en-lazed August 21, 2008

as my dad would call it. i shouldn’t dread blogging as much as i do, and i guess dread isn’t really the correct word to describe it. i just feel like it’s more of a chore than anything. it’s holding me accountable to what i eat and i’m grateful for that so i’m gonna have to come up with a way to make it more fun. obviously, once i get going it’s not so bad and i really have a lot to say. but writing has always held this mixed emotion for me, even though it remains the most eloquent and efficient way i’ve found to express myself just because of my generally perceived superior grasp of the english language (perceived to me at least)…

no more soapbox, i have food to post. i had a z-bar pre-workout yesterday.

but it was like 2 hours pre-workout. i was certainly not properly fueled for spin class yesterday and i found myself worn out after just the warm-up. to be fair, i really hit it hard starting out and didn’t really save any energy for the rest of class so i tried to stick with it as best i could but i wasn’t able to push myself as hard as i would have liked. i was really hungry afterwards, too. i wanted to make good on my promise to cook so i went about it normally but nibbled on a kashi peanut granola bar while everything was being prepped and cooked.

i made spicy bean stuffed bell peppers straight from the recipe on kath’s blog. they were absolutely delicious, i was super happy with the way they came out. they could have used a bit more time in the oven to fully roast the peppers but i mis-read the recipe and sprinkled the cheese on before i put them in initially instead of after the first 20 minutes just to melt it. i like my yellow bell peppers crunchy anyway.

it was hella spicy though. i used hot diced jalapenos (as opposed to medium or mild) and it gave the filling quite a kick. i could only finish one of those suckers and it definitely cleared my sinuses. my mouth was literally on fire after eating this and there is only one dessert in the world that will do after a spicy meal and that’s ice cream. i had 1/2c. of vanilla slow churn with some caramel tea cookies and a drizzle of sugar-free maple.

that settled my mouth and my tummy. and i can’t feel guilty about it because i was down 1.4 pounds this morning!

yoga to join the rotation August 13, 2008

and my journalism background rears it’s ugly head in the title. back when it mattered i wasn’t even that good at writing headlines! go figure…

yoga won out today and i’m glad it did because my muscles were stiff from bootcamp. i was talking to my workout buddy, who happens to be a yoga instructor, and she testified to being at her slimmest ever while doing yoga regularly. so hence the title of this post. i’m game. and i can take her classes for free!

she also happened to make dinner tonight and invited me and my sister over to partake. a night of no cooking? is that a trick question?

she slow-cooked a beef roast in the crockpot with some spicy accompaniments. i should just insert my disclaimer here before i continue: tonight was a special treat for me. if i can have meat prepared healthfully without overdoing it (and in the absence of an alternative) i will. everything i make for myself will continue to be mostly vegan and always vegetarian.

so, back to tonight’s special dinner. i started out with a small serving of refried beans with carrots for dipping

and then i had a serving of the beef, shredded and rolled into a whole wheat tortilla with avocado and a side of steamed broccoli

cut that plate in half and that was my second serving. then, against my better judgement, i had TWO (!!!) servings of slow-churn cookies and cream ice cream. i only took a picture of one

i don’t crave ice cream really so this was definitely a rare treat. i really enjoyed it, though, so i guess that’s what counts. right now i’m trying so very hard to stay out of my own kitchen, even though i’m stuffed, because i just feel munchy for some reason. i’m distracted by the olympics but i’m gonna have to go in there for water right now and i can’t promise something edible won’t end up in my mouth…

memorial day barbeque May 26, 2008

i thought i did ok yesterday. not great, there was definitely some dessert involved. and the 2 glasses of champagne made me hungrier than i think i normally would have been. i’ll have to stay away from the alcohol in general for the next two months, my uncle has challenged me to lose 16 more pounds by our big family vacation in july! i have until july 18 and i’m totally up to it. the prize is $100. woot. it’s not about the money at all. it’s about winning and showing up my uncle
anyway, last night’s food:
first a couple glasses of champagne.

i only had 2 and they looked the same so there is only one pic of that. then i had a plate of food, no meat except for the turkey in the chili dip (dubbed ‘turkey surprise’ by my sister who made it).

so the breakdown is pretty much a corn tortilla with queso fresco and mom’s salsa:

very delicious. i also had some nopalito salad. it’s sliced prickly pear cactus with lemon juice, tomatoes, cilantro, etc. almost like salsa. but not. it’s salad (and way better than any slaw).

the other stuff on the plate was the whole wheat pasta salad with broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and avocado, a little smart balance buttery spread and finely grated dubliner cheese. my fav, thanks mom!
so i had that plateful of food and washed it down with some seedless watermelon in a red plastic cup. you know, we like to keep it classy.

whew, that’s a lot of food. but there’s more. i had two additional small red cups of the whole wheat pasta salad AND two slices of apple pie. with about a half cup serving of caramel delight double churn. desserts are my downfall and my greatest weakness. this next couple months will certainly be a challenge.

i think that was it. i didn’t bother logging it on myfitnesspal so i have no clue how many calories it cost me. sundays are my days off from working out so i’m positive i didn’t burn it off doing anything. sigh…

a sweet treat May 23, 2008

after the meal/snack i had post-workout i was strongly craving something sweet. i almost never crave ice cream but that’s what my mind kept coming back to. i keep a carton of slow churn in my freezer for this exact reason.

it hit the SPOT! at 161 calories, i’ll take it!

i melted a piece of 70% dark chocolate with a teaspoon of honey to make the drizzle. it froze on top of the ice cream and i had to chew it but for some reason that made it that much more satisfying. i got the honey at the farmer’s market last saturday, it is the seasonal orange blossom kind and absolutely delicious. i can’t wait to make some granola with it. along with the vanilla bean olive oil i also got at the farmer’s market. i love organic stuff and i’m going to start making a trip to the farmer’s market every week for produce. i’ll be there tomorrow morning after my early workout!

i’m working out so early, in fact, that i don’t have time for dinner because i should be in bed already. luckily, i was able to abolish my hunger with the meal/snack + dessert combo. i still went over my calories for the day so i’m gonna have to work on that.