Sprint 2 the Table

Appetites and Adventures

Eggplant Chips + WIAW

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Life gets busy.

I know this isn’t news to any of you, but it’s hitting me hard this week.

I’m 10 days out from my next figure competition.  The asparagus (click here for the reason behind that) begins this weekend.  I’m thinking next Friday’s #strangebutgood link up will take a twist as my diet gets to the most strict point… not-so-strange but good, anyone?

Balancing work with the competition preparation is not easy.  In addition to my 7 meals and regular workouts, I’m running sprints every day.  It’s a lot of fit in, especially since I dislike working out at night.  I’m TIRED.  Cutting a good amount of carbs and basically all sodium and fat leaves my energy level a bit low.

But I’m focusing on May 4th (competition day) and staying motivated.  I don’t want to get on stage and have any regrets!

desire to succeed

I’ve been taking a couple of products I received from GNC through a FitFluentiual campaign that have helped me maintain my level of activity: Ultra 25 Probiotic Complex and TriFlex.

The probiotics (said to replenish good bacteria needed for digestion) made a BIG difference.  Those 25 billion active cultures kept my gut healthy (translation: I have no problem going #2).  This make me happy and had prevented bloating!  This particular pill also has “enzymes and ginger for additional digestion support.”

GNC supplements

The TriFlex I think I need to take longer to say 100% whether it’s made a difference.  It is supposed to “promote joint mobility & flexibility” and contains Glucosamine, Chondroitin, and MSM – all of which are great for joint health.  I have been taking it regularly.  That, in addition to seeing a new chiropractor, I *believe* have kept my joints are feeling good despite some crazy workouts!

 

My WIAW meals were still pretty good, despite and lack of yummy, yummy fat.  Mmmmm… peanut butter… I digress.

WIAWbutton

Check out my 7 low-fat, low-sodium, protein-laced meals below, and then click here to head over to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to get to see how more normal people are eating!

Meal 1:

My day began with my morning cocktail (apple cider vinegar, water, and Aminos), as always.

I was going to go ahead and run sprints before breakfast, but my metabolism is out of control lately… I am STARVING all the time.  Breakfast had to happen before I entertained the idea of working out.  I wanted everything at once… so I had it!  It was PB&J-ish… with a coffee flair!  After adding baking powder to my Mango-Coconut TVP Oats, I’m hooked.  I used it again here for an especially voluminious bowl.

PB & Raspberry TVP Oatmeal

PB & Raspberry TVP Oatmeal

  • 1/3 C Textured Vegetable Protein
  • 1 T oatmeal
  • 1 tsp coffee
  • 3/4 C water
  • 2 T peanut flour
  • 1 tsp ground flax
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ginger
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp butter extract
  • 1/4 tsp maple extract
  • 5-6 drops liquid stevia
  • Raspberries

Bring TVP, oats, coffee, and water to a boil.  Cook until liquid is mostly absorbed.  Add in remaining ingredients, adding additional water if needed.  

Allow to simmer until water is absorbed and your TVP oats reach your desired level of thickness.

Note:  I add 1/2 the berries at the end of cooking and use the other half to top because I can never decide if I like them better cooked or as a topping.

Meal 2:

First, I ran my sprints like a good kid.  Then I put a Mexican Sweet Potato Pie in the oven to bake.  It only made me wish I made a second one for myself.  This was to take to a good friend who is a new mom!

Mexican Sweet Potato Pie

Finally, it was food time.  And my continued bison obsession.  As part of my Sunday food prep, I made up several burgers to be able to grab quickly.

I ate this one atop a spinach, heirloom tomato and cilantro salad.  With red pepper flakes, obv.

bison burger

Meal 3:

Lunch was my current favorite – sea bass.  This is even better than swordfish right now… and that’s a big thing for me to say since I consider swordfish the “steak of the sea.”

Eaten  post-workout with a giant mound of lightly sautéed kale and a super-fast sweet potato and shiitakes with rosemary and garlic.

Sea Bass

Meal 4:

Clean chicken salad made from the “naked” (nothing added) Whole Foods rotisserie chicken, a little Greek yogurt, vinegar, cumin, and diced cucumber.

healthy chicken salad

Meal 5:

I couldn’t totally cheat on my favorite fish.  Steak of the Sea for dinner (swordfish)!  Served with my BBQ Roasted Cauliflower and eggplant chips.

Evey time I post eggplant chips on Instagram, I always get a billion questions about how to make them.  It’s the easiest thing ever, so I felt silly blogging it… but even simple meals can count a recipes, right?  The “secret” is at the bottom of this post. 🙂

Swordfish, BBQ cauliflower, and eggplant chips

Meal 6:

This was a hodge-podge.  I had a little chicken left and a little Monchong (fish) from last night.  So I made a combo to get my protein in.  I had celery sticks and sugar peas on the side.  I adore sugar peas – the dessert of vegetables!

Meal 7:

My favorite meal of the day is desert.  I took some non-fat Greek yogurt and mixed it with cocoa powder, cinnamon, vanilla, and a little stevia.  Then I melted some frozen cherries in the microwave with some ginger so my “sauce.”  Then I topped all that with homemade popcorn and more cinnamon.  Paradise.

Cocoa-Cherry Greek Yogurt Bowl

eggplant chips

Eggplant Chips

  • 1 eggplant
  • Olive oil spray
  • Optional toppings: onion, garlic, nutritional yeast, herbs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut eggplant into thin slices (~1/8 in thick).  Spray with olive oil and spread evenly across a foil-lined baking sheet.

Place in over and bake ~10 mins.  Remove from oven, flip slices, and top as desired.  Return to over for another 5 mins, or until crisp.

Note: These can be stored in the fridge – simply place them in the oven under broil for 2-3 mins to crisp back up.

I’m linking these up to Heather’s MMAZ – check out all the eggplant love!

MMAZ

***

Protein count for the day: 163g

What was the best thing you ate yesterday?

What keeps you motived when you’re tired/busy/etc?

Mango-Coconut TVP Oatmeal + WIAW

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Can there be too much of a good thing?

I’m not sure I could tire of dark chocolate.

How about Nutella?  Can you imagine having 5.5 tons of it?  Thieves in Bad Hersfeld, Germany have made away with a trailer loaded up with just that much of the hazelnut-chocolate-y crack spread.  According to this report, that’s about $20,700 of Nutella.

nutella stolen

Seriously.  What would you do with all that nutella?  What are they going to do with it?!  More importantly… will this cause a shortage? 😉

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On to healthier, less-alaming things.  It’s WIAW time!  This is probably the last day of normal (for me) eats pre-competition.  Cheat days are gone and I’m back to being super-strict.  How do people do this for 16+ weeks?!

WIAWbutton

Check out my 7 low-sodium, protein-filled meals below, and then click here to head over to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to get to see how more normal people are eating!

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Meal 1:

This morning I woke up SORE.  After getting my workout mojo back, I’ve been hitting the gym hard.  After my morning cocktail (apple cider vinegar, water, Glutamine, and Fitmixer Aminos) I talked myself  into an include treadmill walk.  I promised myself I’d only go for 20 mins to work out the soreness.  Well, once I got started I realized I was feeling MUCH better and did 40 mins!

That’s not to say that I didn’t spend the entire walk thinking about breakfast.  I was dreaming up something tropical and full of flavor.  Mango-Coconut TVP Oats.  I added coconut and butter extracts, then imagined I was on an island.

Mango-Coconut TVP Oatmeal

I can’t remember who suggested it, but adding a little baking powder to the original recipe made these nearly double in size.  I’m a volume eater, so I was in heaven.  Recipe at the bottom.

Meal 2:

This was so awkwardly timed.  I had posing practice so I didn’t wan to do that on a full tummy, but I was doing a leg day after which I refuse to do on an empty tummy.  So I scarfed this down between the two.  I’d recommend a little more time for digestion before 4 sets of 25 ass-to-the-grass barbell squats.

Shredded chicken with raspberries and pepitas.  And black pepper.  It’s good.  Really.

Chicken and raspberry salad

Meal 3:

I’ve seen Sarena do this for so long, I finally had to try it.  Cinnamon-roasted kabocha squash topped with vanilla protein powder “sauce.”  OF course, I had to #strangebutgood-ify mine up by making the protein green.  I blended it with spinach and maple extract.

You can’t taste the spinach… I don’t think my trainer believed me.  Whatever.  It was just the thing to take for a quick protein + carb shot after a killer leg day.

Kabocha squash and green protein sauce

Meal 4:

Is it weird to crave chicken?  I did.  Shredded chicken with green onion and diced cucumber.  I tossed it in a quick nutritional yeast dressing (nooch + apple cider vinegar + cumin + red pepper flakes).

Chicken + Cucumber Salad with nutritional yeast dressing

Meal 5:

I have “tested” this dish more than any recipe I’ve posted on this blog.  I think I finally got it right tonight!!!  And I took pics.  Recipe will come verrrry soon (read: as soon as I can motivate to edit said pics).

It’s an Indian curry.  I shared it with a friend, who gave it her stamp of approval. 🙂

Indian Curry

Meal 6:

I missed my salmon today!  Normally I like it with fruit for meal 2, but I definitely couldn’t do seafood right before squats (trust me – that is less-than-pleasent if it burps back up… TMI?).  Anyway, I decided to have evening salmon.

Sautéed portabello mushroom, red pepper, nutritional yeast, and salmon (pre-cooked during the Sunday food-prep with lemon and dill).

Salmon with mushrooms and red pepper

Meal 7:

I was conflicted tonight.  I needed more carbs, so it was a good night to try the baked chocolate chip Quest bar I’ve been seeing everywhere.  But I also wanted cottage cheese.  So I went half and half.  Turns out that was brilliant because I still have the other half of that bar to eat – it was AMAZING!

My cottage cheese was mixed with cocoa powder, vanilla, a little stevia, and cinnamon.  Topped with strawberries.

Cocoa cottage cheese and baked Quest bar

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Mango-Coconut TVP Oatmeal

Mango-Coconut TVP Oatmeal

  • 1/3 C Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP)
  • 3/4 C water
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp coconut extract
  • 1/4 tsp butter extract
  • Stevia (or other sweetener), to taste
  • 1/4 C egg whites
  • 1/8 tsp no-sodium baking powder
  • 1/2 mango
  • Unsweetened coconut, toasted

Add TVP, water, cinnamon, extracts, and stevia to a small pot.  Stir, and bring to a boil over med-high heat.  Cook about 5-6 mins, or until liquid is mostly absorbed.

Reduce heat to medium.  Pour in egg whites and baking powder.  Allow to cook for 2-3 more mins, stirring frequently so that the egg doesn’t form chunks.  The mixture will become voluminous.

Scoop into bowl and add mango and toasted coconut (I toasted mine in a pan with a bit of coconut oil).

Note: For a vegan option, add a flax egg or simply leave the egg out.

***

Diet changes come tomorrow.  No more cheat days.  Reality has set in… I will be walking across a stage in stripper heels and a bikini in a month.  Ack!

What would you like to have 5.5 TONS of?

What have you learned not to eat before a workout?

Strange But Good Breakfast

By

If left to my own devices, my natural “awake” time is 10am to 2am.

I blame my mother.  It’s hereditary.

The only reason I get excited for morning to come is breakfast.  It’s the most delicious important meal of the day, you know.  With very little effort, it can also be the strangest meal of the day.

This weekend was the beginning of softball season.  I received a 6:30am wake up text from our team captain Sunday morning.  We had a tournament starting at 8.  It’s a good thing I had breakfast planned, because I am pretty sure I was still asleep on the drive to the field.

TVP OIAJ

 You’ve all heard of overnight oats in a jar, I’m sure.  I had an almost empty jar, but no oats!  No matter – I remembered my TVP “Oatmeal” and made Overnight TVP in a Jar!  Made just like a traditional recipe, but using TVP rather than oats.  Strange… but good!

I was going to eat this in the car, but was too tired so I ate it at the field… and earned a couple of strange but good stares.  That coffee was GONE by the time I got to the park though.  😉

Overnight TVP in a Jar

Overnight TVP in a Jar

  • 1/2 C TVP
  • 3/4 C unsweetened almond milk (or other liquid)
  • 2 T peanut flour
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 banana, mashed
  • Almost empty nut butter jar

Mix everything together in your jar and place in refrigerator overnight.

In the morning, remove from fridge and devour!  

Note: If you like your oats warm, you can pop it in the microwave for a minute.  You may need to add more liquid though.

 

Enough of my strangeness… one of my favorite Instragrammers and new blogger, Alina,  took my Oatmeal Cookie Shake and turned up the strangeness.  She made Chocolate Chip Cookie Pancakes… with the nutritional yeast from my original recipe!

Alina was kind enough to send her recipe to me so I could share it with you all.  Check this deliciousness out, and make sure to go to her blog – it’s full of creative, delicious dishes!

Fluffy Chocolate Chip Cookie Pancakes

Fluffy Chocolate Chip Cookie Pancakes

  • 2 T coconut flour
  • 2 T pumpkin puree
  • 1 tsp nutritional yeast
  • 1/3 C egg whites
  • 1 T vanilla whey protein
  • 2 T mashed banana
  • 2 T almond milk
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/8 tsp butter flavor/extract
  • 2 stevia packets
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • Dash salt
  • 1 T mini Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips (optional)

Mix all ingredients into a thick batter.

Scoop onto griddle or heated pan sprayed with some coconut oil. Yes, the batter is super thick but just spread pancakes to desired thickness and be patient while they cook up!

Flip once until cooked through.

Optional toppings: 2 Tbsp cottage cheese + 1 Tbsp chocolate pb2 , and Walden Farms chocolate syrup.

 

What’s strange but good in your kitchen 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. 🙂



***

Another strange but good – going to have a gluttonous dinner with your trainer post-leg workout.  That happened last night.  #strangebutgoodshamelessness

When do you tend to make your strangest creations?

What is your favorite overnight oats combo?

Protein Oatmeal Cookie Bars

By

There is a saying I’m sure you’ve heard: “Never trust a skinny cook.”

big butts cannot lie

I must call BS.  Look at Giada – she resembles a bobble head and she makes a killer cheesecake!

Despite my best efforts, I’m probably not the largest cook around.  But you can trust me.  If you don’t trust me, you can certainly trust Lauren and Alicia, who both trusted my Spaghetti Squash Pie this week:

Spaghetti Squash Pie

Spaghetti Squash Pie

I’m especially excited to make a Mexican version of this one.  I bought all of the stuff, but then went for Indian food last night.  Whoops!  It was tasty though.  Maybe I should make a curry version…

In case you’re wondering what spaghetti pie has to do with the title of this post… well, I forgot… Skinny cooks… trusting me… tasty healthy oatmeal bars!  Ok, I’m back with you.

Today’s Oatmeal Cookie Bars started out as cookies, hence the name.  Months ago my trainer requested a protein oatmeal cookie.  Unfortunately, the hard part about baking with protein powder is that is make the batter quite thin unless you add a lot of flour, which make them really high in carbs.  This lesson presented itself to me again as I went to scoop my batter onto the baking sheet.  Souper-runny.

No matter, that’s why I bought a bar baking pan.  If you don’t have a bar pan a muffin tin will work just fine, or you can make one big cookie cake!

I added a little more flour, mixed the thing up again, and poured it into the pan.  And by some pope-tacular miracle of God, it worked.  And it was good.

These aren’t overly sweet, which was my goal.  It is a deep oatmeal and cinnamon flavored bar, with bites of earthy chocolate from the carob chips.

Protein Oatmeal Cookie Bars

Despite wanting cookies, I appreciated the moist, cake-like quality of these bars.  It worked well with the oatmeal texture and at just 128 calories, you can slather a generous amount of nut butter on top of a warm bar as “icing.”

Not that I’ve been doing that. 😉

Protein Oatmeal Cookie Bars

Pre-workout snack

The best part came when I took the fresh batch to the gym.  Lee Haney (8x Mr. Olympia!) was there finishiing up a session and he took a bar to try… and he said they were DELICIOUS!  I die.

In conclusion: If you don’t trust this cook, trust an 8x Mr Olympia and try these. 😉

Protein Oatmeal Cookie Bars

Protein Oatmeal Cookie Bars

  • 1/4 C (1/2 stick) butter or Earth Balance, softened
  • 1/4 C unsweetened applesauce
  • 2/3 C tagatose (or other sweetener)
  • 1 flax egg (1 T ground flax + 3 T water), or 1 regular egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp brown sugar extract (optional)
  • 1/4 C whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 C protein powder (I used 1.5 scoops of Designer Whey White Chocolate)
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 C rolled oats
  • 1/2 C Scottish oats
  • 1/4 C carob chips (or chocolate chips)
  • 1/2 C walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, cream together butter, applesauce, sugar, egg, and extracts until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, protein powder, baking soda, and cinnamon together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats, carob chips, and walnuts.

Scoop batter onto grease square tine (or muffin tin). Bake them for 10-12 mins, until golden. Let sit on baking sheet for ~5 mins before transferring to a rack to cool.

Makes 12 bars.

Approximate nutrition: 128 calories, 6.6g fat, 14.3g carbohydrates, 2.7g fiber, 2.2g sugar, 6.8g protein.

Note: These can easily be made vegan by using a vegan protein powder.

***

I am especially grateful to Lauren and Alicia because they gave me a pie to post about on Pi Day! 😉

Are you celebrating Pi Day?

Skinny cooks.  Can you trust ’em?

Happy Singles Awareness Day

By

I like being married to the gym single.

monopoly cats

I couldn’t even handle having a cat in my life.

What I can handle is eating red food.  I’ve been traveling too much to make anything special, but if I make it to the grocery store today I may eat something red.

In the meantime, I did manage to round-up my favorites… and separate them into courses.  This is what happens when you blog on an airplane.

Then I couldn’t help myself – I made a new sugar-free, high protein microwave cake when I got home from the airport.  It was late, the pics are dark… but this is what happens when you are without chocolate cake and Nuttzo for days.  Cravings must be satisfied!  Recipe at the end.

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Breakfast

Raspberry Baked Oatmeal (To-Go!)

Raspberry Baked Oatmeal (To-Go!)

♥

Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal

Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal

♥

Roasted Beet and Orange Smoothie

Roasted Beet and Orange Smoothie

♥

Mains

Crabby Smoked Gazpacho

Crabby Smoked Gazpacho

♥

Vegan Goat Cheese Stuffed Oven-Roasted Tomatoes

Vegan Goat Cheese Stuffed Oven-Roasted Tomatoes

 ♥

Veggie Sushi with Beet Wasabi Sauce

Veggie Sushi with Beet Wasabi Sauce

♥

Dessert

Beet Protein Frozen Custard

Beet Protein Frozen Custard

♥

Strawberry Smoky Almond Tart

Strawberry Smoky Almond Tart

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This last dessert is the one I made upon arriving home last night.  I had a fierce peanut butter and chocolate craving, and this sugar-less treat fit the bill.  And did I mention it has 30g of protein???

If you stop the microwave while it still looks a tad jiggly on top, you’ll have a gooey, molten cake.  Which is exactly when I did, and highly recommend.  Then I topped it with a healthy serving of Nuttzo (which I am obsessed with), and a festive strawberry heart.

PB Chocolate Cake

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Microwave Cake

  • 2 T peanut flour
  • 1 scoop (2T) chocolate protein powder
  • 1 T cocoa powder
  • 1/8 tsp baking powder
  • 1 T pumpkin puree
  • 1/4 C egg whites
  • 1/4 unsweetened almond milk (or water)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 8 drops chocolate liquid stevia (I used NuNaturals)

 

Mix the dry ingredients in a small bowl.  Add wet to dry and stir to combine.  

Transfer to a small, greased bowl (I used coconut oil).  Microwave until just done, ~ 45-60 secs.  

Transfer to a plate, top as desired, and enjoy!

Approximate Nutritionals: 180 calories, 4g fat, 150.8mg sodium, 11.2g carbohydrates, 4.8g fiber, 1.5g sugar, 31.5g protein

I received this jar of NuttZo free of charge through participation in a FitFluential campaign. I was not otherwise compensated; all opinions on the product are my own (I already ate the stuff religiously). Check out NuttZo on Twitter and/or Facebook!

***

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I think this is the perfect night to curl up with a glass of red wine, some popcorn, and dark chocolate while watching Grey’s.

Do you have big Valentine’s plans?

What is your favorite Valentine-themed food?  I dig those Reese’s hearts… the shapes have more PB!

 

What I Ate in Ohio

By

Road food can be scary.

 

Opossum, McDonald’s, gas station dinners…

If you do frequent gas stations for dinner on the road, you might be excited by this news… Lay’s is testing some new flavors: Chicken & Waffles, Cheesy Garlic Bread, and Sriracha.

Lay's Chicken & Waffles

Apparently you’ll be able to find all 3 flavors in the next week or so.  Lay’s is then offering customers a chance to vote for their favorite in May.  The flavor with the most votes stays, the other 2 are voted off the island discontinued.

I don’t even need to taste them.  I vote for Sriracha.  It could be Strange But Good… or it could be nasty.

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I assure you, I avoided Lay’s on my business trip.  Remember last WIAW when I was packing all my food to-go?  This week we left earlier, so you get to see all that food in action.  I’ve been whipping out my prepared meals (and iPhone camera) with pride!  Ohio doesn’t know what to think of me.

Check out this post for a super-detailed explanation and tips for traveling with healthy foods!

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Check out my 7 meals below, and then click here to head over to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to get to see how others dined this week!

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Meal 1:

My hotel stay hasn’t stopped me from my morning cocktail.  I have had to change the mix a bit – liquids are the one thing I can’t pack with me, so rather than using apple cider vinegar in the mix I asked the hotel to give me a lemon to add.  I juiced half the lemon to mix with my water, Glutamine, and Fitmixer Aminos in a recycled Fiji bottle.

One gripe: the hotel actually CHARGED me for the lemon.  Thank you, Cambria Suites.

FitMixer ACV Morning Cocktail

 

I’ve been rocking my Caffeinated Protein Oatmeal.  The hotel has been giving me cinnamon to add, which I love.  I also grab a side of fruit – today was pineapple and honeydew.

Caffinated Protein Oatmeal

This morning’s oats consisted of :

  • Oatmeal (pre-made at the continental breakfast bar)
  • Vanilla protein powder
  • Cinnamon
  • Coffee
  • Bacon (just a little crumbled on top. 🙂 )

 

Meal 2:

I am loving my no-salt turkey deli meat.  It’s a great option to pack up and take anywhere.  It’s also not too heavy, making it a tasty snack at 10:30am.  Enjoyed with pumpkin seeds and an apple.  There was also a lot of coffee and water involved.

 

Meal 3:

Lunch was two parts.  Our client was having a Fat Tuesday lunch and invited us to join the potluck.  I took small bites of the best stuff… including a littttttle bit crock pot lava cake (OMG it was fabulous).  Added to my plate was a turkey burger I brought from home.

 

Then I hit the cafeteria salad bar:

 

Meal 4:

I have really been loving the Balsamic Grilled Chicken from Trader Joe’s.  It only has 65g of sodium and it isn’t dry in the least.  I cut it into strips for easy-eating in conference rooms.  Eaten with carrot sticks, also pre-cut and brought from home.

 

There was a mid-afternoon sweet tooth satisfier: Extra’s Lemon Square dessert gum.  I’m so glad I finally found this flavor.  It’s 2nd only to the Apple Pie!

Extra Lemon Squares dessert gum

Meal 5:

My co-worker and I hit the gym before dinner last night.  This was a treat because we’ve been going after… not ideal to lift on a full tummy.

The downside was that we were starving by the time we finished and settled for dinner in the hotel.  We both ordered the salmon over green chili grits and a side of steamed spinach and mushrooms.  It wasn’t bad… but quite salty!

Hotel salmon

 

Meal 6:

I was actually hungry but not for this.  I miss eggs.  The powdered eggs on the breakfast bar don’t cut it.  Whatever.  I ate a turkey burger and pretended it was topped with a runny egg.  The zucchini and cauliflower with it were really good.  Cauliflower is a new road-snack for me.  It holds up well!

Here’s what to do when you don’t have a plate: cut up the burger and microwave it in a hotel glass.  Then stack your veggies on top so you can get it all in one picture. 

 

Meal 7:

Another yogurt creation!  I looked forward to My Strawberry-Cinnamon Fro-Yo all day.

This was a single serving plain Greek yogurt and mixed with mashed strawberries, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla extract, and a couple of stevia drops.  Then I froze it at home to take with me, and then turned the hotel fridge to the max to keep it pretty frozen here.  Two days later, this was the perfect texture – half-frozen like fro-yo!

Strawberry Cinnamon Fro Yo

***

The protein count for the day: 163.1g.  One more day and I’m hoooooome!

Which Lay’s flavor would you try?  Any?

Have you tried the Dessert gum yet?  I resisted at first, but have declared it Strange But Good.

 

Nutty Quinoa Fuel Bars

By

Sometimes I get a wild hair and do nutty things.

Like signing up for 8 hour races, totally untrained.

The good thing is that I’m just a stubborn as I am nutty.  If I sign up for a race, I’m going to do it!  Next to proper training, the most important thing you can do is fuel properly.

Pangea Adventure Race canoeing

Photo credit: Pangea Adventure Racing

For last weekend’s adventure race, I made absolutely sure I had what my body needed.  A big part of that was these bars.  If they won’t keep you going, nothing will.

I’ve seen recipes for homemade granola bars, yet for some reason I was too lazy to make them.  But… I figured that if I could do a race like this, then I could muster the energy to make my own fuel.  After seeing Lindsay’s Quinoa Breakfast Bars I knew mine HAD to include quinoa – good, filling carbs.

Nutty Quinoa Fuel Bars

When I’m running, I don’t like to take in massive amounts of protein because it can cause cramping.  The moderate amount in these bars helps keep you sated and energized.

They also include brown rice syrup for energy – endurance is not the place to try to sub with Stevia.  The chia seeds are great for hydration, and contribute healthy fats along with the nuts.  Lastly, I added ginger.  Ginger is known to help calm the tummy, something I was worried about having just recovered from the stomach flu.

Nutty Quinoa Fuel Bars

Finally, the most important part: TASTE.  These are phenomenal.  Not so sweet as to exhaust your palate, but just enough to complement the peanut butter.  The way the oats and quinoa softened during baking bring to mind a fudge-y peanut butter.  I also loved having the bite from the larger pieces of nuts.

Bonus: They held together in a baggie during the race, and the extras have worked well frozen and reheated as a quick snack/yogurt topper.

 

Nutty Quinoa Fuel Bars

Nutty Quinoa Fuel Bars

  • 1/4 C brown rice syrup
  • 1/4 C nut butter (I used 2T almond and 2 T peanut, freshly ground)
  • 2 T coconut oil (melted)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 C quinoa, cooked
  • 3/4 C rolled oats
  • 1/4 C vanilla protein powder (I used Growing Naturals Rice-based)
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 T chia seeds
  • 1 egg (or flax egg)
  • 1/2 C nuts (I used crushed pistachios and walnuts)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a square muffin pan or an 8×8-inch pan.  

Combine the syrup, butters, and vanilla in a small bowl.

In a large bowl, mix together the quinoa, oats, protein powder, cinnamon, ginger, and chia seeds.  Stir in egg, mixing well to avoid clumps.

Add the wet mixture to the bowl, again stirring well to distribute the ingredients and form a dough.  Fold in nuts.

Spoon the dough onto prepared pan, spreading into a flat layer. Bake for 18-20 mins, until golden brown on top. Remove from oven and let cool before removing from tins or cutting into squares.

Makes 11 squares.  (I must have eaten too much dough…)

Approximate nutrition: 183 calories, 9.5g fat, 21.6g sodium, 18.5g carbs, 3.2g fiber, 5.2g sugar, 7.g protein

***

I am all registered for the Blend Retreat!  Hope to meet /reunite with many of you there! 🙂

What is your favorite race fuel?

When was the last time you got a wild hair?  What did you do?

Strange But Good Blends + Cocoa-Cayenne Sweet Potato Oatmeal

By

I’m slow sometimes.

Ok, a lot of times… especially in the morning.

Last year was the first time I’d ever heard the term “Blend.”  Now I have some amazing blends.  These people continually inspire me, push my thinking, and are some of the best friends I’ve ever had.

My Blend, Kat,  writes a bi-weekly a guest post on this blog.  Yesterday she included a recipe for Cocoa-Cinnamon-Cayenne Roasted Sweet Potatoes.  I wanted them for breakfast… so I blended her recipe with a breakfast many of you have daily – oatmeal – to start my day with a strange but good treat!

CCC Sweet Potato Oatmeal

If you are  volume eater (and I am), you’ll especially love this.  The sweet potato and the egg whites fluff this up so it’s like a giant bowl of sweet potato custard!  The cocoa is more a secondary flavor – I didn’t want to be straight up eating dessert – but you could add more if you want.

Don’t be afraid of the cayenne.  Start with a little and go from there.  The hint of heat on the end of eat bite is a fun surprise to the palate!

Sweet Potato CCC Oatmeal

Cocoa-Cayenne Sweet Potato Oatmeal

  • 1/4 C oatmeal
  • 1/4 C mashed sweet potato
  • 2 tsp cocoa
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne (adjust to your liking)
  • 1/2 tsp maple extract
  • 1/2 C egg whites (optional)
  • Optional toppings: ground flax, cacao nibs, and blueberries

Cook oatmeal as usual.

Meanwhile, mix together sweet potato, cocoa, cinnamon, and maple extract (you could also use vanilla) in a small bowl.  You may need to add water to keep it moist.

When oats are just down, stir in sweet potato mixture until well-combined.  If using, add egg whites.  Stir constantly to ensure that eggs are well-incorporated and don’t become scrambled.

Transfer to bowl, add toppings, and enjoy!

One of my best blends, Heather, made a Strange But Good recipe that was linked up here a couple of weeks ago!  Our other best blend,  Heather 2, created this scrumptious Lip Smackin’ Vegan Mac, which Heather 1 used to top her burrito stuffings.  Strange but awesome!

vegan mac n cheese

I cannot WAIT to try this recipe!

Speaking of Blends… registration opens for the Blend Retreat opens SUNDAY!  Doesn’t someone want to sponsor me?

Blend 2013

 

Check out the site.  Register.  Trust me.  This was the BEST retreat I’ve ever been on .  Lindsay, Janetha, and Katie did a fantastic job getting sponsors, organizing activities, and leaving enough down time for us to all get to know each other.

It’s also where I fell in love with Heather!

Heather and Me

Alright, my strange but good blends… show me your weird food!

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. 🙂



***

Thank you all sooooo much for all of the kind words about the adventure race.  This weekend… I’m resting. 🙂

What is your favorite way to prepare sweet potatoes?

Are you going to Blend???

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