Author Archives: fivenineteen

Crowd-Pleasing Tex-Mex Casserole! (Vegan)

18 Sunday May 2014

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Holy crap!  When I typed the title to this post I typed “Crows”…and somehow published the post with just that one word!  That lasted for about 5 seconds until I could navigate back to the dashboard and remove it.  Any followers out there receive a single world “CROWS” post from me?  Hilarious!

And my apologies as we’re in fog brain mode today.  Some of you might recall that in my current job my team works overnight one weekend a month.  And last night was that weekend.  So I’m propped upright and a little woozy.   But bravely attempting the keyboard today…with yet another amazing VEGAN recipe to share!  Yes, I’m going to post a recipe today…normally this weekend is extra special as it’s my birthday weekend so I like to do something memory-related.  Tomorrow, May 19, is the actual day, hence this blog name.  But today it’s going to be a yummy recipe…so good that even meat lovers out there won’t miss the meat. Nor people like me who are not vegan, but who love to load on the cheese and sour cream something fierce with anything slightly close to a Tex-Mex dish.  Not needed here at all!  Lots of flavor and comfort – very similar to a burrito in a bowl.

Serves 6.  This recipe is gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free and sugar-free

Tex-Mex spice blend

  • 1 T chili powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika OR 1/2 tsp regular paprika
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, plus more as needed
  • 1 1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground coriander

For the Casserole

  • 1 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 red onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 orange bell pepper, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
  • Fine grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 C fresh or frozen corn
  • 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes, with their juices
  • 1 C tomato sauce or tomato puree
  • 2-3 C chopped kale leaves or baby spinach
  • 1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 3 C cooked wild rice or brown rice
  • 1/2 C vegan shredded cheese (I skipped this as I don’t care for the taste)
  • 1 or 2 handfuls corn tortilla chips, crushed
  • Optional toppings – sliced green onions, salsa, avocado or more corn chips

Combine the Tex-Mex spice blend ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Oil a large 4 to 5 quart casserole dish

In a large wok, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the onion, garlic, bell peppers and jalapeno and saute for 7 to 8 minutes, until softened.  Season with salt and black pepper.

Stir in the spice blend, corn, diced tomatoes and their juices, tomato sauce, kale, beans, rice and 1/4 C of the vegan shredded cheese (if using).  Saute a few more minutes and season with more salt and black pepper, if desired.  Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish and smooth out the top.  Sprinkle the crushed chips over the casserole mixture along with the remaining 1/4 cheese.  Cover with a lid or foil and bake for 15 minutes.

Uncover the casserole dish and cook for 5 to 10 minutes more, until bubbly and lightly golden around the edges.

Scoop the casserole into bowls and add your desired toppings.

Fivenineteen notes:  this casserole is INCREDIBLE.  And you won’t even notice you’re getting a whopping dose of your veggies either!  The wild rice can take some time to fully cook, so I recommend getting that going while you’re chopping the veggies at the same time.  Don’t get weirded out by the somewhat-long list of ingredients – about half of them are just “open a can and drain/rinse/dump.”  Easy.

Buon Appetito!

From the Oh She Glows cookbook, by Angela Liddon

What a Weekend!!

03 Saturday May 2014

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Holy crap…she’s blogging on a SATURDAY – GAH!!!  Hey everyone, well yowza it’s been a few weeks since my last post…and the time felt like NOW to do one, so here I am!

Ever have a weekend with nothing going on and yet you still feel exhausted when Monday rolls around and it’s time to go back to work?  And on the flip side…a weekend so jam-packed just reading the schedule makes you feel tired…but afterwards you feel so REFRESHED and INVIGORATED??   Last weekend was one of those weekends.  My head spun at the thought of all we were going to pack into one day. A Sunday.  But afterwards I felt like a new woman and 10 years younger!

So what happened?  Well, my coach in the Lean Eating for Women program I started last July came up to Seattle to see her Seattle-area clients!  She and I Skype occasionally (she lives in the Lake Tahoe area), and she sends us videos every week with encouragement for us and some info on what’s coming up in the week ahead.  And we all belong to a private Facebook group. So I felt like I already ‘knew’ D beforehand…and I was so excited to finally see her in person!

We had a huge lineup of activities planned, from eating out to various fitness-related stuff (of course!) and people would just show up to what they wanted to do depending on their weekend schedules.  Friday night we toasted the weekend ahead with dinner at Matt’s in the Market in Seattle.

SeaScallopsTalk about an iconic location…Matt’s is right at the main entrance to the Pike Place Market, up a couple of flights of stairs. Your visit to Seattle isn’t complete without a walk through the bustling market – people, food, art, music, shopping…it’s all there!  And Matt’s is kitty corner from the famous City Fish Company, where the guys throw the fish back and forth to each other while they’re working.

Check out my dinner…YUM…that is a glorious meal of sea scallops with peas, pea puree, Thumbelina carrots and ham hock.  Absolutely outstanding!!  We then walked the Pike Hill Climb and had dessert at some cool place that starts with an “A” and for the life of me I can’t remember it.  Funny.

Some of the group met up Saturday morning for a bike ride from downtown Seattle where D was staying out to Discovery Park. I didn’t have a bike and didn’t really feel like renting one…plus I decided I really needed to just rest and do some food prep for the week ahead.  Ahhh, a perfect choice!

Because then there was Sunday.  Sunday April 27.  A day I faced two of my fears head on:  my fear of ladders and my fear of heights.  I haven’t really done any posts about fear because I try to keep things light and somewhat humorous in here, but ladders and heights do give me the willies.  Hell, I don’t even like getting up on a step stool in my kitchen!

So what did I do to face these fears?  See for yourself!!

Yes, I climbed up a 28′ ladder, jumped off a platform and swung on a trapeze!!!  Holy crap!

One of the women in our Seattle group suggested doing a trapeze class together – and when I heard about it I had the same rush and whoosh feeling as when I was asked if I wanted to try learning to play hockey years ago.  I KNEW I was going to do it, despite feeling freaked out!

We met up Sunday morning at SANCA Seattle, the School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts.  Who knew there even was such a place?  Along with the huge circus tent where we had the trapeze class, there was another building where they teach tumbling for kids and adults and other circus-type stuff.  I was fascinated beyond belief!  And the instructors were incredible.  So happy and cheery…and they know their shit.  We did some warm up exercises together and they talked through the whole process from climbing the ladder to dismounting off the safety net we would land on.  I was getting so nervous that I was having a hard time remembering everything they were saying, but I figured they’d repeat it anyway when it was our turn to jump and swing!

Safety of course is paramount through all of this.  From the time you step on the first ladder rung to your dismount off the safety net and back on the ground you have safety lines attached to you.  You put on a belt cinched very tight which has several large rings to hook your lines on.  Once you get to the top of the ladder onto the platform, an instructor is up there to switch out your lines to the ones for your jump and swing.

And that platform up there is not very big.  I’m sure the “holy fuck” look on my face when I got off the ladder an onto the platform was epic.  The guy up there looked about 18 and was kind of short. And I’m thinking “YOU’RE going to help me do this??”  But the guy was great…and strong with Popeye forearms!  He stood behind me while I stood with my toes hanging over the edge of the platform.  I was gripping a short ladder like structure with my left hand and LEANING FORWARD with my hips forward.  This is what you do while they pull the trapeze bar to you with a giant hook.  Believe me, this is THE most unnatural and counterintuitive way to stand ever!!  GAH!!

They tell you ahead of time that “the bar’s going to feel heavy,” when they pull it to you and you grab it with your right hand.  And ummmm, hello, that was the understatement of the century!  That fucker is HEA-VY!  But the guy behind me held me in place.  My heart was pounding.  I probably forgot to breathe too.  Then I grabbed the bar with my left hand and waited for the command to jump from the other instructor on the ground.

“READY….HEP!!”  We learned that ‘hep’ is circus talk for ‘go.’  Why don’t they say “go”??  Well, in the tent with the acoustics and everything, ‘go’ can sound like ‘no,’ which is not a good thing.  With this kind of activity there is no room for ambiguity!  Well, there was a few seconds delay after my ‘hep’ before I got the courage to take my feet off the bar.  I had this weird sensation that if I did that I would drop straight down and hit my head on the platform!  Strange!  Well, there is no way that could happen because the bar is so heavy it pulls you away from the platform very quickly.

What a rush!!!  Oh my GOD…it was both frightening and exhilarating at the same time!  I DID IT!!  In fact, I got 4 jumps in during our session (there were 7 of us, including two kids, and they had the order written on a chalkboard so we each got an equal amount of turns).  In the exercise I did you’re supposed to bring your legs up and swing by your knees, get back up and then do the backflip dismount.  But I’ll try that again next time.

Yes, I said “next time!!!”

After that we changed our clothes and headed up to Whole Foods in downtown Seattle to grab lunch.  We figured that was easiest so we could just grab whatever we wanted and eat it in the store.  Then we walked a few blocks to the Chihuly Garden and Glass  exhibit at the Seattle Center!  Long gone is the old Fun Forest amusement park (anyone else have great memories of that place as a kid?)…now it’s Chihuly.  Beautiful glass sculpture and wonderfully unique installations of glass art outside intermingled with real plants.

Meanwhile, D wanted to know if anyone wanted massages.  She had found a cheap place on Yelp where it was something like $25 for a 45-minute foot massage.  What?  That sounds almost criminal.  Well, we decided to go for it so she made reservations for us.

Here’s where it gets interesting and funny.  D says “well, can we walk there too?”  After learning that this massage place was in the International District I laughed and said nope…that’s clear at the other end of town!  So, we drove! Hey, why not give D a mini tour of Seattle neighborhoods meanwhile, right?

We headed into the Pacific Rim Center, a sparsely filled out indoor mall with a rather strange vibe and energy to it.  Maybe it’s because I was somewhere I’d never been before…in my hometown.  Maybe it was because D and the rest of us were the only 4 Caucasian people in the massage place.  And maybe it was the weirdness of walking into a sea of massage chairs just out in the open.  And the silence.  Everyone was fully-clothed (whew)…but was this one of those “happy ending” places??  Yikes.

Ever have a foot massage that starts with your scalp? Nope, me neither…until that afternoon.  And the guy doing my massage was about my Dad’s age I’m guessing.  Just an overall very odd experience.  I had my clothes on with a towel draped over me so it wasn’t feeling creepy, but still was weird.  And this massage…holy crap I still have bruises a week later around my knees and on my forearms and thighs!  I don’t remember it hurting too much (would have said something) so I was shocked that I am still looking like a domestic violence victim or bondage lover even a week later!

We finished off the evening with dinner at Purple in downtown Seattle.  Great, relaxing food and a huge wine selection too.  We laughed as we reminisced about the day – such a random mix of stuff we did…IN ONE DAY!  And I laughed too thinking that WOW, of everything we did that Sunday, going to Purple was the ONLY thing I’d ever done before!

There’s so much more to my hometown, Seattle, that I’ve yet to explore and discover.  And how cool it took a visitor from out-of-town to make it all happen.  Bliss.

Weekly Food Prep Ritual!

13 Sunday Apr 2014

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One of the habits we are practicing in the Lean Eating for Women program I started back in late July is to plan our meals.  Planning sets us up for success, whatever that might look like!  For me, that means preparing meals for the upcoming week on Sundays.  And each night during the work week I take some of what I’ve prepared and get my lunch ready in a Tupperware to take to work with me.  While I do like my job, our work cafeteria is pretty lame.  [Getting the runs on my first day after grabbing a seemingly innocent slice of pizza for lunch, and hearing how others have gotten sick after eating from the salad bar was enough to scare me off.]  And we’re in a rural part of suburbia where there aren’t too many choices for going out to eat.  Plus, that can add up and get expensive over time.  Preparing and bringing my own food sets me up for success – the choices I make are mine alone and work for my own personal food and nutrition journey.

Have I mentioned I’ve dropped 33 lbs since I started this journey last July??  That’s just under 15 kg for my metric readers, by the way!  I’ve been weight training 3 times a week, doing some sort of cardio 2-3 times a week, and resting one day a week (usually on Sundays).  Now, of course, we’re going for excellence, not perfection here, people!  If I’m sick it’s not a good idea to work out and I will have zero energy.  Knock on wood I’ve been injury-free during these past 9 months so that has not been a problem.  And when the gym was closed for Christmas, no excuses!  I met up with a friend at a school playground with some stretchy bands and did a playground workout bundled up in the cold!

So…food prep starts with making a shopping list and budgeting some time for the actual food prep of course.  I am single with no kids PLUS I really enjoy grocery shopping, so this is pretty effortless for me actually.  One of the biggest habits we are learning in Lean Eating is to consume veggies and lean protein at every meal.  Yes, that means breakfast too!  Some of my favorite foods to prep include…

  • Chicken
  • Quinoa
  • Polenta
  • Mushrooms
  • Red bell peppers

I also make sure I have other veggies stocked up for the week such as fresh spinach, baby carrots, green onions and flat-leaf Italian parsley.

To cook the chicken, I usually roast two breasts. I’ll line my broiler pan with tin foil and drizzle a little olive oil on it.  The chicken breasts go in the pan and I douse them with lemon juice and garlic salt.  I might sprinkle some paprika on one and some tarragon on the other.  Play around and experiment with different spices!  20-25 minutes at 425 degrees is about right to cook the chicken, but it’s good to test and cut into the chicken and make sure it’s cooked through (meaning, no pink).  I usually bring one to work for lunch and dice up the other one to throw into an omelet for dinner later in the week or maybe to toss with some veggies.

I’m falling in love with quinoa! But I will admit the flavor can be a little bitter depending on what I eat it with.  Sometimes a small blob of pesto helps.  But I’ve also discovered blending some red quinoa in with the regular tan-colored type cuts the bitterness too.  1/2 cup of each in a pan with two cups of water, boil for 15 minutes and then let rest, covered for about 45 minutes until all the water is absorbed.  Put it in a Tupperware and you’ve got a nice batch of quinoa that will keep for over a week in the fridge.

What about polenta?  This is a “neutral” food that goes with just about anything.  I buy it in a tube, slice it up and put it under the broiler for a few minutes to ‘toast’ it slightly.  And I might sprinkle it with a little pink Himalayan sea salt.

I also spend time slicing up some fresh mushrooms and dicing a red bell pepper.  I’ll sauté the mushrooms very lightly in a little olive oil and add some garlic, lemon juice and minced flat leafed Italian parsley.  The mushrooms and bell pepper each go in their own separate Tupperware in the fridge.

NOW with all of those ingredients I have endless combinations of lunches and dinners to get me through a busy week!  The secret is to take that time to get your foods cooked and ready to go.  After work I immediately go to the gym and work out.  When I get home I shower.  By this time I’m feeling good but a little tired and not really in the mood to spend a lot of time making myself dinner. BUT with my veggies all chopped and ready to go I can crack a couple of eggs and whip up an omelet with the diced chicken, mushrooms, bell peppers and some fresh spinach thrown in!  Voila!  Easy, quick and nutritious!!

Or for lunch during the work week, the night before I will pack up a Tupperware with a few pieces of sliced polenta, some quinoa and throw in some of the diced red peppers, mushrooms and some spinach leaves.  I might even add a small blob of hummus or guacamole and sprinkle in a few black Kalamata olives. The next morning I throw it into my lunch bag, grab an apple for my late afternoon pre-workout snack and off I go!  I’m usually on conference calls all morning and through the traditional lunch hour, so I typically will eat lunch at my desk, listening in on calls with my headset in mute mode.

See how investing a little time on a Sunday sets me up for eating success?  What are some of YOUR favorite meal prep rituals?

Minus 30!

30 Sunday Mar 2014

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Yep, we’re off the plateau and on a downward roll!  I’m officially down 30 lbs (13.6 kg) since last July when I took a leap of faith and joined the Lean Eating program for women that is offered twice a year by Precision Nutrition.  I can’t believe we’re sliding into the home stretch – we’ll be “done” this coming July!  And I use “done” in quotes because, to my relief, there is a ton of post-program support out there.  Meetup groups, Facebook groups, online forums, coaches to Skype with, you name it.  Plus I now have a growing repertoire of weight training and interval workouts at my fingertips!  I may repeat the entire exercise program again just to keep up momentum and see how much stronger I am the second time around!

I’m feeling so much happier and more confident with my body.  Clothes are getting looser, smaller sizes are fitting better…and I can sit and cross my legs comfortably. People’s reactions to seeing me who haven’t seen me in a while are priceless!  I love this!!  I literally feel ‘lighter’ too, just like the shrinking number on the scale!  Now, we are coached to know that the number on the scale is not the be-all tell-all indicator of our progress.  And it’s just a number!  We’re also doing our measurements weekly and recording our progress.  You really can see the progress there and THAT’S where it counts.  Muscle weighs twice as much as fat, and we’re building lean muscle mass through our weight training sessions.   I’ve heard so many stories about how people make personal shopping appointments at a department store and provide their height and weight information to the stylist.  And the stylist picks out PLUS SIZED clothes, only to meet up with her client who is fit!!  OOPS.  And yikes.  Not a good way to start off a personal shopping appointment!

I was worried a little about looking older as I lost weight.  They say a little fat padding, especially in our faces, helps us look youthful.  And I’ve always joked that my chubby pink cheeks puff out my wrinkles!  I’m 46…turning 47 in May and I AM a little sensitive about aging. On the road full speed to 50. And about looking middle-aged and all…some say people in that age group are ‘invisible’ to others.  Overlooked and ignored.  UGH.  Would slimming down age me?  Or make my skin saggy and lifeless on my face or elsewhere?

Thankfully (so far) that has NOT been the case.  In fact people have commented that I look even younger now.  And my posture has improved. They say losing weight gradually and while doing weight training at the same time helps your skin ‘catch up’ with lost inches, AND you’re building muscle too in the process.

So far, it’s working!  Making regular exercise a priority was probably the most daunting aspect of this program when I first signed up.  Could I really stick with it?  Could I do the workouts?  The answer is a resounding YES all around.  I don’t always jump for joy when I head to the gym, but that’s where the ‘action before motivation’ mantra kicks in.  I DO know how great I feel after I’ve worked out.  And now I’m seeing a tiny bit of muscle definition in my arms and shoulders.  In my legs and hips.  The extra baggy cotton t-shirts I used to work out in are now replaced by snugger synthetic t-shirts or tanks.  My face has slimmed down and people have commented I need a new headshot for my jewelry business website something fierce.

Consistency is the key to success with this journey, whatever that looks like.  No flash in the pan superstar-ness is needed here.  Just regular, consistent exercise…with a change in routine and in difficulty every 4 weeks or so.

I’ll likely have more posts about what this program has provided for me as we head into the final phases.  Can’t say enough about how AWESOME and life-changing this has been for me!!!

March Goes WHOOOOSHING By….

16 Sunday Mar 2014

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Holy freaking smokes…the last couple of weeks have put me on rocket ride turbo overload!  I’ve got an adrenaline junkie streak in me no doubt, but sometimes when life kicks into surprise WHOOSH mode it’s like a rush but where the hell is my seatbelt and helmet??

I received some major kudos at work…by just doing my job! Dang and wow!  After sending out a meeting recap to a few people on one of our project teams that email somehow got forwarded to a Director and then a few notches up to our VP!  With very nice words about what I was doing.  Apparently I unknowingly hit the nail on the head on a new initiative senior leadership is working on to promote getting more ahead of the curve on certain projects.  Guess this was one of those projects! Now, I am a contractor/consultant at this job (going on one year here this week – wow), and while we are treated well as contingent workers, kudos like that are RARE.  RARE, I tell you.  It’s very much a “no news is good news” type of work environment, so I never expect to hear or read things like that!  But hey, I’ll take the compliment!

What’s going on with the Lean Eating program I started last July?  After plateau’ing with weight loss (is that a word) for a few weeks I am starting to see movement again…and in the right direction!  I’m down 29.5 lbs (13.4 kg) – !!  10 lbs lighter since Christmas time!  Holy shit I am feeling FANTASTIC!  Rockin’ confidence and sass like I haven’t in YEARS.  Being consistent and persistent with this “program” (I use “program” in quotes because it’s a lifestyle shift) is the key to success for sure.  I get up every day and read the workout I’m supposed to do, I practice the lifestyle habits, I work out 5-6 nights a week and have made incredible (but not drastic) changes in my relationship with food.  Learning what works for me – what content goes in my own personal operating manual!  People are really starting to notice.  And when I go out to eat with people I haven’t seen in a while, sometimes they’ll say “Oh, fivenineteen, you probably don’t want to share a dessert with the rest of us because of what you’re doing…”.  Or other silly assumptions like that.  Are you kidding me?  Sure, I’ll have a bite of the cake we’re ordering or a scoop of ice cream.  I don’t need a huge serving to really savor a delicious dessert, but I can have a taste if I want to…or not!

And lately, people have been seeking out my opinions on things.  Calling me the ‘voice of reason.’  WHAT??  I’m stunned!  I listen to problems and offer my perspective and viewpoint.  Empathy.  Strength.  I get this trait from my Dad actually, at risk of tooting my own horn again.

Are the changes in my body, my personality and my confidence affecting more than just my physical self?  Am I seen as happier, more outgoing…more attractive?

I think the answer is YES. No wait, I KNOW.

March comes in like a Lion…

02 Sunday Mar 2014

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…so that old saying goes, right?  Last weekend was consumed by overnight work (which my team does on a regular basis)…so while the work shift itself wasn’t super long, it hung over my head all weekend and I couldn’t mentally relax and unwind.

THIS weekend was time to let loose. You could feel the energy at work on Friday.  The sun was out and it was pretty warm outside (mid 50s!).  Ohhhh, the promise of spring!  Many people took the afternoon off just to cut loose.  After last weekend’s work, we all were ready for REAL weekends!

So much for that warm Friday afternoon…yesterday Mother Nature slapped her big ol’ reminder on us that it’s WINTER.  Wet, biting cold.  And SNOW where I ended up later!

WP_000524See the “bald spot” on the top of the ridge in the background?  That’s where I hiked on Saturday with two women from the Lean Eating program I’ve been involved in since last July!

C, G and I met in the parking lot of Issaquah High School which you can see in the picture at right.  The trail head is just a short walk away!  And the top of that ridge is called…wait for it…Poo Poo Point!  More on that later.

We were originally planning to do an urban-style easy hike (more of a walk, really) at Carkeek Park in north Seattle. But one of the women was driving in from eastern Washington, and the last hop into Seattle would have added an extra hour to her drive.  So, Issaquah it was!  Not too far off of I-90 once you head westbound over the mountains.

I was grateful C and G were open to a somewhat-later start.  We met up at 11:00am and were on our way by 11:30.  This hike was 8 miles round trip with a near 1700′ elevation gain.  We even had C’s Boxer mix, Hank, along for the journey too!  Adorable.

The trail was in great condition – a little muddy in places but nothing a good pair of hiking boots can’t handle.  MAN oh man…those switchbacks!  I got a good, stiff wakeup call that the treadmill and doing intervals at the gym is NO comparison to some good, butt-kicking uphill switchbacks.  I had to stop and catch my breath a few more times than C and G needed to and felt bad, but they were very understanding.  There was NO way we weren’t going to make it to the top!

WP_000521And the top – WOW.  This is paragliding and hang gliding heaven right here!  Too cold for any of that action today but in the summer this place is hopping!  You just run and launch right off the ridge!  No railings down there at all.

I took in the views and watched the fog roll and swirl so rapidly – kept changing by the second!

And later, it started to snow.   So beautiful!

Now, you’re probably still wondering…why the heck is it called POO POO Point?  Kinda makes you giggle a little, right?

Well, I learned that the name comes from the sound the steam whistles would make when signaling the loggers.  Yeah I guess that could sound like a POO POO of sorts?

WP_000522Now seeing THIS kinda freaked me out a little. A few other girls were there, walking WAY down the slope of the ridge and laughing, taking pictures of each other.  Ummm…NO THANKS!  That kinds of stuff makes my heart pound and not in a good way.  What was hilarious was that they were decked out in San Francisco 49ers gear head to toe.  Including red backpacks.

Am I the only one who thinks it’s a little morbidly funny that girls in 49ers gear were standing on the edge of a cliff deep in Seahawks country?  Death wish much?  I was wearing my Super Bowl XLVIII champs knit hat and hoped they noticed!  Ha ha.

It only took an hour and a half to get back down to the high school parking lot.  What an adventure!  It’s definitely one I will do again!

Later that evening I went to a party at my dear friend P’s house.  She had recently returned from an incredible few month’s of travel in Belize, Australia and New Zealand!  She cooked us food from all 3 countries (ceviche!  Kangaroo sliders!  Pavlova for dessert!).  YUM.  And had her incredible pictures displayed in a slide show on her TV.

Check out Alaskagirlatheart.com to see them for yourself!

Extra, Extra Lazy!

16 Sunday Feb 2014

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Ahhhh, bliss.  It’s a 3-day weekend and I’m feeling so lazy and luxurious!  My weekends tend to be either jam-packed full or with absolutely nothing going on.  And for nearly the past year, one weekend a month had been dedicated to work – by design.  That’s actually not been so bad – our entire team goes into the office and works two shifts spanning from around 8pm on a Saturday night through lunchtime on Sunday.  Sure, that next Monday everyone is a little groggy in the office, but we all were in it together and that makes it understandable.  And that’s the world of IT for ya – when things need to be deployed we have to work when most everyone else is asleep.

So.  Many of you know since last July I’ve been immersed in the Lean Eating program for women.  Guys, there’s a program for you too by the way!  THE best habit-based coaching I’ve ever done.  I’m learning and practicing habits I will keep for LIFE!  Amazing stuff – really and truly.

Sundays are typically the days I do grocery shopping, meal planning and food prep for the week ahead. I might still do that today even though my company has the holiday tomorrow (President’s Day).  Which is truly bizarre – I haven’t had President’s Day off in 6 years!  (Other than when I was unemployed the first half of 2010).  Yeah, I think I will still do food prep today.  Just one less lunch to prepare for the work week ahead.  I’m actually going to have lunch tomorrow with a guy I worked with over 10 years ago.  He and his wife are moving back east so this will be a sad farewell, but I’m looking forward to seeing him.

What does meal prep look like?  I may do some more detailed posts on this down the road, but it’s basically about setting yourself up for success for the week ahead.  Getting groceries and preparing food on Sunday so it’s easy to grab and go when you head out the door to go to the office or school or whatever you are doing every morning.  Who has time in the morning to chop up veggies or cook up some quinoa or steel-cut oats before heading out the door?  Maybe some of you do, but I sure don’t.  But if I spend my Sunday getting veggies chopped, cooking up a batch of quinoa and slicing and broiling up some polenta brushed with a little olive oil (which I love), then it’s easy to throw a mixture of that in a small Tupperware in the morning and throw it in my lunch bag.  Maybe with a small handful of fresh spinach on top, some baby carrots, a couple of black olives and a small blob of hummus.

I find that eating two small afternoon meals works best for me.  I do my workouts in the evenings after work, and having a small snack around 4pm makes me feel ready and confident for my upcoming workout.  Typically that late afternoon snack has been a plain nonfat Greek yogurt sprinkled with 5 or 6 walnuts, but ever since trying plant-based eating exclusively for a couple of weeks, I find that reintroducing dairy into my diet makes me feel bloated.  And gassy.  Yeesh.  Maybe I have a mild intolerance I never realized?  Who knows.  So I’ve switched to either a couple of slices of polenta or some baby carrots with hummus.

Along with trying plant-based eating, our program also had us experiment with Paleo eating.  I’ve enjoyed Paleo (also known as ‘primal’ or ‘ancestral’) eating in the past so this was nothing new to me.  But I do find that I do OK with polenta and hummus…neither of which officially is Paleo, because polenta is corn-based and hummus is legume-based.  My coach says that’s OK – what’s best for me doesn’t have to be strictly vegan or strictly Paleo, for example.  What a relief!

I do know I’ve been dropping more poundage and feeling leaner and more energetic since I’ve cut way back on grains and dairy while increasing my veggie consumption.  Do I miss grains and dairy?  Honestly, no!  Is it worth indulging, knowing I’m going to feel bloated, miserable and rip farts for a good half hour afterwards?

I don’t think so!

Vegan Week in Progress!

02 Sunday Feb 2014

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WOW!  Never thought I’d be writing those words in a post title that’s for sure!  Recently in our Lean Eating Program we were presented a challenge to try eating only plant-based foods for an entire day.  Just another experiment to try it and see how we feel!

The Lean Eating program does not promote a vegan lifestyle; rather this is something to try and play around with.  We might feel worlds better or might not feel any different – it’s just data to make note of, that’s all!  I knew I’d need more than just a day to experiment – one day of change isn’t going to make a huge difference for me. So, I challenged myself to try this for an entire week!

I have a couple of vegan cookbooks and admittedly I needed to blow the dust off.  I’m getting more confident with my cooking abilities, especially when it comes to preparing meals for the week ahead (which I usually do on Sundays) and adding more lean protein and vegetables to my meals.  Notice I said “ADD.”  The Lean Eating program is NOT a diet.  We don’t take anything away – rather, we ADD.  Things like lean protein. Veggies.  Eat slowly, pay attention to your food and stop when you’re 80% full.  Now, that’s going to show up differently day to day and even meal to meal.  That’s OK.

What does plant-based eating mean?  It means lots of fruits and veggies.  No animal products – meat, fowl, seafood, dairy, cheese are not part of it.  Protein comes from sources like quinoa or tempeh.  And so much more!

One of my favorite vegan cookbooks is The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen, by Donna Klein.  I absolutely adore foods from the Mediterranean region already.  The recipes in this cookbook are vegan by design.  Meaning, they’ve always been that way.  There are no artificial meats or cheeses incorporated into the recipes.  Nothing wrong with them, however I just don’t like their textures and tastes personally from what I’ve tried.

Donna Klein explains how in many parts of the Mediterranean things like meat, seafood and butter are scarce and expensive.  Rare delicacies.  So, simply use what bounty there already is!  Actually, she explains it far better than the way I just wrote it.  But you get the idea.

The beauty of vegan cooking is that you can use many of the entrees as side dishes too.

Here are a couple of my favorites – first, Wild Mushrooms in Garlic Sauce.  This is great as an appetizer, side dish or small first course for 4-6 people:

  • 1 pound medium fresh wild or cremini mushrooms, washed and stemmed
  • 3 T extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic; 3 finely chopped, 1 whole
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1 1/2 T)
  • 1 T finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Dry the mushrooms with paper towels.  In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot but not sizzling.  Add the whole garlic clove and cook, stirring for one minute.  Add the mushrooms and cook, tossing and stirring constantly until lightly browned and barely soft, 4-5 minutes.  Do not allow mushrooms to release their own juices.

Remove from the heat and add the remaining garlic, lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper; toss well to combine.  Transfer to a serving platter or individual plates and serve warm or at room temperature.

See how simple these ingredients are?  And it’s a simply delicious recipe!  So quick and easy!

And here’s one more…Persian Cucumber and Tomato Salad (serves 4):

  • 1 1/2 lbs ripe tomatoes, cored, seeded and chopped
  • 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
  • 1 large red onion, chopped
  • 1/2 C fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
  • 1/2 C fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • 1 bunch scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
  • 2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 3 T extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 T fresh lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 T fresh lime juice
  • Salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and toss well to combine.  Let stand for 15 minutes at room temperature to allow flavors to blend.  Toss again.

Serve at room temperature, or cover and chill at least 1 hour and serve chilled.

This recipe is also great with some black olive and chickpeas, stuffed in pita bread for a fantastic sandwich.

Anyway, I’m having a blast with this experiment…I think Paleo/Primal is up next for us in a few days, so I’ll see if re-introducing meats makes me feel any different.

When I first tried plant-based eating I was worried I’d miss eggs.  Eggs have become a staple for me, mostly as a light dinner when I get home from the gym. I scramble them in a little olive oil and toss in some diced red bell pepper, minced garlic and some fresh spinach.  Now I sauté up the veggies and serve with a small side of red or brown quinoa.

I also enjoy a little quinoa during the day with some chopped veggies I bring with me to work for lunch in a Tupperware.  I used to have some low-fat cottage cheese or plain nonfat Greek yogurt, but now it’s quinoa and/or a little hummus.  I’ve also tried rice but I find it gives me almost a type of sugar blast and crash, so I tend to avoid it.

What else is in my fridge these days?

  • Tomatoes
  • Onions
  • Potatoes
  • Fresh Spinach
  • Scallions (green onions)
  • Red Bell Pepper
  • Flat leaf parsley
  • Cilantro
  • Mushrooms
  • Hummus
  • Carrots
  • …and in the pantry I’ve stocked up on olives.

So far, so good! I feel great and full of energy!  Buon appetito!

Minus 20

26 Sunday Jan 2014

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…as in POUNDS LOST, not temperature – well, at least not in this part of the world thankfully!

Yep, I’m officially 20 pounds lighter this week.  That’s about 9.1kg.  Since last July I’ve been completely overhauling myself.  Changing nutrition (and, really, changing my relationship with food) and getting regular exercise.  Weight training.  Cardio.  Core/plank work.  Lunges and squats.  I’m pushing myself more and more with each workout.  I was a little scared to at first because I didn’t want to injure myself.  But I’m learning the balance between training slightly out of your comfort zone and pushing too hard risking injury.  And I’m learning I’m stronger than I ever thought I was!  I CAN DO THIS!

And I swear this will be the last ‘program’ I ever do.  I’m learning lifelong habits I can live with!  We even had a mini ‘test’ of sorts a few weeks ago where they did not indicate any workouts to do for an entire week.  Sure, it’s easy to follow along when you have your workout online each day, but what about when no one’s directing you?  That was a great week actually…I didn’t freak out and stayed on path with regular workouts on my own!  Hooray!

And I got a good shocker/reminder of what 20 pounds is.  I use 15 pound dumbbells for some of my arm presses and flys, but hadn’t picked up a 20 pound dumbbell.  So, one night in the weight room I did.  And I was shocked.  I held the weight in my hand and noticed how heavy it felt…how much it pulled down that side of my body.  That was weight I was carrying around 24/7 on my BODY!  Oh my God!

I’m on a roll and there’s no stopping me!

Hello, 2014!!!

12 Sunday Jan 2014

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YES! How joyous it was to toss 2013 into the recycling bin (the calendar tossing is SO symbolic to me) and start a new year off fresh!  Some of you who tune in here regularly know how the last part of 2013 went right into the crapper.  The break up with J.  My Grandmother’s passing.  My nephew’s scary hospitalization for 2 weeks after not feeling so great at Thanksgiving.  And that was just November!  [My nephew is fine now, thank the Lord…he came down with an auto-immune disease and had a 17 hour transfusion of antibodies flushed through his little 6-year-old body to fight it off and to get that 104 degree fever down.]  Scary and stressful…

So now it’s a new year and I couldn’t be happier!  Happy for fresh starts and happy to get back to the routine.  The holidays are done, whew.  They were brutal last month and I went through it all in a sad, numb fog.

Many people love the ritual of starting new and better habits with new years resolutions, but I am overjoyed that my exercise and nutrition habit is 6 months old already! So January is a turbo boost to all of that…I’m going to be amazing this year and finish up this year-long program fabulously!  Yes, the gym sure gets packed this time of year!  Soon it will thin out again to us regulars.  And I’m proud to call myself an evening regular there too.  Nice to nod and smile at the familiar faces every night.

So, not a whole lot of profound ramblings today…I’m just happy, content and getting reset after the sadness of November and December.  I’m so happy that’s all in the rear view mirror now.   I’m feeling back to being Me again.

Cheers to 2014, everyone!