I am increasingly optimistic about the path forward.
We have been talking about resetting the body and part of what I think I was going through was a little rebellion against myself for putting myself through a massive weight loss program. Damn it, I wanted some good stuff! I wanted to live a little! After a month or so of indulgence, one begins to understand that exercise and healthy eating is more satisfying (i.e. it equates to living a little) than eating Pringles. I told my wife again this morning that I want healthier snacks in the house. I told her that if you buy potato chips, I will eat them, so don't buy them. What should I buy then? she asked. I left that unanswered -- I'd like her to work on figuring out what might constitute healthy snacks. I hope that she will take that upon herself, but if I have to, I'll help her out there.
On Saturday, I was primed for a 90 minute spin class, but my wife seemed to think that I absolutely had to go to my daughter's track meet. She's only six and she also had two ice skating shows on Saturday and she had swimming on Sunday, which my wife skipped so that she could go to her book club. The pressure was too intense, so I sacrificed the spin class at the altar of the "track meet", which turned out to be canceled due to inclement weather. Ugh. So far, my daughter has gotten a shirt and had her team picture (which we bought), but hasn't actually participated in any track events because of the craptastic weather. Nice. I'll stop right here before I digress further.
This morning, I got up at 5:00 AM and got to the gym for a spin class. I was really struggling throughout the whole thing and I managed to burn 769 calories, which shows just how much I've lost through the "lost weekend". I was routinely in the mid 800s and I never struggled like I did this morning. The next four days will see me drive a minimum of 225 miles, so I won't be doing a lot of working out simply because of all the car time and early mornings (which also mean early to bed). But, I answered the bell this morning and I would definitely be there tomorrow, too, if it weren't for the drive. So, I'm feeling better about it.
Looks like this post got skipped over, thanks to the stoopid level of content we had here yesterday. I'm dropping in to talk about dinner. Specifically what I made for dinner last night: "meatball" subs.
I have a vegan in da house, so true meatballs are a non-starter. So, I sez, what could I do that would have the umami and general shape/size of a meatball? Mushrooms!
I sauteed (hard!) a mess of whole button mushrooms in olive oil for about 8-10 minutes, until they got some good color on all sides, then deglazed with a bit of white wine. I reduced the wine by half, then dumped in a whole jar of marinara sauce, with a big pinch of red pepper flakes and a big pinch of oregano. I simmer this until the sauce tightened up. Split hoagie rolls with appropriate spread (vegan stuff/olive oil for the Girl, butter for us) and granulated garlic. Under the broiler for a minute to toast, then I ladled on mushrooms, lots of marinara, and some thinly-sliced red onion, some chopped, roasted poblano, and topped with "cheese" (vegan daiya for her) or cheese (sliced Havarti for us). Oh, and ours had a bit of thin-sliced, leftover pork chop underneath. Then, under the broiler for a minute to get bubbly.
Mmm. The mushrooms really worked. They are "meaty" and flavorful enough to substitute well for meatballs. The pork chop was a nice addition, but can easily be omitted. Serve with knife and fork because messy, and a beer, because, well, beer!
I'm a big fan of the beanballs from The Veganomicon. Looks like you can check out the recipe here.
the Girl recently discovered vegan meatballs from Trader Joes. They certainly smell tasty. She says they are very good.
the beanballs look good. Thanks!
My wife has been on a diet lately, which has necessitated some more creative cooking from yours truly. I've discovered that adding some type of acid (lemon, vinegar, etc.) to some veggies or whatever can really add a lot to the dish without really adding calories or fat. I've been trying to bust out our herbs/spices some more, too. Sunday night I braised a mess of carrots (cut into sticks) with diced onions and diced celery, then added some apple cider vinegar and dried dill. It greatly exceeded my expectations.
Also, asparagus is in season up here in the great NW, and it has been amazing this year. I like to steam it for 3-5 minutes and then squeeze some lemon on top. Mmmmm.
Very much yes on the acid to veggies. Discovering vinegar basically helped me cut out butter.
For a carrot dish, I recommend throwing a bunch of sliced carrots into some tinfoil with raisins and a bit of brown sugar (not helping your calories as much, but still... yum!), and tossing them on the grill/into the oven.
I use only ground pepper and a shot of vinegar as my "condiments" on my turkey & cheese sandwiches from Subway, which tastes just fine to me.
Also good with carrots is to boil them in chamomile tea.
And last nite I boiled some broccoli in boiling water, removed them, and used the broccoli water (with all the good vitamins, etc.) to cook pasta.
Asparagus!
Drizzle with olive oil, salt-n-pepper and grill! or roast in a hot (400-450) oven for about 4 minutes, max.
This leads me to repeat one of our very favorite recipes: pasta with white beans and asparagus.
One can white beans, with liquid (I generally use a lower-sodium version)
2-3 cloves garlic, smushed to a paste with a large pinch of kosher salt
zest and juice from a lemon
~1/3 cup good extra virgin olive oil
pinch or so of red pepper flakes
fresh ground black pepper to taste
macerate the beans in these ingredients while preparing the pasta and asparagus
prep the asparagus and steam, roast or grill to barely tender. Bring a large pot (half-filled) of water to boil. Add a couple tablespoons of kosher salt and your preferred pasta. We tend to use whole wheat spaghetti, but this works with other shapes and lengths too. Cook pasta to the done side of al dente, reserve a cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta. Add the pasta water to the bean mixture and stir. If desired, add ~1/3 cup of parmesan and stir to incorporate. Add the pasta to the bean mixture and toss thoroughly. Chop the asparagus into ~1 inch lengths, reserve the tips, and adding the rest to the bowl, and toss again. serve portions, topping with tips.
If you have a vegan in your midsts, save the cheese for the table.
Also on the fitness front: last weekend's ride was 58 miles with 2500' elevation gain. Unfortunately it got hot over the weekend and I got a little dehydrated. I just need to remember to drink more. I have never been a very thirsty person, unfortunately. Up this Saturday: 66 miles with 2100' elevation gain. Could be an easier ride if it's not too windy. I'm thinking it'll probably be windy.
Hydration camel head:
