How to Keep Sane During a Northeast Winter - Part 2 - Clean Eating

Cooking Clean and Healthy Recipes
Cooking healthy especially during the winter we have had is important. It helps keep the body/mind in balance in my opinion. I recently purchased a few cookbooks - Barefoot Contessa "How Easy is This", Clean Food by Terry Walters and The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone. Let me preface this, I am not vegan, but I do like to eat clean and like the way my body feels when I take a break - as you have seen on my detoxes I do here and there.

I think that everyone is entitled to their own views and that we should all respect each other on that. I have worked in the agricultural and animal health industry for years and have learned a lot about the industry that caused me to have my own opinions on what gets shown in the media, what is the reality and what is not, but I won't get into that here.

So you might say, for not being a pro-PETA girl, it's kind of funny that I bought Alicia Silverstone's book....maybe it was because Clueless was one of my favorite chick flick or maybe the recipes, I am not sure but let's just say my thoughts went from "intrigued" when I opened the book to "bored" by the first half of the book that consisted of her viewpoints and then "interested" in her recipes.

I highly suggest all three books. They were worth it for the recipes - I have already made a bunch of them!

Here are recipes of some of my favorite meals I've made during my winter season...


Blood Orange Balsamic Salad

There were two key elements to this salad:

1. Goat cheese and blood oranges to spring mix, cucumbers, and grape tomatoes.
2. AGED balsamic and a good extra virgin olive oil.
   

Baked Sundried Tomato Chicken Breasts with Whole Grain Spaghetti.

Ingredients
Chicken breasts
Sun dried tomato panko crusts at Whole Foods
Egg whites
Pesto (prepared unless you want to make homemade)
Sundried tomatoes
fresh mozzarello (mini balls)
Whole-grain spaghetti
1/4 cup of ricotta cheese (part skim)
A few swirls of olive oil
Red pepper, parsely seasoning
8 garlic cloves
Pecorino Romano cheese

Pre-heat the oven to 370 degrees. Bread the chicken breasts using egg whites and then the panko crusts. Place in a casserole dish and bake for 20 min.
Take out of the oven and add a dollop of pesto on each piece, sundried tomato and some mozzarella. Bake for an additional 15 min.


In the meantime boil salted water and make pasta al dente. Saute seasoning, garlic and olive oil. Save 1 cup of pasta water, add ricotta cheese and sauteed garlic and olive oil. Add pecorino romano cheese. This isn't calorie free but has lots of good stuff....
Halibut Veggie Tacos

1 Halibut steak
1 zucchini chopped
5 chopped portabellos
Taco seasoning
Tomato paste
5 cloves of garlic
1 onion chopped
Cilantro (if not recalled..)
Goat Cheese

Brush olive oil, salt and pepper on halibut steak. Bake halibut to flakes apart. I usually bake at 375 for about 20 min.
Sautee Veggies.
Use a low-carb whole wheat tortillas (I use Trader Joe's) and sprinkle hot sauce, cilantro and goat cheese.

Kale and Aduki Beans

Steam kale to a bright green. Saute garlic, onions, diced tomatoes and aduki beans. Add Kale and cook for 5 more minutes.
Serve with tilapia.

Pecan Cranberry Coconut Balls

1.5 cups of chopped pecans
1 cup of dried cranberries
1/2 cup of almond butter (Trader Joe's with flax seed - no sugar added)
1/2 cup of maple syrup (I happened to have rum-infused maple syrup)
Unsweetened chopped coconut

Place in a food processor until it is somewhat smooth.

Make into teaspoon size balls and roll in unsweetened coconut. Makes about 18.

See you all later for Part 3 - the long awaited MissFancyPants' Winter Beer List - until then

Rock on!

How to Keep Sane During a Northeast Winter - Part 1 - Swimming

I recently went to my first Philly chapter meeting for my profession, called the QRCA (Qualitative Research Consultant Association), which was basically a bunch of people that talk and listen for a living while using psychology to understand what you REALLY mean. As with any meeting, there are always introductions. The person running the meeting always needs to get creative and try to think of witty ways to make everyone comfortable and laugh such as:

1. "Everyone go around the room and tell me three things about you, two of which are true and one that is not. Then we each have to guess which isn't true..." (this is a personal favorite - I love to see corporate people squirm when I give them my three: run marathons false, play field hockey true and going to local metal-core shows true)
   
2. "Introduce yourself and tell us all what you do in your free time...." (yawn)
   
3. "Go around the room and introduce yourself and tell everyone your educational background and achievements" (a pissing contest among everyone as they all try to one up each other).

So as I awaited in anticipation for how I was going to prepare my witty response to these sometimes ridiculous questions that I find embarrassingly fun - the woman said...wait for it...

"Everyone introduce yourself, tell us your company, where you are located AND what three things keep you sane over this winter we have had so far." (AHHHH a little different, I liked it...)
As I listened I learned how healthy my profession actually is: snow shoeing, long brisk walks, cooking soups and stews, biking indoors on a trainer (yes, I found cycling friends), drinking wine and port....

It was getting to me and oh, I had so many (including smart ass comments) so I narrowed it down:

• Swimming in the pool (somehow makes me think of summer even though I don't do it a lot and I couldn't say running on the treadmill since it DOES NOT keep me sane nor does sitting on my bike in my living room while watching TiVo - just being honest)
  
• Cooking clean and healthy recipes
• GOOD CRAFT BEER

So since that meeting, I decided to break this post into three parts: Swimming, Cooking Clean and yes, I know you are waiting for it MissFancyPants' Winter Beer List so you can either one or read them all - I think I have some varying target audiences as us marketers like to say.

Swimming
I really need to work on better swimming technique. This will obviously make me move at a better pace (I can't say faster since I was never fast to begin with). There are so many things to think about already like "high elbows," "reach," "strong pull," "rotate your body - don't fish tail."

I was at the gym the other day and Germaine, the best swimming instructor that I know, was coaching some kids in the lane next to me. I thought he was going to say

"Hey Heather, watch and learn from this 8 year old"

BUT instead he told me that my hand was not entering the water deep enough and that by doing that I would move forward. Hmmm...so I tried that and it did work, I shave a couple seconds off of my already slow 100's. About 1,000 yd later I hear him trying to get my attention again. This time he was saying that I was not moving smooth in my rotation and pull, that I was putting all this emphasis on the rotation but I was almost stopping before my pull which was slowing me down. So as I neared the end of my workout, I concentrated on that on my cool down.

Two days later, I went back to the gym during the "next" snow to work on what he told me. This time instead of doing some workout incorporating drills and all my accessories, i.e. kick boards, pull buoys, paddles, I decided to just swim, no timing, just swim for 2000 yd. I broke it up into 300's and 200's and 100's but all in all I wanted to focus on those two points, moving forward and my rotation. I felt faster and more fluid. I know I have a lot to work on and definitely need some more lessons, but I felt happier and more confident than I have in a while. And then I stumbled upon Sonja Wieck's swim post where she embedded a video of Karlyn Pipes-Neilsen of Aquatic Edge, a master swimmer. I watched it the other night was so inspired. She glided through the water and I loved how you can see the "how to." I can't wait to hit the pool. I think "seeing" someone move like she does pulls together all of your learning. I thought I would share this as well.




Lastly, I decided to re-open the book Total Immersion that I started to read last year and well, I have to say those Sookie Stackhouse books and the Girl with the Dragon Tatoo series took precedence for a while...

Since I just reopened it, I don't have much to say but it seems very instructional regarding rotation and being more efficient. It also has some drills. I will let you know as I go...

Until then stay tuned for part 2 of keeping sane during winter - with my Cooking Clean post!!

Kickin' it Ole' School

I'll tell you what - working out really makes me happy. The whole endorphin rush is completely true. I haven't really been able to run a lot due to the plantar fascitiis and the sprained ankle. This really got me down for a while.

So on Monday, I got a little high with a little help from my friends....no I didn't do smoke any Mary Jane...I went to Lululemon in Philly with Christine and Nicole to buy our 1/2 Marathon "outfits." I called my brother to check with him on the normal New Orleans weather and he said 40-60...well that helps a lot....no seriously - it helped a lot in making me spend more money :)

We had so much fun, we got two outfits:

• The first was the "in case of warm weather outfit" - short sleeves and the runner hustle crop (BTW - I tried them today and they were great!)
  
• The second was the "in case of cold weather outfit" - long sleeve and hat and then the same capris.

We are kind of banking on the warm weather because we also bought the "groove pant" that works nicely with the long sleeve so that we can wear it to the after-BBQ at my brothers. We can look like complete dorks all dressed the same...

So, that helped get me happy and the rest of the week I pulled in some quality cross-training sessions:

• Swim of 2000 meters with some interval work in between of 100's
• A couple spin classes
• Weights
• P90x - core synergistics which was AWESOME!

I am now ready with my 1 week off of running for today's endeavor on the dreaded treadmill, otherwise known as the "dreadmill". In order to prepare me for that I made a little mix last night that will hopefully get me through. I was trying to think of a theme and my high school days kept coming up in my head. Yes, I was in HS from 89-93 when big hair was cool (I am talking about the perm complete with gel, mousse and AquaNet hairspray that is teased with a "wall" in the front - see photo below).
(That's me third from the left in the back row)

I thought back to my HS track team days and the songs I would play in my head in order to get through the runs - we didn't have no MP3's in those days...so here is what I came up with...

2010 - A Very Good Year

I have been extremely lazy of posting just because...no excuses...Anyway, just wanted to wrap up my 2010. It is so funny to think about how we dramatize each little situation, when each situation is so small in the big picture.

I only had 3 injuries last year which in reality only caused me to miss 1 race! My bruised ribs in January from field hockey, a pulled back muscle which made me drop out of the April 1/2 marathon and my recent flare up of plantar fascitiis.

During my short sabbatical from running, I thought about what I accomplished and was giddy just thinking about next year!
- 4 Triathlons (2 Sprints, 1 Olympic, 1/2 Ironman)
- 3 Running Races (5K, 10K and 10 miler)
- PR in 3 races - Parvin Sprint by 7 min, Marlton Lakes Sprint by 2 min (4th in AG), Elizabeth Haddon 5K by 2 min (4th in AG)
- I did my first 1/2 Ironman and loved every minute of it - through the rain, pain, GI issues and calf cramps I finished and it wasn't last!!
- I rode HILLY 65 miles for a bike tour, which was the longest I ever rode.

Christmas was awesome - we had a blast, we were busy, but it was so nice to not have a full marathon hanging over my head to cause any unnecessary stress, I still got in some quality workouts with my trainer, swimming and strength training and was able to start running again the week after Christmas. My mental state was better that I did not have to run 16 miles+ on a treadmill during our constant flow of snow/ice...

We had our Christmas Eve dinner at my Grandpop's which consisted of the 7 fishes...I made my sought after "Tuna Balls" or Tuna Croquettes in Tomato Sauce from la Cucina Italiana.


Christmas Day was fantastic. I had Mike go through a scavenger hunt to find beer and a tasting paddle and a photo album of all the various beers he has tasted this year...

And then he asked me to go outside, and I found this.....

He said everyone chipped in for my Xmas gift so that he could upgrade the wheels as well...he said once I finished my 1/2 Ironman in September he knew he had to get me this...of course, I was also told I had to place in some races....no problem!!!!! It's was just what I wanted - my April post when I was keeping my eye on the prize...
After that it was kind of all in 3D....
We had Christmas day dinner with the LaCouture's...
Christmas week was busy with parties and a New Year's wedding for one of the "8" - Amy!
and they had a photo booth, and well you know how we think the paparazzi follows us...
and I somehow woke up in my hotel room with a giant bottle of jager and developed a homeless look.

We finalized the New Orleans trip for the 1/2 marathon - I can't believe it's January! I am finalizing my plans for 2011 and think it will be one hell of a year - I should have that completed by next blog post this weekend.

In the meantime, I just added injury number 1 for 2011 - I was determined not to do the dreadmill today and went outside, 1 split second on not paying attention = twisted ankle. Nothing serious, just a few days of icing, elevating, ibuprofen and drinking should do it - lol.

The P-Word

2 years ago, I had plantar fasciitis. Plantar fasciitis is when you have inflammation of the band of tissue that runs from the heel along the arch of the foot.
Causing this pain was the Newton running shoes, I probably should not have been training with them, I also have a low arch and over-pronation....So I had made a terrible decision that tri-season and ditched the Brooks stability trainers for these pink/orange fast moving things. As much as I am sure they work for others, I highly suggest you check with your foot doctor if you have had foot issues in the past.

So, with orthodics, lots of ice and biofreeze, and advil, I was back running pain free. I missed the Philadelphia 1/2 marathon back in '08. But by Jan '09 I was running, slower than before but I was running.

Apparently, you are supposed to change orthodics every year, and I guess with the non-stop running that wasn't a positive thing. Anyway, last Friday, I went out for my normal 6 mile run. I was completely stressed out from work and other things that were on my plate, the holiday's, etc and did notice a tiny pain in my heel as I was putting on my sneakers...Decided to say f' it, and put on my Garmin and run (dumb decision #1). It was a great run, despite this nagging little pain. I have to be honest, I really didn't think it was plantar fasciitis, because that pain went from heel to arch last time. This was mainly in the inner part of the heel to arch, almost feeling like a bruise. And well, for all of you that know me, I am not the most graceful lady.

So, I got ready for Amy's bachelorette party, put on my Jessica Simpson cute party shoes (dumb decision #2). (mine are the ones on the left - 4.5 inches to be exact)

and went out. Well, later in the night, besides my drunken normal klutziness, I realized I couldn't walk, it hurt severely. When your friends say you are walking like a crab and it wasn't just from having the cocktails, you know there was something wrong.

So I woke up and decided to take the day off (hangover helped that decision), and still planned on doing 14 miles on Sunday. But it hurt, all day, then to make matters worse we had party #2 for a surprise party. So, stupidly, trying to look cute, I put on the next lovely pair of shoes (dumb decision #3), and ended up with no-shoes for the remainder of the night, since I could barely walk.

Woke up, decided no 14 miles, go make an appointment with foot doctor on Monday. I rested all day, ice, biofreeze and in the back of my mind knew what it was - the love PF was creeping up again. Made my appointment, luckily I work from home and I had another deadline, so I just iced/biofreezed and waited to Tuesday.

Went to the podiatrist - no stress fracture! Well that is a good sign (I calculated that to be a longer rest period - thus no marathon or 1/2). Plantar Fasciitis, yes, but this time, I caught it early - yeah?? = I needed new orthodics. We made a plan, I was to drop down to the 1/2 marathon and he would have me running in 2-3 weeks. Okay, buddy, what do I need to do?

Week 1 -

1. Cardio - swim only - and rest, rest, rest. No weights, no yoga, nothing, just stay off my feet.
   
2. In case of running errands, Christmas shopping, wear orthodics 98% of the time (my old ones) even when I was sitting at my desk, including slipping in my dress orthodics that I never wear into any other shoes...
3. NO HEELS - Okay, I have tons of flat boots.
   
4. Wear some fancy brace that fits in my sneakers.
   
5. Ice/Biofreeze - 4 times a day
6. Advil - 2 times a day.
   

Week 2 - Christmas Week

1. Start up bike only if no pain, do the trainer versus spin class to go on your own and ice and biofreeze immediately after.
   
2. Start leg strength training, use machines so there is less strain on my heels.
3. Start yoga again.
4. Continue swimming.
   
5. Get a new pair of running shoes (don't ask me twice...)
   
6. Continue all of treatment regimen (ice/biofreeze/advil)
   
7. If I have to wear heels - limited time and wear orthodics in them.
8. At the end of the week take a visit to the doctor for an ultrasound to see how bad and if I can start running.

Orthodics come in 4 weeks. So from my calculations and just past experience, if I take 3 weeks max to start running, I can definitely bang out the 1/2 marathon in Feb. If I can do some long bike sessions for endurance, build my strength with weights, and continue swim sessions. Even if I have to go at a slower pace, I will be able to do 6 miles at rest end. That is what happened with my ankle injury last year, as long as I kept up the long and quality bike sessions, I still had the endurance, slower but it was there. However, no marathon. I am not being stupid, especially if I want to race and do well this season!

The good part to all this is that I HAD to go to the pool, since I go insane by not doing anything. I went there, and it was great. I did 2000 meters, I found a rhythm and I had a good time! I went again, different workout, 2000 meters and I found my groove again. I think I needed some good time off and realized how much I really do enjoy it. It is very therapeutic.

Today, I am finishing up some shopping, more decorating, cleaning and throwing in some P90x Chest and Back and the ab tape.

Positive Thinking Only! Make it Work!

What Doesn't Kill You, Makes You Stronger

That's kind of how I felt as I was doing my 5 mile track workout in 33 degree weather and wind that made me feel like I was in one of those bad dreams. You know the one where someone is chasing you but you can't run or walk....okay, I am being a little over-dramatic. Just like I dramatized my detox over the week. As I looked back over the week, it was pretty damn easy with the exception of the headache that lingered over 5 days...Once you get through the first few days, it becomes automatic, the eating, no caffeine, no drinking, etc. Where even today, I almost forgot I was done...almost....coffee!!!!!!!

I have a couple great recipes I would like to share:

Breakfast 1 or snack - Silken tofu blackberry shake

1 serving of soft tofu
1/4 cup blackberries
1 cup of soy milk vanilla non-sweetened
1/4 cup of fage 0% yogurt
ice
agave for sweetener
Blend.


Dinner 1 - Tofu Rice Bowl

Marinate tofu in soy sauce, rice vinegar, sirachi sauce and tspn vegetable oil.

Bring fresh string beans to a boil, drain, add some vegetable oil, put string beans back in the skillet, add some red peppers, a good amount of tamari ( a few circles of the pan) and cook until browned and softened. Add sesame seeds.

Have some brown rice in the rice cooker.

Spray a pan with Pam and brown the tofu. Scramble some eggbeaters. Add together in a bowl.

Dinner 2 - Faux ground meat green chili over spaghetti squash

Smart Meat Ground "Meat"
Tomatillos (about 10) chopped
1 Jalapeno chopped
1/2 package of Trader Joe's frozen roasted corn
Olive oil
Garlic chopped
1/2 can tomato sauce or diced tomatoes
1 onion chopped
1 cup of chicken broth
3 roasted poblano pepper chopped (To roast = place in oven for 30 min at 350 degrees to roast, place in a bag and skin.)
1 spaghetti squash

Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds. Add some chili seasoning, salt, place scooped out side down in casserole dish. Fill with about 1 inch of water. Place in oven at 350 for 45min.

Sautee garlic and onions. Add tomatillos, roasted poblanos. Let simmer for about 15 min, add ground "meat", add chicken broth, tomato sauce or diced tomatoes bring to a boil and simmer for 25 min.

Use a fork to make spaghetti squash - spaghetti like. Serve the chili over the spaghetti squash.

Salad - Pink Grapefruit Dill Salad

1 bunch of Radicchio
2 Endives
1 cup Spring Mix
Chopped pink grapefruit without skin
1/4 cup of chopped dill

For dressing use:
1 part White vinegar
1/2 part Olive oil
Dash of Agave

I kind of made this up and was delish!!

Last but not least, my personal favorite -Quinoa Panzanella Salad.

I had a holiday party on detox. I was a little worried but - Make it Work! I did have one glass of red with my mom and mother-in-law - I couldn't be rude!! I filled up my plate with salad, ate some veggies and hummus, fruit, and my quinoa salad.


1.5 cups of quinoa
3 cups of water

Rinse quinoa, add to water, bring to a boil and let simmer, covered.

8 Tomatoes on the vine (any tomatoes) chopped
1 cup of basil chopped
1/2 jar of kalamata olives pitted
1 jar of roasted peppers chopped (I like the yellow/red ones - looks pretty)
Capers (optional)
1 cup of pearled mozzarella balls

Add together mix with a dressing of 1 part balsamic, 2 parts olive oil, salt pepper.

Once quinoa is warm - NOT HOT - add to salad and mix. Put in the fridge until ready to serve.
Till next time!

Meals and Metal

??? From the title, you were probably saying, what????

Day 2 is still going strong, although there were temptations like going to an Italian place for lunch with my best friend and going to see Beyond Dishonor last night.

I started out the morning with a tried and true breakfast smoothie, the pineapple kale smoothie - however, I didn't have time for the "smooth" puree and ended up coughing up kale pieces and looking like I had missing teeth (pieces of kale made a toothy smile).

Before I left for the show, I was able to get in the Plyometrics - P90x, which I am still sore this morning, did a conference call and made tonight's insanely good dinner recipe -

Mushroom-Ceci (aka chickpeas in Italian) soup with quinoa.

1 package of dried porcini mushrooms
4 cups of water

3/4 of a container of white or portabella mushrooms
1/2 can of ceci beans (aka chickpeas)
1 carrot chopped
1 celery chopped
6 garlic cloves
1 swirl of olive oil
salt
italian seasoning of some sort with parsely, red pepper etc.
1 cup of quinoa

Soak the dried mushrooms in warm water for 30 min. Then strain and put juice aside.

Saute garlic, celery, carrots, mushrooms in olive oil ans sprinkle some salt and seasoning.
Once softened add ceci beans and pour some of the mushroom juice in to simmer (reserving about 1.5 cups for quinoa).

Prepare 1 cup of quinoa with 1.5 cups of broth, bring to a boil and simmer until juice is gone.
Add everything together and serve. I did add some left over tofu pieces for some extra protein.

So as I was saying I went to see Beyond Dishonor and was strong and did not have a beer. Although, I think that is easier than no caffeine...


So anyway, you really should go to this link and vote for Beyond Dishonor -
Project Independent. Their album comes out 1/11/11 - Travesty. Check them out on myspace.
http://www.myspace.com/beyonddishonor.

Besides the fact that my husband is in the band, they are fucking talented! The travesty album features songs based on movies such as Full Metal Jacket.


Lastly I would like to close this post with this video. When I went to see Beyond Dishonor, Mike says you need to stay for this last band, their songs are off of old video games (Zelda, Tetris, Powerrangers...) but with power metal. Well they were killer and just thought I would save a youtube video.

Video for Powerglove - Mario Minor