travelled more extensively in Europe.

Sadly, there are no workouts to recap this Monday.  Instead I’ll recap my recovery from the trip:

Step 1: Green smoothie bowl

Step 2: Mani/Pedi

Step 3: Arden’s Garden “Love Your Liver” 3-day juice cleanse (this was amazing – no joke)

Icing on the cake: A special delivery of Greek yogurt from Chobani!  Nothing but goodness.  Thank you, Chobani.  I love you much.

My concierge now loves Chobani, too.  I tipped him with a yogurt, and he’s a convert. 🙂

***

Check back tomorrow for some excellent wine and a run in with US Navy officers.

Have you ever been to South America?  Was it what you expected?

Doritos with guacamole… any thoughts?

Vegan Food Is Not Healthy

By

This according to Jason Kessler, contributing writer to Bon Appetite.

 

In a recent article he brings up the point that people often eat vegan (or vegetarian) because they assume it’s healthier.  While veggies are good, I do agree with Kessler that vegan does NOT equal healthy.  You can find junk food to fit any diet!  I’ve had many a super-sugary (and tasty) vegan chocolate cake!

Society falls into this belief trap so often.  Somehow “vegan” or “organic” or “all-natural” became synonymous with “healthy.”

 

Oreos are vegan. They are not healthy (but they are tasty).

 

The truth is that fried is fried and sugar is sugar, whether it’s vegan or not.  And the sodium?  Look at it the next time you pick up that vegan frozen meal at Whole Foods.  It’s just as bad as the rest of the freezer section.

 

This Vegan Fried Ruben won the Best Taste at Texas State Veggie Fair in 2010

 

We all indulge, no matter what our diet.  Yes, a plant-based diet can be more healthy.  But so can a carnivore’s fare.  The key is moderation.

My bottom line:

 

___________________________________________________________________________________

Now for a fun vegan story.

I was in Chicago on business last week and was pleased to find an unusual offering on the breakfast menu at the Hyatt in Schaumburg:

 

 

The room service menu included a VEGAN tofu and veggie breakfast hash!

You guys know I’m not 100% vegan, but I do strive for a plant-based diet.  Of course I had to order this!  I was pleased to find that is was light and fresh, and served with a side of hot salsa.  It was a great way to start the day before an 8 hour presentation.

 

 

Thank you, Hyatt for offering a delicious vegan breakfast option!

***

Don’t forget to enter to win 1 of 2 BENGAY Zero Degrees prize bags: http://wp.me/p16jDn-1hS

Does it bother you that “vegan,” “organic,” etc. is so often thought of as being automatically healthy?

Have you ever been pleasantly surprised by a hotel or restaurant offering dishes for specific diets?  This Hyatt also offered gluten-free options!

 

BENGAY Zero Degrees + Lots ‘o Legs

By

Injuries and soreness aren’t fun.

Lately it seems like I can’t stay well (thank you, knees), so I was particularly excited when BENGAY contacted me to review their new Zero Degrees product.

What makes it so cool?  It literally IS cool.  According to their literature it is “the first and only topical pain reliever tha can be stored in the freezer, combining the instant sensation of ice with the long-lasting, trusted pain relief of BENGAY GEL.”

This weekend was fun, but pretty strenuous on my body.  If you’ve been reading for a while, you may know that I’ve had some trouble with my knee for the past few months.  I was in serious need of BENGAY Zero Degrees after a 7 mile hike Saturday followed up by a 3 mile run and 2 softball games on Sunday… and one lovely strawberry on my toosh:

No, I didn’t put BENGAY on my open wound (NOT a good idea).  I DID slather it all over my aching knees after spending some QT with bags of frozen peas.

I loved that BENGAY Zero Degrees comes in a deoderant-like stick, making it easy to apply – no sticky hands or pain when you forget and stick you finger in your eye.  Another plus is that it doesn’t stink like most other products out there.  My knees may make me feel like a granny, but I don’t need to smell like a granny too!

BENGAY has offered to send one of these cool Zero Degrees sticks along with some other fun goodies (I received a tote bag, hair ties, a workout towel, and Karina Smirnoff’s dance-inspired workout DVD) to TWO readers!

Receive up to 4 entries by:

  1. Subscribe to the Sprint 2 the Table RSS feed or email
  2. Tweet: You could say something like: I entered to win 1 of 2 BENGAY Zero Degrees prize bags in the @sprint2thetable giveaway: http://wp.me/p16jDn-1hS  #giveaway #fitness
  3. Be Social: Twitter Follow me, Pinterest Follow Me and/or Pin Something of Mine, Instagram Follow Me
  4. Comment: What do you do to help your body recover?

 

Please leave a *separate comment* for each entry!

Contest ends at 11:59pm EST on Thursday, May 24th.  The winner will be announced on Friday, May 25th.

__________________________________________________________________________________

This week’s recap should explain why I need that BENGAY!  🙂

I’ve been incorporating more plyo/active rest into my weight workouts.  It’s made a big difference in my appetite!  I feel like I’m getting more out of my workouts and I’m craving protein like a caveman.  Still not going too big on the meat, but I’m killin’ some protein shake creations.  After Sundays games in 85 degree temps and direct sunlight I couldn’t get to the blender fast enough!

Put me in coach!

Workout Recap (5/7 – 5/13):

***

I just realized this post is filled with pics of my legs from various angles.  I love an unexpected “leg day.”

What is the last injury you had?

What is the best workout you’ve had lately?

I’m a Brewer

By

True, a fair amount of this happened last weekend:

 

Heather and me at Avery Brewing

Source: Heather

 

However, the brewing I’ve been doing doesn’t involve beer.

I bit the bullet and decided to brew my own kombucha!  There are “how tos” all over the web for starting from scratch and growing your own scoby (the bacterial component you need to start the process).  While that seems very noble, I took a short cut and purchased a starter kit from Kombucha Brooklyn.

 

 

The kit came with everything I needed – a jar, tea bags, sugar, and a baby scoby.  All I has to do was follow their simple instructions, cover the jar, and wait 14-28 days.

For the record, mine took 20 days.  I’m not exactly sure how to tell when it’s ready… I just got bored with waiting.

 

 

The process was fun to watch.  It bubbled a little and my scoby-starter grew huge!  It covered the top of the ‘buch and was about 1/3 inch thick.

Once it’s done, you remove the scoby, saving it along with 1.5 cups of the brew to start your next batch.

 

 

Warning: The scoby is a little gross looking.  Don’t be scared.  It won’t hurt you.

 

Next I bottled my ‘buch in old GT’s Kombucha bottles and a Bragg’s bottle.  Then I added flavors to two of them – one ginger and one cinnamon.  The others I left plain.

 

 

They are all pretty tasty, but next time I’d add more flavor.  I’d also remember to let it sit on the counter bottled for a few days.  That apparently adds more effervescence and allows the flavors to develop as it continues to ferment.  Someone didn’t read all the directions…

 

I immediately started round 2.  This time I used pomegranate green tea in the brew.  I’ll let you know how it is in 14-28 days! 🙂

 

 

***

Not to get too political, but I can’t begin to express how awesome it was to see a sitting president endorse marriage equality. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Did anyone else wake up this morning thinking it was Friday?

What is your favorite Kombucha flavor? I need ideas!

 

Blender-Free Blend WIAW

By

A Blend weekend (ironically) meant I actually ate nothing blended.

 

You don’t realize how addicted you are to morning green smoothies until you don’t have it.  Starting your day with carbs vs. greens feels different… not that I didn’t enjoy the spread we were treated to.  It was an epically fabulous departure from my norm. 🙂

 

The only thing that could have made last weekend better was if my girl Jenn @ Peas and Crayons had been able to come.  My What I Ate Wednesday this week is all about What I Ate at Blend.  Dedicated to Jenn, since we missed her so.

 

Check out my eats below; then click here to see what everyone else enjoyed for WIAW.

 _______________________________________________________________________________________

Breakfast:

No smoothies, but it was fruit-filled!  We had mangoes, blueberries, strawberries, and the best pineapple I’ve had this season.  All of that plus some almond butter made for a killer oatmeal bowl.

 

 

I couldn’t decide what to have, so I went back for round 2.  Those muffins you see were homemade by the Xagave crew – the carrot muffin (let’s be honest – it was a cupcake) was out-of-this-world.

There was also a lot of tasty fuel provided by Green Mountain Coffee.  I really loved the Double Black Diamond blend!

 

 

Lunch:

Local joint Mountain Sun was our lunch destination on Saturday.  We showed up with a huge group that was ravenous from a 4 mile hike.  Most restaurant staff would have run screaming from the building, but these guys were so cool.  Lauren and I knew we were in love with this spot when the bartender said she LOVED giving people beer tastes.  *swoon*

 

 

After finally selecting a beer (a pale ale called “Kind“), we sat down to order.  Just when I thought the place couldn’t get better we found out that they have a hummus of the day (rosemary – it was delish) AND the server actually encouraged us to make modifications.  Ashley and I split the special Cinco de Mayo burger and subbed the meat patty for the veggie.

 

 

The East Coast crew was still adjusting to the time zone, so we ran next door to the The Cup for double espressos.  They came with the cutest mini biscottis!

 

Snacks:

Beer counts as a snack, right?

Lauren and her hubby hipped us to a great local brewery called Avery.  This place was awesome – 21 beers on tap, $1 for a 4 oz taste, and a delicious menu.  We came, we toured, we tasted.

 

 

See the bottom left pic?  Those are sweet potato tater tots.  And that dip?  Super-star Heather had them blend hummus and avocado together and then topped it with hot sauce to make us an amazing dip.

Dinner:

We stopped in at Rio Grande to get our obligatory Mexican fill.  Honestly, I wasn’t even hungry at this point… but Cinco de Mayo isn’t complete without fajitas!  And margaritas.

It may be a chain, but I was impressed – the vegetarian fajitas came with an incredibly tasty grilled Portobello mushroom and grilled zucchini.

 

 

Aaaaaand… maybe some tequila shots.  Disguises have been added to protect the identity of the not-so-innocent.

Gotta celebrate new tattoos.  No, I didn’t get another… I won’t let the cat out of the bag as to who did.  It looks good though. 🙂

***

I miss you, my Cinco de Blenders!!!  (P.S. I can’t remember who took these group shots… please claim them and I’ll give credit!!!  Sorry…) 

Did you celebrate Cinco de Mayo?

Do you eat greens in the morning?  Would it throw you off to switch it up to carbs? 

 

Blends for Life

By

Blogger + Friend = Blend.

 

Blend 2012 was one of the BEST weekends I’ve ever had.  This past weekend ~70 women descended on Boulder for a weekend of fitness, food, and FUN.

 

Me and Heather, post-boot camp

 

Tina, Heather, and I took off from Atlanta Friday afternoon to attend the Blend Retreat.

I’d only met a two of the non-ATL attendees in “real life” before, but I can honestly say that I ended the weekend with several new close friends.  It was one of those experiences where you meet someone and feel like you’ve known them forever (I’m pretty sure Heather is my soul mate.)

 

 

Armed with drink tickets and cupcakes, we kicked of the weekend with a group dinner.  Right away it became obvious that is was going to be a laid-back, drama-free weekend.

It also became clear that we were going to blow up Instagram. #blend2012

 

Here's to new Blends!

 

My table-mates

Right to Left: Greg, Lauren, Kelly, Heather, Core Power, Fitmixer reps,Elizabeth, Me, Caylee, and Christine. Photo courtesy Janetha.

 

Both mornings we woke up to an hour-long boot camp.  Day 1 was led by Tina and Lindsay (check out the workout here on Tina’s blog).  Day 2 was led by one of our sponsors at Chobani.  Both days kicked my butt… but Fitmixer’s Amino Acids drink helped us power through.

This view didn’t hurt either:

 

 

Saturday we took a casual 4 mile hike on the Flat Irons up a trail called Royal Arch.

It lead us to the top of this beauty:

 

Flat Irons

 

It took a little climbing, huffing, and puffing…

 

Unbelievably no one wiped out on the way down!

 

The view at the top was well-worth the climb (and post-climb soreness).  I wish I could do this every weekend!

 

We made it!!

 

Know what else is worth it?  A post-hike snack of Coconut Honey-Roasted Peanut Butter and Cookie Dough Nutty Butter, homemade by your FoodBuzz roomie/fellow weird food-living buddy, Sarah.

 

Me and Sarah

It really does taste like cookie dough. Be verrrry jealous.

 

After much-needed showers, we celebrated Cinco de Mayo in style, but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow for those fun stories.  Let’s just say that there was tequila shots and a tattoo involved… 😉

 

You guys know I’m not a crier, but when as our taxi pulled away from the cabins on Sunday I may have felt a little lump in my throat.

 

Until next year, my friends...

 

I do have one problem after the weekend… what am I going to do with all this schwag?!  Oh wait… I’ve already eaten a lot of it…

 

 

***

Thanks to Lindsay, Janetha, and Katie for pulling off an incredible retreat.  You guys wore me out so thoroughly that I actually took a rest day.

Have you ever met online/blogger-friends in “real” life?

Do you like to hike?  What’s the best trail you’ve been on?

 

Mexican Cauliflower “Rice” Bowl + Giveaway Winner

By

Rice has never been appealing to me.

It’s always been sort of boring to me.  Like a waste of plate space.  I’d rather have more veggies or a big piece of crusty bread.  I even order my burrito bowl from Willy’s without rice.

When I started seeing cauliflower rice recipes floating around Pinterest, I had to check it out for myself.  Finally, was way to re-create rice-based meals without having to waste space on actual rice.  Other benefits: it doesn’t take an hour to cook, it’s loaded with fiber, and one cup is only 28 calories!

I’d like to say that Cinco de Mayo was the inspiration for making this bowl Mexican… but really it’s just because I eat something Mexican-ish nearly every day.

This is the simplest recipe – you simply put the cauliflower in a blender or food processor and pulse until it resembles rice.  I added some red pepper to mine to make it more flavorful and festive-looking.

Topped with carrots, black beans, avocado, pineapple, and cilantro and then smothered in a spicy salsa verde, this bowl looked like a fiesta!  It made for a filling lunch that didn’t weigh me down and make me yearn for a siesta.

I really loved how the cauliflower really did resemble rice, and the way it took on the other flavors in my Mexican bowl.  If I hadn’t made it myself, I would have had no idea I was eating cauliflower!

Before we get to the recipe… I guess you want to know if you won the Nature Box giveaway. 🙂

The lucky winner is….

Carrie @ Fueled by Plants

Email me your address and I’ll get it to Nature Box in time for the May box delivery!

Mexican Cauliflower “Rice” Bowl

  • 1 head cauliflower
  • 1/2 red pepper
  • 1/2 C black beans
  • 1/2 C pineapple, cubed
  • 1/4 C red onion
  • 1/2 avocado, cubed
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • Cilantro
  • Salsa
  • Cumin, cinnamon, red pepper flakes, S+P, to taste

Cut cauliflower and red pepper into pieces and place in a food processor or blender.  Pulse the pieces until they are the size and consistency of rice.

Transfer the “rice” to a medium bowl.  Top with remaining ingredients.  Sprinkle with cumin, a pinch of cinnamon, red pepper flakes, and S&P, to taste.

Enjoy!

***

I procrastinated packing last night… so I better get to it before my afternoon flight.  I can’t believe the Blend weekend is FINALLY here!!!

How will you be celebrating Cinco de Mayo?

Are you a fan of rice?  Have you ever made a rice alternative?

Follow Me!

instagram_b facebook_b twitter_bpinterest_b
rss_a email_ayoutube_b googlep_b

Popular Posts

Home | About Me | Privacy Policy | Fitness | Recipes | Training & Nutrition

Affiliate Links: This site is monetized through the use of affiliate links. This means that if you were to make a purchase through one of these links, Sprint 2 the Table would receive a small percentage of the sale price. Thanks for your support!