Sprint 2 the Table

Appetites and Adventures

Slurp Your Sweet Potato

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Despite being up until 3am working, I woke up (late) this morning ready to MOVE.

Breakfast was a coffee, an apple, and a jalapeno-cheddar scone (recipe to come… it still needs a little work).  To fuel my energy, I read some neglected fitness magazines.

What resulted was an amazing workout:

  1. 5 min elliptical warm-up
  2. Wide grip lat pull-downs – 3 sets of 12
  3. Bent over dumbbell row – 3 sets of 15
  4. Seated cable row – 3 sets of 12
  5. 30 second planks as an active rest between sets in #2-4 (total 10)
  6. Dumbbell pullover – 3 sets of 12
  7. Row to raise – 2 sets of 12
  8. Push-ups- 3 sets of 15 – superset with…
  9. Standing dumbbell curl – 3 sets of 12
  10. Alternating dumbbell curl – 5 sets of 12
  11. Hammer curl – 4 sets of 15 (or to exhaustion)
  12. 1 min sprint intervals on the treadmill between each set in #10-11 (total 8  )

Then I took the stairs back up to my condo.  Whew!

 

That killer workout called for a gigantic protein shake.

You’re probably going to think this is weird… BUT just trust me.

Sweet Potato Smoothie

  • 1/4 large sweet potato, cooked (mine was left over from this)
  • 1 hand full of spinach
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ginger
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • Ice + water/milk to taste

Combine all ingredients in blender and process until smooth.  Slurp away!

***

Time to head out the door for the derby sleepover – so excited to hang out with the team off-skates!

Does anyone else have adult sleepovers?!

It’s like high school but now you don’t have to sneak in the alcohol.

Snowmygawd!

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We’ve moved on from the snow to ice.  This city is shut down.  Even derby practice has been canceled all week!  In case you were wondering, ice is significantly less fun than snow.

Peachtree St. (the main drag through Atlanta) is literally a sheet of ice.  No joke – this dude was ice skating down the street.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iudRPyX4934

This is 2 blocks from my condo.

Being trapped has done a lot for productivity – I have gotten 2 big deliverables done for work, changed my sheets, hand washed dishes (I always put off doing hand wash-only dishes), worked out everyday, done laundry, and some other random “to do” items.

I did get out on Monday night for some fun.  Atlanta was in par-tay mode! 🙂

Picture taken by random guy on the street:

Told you I'm a red-head!

Last night I made some rockin’ roasted sweet potatoes.  I couldn’t take a picture, but my sister requested that directions be posted.  Here you go, Alli:

Lavender Roasted Sweet Potatoes

  • 1 Giant Sweet potato
  • 1/4-1/2 tsp Dried lavender blossoms
  • 1/2 tsp Dried rosemary
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 T EVOO

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Chop well-rinsed (I don’t peel mine) sweet potato into 1/2 in cubes and spread out on foil-lined baking sheet.  Toss with herbs, salt, and EVOO.

Roast in oven for ~40 mins, tossing once at 25 min mark.  Remove and enjoy!

***

I read an interesting article from my Active.com daily email.    It discusses training for a race vs. weight loss.

Many people begin running for weight loss.  One of the common stories I see is that of people signing up for a 5K as motivation to begin running and drop a few lbs.  I don’t think this article is necessarily referring to those people – this seems more related to longer races or more competitive racers – but it is an interesting read and can provide some perspective.

Major take-aways:

  1. Your body needs more calories when you’re seriously training.  This is not the time to cutting to under 1,500/day .
  2. Strength training shouldn’t be a focus while training.  Muscle burns fat, but lifting seriously can exhaust you and add more muscle than is ideal for a race.
  3. Endurance require some carbs.  Losing weight does not.  Eat more protein if you are trying to lose.  Sub in some carb-cals for the protein when you are in training.
  4. Many of the fitness magazines are highlighting the awesome weight-loss results you see from cardio intervals.  True story.  Just don’t make these the bulk of your workout if you are trying to run a marathon – they aren’t a substitute for a long run.
  5. “Fasting” workouts are when you workout first thing without any food on your stomach.  In theory, they burn straight fat rather than burning off carbs first.  I’m not a fan of these in general (it can also mean muscle breakdown as you body struggles to fuel the workout), but you especially don’t want to do this for longer/endurance runs.

***

What are your thoughts?  Can you focus on weight loss and training?  Anyone a fan of the fasting workout?

Speaking of… I’m off to the gym!  Gotta do what you can to warm up. 🙂

Go Time + Sweet Potato Falafel

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The baking has begun. 

Welcome to the holiday season.

Can you guess what this is?

My neighbor and baking-extraordinaire made TURKEY cupcakes!  Unbelievable.

The stuffing is made of tiny cubes of pound cake and the greenery is cereal.  I wish I was that creative/talented!

 

For my first non-cleanse dinner, I made Sweet Potato Falafel based on these by 101 Cookbooks.

Sweet Potato Falafel

  • 2 Medium sweet potatoes, cooked
  • 1 tsp Cumin
  • 1 tsp Coriander
  • 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp Turmeric
  • 2 Garlic cloves, minced
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 1 C Rice flour*
  • 1 T EVOO
  • 1 T Toasted sesame oil
  • Sprinkling of chia seeds
  • Salt and pepper

Put the sweet potatoes, cumin, garlic, coriander, lemon juice and flour into a large bowl. Salt and pepper to taste, add EVOO and sesame oils, then mush with fork until smooth with no chunks. Place in fridge to firm up for 30 mins. The mix should be more gooey than wet.  If needed, add a bit more EVOO or flour (the water content of sweet potatoes varies).

Preheat the oven to 400F.  Using a tablespoon or a falafel scoop, scoop the mixture on to an oiled tray. Sprinkle seeds on top and bake in the oven for 15-20 mins, until the bases are golden brown.

Makes about 15 falafel.

*Amp up the protein by subbing half of the rice flour for Growing Natural’s Rice Protein Powder.

These were great with a salad and leftover grilled eggplant!

 

Now for the fun, dessert-like things baked. 🙂

1. Angela’s Itty Bitty Carrot Cake Cookies (check it out on Oh She Glows)

2. Kentucky Derby Pie (the alco/choco-holic’s version of pecan pie)

This is one of my favorite “treats.”  Mom has been making it forever.

It is fantastic, easy to make, and perfect to gift a friend or bring to a dinner party.

Kentucky Derby Pie

  • 1/2 C Salted butter, melted
  • 1 C Sugar
  • 1 C Light corn syrup (I use the Karo)
  • 2 T Bourbon (I use Jack and pour those tablespoons generously over the bowl)
  • 3 Eggs
  • 1 C Semi-sweet or dark chocolate morsels
  • 1 C Pecans, lightly chopped
  • Pie crust (making your own is a pain unnecessary – use the Pillsbury.  It tastes just fine!)

Combine butter, sugar, and corn syrup.  Add bourbon and eggs.  Mix well.  Fold in nuts and chocolate.  Pour in pie shell (I grease the pie dish before putting the shell in because the insides usually seep over and make it the crust stick).

Bake at 350 for 30-45 mins (this has taken up to an hour before… depends on your oven).  It will poof up a bit and may crack in the middle.  When it’s done it shouldn’t be real jiggly, but will have a little movement.  It will brown.  Let it cool before you serve it!  It is made to pair with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a cup of bourbon coffee.

3. Flour-less Chocolate Crack Cake

It is important to taste as you go

Carefully pour into springform

Move your fingers, Mom!

Top with sea salt and drizzle of EVOO

This is good.  Close to perfect.  Recipe to come when I make a few tweaks.

 

In anticipation of the 10K tomorrow morning, I tasted the baked goods verrrrry lightly.  And then I drank a neon-Green Monster. 🙂

Neon colors taste better

Then I looked at the baking aftermath and shuddered.

***

In the thankful spirit of the season, here are some things I am particularly thankful for this year:

  • My mom
  • My sisters
  • Great friends
  • A new job that I love
  • Sticktuitiveness
  • The ride

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

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