Saturday, October 31, 2009

Death By Chocolate (Happy Halloween!)

OK, Death By Chocolate isn't really what this post is about. I just thought that it was cute that Death by Chocolate was the flavor of the day at the Frozen Custard Shoppe I passed this morning. (It was all fun and games until they brought out...the chocolate....mwah, ha, ha.)

If I haven't mentioned yet, I've been using a running training program from The Complete Book of Running for Women by Claire Kowalchik. Today, on Halloween, was my first 12 MILE RUN. [Insert "Psycho Screeching Violin" here]

And it was COLD and WINDY.

I mapped out a 6 mile loop that started and ended at my house. Then I could run in and get a drink, go to the bathroom, etc after the first 6 miles.

The first mile was cold! The second mile was awful. It's always awful because I run the first mile too fast, because it's cold!

The third mile is usually better, but today it wasn't because the wind was blowing right at me and I was still cold! The fourth mile took me by the lake, where the wind was blowing right off the lake, and it was cold.

The fifth mile was much better. The wind was behind me. The sixth was OK too. It was still windy, but not as bad. Then I got home. The first 6 miles took me 1:08:41. (11:27 pace)

I got inside the house and it felt so toasty warm. I got a quick drink, used the bathroom, and ran out again before I could talk myself into staying inside!

I ran the loop in reverse this time. The seventh mile went OK. The eighth was WINDY. The ninth was back by lake - COLD!

The tenth mile was tough. It was a long gradual incline and I was getting exhausted. I got a second wind on the eleventh mile. I hit a turn around spot, so it was a long gradual decline. :)

The last part of the eleventh was flat, however, and very windy. The twelfth mile turned a corner, and then went slightly uphill. The wind was blowing sideways, so it wasn't as bad as head on, but I was pretty tired by that point.

I ran the second loop in 1:07:01 (11:10 pace) for a total 12 mile time of 2:15:42 (11:19 average pace). I am so proud of running the whole way. 12 MILES people! That's one mile less than a half marathon. I am stoked. Exhausted, but stoked. My hands were so numb afterward I could hardly make my son's breakfast. I wore thin knit gloves while running, but I think the wind went right through them.

My heart rate monitor says I burned 1841 calories...sooooo.....can I have a Snickers bar now? :)

Happy Halloween!!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Recipe Wednesday - Turkey Zucchini Casserole

As some of you may know, I love casseroles. I adapted this from a recipe in the original Gourmet Nutrition recipe book (part of the Precision Nutrition package). As a quick side note, Gourmet Nutrition V2 would make a lovely Holiday gift for the fit food lover on your list (wink, wink).

Turkey Zucchini Casserole

8 oz extra lean ground turkey breast
2 Tablespoons salsa
1/4 to 1/2 of a small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 small to medium zucchini
1 cup fat free or low fat cottage cheese (I used low fat)
1 egg
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 1.5 quart baking dish with nonstick spray.

2. Roughly chop the zucchini and then pulse in a food processor. Just pulse, don't puree.

3. Lightly spray a large skillet with nonstick spray and cook the turkey until no pink remains. Stir in the 2T of salsa and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Remove from the pan and place in the prepared casserole dish.

4. Respray the skillet with a somewhat heavier layer of nonstick spray. Add the onions to the pan and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Next stir in the zucchini and cook for 2-3 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, in the food processor, blend the cottage cheese and egg until smooth. Don't worry if there is still zucchini in the processor's bowl, it's all going to the same place. :)

6. Next place the zucchini mixture on top of the turkey in the casserole dish, then top with the cottage cheese mixture.

7. Bake for 25 minutes. Top with the mozzarella cheese and bake for 5 minutes more.


Makes 2 servings, each with approximately:

345 calories
51.0g protein
9.1g fat
11.5g carbs
1.8g fiber

Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase the product, I will receive a small portion. I don't get paid for reviews, and I only review items that I actually own.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Week In Review - Week 8

Only 4 more weeks to go! This week went sooo much better than last week. Nutrition was much better. Only a few stray tablespoons of peanut butter! The trick, I find, is to not open the jar of peanut butter. ;)

Workouts were pretty good. Toward the end of the week, I was feeling a little tired and I couldn't figure out why. My son just had the flu, so maybe I had a very, very mild version?

This week I started thinking about when I began really running (just a few months ago, ahh, the good old days...) and I was looking at my first long run that I did on August 1st. On that day, I ran my first 6 miles (all in a row!) at a pace of 13:46. (Total distance: 5.8 miles, Total time: 1:19:49) I also went back and looked at my first "Endurance Test" that I did in April of 2008. I had set the speed on the treadmill at 5.0 mph...and made it 10:18 before I had to stop. I was proud of that at the time, and I'm even more proud of the improvements I've made since then.

I also began a new workout today! I went back to a workout I used waaaaaayy back during the first TT contest in the winter of 2008 - the Original TT for Abs. I got great results using this program in the past and am excited to see how it goes this time around.

Here's how the week went:

Monday: OFF

Tuesday: Stride workout - 4.38 miles/50:00; TT Mass @ Home, Workout B; TT 3 Minute Arms

Wednesday: 2.93 miles, easy pace/29:44; TT 6 Minute Abs

Thursday: Pace Workout - 5.31 Miles/60:00

Friday: TT Mass @ Home, Workout C; TT 6 Minute Abs

Saturday: Felt tired today. Took about 3 miles to feel warmed up. It was cold and windy and it seemed like I was running into the wind for a lot of the run. 8.05 miles/1:25:41

Sunday: Today I felt much better. TT for Abs has an extra interval workout with push ups and other exercises built in that I wanted to fit into my week, but I wasn't sure where it could fit. I decided to shorten my Sunday run by a mile, and then do the interval workout right afterward. From my driveway, I quickly ran down to the corner and back, which took me about 30 seconds, and then did the exercises. I went through the 3 intervals twice, figuring my neighbors had enough of a show watching me do the push ups, etc, on my driveway. Then I went to the gym and did Workout A. Total: 2.05 miles/19:28/TT for Abs, Workout A

Weekly Total: 23.14 miles

Primary Contest Goals
Eat healthfully and mindfully, with foods more in their natural state: Much better this week!

To NOT use Fitday: Did OK.

Complete every TT workout to the best of my ability: Yes.

Run 15-20 miles (at minimum) per week: Completed this week.

Complete two 5K races, with at least one of them under 30 minutes: Complete! Ran two 5K races, both at 28:32.


Secondary Contest Goals
Lose 5 pounds of fat (mostly from abs and thighs): N/A this week.

Reduce consumption of diet soda: Decreased soda this week to a more normal level. No more, no less. So that's good, I guess. Hey, that rhymed! :)

Have a great week!!

Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase the product, I will receive a small portion. I don't get paid for reviews, and I only review items that I actually own.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Recipe Wednesday - Chocolate Doughnuts!!

Yes, really, chocolate doughnuts. This recipe is adapted from Missy Chase Lapin's The Sneaky Chef. It's a good book if your kids (or husband) don't like to eat vegetables or fruits. My kids (and husband) will eat some, but this is a good book to sneak in a few more on the side. :)

Chocolate Doughnuts

1 cup blueberries
2 cups spinach leaves
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
1/4 cup grain sweetened chocolate chips
2 Tablespoons canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup granulated Splenda
3 packets Stevia
3/4 cup spelt flour
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spray your doughnut pan with nonstick spray, or if you don't have a doughnut pan, you could make cupcakes with this recipe.

2. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips with the coconut oil. Or, in the microwave, melt the chocolate chips (15 seconds at a time) and then add the coconut oil to the melted chips. Set aside.

3. In a food processor, combine the blueberries, spinach leaves and lemon juice until blended. Add in the pumpkin puree, egg and vanilla and pulse to blend.

4. In a large bowl, combine the chocolate chip mixture, the blueberry mixture, and the sweeteners.

5. In a small bowl, combine the flours, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Add this mixture to the wet mixture and blend until just combined.

6. I placed this mixture into a large baggie, snipped the tip, and piped it into my doughnut pan. Bake doughnuts for 10 minutes.

This made 18 doughnuts, using the pan I own.


I topped them with a quick blend of cottage cheese, whipped cream cheese, nonfat milk powder and PB2, but they were just as good plain. And I probably could have used just a little cream cheese - I was experimenting with a new frosting recipe.

Assuming 18 plain doughnuts, each one has approximately:

59 calories
1.5g protein
2.5g fat
7.9g carbs
1.7g fiber

Betcha can't eat just one! :)

Monday, October 19, 2009

Week In Review - End of Week 7

I wanted to post this yesterday, but my weekend was so busy, and then my son was sick with the flu and time just flew by. I'm feeling a little tired myself. Hoping I didn't catch the flu as well. Today was my day off from workouts, so I got a little more sleep and my muscles got a rest.

This week did not go as well as last week. My eating was all over the place. I had some good days, some OK days and 2 terrible days. I think it's stress-related. I'm definitely an emotional eater. I was really proud of myself today. I stayed late at work, and it was just me and the peanut m&m's. I was ---->thisclose<----- to having one (who am I kidding? I wouldn't have stopped at one), but then I remembered I had a jar of unsalted, dry roasted peanuts in my desk for just such an emergency. They hit the spot and I didn't eat a single m&m. Workouts went well, though. TT for Mass @ Home has been a great workout. I don't know why I've never used it before!

Here's how the week went:

Monday: Hill workout. This was a really tough workout. I know that I need to do more hill workouts to improve my running. 1 mile warm up, 2x200m hill (8% incline)/400 m recovery, 2x400 hill (6% incline)/400m recovery, 2x200 hill (8% incline)/400m recovery, 1/2 mile cool down, 8 minutes walking - 4.36 miles/50:00

Tuesday: OFF

Wednesday: 2.10 miles easy (25:00)/TT Mass @ Home, workout B/TT 3 Minute Arms

Thursday: 5 mile pace workout - 1 mile warm up, 1x400m/200m recovery, 1x1600/400m recovery, 1x400m/200m recovery, 1x1200/400m recovery, 1x400m, 1 mile cool down, 6 minutes walking - 5.30 miles/60:00

Friday: TT Mass @ Home, workout C

Saturday: Today was my first run in the double digits. It was a beautiful morning - 33 degrees (F) and sunny. A little chilly for the first mile, but then I felt great. Had a short break (5 minutes at most) at 5 miles while I ran inside my work to retrieve an item I had forgotten on Friday. 10 miles/1:42:19 (10:14 pace)

Weekly Total: 21.76 miles


Primary Contest Goals
Eat healthfully and mindfully, with foods more in their natural state: Not good. Not good at all. Need to pull myself together here. :)

To NOT use Fitday: Checked in again a couple times this week. With those stressed eating days, I wanted to see how I was doing. Not using Fitday is only going to work as long as I only eat healthfully.

Complete every TT workout to the best of my ability: Yes

Run 15-20 miles (at minimum) per week: This week I ran 21.76 miles. The program I am following for running increases the miles a little at a time, so I think next week I am running about 24 miles.

Complete two 5K races, with at least one of them under 30 minutes: Complete! Ran two 5K races, both at 28:32.


Secondary Contest Goals
Lose 5 pounds of fat (mostly from abs and thighs): N/A this week.

Reduce consumption of diet soda: This week I drank more than usual, which I think is one of the reasons I didn't eat well. It seems that when I drink more diet soda, my eating gets...less than stellar. I read that artificial sweeteners can bring on cravings, so maybe that is what happens.

That's it for this week. Gotta get up early tomorrow morning, so I'm going to go to bed early and see if I feel better in the morning.

Have a good night!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Recipe Wednesday - Cauliflower Pizza Crust

This is another recipe I've adapted from Eat Oxygen. This is sooooooo good. I like cauliflower, but I don't think you can even taste that it is in here. If you think you don't like cauliflower, give this a try!

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

For the crust:
1 cup cauliflower, cooked
1/4 cup of packaged egg whites, or 1 large egg
1/4 cup reduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese
2 T fresh grated Parmesan cheese (off a block of Parmesan, not the dry grated stuff)
pinch each of dried basil, oregano, garlic powder and salt

My (optional) Toppings:
1/4 cup pizza sauce (I use canned with no sugar in it)
1/4 cup reduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese
1 Boca Grilled Vegetable Patty
1 thin slice of onion, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray.

2. Place the cooked cauliflower in a food processor. Pulse until about the size of rice.

3. Add everything else to the food processor and pulse to blend.

4. I like to put the cauliflower mixture into a shallow dish to form it into a large circle and then flip it onto the cookie sheet. Then spread the mixture thinly.

5. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven. I usually like to flip the crust at this point. Add your sauce, toppings, and cheese. I cook the Boca patty in a skillet first, crumble it into pieces, and then add the onion to the pan to let it cook a little before adding it to the crust.

6. Return to the oven and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. I like to turn the broiler on right at the end to crisp up the crust.

7. Cut into quarters and enjoy!


Just the crust alone has approximately:

182 calories
20.8g protein
7.2g fat
7.8g carbs
3.0g fiber


With my toppings above, this has approximately:

382 calories
42.8g protein
13.7g fat
21.3g carbs
9.0g fiber

Monday, October 12, 2009

Week In Review - Lost Again

Except this time I'm not lost in Twilight. I've been reading Dan Brown's new book, The Lost Symbol. I'm only on Chapter 19, so a short week in review. ;)

Week 6 ended yesterday. I am HALF WAY through my 12 week transformation, and frankly, I'm slightly disappointed. But, on the upside, I've started seeing progress and I am greatly encouraged. I always say the best motivation is seeing results!

Here's how my workouts went this week:

Monday - OFF

Tuesday - TT Mass @ Home, workout B; TT 3 Minute Arms

Wednesday - 2.19 miles (22:11); TT 6 Minute Abs

Thursday - 5 mile pace workout (1 mile warm up, 1 x 400, 1 x 800, 1 x 1200, 1 x 800, 1 x 400, 1 mile cool down) Total: 5.02 miles, 57:00. My legs were toast after this workout. Between this run and the ab circuit I did Wednesday, I was pretty sore from my navel to my toes. :)

Friday - TT Mass @ Home, workout C; TT 6 Minute Abs

Saturday - 7.05 miles (1:14:48). Really nice run this morning. 32 degrees (F), but sunny, so it didn't feel too cold.

Sunday - 3.06 miles (29:08); TT Mass @ Home, workout A; TT 6 Minute Abs. Workout A is TOUGH. I've failed my drop set 2 weeks in a row. I got an extra rep today though, so I feel like I'm gonna get it next week.

Weekly Total: 17.32 miles

Primary Contest Goals
Eat healthfully and mindfully, with foods more in their natural state: Did good this week, and even managed to stay out of the peanut butter (on some nights).

To NOT use Fitday: I popped in this week just to do a check on where I was calorie-wise on a typical day.

Complete every TT workout to the best of my ability: Yes

Run 15-20 miles (at minimum) per week: 17.32 miles this week. So I did make my goal. Whoo-hoo! Wasn't sure I was going to because this was a race recovery week.

Complete two 5K races, with at least one of them under 30 minutes: Complete!


Secondary Contest Goals
Lose 5 pounds of fat (mostly from abs and thighs): I am down a few pounds and my thighs are fitting into a certain pair of jeans again!

Reduce consumption of diet soda: Did better this week. I even had tea for dinner one night instead of a diet soda. That's HUGE for me.

It's half over, time to really focus on eating well, and working hard. My ultimate goal is to keep this lifestyle and not be "in a contest" or "not in a contest". So far things have been going well. No neurotic calorie counting, no carb cycling, etc. I'm feeling really good about this! OK, I've rambled on longer than I thought. Now, back to my book! :)

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Recipe Wednesday - Chicken Barley Stew

This recipe is adapted from a somewhat recent issue of Clean Eating magazine. This stew is so yummy! It's great to throw it all in the slow cooker and come home to nice warm bowl.

Chicken Barley Stew

20 oz chicken broth
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2t garlic powder
1/2t sea salt
1/4t fresh ground pepper
1t dried basil
1 bay leaf
6 oz boneless chicken breast
1/4 cup black eyed peas (dry)
1/4 cup barley (dry)
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 can whole potatoes (I think it's 15 oz)
2 medium carrots, cut into "coins"

1. Cut the chicken and potatoes into bite-sized pieces. I use canned potatoes because they hold up better to hours in a slow cooker.

2. Into a slow cooker, place the broth, then the garlic and the seasonings.

3. Add the chicken, black eyed peas, barley, onion, potatoes and carrots. Add a little water if the liquid doesn't come up to the top of the vegetables.

4. Simmer on high for 4-5 hours, or on low for about 8 hours. Remove the bay leaf before serving.

Sorry this isn't a great picture. It's in a plastic bowl that I took to work. This reheats great.


Assuming 4 servings, each one has approximately:

191 calories
17g protein
0.9g fat
31.3g carbs
7.4g fiber

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Week In Review - Week 5 (Including Race Results)

Can you believe Week 5 is over? YIKES! I think this week went just OK. I didn't have any ice cream, which is good, but I only replaced it with something WORSE. I have rediscovered my love of eating peanut butter out of the jar. Bad, bad, BAD! In the evening, I've been craving smooth, rich foods. Peanut butter, ice cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, etc. Does this mean I'm lacking something in my diet? Maybe I need to eat more rich foods earlier in the day. I will NOT eat peanut butter out of the jar anymore!!

This week I started the TT for Mass at Home workout and it's been great. Workout A makes my arms feel like jelly all day. :) Workout B is lower body, and I took it real easy this past week since I had a race yesterday (more on that in a minute). Workout C is total body, but more focused on the upper body than the lower body. Since it's a mass-building workout, there are no intervals. So this workout is perfect as I continue my running. I can't remember if I mentioned this already or not, but I've signed up to run a 10K race in November!

So here's how the past week went:

Sunday: Ran 2 miles, easy pace; TT Mass @ Home, workout A; TT 6 Minute Abs (This was technically the last day of Week 4, but it was my first day of TT Mass @ Home.)

Monday: OFF

Tuesday: 3 Mile Stride Workout (38:00); TT Mass @ Home, workout B; TT 3 Minute Arms

Wednesday: OFF

Thursday: TT Mass @ Home, workout C

Friday: Ran 1.74 miles, easy pace

Saturday: 5K race, 28:32. My time was EXACTLY the same as my time from the race 2 weeks ago. Except this race was better because I didn't feel like I was going to puke on the finish line! :) There were only about 125 people, and for many of them, I think it was their first 5K. I placed 10th overall, and 2nd in my age group.

Sunday: Ran 2 miles, easy pace; TT Mass @ Home, workout A; TT 6 Minute Abs

Primary Contest Goals
Eat healthfully and mindfully, with foods more in their natural state: Healthfully, I did good. Mindfully, not as good. That peanut butter isn't jumping out of the jar by itself.

To NOT use Fitday: Still going well.

Complete every TT workout to the best of my ability: Yes

Run 15-20 miles (at minimum) per week: Week 5 - only a little over 10 miles, because of the race on Saturday.

Complete two 5K races, with at least one of them under 30 minutes: Complete! Ran two 5K races, both at 28:32.


Secondary Contest Goals
Lose 5 pounds of fat (mostly from abs and thighs): N/A this week.

Reduce consumption of diet soda: This week I bought some decaf tea so that I could make iced tea instead of drink soda at dinner time. We'll see how it goes!


Before I forget, here's the link to the TT Weekly Call: TT Fat Loss Coaching Call

This week, Craig talks about the TT program he used to help an actress do her first chin up (TT for Female Strength). He also talks about sticking to your plan, the best lower ab exercise, and the "300 Workout" from Men's Health Magazine.

Have a great week!

Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase the product, I will receive a small portion. I don't get paid for reviews, and I only review items that I actually own.