Chili..With A Little Bit Extra

I'm pretty sure everyone has a favorite chili recipe handed down from hunting fathers, doting grandmothers or spicey moms. I know I do. Chili is one of my favorite things in the world to eat, and I can make a mean batch. A couple of years ago my recipe for chili included lots of ketchup and even a little brown sugar to offset the heat and spice of the peppers. The ketchup and sugar gave it this great texture and depth of flavor that I had a lot of trouble duplicating when I began to make the recipe healthier. For a several months I simply made the chili and missed the old flavor with its sweet undertone. Since I always make a huge batch and freeze some, when I would heat up a bowl, I would add a couple of large handfuls of spinach to up the nutrient ante while I was at it. Finally one day, I decided to use my blender and add the spinach in the beginning, and then there was this head of cauliflower in the fridge heading to bad that I didn't want to go to waste. I decided to throw it in the blender and add it, too. I'll be darned if those two veggies, blended and thrown into the pot didn't add that depth I had been missing!...and gave me a great way to add some veggies at the same time.

The venison that my buddy bagged for me this hunting season didn't hurt either.

Foot Cheese Salad

Friday, October 17, 2008
Work 6p-8a--155.5#

I know. It sounds not only ridiculous but disgusting. Unfortunately, my coworkers started calling my favorite salad by this name because the feta cheese in it bestows upon it an aroma reminiscent of feet. At least that's what they say. My sniffer is defective, an oddity that can come in handy in the ER.

I ate this a lot a while back and decided to revisit it a few weeks ago when I started a Warrior Diet-type program. As I was making it today, I decided I would post it in hopes that some of you would share some of your favorite salads in the comments.

Foot Cheese Salad

Large bowl (~3-4c) dark, leafy greens--spring mix or spinach works best. This really isn't very good with iceberg or sweet butter type greens.
1/4 chopped walnuts
2 tbsp dried cranberries
1/4c low fat feta cheese
2 tbsp dressing. My favorite for this salad in Newman's Own Light Honey Mustard.
Toss and Enjoy

Nutritional Breakdown: Calories 340 Fat 20.5 grams Carbohydrates 30 gms Protein 13 grams

WORKOUT: None today.

To Each His Own

Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Off
155#

As I have studied the people who I consider mentors in my quest for health and a body I am proud of, I have found a common thread. Each has found his or her own way. The universal truths are vigorous exercise and clean eating, but from there, each person has a different course of action. Some fast intermittently. Others eat 6 or 7 times a day. Each one, though, has found a comfortable groove for a diet, one he or she has found independently. The keys are that each one is comfortable and each one is different.

Realizing this has been a nice epiphany for me. For a long time, I have been trying to fit myself into someone else's cookie cutter. Struggling for someone else's answer to my own very personal question. I am still trying very hard to find that area in which I am comfortable. I think I am getting closer, but am nowhere near being in a groove. So I will continue my search for what is comfortable for me.

In this search, I have found one seriously awesome treat. You might have noticed the pic in the sidebar of Revolutionary Nutrition's Bionic Whey Protein. I've tried almost every protein powder out there, and I have no doubts this is the best. I look forward to it as a treat every day. I've also discovered that it mixes unbelievably well with nut butters. These protein bars are GREAT at work.

Bionic Whey Protein Bars

1 scoop Bionic Whey protein: vanilla, chocolate and banana all work well
1 tbsp organic peanut butter or almond butter
2-2.5 tsp water

Blend together thoroughly which will take considerable effort. Press together in the bottom of a cupcake pan. Refrigerate for 10-15 minutes.

WORKOUT:
5 rounds of 30 sec each
20kg row r
20kg row l
pushup
8kg split squat r
8kg split squat l
rest

25 20kg swings for 6 sets with 20 sec rest b/w sets.

Jen's Spicey Turkey

Friday, August 22, 2008
157#
Work 6p-8a

I was thinking about what to blog today as I was eating one of my meals, and it occurred to me that I should post the recipe for spicey ground turkey that I referenced yesterday. It was suggested to me a while back that ground turkey should become a staple in my diet, so I tried some for the first time. Initially, I was not at all fond of it, so I started playing with spices and the like. The recipe on which I have settled follows.

Jen's Spicey Turkey

2 pounds ground turkey

1/2 cup (yep, that's a cup) chile powder

1 large red onion sliced vertically into 1/2" strips

1tbsp cumin

1 tbsp onion powder

2tsp red pepper flakes

1 fresh jalapeno or 3 canned jalapeno slices with 1 tbsp of the juice

Fill a large pan with about 1-1.5" of water and place the remaining ingredients in pan, cooking until meat is cooked through. I then let the meat sit in the water for an hour or so (or overnight) to let it absorb some of the water and prevent it from being too dry. Eventually, I drain the water and weigh out my portions into individual, premeasured bowls.

***If you live near a PF Changs, they have a special sauce you can ask the server for called, appropriately enough, "Chef's Special Sauce." I have no idea what's in it, but if I add a 1/2 tbsp to each serving, it's fantabulous. I figure a 1/2 tbsp of something that's not obviously sugar or oil can't be horrific. I always get a bowl of it to take home with me when I get to eat at Chang's***

WORKOUT:

5 rounds of 30 sec of each of the following...

20kg row R ( I decided that if I want to make the 20 a more regular part of my routine, I, well, needed to make it a more regular part of my routine.)

20kg row L

pushup (done with strict military style. I have a horrific tendency to flare my arms out.)

8kg split squat R

8kg split squat L

rest

Then 6 sets of 25 20kg swings. David didn't prescribe a rest time for these, so I rested 20 sec b/w sets.

This all took me about 31 minutes. I'm really enjoying the shorter routines as a change of pace.

The weather today was really nice, humid, but nice. I noticed the sky today was much more like an autumn sky than a summer sky. I think it's going to turn cool early this year. That's the farm girl in me coming out. :)