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What I Ate in San Francisco (from home)

September 11, 2013 By Laura

Leave it to me to go to a food city and bring my own.

 

Not my first choice.

A HUGE part of the commitment to compete is a commitment to your diet.  It’s not easy.  It’s not always fun. HOWEVER… abs are made in the kitchen.

any one can workout for an hour...

 

This trip to has been especially hard for me because it’s my first with my new job… and I have a really fun team to hang out with.  So far I’ve been good, even working out twice in 12 hours due to scheduling.

Preparation is key.  This trip I packed up some old staples.  These are items that “save” me:

Travel foods

  • Homemade fro-yo: I take single serving containers of plain Greek yogurt, add my on mix-ins, and re-cover them to freeze.  Freezing the yogurt makes it easier to get through security (it’s a solid) and it acts as an ice pack for your other foods.  And it’s tasty.  This week I had peanut flour-strawberry and vanilla-mango.
  • Packaged foods: these are a great to have on had.  I pack up single-serving protein powders, bars, stevia, tuna, and rice cakes.
  • Oatmeal: Usually I plan to get this from room service, but I wanted to try something new.  I pre-measured out my oats and adding in ginger and cinnamon.  All I need to do is add water/protein powder/hotel fruit to make oatmeal in my room!
  • Jerky: I don’t often eat jerky, but Perky Jerky offered to send me sample of their (preservative-free) product.  I really like the turkey version only has 110 mg of sodium!  Score.

 

Of course I brought more… see below… 😉

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I’ve done detailed travel posts before, so this is WIAW travel food-edition going to be more of an overview.  I did manage some new (strange?) travel eats this time around.

WIAWbutton

Read on for my San Francisco treats, and then check out Jenn’s blog. for some more “normal” days of food.

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On the Plane:

Overnight oats in a jar make getting up early just a little easier.  These were packed with fig, cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla protein powder.

Yes, they made it through security.

overnight oats on a plane

 

Round 2 on the plane was the baked chicken from my food prep (recipe coming tomorrow), carrots, and airplane pretzels.

The fro-yo kept it nice and cold!

chicken on a plane

 

Hotel Breakfast:

This has become an art.  The Westin St. Francis has been fabulous with my crazy food requests.  They brought up apple cider vinegar so I could have my morning cocktail!!!  I downed that along with half a muffin (brought from home) to fuel a morning workout.  Check out the view I woke up to!

Then the full meal was delivered: plain oats with a side of berries, cinnamon, and coffee.  I mixed in my own protein powder, and added coffee to thin it out.  Perfection!

semi-homemade hotel breakfast

 

Other Mini-Meals:

You can actually find acceptable food to eat in cities like SF.  I got to enjoy a kale-barley salad with chickpeas and shrimp for lunch on our first day here:

shrimp salad

 

This was the peanut flour and strawberry fro-yo creation I brought from home.  Can you tell how fantastically frozen it was?!

I ended up having to do my workout at midnight east coast time… this was just the treat I needed after.  I spent half the workout thinking about it.

homemade fro-yo

 

This next snack happened at the conference.  People seemed a little surprised when they discovered I brought the egg from home.  I can’t imagine why…

It turns out hard-boiled egg travels really well!  Tomato Brownies travel well too.  I took it straight from my freezer from home, and by day two it had thawed and tasted delicious!  I didn’t reveal the secret ingredient to my co-workers.  They’d have been too jealous. 😉

tomato brownie and egg

 

Of course, there have been other eats.  When we go to restaurants I order veggies with a plain grilled protein or I bust out my “emergency” tuna.  It’s really no too hard too eat out (temptation side).

***

If anyone wants to send random tweets of support and keep me honest… that wouldn’t suck. 😉

Do you struggle with diet?  It’s the hardest part about competing for me!

Do you like hard-boiled eggs?  This was my first time making them for myself!

 

Filed Under: Fitness, Travel Tagged With: breakfast, dessert, figure competition, frozen yogurt, Greek yogurt, protein, San Francisco, snacks, strange but good, WIAW, workout

Braving the Marvelous

September 9, 2013 By Laura

Flattered.

 

Does anyone else think of flatulence when they say that word?

I am absolutely flattered when people try out the #strangebutgood recipes I subject you all to.  It’s high time I share some of the evidence and creative edits!

I tried to be normal

 

Jicama Tofu Nachos

This may be one of my favorite recent creations.  I was really excited to see it popping up on Instagram!  This version is by Hannah:

Jicama Tofu Nachos

 

Meghan @ The Lyon’s Share braved these nachos and made it her own with mushrooms and a vegan cheese sauce.

jicama-and-tofu-nachos-300x197

 

Fluffy Cauliflower Pancakes

Meghan truly is a brave soul because she made my Fluffy Cauliflower Pancake recipe last week too!  And she made it even more strange green by adding spinach and doubling the cauliflower!

spinach-cauliflower-pancakes-300x200

 

(Cheese-less) Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Continuing with the cauliflower theme, Tiffany @ Love, Sweat, & Beers (minus the beers for now, baby mamma) made my Cauliflower Crust Pizza!

Since she’s eating for two, she even had room left for dessert.  Clever thinking. 😉

cauli pizza

 

Chick-Less Nuggets

Arman @ The Big Man’s World is a #strangebutgood enthusiast, so I was thrilled when he made my Chick-less Nuggets.  He compared these TVP-based vegan nuggets to falafel, which makes total sense since I also used chickpea flour to make them.

Even better is the fast that he ate them with roasted cauliflower and brussels, two of my favorite things (rain drops on roses aside).

chick-less nuggets

 

150 Calorie Chocolate Mug Cake

My girl Heather @ Better With Veggies is training for her first bikini competition on a pescatarian/dairy-free diet. She’s rocking it out and I was super flattered when she tried my 150 Calorie Chocolate Mug Cake.

She had the brilliant idea to mix the ingredients in advance so all she could take it to work and “cook” it in the microwave there.

mugcake

Peanut-Coconut Flour Pancakes

Inspiration goes both ways!  Arman made my nuggets, but my Saturday pancakes were inspired by the peanut butter-coconut recipe he entered in the #strangebutgood linkup on Friday’s blog.

The I made it more strange but adding roasted jicama and strawberries with a Mexican chocolate twist – I tossed them in cocoa, cinnamon, and cayenne pre-roast.  So good!

Peanut Butter-Coconut Flour Pancakes

 

Flattery, not to be confused with flatulence, is marvelous.

Click the image for Katie's Marveloue Monday link up!

Check out Katie’s link up for more blog-land marvels!

***

I mentioned Friday that I have a new job. In order to give myself time to ramp up in my new role, I’m going to be posting a little less frequently.  I don’t know what that schedule will look like yet.  Just know if I miss a day (probably tomorrow) I’m not dead.  If you notice.  😉

What blogger recipe have you tried lately and loved?

Is there anything making your Monday particularly marvelous?  I’m in San Fran, which doesn’t suck.

 

Filed Under: Recipes, Strange But Good Tagged With: breakfast, cauliflower, dessert, dinner, jicama, Mexican, MIMM, pancakes, pizza, strange but good

Bourbon Chocolate Chip Cookies [Recipe]

September 6, 2013 By Laura

Let me apologize in advance.

#sorryimnotsorry

If you make these cookies, you won’t be able to stop at one.  They don’t hide any veggies.  They aren’t healthy… unless you count the partial sugar substitute.  They are addictingly good.  You will brave salmonella to eat the batter.

Bourbon Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

So what makes these cookies strange?  Booze.  It doesn’t have to just be for drinking; it also makes a tasty cookie!  Who knew?!

The bourbon isn’t strong here; it merely adds a hint of caramel and enhances the vanilla in the cookie.  I used Four Roses, which is a lighter, almost fruity bourbon.  

No bourbon? You could use Frangelico or another liqueur.  Or you could leave it out… if you’re crazy.

Bourbon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Bourbon aside, this is a classic chocolate chip cookie.  They are a teensy bit under-baked, resulting in a decadent, doughy center.  Get your cold glass of (almond) milk ready.

There are some specific instructions.  Don’t skip them.  

Browned butter will elevate any dessert recipe you make to a whole new level.  Be patient and let the dough chill in the fridge.  It helps with spreading and allows the flavors to come together making an even more irresistible cookie.

Tall cookie dough scoops

Tall cookie dough scoops

If you want a healthy dessert, check out these Granola Cookies or these Chocolate Avocado cookies.  If you have one of those weeks where you need to get down and dirty to treat yourself, do it with boozy cookies.

Why the treats this week?  I quit my job and started a new one.  It’s a good thing.  I will miss my old team, but this job is more in-line with what I want to be when I grow up (in the world of marketing/product management).  Changing jobs is scary and exciting all at once…. but it’s already clear to me that I made the right choice!

I deserve a cookie.

[Tweet “These doughy, boozy Bourbon Chocolate Chip Cookies will change your life. Really.”]


This is the best chocolate chip cookie you'll ever have. These doughy, boozy Bourbon Chocolate Chip Cookies might actually change your life.

Bourbon Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • 2.25 C (280 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1.5 tsp cornstarch
  • 3/4 C (1.5 sticks or 170 grams) salted butter, browned
  • 3/4 C (150 grams) dark brown sugar, loosely packed
  • 1/2 C (100 grams) xylitol (or sugar)
  • 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, room temperature*
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1.5 T bourbon (I used Four Roses)
  • 1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips (or chunks)

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and cornstarch. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat browned butter and sugars together.  Beat in the egg, followed by the egg yolk.  Add the vanilla and bourbon.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk together.  The dough will be very soft.  Don’t worry.

Fold in the chocolate chips.  Cover the dough and chill for at least an hour, or overnight.  *Do not skip this step*

When ready to bake, heat oven to 325 degrees.  Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper .

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll the dough into balls (~1 heaping tablespoon each).  Shape them into tall balls to help them bake up to be thick.  Place them on the lined cookies sheets with ~1 inch of space between (they will spread).

Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes.  Don’t bake them any longer!!!  They should look soft and under-baked.  Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.  They will continue to bake on the cookie sheet.

*Note: Room temperature egg/egg yolks are best for even disbursement.

Inspired by Sally’s Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies.


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.

Sprint 2 the Table

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

***

“The difference between a success and a failure is that a failure runs away from his fears while successful people run towards their fears.”

Have you ever quit a job?  It’s the most nerve-wracking thing to do!

What is your favorite decadent cookie?

Filed Under: Baking, Recipes Tagged With: bourbon, cookies, dessert, Four Roses, strange but good

PB & J Topped French Toast + WIAW

September 4, 2013 By Laura

My favorite porn is #yolkporn.

 

I can only imagine the search terms I’m going to get from this…

When I saw this video on Lifehack yesterday I couldn’t wait to share it with you guys.  It’s (allegedly) a fool-proof way to cook a sunny side up egg.

In case you need the definition a perfect sunny side up egg should have the whites just cooked through, but the bright yellow yolky deliciousness should remain runny.  Like a silky syrup for your toast or oats or salad or jicama nachos… anything!

Warning: this video will make you crave butter.  And egg, obv.

The guy’s name is Mr. Breakfast.  He must be an expert.

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In other news, I failed and didn’t have a runny egg on WIAW.  I did win at food prep though!  After a few weeks of being less than planned, I was happy to have my meals ready for me today!WIAWbutton

Read on for my prepared food, and then check out Jenn’s blog.  I don’t know if she’s doing the link up though… because she had her bagel baby!!!!!!!

♥ Congratulations and welcome to baby Mia! ♥

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Breakfast:

Of course I had my morning cocktail (apple cider vinegar, water, Glutamine, and Fitmixer Aminos) to start my day out right.

I was feeling like something decadent for breakfast in honor of the short work week.  That only means one thing: french toast.  My protein-filled toast tasted like a treat with the peanut flour sauce and strawberries.

Note: I order peanut flour from iHerb – use discount code USO924 for $5-10 off your order.

PB & J Topped French Toast

PB & J Topped French Toast

  • 1/4 C egg whites
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ginger
  • 4-5 drops liquid Stevia
  • 1 large slice of bread (I used p28 High Protein)
  • 1 T peanut flour
  • 1 tsp sugar-free syrup
  • 1/8 tsp butter extract
  • Almond milk (adjust to desired consistency)
  • Strawberries and granola (to top)

 

Beat together first 5 ingredients in a shallow bowl.  Soak bread slice in the mix, flipping once to coat.

Cook in greased pan over med-high heat until browned.

Meanwhile, mix together peanut flour, syrup, butter extract, and almond milk.  I used 2 T almond milk; add it slowly and adjust to your desired consistency.

Plate toast and top with syrup, berries, and granola.

 

Lunch:

Things got busy and I missed my mid-morning snack so I had an early-ish lunch.  I packed up the chicken, tabbouleh, and celery sticks from my food prep, and added to that some hummus and a piece of Ezekial bread.

Chicken and tabbouleh

 

Mid-Afternoon Snack:

No need to eat boring food just because you’re sitting in an office.  This snack was incredible: salmon sashimi, lavar, edamame, and kabocha.

Totally normal work eats, no?

edamame, lavar, and salmon sashimi

 

Late-Afternoon Snack:

My schedule was thrown off and I had to busy out an emergency bar to power through my workout before dinner.

Note: I don’t actually like these.  It was a freebie. 

Detour neapolitan bar

 

Dinner:

I was going to eat the snapper from my food prep… but after I workout all I want is a smoothie bowl.  Eating solid food after a workout just doesn’t appeal to me.

My new staple is this Chocolate Beet variety.  Last night I wolfed it down with oats, fig, and a bar I made as part of meal prep (side note: I want to make some adjustments before I share – sorry!).  Extra spinach.

chocolate-beet protein shake

 

Dessert:

Smoothie bowls are like dessert to me, but that didn’t stop me from having a second dessert.  The post-Labor Day fall mood struck and I made a Sweet Potato Pie Protein Bowl as my midnight snack.  I’ve been adding coconut flour to everything lately – it makes everything deliciously cake-y.

With all the toppings I had to take a bite shot for you to even see the pie!

Pumpkin Pie Protein Bowl

Pumpkin Pie Protein Bowl

  •  1/2 C sweet potato, mashed
  • 1/2 C no-salt cottage cheese
  • 1 T coconut flour
  • 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/4 tsp almond extract
  • Liquid Stevia, to taste
  • Almond milk (adjust to desired thickness)
  • Optional toppings: popcorn, figs, cacao nibs, breakfast bar crumbles

 

Mix it all together and devour!

Note: you could blend it to smooth… I was too impatient. 😉

***

How awesome that it’s already Wednesday?! 

Do you have a hard time eating solids after a workout?

Do you ever eat something you don’t love just because it’s free?  I don’t know why I’m so compelled…

 

Filed Under: Breakfast, Recipes Tagged With: breakfast, dessert, dinner, figure competition, french toast, lunch, protein, smoothies, snacks, sweet potato, WIAW, yolk porn

Will Labor for Food

September 2, 2013 By Laura

I wasn’t going to blog today.

 

Labor Day is about NOT laboring, right?

Then I realized that work isn’t always a thing to be avoided.  I have a lot to share, and blogging isn’t “work.”  It’s the perfect day for a short and sweet over-share blog post.  This weekend has been all about fun work!

cat-will-sleep-for-food

Job #1

My mom asked me to watch her dog, Honey, for the weekend.  I am not home enough to have a dog, but a part-time dog is awesome!  Honey and I walked until I was practically dragging her.  Those short legs get tired. 🙂  She is a Golden Retriever and Corgi mix.

Did you see her video debut on Instagram?

Honey - Golden Corgi

 

Job #2

Waking up at the ass-crack of down to play make-up artist for a friend’s first Bikini competition.  Chelsea has an amazing transformation story – check out her before pic!  She trains at my gym, and I’m so happy to have met her.

Chelsea’s dedication and unwillingness to settle of anything less than her dream is inspiring.  Visit her blog to read about her journey.

Side note: having to let the dog out at 5:30am felt like actual work.

Bikini competition transformation

 

Job #3

I workout like it’s my job when I have the time.  After Chelsea’s pre-judging I came back home to hit the gym.  I slacked on my laundry job and didn’t have a  clean tank top to wear… so I cut up an old Georgia Tech tee to represent at the gym (we won the season opener 70-0!).

After killing my back and tris, I ate that green smoothie like it was my job.  Then I took a nap.

 

The next day’s workout was eventful.  I went for a bike ride.  I am not a cyclist, and I am especially not a smart cyclist.  As soon as I got the bike outside I heard a rumble in the sky.  A smart person would have waited or stayed close to home.  Hahahaha!

I headed down the Beltline, pausing to enjoy the art.  The sky darkened, but still I thought maybe I’d ride around it.  Notsomuch.  I was 5 miles from home when the bottom dropped out.  After hanging out under a bridge for a while, I got impatient and biked home through the rain.  I arrived at my building looking like a drowned rat (see pic).

Beltline rain biking

 

Job #4

Being a chef for myself is my favorite job.  Some people dread being in the kitchen, but I find it relaxing.  It’s art, not labor!  I cooked ALL weekend long and couldn’t have been happier.

Clockwise from the top left:

  • Dessert porn.  Cocoa-roasted kabocha topped with a mix of Greek yogurt, coconut flour, cinnamon, and stevia. Drizzled with cocoa powder sauce (cocoa, cinnamon, cayenne, and stevia), then sprinkled with cinnamon toasted quinoa and a crushed Adora calcium disk
  • Cinnamon Roll Coconut Mugcake cut up over a sweet potato with peanut butter and a sprinkle of cocoa powder. The cake was based on Morganne’s mug cupcake recipe, but i amped up the protein. Here’s what I did: 1.5 T coconut flour, 1/2 scoop vanilla  protein powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, 3 T applesauce, 1/4 C egg whites, 1/2 tsp butter extract, 4 drops English toffee stevia. Microwaved for 1 min in a cereal bowl
  • Meyer Lemon Roasted Brussels may be my new go-to.  I roasted them to a crisp in coconut oil, Meyer lemon, cumin, and pepper
  • Overnight TVP Oats were a must since I was up early for the bikini comp.  This was a TVP creation – 1/4 C TVP, 1/4 C oats, Greek yogurt, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, stevia, and unsweetened almond milk. With extra blueberries
  • What’s a weekend without #yolkporn?  In addition to the egg, this tortilla pizza had salsa, spinach, tofu, jalapeno, purple peppers.

***

I’m spending the day pretending like tomorrow isn’t the return of “real” labor.

What jobs did you have this weekend?

What do you enjoy that most people view as work?

 

Filed Under: Fitness, Recipes Tagged With: bicycling, biking, breakfast, dessert, Honey, Labor Day, workout, yolk porn

Peanut Flour Love + WIAW

August 28, 2013 By Laura

What’s more exciting than packages?

Chocolate cake.

I came home last night to a delivery from iHerb.  After a massage and a trip to Whole Foods, it was the icing on the chocolate cake.

Use discount code USO924 for $5-10 off your order!

iHerb order

Many of these are new to me – toffee stevia, Walden Farms caramel, and the peanut butter protein powder.  I have been out of tahini and coconut flour for a while, so I’m excited to use those again.  I bet I can use it all together!

Do you think I got enough peanut flour?  I love that stuff.  It’s better than the other stuff (ahem… PB2) because it’s just the de-fatted nuts.  No added sodium or sugar.

What should you do with your peanut flour?  Allow me to help…

Sweet Potato Peanut Butter Ice CreamSP ice cream

Tofu Noodle Stir Fry with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Tofu noodles with peanut sauce

Rum Butter Kabocha Bowl

Rum Butter Kabocha Bowl

Sweet Potato Scramble with Spiced Maple-Peanut Sauce

SP Scramble with PB Sauce

Sweet Potato Pan-lette

SP Eggs

French Elvis Toast

P28 Bread French Toast

There’s a lot more where that came from… check out my Recipage.  I may or may not have an addiction…

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This WIAW was a good one.  I was much more prepared this week to stick to my plan.  I’m using more quinoa to help me hit my carbs.  This time I made extra to keep in the freezer for quick access next week too.

WIAWbutton

Read on for my food, and then check out Jenn’s link up for everyone else’s tasty eats.

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Breakfast:

Of course I had my morning cocktail (apple cider vinegar, water, Glutamine, and Fitmixer Aminos) to start my day out right.

Then it was on to the #yolkporn.  I made Toad in a Hole with my P28 bread and local eggs.  I ate it with a side of kiwi and cottage cheese mixed with cinnamon.

Toad in a Hole with P28 bread

Mid-Morning Snack:

This was my post-workout refuel.  I made a Chocolate-Beet Protein Smoothie with extra spinach.  Topped with my custom granola and blueberries.

Side note: It drives me insane when people call them “bloobs.”  Is that silly?  #sorryimnotsorry

Chocolate Beet green protein smoothie

Lunch:

Cod that I baked in marinara sauce and mushrooms with a side of quinoa mixed with hummus, white bell pepper, and broccoli slaw.

It was pungent, so I also had one of the office soft mints. 😉

Cod

Afternoon Snack:

Sandwiches aren’t a staple in my life, but I’m really liking them lately!  This was turkey made at the local farmer’s market on Ezekial bread with local greens and hummus.

The salad was a Quinoa Tabbouleh.  The recipe will come tomorrow!

Turkey sandwich and quinoa tabbouleh

 This is when the day got awesome.  I left work to get a massage… where I realized exactly how badly I need to get them regularly.  My back was a knot forest.

Kombucha is good for muscle recovery, so naturally I headed to Whole Paycheck Foods to get a one on tap.  And a few other things I didn’t really need.

Buchi Fire

Shamelessly staged a photo shoot in the parking lot.

Dinner:

Ripped Recipes shared my Cheese-less Cauliflower Crust recipe on Instagram last night… which sparked a craving.  Pizza time!

I topped mine with marinara, broccoli slaw, baked tofu, and a slice of Daiya Provolone.  I eat cheese, but I actually love Daiya.  I do not; however, think it tastes like real cheese.

Cheese-less cauliflower crust

I am finally getting smart about making this pizza – I make a few crusts at a time to keep in the freezer for quick week night dinners.  MUCH better than pizza from the freezer section!

Side note: I recently discovered and really like Ripped Recipes as a resource for creative, protein-rich ideas.  Have you guys ever heard of them?

Dessert:

I really, really love carrots.  Hence – once again – my Carrot Cake Protein Batter.  I added some of the protein powder from my iHerb box and used a tiny bit of the Walden Farms caramel.  Both were a little fake.  The custom granola crack and the figs were good!

peanut butter carrot cake protein batter

***

The peanut flour farmers should really pay me.  Or I should at least get a break on my state taxes (it’s made here in GA).

Have you ever ordered from iHerb?  What are some of your go-tos?

What are some of your favorite carbs?  Oatmeal?  Quinoa?  Others?

Filed Under: Products, Recipes Tagged With: breakfast, Daiya, dessert, dinner, Kombucha, lunch, peanut flour, pizza, protein, Ripped Recipes, seafood, smoothies, snacks, tofu, vegetarian, vitamix

Getting Big is Marvelous

August 26, 2013 By Laura

This weekend was especially marvelous.

 

Not that all weekends aren’t good.

After several weeks in a row of go-go-go, it was nice to be in town and left to my own devices.  One might say it was absolutely marvelous.

Click the image for Katie’s Marvelous Monday link up!

 

Saturday I had brunch with some friends from grad school.  We had a great time catching up and resolved (again) not to go some long without a reunion.

On my way home, I stopped at The Fresh Market and picked up a few treats.  Apparently I was feeling ginger?

Ginger buys

 

Then I hit the gym.  Hard.  I am finally feeling comfortable lifting again, and seeing some good progress.  A guy I don’t know, but had seen around for a year or so know agreed… he stopped to tell me I was making some good progress and looked a lot bigger than I did a year ago.  I almost hugged him.

Just a couple of years ago I would have killed someone for telling me I look big.  On Saturday I was flattered and thrilled.  So much so that I had a photo shoot in the locker room… paying no mind to the lady changing and giving me the “WTF?!” look.  #sorryimnotsorry

gym progress

 

When I got home, I had a package.  The timing couldn’t have been better.  It was a delivery of my favorite protein powder from Growing Naturals!

I immediately busted out the vanilla and made a smoothie with spinach and raw sweet potato. It was good, but I want to perfect before sharing.

Growing Naturals

 

That night I went to see an artist I used to listen to in college – Melissa Ferrick.  The group of friends was totally random; they all responded to my plea for a concert buddy via Facebook.  Crowd sourcing concert buddies. 🙂

The venus is a listening room where there are tables and a full menu.  I brought my own food in.  It was really good!  And I saved some carbs to have a Guinness.  The best part about bringing your own healthy food to a show?  Coming home to a healthy dessert in an almost empty Greek yogurt container!  This was my favorite Carrot Cake Protein Batter, topped with granola and cocoa powder sauce.

Melissa Ferrick

 

Sunday I got up and made my Fluffy Cauliflower Protein Pancakes and a broiled grapefruit.  Is it just me or are pancakes are the perfect way to start the day?

I semi-homemade my own syrup.  It was 1 tsp sugar-free syrup, 1 tsp peanut flour, cinnamon, and a little water to thin.  I’ll be doing that again!

Cauliflower Protein Pancakes

 

There was a little snafu.  I left to run errands and forgot to turn off the stove.  The black beans I was cooking for the week turned to a char.  Oops.

No matter!  I had a date with some new friends to run sprints up Stone Mountain!  Even more fun was getting to introduce them to my favorite market, where I bought some things to make the dish below.  

I will share later.  Bwhahaha…

***

In other marvelous news, it was actually sunny and warm in Atlanta most of the weekend.  A nice change after our monsoon season.

What do you do with a “do what you want,” agenda-free weekend?

What was the last thing you burned?  After burning those beans, my condo smelled like a giant fart. 🙁

 

Filed Under: Breakfast, Fitness, Products, Weights Tagged With: breakfast, dessert, ginger, Growing Naturals, legs, Melissa Ferrick, MIMM, pancakes, protein, weight lifting, workout

Samsung Galaxy Camera + WIAW

August 21, 2013 By Laura

Once in a blue moon I surprise myself…

 

Get it?  Last night was a blue moon…

I’ve always lamented having to take pictures of food.  I just want to make it and chow down.  My inner fat kid doesn’t like to wait for a photo shoot.  

Then there’s the transfer of pics to the computer.  Then editing.  That is less painful than I build it up to be, but it doesn’t stop me from some serious procrastination.  In short, I’m lazy and I’d rather do everything on my iPhone via Instagram.

But a new toy has come into my life and saved the day.  Thanks to Verizon and the Fitfluential Ambassador program, I was given a Samsung Galaxy Camera with Verizon 4G LTE network to try.  ***As always, all opinions are my own.***

camera

I was entertained on the drive to the mountains by taking pics of my iPhone and posting them to IG from my camera… while playing with IG on my iPhone too.  Simple minds, simple pleasures…

 

The Samsung Galaxy is basically a iPhone in camera form.  It even has a preloaded Instagram app to make over sharing stupid easy.  Sharing is done quickly, directly from the camera over Verizon’s 4G LTE network.

Instant gratification, for the win. 😉

20130817_193701

Foggy Blue Ridge Mountains

 

Some of you camera enthusiasts might appreciate that fact that it’s a 16 megapixel and 1080p HD video camera that features a 21x optical zoom lens.  I appreciate that there are pre-set modes allowing a total novice to take decent pics – even at night.  (Never fear for the camera geeks – there’s also an Expert Control mode to manually adjust shutter speed.)

Check out the blue moon last night:

20130820_212250

Taken using the “Night” setting

 

The large HD LCD touch screen makes it convenient to edit photos and videos right from the camera.  You can share it on any number of social networks, add it to your Dropbox, and even email it to yourself!

Mind = blown

________________________________________________________________________________________

This WIAW was a bit disorganized.  Deciding to stay an extra day in the mountains meant I missed my farmer’s market run (Worth.  It.).  Most of this was obtained from the freezer or from a 15 min sprint 2 the local grocery chain. 😉

WIAWbutton

Read on for my odd-ball food, and then check out Jenn’s link up for everyone else’s delicious days.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Breakfast:

My favorite addiction, my morning cocktail (apple cider vinegar, water, Glutamine, and  Fitmixer Aminos) started my day out productively… if you know what I mean…

It was an egg-y morning.  I made a quick omelette seasoned with cumin, cayenne, and cilantro.  It was stuffed with avocado and turkey.  That was followed up with a side of grapefruit.

eggs and grapefruit

 

Mid-Morning Snack:

This was my post-workout refuel.  I made a Zucchini Bread Protein Smoothie , only I subbed 1.5 oz of tofu for the cottage cheese and left out the spinach (I’m all out!).  I topped it with my custom granola from last week.  Really, really loving it!

And a cherry on top (followed by a few more on the side).

Zucchini Bread Smoothie

 

Lunch:

Swordfish (surprisingly good from the freezer) with red bell pepper, zucchini, and a slice of Ezekial bread.

Steak of the Sea

Afternoon Snack:

Another lazy man’s turkey salad.  I ripped up some no salt added turkey meat from the deli and mixed it with celery, red pepper flakes, cumin, nutritional yeast, and apple cider vinegar.

I ate my Dora edamame on the side.  Kid food is 100% acceptable as a single adult, no?

dora edamame

 

There was also a new gum involved.  I really liked the Pomegranate flavor, and I appreciate the crew at Pur Gum sending me these samples … but I wish the flavor had lasted more than 5 mins. 🙁

pur gum

 

Dinner:

Sea Bass (also surprisingly good from the freezer) with some hard-core roasted brussels and Injera (Ethiopian bread made of teff flour and water).

injera and sea bass

“Dessert” was what I was really excited for… roasted kabocha!  I topped it with peanut flour sauce and more of my custom granola.

cocoa roasted kabocha

 

Dessert:

Still struggling to hit my carbs, I added a little extra yum to my Carrot Cake Protein Batter.  I stirred in oats and topped it with my custom granola (again) and a cocoa powder sauce.  And cherries. I’m still a little low, but it was close!

Taken and shared on IG via my Samsung Galaxy camera!

Taken and shared on IG via my Samsung Galaxy camera!

***

You know I’m excited about a camera when I go wandering through the park after dark to take pics of the moon.  I’m a little shocked I didn’t get mugged…

Have you ever even heard of a smart camera like this?  How long until cameras and phones are always one in the same? 

Do you like “real” pictures or are you an iPhone photographer?

 

Filed Under: Products Tagged With: breakfast, dessert, dinner, kabocha, lunch, protein, Samsung Galaxy Camera, seafood, snacks, Verizon, WIAW

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