Sprint 2 the Table

Appetites and Adventures

Coca Cola’s Super Bowl + WIAW

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Sometimes I am oblivious.

Ok, a lot of the time…

I’m not one to get too riled up over political issues.  At least not in the “the world is going to hell in a handbasket!” way.  I DO get fired up over discrimination and stupid political moves.  When Coca-Cola’s Super Bowl ad aired, it didn’t cross my mind that it was controversial.  I actually tweeted that it was too long and boring.  My attention span only wants short, funny ads, dammit!

coca cola super bowl ad 2014

So why were people fired up?  They thought it was offensive that “America the Beautiful” was sung in different languages, featured many cultures, and *gasp* included a gay couple.

Really?!  Last I checked the English language didn’t originate in America.  Next year they should air the song being sung in a Native American language with all dark-skinned people.

I’m proud of my hometown’s company for embracing our melting pot country.  Even if it was a boring commercial.

 

 

This WIAW was decidedly uncontroversial.  Someone at work even told me my fish smelled good.  And she was sincere!

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Read on for my eats, and then check out Jenn’s blog for everyone else’s delicious creations!

Breakfast:

The usual apple cider morning cocktail was followed by a new-to-me oatmeal.  I got Purely Elizabeth Ancient Grain Oatmeal as part of a deal when I ordered more Nuttzo a couple of weeks ago.  I will definitely be buying more! I use it to make cinnamon-vanilla egg white oats and topped it with blueberries and Nuttzo.

purely elizabeth oatmeal

Mid-Morning Snack:

This week I prepped a big batch of Chili Nutty Tofu.  I followed my original recipe, except I used sriracha and made a peanut flour sauce rather than the Valencia PB.  It was awesome with an Asian-inspired Napa cabbage, mushroom, and red bell pepper stir-fry (also a part of Sunday’s food prep).

Chili Nutty Tofu

Lunch:

Rotisserie chicken, carrots, and celery dressed with homemade BBQ sauce.  My “dessert” was a Korean sweet potato topped with cinnamon.  Pretty food tastes better, no?

BBQ chicken

Mid-Afternoon Snack:

Cod with a side of asparagus, zucchini, and parsley mixed with my wasabi-blue cheese dressing.

Cod and asparagus salad

 

Dinner:

Trout has become a new staple thanks to SizzleFish.  I broiled it for 7 mins with pepper and lemon juice.  Meanwhile, I sautéed Napa cabbage and mushrooms in the juice from a jar of kimchi.  Quick and easy!

Sizzlefish trout

 

Of course, I needed something sweet, so I made a pre-dessert dessert of my favorite cocoa-roasted kabocha topped with peanut flour sauce (I get my peanut flour on iHerb – use discount code USO924 for $5-10 off your order) and cacao nibs.

It was so good that I didn’t remember a pic until I was almost done.  #sorryimnotsorry

Kabocha and peanut sauce

Dessert:

I stopped on my way home from work for a little treat.  The Cookies & Cream Quest bar.  I can’t believe I had the restraint to wait until almost midnight to eat this.

Mine was broiled for about a minute with the intent of using it to scoop up a Zucchini Batter Protein bowl.  The bowl was forgotten based on the favor of the bar.  Best.  Flavor.  Yet.

best Quest bar ever

(Don’t worry – I still finished the zucchini bowl.)

***

I am going back for a case of those bars.

Did you have any reaction to Coke’s Super Bowl ad?

Are you a Quest bar fan?  What’s your favorite flavor?

Easy Oat Flatbread

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Easy has been the name of the game lately.

Don’t worry, I have something more complex coming.

After a month of holiday party baking and creating, I’m appreciating the simple more and more.  I was particularly glad when Heather brought back her Meatless Monday link up with the simplest of ingredients: oats.  Simple doesn’t have to mean typical though!

Oat Flatbread

Please ignore my janky nails.

… 

Read More »

Coconut Curried Chicken + WIAW

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No one likes a complainer.

Especially me.

I’m making an exception.  It’s COLD.  This arctic tundra has got to go.  I live in the South.  I should never see this:

no global warming

Ice in my shower is something else I should never have to see.  I left my faucet dripping just like the newsman said because we hit a record low of 6 degrees in Atlanta.  When I woke up, I was rewarded with an ice-lined tub.

Try motivating to shower for work when faced with this:

frozen shower

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This WIAW I am FINALLY back on track.  I had the biggest meal prep in weeks on Sunday and felt ready to get back to the “real” world of having a routine.WIAWbuttonRead on for my eats, and then check out Jenn’s blog for everyone else’s delicious creations!… 

Read More »

Top 13 in 2013

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You guys like dessert.

I guess that’s why we get along?

Happy New Year!!!

As I looked back at the top posts of 2013, I knew there would be a lot of sweeter dishes.  But whoa.  Of the top 13 2013 posts, 6 were sweet recipes.  What I didn’t realize was that the Work It Out posts are popular too!  I’ll do a better job to writing more of those in 2014 – I’ve been pushing it at the gym, but slacking on the writing.

Thank you to everyone for all of the visits, comments, and many, many laughs in 2013.  I’ve loved getting to know so many awesome people this year, and look forward to continuing these relationships for years to come.

Enough much!  Here’s the lucky (top) 13 to start out ’14…

Top 13 in 2013… 

Read More »

Back to Reality with Sizzlefish + WIAW

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Competition diets aren’t realistic. long-term

 

Disclosure: The following post is sponsored by Fitfluential LLC on behalf of Sizzlefish.

Eating like I have been leading up to my competition was a short-lived reality… again, it isn’t how you should eat forever.  This week I’m thrilled that food is back to being fun again this week.  I haven’t had time for a proper grocery store run, but I’ve had some help!

 Sizzlefish shipment

 

Sizzlefish provided me with a Sizzlefish sampler of their Omega-3 Protein Mix.  It included Coho salmon, Atlantic salmon, sablefish, rainbow trout, catfish, Atlantic cod, haddock, and catfish.

Did you know that studies have shown that a diet high in fish, particularly fish high in Omega 3 fatty acids, enhances athletic performance and health?

Sizzlefish

 

My fish were frozen at the peak of quality, pre-portioned, and shipped on dry ice to have on-hand when I was back to “normal” food.  After cutting fat, I couldn’t bust into this fast enough!

I came home late from a crazy work day, it was the perfect thing to quickly cook up.  I was surprised by how fresh the frozen fish was!  Check out my dinner below for more.

Side note: wouldn’t this make a an awesome holiday gift?!  Mamma may be received a Christmas shipment from Sizzlefish… 

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Since I haven’t done a full re-stock yet, this isn’t quite a normal WIAW, but it’s much improved from last week!

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Read on for my eats, and then check out Jenn’s blog for everyone else delicious creations!

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Breakfast:

My healthiest addiction began my day – Aminos and ACV morning cocktail. 

Breakfast is not long turkey or chicken – hooray!  I traveled all the way from Colorado with this almost-empty jar of Justin’s almond butter in order to make overnight oats in a jar.  Can you believe Heather’s hubby was going to throw it away?!  All that nutty deliciousness hiding at the bottom of a mixture of oats, Greek yogurt, and goji berries laced with cinnamon and ginger.

Justins OOIAJ

 

Mid-Morning Snack:

Lisa, my competition buddy and co-worker, surprised me with homemade cocoa cookie bites.  I asked if they were “healthy” and she said they are all-organic.  Works for me! 😉

See the black dot on my pinky?  That’s where I slammed a weight on my hand 3 weeks ago!  Blood blisters are the gift that keeps on giving.

 

Lunch:

A quick trip to Whole Foods the night before resulted in a lunch of smoked rotisserie chicken mixed with shallots, paprika, nutritional yeast, ACV, and pepper over a slice of sesame Ezekial bread, mustard, and spinach.

This was the first time I’d seen smoked chicken at Whole Food – it is the best rotisserie I’ve ever gotten there!

smoked rotisserie chicken

 

Mid-Afternoon Snack:

Think Thin was nice enough to send me a little treat a few weeks back.  I hadn’t gotten to dive into the box yet, but it has come in handy this week!  I really enjoyed the Caramel Fudge flavor as a mid-afternoon pick-me-up.  With the rest of the cookies from earlier… 

Think Thin

 

Dinner:

Dinner was when I enjoyed my Sizzlefish.  I got home really late, but was still able to have a good dinner!  I couldn’t decide whether I wanted salmon or trout, so I had both.  Life is short, why choose?

I had put them in the fridge the night before to haw, so when I got home I tossed them under the broiler with lemon juice and pepper for about 7 mins along with roasted veggies I’d picked up from Whole Foods.

Sizzlefish

 

Dessert:

I feel really lame… but I wasn’t hungry for dessert after eating dinner at 10pm.  Instead, I had another holiday kombucha and called it a night.

***

I am so very excited to buy all of the foods at the international market this weekend!  Grocery shopping should be an Olympic sport.  I’d medal.

Have you ever had frozen seafood?  What is your favorite?

Have you started thinking about holiday shopping yet?  Would you gift food?  I couldn’t believe it when I realized Thanksgiving is next week!

 

Strange But Good: Pinterest Edition

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Eating tilapia, asparagus, and sweet potato is strange.

 

Not necessarily good.

In lieu of a recipe from me this week, I want to share some of the #strangebutgood creations you’ve linked up that I can’t wait to try!

This list is certainly not exhaustive…. you guys are brilliant creators of strange!  Check out more on the Pinterest board.  I’ve been collecting them to make post competition.

 

1. Banana Cornbread from Suzanne.  Can you imagine the luscious texture?!

Banana cornbread

 

2. Lean Beef Balls… with a twist from the twerking king, Arman.  Because you know I love some fruit with my beef!

lean beef balls

 

3. You will NEVER guess what makes this Lemon Shortbread Oatmeal so creamy!

Lemon Shortbread Oatmeal

 

4. It’s been way too long since my last kabocha squash.  Or my last brownie.  These Fudgy Kabocha Brownies from Sarah are at the top ‘o the list.

Fudgey Kabocha Brownies

 

5. This is a little bit of a cheat.  I’ve made it before, but I want Broccoli Heather’s Peanut Butter Cup Omelette.  It’s delicious.

Peanut Butter Cup Omelette

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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. 🙂


***

My last figure competition of the year is Saturday!  I'm in Colorado with Heather, who's going to be competing in the bikini division - her first one!  Follow our craziness and post-show debauchery on Instagram. 🙂

Have you made any of the #strangebutgood link ups?

What would be the first thing you eat after walking off the stage?

 

The One Where Food Became Fuel

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Food, in the simplest of definitions, is fuel.

I missed that memo.

Food, for me, has always been entertainment.  It’s art.  It’s an experiment.  It’s what I do when I’m sad, happy, grumpy, tired, bored… I love food.  End scene.

You might imagine that a limited diet is my worst nightmare.  I’ve been trying to prove you can still be creative on a competition diet.  You can… but the last week of cutting is HARD.  You’ll notice from last week’s WIAW at 4 days out, I still had a lot of variety.  This time around I decided to try something new.  Being more boring traditional.

I cut fat and am sticking to lean proteins (mostly tilapia).  My main veggie is asparagus.  My carbs are oatmeal in the morning and sweet potato after that.  I’m not hungry at all… but my palette is bored out of its mind.  Food has become fuel.

4 days out

Why am I doing this?  Quite simply, to see if it’s necessary.  I want to compare last weekend to this weekend.  Will it make a difference if I eat more like everyone else the week before a competition?  Only my abs time will tell!

The fascination with experimentation is what’s keeping me on track this week!

I almost feel like I should apologize for the repetitive nature of this WIAW.  I am 4 days from my 4th figure competition.  It’s the last one for a long while… I promise next week will be more interesting.

WIAWbutton

Read on for my eats, and then check out Jenn’s blog for everyone else delicious creations!

Breakfast:

I still start the day with my Aminos and ACV morning cocktail.  I swear it’s more energizing than coffee.

Breakfast was oatmeal with a ton of cinnamon, honey, and pomegranate atop a homemade Turkey Breakfast Sausage Patties.  I really do love the turkey “sausage.”  It’s something I would make in the off-season too – they’re a great clean, low-sodium alternative to the store-bought stuff.

As usual, I ate it in the car on the way to work.  Turkey-oatmeal coffee mug parfait!

Turkey-oatmeal coffee mug parfait

Mid-Morning Snack:

Surprise, surprise.  Tilapia.  I did add some variety with cucumbers, red bell pepper, and purple sweet potato chips (with cinnamon).

tilapia and purple sweet potato

Lunch:

Fish variety at lunch – I had Perch with my asparagus.  The asparagus I sautéed during food prep with shallots, garlic, lime juice, and herb.  I’m really loving the perch – it’s super mild.

perch and asparagus

Mid-Afternoon Snack:

Tilapia.  Again.  Added some variety in two ways: I used purple asparagus and I made it into ribbons!  Purple asparagus is thicker, so it makes it a bit easier to shred into ribbons.  Fuel can be fun.  Ish.

asparagus ribbons

Dinner:

Dinner was is my favorite treat – Sea Bass.  It even makes asparagus taste better.  Purple sweet potato is like dessert.  I topped it with some nutritional yeast for a nutty accent.

sea bass and purple sweet potato

Dessert:

It’s not really dessert anymore.  Tilapia topped with a blend of Mexican spices and cucumber with salt-free mustard.  Nom.

***

I prepped all my food to take to Denver today for this weekend’s competition.  Tilapia and curry-roasted asparagus are on tap for the plane.  Others on the flight are going to love me. #sorryimnotsorry

Do you view food simply as fuel?  Fun?  Something else?

How do you keep it interesting in the kitchen?

A Day of Food at 4 Days Out

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Change is often slow.

 

The bane of my impatient existence.

Change does come to those who stay the course.  When I started training for competitions I had some muscle tone, but was underweight and had literally run my ass off.  I posted about my journey here so I won’t rehash.  What I will say (again) is that there is NOTHING you can’t accomplish with hard work and the unwavering belief that you can do anything you want to if you want to badly enough.

Yes, I’m still small for Figure; I know I have a long way to go.  This weekend’s show is the most competitive one I’ve ever done and I know I won’t place.  That doesn’t lessen my excitement to have the experience, and to be around so many inspiring competitors.  AND – regardless of the outcome – I’m pretty damn proud of this progress in about a year and a half.

Progress pic 2013

Competing isn’t easy.  Some days I don’t want to get up and do cardio or eat healthy food or hear snarky comments from people… but it is worth it.  The good days and the personal satisfaction outweigh the bad.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: find something you’re passionate about and go do it to the fullest extent.  It could be running, lifting, painting, writing code… whatever!  You will be more fulfilled and SO MUCH happier – it has made all the difference for me.

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Enough inspirational mush!  This WIAW I am 4 days from my 3rd figure competition!  Bring on the lean protein, complex carbs, and yes… the asparagus. 

WIAWbutton

Read on for my eats, and then check out Jenn’s blog for everyone else delicious creations!

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Breakfast:

As usual, I started the day I with my Aminos and ACV morning cocktail.  I swear it’s more energizing than coffee.

Breakfast was pancakes.  Not as good as my usual.  These were just oat flour, an egg white, baking powder, and cinnamon.  BUT… I got to have pancakes!  The sauce was the best part.  I mashed up raspberries, added a dash of maple extract, and microwaved them for ~10 secs to create a syrup.  I’d eat that outside of competition prep!

With a side of Cinnamon-Flax Baked Chicken.

oat cakes and raspberry sauce

 

Mid-Morning Snack:

Leftover Parrot Fish with asparagus and sugar peas.  Nom.

The fish looked prettier on Instagram 2 nights ago.  For those that were curious on Monday, the fish was tasty but nothing out of the ordinary. It was a mild white fish, on the meaty side and slightly buttery.

parrot fish

 

Lunch:

I froze last week’s leftover lean beef burgers for lunches this week.  It was just as good warmed up and eaten with sweet potato rounds, asparagus, and red peppers.

Some have asked why I eat the majority of my asparagus raw.  The reason is VERY important: I like it better raw.  It has a sweet crunchiness.

burger

 

Mid-Afternoon Snack:

I gave in to a cliché and went back to an old recipe this week… Tequila Lime Tilapia.  Tilapia is “the” source of protein for many in the bodybuilding community.  Variety is a better choice for me; if I had to eat the same thing every meal I’d never make it.  Tilapia is fine in moderation though!  Especially with tequila.

The fish and calabaza squash were cooked during my Sunday meal prep.  I reheated them ate at it with a quick raw salad of yellow cherry tomatoes and white asparagus tossed in a mix of nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, and a homemade Mexican spice blend.

Tequila-Lime Tilapia

 

Dinner:

Dinner was a roasted veggie fest – part of this week’s food prep was a giant pan of white and green asparagus, red bell pepper, shiitake mushrooms, garlic, green onion, and fresh herbs in Meyer lemon juice.  I also tossed pieces of the actual lemon in the pan too.  It’s completely edible and not too sour after a good roast.

Eaten with my favorite protein: Sea Bass.

sea bass and roasted veggies

 

Dessert:

No more diary and no more protein powder in my diet… it’s Cinnamon-Flax Baked Chicken and carrots for dessert.  Admittedly, this is NOT my favorite part about competing.

chicken dessert

***

“I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I have just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.” ~Diane Ackerman

What are you passionate about?

Do you prefer veggies raw or cooked?  I generally like ’em raw… though I do love a good char roast.

 

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