Sprint 2 the Table

Appetites and Adventures

Key Lime Pie Smoothie

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To be honest, I’m not a big Key Lime Pie fan.

When Allie requested a smoothie version, I cringed a bit.  She was the inspiration for the Oatmeal Cookie Dough Shake, which is one of the most popular I’ve made… so I trusted her idea and set my mind to filling her request.

Cool down after a workout with this healthy Key Lime Pie Protein Shake!

My problem with key lime pies in the past is that the balance of tart and sweet is not right.  Have you ever taken a huge bite of a too-green-to-be-real pie and nearly spit it out because it’s too sour, or so sweet that your teeth hurt?  One bad experience can ruin you.

My dad would order a slice anywhere we went, and after one such achingly sweet bite I decided I would forever stick to my usual chocolate dessert orders.  Tragic, I tell you.

Cool down after a workout with this healthy Key Lime Pie Protein Shake!

I guarantee that this smoothie won’t end in such a tragedy.  The lime is balanced with the natural sweetness of banana and a bit of stevia.  Hints of vanilla and almond give it more depth  of flavor, also helping to balance the lime.  The key lime green color is all-natural from spinach, rather than the neon glow of food coloring.  One of my favorite features is the creaminess.  The banana gives it a great texture, and – if you use the Guar Gum – it will further enhance the decadent smoothness.

Of course everyone’s favorite part of pie is the crust.  Rather than the usual buttery calorie bomb, I rimmed my glass in a mix of crushed cereal and sugar-free maple syrup.  Crunchy goodness with each sip!

Cool down after a workout with this healthy Key Lime Pie Protein Shake!

Whipped cream topping is standard on many pies.  A drinkable version shouldn’t lack that finishing touch!  For this shake, I made a quick cream from coconut flour and vanilla almond milk.

The fluff floated atop my pie-drink and you better believe I hoarded that deliciousness until the last drop was gone.

Cool down after a workout with this healthy Key Lime Pie Protein Shake!

Cool down after a workout with this healthy, vegan Key Lime Pie Protein Shake!

Key Lime Pie Protein Shake

  • 1 C spinach
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use Growing Naturals)
  • 1/2 banana
  • 1/4 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 4-5 T fresh lime juice (or 1/4 small lime if you have a Vitamix)
  • 1 T ground flax
  • 1/4 tsp almond extract
  • 1/4 tsp Guar Gum (optional)
  • 7-8 drops liquid stevia (or other sweetener)
  • Ice, to taste

For “Crust”

  • 2 T cereal crumbs
  • Sugar-fee maple syrup
For “Cream” Topping
  • 1 tsp coconut flour
  • 2 tsp water
  • 1 drop liquid stevia

Combine all smoothie ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

For the “crust,” lightly coat the rim of your glass with maple syrup and dunk in cereal crumbs – it’s just like rimming a margarita glass with salt.

For the “cream,” mix all ingredients in a small bowl.  Adjust liquid as needed.

Carefully pour your smoothie into the rimmed glass and top with cream.

Enjoy!

***

I leave you with my favorite pie quote from Jack Handy: “When you die, if you get a choice between going to regular heaven or pie heaven, choose pie heaven. It might be a trick, but if it’s not, mmmmmmmm, boy.”

What is your favorite pie?

If you had a choice, what kind of food-related heaven would you choose?

Stripper Heels + WIAW

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I got 99 problems but a bench ain’t one.

Yep.  That’s on my workout play list.

Last week I talked in this post about focus at the gym, and how purposeful lifting increases results.  I attribute that to many of the gains I’ve been able to make since beginning figure competition training.  I’ve also talked a lot about diet and eating to fuel workouts.  I’m doing a little better with my increased meal requirements.  It’s still not easy… but seeing that it works is encouraging.

So now it’s time for the other part of training to begin.

Posing in stripper heels.

If you ever want to feel totally awkward and like Bambi on new legs, try to balance in plastic heels while keeping your feet together, butt out, and shoulders “big.”

After last night – my very first posing practice – I learned that I have a LOT to learn.

This is the last summer edition of What I Ate Wednesday.  While I’ll be strutting my stuff in a bikini and stripper heels in the coming months, looking out my window at the rainy weather I know fall is in the air.

 

 

Check out my pescatarian protein-filled day below, then click here to visit Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to see everyone else’s end of summer eats!

Meal 1:

I’ve been changing up my typical mix of aminos and 2T of apple cider vinegar but adding 1 tsp of glutamine and a couple drops of orange stevia.    I’m loving the hint of orange!  This combo has really replaced my coffee to aid in digestion and provide energy in the morning.

Something I have noticed since being on a training diet is that I get on food-kicks more often.  Right now it’s pancakes!  This morning I did a repeat of last week’s PrOATein Pancakes.

This week I spiced it up a bit by doubling the cinnamon and adding 1/4 tsp of ground ginger.

Served with a broiled grapefruit – recipe here.

Meal 2:

Remember the apple cupcake from last week?  I made that frosting again, but this week I enjoyed it out of a martini glass with pumpkin seeds and golden kiwi.

The golden kiwi was a farmer’s market find.  It’s like a sweeter regular kiwi.  I love them!

 Side note: late in the day I knocked this glass off the counter and shattered it.  See how graceful I am?

Meal 3:

This is one of my favorite seafood creations to-date.  I marinated tilapia in tequila, lime and some other stuff before cooking it on a grill pan.

I continue to suffer from over-stuffing.  My “taco” was more of a flat bread.  Whatever… it was still good.  My toppings: black bean dip, spinach, red onion, cucumber, red pepper, jalapeno, and cilantro.

Meal 4:

This gazpacho was made using some late season tomatoes and my über expensive crab meat.  It’s what I ate pre-workout the night I hit my bicep PR, so I thought I’d try it again!

Meal 5:

One of the best modifications my trainer has made to my diet is meal switching.  If it is time for a carb meal, but I’m about to workout out I swap it for a non-carb meal.

Normally right now I’d be eating 2 veggies, a carb, and a protein; however, I had leg day with my trainer.  What I did instead is have a veggie and a protein and saved the carb for Meal 6.

This is what eating just to get my protein in on the whey to the gym looks like:

GNC whey protein mixed with Greek yogurt and cinnamon.  With a side of cauliflower.  It was an interesting combo, to say the least. 

Meal 6:

Post-workout I happily slurped on my Carrot Cake Batter Protein Shake on the way home.  I added spinach and celery to get my second serving of veggies.  You can’t taste either one at all!  I also blended in some rolled oats and topped it with cinnamon Kashi to get my carbs.

Meal 7:

This week I have been really FULL.  I think I’m making such an effort to increase meal sized during the day that I get to meal 7 and am over the limit.  There’s nothing like 2.5 hours at the gym to cure that!  After posing practice and a brutal leg day, I was more than happy to squeeze in one more meal.

This is Lauren’s recipe for Vegan Bread Pudding, slightly modified.  Instead of the pumpkin I used a mashed up peach, added 1 T almond milk, and used the end piece of my P28 High Protein Bread rather than Ezekial bread (I’ll be ordering more of that!).  I also left out the walnuts, as I don’t eats fats in Meal 7.

So.  Good.

***

I still need to get a little more in my day, but I’m well on my way with the 176.6g of protein from today’s eats!

Have you ever had broiled grapefruit?

Any one out there with experience walking in stripper heels?  I’m going to need help.  🙂

Tales from the Gym + Caffeinated Giveaway

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There’s one in every crowd.

You  know the one.  The dude that you keep catching staring at you in the gym.  You know it’s just a matter of time before he comes over to chat.  Monday was that day.

First, you have to picture this guy.  Mid-30s, frat boy hair cut, tattoos up on arm… fairly big guy with a little beer belly.   He sauntered up to me while I was adding weight to the seated row machine.

He opened his mouth to reveal one of the most Southern accents I’ve heard in Atlanta.

Frat Man: “I believe that’s more than you weigh.”

Me: “Not quite, but close.”

Frat Man: “I’ve been watching you.  You’re strong.”

Me: “Thank you.”

We went our separate ways, but I notice he’s still glancing over at me.  Later I was doing my calf raises and he asked if he could work in.  I obliged, but before he started, he had to add more commentary.

Frat Man: “I’m sorry I keep staring at you.  I can’t help it – you look just like Tinkerbell.”

Me: “Well… thanks!  I love Tinker.”

Frat Man: “I mean it.  Straight from the TV… how much do you weigh?”

Me: “I’m not really sure.”

Frat Man: “Well, you look good.”

Me: “Thanks.  Have a great workout.”

All of this went down in the least creepy way possible (trust me – I know creepy).  Well, aside from the fact that he said he’s been watching me.  LOL!

Slightly less funny, but still amusing.  This was on the television at the gym yesterday morning:

Daria.

I kind of wanted to stop and watch.

But I mentioned a giveaway, right?

This is one of the more exciting giveaways I’ve done, IMHO.  Reason being is that I LOVE this product.  Often I see giveaways for products that aren’t so great.  Of course, everyone has different tastes… but I do make it a point to try samples before agreeing to a giveaway.  There have been products I’ve turned down – I feel like it reflects badly on me if you are sent something that isn’t that great!

That’s not the case with this giveaway (or with the P28 Bread – I am in LOVE).

Chike contacted me about their coffee protein powder a few weeks ago.  I was hesitant – often I find coffee-flavored stuff to be too fake.  I like the real thing.  The rep assured me the caffeine content was the same as a 2 espresso shots, and it was low sugar/low sodium I knew I had to give it a shot.  Enter: a new addiction.

Who needs Starbucks when you can have a homemade protein mocha frapp with a fraction of the sugar?  If you were to order a Grande (16 oz) Mocha Frappucchino Light at Starbucks, you’d be drinking 130 calories, 28g carbs, 26g sugar, and 4g of protein.  You might as well just swallow 2 tablespoons of sugar.

With 20g of whey protein, 23 vitamins & minerals, and just 2g sugar, this powder makes for a perfect pre-workout shake.  Sunday I was feeling really sluggish after eating too many salty truffle fries on cheat day (I woke up feeling hung over!), but I downed this before meeting my trainer and had a great leg workout.

In my re-creation of the frappuccino, you’ll only have the 2g of sugar from the Chike protein powder and an additional 6-7g from half of a banana.  This is a mocha (any excuse for chocolate in the morning), but you could change up the flavors to recreate your favorite.

Check out this Pumpkin Frapp I did last fall, for example.

You guys know I can’t make a smoothie without adding spinach, so this delicious beverage has a slightly green-ish tint.  The banana added natural sweetness and lent a creamy texture to the drink.

I can never stress enough – use good cocoa!!!  Your drink will be 10x better and 1T of the good stuff won’t break the bank. 🙂

Recipe at bottom.

I’ll get off my sugar-soap box now and tell you how you can get your own Chike High Protein Coffee.

3 winners will be randomly chosen to receive 5 packets of the coffee, and a Chike Blender bottle.  You can never have enough blender bottles.

Receive up to 4 entries:

  1. Follow me on Twitter or Subscribe to the Sprint 2 the Table RSS feed or email
  2. Tweet: You could say something like: I’ve entered to win a blender bottle and sample pack from @iLikeChike with @sprint2thetable http://wp.me/p16jDn-1rZ  #giveaway
  3. Be Social: Twitter Follow Chike, Pinterest Follow Me and/or Pin Something of Mine, Instagram Follow Me
  4. Comment: What is your go-to caffeinated beverage?

Please leave a *separate comment* for each entry!

Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST Thursday night,  August 23rd.  The winner will be announced here on Friday, August 24th!

Open to US Residents only.  If you’d like to try these bars but didn’t win, you can order your own on the Chike website.

Mocha Protein Frappuccino

  • 1 serving Chike High Protein Coffee (or 1 scoop protein powder + 1 tsp instant coffee)
  • 1 C spinach (optional)
  • 1/2 medium banana
  • 1 T cocoa powder
  • 7-8 drops liquid Stevia
  • 1/4 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1.8 tsp Guar Gum (optional, acts as a thickener)
  • Ice, to taste

Place all ingredients in blander and mix until smooth.

Top with your favorite add-ins – I used raw oats here – and enjoy!

***

Yesterday we lost one of the most brilliantly funny comedians to walk this earth.  RIP to Phyllis Diller.  I’ll leave you with her wisdom: “Best way to get rid of kitchen odors: Eat out.”

What is your funniest gym interaction?

Are you concerned with sugar intake? 

PB & Aggs + Carrot Cake Batter {WIAW}

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I’m a big fan of modifications.

Have you seen the dishes I bastardize exercise creative license with?

This week my nutrition plan has had one awesome modification.  After mentioning that I almost hurled last week after shoveling down lunch right before a workout, my trainer gave me an life stomach saving tip.  If a workout is scheduled right after a carb meal (Meal 1, 3, 5, or 7), then I can switch the order of the meals.  So instead of my scheduled Meal 3 carb + protein + veggie combo, I could have swapped it for Meal 4 which is just a veggie + protein.

3 Benefits to This:

  1. Quick protein boost before a workout (and a little energy from the sugar if this occurs in the morning when I get fruit rather than a veggie)
  2. Complex carbs post-workout are great for muscle repair/recovery
  3. No risk of regurgitation

Similar to running, you don’t want to lift heavy on a full tummy.  It’s hard work and being full just makes you feel draggy.  When you’re in prep for a figure competition the last thing you want is to have a junk workout.  I’ve been relishing in this modification all week.  It has done wonders for my energy at the gym, as well as my comfort level!

Enough tummy talk.  We have a new theme this week for What I Ate Wednesday!

Seasonal eating is a big deal to me.  Food that is in season tastes better, and it is less expensive.  Not to mention the fact that you can support your local farmers by purchasing your product through them rather than from far away places like Chile.

Check out my (mostly) summertime appropriate eats below, then click here to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to see everyone else’s fitness foods!

Meal 1:

I’m recycling the pic from last week of aminos mixed with ~2T of apple cider vinegar and water.  I drink this down 30 mins prior to meal one for its benefits related to energy, digestion, and skin.

As I mentioned above, I’m doing some meal-order-swapping around my workouts.  Since I was about to hit the gym, I swapped meals 1 and 2.  So… Meal 1 = Meal 2, meaning I need a fruit and a protein.

You follow?

Last week’s PB & Jeggs were so good I did a little remix of that idea.  Rather than using mixed berries, I uses apples to create PB & Aggs!  (Any Aggie fans out there?)

I shook it up a little to be more like PB & Agg Pie. (Is that taking the naming thing too far?)

PB & Aggs:

  • 1/2 C egg whites
  • 2 T peanut flour
  • 2 T water
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 3 drops lemon liquid stevia
  • 1 small apple, cut into ~1/2 in pieces

See this post for detailed instructions.

Meal 2:

Post-workout I ate what was supposed to be Meal 1.  Hooray for post-workout complex carbs!  This is a seasonal cherry-ginger protein smoothie bowl (with spinach, obv) topped with homemade granola.  It was simple but hit the spot. 

Meal 3:

I often make it through the day with entirely vegetarian protein sources, but today I enjoyed a tuna burger with a said of salsa.  I’d love to share the recipe with you, but to be honest it was a little dry.  The flavor was good… I will keep tweaking and report back.

For my seasonal sides, I enjoyed carrot sticks and raw asparagus.  Produce is so sweet this summer!  I read somewhere that it is due to the extreme heat.  Apparently, some good does come out of 100+ temps! 

My complex carb was a slice of Ezekial bread with some Sunbutter.  After a nasty failed attempt at making my own sunflower seed butter, I sucked it up and bought a jar.

Worth.  It.

Meal 4:

Another seasonal veggie favorite is zucchini.  I’ve seen a lot of pics posted around the web of some massive zucchini. I wish I’d taken one of this sucker before I cut it up because it was a beast.

Eaten with no salt added cottage cheese mixed with peanut flour, nutritional yeast, and sriracha.  It was a sort of Thai peanut sauce!  To be honest… I went a little heavy on the nooch. 😉

Meal 5:

Apparently last Wednesday was particularly inspiring to me.  For dinner, I repeated yet another meal from the week.  What can I say, I fell in love with the (gluten-free) Cauliflower pizza!

I made the crust just like this one, but topped it with a local tomato, red onion, aged balsamic, a farm fresh egg, and a bastardized vegan version of spinach pesto.

 

The pesto creation was quite tasty – lots of herb-y, fresh flavor.  Here’s how I did it:

Vegan Spinach-Rosemary “Pesto”

  • 1 C fresh spinach
  • 1 large sprig of rosemary
  • 1 T nutritional yeast
  • 1/4 tsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/4 tsp olive oil
  • A bit of water (just enough to blend)

 Place it all in the blender and mix until smooth.

If you haven’t made this yet… well, I feel sorry for you.

Meal 6:

Carrot cake is something of a tradition in my family.  It’s not surprising that my favorite protein shake is this carrot cake creation.  It’s what inspired the following snackage.  I had already had a smoothie at Meal 2, and since I try to vary my protein sources, I racked my brain to figure out what other sources I could get 20g of protein from.  The answer?  Greek Yogurt!

Ladies and gentlemen (do any dudes read this blog?!), I give you a bowl full ‘o Carrot Cake Batter:

This protein-packed snack reminds me of that recipe handed down from my MamMaw.  The freshly grated carrot and the hint of nutmeg make this batter is scarily close to the “real” thing.  I have eaten it as Meal 6 every night this week.  Admittedly, some cream cheese icing would be nice.

Recipe at bottom.

Meal 7:

I’m in comfort-dessert food mode.  Pumpkin Pie Mush, anyone?  I’m going to turn orange.

This has been done ad nauseam in blog-land, so I won’t beat a dead horse.  Basically, you mix together your desired amount of oats, protein powder, pumpkin, water or other liquid, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla, stevia.  Let sit in fridge for at least an hour.  Devour.

Carrot Cake Protein Batter

  • 1/2 C Greek yogurt
  • 1 T vanilla protein powder
  • 1 medium carrot, grated
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp maple extract (optional)
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 7-8 drops liquid stevia, or sweeter of your choice

Place all ingredients in a bowl, and stir to combine.  Depending on the thickness of your yogurt and the absorption of your protein powder, you may need to add a bit of liquid.

Note: This is also delicious with peanut flour, PB2, or coconut flour in place of the protein powder.

***

Are you keeping track?  I managed 149.1g of protein.  Even more exciting (to me) is the fact that I actually kept my sodium down to 1,137mg.  Shityeah.

What are your favorite summer foods?

Have you ever actually gotten sick during a workout?  I think I would die.

Oatmeal Cookie Dough in a Glass

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You guys have the best ideas.

I make a LOT of shakes and smoothies (what distinguishes the two, btw?).  Would you believe that you don’t even see half of the craziness I blend up?

There are the favorites that end up in steady rotation:

Apple Pie Smoothie

Banana-Maple-Ginger (pictured with Lisa’s raw cookie dough ball)

Roasted Beet and Orange Smoothie

My all-time favorite… 

Liquid Sweet Potato Pie

And my new favorite…

Carrot Cake Batter Shake

Which brings me back to the subject of the day.  When I posted the Carrot Cake Batter recipe, Allie commented that she’s more of a cookie than a cake girl.  She requested an Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Shake.

I owe her big time for that request, because this is GOOD.  The test batches weren’t too painful to drink either.

Appropriate for breakfast or dessert, this is one tasty batter.  The mix of oats, banana, flax, and coconut flour give it a fabulously doughy texture.  I almost wanted to pop the mix in the oven once I blended it.

Nutritional yeast may seem like a weird addition, but it have a rich, nutty taste that compliments the sweet flavors in this dough.  The vanilla and cinnamon add to the cookie flavor, and – if you have it – the butter extract just adds a hint of “fresh from the oven.”

Confession: I don’t like raisins (or any dried fruit for that matter).  Feel free to blend a few in for added cookie sweetness, but I – being a good blogger – bought 19 cents of raisins from the bulk bin for a topping to enhance the photo accommodate Allie’s request. 😉

***In any of these shakes, you may leave out the protein powder.  I like the addition because a) protein is good for muscle building/recovery and b) it make it more filling.***

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Oatmeal Cookie Shake

  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1/3 C rolled oats (use gluten-free for a GF shake)
  • 1/2 banana
  • 1 T ground flax
  • 1 T coconut flour
  • 1.5 tsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/8 tsp butter extract
  • 7-8 drops liquid stevia
  • 1/2 C unsweetened almond milk (or other liquid)
  • Ice, to taste
  • 1/8 tsp Guar Gum (optional, but this will make your smoothie thicker)
  • Toppings: crushed walnuts, raisins, cacao nibs (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a high-seed blender and blend until smooth.

Add toppings and drink your dough!

Makes 1 smoothie.

***

Another confession: I didn’t like oatmeal cookies until I was an adult.  I did; however, always like oatmeal.

Have you tried any of these smoothies?

If you could make a recipe request of any blogger, what would it be?

Boycotts and Friday Finds

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 Please excuse my soap box.

 

If you live in the South (a.k.a.: the land of Chick-fil-a), then you have probably heard the Chick-fil-a COO made a statement that Chick-fil-a supports anti-gay causes.  This isn’t a political blog, but I was outraged that I felt the need to speak up.

 

One of the great things about this country is our freedom of speech.  However… it’s hard for me to believe that in 2012 any company would waste their breath with such discriminatory sentiments.  Grow up, Chick-fil-a.

Yes, they have a right to do whatever they please with their influence and their money.  So do I.  That’s why I signed HRC’s pledge to let Chick-fil-a know that I don’t support discrimination.  And I can live without your waffle fries dipped in Polynesian sauce.

 *steps off box*

________________________________________________________________________________________

Now for some positive reporting!  It’s FRIDAY!!!  In honor of my favorite day, here are some of my favorite recent “finds.”

Products, recipes, and blogs I’ve been loving lately:

1. New Flavors

Cake Batter.  Sizzlin’ Bacon.  Double Chocolate.  Caramel.

 

 

My favorite is the Cake Batter.  The others were ok, but the Bacon was a little disappointing.  It’s basically like liquid smoke.

These were ordered online thru Capella… the Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli hipped me to the fact that they are even cheaper here.

 

 

2. Peach Protein Powder

The guys at my local nutrition store gave me a sample packet of this Peach Sensation protein powder made my Allmax Nutrition.  I wasn’t familiar with the company before, but I will be now!  This stuff was really good.  The ingredients are pretty clean, and it’s low in sodium and carbs, and contains no sugar.

 

 

I blended it with cinnamon, ginger, and a little water to make a spiced peach protein smoothie.

 

 

3. Runny Eggs, Protein Bagels, and Roasted Cauliflower

Ok, that’s 3 things… but they are all so good!  I got permission from my trainer to have an egg yolk!  this is big news because I am obsessed with runny eggs.  It goes perfectly atop my other new obsession – P28 Protein Bagels.  Just 1/2 a bagel has 14g of protein.  Egg + Bagel = 20g protein

 

 

I also am on a cauliflower bender.  Today’s was cheesy chocolate.  I kid you not.  1/2 tsp cocoa powder, 1 T nutritional yeast, 1 T rice vinegar, 2 drops lemon stevia.  Roast.  Devour.

 

 

4. Surprises in the Mail

I came home last night to a package from the far away land of Canada.

 

 

Meg @ A Dash of Meg sent me a bag of her favorite ginger-flavored David’s Tea!  If you don’t know Meg, you should.  This is literally the sweetest girl I’ve ever “met.”  And we have discovered we’re food twins.  And this tea smells like heaven.

 

 

5. Green Spiced Protein Pancakes

I have made some pretty bad pancakes in my day.  This was not one of those days.

When I saw this green pancake recipe by Sara @ Stories and Sweet Potatoes (isn’t that the best blog name?), I knew I had to give them a whirl.  My tweaks were:

  • Add nutmeg 
  • Subbed 2 T of coconut flour for quinoa flour
  • Left out yogurt

 

 

I made the batter the night before and let it rest in the fridge overnight.  In the morning I dumped it in a well-greased (PAM) pan and made one tasty, gigantic pancake.  Note: Don’t skimp on the spices – go big in order to give the monster some flavor.  

Topped with cinnamon, apple, and sugar-free maple syrup.

 

 

Bonus: Cold Soup

Ok, this is a little self-promoting, but I really have been loving cold soup in the hot weather.  So much so that when rockstar athlete and foodie Lauren @ Oatmeal After Spinning asked me to write a guest post for her, I decided that would be the soup topic du jour.

 

 

Click here to check out my Peach-Cucumber Chilled Soup guest post, and say hi the the vacationing Lauren!

 

***

Quote from Trainer Abdul yesterday during a particularly fun set of leg presses:

Don’t cheat yourself, treat yourself.

 

What is your favorite “find” as of late?

Is there a quote or saying that gets you through “just one more” in workout or situation?

 

Carrot Cake Batter Shake

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It’s perfectly acceptable to drink your dessert.

My sister made me my faovrite carrot cake for my birthday.  It was amazing, but sadly I can’t eat like that every day.  Well, I could, but it would require me to live in a sugar coma.

I’ve been working on a healthy alternative to my favorite cake for a while now.  In protein shake form, of course. 🙂

After a few weeks of tweaks with the spice levels, I hit it spot on.  This protein-rich carrot cake batter even got the stamp of approval from my trainer.

He’s picky, so I kept the green out for him.  Feel free to toss in a handful of spinach as you see fit.

I love the ginger and cinnamon in the “batter.”  Those spices are what seals the deal to make it reminiscent of carrot cake.  The tofu makes it creamy, like batter.  Add some vanilla and nutmeg, and you have a cake batter you can feel good about eating.  Yes, you may lick the spatula.

Last night I tried it one last time pre-posting.  I increased the spices slightly so that I could add more ice to create ice cream in my Vitamix without losing flavor.

It worked.

Carrot Cake Batter Shake

Carrot Cake Batter Shake

  • 1/4 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1 carrot
  • 3 oz silken tofu
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 in piece fresh ginger
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • 7-8 drops liquid stevia
  • Ice, to taste
  • 1/8 tsp Guar Gum (optional, but will add creaminess)

Combine all ingredients in a high speed blender and mix until smooth.

Makes 1 serving.

***

I actually went back and checked the ingredients a few time because I couldn’t believe anything so cake-like could really be healthy.  True story.

What is your favorite cake flavor?

Do you add spinach to your smoothies?  I felt weird drinking one that wasn’t green!

Planning to Eat Healthy + WIAW

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Eating healthy on the go takes planning.

I’m sure this isn’t news to any of you.  It’s become particularly evident to make lately as I’ve changed my habits to incorporate more protein and begun eating 7 small meals a day.  Serious training goals take serious planning.

For starters, I keep track of my meals in a spreadsheet.  This way I’m never stuck searching for ideas and/or desperate and hangry for food.  By keeping it on Google Docs, I can easily edit and make additions as I get ideas throughout the day.

It also makes for easy grocery shopping – I can make my list in record time now!  (P.S. check out yesterday’s post for a chart to navigate grocery store.) 

Last week I mentioned that I was struggling to find a wider variety of vegetarian protein sources.  The resulting increase in dairy resulted in my skin is breaking out.  Since then I’ve reduced my dairy to 1-2 servings a day, and my skin has magically cleared up!

One way I’ve kept up my protein intake without the dairy is to incorporate fish into my diet.  If you’ve been reading for a bit, you know that I’ve dabbled with being vegetarian and even vegan.  For me, it was about how much better I felt without meat in my diet.

Mom and I learned together how to bake fish in parchment last Friday evening!

While I do intend to keep my diet as plant-based as possible, I am enjoying experimenting with seafood (something I only started to like a few months ago), and haven’t noticed it dragging me down like I did with meats.

July is becoming my favorite months for a few reasons:

  1. It’s my birthday month  (4 more days!)
  2. The fruits and veggies we’ve been getting at local markets have been particularly delicious
  3. Jenn’s What I Ate Wednesday theme for July is of “Food, Fun, and Fitness.”  You guys know that’s perfect for me these days!

Check out my latest adventures in protein-loading below; then click here to the WIAW round-up on Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to see everyone else’s fitness foods!

 _______________________________________________________________________________________

Pre-Game:

I woke up early, but my weights workout isn’t until late tonight since I have a date with my trainer.  I’ve grown accustomed to  moving in the morning, so I decided to jump on the treadmill for a power walk while watching a little GMA.  Not wanting breakfast yet, but needing energy I drank down a glass of my Fitmixer Aminos. mixed with ~2T of apple cider vinegar (great way to start the day for energy and errr… digestion…).

Meal 1:

Anytime I have an appointment with my trainer, I try to eat a little heartier throughout the day.  Not stuffing myself, but I want to be sure I have adequate energy because he pushes me to the limit and then some.

I don’t repeat many meals, but last week’s Blueberry Protein Tart was so delicious that I couldn’t wait to eat it again.

Same tart base and peanut butter icing, but I this time used peaches rather than blueberries and sprinkled the top with ground flax and cinnamon.

Meal 2:

Did you know eggs can be cooked in the microwave?  It sounded weird to me at first, but it worked out perfectly.

I microwaved 3/4 C egg whites mixed with black pepper and ~1T water (to make them fluffier) for 2 mins.  Then I stirred it up with some tomato and basil before popping it back in for 15 secs.

 

Topped with pumpkin seeds and red pepper flakes.  I’m positive the work microwaves have never been used for such a creation. 🙂

Meal 3:

Lunch was last night’s leftovers.  Here’s where the fish comes in.  I baked a halibut in parchment with rainbow chard, shiitake mushrooms, Chinese 5-Spice, and a little coconut oil.  It was pretty tasty.  Even though my boss said it smelled… that is a problem with seafood.

Enjoyed with some sesame Wasa crackers. 

Meal 4:

Here’s my serving of dairy – a mixture of no salt added cottage cheese, peanut flour (a.k.a.: my crack), and a bit of liquid Stevia.  Side of cucumber sticks.  This is literally the tastiest cucumber I’ve ever had.  Unbelievable amount of flavor. 

Meal 5:

Remember yesterday’s vegan Protein-Packed Ancho Bean Burgers?  I took one to work for dinner!  Yup – I ate dinner at work.  My trainer appointment was at 9p and I had a Genius Bar appointment at 7p… no point in going home.

All wrapped up in a giant piece of chard with artichoke spread and radishes.

Meal 6:

This was a post-workout shake to cure my leg shakes.

I received a couple of protein powder samples from JBT Labs.  This was a chocolate flavor.  My first reaction was that it was ok… I decided to add chocolate extract to the mix, as well as some Stevia.  There was also 1/2 a zucchini, spinach, and ice in the mix.

At first I was worried because the blender made it frothy. Some people like that… I prefer creamy.

I stored it in the freezer most of the day, but it thawed a good bit between my errand and the workout.  Lo and behold, after it had sat all day the mix and de-frothed and was DELICIOUS.  It seems obvious now, but when faced with frothier powders I will let the mixture have time to rest and settle post-blend.

Meal 7:

Last meal = dessert.  I almost didn’t eat this one because I was so tired from the gym.  But… I knew my muscles would thank me.  Especially when I have an early morning workout planned.

Mashed up strawberries, vanilla protein powder, cinnamon, and almond milk.  Let chill in fridge for 30 mins or so.  Devour.  Go to bed.

***

This day of eats contained 6 different protein sources, and I managed 157g of protein.

Do you bring seafood for lunch?  How do you deal with the fishy smell?

How do you keep track of your weekly meals?

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