When the alarm went off this morning at 4:30 am, I sat in bed for a good 20 minutes debating whether I was going to wake up and go to swim practice. D tried to convince me to do the 1-hr postal swim workout with her this morning, but I haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately and I really wanted to sleep in. I decided I was going to weigh myself and if the number was higher than yesterday (I honestly thought it wouldn't be), then I'd go. Well, it was 0.6 lb higher which is not much, but enough to drag my butt out of bed and do the workout!
The one-hour postal swim is an annual January event where instead of doing a "workout" we get in and try to see how many continuous yards we can swim in 1 hour. I think our times get mailed to USMS and it's probably some kind of competition, but since my times are not competitive, I've never actually looked.
I can't remember my yardage from the past since I think I've only done this swim once and remember it kind of sucking. I didn't think it was going to be any better today seeing how I haven't been swimming and am not in great swim shape. But we had 3 of us in the lane and decided that we'd trade off leading by 500s so it would be easier to count and we could all take turns drafting. I did okay in the beginning but by the end, I was reaaaaaally dragging and swimming pretty slow. The coach said we started doing our 100s on 1:15 and ended at 1:30, which is a significant difference! Anyway, I was so glad when the whistle was blown and we were done. We ended up swimming 4250 yards, which is "okay" but I actually thought we might make it to 4500 yds. :)
This just makes me think about the strength I've lost since IM. I haven't been strength training at all even though it's listed on my schedule. I keep sleeping in or driving home instead of to the gym after work. I need to make it a priority again.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Broccoli Fra Diablo
I was supposed to have another dinner salad tonight but after meals and meals of salads, I didn't think I could stomach another. I was craving tomatoes (specifically, PIZZA), and remembered people on the Dr. Fuhrman forums recommending this dish. Though not consisting of pizza-like flavors, I thought this might do the trick for that tomato craving.
It was incredibly easy to make, coming together in about 20 minutes or less. I used fresh broccoli. The dish itself came out rather soupy, even though I added more broccoli than required. Perhaps my taste buds haven't been retrained yet, but I found it just a tad on the bland side. It tastes nothing like pizza (not that it ever claimed it did, but I wanted to make that disclaimer!) but was nice comfort food.
Recommended for easy, quick, and healthy. Recipe can be found
here.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Bad habits be gone
After a couple of false starts, I am ready to take 2011 on.
#1 "resolution": STOP BINGEING
I don't care about anything else. Well, I do, but that's definitely #1. I'm so sick of spending all this time and energy loathing myself, feeling guilty, abusing my body, and putting The Evil Trinity (sugar, fat, and salt) before health. I want to be a "normal" person again and eat normally. Losing a few pounds and making myself disease proof are just the welcome side effects.
Like any goal, I need to break it down and take smaller steps to get there. I'm going to start tracking the days I stay binge-free (goal is to make it to 1 week first) and make smaller weekly goals.
First set of weekly goals:
These are aimed toward my tendency to overeat in the evenings. I'll report back next week.
#1 "resolution": STOP BINGEING
I don't care about anything else. Well, I do, but that's definitely #1. I'm so sick of spending all this time and energy loathing myself, feeling guilty, abusing my body, and putting The Evil Trinity (sugar, fat, and salt) before health. I want to be a "normal" person again and eat normally. Losing a few pounds and making myself disease proof are just the welcome side effects.
Like any goal, I need to break it down and take smaller steps to get there. I'm going to start tracking the days I stay binge-free (goal is to make it to 1 week first) and make smaller weekly goals.
First set of weekly goals:
- Read reasons why I'm Eating-to-Live daily.
- Plan out meals for the following day
- Limit dinner time to 1 hour. Obviously the time can be shorter than that, but no more eating after 1 hour is up
- After dinner, clean up kitchen and immediately brush + floss until any other "wind down" activities begin.
These are aimed toward my tendency to overeat in the evenings. I'll report back next week.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Mexican Raw Stew/Soup
I used the same "base" of tomatoes, cucumber, celery, cucumber and lettuce, and then added the spices and rest of the suggestions to finish off the "Mexican" version. I can see how this could be adapted to lots of variations.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
I forgot to mention that Santa was fairly nice to me this year. Among the fun stuff I got, I also received some ETL-friendly items!
I'm pretty excited to put these to use!
Yellow Eye heirloom beans from Rancho Gordo
Vallarta heirloom beans from Rancho Gordo
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Christmas Dinner
As mentioned previously, food is always the center of most of my family gatherings. The host was providing an almost entirely non-ETL menu (everyone seems to think my "weird eating" is just a fad) so of course I brought my own food.
A slice of Thanksgiving non-meat loaf, bean-creamed spinach, and some steamed broccoli:
I pretty much followed the recipe, substituting oats for the whole wheat bread crumbs. I didn't have VegiZest so I used an organic no-salt seasoning blend I bought from Costco. I also couldn't find arrowroot so I used tapioca flour instead.
I enjoyed this! It was much better than the Quinoa Loaf I had made for Thanksgiving. It actually did form a firm loaf which was great! I ate it plain (without ketchup) but it probably would be good with mushroom gravy too.
This was a winner too. It doesn't tasted exactly like real creamed spinach (yuck) but that's okay because I detest creamed spinach anyway. I wanted a dish I could take to the family gathering that didn't look too strange - especially since I already brought my loaf! Heh. I told everyone it was "creamed spinach" (leaving off the "bean") part and no one said anything to me. I'm sure they weren't fooled but they probably didn't guess that it was beans that provided the creaminess.
A slice of Thanksgiving non-meat loaf, bean-creamed spinach, and some steamed broccoli:
Thanksgiving Non-Meat Loaf
(Dr. Fuhrman)
6 servings
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
4 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons Bragg Liquid Aminos
1 box soft tofu, drained and patted dry with paper towel
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/4 cups chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped organic celery
2 cups chopped portobello mushrooms
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon Dr. Fuhrman's VegiZest
2 teaspoons Spike (no salt)
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons basil
1/2 teaspoon sage
3/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
Instructions:
Cook rice according to package directions.
Meanwhile, mix arrowroot powder, water, aminos, and tofu together in a high-powered blender.
Add walnuts & blend until smooth.
Saute onions, celery, and mushrooms in water with seasonings and herbs until vegetables are soft, stirring occasionally.
Mix tofu mixture, vegetables, bread crumbs and rice together in a bowl. With a paper towel, spread a small amount of olive oil in a loaf pan.
Bake at 350 degress for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let cool 30 minutes. Turn loaf out and slice.
Note: May be served with low sodium ketchup.
(Dr. Fuhrman)
6 servings
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
4 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons Bragg Liquid Aminos
1 box soft tofu, drained and patted dry with paper towel
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/4 cups chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped organic celery
2 cups chopped portobello mushrooms
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon Dr. Fuhrman's VegiZest
2 teaspoons Spike (no salt)
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons basil
1/2 teaspoon sage
3/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
Instructions:
Cook rice according to package directions.
Meanwhile, mix arrowroot powder, water, aminos, and tofu together in a high-powered blender.
Add walnuts & blend until smooth.
Saute onions, celery, and mushrooms in water with seasonings and herbs until vegetables are soft, stirring occasionally.
Mix tofu mixture, vegetables, bread crumbs and rice together in a bowl. With a paper towel, spread a small amount of olive oil in a loaf pan.
Bake at 350 degress for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let cool 30 minutes. Turn loaf out and slice.
Note: May be served with low sodium ketchup.
I pretty much followed the recipe, substituting oats for the whole wheat bread crumbs. I didn't have VegiZest so I used an organic no-salt seasoning blend I bought from Costco. I also couldn't find arrowroot so I used tapioca flour instead.
I enjoyed this! It was much better than the Quinoa Loaf I had made for Thanksgiving. It actually did form a firm loaf which was great! I ate it plain (without ketchup) but it probably would be good with mushroom gravy too.
Bean-Creamed Spinach
(Lorna Sass, Short-Cut Vegan)
4 servings
1 tablespoon olive oil [omitted]
1 cup coarsely chopped onions
1 3/4 cups cooked navy or cannellini beans or 1 (15-ounce) can navy or cannellini beans, drained (rinsed if nonorganic)
1 (10-ounce) package frozen spinach
1 cup water
1 tablespoon instant vegetable stock powder
2 teaspoons dried dill or 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Sauté the onions for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add the beans, spinach, water, stock powder, dill, and salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Break up the block of spinach with a fork and stir well. Cook until the spinach is tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Puree the mixture with an immersion blender (or transfer in small batches to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth).
If the creamed spinach seems too thick, thin slightly with lemon juice, which will sharpen the flavors, or with water. Season with pepper to taste. Depending upon the consistency, serve either in small bowls or on plates.
(Lorna Sass, Short-Cut Vegan)
4 servings
1 tablespoon olive oil [omitted]
1 cup coarsely chopped onions
1 3/4 cups cooked navy or cannellini beans or 1 (15-ounce) can navy or cannellini beans, drained (rinsed if nonorganic)
1 (10-ounce) package frozen spinach
1 cup water
1 tablespoon instant vegetable stock powder
2 teaspoons dried dill or 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Sauté the onions for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add the beans, spinach, water, stock powder, dill, and salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Break up the block of spinach with a fork and stir well. Cook until the spinach is tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Puree the mixture with an immersion blender (or transfer in small batches to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth).
If the creamed spinach seems too thick, thin slightly with lemon juice, which will sharpen the flavors, or with water. Season with pepper to taste. Depending upon the consistency, serve either in small bowls or on plates.
This was a winner too. It doesn't tasted exactly like real creamed spinach (yuck) but that's okay because I detest creamed spinach anyway. I wanted a dish I could take to the family gathering that didn't look too strange - especially since I already brought my loaf! Heh. I told everyone it was "creamed spinach" (leaving off the "bean") part and no one said anything to me. I'm sure they weren't fooled but they probably didn't guess that it was beans that provided the creaminess.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Lemon Lentil Soup
I had a couple of duds last week and didn't want to post them but this one is a winner! I wasn't expecting it, since the list of ingredients didn't sound like it would be, and I was anticipating yet another bland soup. But this one was (1) quick (no pureeing in a blender!) and (2) delicious.
Because I like to make things in large quantities and freeze them, I doubled the recipe. It made a good amount, but I'm not sure about "12 servings." Maybe 12 1-cup servings? I ate more than 1 cup last night. :) When it came time to put the red lentils into the pot, I realized I didn't have 2 cups of red lentils. I had a little more than 1 cup. I filled the rest of the cup with brown lentils and when I ran out of those I added some split peas into the mix. The only other change I made was to use dandelion greens instead of bok choy. When (yes, I said "when" and not "if") I made this next time, I will add more greens -- it could use a lot more.
This soup is chunky, hearty, slightly sweet from the carrots and has a great flavor from the combination of ingredients. The recipe can be found here (you have to be a member at Dr. Fuhrman's website to view).
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