Sprint 2 the Table

Appetites and Adventures

A Perfect 10

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I am not-so-secretly a teensy bit Type A.

In my head, I hide it well… but no.  

1 more day until Vegas gets here for the holidays.  I Can’t Focus.  So I make lists (you’re not the only one Meghan).  Lists of things to cook, places to take Vegas, items to remember to bring to mom’s for Christmas, errands to run, random tasks to complete before Vegas gets here… it’s all fun to me though.

So today I bring you a list of fun things I’m focusing on to pass the time while waiting for Tuesday.  It’s a perfect 10.  Because I like lists of prime numbers or 10.

1. House Plant’s Mate

Flowers arrive from Vegas on the regular.  Last week’s delivery was a friend for House Plant – Christmas Cactus.  Now we both have mates from the desert.

House Plant's Desert Mate… 

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Strawberry Fields Forever

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Let me take you down…

strawberry fields

Random fact: I listened to The Beatles religiously high school.

I’ve been religiously adding berries to everything lately.  You’ve seen these if you follow me on Instagram, but here’s round up of some marvelous strawberry creations last week.

 

You may have noticed that I love to add fruit to seafood.  Most of the time it’s in the form of a salmon creation
(Like salmon and peaches. Try it.)  Last week I was on a crab bender, and so this salad was born:

Strawberry Crab Salad

Crab and Strawberry Salad

  • Crab meat
  • Strawberries, sliced
  • Basil
  • Balsamic
  • Lime juice
  • Pepper
  • Paprika

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Strawberries are also good for breakfast!  Friday morning I treated myself with a breakfast pizza.  Normally this would involve yolk porn, but I was out.

Instead, I made a creamy spread by blending my cottage cheese, and used bacon and strawberries as toppings.  The kicker was the fig balsamic glaze I’ve been adding to everything.

Strawberry breakfast pizza

Strawberry Breakfast Pizza

  • Flatbread or pizza crust (I used P28)
  • 1/4 C no-salt cottage cheese
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp almond extract
  • 3-4 drops liquid stevia
  • Strawberries
  • Bacon, pre-cooked and broken into “sprinkles”
  • Optional toppings: hemp seeds, cacao nibs, balsamic

 

Top pizza and place in oven under broil for a few mins.  

Sprinkle with hemp seeds, cacao nibs, balsamic… or other toppings of choice!

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Lastly, we must have strawberries on dessert!  My #1 favorite “healthy” dessert is my 150 Calorie Chocolate Cake.  Who knew 2 minutes in the microwave could produce such a perfectly moist individual cake?!  I followed my original recipe, but used mashed sweet potato in place of the apple sauce.  I think I’ll be doing that from now on – it was fabulous!

For the strawberry topping, I simply mashed up some fresh berries in a bowl, added a tiny bit of balsamic, and microwaved it to warm.  The heat juices the berries even more, making for a delicious fruit syrup.

150 calorie chocolate mug cake with strawberries

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One more thing… I’m now a strawberry blonde!  I went lighter for the summer.  Yes, my hair color is seasonal.  Holla at Karen and Lava Hair Studio.

Short red hair

How’s that for a berry Marvelous Monday? Check out all of the Monday Marvels at Katie’s linkup!

Marvelous Monday

***

I have a little announcement tomorrow… I’m a little nervous about it, but I’m all about being real.  Suspense.

What is your favorite way to use strawberries (other than plain)?

Do you change your hair or something about your “look” seasonally?

 

My Last Supper

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I can be so predictable.

 

If only my life could be predictable…

Allie was in town this weekend for a training session with my trainer… excuse me… OUR trainer. 🙂

She came in Friday night and since we are on the same nutrition plan (minus the sodium restriction for her) so I volunteered to make dinner.  Obviously, I made cauliflower crust pizza.

 

 

We had a little pizza-topping party.  Allie’s (in the back) had a veggie burger and asparagus.  Mine (in the front) had tomato sauce, sauteed kale and red pepper, butternut squash, and chicken.

 

And then we went to Whole paycheck Foods where we bought pumpkin hummus.  I also got a kombucha on tap.  Typical bloggers.

 

When we got back home I made PB & Ceggs (Peanut Butter & Carrot Eggs – the vegan tofu version).  I won’t bore you with yet another pic of those.

The next day we woke up and I had what will probably be my last runny egg before my competition before we headed to the gym for a leg session and posing practice.  Obviously, we were armed with a cooler of smoothies, proteins, and veggies.

 

 

This was the most predictable 24 hours 2 bloggers could have.  And it was a BLAST.

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The unpredictable was just as fun.  We trekked up the highway to my hair stylist, Karen at Lava Hair Studio (I drive an hour to see her – that’s dedication).  Allie got a trim too – how cute are those blunt edges?!  Karen decided brown with red undertones were the way to go for the show – I have NO vision; I always ask her to do whatever she think would be cool.  I think she made the perfect color choice!

 

 

Annnnnd… then we had my last supper.  Last cheat supper, that is.  Allie and I met new guest blogger Kat at STG Trattoria,

We started with a bruschetta of butternut squash, ricotta, and arugula.  It was supposed to have cashews but they didn’t make it on our plate.  It was good… but the added crunch and richness of cashews would have made it better.

For our main, Allie and I split a pizza.  Yes, more pizza.  This was an Italian-style crust and was topped with ricotta salatta, sweet onion, mint, and lamb sausage (Allie ordered her half sans lamb).  The lamb sausage was was flavorful without being over-powering or greasy.  I loved the char on the crust; however, the middle was a big soggy.  It was a solid effort.  You better believe there wasn’t a crumb left!

 

 

Of course, I couldn’t pass up one last dessert.  Our chocolate mousse was topped with whipped ricotta, macerated strawberries, sea salt, and olive oil.  This may have been my favorite part of the meal – the mousse was dark, letting the strawberries provide much of the sweetness.  The olive oil and sea salt on top was absolutely perfection.  I love a dessert that is rich without being painfully sweet.

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Workout Recap

I’m starting to freak out a little.  Watching other people prep, I never understood why they were so obsessive and worrying over every little detail… and then I woke up Sunday morning feeling guilty about the last cheat meal and began reading every body building forum I could find.  My abs are not wonderful.  They have always been my most-hated body part.  I blame genetics and a really short torso.

After talking myself off the ledge, I went to the gym and had a great workout.  Apparently 100 daily (assisted) pull-ups develop the muscle under your arms as well as your back.  Excuse the bewildered look.  It was a tough arm day.

 

 

Workout Recap (10/15 – 10/19):

  • Monday – Shoulders/Glutes, 1 mile incline walk 100 pull ups
  • Tuesday – Chest/Bis, 100 pull ups, Calf raises, 1.25 mile incline walk
  • Wednesday – Shoulders/Glutes, 1 mile walk 100 pull ups
  • Thursday – REST, 100 push ups
  • Friday – Back/Tris, (180 pull-ups were part of the workout), Calf raises
  • Saturday – Legs (with trainer)
  • Sunday – Chest/Bis, 100 pull ups, Calf raises

***

OMGOMGOMG… less than 2 weeks!!! I bought my bling this weekend too. 🙂

Are you loyal to a hair stylist?

What would your last cheat meal be?

 

Simply Happy Its Friday

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It’s a hard day to be appreciative.

Today marks 4 years since we lost my dad to cancer.  It seems the perfect time to focus on things that make me happy, especially since my dad always made me smile.

I’m copying a billion other bloggers completing the A-Z Simple Things That Make Me Happy quiz.

 

A – Antennas.  I’m busy and cheap.  That has equated to me not having cable for nearly 3 years.  I did invest $20 in an antenna so I can watch the basics (ABC, NBC, etc.), and that keeps me satisfied.

B –  Baseball.  I love baseball, even when my team can’t consistently beat the Cubs.  What’s up, Braves?!

C – Chocolate.  Need I say more?

D – Dad.  Anyone who tells you the pain of losing a parent will get easier is a liar.  However, I am grateful every day that I had such a great man in my life for nearly 26 years.  I couldn’t have asked for a better role model and coach.

At The Cloister @ Sea Island for Father’s Day years ago. He’d probably kill me for posting a pic of him in a robe… bwhahaha!

E – ESP.  Maybe not in the crazy sense, but the sort that just nudges you to go left instead of right.  Those times you look back on and thank god some inexplicable pull made you chose path A over B.

F – Food.  I love food.  Creating it, looking at it, eating it.  Food is the shit.

G – Goose & Fox.  It’s my sister and her boyfriend’s band and they make me smile.  They are really good!  I’m not just saying that because she’s my sister.

H – Hair Stylist.  I love mine.  Her name is Karen.  I’ve been going to her since I was 15.  I’d drive an hour to go see my friend and get my hair rocked.

I – Internet.  I vaguely remember going to the yellow pages for the pizza delivery number… weird.

J – Juice Plus.  It’s the supplement I take everyday and I swear I haven’t gotten sick since I started using these rather than regular multi-vitamins.

K – Kombucha.  It’s no secret I’m in love with the stuff.  Good for the digestion, if you know what I mean.

L – Legs.  I’m grateful that I have 2 strong legs that carry me wherever I want to go.

M – Music.  It can evoke emotion in me faster than anything else – smiles, laughter, or choked up with tears.

N – No Limits.  The only thing holding you back is you.  Once you own that, you can do anything.

O – Oatmeal.  Arguably the most versatile food.  It can be sweet, savory, spicy… you can blend it in smoothies, turn it into flour, cook it in your eggs.  In the words of the Texas Pete lady, “I put that shit on everything.”

P –  Protein Shakes.  Without them, I would NEVER be able to get the 150g pf protein a day that I need while training.  And you can easily funk them up like I did with this Zucchini Bread Smoothie.

Q – Quality Time.  We are pulled in some many directions, it’s nice to be able to take time to relax and really talk to those you love.

R – Recipage.  It makes life so much easier… even though I’m still only half way through transferring my recipes.

S – Summer Storms.  I love a good thunderstorm to lull me to sleep (and they cool down the city!).

T – Teams.  I love playing on a team.  Solo sports/workouts are great, but the camaraderie of a good team is something I hope everyone can experience in life.

U – Underwear.  Can you imagine how uncomfortable jeans would be without it?

V – Vacations.  I love traveling and seeing new parts of the world.  Like Navy ships in Chile!

W – Weight lifting.  It’s my favorite workout.  Lifting makes me feel confident and strong.

X – Xylitol.  This all-natural sugar-replacer allows me to have sweet treats without all the sugar.  Like my favorite Granola Cookies. 

Y – Your Dekalb Farmer’s Market.  This local market is open year-round and is THE spot to go in Atlanta for fresh, cheap produce, flours, and chia seeds.  They always have things I’ve never heard of, which I consider to be an added bonus.

Z – Zero.  I don’t drink soda… but I do love a Coke Zero with a bag of pretzels on an airplane.

***

My Strawberry Smoked Almond Tart made the FoodBuzz Top 9 yesterday!  Thank you SO  much for the Buzz! 🙂

How about you?  What simple thing are appreciating today?

Any fun weekend plans, or lots of lying low after the 4th/Canada Day?

Defining a Good Weekend

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Define a good weekend.

 

For me, it means a relaxing 2 days filled with friends and good food.  Throw in a hair cut and some killer workouts and I’m a happy girl.

Confession: I didn’t do a good job of eating clean… but I did do an excellent job of eating delicious. 🙂

 

1. A+ Restaurant Dining, Vegan-Style

A family friend was passing through town and treated me to dinner at Empire State South.  This is one of Hugh Acheson‘s restaurants.  The Executive Chef, Ryan Smith, was recently nominated for Food & Wine’s Best New Chef).

The win happened when I scored a custom vegan meal thanks to the sage advice of Heather and JL, and the talent of Chef Smith.  Knowing ESS to be meat-heavy (their charcuterie is amazing), I called ahead to make reservations and ask if they could accommodate a vegan diet.  They could, and did!  It was better than previous meat-filled meals I’ve had there!

First, the wine: 2004 Angelo Sassetti “Pertimali” Brunello di Montalcino.

 

2004 was a great year for Brunello and this was no exception – light and plummy, with a little earthiness on the end.  Perfect with my veggie-based meal!

First custom dish of the night was an app that I couldn’t get enough of.  This was a dish of seasonal mushrooms, fried wild rice, pickled sunchokes, roasted and pickled beets over a schmear of peanut puree.

 

My main was equally good.  There is no way I can remember it all… but it was a roasted brussels dish with farro, mustard seeds, carrot, pea shoots, roasted garlic, and a ramp jam.

 

2. Dessert Happened (second helpings happened too)

Dinner at mamma’s house with mixed company meant 2 berry pies were made – one vegan and one “regular.”  Both used a vegan pre-made pie crust, mixed berries, and an oatmeal-granola topping.

My vegan pie had xylitol mixed in to sweeten it, and the other had butter and regular sugar in it.  No one could tell the difference. 🙂

 

3. Cheap Affordable, Delicious Wine 

This wine was a hit at mom’s dinner party.  The Epicuro Aglianico is an el cheapo bottle from Trader Joe’s.  Well, originally it’s from southern Italy but you know what I mean.   This is the best under $10 bottle of wine (it’s $4.99) I’ve had in recent memory!

 

4. New Hair

Getting my hair cut/colored is my favorite thing in the world to do.  This is shorter than I’ve ever had it… I’m still shocked every time I look in the mirror!  Holla to the rockstars at Lava Hair Studio.

Karen (stylist-wizard) and me

 

5. Romance Rekindled

Don’t get too excited.  I’m talking about my love-affair with Dulce Vegan, a local vegan bakery and cafe.  It’s on the other side of town… meaning it’s a whole 15 minutes away and I’m usually too lazy busy to drive there.

 

Between CrossFit and softball practice yesterday, I made the trip and indulged in a helluva TLT – tempeh “bacon,” arugula, and tomato with chipotle aioli on house-made millet bread.  It was as delicious as it sounds.  Especially that bread – OMG.

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CrossFit has been SO much fun.  Totally intimidating, but fun.  I leave workouts starving – an increased appetite must mean I’m working hard!  I’ve amped up my protein shakes and become religious about eating every 2 hours.  They preach the paleo diet, which I’m not into… I’ve even been craving MORE carbs since starting.  Good or bad, I’m feeding my body what it wants!

 

Workout Recap (3/5 – 3/11):

  • Monday – CrossFit, This Pinterest workout (5x)
  • Tuesday – CrossFit, This BodyRock, 100 push-ups
  • Wednesday – CrossFit, This BodyRock (weighted part 2x), 100 push-ups
  • Thursday –  Yoga, This workout, 100 push-ups
  • Friday – Tris/Chest, 100 push-ups
  • Saturday – This BodyRock (with 20 reps on weights)
  • Sunday – CrossFit, Softball practice, Bike intervals

***

I didn’t have to change my bedroom clock for daylight savings time… because I never changed it last fall… 

What is your definition of a good weekend?

Do you crave more carbs depending on the type of exercise you do?

 

Text-less Tuesday

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It’s a busy time of year.

This isn’t news to anyone, but it has finally caught up to me.  As a result, an (almost) Text-less Tuesday post.  Here’s a bit about what I’ve been up to lately:

1. Another fantastic meal from Push Start Kitchens:

Crepe Cake with Dulce de Leche, Pears, and Lime Creme

You would have do it too

2. A (cold) visit to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens Holiday Lights show:

3. New hair from the fabulous Karen @ Lava Hair Studio.  Nothing too funky since I had a client meeting the next day.  Just wait ’til February. 🙂

Picture of Karen taking a picture of me

4. A business trip to Farm Links Golf Resort that had me sleeping in an 1800s farmhouse.  Alone.  It may have been haunted.

Complete with ample reading material in case you left your laptop battery in Atlanta… I’m surprised lightning didn’t strike me. 

Not that religious books are bad… but they were literally the only option out of 100s of books in the house.

I did discover the Kindle app and the Pinterest app, both of which saved my life.

***

I’m 5 seconds from a full holiday nervous break down.  (Not really.  Yet.) 

What fun apps have you discovered lately?

Are you in holiday panic-mode, or are you more organized than I am?

Miles to Go Before I Sleep

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6666 Miles.

 

That’s how many miles I earned last month on Delta.  Should I be concerned?!  LOL!

Also, there appears to be a tread of rocking chair in airports.  The above is in St. Louis.  I’ve also spotted them in Charlotte.  Weird – more so for St. Louis than Charlotte, I think.

 

 

No blogging for the weekend.  Saturday was a busy day – I drove up to see my stylist and get a new ‘do for Italia.

 

It’s red.  It’s shorter than I’ve ever had it (I usually keep some length in the front).  I LOVE it.  I love my stylist, Karen.

 

Karen is the owner of Lava Hair Salon.  She used me in a couple of ads than ran recently!

 

The thing about red dye is that it runs if you get your hair wet too soon after getting it done.  Today I took it upon myself to serve as a warning for those of you who are planning to go red.

 

6 mile run post-dye job.  I looked like I just killed someone.  No wonder people were staring as I ran by!  LOL!

 

 

I also spent some QT with my credit card.  While I was at the outlet mall, I HAD to buy a new Coach bag for the trip…

 

Did you celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day this weekend?

In honor of this very special day I want to profess my love for a new (to me) product:

Pirate’s Booty.  Veggie flavor.

 

How did it take me so long to try this?!

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Not quite as many days on the road, but I did take a rest day.  Those late-night flights make it hard to fit a workout in! Plus my body was feeling a little road-weary.

 

Workout Recap (9/12-9/18)

  • Monday – 3 mile run, Biceps/Back, 6 min plank sequence, 100 push-ups
  • Tuesday – 100 push-ups
  • Wednesday – Kickboxing, Legs
  • Thursday – 5 mile run, Ab Ripper X, 100 push-ups
  • Friday – Tris/Chest (click link for the workout!), 6 min plank sequence, 100 push-ups
  • Saturday – 6 mile run, 100 push-ups
  • Sunday – 6 mile run, Ab Ripper X, 100 push-ups

***

Get ready for some “use everything before I leave” cooking this week!

What was the best part of your weekend?

What’s the craziest color you’ve ever had your hair?

 

Japanese-ish Hummus

By

It’s New Hair Thursday! 🙂

I love my stylist even more than I love chocolate cake (translation: love her a lot).

Karen worked in my old neighborhood salon, but moved to North Georgia.  I now drive an hour to go see her at her own salon called Lava Hair Studio.  Check our her new ad:

Karen and I have been together since I was 15.  It was only fitting that I go see her right before my high school reunion this weekend.  I cannot believe it has been 10 years!

Always have to have some red in it. Somethings never change.

Today was especially good because I feel SO much more human.  Thank you all so much for the get-well wishes!

I busted out a easy run during lunch to sweat out the rest of my sick germs.

Stats:

  • Distance – 3.5 miles
  • Time – 28:55 mins
  • Pace – 8.16 mins

 

Delicious food made things brighter as well.  I wish today’s eats could have been featured on WIAW!

Brussel sprout porn

Sweet Potato Praline Cheesecake @ Apres Diem

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When I saw this recipe for Caesar Hummus at Healthy Exposures I was intrigued.  Then I saw Jess continue to mention how good/addicting it was… I knew I had to try it for myself.

Jess is right. This may be the best hummus ever.  Seriously – I don’t use extremes often.

Once I began tasting and mixing, I determined that this had a decidedly Asian taste to it.  So I went with that and added soy sauce and Japanese red pepper blend called Shichimi Togarashi.

This farmer’s market-find is a blend of: red pepper, sesame seed, orange peel, Japanese pepper, seaweed, and rapeseeed (<– I have NO idea what that is and I’m too scared to google it).

I added 1/4 – 1/2 tsp of this and then sprinkled it on top of the final product.  Heat is my BFF, so be sure to adjust to your preference!

You know those sauces they bring out at Japanese restaurants?  I’m going to start bringing this instead.

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Japanese-ish Hummus

  • 1 C garbanzo beans
  • 1 T tahini
  • 1 T capers + brine
  • 1/2 tsp herbed dijon mustard
  • 1 garlic clove
  • Juice of 1/2 a medium lemon
  • Liberal drizzles of soy sauce
  • Shichimi Togarashi (or red pepper flakes/cayenne/paprika), to taste
  • Olive oil and/or water

If using dried chickpeas: soak chickpeas overnight (or 12 hours) at room temp (water should just over top of chickpeas).  Rinse and place in a large pot with 3-4 garlic cloves and salted water.  Water should cover chickpeas.  Bring to a boil and them simmer for 50-60 mins.  You may need to add water to keep peas covered.  When desired tenderness is reached, remove from heat and allow to cool in cooking water.  Drain and rinse before using.

Add chickpeas, tahini, capers, mustard, garlic, and lemon juice.  Pulse until beginning to come together.  Taste and add soy sauce and spice to taste, processing again to combine.  With processor running, drizzle in olive oil and/or water (I used ~2 tsp oilve oil and ~1/8 C water).  Continue processing until smooth.

Makes 3/4 cup.

***

I can’t stop eating this hummus.  Is it too abnormal to eat an entire cup of it in one sitting..?

Have you been to your high school reunion?  How was it?

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