PB & Aggs + Carrot Cake Batter {WIAW}

August 1, 2012 By Laura

I’m a big fan of modifications.

Have you seen the dishes I ~~bastardize~~ exercise creative license with?

This week my nutrition plan has had one awesome modification. After mentioning that I almost hurled last week after shoveling down lunch right before a workout, my trainer gave me an ~~life~~ stomach saving tip. If a workout is scheduled right after a carb meal (Meal 1, 3, 5, or 7), then I can switch the order of the meals. So instead of my scheduled Meal 3 carb + protein + veggie combo, I could have swapped it for Meal 4 which is just a veggie + protein.

3 Benefits to This:

Quick protein boost before a workout (and a little energy from the sugar if this occurs in the morning when I get fruit rather than a veggie)
Complex carbs post-workout are great for muscle repair/recovery
No risk of regurgitation

Similar to running, you don’t want to lift heavy on a full tummy. It’s hard work and being full just makes you feel draggy. When you’re in prep for a figure competition the last thing you want is to have a junk workout. I’ve been relishing in this modification all week. It has done wonders for my energy at the gym, as well as my comfort level!

Enough tummy talk. We have a new theme this week for What I Ate Wednesday!

Seasonal eating is a big deal to me. Food that is in season tastes better, and it is less expensive. Not to mention the fact that you can support your local farmers by purchasing your product through them rather than from far away places like Chile.

Check out my (mostly) summertime appropriate eats below, then click here to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to see everyone else’s fitness foods!

Meal 1:

I’m recycling the pic from last week of aminos mixed with ~2T of apple cider vinegar and water. I drink this down 30 mins prior to meal one for its benefits related to energy, digestion, and skin.

As I mentioned above, I’m doing some meal-order-swapping around my workouts. Since I was about to hit the gym, I swapped meals 1 and 2. So… Meal 1 = Meal 2, meaning I need a fruit and a protein.

You follow?

Last week’s PB & Jeggs were so good I did a little remix of that idea. Rather than using mixed berries, I uses apples to create PB & Aggs! (Any Aggie fans out there?)

I shook it up a little to be more like PB & Agg Pie. (Is that taking the naming thing too far?)

PB & Aggs:

1/2 C egg whites
2 T peanut flour
2 T water
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3 drops lemon liquid stevia
1 small apple, cut into ~1/2 in pieces

See this post for detailed instructions.

Meal 2:

Post-workout I ate what was supposed to be Meal 1. Hooray for post-workout complex carbs! This is a seasonal cherry-ginger protein smoothie bowl (with spinach, obv) topped with homemade granola. It was simple but hit the spot.

Meal 3:

I often make it through the day with entirely vegetarian protein sources, but today I enjoyed a tuna burger with a said of salsa. I’d love to share the recipe with you, but to be honest it was a little dry. The flavor was good… I will keep tweaking and report back.

For my seasonal sides, I enjoyed carrot sticks and raw asparagus. Produce is so sweet this summer! I read somewhere that it is due to the extreme heat. Apparently, some good does come out of 100+ temps!

My complex carb was a slice of Ezekial bread with some Sunbutter. After a nasty failed attempt at making my own sunflower seed butter, I sucked it up and bought a jar.

Worth. It.

Meal 4:

Another seasonal veggie favorite is zucchini. I’ve seen a lot of pics posted around the web of some massive zucchini. I wish I’d taken one of this sucker before I cut it up because it was a beast.

Eaten with no salt added cottage cheese mixed with peanut flour, nutritional yeast, and sriracha. It was a sort of Thai peanut sauce! To be honest… I went a little heavy on the nooch. 😉

Meal 5:

Apparently last Wednesday was particularly inspiring to me. For dinner, I repeated yet another meal from the week. What can I say, I fell in love with the (gluten-free) Cauliflower pizza!

I made the crust just like this one, but topped it with a local tomato, red onion, aged balsamic, a farm fresh egg, and a bastardized vegan version of spinach pesto.

The pesto creation was quite tasty – lots of herb-y, fresh flavor. Here’s how I did it:

Vegan Spinach-Rosemary “Pesto”

1 C fresh spinach
1 large sprig of rosemary
1 T nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic
1/4 tsp olive oil
A bit of water (just enough to blend)

Place it all in the blender and mix until smooth.

If you haven’t made this yet… well, I feel sorry for you.

Meal 6:

Carrot cake is something of a tradition in my family. It’s not surprising that my favorite protein shake is this carrot cake creation. It’s what inspired the following snackage. I had already had a smoothie at Meal 2, and since I try to vary my protein sources, I racked my brain to figure out what other sources I could get 20g of protein from. The answer? Greek Yogurt!

Ladies and gentlemen (do any dudes read this blog?!), I give you a bowl full ‘o Carrot Cake Batter:

This protein-packed snack reminds me of that recipe handed down from my MamMaw. The freshly grated carrot and the hint of nutmeg make this batter is scarily close to the “real” thing. I have eaten it as Meal 6 every night this week. ~~Admittedly, some cream cheese icing would be nice.~~

Recipe at bottom.

Meal 7:

I’m in comfort-dessert food mode. Pumpkin Pie Mush, anyone? I’m going to turn orange.

This has been done ad nauseam in blog-land, so I won’t beat a dead horse. Basically, you mix together your desired amount of oats, protein powder, pumpkin, water or other liquid, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla, stevia. Let sit in fridge for at least an hour. Devour.

Carrot Cake Protein Batter

1/2 C Greek yogurt
1 T vanilla protein powder
1 medium carrot, grated
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp maple extract (optional)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
7-8 drops liquid stevia, or sweeter of your choice

Place all ingredients in a bowl, and stir to combine. Depending on the thickness of your yogurt and the absorption of your protein powder, you may need to add a bit of liquid.

Note: This is also delicious with peanut flour, PB2, or coconut flour in place of the protein powder.

***

Are you keeping track? I managed 149.1g of protein. Even more exciting (to me) is the fact that I actually kept my sodium down to 1,137mg. Shityeah.

What are your favorite summer foods?

Have you ever actually gotten sick during a workout? I think I would die.

Easy Weekend

July 30, 2012 By Laura

There’s not much I’d rather do than see live music.

The weekend began Friday at 6pm when my friend picked me for the Brandi Carlile concert. I adore Brandi, but I was especially excited to get to see her play at on of my favorite venues – Chastain Park. Chastain is an outdoor amphitheater in Atlanta. You can buy a table for 6 and bring dinner to enjoy during the show. People get really in to it – they have tablecloths, candles, and flowers to decorate their tables. We were a little more low-key, but I did bring my special protein-filled dinner.

It was a great show. Brandi played a good mix of new and old. she did a cover of Johnny Cash’s Sunday Morning Coming Down, introducing it by saying that she felt is was an appropriate song because she no long drinks tequila and she no longer eats Chick-fli-a (the song references a hangover and fried chicken). My favorite part was her cover of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.

Saturday was another concert! This time I trekked to Tennessee to see the Indigo Girls play with the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra. I have a friend that lives in Chattanooga, so she got the tickets for us and chose an excellent place for dinner – Easy Bistro and Bar.

I was really impressed with the restaurant! We decided to spit a couple of appetizers and a main dish.

We began with the Heirloom Tomato and Watermelon Salad. After a hot walk to the restaurant, the light salad hit the spot. It included a few types of heirlooms and cucumelon. I’d never heard of cucmelon before, but t was fantastic! It was topped with shaved pecorino cheese and basil live oil.

We also enjoyed a rich Crawfish and Artichoke Dip with toasted flatbread. It’s been years since I’ve had a cheesy artichoke dip. The cream cheese-based dish was very, very rich… and it was just as good as I’d remembered.

The entrée was the highlight of the meal – swordfish. It had just been added to the menu that morning, so it was incredibly fresh. The meaty fish was grilled, which gave it a great char taste. It was plated atop a summer squash salad and simply garnished with olive oil, cherry tomatoes, and Marcona almonds.

We walked to the Tivoli Theatre where the Indigo Girls were performing with the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra. It was such a neat show! The theatre itself was beautiful; it reminded me a lot of The Fox Theatre in Atlanta. The Indigo Girls are known for their acoustic, singer-songwriter tunes, and to hear those redone with the string and horns behind them… it gave me chills more than once.

Did you think it was strange we didn’t have dessert with dinner? I mean, it WAS cheat day.

Don’t worry. I didn’t get possessed by aliens; we were just in a hurry to get to the show. Post-show we hit local for-yo shop, Top It Off. The Red Velvet, Double Chocolate, and Peanut Butter flavors were all just as good as they sound… but the show-stopper was the Salted Caramel Pretzel. I’ll be dreaming of that stuff for weeks.

This is my friend’s yogurt. We have a friendly wager that her bowl would get more likes on Instagram than mine would. She won… and since I’m a good sport I’m posting the pic of her pretty cup ‘o yogurt.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Last week was a good week for workouts. I felt especially focused at the gym. We all know that you need to concentrate on the body part you are working out… but sometimes my mind wanders. My goal last week was to be more focused, and I think it paid off. Especially on back day… I was SORE after that one.

Leg day on Tuesday was fantastic with my trainer. I was able to squat more than ever! Leg day by myself on Saturday left something to be desired… I find it much harder to max out on legs alone. I know it’s mental…

Workout Recap (7/24 – 7/29):

Monday – Chest/Biceps, Calf raises, 2 mile walk
Tuesday – Legs (with trainer), 2.5 mile walk
Wednesday – Back/Triceps, Calf raises, 2 mile walk
Thursday – Shoulders/Glutes, 1 mile walk
Friday – Chest/Biceps, Calf raises, 2 mile walk
Saturday – Legs, 150 push-ups
Sunday – *rest day* … easy 4 mile walk

***

The icing on the cake of the weekend was not having to wake up to an alarm Sunday. I stayed in bed until 10, and it was glorious.

What was the last concert you went to?

Do you find certain body parts harder to work out on your own?

Pick-Me-Up, a Tiramisu Protein Parfait

July 26, 2012 By Laura

Breakfast is the only reason I get up in the morning.

Not really. I get up because I have to go to work.

Breakfast is the only reason I get up without too much grumbling. Unless you count the grumbling in my stomach, which has been intense ever since I started training.

That’s a whole other topic. I eat my last meal around midnight. In theory that would hold me over. Notsomuch. I wake up so hungry you’d think I hadn’t eaten in days.

What’s really fun is waking up starving and remembering you have something really delicious prepped for breakfast. Remember Meal 1 from yesterday’s WIAW post? This is it – a Tiramisu Parfait.

The oats are cooked and soaked in coffee and cocoa overnight to produce a light, spongy pudding. In the morning, I mixed up some Greek yogurt with vanilla protein powder to create the decadent, creamy layers in this Tiramisu Parfait.

Did you know that Tiramisu means “pick me up” in Italian? Rightly so. This breakfast rendition was so good it had this night owl up early and eating breakfast with a smile.

The Italian dessert certainly couldn’t be passed off a breakfast (not that it hasn’t happened in a moment of weakness…). This is a much healthier version is perfectly acceptable in the morning, and you won’t be missing a thing with these flavors. Espresso-soaked ladyfingers are easily replaced with coffee-cocoa overnight oats. The sweet, tangy Greek yogurt mixture is the perfect sub for the mascarpone and heavy cream that layers a traditional Tiramisu.

If you’re feeling frisky, you could shake it up and top the breakfast treat with melted cherries.

A traditional Tiramisu can run upwards of 500 calories, 30g of fat, and 30g of sugar. Never fear. Depending on your protein powder, this Tiramisu Parfait is around 200 calories, 2g fat, 4g sugar… and 20g of protein!

I never wanted it to end.

Tiramisu Protein Parfait

Inspired by this recipe.

For the Oats:

1/3 C rolled oats (use gluten-free to make GF)
2 tsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 C water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp rum extract (almond would also work here)
1/4 cup strong brewed, cooled coffee
8 drops liquid stevia (adjust to desired sweetness)

For the Cream:

3 oz plain Greek yogurt (use soy or almond yogurt to make dairy-free/vegan)
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2-3 drops orange stevia (optional, you could also use orange zest or extract of you want the hint of citrus)

Combine the oats, cocoa powder, cinnamon, extracts, and water in a bowl and microwave for 2-3 minutes, or until the liquid is (mostly) absorbed. Add coffee and stevia. Stir to combine, then cover and place in the fridge overnight (or at least 2 hours).

In a small bowl, combine yogurt, orange stevia (or zest,/extract), protein powder, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir until well combined. This can be done the night before, or at time of serving.

To assemble, place a spoonful of the oats in a cup, followed by a spoonful of the yogurt mixture. Repeat until you’re out of each.

Optional: Top with fruit of your choosing. I chose melted cherries (cherries microwaved with a few drops of lemon Stevia for ~20 secs). ~~Whipped cream would always be amazing.~~

Makes 1 serving.

***

This first time I made this, I couldn’t wait ’til morning and ate it as Meal 7 (dessert).

Would you eat this parfait for breakfast or dessert?

Are you a morning person or a night owl?

Peanut Butter & Jeggs + WIAW

July 25, 2012 By Laura

Two things make me euphoric: good food and hard workouts.

Yesterday I was on the receiving end of both. My spreadsheet delivered today!

Breakfast was mind-blowing. Meal 2 is a new go-to protein source. Lunch – although it was inhaled – was delish. Meal 4 wasn’t exciting, but the GNC Vanilla Whey tastes cake batter-ish when mixed with water. Dinner… well, if it was legal to marry pizza I would. Meal 6 was fun and close to being a new staple. Dessert was a new (to me) recipe from one of my fav bloggers.

On the training front, I had a GREAT workout with my trainer. I squatted 1.5x my body weight. That’s a HUGE jump in just over a month of training.

Click for source

During a workout it can be overwhelming to push and go all-in. That’s when you know you’re doing it right – when you are out of your comfort zone and breathing hard (provided you are using a good form and common sense). I hit that point during my 4th drop sets of horizontal leg presses.

I looked up at my trainer and said “I don’t know how I’m going to do this.” Then, with his encouragement, I just kept going.

Click for source

It was HARD, both physically and mentally. I was careful not to say “can’t,” but I won’t say the thought didn’t cross my mind. I shoved it out of my mind, and after the workout was incredibly proud of myself.

Which leads me to the 4th installment of the Fitness-themed What I Ate Wednesday. If you’ve been following, I’m aiming to get ~150g of protein each day as I train for a figure competition (hopefully in NOVEMBER!!!).

In an effort to vary my protein sources, I try not to repeat meals throughout the day (ex: I don’t want to have 7 protein shakes, or 4 servings of scrambled egg whites). Today’s eats included a whopping 5 different sources of protein!

Check out my vegetarian protein-loaded day below; then click here to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to see everyone else’s fitness foods!