Making Excuses for Myself

That is what I am doing today. I'm not one for making excuses, but I actually have a good one.

Yesterday afternoon I sat in the dentist chair for two hours. First, I think if anyone sits in a dentist chair for any amount of time you should get to do whatever you want. It can be completely traumatizing. Sorry to any of you that may be dental professionals, but it just isn't my favorite place to hang out. I have a great dentist. She is super nice and is really great at what she does. Her office also gives free pedicures while you are getting worked on....no lie. My toes look so cute today.

I'm in the process of getting some crowns replaced. I will be making a few more lengthy visits in the next few weeks. The bottom line is, I left the dentist after two hours of drilling at 6:30PM. My face was numb, my head was pounding and I was just in a flat out bad mood. Nothing sounded appetizing, but I was starving. Starving to the point of dizziness. The idea of chewing made me cringe. I needed something soft and easy.

Jamba juice popped into mind, but I had already had my fruit for the day.

What to do....

What to do....

Then it hit me. Tomato soup. I love tomato soup. The Mr. had been talking for days about the tomato soup he had been eating at the hospital. Apparently he makes it himself somehow. That is another story. I sat and pondered a little bit more... What place has the best tomato soup in the world?

Panera.

That was it. I was done. The minute the idea popped in my head I was a goner. I waited for the Mr. to get home, I looked at him with my "feel sorry for me my mouth hurts bad" face and we jumped in the car.

It was not paleo. I knew that. But I did know that all 370 calories and 23 grams of fat of that creamy tomato soup made my mouth feel so much better. Seriously, creamy tomato soup is not the worst you could do....right? This morning I thought I would take a gander at what exactly was in the soup I ate. Normally I never have to wonder what is in what I'm eating. Chicken is chicken, almonds are almonds and cucumbers are cucumbers.

Here is what was in my soup:

Creamy Tomato Soup (tomatoes [tomatoes, tomato puree, salt, citric acid], water, cream [cream, milk], onions, seasoning [sugar, modified corn starch, salt, spices], butter [cream, water], corn syrup [light corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, salt, vanilla], pure olive oil, garlic puree [fresh garlic, citric acid], Croutons (unbleached enriched flour [wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], water, Asiago crouton mix [margarine {soybean oil, water, mono- and diglycerides, salt, whey, soy lecithin, sodium benzoate, natural and artificial flavor, vitamin A palmitate, beta carotene (color), asiago cheese [pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes], contains less than 2% dehydrated garlic and onion, spices and salt], enriched durum wheat flour [durum flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], Asiago cheese [pasteurized milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes], enriched semolina wheat flour [semolina, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], Parmesan cheese [pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes], salt, Romano cheese [pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes], yeast, dough conditioners [ascorbic acid, microcrystalline cellulose, corn starch]).

Maybe I won't make any excuses anymore. That ingredient list straight up shocked me. Sheesh! I think I will just try to make my own from now on....

I Did Some Research

I found a couple websites that are going to teach me how to cook eggplant. Apparently I was doing it all wrong. In my defense, I'm an eggplant newbie. I will try again. I'm not giving up. Here are some websites with some good tips on how to prepare eggplant in different ways:

How to Cook Eggplant to Tender, Silky Perfection
Learning How to Cook Eggplant
Best Ways to Cook and Prepare Eggplant

There you go. Have some fun with the reading. Go buy some eggplant and try it this week. I will probably make another go at it after I use up the rest of my veggies.

I Had a Theory...

...that anything would taste good if it was roasted in olive oi and garlic. Seriously, garlic is a life saver. I don't want to say I would eat garlic by itself, but I actually might. I love it that much. Last night I had the last of my grilled turkey cutlets and roasted some eggplant. Instead of using olive oil I used avocado oil. The bottle said it was supposed to be good on salads and tomatoes so I assumed that meant it would be good on roasted eggplant as well. Hmmmm....

I'm not sure where I went wrong. I have had eggplant before, but I grilled it on my George. Maybe roasting eggplant isn't the way to go? It got very mushy, but it was a spongy mushy. Off the grill it had a firmer texture which I enjoyed more. Or maybe it was the avocado oil? Maybe I should have stuck with the EVOO. The garlic was wonderful...nothing went wrong there!

Needless to say, I had to force myself to choke down my veggies last night. That is the worst feeling. Maybe I just thought I liked eggplant last time I had it? Maybe I like the idea of eggplant more than the actual act of eating eggplant?

They are a gorgeous looking vegetable. Anyone have some suggestions on how to prepare this little wonder? I want to really branch out with my veggies and I'm very disappointed in my taste buds today!

Saturday Night...Oh No

I normally eat very clean. I'm usually spot on during the week. Saturday nights, however, have gradually become a different story. I don't go crazy, but I do splurge. I think this is completely healthy and many times necessary so you can stay pumped up about eating clean. If it becomes a tedious task and something you dread then why are you going to continue doing it?

This Saturday is different. This Saturday is the first Saturday during the challenge. This Saturday night I'm without the Mr. who is working. He would never know. I could totally go steal some of his oatmeal or string cheese right now. I could be sneaky...

Nope. Not going to happen. Why? Because I just grilled up 1.5 pounds of turkey cutlets. Yum. I really do love those things. Super lean and a nice change from a turkey burger. Plus, I have a fridge full of fresh veggies. I have a good variety so I can keep it different this week. On Friday I purchased eggplant, asparagus, squash, and some cucumbers. Cucumbers with salsa are a great treat if you are craving something crunchy. Treat them like your chips!

What is your Saturday night routine? What "treat" are you going to miss this most while keeping it clean? After almost a full week of the challenge, are you craving anything? Pay attention to how you feel. Find ways to fight the urge to splurge.

On a different note, I'm climbing 50 flights of stairs next Saturday with the CrossFit Jenks team in the American Lunch Association's 2010 Fight For Air Climb. I need to raise $100 in a week. Yikes! Here is the link to my donation page if you are interested in supporting me.

Keep up the good fight!

Don't Neglect....

...Your bed!

I preach about this a lot and I'm not always the best about keeping it in good practice. Get your sleep! I need to take my own advice this week. My life right now is in a bit of a whirlwind. We are gearing up for our move to Michigan. That means lots of free time is spent cleaning out closets, boxing up stuff, cleaning and trying to get our house ready to sell. Not to mention, the Mr. is working nights in the ICU which means even if I do get in bed a decent hour, I wake up when he gets home. On top of this, I'm working my full time job, training for regionals and trying to get in my eight plus hours of sleep a night.

This week it has not been happening.....

I've been lucky to get in six and a half hours. I'm not a girl that functions well on lack of sleep. I need my full eight or more. I am not writing this so you will feel sorry for me. I am writing this because I need to remind myself that the one thing I absolutely cannot neglect is my sleep!

You're eating clean, you are getting in your exercise, but are you ruining all of it by not getting your shut eye? The body is an amazing thing. The next few nights challenge yourself to get at least eight hours. I promise you will feel a difference.

Take the TV out of your bedroom and cut the caffeine out before bed. I hope you are cutting most caffeine out of your diet anyway! If you are not, don't have it with dinner. It will make a difference.

Here are few great articles on the importance of sleep. I promise it is just as important as your diet and workout routine. Maybe even more important. We put our bodies through a lot. Give it the rest it needs and deserves.

Six Reasons Not to Scrimp on Sleep
How Sleep Works - This one has some pretty interesting info!
How Fatigue Can Negatively Affect Your Athletic Performance
The Importance of Sleep for Athletic Performance - Good sleeping tips in this one!

Angie:
In response to your question about almond butter, I try to keep it to a serving (2 tablespoons) which is extremely difficult because I L.O.V.E. almond butter. Of course, I might eat my almond butter with three different meals as my fat. I like to spread it on cut up apples or just eat it with a spoon. Don't worry, I don't share my jar with anyone else! Complete sanitary, right?

Stir Fry Prep!

Like I said in my last post, the Mr. and I spent Monday getting prepped and ready for the paleo/zone challenge. Since I have been doing paleo since last August, I have a pretty easy time just cooking my protein and figuring out what carbs (veggies or fruit) I'm going to eat with my protein. The Mr., on the other hand, is the kind of person that needs it to be easy. Since he has a busy, unpredictable schedule sometimes he needs to be able to have snacks and meals ready to go. He is zoning, but trying to keep his carbs mainly veggies with little fruit. He is not giving up dairy.

To help him out we spent the day chopping veggies and cooking chicken to make ready to go stir fry that he can grab out of the freezer and just heat! It was his idea. So smart. Here is what we did:

He chopped and chopped veggies. We ended up with three huge Pyrex bowls full of squash, zucchini, red and green peppers, onion, mushrooms, carrots and spinach.















I was in charge of the protein. My specialty! I had a five pound package of chicken that only cost me $9.50! Ziploc bags are also a must when portioning out your snacks. We stocked up.















This is my George...my best friend. Look at all that fat it gets rid of. Marvelous! I love my lean, mean grilling machine.















The finished product! We made thirteen freezer bags full of six ounces of protein and three cups of veggies! We used the chicken I cooked and also some frozen mini shrimp and scallops.















If you are interested to know what meal that I eat looks like, here is today's breakfast. I have a four ounce chicken breast, a half cup of black berries, my glorious jar of almond butter and a full bottle of water. I have a bag of three cups of veggies including celery, carrots, tomatoes and cucumber that I will munch on during lunch and throughout the day. Prepared!

Let The Games Begin!

Yesterday was the official kick off for the CrossFit Jenks Paleo/Zone 12 Week Challenge. We all know I love a good challenge. I'm not in it to win the money, but I did get all my measurements taken so I can see the before and after. I was pleasantly surprised to know my weight has stayed steady since the end of my two month strict challenge last year. I hardly ever step on a scale. I despise scales. If my clothes fit and I feel strong then I am happy. Numbers mess with your head too much. The only numbers I care about are my PR's.

Yesterday, the Mr. and I ventured to the store to stock up for the next two weeks. Luckily, I had the day off on Monday so I was able to get prepared. Keep that word in your mind during this challenge everyone...preparation! If you are prepared you cannot be defeated! If you leave yourself open to go off course sooner or later it will happen.

Every other Sunday is now food prep day! The Mr. has two weeks worth of lunches prepped in the freezer. Individual servings of stir fry! Too cool. I have pictures to post later tonight. Very exciting stuff.

Since I had the day off, yesterday was a little bit odd. We slept in (I never get to do that) so breakfast happened about 10:30. By the time we got back from the store and done prepping it was almost 3PM. I had not had lunch and was going to be going to be doing "Fran" in about two hours! I was feeling week and needed food pronto. Honestly, yesterday I ate about half of what I should have quantity wise. I managed to hit a decent PR on Fran. Amazing what you can make your body do when you don't let it stop. I will admit, I was not expecting anything great after the weekend of Easter goodies and a Mexican meal of quesadills on Sunday evening. Sheesh. Can't wait to see what happens in 12 weeks.

Good luck everyone! Feel free to post questions, thoughts, random comments of joy or frustration on this blog! Give it a couple weeks to start feeling normal. Don't give up. You can do it! Your body will thank you!