Sprint 2 the Table

Appetites and Adventures

What I Ate On My 30th Birthday

By

Birthdays should be drawn out.

 

I’m celebrating mine for a solid week.

Today I leave for a fabulous birthday trip with two of my best wine-os friend: Lisa and Heather.  At 21 we celebrated with cheap shots and beer, at 30 we spend too much money on fine wine and taking mud baths.  I choose 30.

The celebration have been on going though!  Later in the post are some birthday eats, but I wanted to share my favorite treats first.  My actual birth DAY was fabulous – I was totally overwhelmed by the comments on this post and on Instagram.  If you get a chance, look back at everyone’s “lessons learned” in the post comments.  So much wisdom!

I had a wonderful dinner with my family, including my best friend who is basically my sister.  We missed my Portland sister though!

Mallory, me, Mom, and Madison

Mallory, me, Mom, and Madison

 

Mom nailed the gift department – I told her not to buy clothes or anything.  There’s not much I need… but I wouldn’t turn down a little Napa spending money.  She made that happen in a rockstar way.

Nothing says “I love you” like cash credit!

 

Just when I thought the night couldn’t get better, I received this gem from Lauren.  Lauren’s fur babies, to be more precise.

Does it get any cuter?!

________________________________________________________________________________________

This WIAW is actually what I ate on my birthday.  I had some favorites, and some indulgences.  It was exactly as it should be on one’s 30th  birthday.

WIAWbutton

Read on for my celebration eats, and then check out Jenn’s link up for everyone else’s delicious days.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Breakfast:

My morning cocktail (apple cider vinegar, water, Glutamine, and Fitmixer Aminos) was served martini-style in honor of my birthday.  Who doesn’t want to start their 30th year out with a draaaank?

Morning-tini

Morning-tini

 

This is an old favorite.  I don’t know why it’s been so long since I’ve made PB & Ceggs, but it’s what I wanted for my birthday.  This is the perfect time of year to make it because the carrots are so sweet and juicy!

This is the version with an egg scramble, not the tofu in the linked recipe.  It’s good both ways though!  Even better with sprinkles:

PB & Ceggs

 

Lunch:

This was a desperation meal.  I leave for Napa today and I knew I’d be eating out for a couple of meals due to birthday celebrations so I didn’t do my usual grocery trip.  Bring on the canned tuna!

This mix is tuna, nutritional yeast, cayenne, cumin, pepper, herbs de provence, turmeric, and balsamic vinegar.  I tossed it with the end of a bag of spinach and ate it with a slice of P28 protein bread… on a ZooPals plate to preserve my youthfulness. 😉

Dinner:

Finally time for my birthday meal!  My mom treated baby sister, my best friend, and me to dinner at Seed Kitchen & Bar.  I was really excited because I got to try a new-to-me fish: Wreckfish.  Wreckfish is like a cross between Sea Bass (my favorite!) and Halibut.

Wreckfish at Seed

We did have to send my dish back (wayyyy overcooked), but on the second round it was perfection.  Our server was nice enough to give me the sides from another special, so I was able to have caramelized brussels and roasted cauliflower on my birthday.  It was a giant plate of my favorite things!

 

Dessert:

Simple and delicious.  As my “cake,” I ordered a fresh-baked and slightly undercooked chocolate chunk skillet cookie a la mode.  Mom and baby sis were allowed one bite each. 😉

Birthday skillet cookie

***

I forgot to take a picture of the 3 cards I received at dinner.  All were related to boobs.  Way to go, Family! 😉

Have you ever tried Wreckfish?

What is your favorite thing to eat on your birthday?  

 

Weekend Update + WIAW

By

I get behind in my over-sharing.

Thank god for Instagram!

There has been a lot going on lately that I’ve just run out of time to blog about!  Hump Day seems the perfect time for a download.

I’ve been getting some good runs in (between all the summer storms).  This is taken on the GA Tech campus.  Saturday marked 5 years since my dad died.  Without intention, I found myself heading to his alma mater for a run.

It was nice to run by all the places we used to walk past on game days and relive some of my own memories from grad school.  The rain didn’t hold off for long – about 5 mins after I took this pic the sky turned black and it started pouring.

GA Tech

Sunday I met some of my favorite Atlanta bloggers for lunch at Dough Bakery, my favorite local vegan spot.  That’s (very pregnant) Alayna, Tina, Lee, me, and Heather.  Heather is former Atlanta blogger… she left us for Colorado. 😛

I always have so much fun with these ladies.  We talked and ate for a long time before I had to run back home to get ready for dinner.  That’s right  – I said run.  I ran a total of 6.65 miles there and back thanks to Atlanta’s new Beltline trail!  I’m lucky my friends would be seen with me sweaty and dressed like a bum.

Atlanta Bloggers

The dinner I was running home to was at one of Atlanta’s best new restaurants: King + Duke.  I’m too lazy to write  full review, but let me just say… if you are in ATL or are coming to visit make a reservation.  So.  Good.

Their wine program is excellent, which you know makes me happy, and the food is even better.  Don’t skip the roasted beet and carrots with feta and harissa, the roasted bone marrow with smoked mushrooms, blackberries, and short rib marmalade, and the “Dates & Ale” (a fantastic sticky toffee pudding with Sweetwater IPA cream).

Marrow at King + Duke ATL

Meat butter

________________________________________________________________________________________

This WIAW was less indulgent than this weekend.  Thank god.  I love going out to eat, but whoa.  I was dragging on Monday after eating half my meals out over the weekend.  I jumped back on the healthy eating train with reckless abandon.

WIAWbutton

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

________________________________________________________________________________________

Breakfast:

My morning cocktail (apple cider vinegar, water, Glutamine, and Fitmixer Aminos) was of course the start to my day.

If you follow me on Instagram you saw that I have a mini crisis: my air conditioning quit working.  I live in the South.  It is HOT.  I was really glad I thought ahead and made a nice, cool breakfast: overnight oats!

This bowl is a little different because I combined a few protein sources.  The oats, cottage cheese, and protein powder made for the most deliciously creamy bowl of cheesecake-like oats I’ve ever had!

Blueberry Cheesecake Overnight Oats

Blueberry Cheesecake Overnight Oats

  • 1/4 C oats (I use Bob’s Red Mill GF)
  • 1/4 C cottage cheese
  • 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1 T peanut flour
  • 1 tsp chia seeds
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ginger
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • Blueberries
  • Stevia, to taste
  • 1/2 C almond milk (or other liquid)

Combine everything in a bowl, cover, and place in fridge overnight.

Remove from fridge in morning.  You may need to add additional liquid, especially if you choose to heat it.

Top as desired and enjoy!

Note: I order my peanut flour from iHerb – I like it better than PB2 because it is less processed and doesn’t have the added sugar and sodium.  Use my discount code – USO924 – for $5-10 off your order!

Mid-Morning Snack:

I love making random mixes with no salt deli turkey.  Often I do fruit, but today I had some celery to use up.  I broke up the turkey and mixed it with nutritional yeast, cayenne, pepper, herbs de provence, and apple cider vinegar.  Then I chopped up my celery (and some of the celery leaves) and stirred that in.

Deli turkey salad

Lunch:

I’m getting low on groceries, so I had to bust out the emergency veggie burger.  If you’re going to eat frozen food, the Lightlife burgers are pretty tasty.

Eaten with spinach salad, celery, kabocha, and a quick dressing made from spinach hummus, apple cider vinegar, cumin, and red pepper flakes.  Yes, I spent time “plating” this at work.  People stared.

Lightlife veggie burger salad

Mid-Afternoon Snack:

This was fancy-looking, but I’d made it the day before.  Baked swordfish in a foil pocket with veggies and Indian spices.  It was fast and the clean up was easy – just throw away the foil!

I posted the recipe here on Facebook if you’re interested.

Indian Baked Swordfish

Dinner:

Did I mention my A/C is broken?  It was 85 degrees and humid in my condo.  I couldn’t think of a single thing to eat for dinner because I was SO hot.  So I got creative.

Egg pizza.  The idea was to cook the egg in a big pan so it would be thin like a pizza crust, then top it and finish in the oven under the broiler.  It would have been perfect had a greased the middle of the pan a little better.  It stuck.  No worries… I just ate it out of the pan.  Less dishes to wash!

egg pizza

My toppings: broccolini, edamame, tomato, spinach, and ricotta salata.  It was really good!  Will try it again, this time properly greased to get onto a plate.

Midnight Snack:

I ate some snacks at my mom’s… she made a quiche and had these yummy chocolate-salted nut things from Trader Joes… but it was just bites and when I got home I still needed a little something.

Despite the heat, I wanted cake (when do I NOT want cake?).  I made my favorite 150 Calorie Chocolate Microwave Cake, topped it with a peanut flour “icing,” and served it with a side of cookies and cream Arctic Zero.  And a little Stevia-sweetened Smuckers strawberry jam… it went really well with the peanut butter icing!

150 calorie chocolate cake

***

In less than I week I turn 30.  And I identify with just about all of these 30 Signs You’re Almost 30.  My mom likes to remind me of #19.

What do you eat when it’s too hot to eat?

Do you make and effort to have your food look pretty at work?  It’s so much nicer than eating out of tupperware!  This should probably be added to the signs you’re almost 30…

Back to the Gym + WIAW

By

Patience is a virtue.  

 

That’s what I keep trying to tell myself.

Monday I was cleared by my surgeon to begin light exercise.  Good thing because I had already scheduled an appointment with my trainer for that night.  😉

Going back to working out after surgery (or any long break) is humbling.  I started with a leg extension weight 100 lbs lighter than I did 3 weeks ago.

first workout

 

We did a lot of lower body – mostly body weight stuff – and then 2 isolated bicep and 2 isolated tricep exercises.  It was really light, but I realized I’d have to go slow… especially when the twins got hot and swelled up.  It was crazy!

I’m going to do something similar on my own today.  Being careful.  It’s really hard knowing what I could do before, and seeing how much I lost in my arms in such a short time.  BUT it’s not forever.  I got there before, and I can do it again.  *deep breaths*

________________________________________________________________________________________

This WIAW was fun for me because I was actually hungry from working out!  It’s a totally different feeling than regular hunger, one I didn’t fully appreciate before!

wiaw sensible snacking button

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

________________________________________________________________________________________

Breakfast:

My morning cocktail (apple cider vinegar, water, Glutamine, and Fitmixer Aminos) was of course the start to my day.

For my meal I wanted something sweet… but I also wanted a runny egg.  Remembering my favorite Waffle House meal, I decided to try something similar (but much healthier) at home – french toast topped with a runny egg!  I also added some warmed blueberries and toasted coconut.

Who needs syrup when you have #yolkporn?

French toast with runny egg syrup

 

Mid-Morning Snack:

No Salt deli turkey and an orange.  I ate these with my fingers while I bottled my latest batch of kombucha.  I was trying to get out the door for my first run post-surgery… ain’t nobody got time for silverware!

The curry leaves in the background went into a kombucha bottle with some of the orange.

 

I was running to get my race number for Thursday’s Peachtree Road Race.  It’s the world’s largest 10K and I was cleared by the doctor to run/walk it since it’s actually going to be cool outside thanks to the deluge of rain we’re getting.  The expo is only 2.5 miles from my place, so it was an easy jog, followed by a long break to browse the expo and buy new shoes before 2.5 miles back (shoes in hand).

Newton running shoes

New Newtons!

 

Lunch:

It was NOT cool yesterday.  Boob sweat is a whole new thing… whoa.

By the time I got back all I wanted for lunch was a smoothie bowl.  Big, green, and topped with muesli, this hit the spot while I sat on the couch icing the twins.  Almost remembered the pic too late!

Banana-Butterscotch Green Protein Smoothie Bowl

In my bowl:

  • Protein powder
  • Spinach
  • Zucchini
  • Butterscotch extract
  • Banana extract
  • Stevia
  • Ice + Water

 

Mid-Afternoon Snack:

Does anyone else have to think before they type kabocha vs. kombucha?  Kabocha is what I had for snack.  I have pre-roasted it in cubes, but I like to do a second roast to re-heat and crisp it up.  Before the 2nd roast I tossed it in cocoa powder, cinnamon, ginger, and cayenne (my favorite flavor combo).

cocoa-cinnamon roasted kabocha with peanut sauce

 

The sauce is my go-to: peanut flour, unsweetened almond milk, cinnamon, a couple drops of vanilla liquid stevia, and a splash of almond extract.

Note: I order my peanut flour from iHerb – I like it better than PB2 because it is less processed and doesn’t have the added sugar and sodium.  Use my discount code – USO924 – for $5-10 off your order!

 

Dinner:

This is what happens when I get bored.  I made a dinner requiring more thought than usual.  People comment that sometimes my meals seem elaborate or strange… but they typically don’t take very long and I prepare certain foods similarly.  Last night I tried something new-ish and inspired by a treat in the mail from Skinny Noodles (soy-free shirataki):

Skinny Noodle

 

The item I couldn’t wait to try was the rice.  I dislike rice… but non-rice?  That I can get on board with!  I never said I was normal.  The “rice” is really more like Israeli couscous… but that’s a plus in my book.

Tip when using shirataki: make sure you rinse it really, really well and follow the instructions to heat it in the microwave to get rid of the funk (it smells fishy when you open the package).

What I came up with was a herbed rice with veggies, which I topped with salmon.  It was really, really good.  One of those meals you make for yourself and then get a little sad there’s no one else there to taste it!

Salmon and rosemary shirataki noodles

There’s not real recipe – I didn’t measure anything – but here are the ingredients:

Cardamom Salmon

  • Salmon
  • Cardamom (just a little)
  • Cayenne
  • Black pepper
  • Lemon
  • Rice Vinegar
  • Red onion
  • Garlic
  • 1 drop orange liquid stevia
  • Fresh rosemary
  • Baked at 450 for 12 mins
  • Fresh curry leaves

 

Shirataki Rice

  • Red onion
  • Garlic
  • Fresh rosemary
  • Lemon juice
  • Red pepper
  • Zucchini
  • Cayenne
  • Ground ginger
  • Black pepper
  • Ginger
  • 1 serving “rice” (added after veggies sautéed)
  • 2 tsp nutritional yeast (added at end to thicken)

 

Dessert:

This is one of my all-time favorites to end the day – Carrot Cake Protein Batter.  I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve had one of these.  After surgery I couldn’t use the grater for the carrots, so making my favorite batter wasn’t possible!

Carrot Cake Batter with muesli

I was starving so I loaded up on the toppings: muesli, walnuts, and cacao nibs.  There was also a unpictured scoop of PB. 😉

***

Thank you all so much for the supportive comments on my Instagram and Facebook posts about being able to get back in the gym.  The encouragement means a lot as I (patiently) work my way back.

Don’t forget – one more day to enter the Designer Whey Sustained Energy giveaway!

Have you ever made something so good you were sad not to share it?  What was it?

Are you a victim of the kabocha craze? I propose we rename it Crack Squash.

 

Summer Salads & Summer Mistakes

By

Winner, winner…

 

Chicken dinner!

I mean… FRS Healthy Energy!  A random winner has been selected from Tuesday’s giveaway…

frs winner

Congrats!!!  Send me an email with your address and we’ll get the trial pack out ASAP. 🙂

 

I’m going to keep it short and sweet because I cannot WAIT for you to read Kat’s post today… I hope you love it as much as I did.

BUT first I have to say I am so proud of the Supreme Court overturning DOMA.  This was the scene in ATL today:

Equality ATL

 

And here’s Kat!!!

________________________________________________________________________________________

Summer Salads and Summer Mistakes

 

Sometimes we make mistakes.  You might not know about it right away, but then it bites you in the ass later.  Sometimes literally.

Find Yourself

 

Many of you who read my posts frequently know that I am an avid trail runner.  Many of the reasons for trail running involve self-exploration and challenging yourself.  Many times it’s to find answers and get some therapy.

Really, it’s the one of the only ways I really know how to “work out” all the emotional/psychological stuff that comes my way.

I really, honestly believe this.

I really, honestly believe this.

 

Other times you find yourself on a trail, learning things the hard way… like when you wipe with poison ivy.  Yes, that happened!  On the beautiful Pinhoti Trail, near Dalton, GA.

I have been suffering with poison ivy, and going to numerous doctors to embarrassingly reveal the damage.

Pinhoti

Pinhoti

Just a preview of these awesome trails!

Just a preview of these awesome trails!

 

While my itchy body heals, I’m learning to laugh through painful situations that resulted from a very very very silly/stupid mistake.

(I’m sparing you the pictures, but I really wanted to post some! haha!)  Editor’s note: I saw the pics… they were nasty and NSFW.  LOL!

Your Body

_______________________________________________________________________________________ 

In the meantime, as I plug along with bar review, I have been experimenting with some fun summer recipes, and I have two for you today!

 

The first is so easy I didn’t think to post about it at first, but it’s a fabulous easy, cheap recipe.

It’s extremely refreshing!  It only lasts about 3 days in the fridge, but is especially good the first two days!  It’s a great snack or accompaniment to any meal.  I think it even can serve as a healthy dessert!

Melon Salad

Summer Melon Cucumber Salad

  • 1 Organic Honeydew Melon
  • 1 Pint Organic Grape Tomatoes
  • 1.5 Organic Cucumber
  • 4 Sprigs of Mint
  • 1-2 Tbsp mild Olive Oil
  • 1 Lime
  • 1 Diced Jalapeño (optional)
  • Pinch of Salt

 

Cut the melon into cubes, cut the tomatoes in half, chop the mint, squeeze the lime, and toss it all together!

_____________________________________________________________________________________

 

The second recipe I want to share is the Hazelnut Curry Goat Cheese Balls that I made for Laura her first day home after surgery.  (Editor’s note – this was AMAZING and I have Kat to thank for new-found my raw corn love.)

Dinner For Laura

I tried it again a couple of days later, and it was just as good.

The whole meal only takes about 30 minutes to both prep, cook, and serve.

 

FinishedProd1

Hazelnut Curry Goat Cheese Balls

  • 6 oz goat cheese
  • 1/8 cup Hazelnut meal
  • 1/8 cup premade Thai Curry Almond Seasoning*
  • 1.5 Tbsp Coconut Oil
  • Salad Ingredients

 

*Admittedly I bought the curry seasonings at Whole Foods, but you could easily make this yourself.  I would actually recommend it, because the seasoning alone is a little salty.  The curry seasoning contains almond meal, Thai yellow curry spices, dehydrated garlic, and dehydrated onion.   

6_27-Prep1

 

Preheat the oven to about 425.

Mix equal parts the curry seasoning with hazelnut meal.

Scoop 1-1.5 inch balls of goat cheese and press it into the mixture, and form a ball with as much seasoning as possible.

Place on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Repeat until you have made as many balls as you want!

Lastly, drizzle melted coconut oil on the pan and rolled the balls in the coconut oil.

Bake 12-15 minutes until they are brown.  Don’t worry if they aren’t hard right away.

 Prep3-Avocados

When I was at Laura’s, she also thought the avocados would taste good in the mixture, so I coated a few avocados and tossed them on the pan with the goat cheese.


FinishedProd1

 

Serve on a summer salad.  I think they pair best with arugula, dried cherries, fresh corn, and tomatoes.  I also topped mine with some avocado, a little olive oil, and used the rest of the seasoning as a topping!

The combination of textures and flavors was fresh, fun, and something you can definitely rinse and repeat more than once in the same week!

***

I’m still stuck on Kat’s poison ivy mishap… I can’t even imagine!!!  I saw pics… please send her healing thoughts!

What mistakes have you laughed about lately?

What is your favorite go-to summer salad recipe?

 

Red Velvet Chia Cheesecake + WIAW

By

Summer is here in earnest.

Convenient since I’m not supposed to get hot.

I am a sun baby, so not being able to be outside playing makes me sad.  The follow-up with the surgeon is July 1st… I have a leg day scheduled with my trainer that night.  If the Dr. doesn’t clear me to do it, I may cry.  Restlessness is in FULL force.  I do take walks, but have to be careful to keep them to the early morning or late evening when it’s (supposedly) cooler.

On my walks I have learned it’s impossible to “act natural” while taking pics of yourself along a busy street.

A few (more) fun post-augmentation updates:

  1. Shaving your armpits is really, really hard when the girls are in the way.  Hopefully this will get easier as they drop… there was a forest growing there until yesterday morning.  Gross, I know.
  2. I can now drive a car comfortably – at first I knew that if I had to make a fast maneuver I was a goner.  I was very, very careful.
  3. A lady at the mall looked right at the twins.  Their first stare.  Awwww!
  4. Getting dressed is interesting.  At time its frustrating because don’t look right while I’m still “settling,” but this weekend I was really excited to be able to wear 3 tops I (stupidly) bought and never wore because I lacked the chest to keep the tops from sliding down and showing my bra.
  5. Insomnia has returned.  I had it bad in my younger days, but once I started working out that changed.  I guess I wore myself out!  Now that I’m “resting” I’m just NOT sleepy.  Also, I can no longer sleep on my stomach which makes it harder to fall asleep.

This WIAW marks my first day back in the office post-surgery.  I actually was working last Monday, but there was NO was I could get dressed and be in an office all day.  Thankfully, being a consultant means it’s really easy to do your job from anywhere – including the couch.

wiaw sensible snacking button

Read on for my post-surgery eats, and then check out Jenn’s link up for everyone else’s snack-y ideas.

 

Breakfast:

My morning cocktail (apple cider vinegar, water, Glutamine, and Fitmixer Aminos) remains a staple.  I’ve taken to adding a shake of cayenne too.  Because I’m hard-core.

I took my walk in the early morning coolness.  Walking should be relaxing, but really all I could think about was breakfast.  Inspired by Kammie’s guest post last week, I decided to turn Red Velvet Cake into a breakfast item.  In the form of a cheesecake bowl.

Red Velvet Chia Cheesecake bowl

I found beet powder at Whole Foods which gave this its red tint.  If you can’t find that, you can use beet puree or simply omit it (Red Velvet cake is just cocoa cake with red food coloring anyway).

This high-protein, low carb, sugar-free bowl of cheesy cake is guaranteed to put a smile on your face to start the day.  I’ve had it 2 days in a row.  I used cottage cheese to cream it up, but Greek yogurt would work too.  Make it vegan by using almond or coconut yogurt!

Mid-Morning Snack:

I love my seafood and fruit combos.  This was salmon baked with lemon juice and fresh rosemary, then mixed with blueberries and red pepper flakes.  Sweet with a little heat and hint of citrus.

Salmon and blueberries

Lunch:

Meal prep Sundays make it possible to bring food that my coworkers openly stare at.  I was asked to explain what everything on my plate was, and then was told I bring “elaborate” foods.  I was flattered.

Doesn’t everyone eat spinach shirataki noodles topped with ground turkey, broccoli slaw, and a sauce of nutritional yeast, spices, and apple cider vinegar?  No?

Shirataki, turkey, and broccoli slaw

Mid-Afternoon Snack:

I ordered these Keto Slim bars from iHerb.com after reading the good reviews they received.  I’m pretty pleased!  the sodium is a bit high (200mg), but the sugar is low (2g) and it contains 21g of protein!

It does have sugar alcohols.  I don’t watch that too closely (it’s pretty rare I eat processed foods), but if you have problems with them you won’t want this bar.  It also has fun stuff like almonds, spirulina, kelp, and beets greens!

KETOSlim

Note: iHerb is also where I get my peanut flour and a lot of fun extracts/vitamins/random other things.  Use my discount code – USO924 – for $5-10 off your order!

Dinner:

It was a long day at work.  I struggle with one co-worker in particular and it was a major source of stress today.  I wanted a drink.  To sooth my nerves, I made pizza and took a twilight walk. 

Crab Cauliflower Crust Pizza

The pizza crust was my cheese-less cauliflower recipe.  For a sauce I mixed together beer mustard, nutritional yeast, cayenne, and liquid smoke.

To top it, I sautéed onion and garlic, and wilted some arugula briefly at the end.  I put than on the crust with crab and my sauce.  Back in the oven to warm before adding cilantro and a drizzle of fig balsamic glaze to finish it.

Gluten free cheeseless cauliflower pizza crust

You can pick it up and eat it by the slice!

It looks like a lot of effort, but I had dinner on the table in under 30 mins.  AND I made a second crust to keep in the freezer.  Who needs store-bought frozen pizza?!

Dessert:

Still wanting to treat my nerves, I broke out my Quest bar stash!  I cut half a Chocolate Brownie bar into squares and baked it on a piece of parchment paper at 350 for 12 mins.  I added a schmear of peanut butter to each bite before adding them to part 2 of my dessert.

Part 2 was a bowl of cinnamon–raspberry cottage cheese.  I mixed no salt cottage cheese, cinnamon, almond extract, vanilla Stevia, and mashed raspberries together in a bowl.  Then I microwaved it for ~15 seconds to warm it a bit.

cinnamon-raspberry cottage cheese bowl with baked quest bar

Yes, I’m on a cottage cheese bender.

Red Velvet Chia Cheesecake

Red Velvet Chia Cheesecake

  • 1/2 C no salt cottage cheese
  • 1/4 C almond milk
  • 1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder
  • 1 T chia seeds
  • 1 T cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp beet powder
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 8-10 drops vanilla stevia

In a small bowl, mix all ingredients together.  Cover and place in the fridge overnight (or at least an hour).

In the morning, remove from fridge and stir again.  If too thick, you may add more milk.

Enjoy!

***

Don’t forget! Click here to enter the giveaway for a FRS Healthy Energy trial kit.  Winner announced tomorrow. 🙂

Do you have to wear yourself out in order to go to sleep?

What is your favorite protein bar?  Did you try Kammie’s Red Velvet Bars from last week?

Marvelous Piña Mezcalita

By

Smokey booze is fun.

Ok, all booze is fun.

My friend Karen was nice enough to invite me to a little Mexican-themed dinner party last week.  I think there was a basketball game on too… but that’s of little interest to me.  Is it football season yet?!

Mexican dinner

Mom taught me never to show up empty-handed, so I brought one of my favorite summer salads – Watermelon Cotija.  With its salty cheese, sweet melon, and a little bite from onion and jalapeno, I think it qualifies as #strangebutgood.

BUT being creative in the kitchen doesn’t have to stop with food.  You need libations to go with it!  Margaritas are the natural pairing with Mexican… that’s a little too normal for me.

Piña Mezcalita

What I came up with is a sort of pineapple margarita, but rather than tequila, I used its smokier cousin Mezcal.  Like tequila, mezcal is made from agave.  It differs in that for mezcal the agave is usually roasted in rock-lined pits, which give it a fantastic smokiness.  I like to say that it’s Mexico’s version of scotch.

In this mezcalita, the flavor is balanced with sweet grilled pineapple and a lightly sweetened limeade.  I like a boozier drink, but if you like yours on the sweeter side you can add agave or even some orange juice. You can also just use tequila if you don’t like smoke. 🙂

We did eat something other than the salad and the drink!  Karen grilled chicken, peppers, and onions in a fantastic homemade cilantro sauce.  It was delicious with her sides of Mexican rice, beans, guacamole, salsa, corn tortillas, and cheese.

You never leave Karen’s house hungry.  And that, my friends, is marvelous.

Marvelous Monday

Check out Katie’s link up to see what else is marvelous on this Monday!

Piña Mezcalita

Piña Mezcalita

  • 1 pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1″ slices
  • 1 jalapeño, sliced
  • ¼ cup cilantro leaves
  • 2 C mezcal
  • 15 oz limeade (I used Odwalla)
  • 1/2 C lime juice
  • Optional: agave syrup or other sweetener

First, grill the pineapple.  Heat a nonstick grill pan over high heat, or heat an outdoor charcoal or gas grill to high. Place the pineapple slices flat on the grill, and cook, flipping once, until charred on both sides (~4 mins). Remove from pan and let cool completely.

Place the grilled pineapple, jalapeño, and cilantro in a pitcher.  Using a muddler or wooden spoon, crush fruit and herbs until broken down.

Fill with ice, and then add mezcal, lime juices, and syrup (if using).  Stir well and pour into glasses filled with ice, to serve.

***

I know that’ first shot isn’t the breast best pic… did you catch the one I posted on Facebook this weekend?

Did your parents teach you to never show up as a guest empty-handed?

Have you ever had mezcal?  What is your favorite Mexican food or drink?

Post-Surgery Surprises + WIAW

By

I’m baaaack!

You missed me, right?!

Just over a week after surgery, I’m feeling more “normal” (in my own, #strangebutgood way) and the swelling is starting to go down.  They say some people freak out at first, but – thanks to many of you and some good friends – I had a good idea of what to expect post-surgery.

That’s not to say there weren’t some surprises…

5 Post-Surgery Surprises

1. All modesty will go out the window.  You will not care that you are naked in the shower at your mom’s house and she is (gently) scrubbing the surgeon’s pen marks off of your chest.

Proof that mamma doesn’t mind – she gifted me with a little boobie prize. 🙂

Victoria's Secret

2. Using a knife is impossible.  I can cut most* things now, but at first I couldn’t apply enough pressure to cut a pear.

*I still cannot cut the kabocha squash taunting me on the counter

3. Surgery and/or anesthesia does a number on your digestive system.  My muscles were so tight it took an effort to pee.  And let’s not even talk about the issues with going #2.

stopped up

4. Not being able to stretch your arms is torture, particularly after being propped up on a couch for days.

5.  The boobs will not be a normal shape.  I knew this and didn’t really freak out (thanks in part to the pain meds).  They have to settle.  No matter who warns you of this, it’s still bizarre the first time you see them.

This snack-themed WIAW is dedicated to post-surgery eats.  Another observation to add would be my appetite.  I have NEVER experienced a loss of interest in food.  When I’m happy, I eat.  When I’m depressed, I eat.  When I’m bored, I eat.  When I have surgery… I don’t care to eat.  Instead, I snacked.

wiaw sensible snacking button

Read on for my post-surgery eats, and then check out Jenn’s link up for everyone else’s snack-y ideas.

Morning Snacks:

This was eaten just because I had to take my medicine.  Bribe me with pain pills the day after surgery and I’ll find something to eat!  I mixed almond milk with half a scoop of vanilla protein powder and cinnamon, added multi-grain Cheerios, and topped with sliced peach.

protein cereal

Greek yogurt did taste good to me.  I finished off a container of Fage mixed with cinnamon and vanilla liquid stevia.  Topped with delicious spring blueberries and cereal crumbles.

Fage greek yogurt bowl

When you are stir crazy and just can’t get excited for breakfast, a good alternative is to walk to your local coffee shop (relax Mom, it was only 2 blocks) for an Americano and some light-hearted Wall Street Journal reading.

Coffee and newspaper

Later in the Day Snacks:

Greens are good for you.  I tried to get my fill of the fresh stuff, and add protein where I could!

This salad was baby kale topped with no-salt deli turkey and nutritional yeast.  Side of heirloom tomato and basil, shredded butternut squash salad (thank you, Whole Paycheck), and blackberries.

fresh veggies

More salad with kale, turkey, butternut, and tomato.  This time I added avocado and pineapple (good for inflammation!).

I also sprinkled lemon juice, pepper, red pepper flakes, and cumin on top for flavor.

salad with pineapple

That thing about not wanting food?  I take that back.  I always want #yolkporn.

On my first day home I grabbed a Tempeh Mole Muffin from the freezer and topped it with a delicious local egg.  Eaten with a side if cucumber slices.

Tempeh Mole Muffin and egg yolk porn

The nice people The Good Bean at sent me some roasted chickpeas to try out.  I sampled them all… most were a bit salty  (I prefer to make my own roasted chickpeas), but I really liked the cinnamon flavor!  They also sent a few of their fruit and no-nut bars, of which I loved the chocolate (surprise, surprise).

The Good Bean

Actual Meals:

I was really proud of myself on Sunday night – I cooked dinner for Mom and me all by myself!  I started rattling off my meal idea to Mom and her reaction was “Have you ever made that before?”  I said no… but doesn’t it sound GOOD?  #strangebutgood

What resulted was a sort of fried rice.  Except I used spaghetti squash instead of the rice, and topped the whole thing with sea bass (that wasn’t exactly cooked by me… it was leftovers).  I started by sautéing some pre-cut veggies – red pepper, leeks, asparagus, and zucchini.  Then I added the spaghetti squash, and then the eggs.  Mix it together, plate, and top with sea bass!  Easy. 🙂

Fried spaghetti squash

The other “real” meal I ate was on my first night home.  Kat (who blogs here every other Thursday), came over and made me a delicious meal!  She made perfect shrimp and served it over a fresh salad of mache lettuce, avocado, raw corn, and cherry tomatoes.

It was all great, but The real star was her baked goat cheese balls (balls!).  She simply formed a ball of soft goat cheese, rolled it in a mix of hazelnut flour and curry spice, and baked it.  I don’t know if she’ll post her exact recipe next week (Kat???), but I’m going to have her write it out for me at least!

shrimp salad

We also enjoyed it with a shared bottle of rosè.  My first wine in over a week.  Sweet nectar of the gods.

A Treat:

Mom surprised me with fro-yo!  Chocolate and strawberry topped with coconut shreds… we added the blueberries and cacao nibs at home.  Holla at being cheap saving money!

Pinkberry yogurt

***

I seriously considered posting a pic that shows how swollen and high the twins were… everything was covered… but that mayyyy be too far even for me.  More appropriate pics will come when things calm down.  😉

Have you ever lost interest in food?

Do you ever bring your fro-yo home to add toppings yourself?  I thought this was a brilliant move by my mom!

Strange But Good: Strawberry-Tomato Salsa

By

I will never refer to this surgery as #strangebutgood.

The results, yes.  Surgery, no.

I am very grateful to Amalia for picking up the strange torch this week while I eat food that is strange to me – plain (“normal”) foods.  Thanks to Momma for keeping me fed!

This wasn’t planned, but Amalia even jumped on my strawberry obsession with this creation!  I can’t wait to try her Strawberry Salsa out when I’m back in the kitchen.  Maybe over a salad?  With bacon…  😉

_________________________________________________________________________________

Hi everyone!  My name is Amalia and I blog over at Live, Travel, Eat, and Run.

Today I’m excited to be contributing to Laura’s Strange But Good series. This idea came to me on my run this morning.  I had strawberries, tomatoes, an onion, and an avocado left in the house and needed to do something with them for lunch!

Strawberry-Tomato Salsa 2

I love all of those foods; I just would never think to put them all together. As soon as I did, my salsa creation was born.

I am not a cook, and usually can’t pull dinner together in time. However, this was an exception to the rule and I’m proud of how it turned out!

Strawberry-Tomato Salsa

Strawberry-Tomato Salsa with Avocado & Mint 

  • 1 container baby or grape tomatoes
  • 1 pint strawberries
  • 1/2 C red onion
  • 1/4 C fresh mint leaves
  • 1 lime
  • 2 T balsamic vinegar
  • 1 avocado

Chop up the tomatoes and strawberries as fine as you want for your salsa (I like ‘em chunky) and toss them in a big bowl. Then, dice the red onion and add it to the pile.

Gracefully (or not so gracefully on my part) rip or tear or cut your mint leaves until they’re tiny and throw them in as well.

Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice over your mix and add the 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar. Stir and you have your salsa! It keeps well in the fridge for a few days.

When you’re ready to eat it, chop up an avocado and place on top or stir in. I don’t mix in the avocado right away since it doesn’t keep as well in the fridge and gets all mushy.

 

I just love the sweetness of the strawberries mixed with the tang of the mint and the acidity of the tomatoes and onion!  Enjoy with tortilla chips or on a salad.

Strawberry-Tomato Salsa 1

Modify:  Like it spicy? Add a jalapeno (I hate spicy).

Modify: Like cilantro? Throw it in! I’m sure it would be a great addition. I just dislike the taste of cilantro so furiously.

Modify: Not a vegan? Melt some cheese on top. Strawberries and cheese are just another strange but good combination you can try!

Enjoy!  And feel free to come visit me on my website , Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest!

__________________________________________________________________________________

 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. 🙂


***

Thanks to everyone again for all the support (get it?  bra… support… 😉 ).  Come back for a marvelous ball-related post on Monday!

Do you like a fruity salsa?  

What is your favorite plain food when you’re not feeling well?

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!