Good eats

I’m happy to say that I’ve made it through 2 full days of eating on Jackie Warner’s plan. To be honest, it really hasn’t been that hard! I think that one thing that will make it easier for me to not snack after dinner is to eat just a tad later (not too late though). Sometimes we eat super early, and then I’m hungry again by 7 or 8:00. We had dinner at 7:00 last night, and I enjoyed my cup of tea at 8:00 while watching Survivor. I went to be feeling satisfied (and most importantly- not full or hungry) and slept well. And I woke up today feeling great and with a good attitude. Part of that might be due to the fact that it is supposed to get up near 70 degrees here today.

By the way, Janetha does an awesome review of Jackie’s book here and here. If you’re interested in knowing about the book, I highly recommend you read her review. She really breaks it down well- chapter by chapter. (Plus she has some really awesome recipes and workouts on both posts!)

Sticking to Jackie’s eating plan does have a few small challenges for me. #1 is keeping the fruit to two servings a day. When I was doing Weight Watchers, I was encouraged to eat as much fruit as I wanted. I pretty much had at least one serving of fruit with every meal and snack. I have to have an apple with my lunch, and typically have a banana with breakfast. My snack of choice in the afternoon is usually a smoothie made with fruit, spinach, protein powder, ice and water. I’m not sure if I’ll enjoy it as much without fruit. My plan today is to make a pumpkin smoothie- because that is on her “veggie” list (and my pumpkin pie smoothies are always a winner!)

What I’m really tying to focus on is how I feel after I eat- not just during. There are plenty of foods that make me feel good while I’m eating them- but not so much afterwards. Along with my food journal, I think I might documenting how I feel after meals. As an emotional eater, I definitely have an emotional connection to certain foods- and there are things that I just feel like I have to eat – mostly good, but some not so good (like sweet after dinner). I managed to break out of my oatmeal every day for breakfast routine over the last few months, and believe me- that was tough. Obviously, there’s nothing unhealthy about the oatmeal that I eat, but for me, it’s good to shake things up and not get so stuck in a routine.

Planning out my eats for the day the night before has really been helping me stay on track- especially in regards to snacks. Why haven’t I done this before?!

When I posted my ‘planned’ eats for the rest of the day yesterday morning, I mentioned that I was going to experiment with an eggy dish after my workout. Well, I’m happy to say that it ruled. What I ended up with was a protein pancake/omelet of sorts.

It isn’t the prettiest dish in the world, but my goodness it tasted awesome- like custard.

Super protein pancake

1 egg, beaten

1/2 c 1% no salt added cottage cheese

1/4 c liquid egg whites

1 T coconut flour

1/2 t baking power

vanilla extract, cinnamon and stevia to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Place a skillet over medium heat and pour batter. Cook for 5 minutes on one side (or until edges start to turn golden brown) and flip. Cook for an additional 3 minutes on the other side.

Stats for this snack: 222 calories, 10 g carbs, 7 g fat, 30 g protein.

**

Dinner last night was also a winner- and very simple: 4 oz grilled tuna, 1/2 c. (cooked) quinoa and roasted asparagus, broccoli and golden beets. I made a mango salsa to go on top of the tuna using mango, red and green onion, bell pepper, salt and a tiny bit of honey.

I feel like I have neglected quinoa so much lately. Ever since I discovered other grains like freekeh and farro, quinoa has kind of been on the back burner. It was time for a comeback.

As I said earlier in the post, the only thing that followed dinner was a cup of green tea (1 bag Celestial Seasoning Mandarin Orange + Green Tea)- and I really did enjoy every sip.

Unbelievably, my daily calories were under 1500- 1473 to be exact.

The calories were broken down like this:

Breakfast: 371

Snack: 93

Lunch: 293

Pre-workout: 45

Snack: 222

Dinner: 449

I should probably eat a few more calories at lunch and less at dinner- but all in all, I’m happy with the breakdown. I do want to be careful though to not go too low and try to stay right around 1500- especially on days when I’m burning so much from exercising. Any lower than this will just F up my metabolism even more.

**

I switched it up for breakfast today and experimented with something for the first time ever in my seven years of packing breakfast to bring to work: I had eggs. I wasn’t sure how the eggs would be re-heated in the morning, but they actually ended up being great! I cooked them the night before and set everything in a glass container (easy for reheating). The scrambled eggs were made from 1 egg, 1 egg white, 1/4 cottage cheese and served with mixed roasted veggies (onion, asparagus, mushroom, broccoli, tomato and spinach) and some salsa.

I also had a piece of Eziekel bread with 1 T peanut butter and 1/2 of a sliced banana, and some Pero with almond milk on the side (love this stuff!). Unfortunately, I had to eat this pretty fast, but it did manage to keep me full until it was time for my snack.

The rest of the eats for today include:

Snack: celery sticks with peanut flour butter (3 T peanut flour + 2 T almond milk)

Lunch: Salad of mixed greens, cabbage, cucumber, tomato; 3 oz. tuna mixed with 2 T 0% greek yogurt, celery and onion, (possibly) a multigrain Flat-out wrap, Fuji Apple

Snack: Smoothie with 1 c pumpkin puree, 1 scoop Vanilla protein powder, spinach, ice, water

Dinner: Pork taco salad: 4 oz. pulled pork with Mexican spices (cooking away in crock pot right now), mixed greens + veggies, 1/4 c black beans, Greek yogurt, salsa

… and green tea.

(note- I will not be posting my eats every day. To me, that gets really boring.)

Today is my rest/yoga day, but given today’s weather forecast, I may have to forgo my yoga date with Bob. I have a dentist appointment directly after work, but I’m hoping that it goes very quickly and I can come home and take one of the dogs for a long walk.

So, it’s been pretty easy to make it through the work week and stick to the plan. The upcoming weekend will truly be a test of how serious I am about staying the course!

How’s the weather where you are?

This Is Why You’re Fat.

Just a warning… this is very text heavy. I could ramble on forever about this subject.

I was reading Jen’s blog last week and noticed that she mentioned something very familiar to me: this book.

What she wrote in her post is pretty much exactly how I feel about it. I bought it about two years ago- immediately read it cover to cover, and was super-inspired to start Jackie’s program. And I kept up with it- for about a week. I don’t know why, but my motivation tapered off. I also think that I was a little too liberal with the “cheat meals,” but I’ll elaborate on that later.

After work last Friday, I enjoyed doing my favorite Friday afternoon activities: a good workout, followed by a snack and a nice soak in the tub. Sometimes I read when I’m in the tub, sometimes I just zone out. On that particular day, I grabbed Jackie’s book and started reading it again. As I read, my mind started buzzing. Everything was very familiar and the same ideas were rushing through my head. It’s one of those books that you read and thinkthat makes so much sense… So much of what Jackie writes really makes me take a hard, cold, honest look at my issues with food and why I have so much trouble losing weight.

First and foremost (and I don’t want to just use this as an excuse)- as I’ve stated before- my genetics kind of suck. I have a naturally slow metabolism. I know this because I’ve had metabolic testing done, and mine is in the extremely low range. My resting metabolic rate burns about 500 calories less than it should for someone my height/weight. I’ve also damaged my metabolism due to extreme diet efforts in the past (exercising too much/not eating enough). I just had my thyroid tested again and the results were “normal.” My cortisol levels were extremely high all throughout the day (they’re tested at 4 different times during the day), so that has a lot to do with my whacked-out hormones. I also do not produce progesterone – which Jackie calls the “slim and trim hormone”- which is why I don’t get a period anymore (well, I take birth control which forces a period)- which is again the result of crazy dieting in the past. (I’m really hoping that this balances out soon – especially when it comes time for baby makin’!)

I don’t want to just make excuses. Yes, I have all of these biological factors making it extremely hard for me to lose weight, but some of the other things that I am choosing to do- that I do have control over- are completely sabotaging all healthy eating and exercise that is the core of my daily life.

Jackie talks about the importance of where your calories come from and how they are broken down in your body and affect your hormones. I definitely have issues with my hormones and notice how much my mood can change when I’m eating better (and when I feel better about my body in general). Chapter 2 of the book is called “You Are a Sugar Addict.”

Oh really? Am I? Yes…

Just because I don’t eat many processed sugars or junk food- that doesn’t mean that I don’t have a sweet tooth. I make a lot of healthy desserts and make smoothies loaded with fruit- but all of those contain some form of sugar, whether it’s in the form of fructose, lactose, sucrose- whatever- I get cravings for it. One of the “ah-ha” moments I had when reading this chapter (and the one that follows) was in regards to afternoon/evening eating and the balance of carbohydrates. I always feel the need to have something sweet after dinner- always. I feel almost uneasy if I don’t. I generally set about 200 calories aside just do I can indulge in a (generally healthy) dessert, which is usually heavier in carbs than any other nutrients. I’m starting to think that eating those carbs at night are really messing with my sleep (I always feel tired). (On Monday, for example- I was still feeling hungry after dinner, so I ate a cup of cereal with almond milk and a few pieces of dark chocolate. Afterwards I felt overly full and a little disappointed in myself. And I slept like crap- but that might also be because I had to stay up to watch the Bachelor…) Jackie states that the Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is produced primarily when you sleep. When your blood sugar is low, your body pumps out more HGH. If you ingest more carbs in the evening, your blood sugar spikes, and the production of HGH is halted- and your quality of sleep is lessened severely. A ha!

We all know that I’ve got the exercise thing down. I love to exercise (without overdoing it anymore), etc… yadda, yadda. Portion control (and not overdoing it on evenings or weekends) has always been my biggest battle.

Jackie’s eating plan is extremely do-able. Basically, you eat 3 larger meals (around 400 calories each) and two snacks (around 150 calories). Limit fruit to two servings a day (eek!) and only have carbohydrates in the form of whole grains with two of those meals (for example- oatmeal with breakfast and bread with lunch or brown rice with dinner). Eat enough protein and vegetables (check!) and drink lots of water (definitely got it!). No dessert or alcohol. Drink a cup of tea that is a combination of one bag of (decaf) green tea, and one of herbal tea. (When I did this plan before I always combined a bag of Celestial Seasoning Mandarin Orange tea with green tea. SO GOOD.)

The only issue I have with her eating plan is that she stresses a lot of animal protein more than anything, and I definitely prefer to get mine in the form of plants (legumes, tofu, tempeh, etc) more than anything. I will add a few more animal proteins into my diet, but will also continue to get it in the form of plants often.

On the weekend, you can enjoy two “treat meals.” This is time when you can have a drink, a dessert, whatever. Your treat meals can only occur after 5 days in a row of clean eating and should not exceed 1,500 calories (it is really easy to rack up that many calories if you eat out at a restaurant and have a drink and/or dessert!) And that treat meal is a meal. Not a day.

When I tried this plan before, I think that I felt like I should indulge on those treat meals over the weekend, even if I didn’t really feel like it. I feel so much better physically when I eat better- and shouldn’t eat crap just because I’m “allowed” to. I think that this time around, my “treat” meals will just include a drink of my choice and/or something sweet (like fro-yo) along with my regular healthy foods. Or, another way of looking at it is that I can enjoy a meal out without thinking so much about the calories and just make generally “good” choices overall. I don’t like fried foods or super rich stuff, so that’s not really the issue. But, I do enjoy a good beer or yummy dessert.

Right now I’m inspired. I’m motivated. And I really want it to last. I’m really good about being motivated for a few days, and then just kind of slowly give up (usually when the weekend comes). I think that the main reason that this happens is that I’ve always thought “how could that little snack or dessert or extra few hundred calories really make a difference?” Well, I’m set to prove to myself that it does- and it will if I just stuck with it and stay consistent. I really hope I can do that. I really, really do.

Jackie includes daily menus for an entire month, including a ton of recipes. I initially thought that I might try to follow her menu plans to the letter, but that’s not really logical for me. It’s much easier for me (and much more economical) to eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch throughout the week. So, I’m adapting her menus to my own needs- but I’m still following her ratios of proteins/grains/vegetables, etc.

This is how yesterday went:

Pre-workout: 1/2 banana with peanut flour butter (2 T peanut flour + 1 T almond milk mixed to a paste) This wasn’t really “on the plan,” but I HAVE to eat something before I work out in the morning, so I usually just divide the banana I would have had for breakfast anyway

Workout: Ran through first half of Bodypump routine (warm-up through tricpes), taught 50 min Spinning class

Breakfast: 1/2 cup oats cooked with 1/2 banana, 1/4 c. egg whites + 1/2 T peanut butter

Snack: 1 5.3 oz container Siggi’s plain yogurt

Lunch: Salad w/mixed greens, tomato, cucumber, cabbage + balsamic vinegar mixed with 1/2 T light balsamic dressing; homemade chickpea burger; fuji apple

Snack: 3/4 c 1% no salt added cottage cheese + 2 T chopped almonds/peanuts

Dinner (Panera): You pick two: 1/2 Fuji apple chicken salad (without cheese and just a tiny bit of dressing), 1 cup black bean soup, 1 piece of mutligrain bread

This totaled to almost exactly 1500 calories (1505 to be exact), which is my daily target from My Fitness Pal.

When I got home, I was really tempted to reach for something sweet, but I didn’t. I brushed my teeth, changed, and got into bed.

And this is what’s going on today:

Breakfast: 2 (homemade) buckwheat protein muffins (100 calories each) + 1/2 c Siggi’s 0% plain Skyr, 1/4 c blueberries, a few banana slices, 2 T peanut flour butter

Snack: 3 celery stalks with 1 T Better N’ Peanut butter, 1/2 T peanut butter

Lunch: Salad w/mixed greens, tomato, cucumber, cabbage, 2 T goat cheese + balsamic vinegar mixed with 1/2 T light balsamic dressing; homemade chickpea burger; orange

Pre-workout: 1/2 banana

Workout: other half of Bodypump (Biceps-abs), 30-45 min Spinning (or some other form of cardio intervals)

Post-workout:(something I thought up in my head and don’t know if it will work out…) 1/2 c cottage cheese mixed with 1 egg and 1 egg white + 1 T coconut flour, vanilla stevia + cinnnamon baked into a ‘pancake’

Dinner: Grilled albacore tuna stead with mango/red onion salsa, 1/4 c (dry) quinoa, mixed roasted veggies

… and  nothing else- except my cup of green tea.

So that’s the plan! I have to be honest here- the fact that I’m attending the Blend retreat in May is a big motivator for me. I even taped up a photo of Janetha’s killer abs (even though mine will never look like that) onto my fridge as a reminder of this. I would really love to drop a size or two before I go to the retreat- considering most of the attendees look pretty ripped. I think that having something to work towards can really help keep me motivated.

The big key for me in finding success in this program is also planning. I find that I do most of my mindless eating because I’m so hungry by the time that I get home, and have no idea what to eat. I’m trying to plan out my entire next day the night before, so that I can just stick to it. Easy, right?

Wish me luck!

Have you ever read a book (or has there been some other factor) that’s motivated you to make changes in your life? What are your tips for staying motivated?

[all aboard the] Tofu Xpress!

I love long weekends- and I especially love having a Monday off so that the work week seems shorter when it’s time to go back!

I woke up Sunday feeling a little rough (from the … 3 drinks I had the night before? Pathetic) but had made plans to meet my friend Brie at the gym at 7:15 am! I slowly got out of bed and made my way to the gym to do a one on one Bodypump class with her. Brie and I have gotten into the habit of meeting on Sunday mornings before I teach Spinning to do our own private Bodypump class. The aerobics studio is empty, and I can always use the teaching practice (and the workout!) so it’s a win-win. We busted our butts in Bodypump and then made it through my very intense spin class and by the time I got home, I gave myself permission to be completely lazy for the rest of the day. The only thing that I had planned was to check out my friend Katie’s new house that’s being built. Before heading out to do that, I broke out something that arrived in the mail on Friday…

I finally caved and bought a Tofu press! I actually avoid cooking with tofu (even though I love it) because of what a pain it is to press. No more- in the words of my friend Jenny: this will change my life.

Check out the before and after (this was a 2-hour difference):

While this pressing was going on, we drove to Sykesville to check out Katie’s new house that is in the process of being built. Katie and her husband custom designed the entire house from scratch- and needless to say- are very excited for it to be complete!

Their kids loved playing in the huge piles of dirt. (Who wouldn’t??)

Here’s Katie in her enormous walk-in closet:

I am super excited for them, and can’t wait to see what it looks like when it’s all finished (which should be later this spring)!

Alright, back to the tofu. After it was pressed, I marinated it in a mixture of Bragg’s liquid aminos, agave, rice vinegar, ginger and vegetable stock. According to the Tofu Xpress recipe book, pressing a second time (after marinating) is highly encouraged, so I did just that.

Side note: I’m very much obsessed with Kombucha, but can not stomach this kind.

Ew. I should have known that it would taste just like vinegar (and nothing else).

But the tofu… that turned out beautifully. I cooked it in a little bit of coconut oil and served it along with some steamed veggies and freekeh. I heated up the marinade and let it reduce into a sauce to drizzle over the veggies.

Just look at this beautiful bowl!

I could eat this for dinner every single night and feel good. Greg loved it too (so glad I’ve made a tofu believer out of him!).

**

Today went by way too fast. Greg and I both slept in (til 7- alright!) and then went to the gym. I did some cardio circuit training and he lifted. After that, we headed out to Columbia to visit some of my favorite stores: Sephora, REI and Trader Joes. I was in need of some new loose powder and was curious about trying out Bare Minerals. The sales gal helped me pick out the perfect shade, and I came home with all this loot:

The concealer and eye-liner were items that I purchased as well. The lip stuff was a free gift for having a birthday since I last went in, and the mascara was my bonus gift for reaching a certain number of “points” with my rewards card. Yay for free stuff- especially from Sephora (where I spend wayyyyy too much money).

I got a new pair of cycling shoes from REI for $40 on clearance (down from over $100! Pearl Izumis!) that I am very stoked about and excited to try out tomorrow. Nothing too exciting from Trader Joes… I was actually kind of disappointed with their selection today.

**

It’s time to get into work-prep mode: packing breakfast/lunch/gym bag, etc… here’s hoping this week flies by!

Have you ever used a tofu press? What’s your favorite thing to purchase at Sephora?

Breakfast Bakes + The Party Bus

Saturday morning started out innocent enough. Since I’ve bookmarked nearly every single one of Ashley’s recipes, I figured that it would be a good idea to try one of her bakes out for breakfast. I came across this recipe yesterday and was nearly salivating over her gorgeous photos. As I was gathering the dry ingredients together in a bowl, I started wondering how the same recipe would taste with my (beloved) coconut flour. I ended up making two different bakes: one with coconut flour and one with buckwheat flour. I followed Ashley‘s recipe for the buckwheat bake with a few minor changes- I used 1/4 liquid egg whites instead of the flax egg, 1 t maple syrup + 1 package of Xylitol/Stevia blend (instead of 1 T maple syrup) and oat groats instead of buckwheat groats (because I didn’t have any).

I mixed in the wet ingredients and poured the batter into two different bowls. It’s amazing how different the texture and consistency of coconut flour is compared to pretty much any other type of flour. It also seems to triple in size when liquid is added! When the bakes came out of the oven, they looked like this:

* Forgive the very poor quality of the photos. I was too hungry to care.

I attempted the flip the coconut one over first, figuring that it would just slip right out of the bowl. Nope. Instead, this happened:

(the bottom half was still stuck inside the bowl)

I made an attempt to get the buckwheat flour bake out, but it didn’t budge. I ended up making a cut down the middle and just scooping half of it out of the bowl.

I ate half of each bake, topped with a mixture of Greek yogurt, almond milk, peanut flour and sliced strawberries.

Both bakes were extremely tasty, but I think I liked the buckwheat one just a little bit better. I gave Greg a taste of both, and he gave the edge to the coconut. I loved the texture of both, and was so full (for hours)! The best thing was that I had the same amount left over for breakfast the next morning.

After breakfast, we ran out to get a few things at the store and to make a six-pack of beer at Frederick Wine House for our friend Matt. When we got home, it was beautifully sunny and 50˚. It was my “rest” day for the week, but just to get a little blood flowing, I took Jackson out for (what ended up being) a 5-mile walk. I have to say again- I am loving this non-winter we’re having!

We had a quick lunch afterwards and then Greg and I headed over to our friend’s (Matt and Kelly) house where we were greeted by this sight:

That’s right- a party bus. Kelly rented this to celebrate her husband’s 30th birthday! It was the perfect combination of sleazy + awesomeness.

Check out the inside:

What are those poles for, hmmm?

We had quite a group- 19 people total.

About 1/2 of the people in the group are high school teachers.

Kelly had taken it upon herself to make some drinks (wine-a-ritas) for the road.

(Forgive the blurriness- it was a bumpy ride!)

The back-of-the-bus crew:

We stopped at Notaviva Vineyards to taste some wine before heading to dinner. I love this winery, and hadn’t been there in a couple of years. It was even featured on HGTV’s “Dream Homes.” The owners of the vineyard built the home and winery on the concept of pairing wine with music. The tasting room was built to have fantastic acoustics (and it does!).

There was a musician playing. I should have requested him to sing “Happy Birthday!”

Trisha, Kelly, Katie and me:

We left the vineyard to grab dinner at Tuscarora Mill in Leesburg. Matt and Kelly were actually the ones who introduced Greg and I to Tuskies, and the last time we were there was for Kelly’s birthday.

By the time we got back on the bus, everyone was feeling a little silly. Kelly even decided to show off her dance moves.

When we got to Tuskies, we were sat at two large tables. Kelly had gone there earlier and left a few little party favors for everyone- shot glasses stuffed with chocolates- and very dirty sounding shot recipes. Here’s just a few examples:

Matt had the bartender make this one. It was ridiculously good.

Leave it to an English teacher to come up with an idea like that.

Abby and Katie modeled their shot glasses:

Kelly and the birthday boy (ugh, low light!):

Me and Greg:

The dinner menus had a nice little message on top:

And the beer list at Tuskies always rules.

I ended up getting a glass of red wine- I can’t remember the specific type, but it was the closest thing they had to Pinot Noir (there were not Pinots by the glass that night! The horror!)

My entree was the fish special- rockfish of course.

The food was great- as always. Tuskies never disappoints!

Everyone was feeling really good on the bus ride home! This was the best photo that Greg could get of us four crazy girls:

Yeah. That pretty much sums it up!

It was a really awesome night, and Kelly was really great to put this whole thing together for her hubby (and all of us that got to come along)! It definitely goes down as one of the most fun birthday parties I’ve ever been a part of!

What’s the most fun/unique birthday party that you’ve been to?

Puppy Love + Tempeh Tacos

Sorry about the lack of posting yesterday. I took a bunch of photos of the lentil soup that I made Wednesday night, and have no idea where the memory card went! Hopefully it will turn up and I can post the photos + recipe later on.

No worries though- it’s Friday!!

I did an hour of yoga with Bob after work yesterday and was savoring my yoga high while driving home. As is often the case, something made me think about my dogs. Whenever I think about Lance and Jackson on the way home from somewhere, I instantly get happy and excited to see them. Whenever Greg and I are driving home from being out somewhere together (whether we’ve been gone for an hour or all day) we start talking about how excited we are to see “the boys.” I always say “I can’t imagine what we’ll be like with human children.” If you’re not a dog person, you probably just don’t get it, but there’s nothing else that can instantly turn my mood from sour to happy when I come home to these guys.

They always run to greet me at the door

and smother me with hugs and kisses.

I can’t even remember what my life was like before these guys came into it, but it’s a lot happier now. I also have to say (since that biological clock might be tickin’ away) that it melts my heart to see how much Greg loves these guys too. He’s the best dog dad ever.

**

Change of topic…

I’ve been on a tempeh kick lately. When I first discovered tempeh about 5 years ago, I got a little obsessed with it. But, I would really only use it for making stir-frys. It was so simple to just slice it up and throw it in with a bunch of vegetables. I think I just ate too much of it back then and took a long break before starting to buy it again a few months ago. It was really Amanda’s Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie that got me hooked on it again. I used the leftover tempeh, along with black beans and edamame to make some outstanding tacos. Ever since then, I’ve always had a block of tempeh in the fridge. I really think that the secret to great tempeh is cutting it up and boiling it first. It seems to help mellow the flavor out a bit and makes it easier to work with.

Since I loved the tempeh tacos that I made before so much (and still had a bunch of corn tortillas to use up), I decided to make some again last night.

Tempeh Tacos (makes 6 big tacos)

1 7.5 oz package tempeh (I usually use Lightlife, but used Turtle Farm Organic Soy last night)

3 1/3 cups water (divided)

1/2 T olive oil

1/2 c chopped yellow onion

1/2 c chopped white mushrooms

1.5 T all-purpose taco seasoning

6 corn tortillas

suggested garnishes: shredded cabbage, Greek yogurt, salsa fresca, sharp cheddar cheese

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium-sized pot. Cut up the block of tempeh into 1″ cubes and place into the boiling water. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes. Drain the water and use a fork to mash the tempeh into small crumbles. Place a large skillet over medium heat and add olive oil. Add in crumbled tempeh and onions and stir well. Continue to stir until tempeh starts to brown and onions become soft (about 5 minutes). Add in mushrooms and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add in 1/3 c water (more if necessary), along with taco seasoning and mix well, so that the tempeh, mushrooms and onion are evenly coated. Reduce heat to low and cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring often. Heat corn tortillas in the oven or a skillet for 30 second and then fill with the tempeh “meat.” Top with your favorite garnishes!

Naked tacos (served along with some jasmine rice and roasted zucchini seasoned with garlic, salt and cumin):

All dressed up!

That is one big, awesome mouthful of deliciousness.

Yum. Dinners like this are always SO filling and comforting to me- yet the whole plate was under 400 calories. I’ll take it!

What do you think about tempeh? And if you’re a dog owner, are you obsessed with your dogs as I am?

Have a great weekend!!

Valentine’s Day Love + Dinner at Great Sage

Yesterday was a pretty good day, despite having it start at 4:35 am with the alarm going off. I got to the gym around 5 to do some rowing before teaching an energy-filled spin class at 5:30. I have such a love/hate relationship with Tuesday mornings. While I hate to get up so early, I absolutely love teaching the early morning class. I’m okay once I’m there- it’s just getting out of bed that’s a challenge.

When I got to work, my co-workers brought me flowers for my birthday! (I had taken off Monday.) A little later in the morning, I got a nice delivery of flowers from my husband also! I decided to keep the delivery from Greg packaged up so I could take them home to enjoy, and keep the other arrangement on my desk at work.

Even though I’m not a big fan of my birthday and Valentine’s day being back to back, it usually results in lots of flowers at the same time (and I’m a big fan of that). I called Greg to thank him for the lovely irises and tulips and he said “You’re welcome, but I ordered you roses….” I’m not sure if he ordered something by mistake or not, but I assured him that I was very happy with these flowers- and I prefer most any type of flower over roses any day (especially any type of wild flowers!). I know that everyone’s opinions about flowers are different, but I love them. I love to get them and give them to people I love- such a simple gesture to bring a little happiness. And I can’t help but smile any time I look at them.

When I got home, I had another treat waiting for me- a package of love from iHerb.com!

I read about this site on Averie’s blog last week and spent a good hour shopping around on it. There area lot of good deals on products that I buy (or have wanted to buy) and I had very easy time filling up my cart. Shipping is free on orders $20 and over, and if you spend $40, you get free shipping that arrives in 2-3 days!

In my box of goodies:

Eden Organic Wild Berry Mix (I really only bought this because I needed something small to reach my $40), Chocolate PB2 Peanut flour (I can not stop eating this- good thing it’s only 45 calories for 2 tablespoons!), Adora calcium supplements (aka dark chocolate candy), Protein Plus Peanut Flour (a brand I haven’t tried), Pero Instant Beverage (I know that Marie will be proud of this), Skihai leave-in conditioner, Erythritol natural no-calorie sweetener (Sara uses this, but I’ve never tried it), and Jason Apricot Scrubble (this stuff is the best!!)

They also sent me a bunch of free samples of things (including a full-size lip balm) and a magazine. I am loving iHerb!

If you want to place an order from them, enter the coupon code: QIR197 at checkout, and you’ll receive $5 off your order!

**

On to the main event…

About a month ago, I saw an announcement for a special pre-fixe dinner on Great Sage‘s facebook page. As I’ve mentioned on this blog before, I love Great Sage. Not only is it my favorite vegan restaurant, it’s one of my favorite restaurants, period. When I read about this dinner, I called right away to reserve a spot. And I’m sure glad I did- the event was sold out with a long waiting list!

There were three different seatings for the Valentine’s dinner. One was Monday night, and two were on Tuesday. We opted for the 5:30 seating on Tuesday. The menu made my mouth water…

We started with a little vino…

I am always so happy when I see an ’08 Oregon Pinot Noir on a wine list (this was an ’07/’08 blend)- and this was fantastic.

The amuse arrived shortly after we got our drinks. (Sweet potato and caramelized shallot galette topped with grilled asparagus and vegan boursin cheese)

Believe it or not, Greg and I both agreed that this was our favorite taste of the night! It was …. incredible. And I’ve got to get my hands on some vegan boursin cheese!

The courses were timed perfectly. The first course came about 2 minutes after our plates were removed from the amuse.

First course: Arugula and blood orange salad tossed in a pink peppercorn vinaigrette, grilled hearts of palm (yum!!) topped with salt chocolate cashews.

This reminded me a bit of the salad that I made for our beer pairing dinner. It was really good- but I wasn’t crazy about the cashews with the salad (avocado would have been better). But, the cashews were awesome by themselves, so I set them aside and ate them after I was done with the rest of the salad.

Second Course: Yellow pepper soup with Spanish saffron, cilantro coulis

I don’t think I’ve ever had a yellow pepper soup before, and I really liked this! The cilantro coulis was awesome- just a perfect combination of flavors.

Third Course: Garlic-herb smoked Tofu, crispy grilled vegetable polenta cake, truffled pea puree and tomato confit

I was the most excited about this course. I’m a huge polenta fan, and Great Sage knows how to do polenta. Greg kind of laughed that there were steak knives on the table, and I told him that if the tofu was cooked right, we’d need them. Luckily it was nice and crisp on the outside and softer in the middle. They actually smoked the tofu in a smoker, which was awesome! It smelled like a campfire! The tomato confit wasso good too- I just wish there had been more of it!

Fourth Course: Cherry cabernet gelato in a chocolate cup, sugar lattice and a chocolate heart accompanied by a glass of Santa Julia Sparkling Rose

Damn interior lighting….

Ahhh dessert. Yum. This was so cute and creative, and I ate the whole darn thing. Even the cup! The pairing of the Rose with the chocolate was so perfect! I was definitely in a sugar coma for the rest of the night.

They meal even ended with a single rose brought out to all of the ladies.

Another amazing meal at Great Sage! I was really impressed the service. I expected to wait a long time between courses, but there was none of that. We weren’t rushed, either. As I said before, the timing was just perfect! And the food never, ever disappoints. If it wasn’t 45 minutes away, I’d be tempted to eat there every night.

**

Did you celebrate Valentine’s Day? What’s your opinion on getting/giving flowers?

The story of us: Part 2 (engagement)

Happy Valentine’s Day, loves!

I thought it would be appropriate to finally continue the post I started a few weeks ago about how Greg and I became “Greg and I.”

Alright, where did I leave off….

Over the course of our relationship, Greg and I traveled a lot. In the summer of 2009, I visited Colorado for the first time. I’ve had family in Denver for a long time, but for some reason, I never had the desire to go there. Greg, however, has always wanted to move out to Colorado. He told me about how great it is and how much I would like it, so we planned a trip out west and stayed with my aunt and uncle at their house in Denver. From the moment we landed, I was in love. The mountains captivated me- I had never seen snow-capped mountains before! We spent the whole week driving all over the place- to Breckenridge, Boulder, Rocky Mountain National Park… hiking and biking and eating and drinking our way through Colorado.

This photo is from my very first hike ever in Colorado- over 13,000′ at Loveland Pass. This hike kicks your butt, and I love the little rock bowl at the top!

I also saw (and hiked) the Flat Irons for the first time.

That trip to Colorado really changed me. We ended up going to San Francisco for four days before flying back to Maryland. SF was great, but the whole time we were there, I was thinking about Colorado. I couldn’t wait to go back, and from there on, I was 100% on board with Greg’s desire to move out there permanently.

What does Colorado have to do with anything? A lot, actually. Colorado is really special to both Greg and I, and we both really feel like we left our hearts there. Throughout the following year, we busily planned another trip to get back out there. Over that year, a lot of things were happening. Lance and Jackson came into our lives in early 2010, we survived two blizzards (which were a week apart!) and I turned 30. Greg and I had been together for over two years at this point (and living together almost as long) and I was really starting to get anxious about wanting to be engaged. I definitely hinted at it a few times, and was reassured that it would happen, but had no idea when. Since we are both such huge Red Sox fans, I thought that he might do it at a game. For over a year, anytime we were at a Sox game, the idea of a possible proposal was always in the back of my mind. And for the record, I love the cheesey scoreboard proposals.

One day in May, Greg suggested that we check out some engagements rings so that he could get an idea of what I liked. Of course, I was thrilled at this idea! I found the perfect ring, but had no idea if it would actually be purchased, and if so, when I would ever see it again.

We planned a Colorado trip for June 2010- right after the school year ended. As luck would have it, the Red Sox were playing an inter-league game against the Rockies, so we based the timing of our trip around that. We went to the game that first night, and then went hiking back at Loveland Pass the following morning. I was nervous- I thought Greg might propose at the top of the mountain, back in that rock bowl that I loved.

I sat nervously and we took a few pictures. When Greg said “alright, ready to hike back down?” I was crushed. I had to just put on a smile and act like I wasn’t expecting anything.

Over the next few days, we went all over the place. We visited a lot of breweries- including the mighty COORS brewery in Golden (which is massive).

This was actually a really cool tour, and you get to same a lot of beers (not just Coors Light) that are surprisingly good!

We went back to Boulder and hiked at the Flat Irons again, and also hiked two different trails at Golden Gate Canyon.

The other new hike we did was at Eldorado Canyon. We met up with Greg’s best friend John, who had just moved out to Boulder.

We decided to save the activity that we were looking forward to the most for the last day. We drove out to Breckenridge and rented bikes. We were then taken about 25 miles away to Vail Pass and dropped off.

We put on our awesome bike helmets and were ready to go!

The ride back to Breckenridge is on a nice, paved bike path. The first half is pretty easy- most of it’s downhill. And the scenery is, of course, incredible.

About 7 miles away from Breckenridge (where we need to bike to) is a town called Frisco. We had noticed that you could rent kayaks and go out in Lake Dillon, and were all about that. We locked up our bikes and headed over the kayak rental. Normally, Greg and I each get our own kayaks, but this time he was set on getting a tandem. We kayaked around the lake and enjoyed the beautiful views.

There were a bunch of little islands in the lake that you could explore, so Greg suggested that we head over towards one of them. We got out of the kayak and hiked up to the top of the island. I took off my backpack and looked for my camera to take some pictures of the gorgeous mountains, and when I turned around, there was Greg, on one knee. I don’t remember exactly what he said, or what I said… but somewhere in there he proposed and I said yes! I set my camera on a rock and hit the self timer to capture the exact spot where it happened.

We kayaked back to the marina and celebrated with drinks at the Tiki bar. Then, we made our way back to Breckenridge, which was 7 miles uphill. I couldn’t stop staring at this beautiful ring.

We flew home the next morning, and while I was very sad to leave Colorado, I was excited to share my news with my friends and family! Everyone was so happy for us, and we were eager to start planning our wedding. Since I’m off work during the summer months, I wanted to get the big details taken care of before I head to return to school in August. We booked a venue and caterer within a month of our engagement and worked on the little details over the following months.

To be continued….

Are you married/engaged? How did he propose?

Birthday brewing

My 32nd birthday was pretty fantastic. Greg and I had made plans to cash in his gift certificate for the “Beginner’s Special” at the local beer brewing supply shop, Flying Barrel. The gift certificate was a Christmas gift from me to Greg, and we were both excited to use it.

Since my birthday is usually too cold to do anything outside, we figured that making beer would be a fun way to celebrate. We invited our friends Mic and Brie to help us brew, and they were happy to attend!

The Flying Barrel is a place where home brewers can buy all kinds of beer supplies. But the really cool thing is- you can go there and brew your own beer (or wine!) and use their supplies. They carry all kinds of beer ingredients:

Since we were brewing beer at the facility, one of the staff members guided us on what to do.

The first step was to look over the recipe book and choose which type of beer we wanted to brew.

Greg and I both like all different varieties of beer, but agreed that an IPA would be a good place to start. We copied down the recipe and gathered the ingredients.

There was malt extract

Grains

And hops.

All of the grains were put into a large mesh bag, which was dropped into a big kettle full of hot water- it was kind of like steeping tea! The different varieties of hops were added in at different times.

The bag of grains was removed and the hot beer water was poured over top of it a few times to get out any extra flavor.

Then the malt was poured in.

We all took turns stirring with the paddle

It was truly a team effort!

The hot beer was poured into a large container to be stored

and was cooled down with this large copper coil thing (that’s a technical term).

The blurry thing in the front is a thermometer that measures the temperature of what it’s pointed out (where the red beam is). I was amazed by this.

Brewing is messy!

When our beer reached the right temperature, yeast was added and it was sealed up to ferment.

We will go back in two weeks to bottle it, and then I think it’s about two more weeks until we can drink it. I can’t wait! I could see the wheels turning in Greg’s head the whole time we were there, and when he said that he wanted to start brewing his own beer at home, I wasn’t surprised. I told him that we should wait until we move to Colorado.

After brewing, the four of us chowed down on the lunch that we had packed.

Brie made her awesome kale + beet salad (and gave me the leftovers to take home!!) and I made portobello burgers (which were just grilled portobello mushrooms and veggies on sandwich thins. Yum!

We headed across the street to get a coffee and sit and chat some more, and then parted ways. Greg and I made a stop of Wegman’s to pick up some fish for dinner. Aaaaand we also ran into Yogi Castle to get some frozen yogurt for later.

**

When Greg and I got back home, we spent some time doing nothing, which was very nice. Eventually I made some black bean brownies- something I’ve been wanting to do forever. I found this recipe last week and was very curious to try it. I figured that the brownies would be a nice little birthday treat (along with some frozen yogurt, of course).

But, before we ate dessert, we had dinner. This was exactly what I wanted- grouper and rockfish (we got one filet of each and cooked them together) with a lemon-dill-caper sauce, roasted asparagus, sweet potato and some of Brie’s kale + beet salad in a little up on the side.

This was so delicious- the perfect birthday dinner. But, what I was really excited about was dessert.

We each had one of the brownies, topped with some of the peanut butter Greg had made that morning, along with some frozen yogurt and a few Sunspire peanut butter chips sprinkled on top.

The night ended with puppy cuddling and watching 50/50 on dvd.

I really, really liked the movie. I highly recommend renting it immediately!

So that was my birthday. Only 364 days until the next one!

Have you ever brewed your own beer? What’s your favorite way to celebrate your birthday?

Happy birthday to me…

I’m 32 today. Wow! What happened to my twenties?

No, seriously, I believe that your thirties are where it’s at. And so far, mine have been very good.

This post is going to be brief, because we are heading out the door to brew our own beer! Greg and I are very excited because neither of us has done this before. We’re meeting up with our friends Mic and Brie (Mic has brewed several times, which will probably be very helpful!).

Yesterday we drove down 270 to hit up Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods (and got lunch at Whole Foods of course). I got my standard salad loaded with veggies and various meatless proteins:

Really, this is my favorite lunch. I would choose it over anything else, any day of the week. And the Kevita drink has become an addiction of mine over recent months as well.

Trader Joe’s still does not carry Speeculos Cookie butter, but they did have this…

I had a bite of this after lunch. Yeah, now I know why I should never buy a whole jar of the stuff- I don’t think I’d be able to keep my spoon out of it!

Later on that evening, we met up with my parents to get dinner downtown at The Wine Kitchen. I was really excited to eat there because we had only been for drinks and desserts before (and were super impressed by those!). My mom is a financial aid advisor at one of the local colleges, which happens to be exactly five minutes from my house. She had to work at some event until 4:00, so I picked her up to hang out at my house until it was time to meet my stepdad for dinner.

We took a few photos.

The bad lighting was my fault…

Apparently we both like the color gray.

Dinner was fantastic- we were all very pleased with our food and drinks. The head chef was the the former head pastry chef at Volt, and you can definitely see the similarities in the food (though the WK is much more reasonably priced). Portions are small, but full of flavor- and kind of perfect. I got red snapper over black lentils (and there were lots of bites traded from all of our dishes). Sorry for not providing more details, and I didn’t take any photos either. I will just say that this is a place that we will go back to again and again.

We ended the night by watching Twilight: Breaking Dawn from Redbox. I know you’re jealous.

**

So far today has been great. I headed out the door bright and early to do a 1 on 1 bodypump class with my friend Brie, and then taught my regular Sunday morning spin class at 8:30. The class was pretty full (for a Sunday especially) and there was a lot of energy in the room. Everybody looked like they wanted to kill me about halfway through the class, but I told them that I took it as a compliment.

And when I got home, I had my most favorite breakfast.

Oatmeal after Spinning. Haha.

I threw some bananas, strawberries, sunflower butter and Sunspire peanut butter chips (ADDICTED) in there. Sooooooo gooooood. I’m pretty sure I ate back all of the calories I burned this morning with this big bowl of goodness (but it was worth it!)!

Greg made some peanut butter to give to Mic (since he’s a major PB fan):

I love that we can make peanut butter in less than two minutes, any time we want it.

And I’ll leave you with this… my dilemma. In my birthday card from Greg was this note:

If you don’t know already (you will once baseball season arrives), I am a huge Red Sox fan. I’m a huge baseball fan, period, but have been a Fenway faithful for the last five years. Greg and I travel up to Boston a few times each year to see the Sox play, and have also seen them play out west in Seattle and Denver, as well as in DC and Baltimore (more than anywhere else). We have a bucket list to make it to a game at every MLB stadium (to see any game- not just the Sox).

The “secret 4th option” is a trip to Chicago when both the White Sox and Cubs play at home. They’re not playing the Red Sox, but they’re both actually home that same weekend, so we could knock out two stadiums. Plus, Chicago is #1 on my list of cities I want to visit (I’ve never been) and we could also spend time checking out the city.

Option #1 would be going to Chicago to see the Red Sox vs. the Cubs, but the White Sox would be out of town, so we’d only get to see one stadium. BUT, we’d get to see the Red Sox.

Option #2 sounds really fun- both Greg and I LOVE Neil Diamond, and of course, love going to Fenway.

Option #3 sounds great also, and I think Greg picked Cleveland because he knows of my admiration for Grady Sizemore (hubba hubba!). But, as of now, it’s my last choice.

It’s really a toss-up between 1, 2 and 4. I have no idea what to pick (but I have to say- how lucky am I to have such a great guy?).

I’ll re-cap the rest of my day later… it’s time to brew!

Help! What should I choose??

My Fitness Pal [what I've learned so far]

At the end of January, I decided to cancel my WW membership. I was still logging my points ever day, but never went to any meetings – and couldn’t justify paying $40 a month to use the online software. My plan was to take a week off, re-evaluate, and then decide whether or not to enroll in WW online to use the Etools (which is cheaper than the membership that includes meetings). That same week, I was introduced to My Fitness Pal. I checked out the site and wasn’t impressed at first. I wasn’t sure if this was for me, or how easy it would be to use, but I gave it a shot. Now that I’ve used it for a little over a week, I’ve changed my mind- I’m a fan!

I’m still learning how to navigate everything on the page and really haven’t had much time to look into any message boards or recipes. I’ve really only used it to log food and exercise.

When you sign into your account, this is the welcome page you see:

Due to my height/weight/weight-loss goals, My Fitness Pal has determined that I should aim for 1500 calories a day. I’m trying to lose about a pound a week, which should be a realistic goal. You can add “friends” and view their progress as well (as much as they want to share through privacy settings) and post messages on the main page for each other to see.

For logging food, the page looks like this:

Hey- check out the ad on the right! My obsession!

Since I eat the same thing for lunch or breakfast several days throughout the week, I like the fact that you can just copy your meal from another day. When I was logging my food through WW Etools, I would save items as my favorites, which was also very easy, and just add them in. (I wish MFP had a ‘favorites’ option, but so far I haven’t found it.)

But, when you click to add a food, it will bring up all of the foods you have added so far, so that you can click and choose from items that you eat often.

It also gives you the option to add “quick calories” instead of inputting every single ingredient or looking up a food in the database. I use that sometimes, but really try to look up the foods as much as possible. It can be a little bit of a pain to look everything up (especially if you have  salad with 10 different types of vegetables!) but once you add something in to your food log, it really is easy to just click through your list and find it. You can also create your own recipes (and add in your own calories), which is what I did for my overnight oats and protein muffin. The food database is also REALLY impressive! There are a ton recipes and foods entered by users- like pretty much anything you can think of. The database also includes several of Mama Pea’s recipes that people have entered, including the Spicy African Peanut Stew that I made the other night (and have leftovers of  for lunch today!) There’s also pretty much every type of beer you can think of- which I had a lot of fun looking at last night. I was shocked at how many calories some of my favorite Dogfish beers had- yikes! (Good thing I don’t drink much!)

Here’ yesterday’s food logging:

The site defaults Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Snack categories and I added in “pre” and “post” workout foods.

The exercise part of the site is pretty similar, in that you search the database for common exercises and enter your time spent doing a particular activity. It also brings up your most common exercises that have been entered, so that you can choose from those.

You can create your own exercise and estimate the calorie burn, which is what I did for Bodypump. I know my exercise metabolic rate based on my heart rate (from testing I’ve had done) so I estimated my own calorie burn for Bodypump. I have various effort ranges for Stationary biking, based on when I’m teaching spin class (which is very vigorous) or just riding my spin bike at home (which can be anything from moderate to vigorous). For Bob’s yoga dvd, I really have no idea how many calories I burn. I sweat a lot and it does get my heart rate up, and I’m sure it probably burns more than the 200 calories I put down. But, I’d rather underestimate than overestimate (and really, I don’t see exercise as a pass to go nuts on my calorie consumption anyway).

A sample from Wednesday, when I did a little bit of cardio before Bodypump:

You can add in exercises for strength training, but I really haven’t used that yet. My strength training usually comes in the form of a class or DVD that combines it with cardio, so I just group it in that category.

One of the things that I find kind of entertaining is that at the end of the day, when you finish logging, it tells you “If every day were like today, you’d weigh ‘x amount’ in five weeks!” (That “x” amount is usually 10 lbs. lower than what I weigh now, which just makes me laugh.) I know that losing 10 lbs in 5 weeks is totally unreasonable for me- but hey, if it really happened I’d be very happy (and very close to my goal)!

Something I have become aware of by using this software as opposed to logging through WW is that I was eating a lot of calories before- more than I thought. Since WW counts fruits and vegetables as “free foods,” I really wasn’t counting those calories at all. But, even though those are all “good” calories, they still count. So, if you’re eating 500 calories worth of fruit each day on top of everything else, it isn’t really going to help you lose! I’m not bashing WW at all, because I think that it can be very helpful for a lot of people. Again, it just didn’t work for me.

Here’s the thing about logging onto any site like this: it only works if you’re honest with yourself. I found that when I’ve logged before, I’ve lied to myself to make myself believe that something I ate didn’t count (if I didn’t log it). And really- that is just dumb and completely not helpful to my progress at all. OF COURSE it counts if you eat it! So with this site and the addition of  snapping a photo of everything I eat- even if it’s just one cracker from the pantry – I am holding myself accountable. I’m always really good during the week and fall off the wagon a bit on weekends, but man, I am trying my darnedest to fully commit- on weekends too!

I know that some people have suggested to me before that maybe if I stop caring so much about what I eat and stop trying to focus so much on losing weight, maybe things would change for the better. I have to say, from much personal experience, that does not work for me. I lose weight when I hold myself accountable 100% and eat mindfully, plain and simple.

I’m hopeful that I see some good results with this program.

**

One more thing: I just had to scan this photo of Marie Osmond that I saw in a NutriSystem ad yesterday. Does this looks ridiculous and air-brushed or what? And what’s going on with her boobs?!

They need to fire their Photo editor.

Have a great weekend, guys!

Have you used My Fitness Pal (or any similar program)? Do you track your calories/exercise when you’re trying to lose weight?