Sickness Setback

I rarely get sick.  I think a combination of being a city commuter for so many years, combined with all the germs that you get exposed to at a gym, my immune system has become incredibly resilient.  Unfortunately, when sleeping in the same bed with someone who breathes sick germs on you day after day after day - I guess those evil sick germs won the battle and have  infested my body.  So, needless to say, I'm sick :( I'm trying not to allow the little panic goblins to invade my brain and make me worry about how this is setting back my training.  I don't want to be blase' about the almost week long set back, but I'm hoping that working out extra hard in the coming weeks will still get me in enough shape for the Tri.  

I didn't post yesterday - I spent most of the day knocked out in bed, and I didn't really have much to say.  So I still owe you "Loving Myself" Day 2 - and now Day 3 as well.

The reason I came on here though, I wanted to share with you something I have been keeping quiet for weeks-  a feat that was none to easy for a blabber mouth like me!  Today on Fitblogger.com  you can find a special post by me, their FEATURED BLOGGER!!!   Take a look and let me know what you think! :)

Kettlebell- A Thing That Makes You Go ARGH!

To append onto my food post : Mr. Millie has classes on Mondays-  as I already said.  Right now, our schedules are frenetic, made even more so because Mr. Millie's bosses from corporate are in his facility this week.  So he has to go in early all week to take care of things with the honchos.  This screws up the morning schedule, because usually I'm the one leaving at a quarter to six to go and swim, and he is leaving at a quarter to eight for work.  Because of our two dogs, and one with an injury, we have to stay home and keep an eye on his as much as possible.  -  so this has cut out any possibility of an evening jaunt to the health club.  This completely screws me, because, as I said before this is supposed to be week one of Tri Training.  Swimming I'm totally not worried about in the slightest.  Even if I lose some of the ground I gained, I was up to a mile and a half swim before my "hiatus" so worst case scenario, I drop back down to a 1000m or a 1200m swim-  which still keeps me in good shape for the Tri.

Thankfully, I have both a spin bike and a treadmill at home, so I can still keep up with those.

Ive been concerned with the development of core muscles.  They are obviously needed for both running and biking (and who are we kidding you need them in swimming too if you are stroking properly)  and mine are fairly weak due to a long winter spent on the couch doing homework.

So, I decided to get a Kettlebell and start a Kettlebell Workout.  I have heard awesome things.  I went to Target, intent on getting Bob Harper's Kettlebell Workout.  I follow him on twitter (@MyTrainerBob)  and he said his can be purchased exclusively at Target.  I get stop at Target on my way home Monday and, of course, not a Kettlebell to be found.  (of his anyway).  But, I was dead set on getting a Kettlebell THAT NIGHT- because this was my intended Monday workout- so I was not going home empty handed.  So, instead I purchased Reebok's Kettlebell Routine (about $15 cheaper than Bob Harpers at $39.99)

When I began researching Kettlebells to begin with, I read a lot of blogs that said "Don't start with less than 20 lbs if you are already in shape-  one even said "even if your muscle is buried under some fat- twenty pounds is the minimum you need to get the job done"

Well,  Target didn't have the 20 pounder-  and as I said, I wanted it NOW- not tomorrow, not wait for it to arrive ordering it online.  So I settled for a 10 pound weight.

Let me tell you-  ten pounds is PLENTY.  I also bought Jillian Michaels "Shred It" because I figured that the Reebox DVD that comes with the weight wouldn't be intense enough.  Yeah, I was dead wrong!

The workout DVD is only twenty minutes long, and it is definitely long enough.  Five minutes in, I was already sweating. Ten Minutes in, I was crying for my mama,  by Twenty Minutes I was grunting and groaning and swearing like a sailor.  But it is definitely worth it!

I feel sore (a good sore!  A " I kicked some ass and took names" sore) today.  Just the thought of sitting down in my office chair made me whimper.  But, I know that this means I will get some massive results from my puny twenty minute dvd.  Eventually, I will work my way up to Jillian's DVD.  For now, Im plenty happy with my 20 minute Reebok Workout with my ten pound Kettlebell.

I'm really excited though to find new workouts that I enjoy.  I am definitely keeping the kettlebell in my rotation!

On a brief secondary note.  My friend Robby over at the blog Fat Girl Vs. World did something amazing in the month of February.  She challenged everyone to write down one thing every day in the month that they loved about themselves  Love Yourself Challenge  and at the end of the month, they wrote themselves a love letter. 

This is such an amazing idea.  Because we all get so mired down with our shortcomings, that we forget to celebrate our victories.  And, we stop seeing ourselves through our own eyes, and judge ourselves on the subjective opinions of the other people in our lives.

Everyday this month, if you want to join me, I will take a brief moment to love myself.  You can feel free to share with me your own postings of appreciation to yourself, or just write them down in a journal for your eyes only.   But the entire month of March, I want all of you to spend some time appreciating the good that you possess and not worry so much about the things that may not have worked out so well.

So with out further ado:

Day 1 of Loving Myself:

I Love That I Am A Genuinely Nice Person.  -  it makes me feel good to help other people-  whether it is helping a stranger find the aisle they are looking for in the grocery store, sending a card to a friend who has been a bit down, being an ear, a hand to hold, or a person in your corner, nothing makes me feel better on a bad day than brightening someone elses.  

I have a plaque hanging in my house, and I make sure to embrace the saying as often as I can:

Live Simply, Care Deeply, Love Generously.

And I think I do a pretty good job doing it.  

Go To Meal #4 - Leek & Kale Quiche (aka She Began With The Best Intentions)

Mr Millie has school on Monday nights (yes, also on Wednesday nights as I said before) and he also has the big guys from his corporate office in all week, so he had to go into the office crazy early today (and the rest of the week) for meetings and such.  Why am I telling you this?  Well, this was supposed to be my swim day.  I couldn't swim because of work schedules and the dogs being left alone for too long.  Plus, with Bozley's injured ACL once we come home from work, we try to stay home so that they at least have some time with us.

This put me in a bit of a connundrum.  Tri training is supposed to begin today.  I can't not workout and set myself back even further than I already am.  So, I decided that I would work on my core tonight- something I can easily do at home.  {more on the Bob Harper Kettlebell Connundrum on the next post}

I decided that I would make a quiche with the Leeks I purchased at the grocery store this past weekend.  I found this recipe on Spark People  Now due to limited time and lack of some of the ingredients- My modifications are in parentheses

Ingredients

CRUST:  ( No Time To Make My Own- I bought the Pre-Made Pilsbury Pie Crusts) I'm quite sure Mrs. Plant Food Fabulous  will have something to say about this one :) 

1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour 

1/2 cup pine nuts 1/4 tsp. baking powder 

1/4 cup plain, unsweetened soymilk 

2 Tbs. olive oil 1/4 tsp. salt 

FILLING: 

4 Tbs. olive oil, divided 2 medium leeks, white and light green parts chopped (about 3 cups) 

1 lb. light firm or extra-firm tofu, drained and cut into 1.5-inch cubes - (I didn't have any tofu in my fridge, and since I'm a vegetarian and not a vegan, I replaced the tofu with 1 egg and 2 handfuls of  Italian Blend cheese) 

2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice (forgot to add this one in!  OOPS!) 

2 tsp. miso paste  (No Miso Paste either so I used Vegetable Stock)  

1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 tsp.) 

3/4 tsp. salt

1 cup whole-wheat breadcrumbs (I used regular breadcrumbs, I couldn't find whole wheat ones at Target) 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil 

1/4 cup chopped reconstituted sun-dried tomatoes, drained ( I have a sensitivity to Cooked Tomatoes, so I left them out) 

Directions

DIRECTIONS
1. To make Crust: Preheat oven to 350F. Coat
9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Pulse
flour, pine nuts and baking powder in food
processor until finely ground. Whisk together
soymilk, oil and salt in bowl. Stir in flour mixture.
Press into pan. Bake 5 minutes, then cool.

2. To make Filling: Heat 1 Tbs. oil in skillet over
medium heat. Add leeks, and sauté 8 minutes, or
until softened. Set aside. Bring large saucepan of
water to a boil. Add tofu, and simmer 5 minutes.
Drain, and pat dry. Whisk together remaining oil,
lemon juice, miso, garlic and salt in bowl. Mash in
tofu with fork. Stir in breadcrumbs, basil,
sun-dried tomatoes and leeks.

3. Spoon filling into crust. Bake 40 minutes, or
until crust is browned. Cool 5 minutes, then
unmold. Cut into 10 slices.

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/10121?section=

Number of Servings: 10

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user NEWSUGARMOON.

Number of Servings: 10

Here are my leeks

You only use the white parts of the leeks, the green parts get cut off -  does anyone know what you can do with the green parts?  It feels wasteful to throw them away.  I'll probably give them to the bunnies outside if there isn't anything to use them for.

At the last minute, I apparently was under the delusion that I am Julia Childs, and I decided that I also could use the Kale that I had.

Now, since then I have learned that Kale needs to be purchased Organic- typically I buy most of my produce organically at Whole Foods or Trader Joes (and even Dominicks and Jewel have organic produce at a relatively good price once in a while) But when I bought this I saw it was $0.97 and just bought it, forgetting to check if it was organic- it wasn't)

:Sidenote:  I know there is a debate versus Organic vs Non Organic-  the fruits and vegetables you want to purchase organically are the ones in which you are eating the outermost skin-  so bananas, oranges, Pumpkins, Squashes - vegetables in which you don't eat the skins dont need to be purchased organically if you are trying to save money.  You should be most concerned about ingesting pesticides on the skin of fruits and vegetables you are eating.

I read that you need to soak Leeks and Greens to get all the grittiness out of them

So these were first doused in veggie wash

And then soaked in warm water.

I soaked them for about five ish minutes and then ran them over cold water in a colander.

After that, I put them in my Cuisinart and mushed them together. with the olive oil and garlic.  (This was probably my mistake with the Kale-  I didn't cook it first, I just pulsed it raw.)  Since this cooking experience, my sister, Mrs. Plant Food Fabulous informed me that Kale needs to be cooked down with some form of acid like Lemon Juice or Orange juice to get the bitterness out of them.

This is what it looked like after I blended them together.

I added  1 egg, a cup of Vegetable Stock, 1 cup of Bread Crumbs, and 2 pinch-fulls of cheese and stirred it all up 

Ater stirring it, I put it in my pre-made pie crust- put it in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes.

Here's the Money Shot:

For the most part,  it was pretty good.  The Kale to Leek ratio was definitely off- as I could taste more bitter kale than smooth leek.  But the pieces that I got that were just leek, was actually really good.  So, my addition of the Kale pretty much ruined the dish.  So I would suggest that if you make this- don't try to be all Julia Childs like I did-  and just go with the leeks.

I also, after eating it, had a severe reaction to the Kale, which we have since deduced it was probably the pesticides I had a reaction to and not the Kale itself.  I will purchase an organic kale and see if it is any different.  After eating it though, my throat closed up, ears and throat began to fiercely itch and I had to jump in the shower just to rid the remnants of the kale off of me.   - which is why this is getting posted on TUESDAY instead of MONDAY.  

This will definitely be a Go To Meal-  I will most definitely use this one again, without the Kale.  Perhaps I will try leek and spinach- or I'll just stick with the Leek Recipe first and then figure it out from there :)

So, even though this specific one didn't turn out "perfect" I am marking this one in the success column.  I will most definitely try this one again.  And, technically even though it took forty minutes to cook, the prep time was super fast (ten minutes tops)  and I could stick it in the oven and do my workout while I waited for it to cook.

Dieting? Don't Feel Deprived, Feel Empowered!

Picture this: You've just joined a Tri Club to help you stay motivated and keep you in tip top training form until your first Triathlon. Or, perhaps you have recently decided that a Saturday morning running club is more up your alley, maybe you found a great group of people to have a nice long Sunday bike ride with you complete your 5k or Brick Workout, or 50 miler (not me, but who knows maybe someone reading rides 50 miles in a day) you guys are all shooting the bull after your workout and someone says "Hey lets go get a bite to eat"  You all agree on the local Panera, meet there and place your orders, reconvening at one of the tables with your trays.  You sit down, and they all look at your horrified when you set out your plate of Egg and Cheese on Ciabbata Bread, cup of fruit and Coffee with Cream.  You *thought* you had done a good job picking out a healthy meal, but what is actually sitting in front of you are enough calories to totally negate your entire workout (well, unless you did that 50 miler, but then you probably wouldn't be worried about your waistline either) ... whatever the situation on the path to getting healthy, there will eventually be a time when either, while out with your ridiculously healthy new friends, or perhaps meeting your non-diety friends for Breakfast you will need to face a dieters worst nightmare : The Ordering Counter or Menu. What do you pick? How do you know if it's "good" for you. All these restaurants and their appearance of healthy foods on the menu can be a major diet buster. So, what better way to strike down the Menu Monster than to be armed with good old fashioned knowledge before even walking into the situation.

David Zinczenko, author of the fabulous Eat This Not That Series has provided you with a few ideas to arm yourself with. From Panera (a diet busting sugar-house) to IHOP (who can pass up a Fresh and Fruity?) this article will give you options at many fast food and dining establishments.

6 Breakfasts That Fight Fat

Surviving Your First Triathlon

Triathlon training season is about to get into full swing. For me, full- on Triathlon training begins on Monday. If you are doing a Triathlon in the month of June your training will begin this coming week or the week after- for Tri's later in the season,  count back 16 weeks from the date of the Tri and this will be your start date for training.  If you are a first time Tri-er, I highly suggest taking the 16 week training route, and not the 12 week training route. Better to over-train than to under-train.

If in your counting you discover you have shorted yourself by a week or so, don't fret it- still start on "Week 1" of your 16 week schedule, and add intensity later on, as you get closer to Tri day. The missed week or so won't kill you, I promise.

Bicylcing Magazine has an article in this months issue called Bicycling.com: How To Survive A Tri... | Bicycling Magazine for those who have set their sights on their first Triathlon.

It's a short article and well worth the read. Just remember, your first Triathlon should be about COMPLETING the Tri, not COMPETING. :)

Broccoli Asparagus Voila! - Also Known As Go-To-Meal #3

It's Wednesday.  Mr. Millie has class on Wednesday nights, I have choir practice in oh- thirty minutes.  Typically on Wednesday nights, the siren like calls from Taco Bell become too tempting to resist, and deplete of Mr. Millie's looks of castigation -  Taco Bell wins out, and I usually end up grabbing something that I can inhale in the brief time that I am home while watching the cliff note version of the Biggest Loser (trust me, the irony is not lost on me).. and by Cliff Notes I mean, its on DVR from Tuesday night, and I fast forward through it to hit the main points. (easy to do considering they intro and outro the exact same things at every commercial break- this alone takes the show down to 55 minutes-  then you fast forward through the workouts - I mean, we KNOW Jillian is a ball buster, they sweat they puke, repeat)  and the show is down to 45)-  but Biggest Loser Tangent aside,  I decided to forgo my weekly jaunt to Taco Bell, and opted instead for something home cooked, because- I asked myself... do I want Taco Bell, or do I want to do a sub 2 hour Triathlon this season?  Sub 2 Hour Triathlon won by a landslide.

Today's intended feast was from My Sister's Blog  Lentils & Quinoa w/ Roasted Broccoli  but, to my dismay, the package of Lentils I thought I had in my cupboard are missing.  I'm sure they will turn up, I had a party last weekend, and a lot of things ended up getting shoved wherever there was room in the final "Oh Crap" hour before company arrived.  Twenty bucks say they turn up in a bin in the workout room, in about a month or so....   you think I'm kidding.

Anyhow, since I did not have Lentils, and I wanted to be able to do my sisters recipe justice, I decided to pass on her recipe for the day and just work with what I had.  Turns out- they are fairly similar anyway.

I had some Broccoli and Asparagus in my Fridge, as well as a can of leftover Chick Peas that I had planned to use to make a bean salad, but ended up using the Kidney Beans over the weekend, so an errant can of Chick Peas was included in my recipe as well.

So without further ado:

Millie's Broccoli Asparagus Voila (also known as "The Sh*t I Have In My Fridge and Randomly Threw Together"  ... VOILA! :)


1 Can of Chickpeas
1 Bunch of Asparagus (bottoms cut off)-
now when I'm cutting my Asparagus up, I always cut off starting where the stems change from deep green to light green.  Some people say that I am cutting too much of the stem off doing it this way, but there is nothing I hate more (okay actually there are a lot of things I hate more- but lets just go with it for emphasis)  than chomping on a piece of asparagus that doesn't want to submit to the mashing of my molars.
2 Mini-Heads of Broccoli (Trees & Stems- cut into small pieces)  - you don't have to use the stems if you dont want, but I heard once that there are more nutrients in the stems than in the trees, and it always stuck with me-  so I have learned to love the stems
Olive Oil
Garlic

I just realized that this is very similar to the spinach/chic pea combo I blogged about last week.. with the whole garlic and olive oil thing- but I promise I will expand my palate when I'm not pressed for time.

Anyhow:

My Ingredients (sans the Slim Fast that the ingredients are sitting on top of )

Start with the Olive Oil and Garlic-  add the Broccoli and Asparagus
I just realized the Chic Peas got added in here as well- but I forgot to take a picture of that one-  WHOOPS!

Boil your Quinoa-  and yes- before I get any comments on the pot *cough* Mrs Plant Food Fabulous-  this is an evil Teflon pot-  but Mr. Millie didn't "hear me"  when I said "before you go to bed, could you please turn the dishwasher on"  so when I came home from work-  all the pots were still in the Dishwasher, unwashed.  So this was all I had.  Since I was only boiling stock and Quinoa in it, I figured I'd be o.k.

And-  the money shot.  This is the completed product.  I added a little balsamic vinegar to  it right before I started eating because it seemed to be missing something.  Looking at the Plant Food Fabulous version with the lentils- there's a yummy sauce that it gets mixed with that since I wasn't following her recipe I missed :(  But I'll do that recipe another time.

I also wanted to briefly talk about portion control.  These plates have helped me immensely with portion sizes.  Instead of using large standard plates in the Millie Household.  We use pub plates.  Which are about half the size.

That's a teaspoon across the plate-  so it just barely misses the length of the plate.

Anyhow, I bought these at the Crate and Barrel Outlet for like $2 - $3 each.  (If you don't have a Crate and Barrel outlet by you-  I'd complain!  I seriously live at that place)

So, as you can see from my almost empty plate.  Go to Meal #3 was a success!  And, it was much more filling and satisfying than making a run for the border would have been!


If you haven't voted for me in the Women's Health Magazine Blog Contest  please do! I will be eternally grateful!  :)

' Til next time! :)  ~Millie

A New Discovery

I'm so excited to share with you a great magazine I found over the weekend!  It's called Clean Eating Magazine .  The magazine not only has great articles like 21 Meals under $2, 200 Calorie Snacks,  as well as interesting articles like how to pick, chop, peel and prepare Fennel.    And, its not just for the vegetarians out there.  Many of the recipes are meat based (but can easily be adapted for the vegetarian), and are all centered around the principles of Eating Clean (ie no preservatives, no refined carbs, sugars ect- staying way from processed foods as much as possible) -  and keeping foods in their most natural states.

If you have read Jillian Michael's Master Your Metabolism  you know this is essentially what her eating principles are as well.  In her book and on TV she says that "If it doesn't come from the ground, or have a mother'  don't eat it .  It's great advice, especially if you have Endocrine Problems like I do.

Anyhow, I found this magazine by chance at Barnes and Noble over the weekend, and spent yesterday and today reading it cover to cover.  I was so excited by it, that I wanted to share with you my find.  I also have found numerous recipes that I intend to try in here for my "Find 5 Go-To Meals" part of my Fearless Living List.  I have already discussed 2.  I have 3 and 4 in the pipes, but haven't had a chance to actually make them yet... and I'm quite sure I have at least three just in this issue of Clean Eating alone!  I don't want to get too ahead of myself, as I actually have to make/sample them first but perhaps this finding healthy/delicious/satisfying meals won't be as hard as I think it will be :)

I love sharing new finds with all of you.  I think if any little tidbit or discovery can help one, it can help many :)

And, I actually also have a favor to ask of you - insert puppy dog eyes and sweet smile here-

I was wondering if you could visit Women's Health Magazines Site Here and vote for me for weight loss or fitness blogger?  For me, this blog, and my journey is really about showing through my own actions and experiences, that YOU are so much more capable of what you think you are.  I have received so many positive notes from you guys telling me that I inspired you to finally break out the old running shoes, or try your hand at swimming, or that you signed up for your first Triathlon... and stuff like that thrills me!  I don't blog for the recognition or the accolades, but to spread that spark of inspiration on to others who find themselves in a situation similar to my own.  Receiving nationwide recognition by a magazine like Women's Health Magazine allows me to reach people on a larger platform.  I would not only appreciate the vote, but be honored and grateful that you took the time to do it.

Thank you, sincerely, for taking the time to vote.