Weekend Warrior

November 4, 2013 By Laura

Who said weekends are for rest?

Thought let’s be honest – I appreciated the extra hour.

Weekend warrior-ing has been my M.O. in the past, but in recent years my warrior-style has changed. These days it’s all about productivity. Rest is a good thing… and I did rest from job-related activities. The work I did was fun to me!

I spent fun time in the kitchen making 72 of my Sweet Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins to take to a men’s shelter for a chili dinner. It was fun to do – I love baking for others!

Saturday my cousin (the one I did the adventure race with) treated me to a pre-game sideline tour of the Georgia Tech field and seats to the Homecoming game. We are all huge Tech fans in my family; I grew up going to games with my dad. It was a big treat to watch the team warm up on the field.

Those guys are HUGE!

Can you tell we’re related?

We were gone all evening, so I had to smuggle in food in my purse. Turkey roll-ups, anyone?

My 20-year-old self is making fun of me for sneaking in heath food rather than whiskey. 😉

Saturday and Sunday both included workouts. I love when you get to the week before competition – it’s added motivation knowing it’s your last workout for each muscle group. This time next week I’ll be done with my 3rd figure competition and less than a week out from my 4th in Denver with Heather!

The Breakfast Club got me through my cardio – I even stayed an extra 5 mins to hear the closing monologue. Then I had to take of pic of the Famous Amos bag on the locker room floor… I resisted the urge to check and see if there were any cookies left and went for a photo shoot instead.

You see us as you want to see us: in the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions…

Sunday Funday concluded with a trip to my favorite international farmers market! It’s always a crowded on a weekend afternoon, but I put on my ninja socks and kicked it.

Of course I bought plenty of lean protein and asparagus for my final week of prep, but I also scored with super cheap pomegranate! I refrained from the avocado drink mix, but had to get a pic as proof that my favorite #strangebutgood protein shake add isn’t THAT weird.

Other highlights included the kabocha squash Thai curry they were sampling… let’s pretend I didn’t take a bite... and a new-to-me fish. The Parrot Fish was too pretty not to try! I had them fillet it for me before taking it home. Can’t wait to make dinner with it tonight!

Sunday night I realized I hadn’t sat down all day long. I get it honest – my mom is the same way. Some might prefer a more laid back weekend, but I am not happy unless my hair is on fire. It’s pretty marvelous.

***

There are, of course, exceptions. I’m going to have a full, restful weekend to recover from back-to-back shows. Anyone want to come over for chocolate cake and red wine? 😉

Have you ever heard of Parrot Fish? Any preparation suggestions?

Do you prefer a super-active weekend or a restful one? What are your to-dos on your days off?

Halloween Pumpkin Roast

October 31, 2011 By Laura

Halloween is the perfect day for roasting pumpkin.

Touchdown!!! (John Bazemore/AP Photo)

Before I get into that tastiness, I need to talk a little football. In addition to being Halloween weekend, it was a HUGE football weekend. Georgia Tech‘s Homecoming game was against the undefeated Clemson Tigers. Tech won pretty 31-17, making me one happy girl Saturday night. 🙂

_________________________________________________________________________________

Every fall people go crazy over the return of canned pumpkin to grocery store shelves. While the canned stuff is good (and convenient), it doesn’t hold a candle to homemade pumpkin puree.

Don’t use your jack-o-laterns for this.

Recycling is good, but those are different pumpkins. What you want to use is the smaller Sugar Pie Pumpkin, which has a sweeter, softer flesh. They can be found at most grocery stores.

Gutted and ready to roast

Yes, it is slightly more time-consuming than opening a can. The end result is well worth it. There is just something about the flavor and the texture that is much, much better. It will take your pumpkin pies and breads to a new level of delicious.

Post-Roast Pumpkin

You’ll notice a huge difference when using it for non-baking purposes too. I love mixing it in my Greek yogurt, smoothies, and pasta dishes.

Some people lick batter out of bowls… I may have done something similar with this pumpkin skin.

Yesterday I even mixed my pumpkin puree with coconut milk and cayenne and used it as a marinade for my tempeh before pan-frying it. Lunch doesn’t get more fall than that!

Pumpkin-encrusted tempeh salad

The puree can be portioned and frozen for later use (if you don’t eat it all at once). Pumpkin muffins year-round!

Pumpkin puree

The puree is decadent. Fresh pumpkin contains more moisture than canned, making the texture absolutely fabulous. You won’t be able to resist sprinkling some cinnamon and nutmeg on it for a mid-morning snack.

Perfect post-photo shoot snack

Don’t forget to save the seeds for roasting!

________________________________________________________________________________

It wasn’t a bad fitness week. Thank you all for your well-wishes regarding my injury. I did make the call not to run my portion of the relay. It was a tough decision, but I just literally couldn’t run more even a mile Saturday morning. Now I’m concentrating on healing up and being able to run the Half Marathon on Thanksgiving. I can’t believe its less than a month away!

Workout Recap (10/24-10/30)

Monday – 4 mile run, 6 min plank sequence, 100 push-ups
Tuesday – Biceps/Back, P90X Ab Ripper X, 100 push-ups
Wednesday – 100 push-ups
Thursday – 6 mile run, 100 push-ups
Friday – Triceps/Chest, Ab Ripper X
Saturday – Shoulders/Butt, 45 mins elliptical, 100 push-ups
Sunday – 15 mins abs, 45 mins stationary bike, 100 push-ups

________________________________________________________________________________

Roasted Pumpkin

1 sugar pie pumpkin
olive oil
salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut the pumpkin in half. Scoop out the “guts” (save the seeds to roast later), and then slice each half once to create a total of 4 pieces. Rub the wedges with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet to bake for about an hour (or until tender).

Scoop the meat out of the skins and puree in food processor.

***

Best costume of the weekend: Charlie Sheen with Goddesses.

What was the best costume you saw this weekend (or at work today)?

What food items commonly purchased pre-made do you like to make yourself?

Tough Decisions

October 16, 2010 By Laura

Do you ever make a breakfast so good that you can’t decide what to save for the last bite?

That was my dilemma this morning. I was in the mood for something special – it isn’t often that I have enough time to devote to making a big breakfast.

On the menu: Scrambled Eggs (with a little extra goodness) and Roasted Grapefruit.

For the eggs:

Saute portobellos, asparagus, and onion seasoned to taste with salt and pepper.

For scrambled eggs I use 1 egg and 1 egg white.

Tip: add a little slash of water to your scramble to make eggs more fluffy. Many people add milk, but water fluffs it better!

I served mine on a slice of Ezekiel toast and a bed of arugula.

Then I sprinkled Secret Aardvark habanero sauce on top of everything. My sister brought me this from Portland… it is no joke HOT.

Note to self: a little bit goes a loooong way.

Now for the roasted grapefruit. I have no idea why I don’t make this more often – it is super easy and so delicious!

Sprinkle 1/2 grapefruit with toppings

Roast until edges are browned

Roasted Grapefruit

1/2 Grapefruit

1 tsp Cinnamon Sugar

1/4 tsp Coriander

2-3 Mint leaves

Cut grapefruit out to separate from pith and peel and sprinkle with coriander and cinnamon-sugar mix. Place on foil-lined baking sheet and roast in oven on broil for ~8 mins (until slightly browned around edges). Garnish with chopped mint leaves.

Note: My seasonings are approximations… adjust to your own taste.

Variations: You can do anything with this – top with brown sugar, coconut butter, honey, rose water, cumin for a more savory taste, and/or top with Greek yogurt.

Cheers to easy breakfasts that taste decadent!

I am headed down to the Green Market to pick up my veggies for the week before trekking to Bobby Dodd Stadium. Georgia Tech takes on Middle Tennessee today (hopefully an easy win).

GO JACKETS!!!

Mission: Protein Powder

October 10, 2010 By Laura

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

Go Jackets!

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

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

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

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

Mission: Protein Powder

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

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

Protein galore!

First batter up:

Jay Robb - Strawberry

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

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

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

Berry Overnight Oats

1/4 C Oats

1/2 serving Jay Robb Strawberry Whey Protein powder

1/2 C milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

Goji berries

Blueberries

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

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

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

Weekend Warrior

Halloween Pumpkin Roast

Roasted Pumpkin

Tough Decisions

Roasted Grapefruit

Mission: Protein Powder

Follow Me!

Popular Posts

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!