FitFeat

where daily feats & eats can be adventures in themselves

Posts Tagged yoga

The 10 Commandments of FitFeat

Mar 4

Posted by Shari B. in Keeping Fit | 7 Comments

Hi Fit Peeps!  It’s Friday-EVE!

The sun is shining and supposedly it’s going to hit 60 degrees today.  I can’t even describe how happy that makes me!  Spring is just around the corner! You all know I run on solar power, right?  ;)

I took the day off from working out yesterday.  I want to get past this mini-bug as quickly as possible, so I’m saving my body’s energy for immunity rather than for recovering from exercise.  I’ll have to take a trip to Whole Foods today and pick up some Kombucha tea and maybe some of the other cool supplement ideas you all suggested for me this week!  (Thank you for all the great ideas!)

As I mentioned in the last post, since I started training for the marathon a little over 6 weeks ago, my appetite has been a bear and I’ve also allowed more sugary items to creep back in.  Part of that is thanks to the season of Cadbury Caramel Cream Eggs which I love, love, love!  Part of it is the increased expenditure of energy from the long runs, yes, but not nearly as much as you may think.  (The rest of my week has LESS exercise in it than it used to because I spend a day or two ‘recovering’ from the long runs and then minimize leg work as I gear up for the next run.)  So my weekly calorie expenditure isn’t that much more than it was when I wasn’t training for this event.

I’ve been working at such a high heart rate in every run that I’ve been burning mostly sugar as fuel and not much fat.  This leads to a cycle of craving carbs, burning carbs, craving carbs, etc.   When our bodies feel wiped, we crave foods that will give us instant bursts of energy.  And unless you are planning to be running sprints in the next couple of hours, you know right where that sugar’s gonna go:  to your trouble spots!

I eat for weight maintenance.  Over the course of a lot of trials and many errors, I found what works best for me to feel healthy and satisfied, with the added bonus of fitting into my skinny jeans! :)   Enter an endurance sport, and my ‘natural rhythm’ gets thrown a bit off balance.

From a speed perspective I have a target weight in mind that I would like to race at on May 16.  For every 5% of weight you lose, you gain about 5% in speed.  If I want to increase my speed by 30 seconds per mile, I’ll need to get a bit lower than what my ’summer maintenance weight’ is.

Here’s what I’m NOT going to do:  be obsessive or restrictive about it.  If I make it, great.  If not, I’ll just be 14 minutes slower over the 26 miles.

Here’s what I AM going to do:  get back to the basics of what I know works for me, both from a nutrition standpoint and an exercise standpoint.

With that said I thought I’d share the basics I follow (and coach my clients on) for losing (or maintaining weight) and healthy living in general:

10 Commandments of FitFeat

1.) Eat when hungry, stop when full. Never walk away from a meal feeling stuffed.

2.) Eat a green smoothie every day.

3.) If hungry between meals, choose natural (and preferrably raw) snacks.

4.) Eat a HUGE salad every day, chock full of veggies and fun things like dulse, nutritional yeast and healthy fats.

5.) Chew every bite until it’s practically liquefied – good digestion starts in the mouth!

6.) Eliminate (or greatly reduce) foods that cause nutritional stress (primarily refined flours, refined sugars, trans-fatty acids, artificial chemical additives).

7.) Plan, plan and plan some more.  If you don’t have the right foods within your reach, it’s much to easy to grab the WRONG ones.

8.) Save and Savor: SAVE the once-in-a-blue-moon foods for special occasions (like birthday cake and wedding cake) and when you do treat yourself to these indulgences, SAVOR it. And maybe have some fun with it.  ;)   For the not-so-special occasions where you need a treat, pick those that have some nutritional value like red wine and dairy-free dark chocolate.

9.) Choose exercise that energizes you and that you enjoy doing.  Let each workout leave you wanting to come back again the next time.

10.) Love yourself and your body.  Appreciate what it does for you and treat it with respect.  When you put that thought first, the choices you make will come naturally.

***

Today’s discussion:  how many of these 10 commandments do you already ‘obey’?  If there are some you don’t, which will you implement first?

– Shari B. =)

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Give That Cold the Boom Boom Pow

Mar 2

Posted by Shari B. in Keeping Fit | 12 Comments

Hi blog buds!

Thank you all for the wonderful comments to yesterday’s Marathon Monday post.  I loved reading all of your encouraging words!  I hope you know how much more enjoyable (not to mention accountable) this marathon process is, knowing that you are all cheering me on.

I already know what I’ll be doing differently on my next run.  Something that I’ve been figuring to be the issue, but that I have neglected to implement.  (Partly due to pride, I think.)  I’m treating myself as I would a client so I’m going to take my own advice.  So stay tuned for the next Marathon Monday and I’ll share my “tweaks” and let you know how it goes!

I rested the ol’ knees on Sunday by not doing any exercise.  Then on Monday when I woke up my knees were feeling bueno!  So I’m thankful that they are recovering quickly, that’s a good sign!  I treated them to some Iron Yoga in the morning before scooting off to work.

While the knees are back to normal, that weird sneezing fit seems to be a touch of a head cold.  So I’m giving it the BOOM-BOOM-POW of green smoothies, Emergen-C drinks and green tea.  Hopefully I’ll get this thing nipped in the bud!  I feel fine, but my nose deciding to keep on running well past that 14 mile mark!  ;)

Anyone else this messy while making green smoothies?

I have covered the entire island!

***

I was fortunate to start this morning with a delightful run at my favorite hilly trail with one of my clients.  Look at the moon as I pulled into the parking lot!

It was just getting light out and the moon was SO bright!  I love pretty runs like this!  While my little friend OSCAR told me it was 28 outside, we did freeze our hineys off a bit because it was WINDY!  (I’ve been going to this trail for about 9 years now – you’d think I’d learn that it’s ALWAYS windy there and dress accordingly!)  :D

I wore my VFFs for the 3.7 miles we did.  Ohhh boy do you feel every little rock on a gravel trail in them, especially when your feet are frozen!  But I loved it! They thawed out after about 15 minutes, once the blood started pumping and then it was like skipping along like a kid!  These things are a hoot!

I so wish that my calves were ready to wear these ‘unshoes’ for longer distances because the impact on my knees is almost nil.  I’m getting there!  I’ve added another mile to my longest run in them… progressing slowly but safely.

Today’s discussion:  what’s your “tried and true” remedy when you have a cold? As I mentioned, I like to try to knock it out with high nutrient foods, like what I add to my green smoothies.  This is the first I’ve had in almost a year – I didn’t even catch one when I flew to Michigan in the fall (and I was that person who would catch something every time I stepped on a plane.)  I have attributed this good immunity to all the fruits and veggies I’ve been eating since last April.  But recently I’ve let some refined carbs and sugars creep back into my diet so I know that’s partly to blame.  Time to get back to basics!  :)

Enjoy the rest of your day!

– Shari B. =)

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Flex-It Friday: The Abs Edition

Feb 19

Posted by Shari B. in Flex-It Friday | 11 Comments

Hi everyone!  Happy Friday!

Well, as it turns out, no one wants to bare their mid-winter abs.  Biceps are one thing, but it seems that abs are quite another indeed!  I was a little scared myself.  I’ve had a bit of a food fest since the middle of January and was dreading seeing my “winter abs” vs my “summer abs”.  In the dead of winter, I’m eating more grains and starchy veggies, not to mention those darn delicious vegan cookies from Whole Foods!  (I almost wish that I hadn’t discovered that tasty treat!)

But in the interest of following through with things I plan for the blog, I present to you my lonely version of Flex-it Friday: The Abs Edition.

Or as I like to call it:  “Fun with Self-Timer“.  :)

I must admit I feel a little weird doing this one alone.  But here goes…

Since we are supposed to FLEX for Flex-It Friday, I figured a side plank would be a good way to get a good shot of abs.  My first realization?  That I could definitely use a longer timer on my camera than 10 seconds!

In this one I totally wasn’t even in the shot!

Next attempt:  uh, getting closer.  A little heavy on the zoom button!

Nope, still not there.

Hey!  A body!  But no head!

And this time a head, but a BLURRY one!  This is impossible!  I want to know how Averie and Cindy get into their advanced yoga poses and take a pic!

I’m thinking Plan B is in order…

Scrap the self-timer….the camera gets to be in the picture too… Flex those abs!

Call it DONE!

I was pleasantly surprised to see that all the recent eating (bday dinner at the Melting Pot, the organic chocolate bars, caramel cream eggs, and Valentine’s Day candy) didn’t do as much damage as I had figured.  I can pinch more right now than I can in the summer, but I know that when the days are longer and warmer I’ll be right back to where I was before Thanksgiving.

For next quarter’s Flex-It Friday, what will you BARE?!! ;)   I’m taking suggestions!  Triceps?  Calves?  Your favorite strength exercise?  Favorite yoga pose?

Have a fabulous Friday friends!

– Shari B. =)

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There’s a Fire Up in Here

Jan 29

Posted by Shari B. in Marathon Training | 10 Comments

Good morning and HAPPY FRIDAY friends!  Wahoo!  TGITW (Thank goodness it’s the weekend!)

Sorry to disappear on you yesterday.  Tues/Thurs are my BIZ-EEEE days and I had two additional pieces of fun in my Thursday that kept me away from the computer.

One was a visit from one of my all time best buds after she got off of work, where we polished off about 3/4 bottle of our favorite Riesling and jibber-jabbered non-stop for two and a half hours.  It was such a wonderful time.

The other exciting thing on Thursday was my little brother and his wife welcomed their second baby into the world!  Unfortunately I live 1300 miles from them, so I won’t be seeing Baby #2 anytime soon.  Thank goodness for webcams!  :)   I was really hoping the new baby would wait until next Wednesday so that we could share a birthday, but she must have been in a hurry to meet her big sister sooner!

Speaking of birthday, MSP wanted to share with me what my gift would be a little early because it would require some ‘trying on for size’ before he could order the actual gift.  That got me curious!

In addition to reading “Born to Run“ currently, Matt from No Meat Athlete has inspired me to want to give barefoot running a go.

MSP heard that and decided to gift me with some VIbram Five Fingers!  SO EXCITED!!!

Image from Vibram FiveFingers

In anticipation of the arrival of my new fitness ‘gadgets’ I decided to get a head start on Wednesday.  Barefoot running is something you must start SLOWLY because all that running around in my fancy Nike SHOX will have changed my gait and most likely weakened some of the supportive structure of my lower legs and feet.

I did intervals of a different sort on the treadmill this time:  shoes on, shoes off, socks on, socks off, shoes and socks back on, shoes off, etc.

I did 3 miles, about two of which were ’shoeless’.

OK, first:  holy calves of fire, Batman!  Not so much DURING as much as the days following.  I have some DOMS going on in my calves the way I figure I would if I did 1000 sets of heavy calf raises.  You should see me trying to walk DOWN a set of stairs.  Comical.

Second, it was so FUN!  You feel so much ‘lighter’ on your feet, almost springy because it truly forces you into a completely different gait.  Apparently I’m a heavy ‘heel-slapper’ in shoes and that just won’t work barefoot.  You need to be more onto the balls of your feet, while still letting your heels come down lightly.

Afterward, I did about 15 minutes of deep yoga stretching because I knew my legs were going to need it.

Then yesterday I did another 30 minutes of yoga, including a LOT of downward dogs to hit those calves a bit.

I won’t be using my new “unshoes” during the marathon, because I don’t think there’s enough time to safely transition to that distance.  But I definitely plan to use them as much as my calves will allow during my shorter training runs.  Maybe the marathon after this one… ;)

And I have to give props to our good friend Bo, because he had FiveFingers YEARS ago before they were trendy.  And I think I remember teasing him about his crazy looking shoes. :)   Bo, I’m eating my words now and you can tease me all you want to get me back!  ;)

Today’s question:  Any barefoot running ‘aficionados’ out there? Read “Born to Run”?

Friends, have a FANTASTIC Friday!  I’ll be back tomorrow sometime after my 9 MILE training run.  I really hope my calves stop crying before I head out or it will be a L-O-N-G 9 miles…

– Shari B. =)

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In with the Good, Out with the Bad

Jan 27

Posted by Shari B. in Keeping Fit | 8 Comments

Good morning blog buds!

As seems to be the case lately, Tuesdays are complete madness and as such, no exercise was to be had.  So this morning I’m hoping to do some cardio AND some yoga because I’m feeling the need for both.  A little calorie burnin’ plus some Gumby-inducing moves.  :)

***

I tried a new-to me raw (mostly) bar that I wanted to share with you.  (As you can tell it was eaten at work, due to the horrible iPhone shot…)

Coconut Acai flavor ingredients: Organic Almond Butter, Organic Agave Nectar, Organic Date Paste, Organic Dried Coconut, Organic Almonds, Organic Raisins, Organic Puffed Amaranth, Organic Acai Dry Powder, Sea Salt

This was sensational!  I loved it.  I will definitely be trying other flavors of PranaBar.  You all know I LOVE my Larabars so don’t think they’ve been knocked out of my daily food plan.  From a price point perspective Larabars can’t be beat, because I buy them when they are on sale for $1 at my local grocery store.  The Prana bars are more in the $2 range, so it will be an occasional treat.  But if you are in the mood for something different, give PranaBar a try.

***

I pulled up a saved link today to an MSN slide show that I wanted to share with you about food additives to avoid. Some of the items on this list are common sense (like avoiding refined white sugar and excess salt) but learning that potential carcinogens BHA/BHT could be in your breakfast cereal (or your kids’ cereal) may not be so common.  Click this link to view:  12 Food Additives to Avoid

Today’s Discussion Question: Do you have any particular additives or foods that you specifically avoid in addition to this list? Please share with us in the comments section. In addition to the additives and artificial sweeteners listed in the article, I try to avoid ALL artificial sweeteners, and made the move to Stevia instead of Splenda for my coffee back in April.  I also ended my love affair with diet soda (and ALL sodas now for that matter).

Make it a WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY friends!

– Shari B. =)

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16 Weeks Till 26.2

Jan 24

Posted by Shari B. in Keeping Fit | 4 Comments

Hi friends!

Yes, it’s Sunday and I’m blogging!  :) I’ll use a weekday for ‘blog maintenance day’ sometime this week instead.  I think my list of maintenance/admin items is getting so long that I’m avoiding it somewhat.  Still want to design a custom banner, a logo, a BETTER tagline, a new profile picture, add a few more ‘pages’ and I really want to buy the Headway theme so I can drag and drop things to move them around on the blog.  Ah well.  When I get to it, I get to it!

***

Last night for dinner I broke out my HUMONGOUS salad bowl again.  I used to eat out of this every day for lunch over the summer when I was home during ‘business hours’.  I miss my monster salads!  It takes a long time to chew through an 11″ diameter salad so I don’t eat them as often at the moment.

This one had half a box of spinach, some leftover tofu, spiralized carrots, kalamata olives, sundried tomatoes, nutritional yeast, dulse, pepitas and a drizzle of Goddess dressing.  Mmmmm.  Brendan would be proud.

And on the topic of veggies, I found something today that I have been looking for since summer and am SOOO excited to have found it:

Pre-cut organic kale! Now I can make kale chips even faster than before!  Wahooo!  So you know I immediately got busy baking all kinds of veggies.  Eggplant chips, kale chips and a batch of roasted red peppers, mushrooms and zucchini (for use maybe on a pita pizza later!)  My eggplant chips got a little more done than I meant them too, but they were still great and I ate them ALL!


Looks a little weird, but tastes great!  (Much like a green smoothie!)

***

So reader Beth has keen eyes, :) noticing immediately that yesterday’s post was categorized under “Marathon Training” and inquired as to whether I had decided to run another half-marathon.   Yes and no.  :)   A couple of my favorite people to hang out with (and run with) are aiming to run a full marathon in May.  So being the sucker I am for a new challenge here and there, I’ve decided to join them in the training and see where it takes me.

I’ve chosen not to register for the race until after I’ve surpassed about the 15 mile mark in our training.  I’ve done five half-marathons previously so I know I can tackle the 13.1 mile distance.  But I want to see how I feel physically after going beyond that.  If at any time it ceases being somewhat enjoyable  or determine that the rest of my exercise is suffering (or knees aching, etc.), then I’ll know now is not the time.  And since the registration fee isn’t cheap, I don’t want to spend that money and then have to drop out only to have wasted that money.

This will also give me an opportunity to put some of the Thrive Diet principles to good use.  My goal is to do this marathon injury-free and recover as quickly as possible from my long runs so that I can continue with my regular training during the work week.  I love my Physique 57 and Tabata training and yoga enough that I don’t want to miss out on those sessions.

So I’ll keep you posted on how it goes!  The countdown is on:  16 weeks till 26.2.  (eeek!)

– Shari B. =)

P.S. if any of you like to read Runner’s World magazine, I noticed on their website that they are offering their subscription for A DOLLAR an issue, which is 80% off the newsstand price (and a great deal), so thought I’d mention it.

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The No-Slacker Tracker

Jan 19

Posted by Shari B. in FitFeature | 5 Comments

Hi friends!

Hope you had a great start to your week yesterday.  I have a feeling this one is going to fly by.  I have to show up tomorrow for that jury summons I mentioned a while back and knowing my luck I’ll get picked to sit for a trial.  Not that I mind serving my civic duty, I just think it’s a little lopsided seeing how MSP has never even received a summons.  :)   Actually the real reason I think I’ll get picked is because I’m totally slammed with things to accomplish this week at work and sitting on a jury will totally put me behind on my deadlines.  But I’m sure everyone feels that way when they get a jury summons in the mail, right?

Even though I was off work yesterday for MLK Day I still got up at the usual silly hour to get my workout in and get my day started.  First I did 30 minutes of yoga with Bob from the Biggest Loser (yes, I’m Team Bob.  You don’t even want to get me started on Jillian.  I have started writing many a post to discuss that particular issue of mine, but I figure I’ll get a lot of hate mail if I post it, so I always end up scrapping it! But I digress…)  So the yoga was actually pretty good – not terribly challenging though.  It is broken into different levels and since this was my first time using this particular DVD I decided to stick with level one.  I will need to try levels two and three to see if they are harder or more of the same just longer.

Since I didn’t feel like that was as much of a workout as I would normally do, I then did 20 minutes of the Exhale Core Fusion “Gluteal Toner” that I recorded from FitTV.  Similar to Physique 57, but actually a little too easy.

To wrap it all up, I added a few Tabata sets of thigh and hamstring moves to get a good burn going.

Afterward I had a terrific green smoothie.  I’ve been back to getting these in regularly again, and I can’t say enough how great I feel when I have one of these to start my day.

This beauty had banana, clementine, hemp protein, spinach, cucumber, a scoop of dried green superfoods, and a little bit of white chia seeds.  Lip smacking good!  Riley and Rascal thought so too… since they get a little bit of green smoothie in their bowl whenever I have one.  The pups need their greens too!

For an afternoon snack, I FINALLY ate some of that cute little kabocha squash that I bought recently.  I drizzled just a tiny bit of blackstrap molasses (a little goes a LONG way – it’s a STRONG flavor), and then sprinkled some cinnamon and some dried ginger on it.  (Yes I roasted the squash first!  Figured I bet put that out there, lest someone try this raw!)

I’m not sure what all the fuss is about with these.  Yes, there was a bit of a nuttier flavor than that of butternut squash but not different enough that I’ll drive all over town trying to track one of these down.  I think it was a fluke that I found it in the first place because when I went back to the store where I found it, they didn’t have any on the shelf.

Dinner was quick and easy, a usual requirement for my ‘cooking’.  Step one was opening a jar of 505 Green Chile:

(This one is even gluten-free, made with rice flour – which impressed me for some reason!)

Pour jar of chile into a small soup pan and heat over medium till bubbly.  Add egg(s) and ‘poach’ in the green chile.

I plated my egg on half of a whole wheat tortilla and then topped it with some nutritional yeast for ‘cheesy flavor’.

For extra cheese, eat while watching “The Bachelor” like we did.  ;)

***

As I mentioned yesterday, I thought I’d share with you my very simple method of keeping an eye on my level of exercise.  I have used other methods in the past, including spreadsheets and logging programs (like The Daily Plate).  However I like a very quick visual on whether I’m getting something done most days of the week.  Generally it’s pretty easy to keep track of in my head as well, but by that same token it’s also easy to “forget” some of those missed days here and there.

I print a blank calendar page and keep that page on my bulletin board just for this particular tracking.  This calendar doesn’t have anything else added to it: no appointments, birthdays, etc. For every day that I get in my exercise, I mark a star on that day, sometimes jotting a note about what I did that day.  If I don’t get a workout in, there is no star.

Now keep in mind that NOT having a star is not a bad thing, either.  I like to be sure I’m taking rest days when I need them, or at least active recovery days.  So this isn’t a matter of telling myself  “Uh oh, bad girl, no star for the day!”  This type of ‘dashboard view’ just lets me know at a glance if I’m slacking or if I’m overdoing it.

I took this picture on Friday and have since added my stars for Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  So 18 days into the new year, I’ve worked out 16 of the 18, averaging a rest day about every 9 days.

One could take this a step further and color-code their days, such as one color for cardio, one for strength, maybe another for yoga/flexibility.  Or if you are training for a marathon, you could mark one color for your speedwork/hill runs, one color for your tempo runs and a third for your long runs.  Or mark the days off as you do Cindy’s 30 Day Core Challenge. :)

No matter what goal you have or habit you might be trying to change, using this type of tracking can be a good tool to see quickly and easily how you’re doing on that journey.  For example, let’s say you wanted to increase your veggie intake.  You decide you want to eat veggies with at least 3 of your meals/snacks each day.  You could start a calendar with a marking system to show the days you met that goal, and the days you didn’t.  This might also show you some trending, such as not doing as well on Fridays as you do on Mondays, etc.

Are you a “tracker”?  How do you keep track of your workouts?  Or do you skip tracking/logging altogether?

***

OK, friends!  Off to train a client and then on to the other j-o-b.  Have a TERRIFIC TUESDAY!

– Shari B. =)

PS:  There is another Vitamix Giveaway going on in the blogosphere!  That is an AWESOME Giveaway!  Get yourself to Katie’s blog to enter!

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Orange You In The Mood For French Toast?

Nov 20

Posted by Shari B. in Recipes | 9 Comments

Good morning friends!  Happy Friday! 

Can you believe that one week from today Thanksgiving will be behind us and we’ll be out fighting the Black Friday shopping crowds?  Is 2009 really almost over?  One week from today I’ll be putting up my Christmas tree and ‘inside’ decorations. Outside decorations will be done whenever we have a warm(ish) day. 

Thinking about Thanksgiving yesterday had me craving breakfast for dinner.  (That and I just was NOT in the mood to zip to the store so I had to come up with something from what we had in-house already.)

I tried to be creative and made up this dish:

Mandarin Baked French Toast Fingers  

img 787 

  • 6 whole eggs (organic, free-range)
  • 1/2 cup MimicCreme (or something like FF half-and-half if you are a drinker of dairy)
  • 2 Mandarin oranges (or one regular orange)
  • 7 slices Ezekial sprouted grain bread

-Crack eggs into bowl and add MimicCreme.  Using a zester or microplane, zest the skins of both mandarin oranges into the bowl.  After zesting, cut each orange in half and squeeze the juice into the mix.

-Whisk well.

-Make two stacks of Ezekial bread, cutting through each stack twice lengthwise to create the ‘fingers’. 

-Dip each finger into the egg mixture and add to a prepared baking dish (I used my large round stoneware baking dish from Pampered Chef.)

-Pour remaining mixture into baking dish after all pieces are coated.

-Let sit in the refrigerator for one hour so that the egg mixture soaks into the bread really well (the sprouted grain bread is dense).

-Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes (my toast fingers were double-stacked.  If yours are in a single layer they may take less time.)  Cover for most of the cooking time so they don’t get really dry.

-Or make your french toast in a pan on the stovetop like ‘regular’ french toast rather than baking.

-Once plated, garnish as you like.  I sprinkled on unsweetened coconut flakes and some cinnamon, then used agave nectar as my “syrup”.

I think next time I make this I’ll try the regular french toast version on the stove top.  The baked version didn’t have a very pretty presentation, but it had really good flaver with all that orange zest.  Breakfast for dinner is always fun.

The rest of the day’s eats went like this: 

Half of a banana before my 6:15 AM training client. 

A beautiful 30 oz GREEN SMOOTHIE after my 45-minute arm-killing Iron Yoga session. 

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Lunch out with MSP at Three Margaritas.  I’ve been craving their Veggie Enchiladas for weeks now. 

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It’s probably the healthiest meal I’ve every discovered at a chain Mexican restaurant.  Sauteed veggies like broccoli, cauliflower and carrots tucked inside a corn tortilla and topped with CARROT PUREÉ.  So good.  I ate half the plate and brought the other half home.  And ate the cold leftover beans for a nighttime snack.  MSP thought that was the nastiest thing ever.  (He doesn’t like cold pizza either!!!  I can eat any food cold..)

Today’s discussion is on the topic of Thanksgiving:  What foods are on your menu?  Are you cooking at your house?  If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, what are some of your favorite things to serve?  Or do you have a favorite dish that you like to take when you go elsewhere for Thanksgiving? 

We don’t go anywhere for Thanksgving.  Most of our relatives are all out of state.  Sometimes we go out to eat and hit up the movie theater.  Last year (when I still ate meat) we picked up a full meal from Boston Market for our ‘turkey dinner’ and we loved it!  It was fast and fun.  This year, I’m aiming (keyword is aiming) to do some fun cooking at home, depending on the budget.  (My list of ingredients for the things I want to make may cause me to NOT make some of them – then I’d just be spending all that money I’ll be saving on the Friday xmas shopping!)   We always like to make a yummy breakfast on Thanksgiving so I’m thinking of tweaking a favorite recipe for Sausage Biscuits & Gravy into a vegetarian, non-dairy version.  Still working on the ideas for that one.  MSP would also LOVE some bread pudding so I’m thinking of making a Chocolate Croissant bread pudding recipe for him (too rich and full of dairy for my liking so that will be all him!)  I also have my eye on a recipe for vegetarian Almost Beef Wellington as the ‘main dish’ for the day.  We’ll see.  ;)   I always have grand ideas for cooking!  If we have GORGEOUS weather that day, it may all get thrown out the window so that we can get outside for a hike!

Have a FABULOUS Friday everyone! 

– Shari B.  =)

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Thai-hini Stir Fry

Nov 12

Posted by Shari B. in Recipes | 12 Comments

That would be pronounced “tie-heenie” not “hiney” – this is a family friendly blog and I see you over there giggling like a 12-year old boy…  ;)  

So “Thai-hini StirFry” was dinner last night!  I used to make a Spicy Thai Peanut Stirfry developed by Stella’s Kitchen.  But I have tweaked it so much that now it’s not even remotely like the original.  I finally gave into HEAB’s subliminal tahini messages and bought jar yesterday.  

For the sauce:

  • 1/4 c tahini
  • 2 tsp thai red curry paste
  • 1 tbsp lite soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp water
  • 3/4 tsp honey
  • 1/2 tsp lime juice
  • 1 tbsp pineapple juice (my stirfry had a few chunks of pineapple in it, but you can omit the juice if you aren’t adding pineapple)

Mix all ingredients with a fork until smooth and creamy.

This was a double batch of sauce because I needed to make one stir-fry pan for MSP (with meat) and one for moi (without meat).  If you like more spicy HEAT in your food, add more of the red curry paste, and maybe a pinch of cayenne & red pepper flakes.

My pan had carrot, celery, broccoli, zucchini, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, and about 6 bite-sized pieces of pineapple.  Stirfried for about 5 minutes in a smidge of coconut oil.  Once the veggies are done, add the “thai-hini” sauce, mix around to coat veggies (adding water a few tablespoons at a time if you like a thinner consistency.)  Serve.

For a meat version, I stirfried one large chicken breast cut into bite-sized pieces until close to done, then added in some bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and whole baby corn cobs.  Continue stirfrying until the veggies are heated through, then add the “thai-hini” sauce, coat well (again adding a little water if you like it thinner).  I served his on a bed of brown rice and sprinkled both plates with toasted sesame seeds.  

The final products:

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We sat down last evening ready to enjoy “Modern Family” as I had mentioned in yesterday’s post, only to find that it WASN’T ON thanks to the CMA’s.  Noooooo!  I had been looking forward to it all day.  I must admit I was a little crushed.  :(   Recorded “Mad Men” would have to suffice.

To recap the rest of the Tuesday eats, I started the morning post-yoga and post-dog wogging with a scoop of Amazing Meal (green food drink).  A green smoothie was still sounding a little to bone-chilling, and this mixture was room temperature. 

Mid-morning I had the usual piece of toasted Ezekial with raw almond butter and raw honey drizzle.  I almost ALWAYS forget the photo before taking the first bite.  A little green tea on the side:

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Lunch was a good sized salad that somehow looks small when shown below.  Spinach, zucchini ribbons, carrot shavings, dulse, sundried tomatoes, with about 1/2 tbsp of Goddess dressing and the leftover half of a Sunshine burger.   New lesson learned:  reheated sunshine burgers become sunshine rocks.   And not “rocks” like “dude that rocks” but rocks like this:

missing tooth

And a bubbly on the side!  Gingerberry flavor!  Gotta keep pumping those probiotics in me to fight off all the flu bugs out there!

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The salad was so tasty, I thought you’d like a close-up!

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Dessert was a large spoonfull of mashed sweet potato and cinnamon.

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How ’bout  my fortune with a side of Ginger Snap Larabar? 

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Why thank you fortune, I agree!

I made a “quick trip” to the grocery store to pick up a few things to make dinner.  And it turned into this:

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I can never make it out of the grocery store for less than $40.  I could go EVERY day and still end up with $40 worth of stuff each time.  The same thing happens with Costco only those visits are always $100.  What is this strange phenomenon??  MSP is having lunch with a coworker today at Whole Foods and invited me along, but I’m scared that another $40 will mysteriously fly out of my wallet if I step through their front doors!

But look at all the goodies I got!  Spinach, sprouts, broccoli, clementines, apples, grapefruit, avocado, mango, tomato, squash, bananas, pear and even some cranberries courtesy of all of Cindy’s cranberry creations.  I too would like a facemask that I nibble on while applying! ;)

Today’s discussion:

Does this happen to you at the grocery store?  Do you avoid going often because you suffer from this odd affliction that I too have?  :)   Drop me a comment – I need to know if I’m alone in this or not! 

Random note:

Can you believe Thanksgiving is only 2 weeks away???  What?  I’ll be putting up my Christmas tree and decorations two weeks from tomorrow?  (I always do this on the day after Thanksgiving.)  I better break out my Harry Connick Jr. holiday CD and start baking some healthy cookies, so I can force myself into the holiday mood!  I love this time of year – it’s just that this year it seems to have really snuck up on me.

Bday Wishes:

Also, I’d like to give a bday shout-out to Gina the Fitnessista.  Enjoy YOUR day!!   

Have a TERRIFIC Thursday everyone!

– Shari B. =)

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Wii Wii, Chocomole

Nov 7

Posted by Shari B. in Recipes | 2 Comments

Happy Saturday friends!

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend.  I’m checking in with a quick Feats & Eats recap from Friday.

I did a Tabata-style workout for legs.  It was short, burned like FIRE and has me crazy sore today:

Tabata Legs:

  • TM Warmup 5 minutes
  • Smith Machine Squats 4 minutes
  • Leg Extensions 4 minutes
  • Lying Leg Curls 4 minutes

Afterward I had intended on doing an Iron Yoga session, but the DVR was acting up and after fighting with it for 15 minutes,  it definitely put me in an anti-zen mood so I threw in the towel. :)

A dog wogging session would have to suffice.  Just a quick 25 minute outing in the unseasonably warm weather.

One of my snacks during the day was this bite-sized Tropical Fruit Tart Larabar that my friend Beth gave to me  (thanks Beth!)  Mmmm so good:

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Lunch was with a great friend at a local asian cafe, so I had steamed veggies with a bowl of miso soup (and the greasy egg roll that came with it).

On the way home I picked up a Gingerade BUBBLY!  Which I am slowly savoring.  I had half and saved the rest for later.  Those darn bubbly drinks make me happy!

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MSP and I skipped a ‘regular’ dinner and had cereal instead, mine being Kashi Go Lean.  We had friends coming over at 7:00 for some WII NIGHT fun.  I was in the mood to try some new food to put out for snacks yet still stay on the healthy side.

First off I made some marinated mushrooms.

I started with the inspiration from a recipe at Allrecipes.com but made a few modifications. Here’s how I made them:

  • 1/3 cup filled with half rice wine vinegar and half balsamic vinegar
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1/3 small onion, thinly sliced
  • 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons dried parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon prepared spicy mustard
  • 3/4 tablespoon agave nectar
  • 2 cloves minced garlic (from jar)
  • 1 pound small fresh button mushrooms

All ingredients except the mushrooms went into a saucepan and brought to a boil.  Add mushrooms, simmer for 12 minutes, stirring often.  Transfer to glass dish for chilling before serving.  Use slotted spoon to drain mushrooms for serving presentation. Don’t forget to set out some toothpicks!

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They turned out really tasty and more elegant than my other usual appetizers (which I still served) and included:

Carrots with homemade hummus:

img 649Brown-bag popcorn sprinkled with sea salt and chili powder:

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And some unpictured Baked Tostito Scoops with salsa.

Last but not least, I FINALLY tried making Gena’s Chocomole for the evening’s dessert.  I’ve been wanting to try this recipe since the first time I saw it.  And I needed to do it sneakily so that MSP wouldn’t know that it was made of avocados before he actually ate it.

I used 2 avocados, 1/2 smashed banana, 10 pitted dates, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 tbsp carob powder, water to drizzle as needed.

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This recipe ROCKED!  I loved it.  And I especially loved knowing that it wasn’t chock full of hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup or chemicals. It was SUPER rich and creamy.  Next time I will be sure to soak my dates, as they didn’t come out quite as smoothly in the food processor as I would have liked, (and Gena does mention that dates may need to be soaked prior) but it was still FAB.  Next time I think I will get a tart or pie crust of some sort and use it as a filling.  When I served it to our guests, I topped it with a little all-natural egg nog ice cream.  My serving was sans ice cream but I did add a few sprinkles of coconut.

Heavenly is what that dessert was.  And MSP ate AVOCADO!!! (muah-ha-ha! <insert evil grin>) He liked it, and wasn’t totally horrified when I told him what was in it.  But he did say he’d really have been fine with just NOT knowing that it was avocado.

We love Wii Night with friends!  Thanks J & G for hanging with us!!  It was fun!

Well blog buds, it’s a gorgeous Saturday and none of us should be sitting indoors on a computer, so I’m gonna skeedaddle and get outside!

Make it a SPECTACULAR Saturday!

– Shari B. =)

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