Eating fewer processed foods

I'm making an attempt this week (and on-going?) to eat fewer processed foods, and also limit my intake on white carbs, sugars that aren't from a piece of fruit I'm eating, and dairy. While I eat well in general compared to a stereotypical American diet, I'm curious to see if I will notice any significant transformations without changing my current levels of activity.

I think this is the first completely balanced meal I've made in years, and it was pretty simple to throw together:

1) Lemony Quinoa - My first time eating quinoa. It's similar in size to couscous, and I hate eating small grains because they're harder to shovel into my mouth (though quinoa is technically a seed). Since I didn't make the recipe as specified (I cooked the celery and onions), I won't criticize this dish too much... basically it was perfectly acceptable, but I didn't love it. Maybe I needed more lemon or something, it just lacked oomph.

2) Baked Kale Chips - Much better than expected. My first time cooking with kale. The end result reminded me of dried seaweed, but none of the sea/fishy taste. I misted the kale with one of those aerosol-style oil sprays.

3) Baked tilapia - Just defrosted a piece of frozen tilapia, misted with the aerosol-oil with some pepper and dried dill seasoning. Baked for approx 10 minutes at 350. I was pleased with the result for the minimal effort required.

I did have a slight failure this evening though. I've been planning to make some chocolate tofu pudding for weeks and had all the ingredients in the fridge. The recipe is from the same vegan cookbook I've been trying out, and it's a great recipe that's just bittersweet chocolate, organic cane sugar, and soft silky tofu.

Here's a very similar recipe from the New York Times - just a fancier version with more flavors.

Mexican Chocolate Tofu Pudding

3/4 cup sugar
1 pound silken tofu
8 ounces high-quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon chili powder, or more to taste
Chocolate shavings (optional).

1. In a small pot, combine sugar with 3/4 cup water; bring to a boil and cook until sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally. Cool slightly.

2. Put all ingredients except for chocolate shavings in a blender and purée until completely smooth, stopping machine to scrape down its sides if necessary. Divide among 4 to 6 ramekins and chill for at least 30 minutes. If you like, garnish with chocolate shavings before serving.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Week 22 Workouts

Sunday - Nothing.

Monday - Jackie Warner Power Circuit DVD. Basic weight training of all major muscle groups. I break a sweat and my muscles are sore, but overall an "easy" workout in the sense that it's not a cardio video too.

This video has one exercise that I've not seen on my other DVDs -- you do a wide stance squat (sumo squat) and hold that position, hands reach to your ears or behind your head with elbows bent, and then you just crunch over side to side working the obliques. I feel so broken trying to do this exercise, like my lower back and abs are too weak and locked to make the movement fluid.

Tuesday - 4 miles out & back on Scripps Poway Parkway. This is one of the easier runs I do (minimal hills, and the hills it does have are not steep) and it was just horrendously difficult today. My body felt stiff everywhere and when I finally felt my gait and muscles become comfortable half-way through, I then crapped out on energy and thought I was going to have to walk. I need to eat protein & complex carbs tomorrow morning before run; a banana, some nuts, and a Zone bar just really didn't cut it today. The Zone bar is not a part of my intended diet, but I was running late this morning and I have some laying around the house.

Wednesday - 3.5 mile trail run, but walked the hill back to office at the end. Breakfast of eggs with salsa on a whole wheat tortilla sustained me slightly better today. Limbs felt loose and limber. But somehow I became nauseous just prior while sitting in a meeting, so overall still another crummy run. I think I need to incorporate a mid-morning snack because I became really hungry again half-way through run and have spent the last 2 hours feeling dizzy and weak despite having quinoa+tilapia, an orange, an apple, and some mixed nuts. Grr.

Thursday - 30 minutes of balance ball exercises in a gym class (ab workout). Did a quick 1.5 miles on treadmill afterward to get a little cardio in. Nothing was too strenuous and everything felt fine.

Friday - Back on the 3.5 mile trail run. I think it must be hideously hot today, I became really dehydrated and ill. Had to walk the majority of the way back (which is not normal for me). Need to up my water intake.

Saturday - Just 30 minutes of weight lifting from one of the Chalean Extreme DVDs. Didn't push myself, just wanted to use my muscles a little bit first thing in the morning. Her methodology is heavier weights with slower reps and complete muscle failure.

Running shoes

Went to Road Runner Sports to get fitted for new running shoes today. They do the whole get-up where you run on a treadmill and it records on a video so it can be played slower and your gait can be assessed. They also have some device where you stand on a mat and it does a digital graph of your arches and whether you distribute weight on one foot more than other (I put 63% of my weight on the left side of my body/foot apparently).

They said I'm pronating a little on my right ankle, but overall my gait is straight and there isn't anything super wrong. The catch with RR is that they're constantly pushing their "custom insoles" that cost $80 (I noticed they pitched them to every single customer). I passed on those, but gave into letting them sell me the "generic" insoles from SuperFeet. My right leg occasionally can feel a little tweaked when jogging, so I'm willing to give the insoles a try.

I ended up with Frankenstein-colored Saucony Fastwitch shoes. Otherwise, I would have stuck with Nike Free's (which they also recommended for me), but I've used those for years now and want to try something new.

I actually was trying to find the Vibram 5-Fingers to buy, but neither RR nor REI next door had the ones I wanted in stock.

Basic Apple Muffins

Based on the proportions outlined in The Best of Vegan Cooking I made apple muffins for breakfast for the rest of this week (if they last that long). The recipe below is how I made it and is not vegan and I made my own substitutions and additions based on what I had available.

I only measured the dry ingredients, and just eye-balled my measurements for the wet ingredients. I also splashed in some brewed tea that was sitting in a cup because I needed the batter a little more wet, but I don't think it changed the flavor either way.

Jumbo Apple Muffins

1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. white flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c sugar (recipe originally called for 1 c. sugar, but 1/2 was sufficient for me)
1 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 milk (I just threw some nonfat dried milk and 3/4 cup of water into the bowl)
1/2 c. plain yogurt
1/4 c. canola oil
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
1 c. chopped apples (I recommend peeling the skin, did a mix of a Granny Smith & Gala)

1. Set oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.
3. Add wet ingredients into same bowl (except apples) and stir until combined.
4. Stir in diced apples.
5. Pour batter into a 6-unit mini-bundt pan loaf (or oversized muffin tin). You could also use a regular 12-unit muffin tin, but cooking time may change. I cooked for 20 minutes.

DIY Furniture

I'm moving next month (only have a 6 month lease in my current yuppie-plex). Assuming I am able to rent a small house, I am starting to think about what junk I want to fill it with.

I am terrible at interior design, but I think I can handle making something like this vanity. The hippie in me likes the idea of finding random scraps of junk to recycle into usable furniture.

Picture from The Selby

Week 21 Workouts

Something I've picked up from my job is thinking about milestones in terms of which week number we're in for the year (this week is Week 21). Since I also plan my workouts based on the week, I'm going to try and maintain records of my efforts.

Week 21 is not starting off normally since I was traveling the last 4 days.

Sunday - Nothing.

Monday - Nothing. Still recovering from travel, though I had intentions of doing a pilates DVD.

Tuesday - 3.5 mile trail run. Legs feel stiff and weak.

Wednesday - 3.5 miles (same run as yesterday). Definitely went faster and felt better today.

Thursday - 1 hour of pilates mat work, following the sequence in The Pilates Body. I never would have thought reading a book describing pilates exercises would be useful, but the descriptions are excellent. Obviously it helps that I've taken many pilates mat classes in my life, but still, this book manages to succinctly point out every part of your body that needs to be engaged and noticed while doing specific exercises. My pilates forms are weak right now and I need to practice more.

Friday - Nothing.

Saturday - 5 mile run around Lake Miramar. Uneventful, didn't feel fantastic, didn't feel awful.

Austin Eats

Had an extremely delicious weekend of eating in Austin.

- Three visits to Mi Madre's for breakfast tacos
- Goat milk & caramel ice cream from Amy's (called Cajeta on the flavor board)
- Southern side dishes of mac & cheese, fried okra, and collard greens from Threadgills
- Glass of Malbec from The Driskill Bar & Lounge
- Napolitano-style pizza from Salvation Pizza

I already miss it all.

Run - 3.8 mi

Friday, May 14 run

Legs still feel fatigued 2 days later. Gmaps Pedometer says this route is 9.5 miles.

I ran 7 of these miles (the first 2 miles were predominantly up-hill, the other 5 were flat around the lake), and walked the last 2 back to work.

Greek Egg Lemon Soup - Avgolemono

I made the Moosewood version of a Greek egg-lemon soup today, which Google tells me is called an Avgolemono. I'm guessing this is some sort of Greek comfort food, it was shockingly delicious and easy to make.

I want to try this version below that "A cook from Boston" posted on Epicurious, which calls for more lemon and more egg than I used.

Other main differences that Moosewood version has:

- Used rice that was already cooked that you just added in after the egg mixture

- Added small pieces of chopped broccoli, diced red pepper, and dill for seasoning

- Eggs were not separated, you just beat the entire egg together

Soupa Avgolemono

8 c. homemade chicken stock
1 c. orzo
4 eggs separated
Juice of 3 lemons
Fresh ground black pepper

This recipe will make a perfectly balanced salty, rich, filling, comforting soup. Boil broth, add orzo and simmer until tender 20 min.

Whip whites until medium peaks, add yolks beating continuously, add juice, beating.

Temper eggs with 2 c. broth, adding in constant slow stream while continuing to beat furiously so you do not curdle the eggs.

Add egg mixture back to remaining broth and serve. When reheating, do not re-boil - heat slowly until very warm or you may curdle the eggs.

Garnish with thinly sliced lemon.

I sometimes add more than juice of 3 lemons, as the sourness is the best part of the taste! You should taste lemon, richness of eggs, salt of chicken, and starch of rice, in that order and you've made it perfectly. You can also add thin pieces of shredded chicken meat (pull off bone in strips), although classic recipes don't include chicken, vegetables, garlic or any of the ingredients many reviewers added to "fix" this recipe. Try mine and you'll be hooked for life! by A Cook from Boston, MA on 11/02/02