just a few new finds

I don’t have too much time to blab on today, as I’m trying my darndest to focus on my proposal,  but I did want to just stop by and share a few good finds I discovered and some eats I made this weekend.

Can I just say that it is absolutely glorious sleeping in till 7am and eating when the sun is actually up!!  Because we went out to dinner a bit late with our friends Friday evening (terrible pictures by the way), I decided to sleep in just a little bit.  I love having the sunshine to be able to take food pictures!! Yay!  Most of the time I leave when there’s not enough sunlight and get home when the sun is just going down.  Dang you time change.

I could even take a nice picture of breakfast!  This is just a mixture of Wallaby yogurt mixed with a scoop of LF cottage cheese, topped with frozen blueberries, cereal, banana, and flax.  I also had 1/2 a date bran muffin I found in the freezer.  Those muffins are definitely our favorite!

Saturday we spent most of the day running errands and grocery shopping.  I found some items I can’t wait to try . . .

For lunch I made a munchie plate with crackers, hummus, string cheese, apple, and salmon salad with pistachios and persimmons. 

I tried a Fuyu persimmon for the first time this season and I really enjoy them.  It tastes like a subtle creamsicle to me?  I like to put them in chicken lettuce wraps too.

I also found the Laughing Cow cheese finally and am looking forward to adding it to various recipes like so many of you do!

 

Persimmon Pistachio Salmon Salad

• one small can wild salmon with bones (for added calcium!)
• 1/3-1/2 cup low fat greek yogurt
• 1 Fuyu persimmon, peeled and chopped
• 1/4 cup cranberries
• 1/4 cup chopped pistachios
• various seasonings (all-purpose, garlic powder, s & p, splash of vinegar)

Mix it all together!

I found this quick cooking barley at Walmart.  This will be great to add to soups, oats or make a salad with because normally barley takes quite awhile to cook.

I have to say I am impressed with Walmart’s selection of healthier items and brands at a reasonable price.  For some families, it’s just being able to find these and make the choice to buy them over what they usually do, and that can be tough.

That afternoon we went to a bike demo for a local bike shop that we like to go to and it was also a charity event for our local Shade Tree Shelter.  Lots of bikes!

We signed a waiver and then tried out a few of them.  Most of the people there were mountain bikers, which is a completely different crowd than road bikers.  Kind of like the laid back surfer dude type. 

First we tried a couple road bikes.  Boy, it’s amazing how much better those felt compared to my baseline model.  I was really looking forward to trying a tri bike, but they didn’t have any there to sample.  We also got to ride around Red Rock on a mountain bike.  It was so much different than a road bike but a lot of fun!

Hey, even this dog was enjoying a little road biking!  I thought this was too funny.  How does that little guy stay on there? 

After a C25K run/walk this morning, I made one of my favorite festive bowl of oats this holiday season.  I call them festive oats! (gee that’s inventive) 

I just love Egg Nog and usually find the low fat version or the soy version around this time of year.  I also saw some kind of pumpkin spice nog at Walmart that I’ll have to try.  Both low fat nog versions taste equally yummy.  I could imagine these would be awesome in your morning coffee too. 

Here’s my version this morning:

• 1/2 cup soy nog or low fat egg nog
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, fresh nutmeg
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 banana (1/2 mashed to add with oats, 1/2 for topping)
• 1 tsp flax mixed in
• splash of vanilla extract
• 2 dates
• Handful of Kashi cinnamon cereal and shredded wheat
• sprinkling of pistachios and pomegranate seeds for the festive touch!

It’s not even Thanksgiving quite yet, but I thought this would be fun :)

 

How do you add a festive touch to your dishes?  Any favorite items only available during the holiday season?

If I don’t post again till Thanksgiving I sure hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend no matter what holidays you celebrate!  We are going to visit Chris’ dad and step mom who just moved into a new cabin for their retirement.  It’s going to be freezing, but I’m looking forward to spending time with family and enjoying a great meal.  I am definitely most thankful for my family without a doubt.  It just wouldn’t be the same without their never ending love and support.  Hope you all enjoy your time too :)

 

 

sticking with it

Happy Friday all!  Since we met last my knees were in a bit of a fuss for the 4-5 mile run I decided to put them through last Sunday.  I am happy to report that they are feeling much better and Diana introduced me to a training program called ‘Couch to 5k’.  It’s a simple training program that combines running and walking, where the running is gradually increased until you can run a full 5k without stopping. 

At first I was thinking, well I’m not a couch potato!  I need to be running 3 miles right off the bat because I can handle it.  Well, you know what, this program is going to be just what my knees ordered I believe.  I did the first 30 minute session yesterday morning at 4:30am and was even able to do a weight lifting class that evening at 8pm without any mysterious aches and pains!  Yes!  The best part is it has an iPhone app too that tells you exactly when to run and when to walk.  Yes!  I’m feeling empowered already and am actually looking forward to my next lil session.  So I guess I’ll be sticking with this running thing a bit longer :) 

I also signed up for my first 5k Turkey Trot!!  I’m really excited, and while it’s going to be way before my C25K training will be over, I figure I can just take it easy and see how it goes.  Anyone else doing some planned physical activity on that holiday weekend?  Great way to balance out all those good eats, although we will all be practicing proper portion control, right?!

I still can’t get used to this time change!!!  The lighting is just terrible in my house now by the time I get home and I think I’m going to have to search for some kind of lighting station or special photography lights??  Anyone know of something like this that is reasonable? 

I’ve been wanting to share this casserole recipe because it has become one of my favorites among many.  I love casseroles because they can be easily adaptable to a healthier profile and are so easy!

Quinoa Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 2  tbsp  butter, 1 tsp olive oil
• 1  medium onion, diced
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  pound shiitake or other mushrooms, sliced
• 3 tbsp AP flour
• 3-4 cups skim milk (or you could do 1/2 broth, 1/2 milk)
• 3-4 heads of broccoli, chopped
• 2 cups quinoa
• 1-1.5 cups Italian cheese mix, shredded (I used TJ's Italian Mix)
• 1/2  tsp  salt, all purpose seasoning, garlic powder, 1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp herbes de provence, pinch of cayenne
• 2 cups cooked chicken breast meat, chopped

Preparation

1. Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, and cook. Stir in garlic, and cook 1 minute. Add mushrooms, and cook 8 minutes or until softened.

2. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add flour, and cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Slowly whisk in milk, and cook, whisking constantly until mixture thickens.  Add broccoli and quinoa to cook halfway.  Remove from heat and slowly whisk in 1/2 cup cheese, seasonings, mushroom mixture and chicken.  Transfer to a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch (4-quart) casserole dish.

3. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or bake, covered with foil, at 375° for 30 minutes or until bubbly, uncover, sprinkle with the rest of the cheese and brown for 10 minutes.

Great for leftovers too!

   

As far as the weekend plans . . .

Tonight Chris and I are heading out with some friends to a place called Casa di Amore.  They have great Italian food and also a live crooner that sings till the weee hours of the morning and sounds just like Sinatra.  I just love that kind of music, especially with a nice glass of wine.  We’ll see how pictures go, as you can imagine the lighting is pretty low to ‘set the mood’. 

At the Lee’s Wine Experience that we went to a little while ago we found a Pinot Noir that was out of this world called Ritual. 

We thought we should order some since it was such a special find.  Well, I guess we got a few of them!!  We aren’t going to drink all these ourselves, but will take a few bottles for Thanksgiving and for gifts. 

Other than that I would like to get another run/walk or ride in and finish tackling my proposal/presentation for Research Methods.  I have the lit review mostly done and now have to start working on the methods/statistics, eeek!  This is my area of weakness.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!!

    

first time for . . . running?

I would consider myself a pretty active person.  On most weeks I get to the gym about 4 times and then try to fit in an outdoor weekend activity, which is usually cycling or more gym time.  Lately this exercise schedule has been thrown out the window with the end of the semester approaching fast.  Now I’m getting to the gym 2, maybe 3 times per week if I’m lucky?  Fitness is a huge part of my life and it just makes me feel better too, so I’ve been a bit blah not being able to get that time in.  Weekends have actually been my saving grace because I’m still able to fit in something, and this past weekend I tried my hand at running!

I know that I am an anomaly in the blog world since I don’t run, and so many of you are awesome runners!  I really have been wanting to try my hand at a sprint triathlon sometime in the future, so I figured I better start training now for next season’s races!  Honestly I can say that I’ve never just gone for a run for the fun of it.  I’ve had to run a bit for dance team in college and we had to run up and down the bleachers of the football stadium, but that’s about it.  I’ve never really liked running because it is very repetitive and gets old on a treadmill to me, but running outside is so much better! 

On Sunday I met Kristen at 7am at a local running store and we went for a chilly 5 miles with a couple short walking breaks in between.  Honestly, aerobically I felt great, like I could keep going (we were taking it easy which was good).  My body didn’t feel too bad afterwards, and right when I got home I fueled with a nice smoothie and handful of pistachios.  As the day wore on though, my joints were not liking me at all.  Right below and to the outside of my knee was hurting like a mother and I could tell my IT band was not right.  I could barely make it up the stairs.  Darn it all, I just want to be a runner!  I can cycle 50 miles, dance for hours and jump around for kickbox, but running is just different.  I think it is the repetitive motions.  I took some Aleve, and finally tonight it’s starting to feel a bit better, but I’m hoping that with time and gradual training my body won’t hurt as much . . . right???  (reassurance please!)  I may have to have someone look at my form and see if it’s off. 

I am sure wanting one of these right now to track my training and practically run and cycle for me! lol 

The rest of the weekend was spent in the library and working on presentations, so I won’t go into detail.  I’m still working on my last proposal, and hope to start actually writing it tonight.  My goal is to have it all done before Thanksgiving so I can enjoy the holiday.

I had a request from Amanda to recap the sweet tater lasagna I recently posted :)  This was a small version since I was using random leftovers, but you can always make more and have more layers!

• 2-3 cups pasta sauce
• 4 lasagna noodles, cooked
• 2 cups ricotta with Italian seasoning, garlic powder & fresh basil
• 2 small sweet potatoes (yams) sliced very thin
• sautéed mushrooms, along with a roux added (1 cup NF milk and 1 tbsp flour) and a bit of pasta sauce
• Any kind of cheese for topping:  mozzarella, parmesan, etc.

Layer everything in the pan, alternating, and cover it with foil so the sweet potatoes will cook.  Bake at 425 for about 25-30 minutes then un-cover, top with cheese and bake till golden. 

I loved all your pistachio ideas and links, thank you!!!  With an overwhelming majority, most of you want some pistachio ice cream, and boy that doesn’t sound like a bad idea if I do say so myself :)  Plus I have a couple vanilla beans screaming to be used in ice cream!  Even though it’s getting pretty chilly outside, I always enjoy some of that.

Speaking of pistachios, here’s another quick and easy way to use them . . .

Coconut-Pistachio Crusted Chicken 

(measurements are approximate)

• cup pistachios
• 1/2 cup shredded plain coconut
• 1/3 cup parmesan
• all-purpose seasoning (mrs. dash) 
• 1 pound chicken breasts
• 1/3 cup egg white
• 1 tbsp honey

Pre-heat oven to 425.  Pour the pistachios, coconut, parmesan and seasoning in a food processor and pulse until fine; place in a shallow dish.  Pour the egg and honey in another shallow dish.  Cut chicken lengthwise to make them thin, or you can pound it.  Dip chicken in egg white mixture, then coconut mixture and place on a wire rack in a sheet pan.  Drizzle chicken with a little olive oil.

Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the chicken.  So amazing!

 

They are also great chopped on top of a big salad!  I’ve been eating a quite a few pistachios lately.

Are you a runner?  How did you get started?  Any tips?  And if not a runner, how did you get started in your hobby of choice?

Hope your week got off to a good start :) 

     

seeing green

Well, I really wish I could tell you it’s lots of money, but alas it’s PISTACHIOS, lots and lots of pistachios!  If you follow me on twitter, I won a contest from @thegreennut for a years worth of pistachios plus a subscription to Prevention magazine.  I was so excited because I rarely win anything!  I didn’t really know what to expect, but I was thinking that maybe I would get a bag every month, or little bags so I could do a giveaway.  I was so shocked when I opened the door to find a giant box full of pistachios!  Thank you!

I guess this would be a years worth!  wow, I couldn’t get over it and I don’t think I’ve seen that many nuts in my entire life.  Right now I have 3 gallon bags in the freezer, 2 bags in the fridge, 1 in the pantry and 5 sandwich bags full of them.

Do you have any good pistachio recipes??  One that I have to try to make is baklava.  Anyone ever try to make pistachio butter?  hmmm so many possibilities!

Here are some cool facts on pistachios:

• One serving of pistachios is 49 nuts (160 kcals), more than any other tree nut
• Pistachios are high in phytosterols which may lower cholesterol levels and decrease the risk of heart disease. In animal studies phytosterols have been shown to potentially have anti-cancer properties
• One serving of pistachios has as much potassium (300mg, 8%) as an orange (250mg, 7%)
• Just a single serving of pistachios provides you with the same amount of protein in a one-ounce serving of soybeans and can serve as a protein alternative to meat, poultry or beans according to the USDA Food Guide Pyramid
• Forty-nine pistachios serve up to 20 percent of your Daily Value of B₆, about the same as half an avocado

Check out their website, they have lots of yummy looking recipes that I want to try too.

Since I had the day off today (glorious!), I got caught up on some school work.  I finished a lit review and presentation for sports nutrition, although I didn’t make too much progress on my proposal and presentation for research methods :(  the day just flew by too darn fast!

I also treated myself to a little house cleaning since it was in desperate need, and did a little baking :)  Could this have been the reason my day flashed before my eyes?? . . . nah  I blame it on taking Chris out to lunch at BJ’s since he had to work :)

Morning eats started with pistachio date oats.  I can’t get over dates in oatmeal!  It makes it taste like caramel-y heaven, and the pistachios give a nice contrasting crunch.

For a snack I had 1/2 of the Clif Spiced Pumpkin Pie Bar.  I didn’t really like this flavor, and I will not be getting this one again.  It didn’t have any cinnamon in it and had a strange ‘fish-like’ taste to me?  Weird.  I would much prefer making these bars from Dan which are soo much better. 

I tried a new spice today called cardamom in Cardamom Banana Bread with Pistachios from CookingLight.  It’s a very interesting spice, aromatic and warm, but with a licorice type flavor.  I can’t quite put my finger on the taste?  I guess I just have to keep tasting! 

I used 1/2 whole wheat & 1/2 AP flour.  I reduced the butter by 1 tbsp, doubled the cardamom and added a bit of cinnamon and some dates.  It turned out nice and Chris is very fond of the quick breads. 

Dinner consisted of a bunch of leftover items in the fridge that I needed to use or risk wastage.  I enjoy trying to make things from random ingredients because I hate wasting. 

I made a mix of roasted goodness (sweet potato, apple, brussels sprouts, and apple chicken sausage) with a maple glaze . . .

And a little lasagna with some leftover homemade pasta sauce, and some sweet potatoes, oyster mushrooms and thai basil I got from the farmer’s market.  It actually worked and tasted pretty darn good!

 

Hope you are having a fantastic week so far!  I am so looking forward to the holidays and a little break, just have to get through.  I also want to say Happy Veteran’s Day, so thankful for those who dedicate their lives for our protection. 

What’s your favorite way to use pistachios? 

        

 

every once in awhile

You know how sometimes it’s just nice to have a little fun?  Let it all go and just sample a few 100 different types of wines?  Well, that’s what I did this past weekend and it was a lot of fun!  Every once in awhile that is . . .

Prior to the wine tasting event I made sure to get a good chunk of school work done and it served as a very good motivator.  There’s nothing like having good things to look forward to, whether it’s a wine tasting, seeing my family, or getting to go on a long bike ride, to make me get things done in order to fully enjoy the occasion.  I still have tons of school work to do mind you, but I still made progress at least! 

Saturday afternoon we headed over to the Hilton and made it to the Lee’s Wine Experience around 5pm.  We also decided to get a room there so we wouldn’t have to worry about driving home.  There were about 1,000 wines for sampling!  They gave quite the pour just for a sampling too!  Of course we couldn’t make it to every table, or else risk alcohol poisoning, but we did make it to quite a few.  Here Chris was sampling the Hilltop J. Lohr Cab . . .

  

We both were feeling it by about the third sample since we haven’t been drinking all too much lately with biking and its detriment to performance.  The only bad thing about a big tasting like that is it’s very hard to judge just how much you’ve had.  At each table I made sure to have a tiny sip and if I didn’t like it into the tub it went.  I feel bad wasting, but you can’t drink everything.  Guys were walking around with giant garbage cans full of wine that people had dumped after tasting.

 

There were so many people there and they didn’t have too many munchies to go around.  As the crackers and cheese were re-stocked, everyone swooped down like vultures and you had to elbow your way to get anything!  Well, it wasn’t that dramatic, but when you have a room full of people that have been drinking and need some carbohydrates, watch out!  :)

It was a lot of fun and we found several wines that we really enjoyed, the best one being a Pinot Noir from Chile called Ritual.  Recently, I’ve lost my faith in Pinots because they all are just lacking and taste like dull, dead trees to me.  This one was perfectly balanced and interesting with subtle oak and bright berries.  We want to order some of this for Thanksgiving.  Another really interesting wine was Bodega Norton Reserve Malbec and I always love the Twomey Merlot.

Towards the end of the tasting you could tell everyone was a little less subdued, people were dancing, laughing and everyone wanted to talk up a storm!  It is so interesting to me how powerful alcohol is, myself included (that’s another post).

After the tasting we went to dinner at a place called the Grand Lux Cafe It was really yummy, but I could barely eat even 1/2 of my dish.  Chris got the big burger since we only really get those every once in awhile.

I got the yellow tomato pasta pomodoro with chicken meatballs, it was delish.  I’m a big pasta lover as you know!

We didn’t have dessert but grabbed some gelato while walking around.  It is fun to play tourist even though we live here! 

I think I could count how many times I went to the strip as a kid on one hand.

And look they had kabocha on display!!!  I wanted to steal it and take it home to bake :)

I feel so old saying this but by 11 o’clock it was waaaay past our bed time and we were tuckered!  I can hardly stay up past 9pm anymore.  The next day I didn’t feel too bad, but definitely not chipper, but you know what, every once in awhile . . . it’s just fun :)

What’s something you like to do or indulge in every once in awhile? 

    

new favorite

Happy Wednesday!  I just found my new favorite squash and it’s name is KABOCHA!!! 

I was first intrigued by this pre-historic looking creature by Sophia.  She’s made many enticingly delicious recipes with this squash, that when I saw it at the farmer’s market, I had to try it!

At first I was thinking of making a pizza base with it, but then I saw a box of quinoa in the pantry and decided to stuff it with some kind of quinoa mixture.  Boy, this is a keeper for sure!  I would have to say that this is one of my new favorite recipes, the top of the top, the cream of the crop, the  . . . you get the picture. 

I couldn’t really find any reliable nutrition facts on the kabocha, but I could imagine that like most winter squash it is a great source of beta carotene, potassium and vitamin C, along with fiber, especially if you eat the skin.  Cutting into it I thought I would have to break out the chain saw, but after baking in the oven the skin is quite tasty.  The flesh has a pleasantly sweet flavor, like a cross between a sweet potato and butternut squash and the texture is very smooth, not stringy. 

Even if you can’t find Kabocha, you can most certainly use an acorn, butternut or any winter squash you can manage to cut!  Don’t be intimidated by squash, all you need is a sturdy board, sharp knife and a careful hand and you’ll get rewarded by some sweet eats!

Apple Quinoa Stuffed Kabocha

Serves 2-4

• 1 medium kabocha squash
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 8 oz crimini mushrooms
• 2 apple chicken sausage links, chopped (you could also use chickpeas)
• 1 small apple, chopped (I left the skin on) 
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 cup chicken or veggie broth
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/3 cup parmesan
• 1 inch knob of cranberry goat cheese (from Trader Joe’s or just the plain kind)
• salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme and a bit of red pepper flakes for a slightly spicy kick
• 1/2-1 cup shredded fontina or mozzarella cheese

Pre heat oven to 400.  Cut the kabocha in 1/2 to get two nice halves to stuff, scrape out seeds, and place in a baking pan.  I cut one down a little bit more and also spread about 1/4 tbsp of butter in each half :) 

Sauté the next 5 ingredients (up to apple), until nice and golden.  Add the quinoa and let sauté for a minute, add the broth, turn to low, cover and simmer for 12 minutes.

Uncover, turn off heat, and add the maple syrup, parm, goat cheese, and spices.  Stuff kabocha with the mixture (I had a bit left over), bake covered for about 30-40 minutes.  Uncover and top with cheese and bake until nice, golden and bubbly.

Oh so yum in my tum!

Any new favorites on your list??

 

   

   

     

thesis drama & a nice bike ride

With the time change I can’t believe it’s getting dark so soon.  Even though this inevitably happens every year, I never can quite adjust. 

It just seems so darn late now and all the wonderful, precious sunlight dwindles faster and it’s harder to get good food pictures! 

Anywho, the weekend for me was pretty unproductive.  Several projects/presentations are fast approaching the due date and I’m trying to find the time and motivation to get them done. 

I also had some disappointing news with my thesis . . . First, the professor who first told me she would be my chair and help form my committee pretty much blew me off and I just found out that she eagerly said she would chair another student’s thesis that isn’t even related to sports nutrition.  I’m trying to not take it personally, but I can’t help it.  Then, ever since I sent my research outline to my chair (twice) over a month ago, he hasn’t responded to me at all.  I spoke to the graduate coordinator about it and he said that he could be my chair, but he doesn’t really do lab work.  What?  I was really wanting to work in the lab, but now I guess I have to come up with a whole new idea and it has to be more like survey research.  Any ideas???  At this point I’m just desperate for anything, very disappointing. *sigh*

Other than that we made some yummy dinners!

Since I had Friday off, I spent most of the day running errands and getting ready for dinner.  I made fresh pasta manicotti and fettuccine too.  Fresh pasta is so cheap to make and you get a butt load of it!  The whole drying rack was full by the time Chris was done rolling/cutting it in the mixer.   

I stuffed the manicotti with a mixture of ricotta, mozzarella, fontina, parmesan, spinach, chicken sausage, and Italian spices.  I also made a homemade tomato sauce in the crock-pot which is very easy.

Did you have a good Halloween??  We didn’t even get dressed up this year!  Terrible.  We did hand out some candy and fruit snacks to the few kiddies that came in our neighborhood.  We bought waaaayy too much and now we must get rid of it asap! 

I spent most of the night trying to find research articles and a new thesis topic (with no luck) and went to bed pretty early even with the time change.  I’m so glad we didn’t forget, which is unusual!

Sunday morning Chris and I went with the Green Valley Cyclists on the Lake Mead Loop trail.  It was just about 50 miles with 2300 ft of elevation change.  This is the longest I’ve done so far and boy my legs were sure letting me know it by the end of the ride!  My legs weren’t used to all that climbing.

At this point in the ride I was still feeling pretty strong and there were some awesome views of Lake Mead . . .

I also did a little calorie calculation experimentation with an equation I found from an RD.  I’m not sure where this equation was developed or if it’s reliable, but I love playing with numbers :)  It did seem pretty accurate with what my HR monitor says.

118 lbs x 0.0561 (15mph) = 6.6198

6.6198 x 60 x 3 hours = 1,191 kcals

2300 ft gained/100ft x 22 = 500 extra kcals  = 1,691 total kcals

Min – x 0.3/3 = 170kcals/hour         Max – x 0.5/3 = 281kals/hour

I went with about 200kcals/hour to try to match, which seems about right.  I think they multiplied the total by .3 or .5 because of actual absorption of what’s expended?

Let’s see if I matched this . . . 

• Breakfast: big bowl of cereal, 1/2 banana, 10oz H20 – 500 kcals
• On the Ride:
• luna moons – 100 kcals
• Power Bar Energy Chews – 300 kcals
• Gatorade (42oz I think) – 180 kcals
• 1 L of H20
• Post Ride:
• Smoothie – milk, 1/2 banana, strawberries, blueberries, scoop whey protein, honey, chia seeds, flax, wheat germ, peanut butter – 500 kcals
• leftover 1/4 omelet, hash browns and 1/4 pita – 300 kcals
• 1 L of H20
• Dinner:
• Beef and Barley Soup and cheesy bread – 650 kcals
• glass of milk and 1 TJ’s cookie – 160 kcals

total kcals for the day -  2,690 kcals  (net gain of 1,000 kcals)

I’d say I didn’t do too bad, but still 1,000 kcals net gain isn’t really enough, but I’d also say I have a few extra kcals in storage since my mom came :)  It is important for athletes and active individuals to maintain proper nutrition throughout training and off days to make up for potential losses.  I’m no athlete, but it’s just fun to try things and see.  I usually wear an old HR monitor, but I guess my data capacity was full so it didn’t even work :(  Calorie expenditure is just fascinating to me. 

This smoothie was amazing and I added a huge heaping spoonful of peanut butter so I could really taste it, yum!  Funny it’s in a beer glass :)

aaaah, cheesy toast is a great dipping vehicle for soups.  I think fontina is my favorite cheese, next to goat cheese.

Soup is great for post-workout replenishment.  It gives extra fluids, veggies, a bit more iron from the beef, fiber and carbs from the barley and even a bit more salt for electrolyte losses.

 

Do you track your calorie expenditure and how?  Hope you have a great week!  I’m counting the days till the holidays and a little winter break, woo-hoo!