Friday, September 19, 2008

:: Day 96 - Summary ::

I've finally broken the 170 weight barrier and I'm at 169! Not bad considering I have not exercised in a week! The good news is I feel ALOT stronger today and I may be doing some swinging and maybe a few light hikes in Bodega Bay and Fort Ross Region. Mikee and I are off for the birthday-anniversary weekend and I'm so stoked!
Our itinerary, compliments of our friend Chris! Thanks Chris!

Activities:
I just might swing today!
Got this article about kettlebells off Dr Cheng's blog.

8am: ABC Juice + 1/3 banana + Flaxseed meal

Main meal at Cafe Beajoulais
Braised Beet Salad

Sturgeon (no picture yet)
1/2 of chocolate sundae, organic homemade ice cream at Frankie's
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Thursday, September 18, 2008

:: Day 95 - Summary ::

Activities: Swell is down quite alot - i expect to be back in the game within 24-48 hours.

7am: ABC Juice + flaxseed + 1/3 frozen banana

12pm: Homemade cabbage and carrot soup


Main meal - Potluck at Michelle's house
I made Laura's Chap Chyy and the Brown Rice Vege Medley, for my own selfish reasons of course. I did try some of the other stuff people brought but focused mainly on my own dishes. :)
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:: Brown rice with Vegetable Medley ::

I can't take any credit for this recipe, ripped it right off Kuhn Rikon's website. And oh how I love the pressure cooker and vitamix. Dinner was ready in 30 mins flat!

Ingredients:
1 cup brown rice
1 1/2 cups water
1 small turnip, peeled and cubed
1 pound banana squash, peeled and cubed
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced
3 stalks Swiss chard, leafy greens coarsely chopped, stems diced
1 stalk broccoli including stem, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped water chestnuts (I didnt have this..)

Directions:
1. In a 4-quart or larger pressure cooker, bring rice and water to a boil.
2. Close lid and bring pressure to first red ring over high heat. Adjust heat to stabilize pressure at first red ring. Cook for 10 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and use Natural Release Method.
4. Add vegetables, stir until mixed.
5. Close lid and bring pressure to first red ring over high heat. Adjust heat to stabilize pressure at first red ring. Cook for 1 minute.
6. Remove from heat and use Natural Release Method.

Notes:
* The beauty of this dish is its tendency to let the individual vegetable flavors shine. If this recipe seems too bland for your personal taste, add a light seasoning of salt and freshly ground pepper. There is also a nice organic Swiss seasoning called Herbamare, by Bioforce, that can be used. It is available at specialty markets and health food stores. (I happen to have Herbamare, its well stocked at Whole Foods)
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Wednesday, September 17, 2008

:: Day 94 - Summary ::

Activities: Er... yeah. I'm SO SICK of not moving. I want to move again!!!!

8am: ABC Juice + 3 strawberries + flaxseed meal + 1/3 frozen banana, shared with Mikee
small bowl of freshly made soup!!! :P


12pm: Lunch meeting at work cafeteria
cup of parsnips soup, small salad sans dressing, yogurt and granola

Main meal @ home

I had the boys over and I made homemade veggie soup and brown rice and vege medley in the pressure cooker. Healthy and hearty!


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:: Instead of eating to Diet, they're eating to Enjoy ::

This is exactly what I'm doing!!! Read about it in this NY times article. Thanks Aylin for the lead!

"After decades of obsessing about fat, calories and carbs, many dieters have made the unorthodox decision to simply enjoy food again. That doesn’t mean they’re giving up on health or even weight loss. Instead, consumers and nutritionists say they are seeing a shift toward “positive eating” — shunning deprivation diets and instead focusing on adding seasonal vegetables, nuts, berries and other healthful foods to their plates...[read more]"
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:: Whatever's in the Fridge soup? ::

I've been really inspired by Tracy Reifkind's Food for Thought blog and have been longing to make my own homemade soup. After borrowing Dyl's pressure cooker I made my first batch of chicken broth last night. Oh how delicious. This morning I put together the "whatever" soup below. Wow ... deliciousness!!!!

Ingredients:
- whatever veggie is left in your fridge. In my case, I used 1 carrot 1/3 red peppper, 1/2 cabbage, 1 stalk of green onion
- 1/2 onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves diced
- 2 cups chicken broth (I used home-made chicken broth with fat removed)
- Bragg's seasonings
- Curry Powder
- Sea salt
- Olive oil

1. Heat up 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pot
2. Add the onion and garlic and cook until onion translucent
3. Add the "whatever veges" and cook for a few minutes
4. Add the chicken broth and cook until veges soft


5. Add seasoning to taste
6. Run it through a blender until desired thickness
7. Return to pot and serve


*You can actually do this without cooking the veges in the pot if you have a powerful blender like vitamix blender.
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Tuesday, September 16, 2008

:: permanent diet changes ::

So I'm not sure if I would say that I am still on the warrior diet per se, BUT, my nutrition habits have definitely changed significantly since I went on the program.

1. When I wake up each morning, my body, mind and soul is 100% craving fresh vegetable and fruit juice. Typically a combination of apple, beets, carrots, greens will satisfy me.

2a. I don't really get 'hungry' over lunch but when presented with food, I will eat it. Especially if i'm out to lunch with a friend. But I tend to crave salads during lunch time. The thought of eating a full carb/protein meal at lunch time is very unappetizing because it leaves me sleepy and without energy.

2b. If I did eat lunch, it takes a little for me to get full.

3. I prefer raw nuts to roasted/salted nuts because it fills me faster and doesn't leave me thirsty.

4. During the day - I notice that i'm completely energized! I never feel the need for naps or anything like that and i'm always go go go. Even on the day I ran the 10k, I didnt need to fuel up substantially on the day of the race either.

5. By 3-4pm, I'm totally excited about dinner and what I'm going to have. I used to have to eat around 5-7pm but I find that if I keep myself busy by going to the gym or for yoga, I can actually wait it out.

6. Dinner is an amazing affair - it doesnt matter what i eat, even though i try to start with salads and veges... everything tastes so darn good!! I've also noticed that by the time I am done with dinner, there's hardly any room left for dessert. But I've stocked up on frozen bananas for dessert cravings.

7. By 10pm, I am totally excited about the morning vege/fruit juice that I am going to have and the cycle begins again. :)
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:: Day 93 - Summary ::

Activities: Life is getting boring... but i'm definitely going to try and do some military presses today. Mikee measured the swell on the right ankle and the diameter is still 1.5 cm more than the left ankle... i.e. still swelling. Sigh.

9am: ABC Juice + 3 strawberries + 1/3 frozen banana + spinach + blueberry flaxseed meal (Shared with mikee)

12pm:
bunch of carrot sticks, 2 tbsp of brown rice

2pm:
handful of almonds, 1/3 frozen banana, limited edition orange brandy kitkat
(i realized i had one more orange brandy kitkat in the freezer and its my favorite flavor ever! At least I know its the last one and I wont be stuffing myself silly :) )

Main meal @ home

spring salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, dressed lightly with organic rice vinegar

Laura's chap chye veggies

Clear homemade chicken broth made in pressure cooker! (Skin removed and stil so much fat!)

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Monday, September 15, 2008

:: Day 92 - Summary ::

Activities: Again not much, swelling has gone down a little but still quite a bump according to the doctor. Continue to ice and elevate and REST!

I've also borrowed a pressure cooker from Dylan so I can jump on the soup bandwagon! I hope I know how to get broth out of those chicken bones!!!


9am:
ABC Juice, shared with Mikee

12pm lunch at Xanh

1 cup of clear fish soup, small bowl of vietnamese salad
1/2 vermicelli with beef


Main meal @ home

braised pea sprouts, chicken with tomatoes, brown rice

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Sunday, September 14, 2008

:: Day 91 - Summary ::

Activities: Not much... still hobbling around in crutches. Mikee insists I need to rest until the swelling goes down.


My right foot is actually swollen now - might be from the compression wrapping all day? But it looks totally off...

9am: 1/2 cup of odwalla b-monster

12pm: greek salad sans dressing, cup of soup watered down with cold water (Daphne's)


Main meal with family @ Venti Pizzeria

1/2 strawberry salad, 1/2 bocce ball, 1/2 slice of pizza, gelato shared with mikee

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