Run the Edge
Run the Year 2017

Fun in the kitchen

This blog was originally started to share my creations, recipes, trials, and errors in the kitchen. So, here's a little addition just about food. One of the results as well as the goal of this Advocare journey is that I want to get back in the kitchen and making real food, instead of just grabbing whatever is convenient when I'm too hungry to cook. So far I've been relatively successful. One thing I've done recently is make a big smoothie mixture and freeze it in a few different, portable containers to take to work and then have as my lunch. After work (I finish around noon every day) I am always starving but that's also the time I usually want to go to the gym and run. If I go home and eat I usually fall asleep and/or eat too much so I don't feel much like running after that. In order to avoid both scenarios, I've been really trying to take something with me to work to eat after the kids leave but with enough time still before I run to make sure it's all settled and digested. So far, a smoothie seems like the best of both worlds. All the liquid makes me feel full, I don't usually crave anything else afterwards, and it's easy for my body to digest enough that running 30-45 minutes later is no problem. Plus, I can get veggies, protein, and some fruity carbs in all at once! Win-Win! Unfortunately I don't have any good recipes, I've just been dumping this in to the Vitamix and seeing what happens. So far, none have been magically delicious enough to post about or record, but generally I start with some water mixed with coconut milk (the kind in the carton, not the kind in the can), then add some greens (broccoli and kale currently but I'll probably move to spinach next), then a frozen banana and some frozen berries/fruit too. If it needs more liquid to blend I add more water and/or ice. Then see what happens :)

My other experiments lately involve more food. I have been playing with my new Vitamix and have made two nut butters recently. I made almond butter a couple days ago and last night I had fun with making Cashew butter. It turned out really creamy and I can't wait to find a fun recipe to use it.Yum!

Beyond that, I've also been trying to find a good meal for dinner that doesn't use any type of carb. Even quinoa is considered a complex carb according to Advocare, so that has been difficult for me. I enjoy quinoa and it has protein and amino acids, which as a vegetarian, is really important to find those in a natural food source. Last week I riced cauliflower and used that, but it got really soggy the next day. So, this time I tried using a spaghetti squash as the base for my meal. I really like spaghetti squash and find that it is really easy to make, as long as I plan ahead for the 45 minutes of cooking and 10+ minutes to cool enough to handle. But other than that, it's rather easy and not at all labor intensive (except trying to cut it in half!). I used coconut oil on the pan this time, when usually I just spray it with a cooking spray. Not sure if that was what caused it or not, but the strands came out pretty soft and smooshy this time, not quite as hard and 'noodle' like as usual. Could also have been the squash itself, I don't think they're exactly in season right now.

 So, like I said, cut the squash in half, remove the seeds, then put in on a cookie sheet cut side down (I have it facing up in the pic just to show how it looked when done) in the oven for about 45 minutes at 400 degrees. Then, let it sit for about 10 minutes to cool. After that just scrape out the strands using a fork. I just dumped the strands from both halves in to a bowl.

 While cooling, throw some veggies in to a pan and get 'em cookin! Here I used the peppers and onion mix I love, with added broccoli and carrots. I admit that I added a little shake of fajita seasoning to give it a kick, but it's not really needed. Also, I had bought a frozen mix of 'mexican' style veggies so I put that in the microwave to steam a little. It was really corn heavy with some peppers, onions, and black beans. It had no added seasonings, I triple checked! Be careful of those 'steam ready' veggies in the frozen aisle. A lot of them already have seasonings and sauces which are just added calories and sodium! Totally unnecessary!!

 Anyways, enough of my soap box! So when all the veggies are done to your liking (I like a little brown when sauteing) just toss them in to the bowl with the spaghetti squash! At this point the squash had been sitting in the bowl for a while so adding the veggies straight from the pan and mixing it all up helped to make the whole thing nice and warm again, but if you can time it better than I did then mixing and eating while hot is probably better.

All mixed up, I just dished some out in to a bowl, and of course topped with some cubed avocado and a hearty scoop of salsa to finish it off. Later I realized I had forgot two very important ingredients - olives and cilantro!!! I have a bunch of cilantro in the fridge and it would have really completed this dish nicely but I have plenty of leftovers still to eat so you can bet I'll be adding some later! Overall it was really yummy and fun to make. I love making dishes like this because they are really easy and super great to experiment with. If you have other veggies on hand, throw those in too! Or use them instead! Don't like peppers? No problem! Need to use up some zucchini? saute it and throw that in as well. Or do it totally different and let me know what you think works well with spaghetti squash!

Phase 2 or the "Max Phase"

So glad to be done with the cleanse phase! Basically because this means no more Fiber Drink!!! Woohoooooo!!!
It does mean, though, that now breakfast is the protein shake instead of real food. On one hand, I like that because often making and sitting down to eat a full, healthy breakfast has made me almost late for work all last week. Yes, I know, I could always get up earlier and have more time, but that just didn't seem to work out those days.

Fortunately, I really like the chocolate protein shake mix that I got in this package. Even mixed with only water, it comes out really creamy and yummy. I've even considered trying it with hot water instead of cold and seeing if it comes out like hot cocoa. If/when I try it I'll be sure to report :) I have high hopes and expectations for this phase, it's supposed to be the 'weight loss' part of this whole process. As of day 1 of phase two (so a completed 10 days of the 'cleanse' and one day of 'max phase) I'm only down 5 pounds. I try to tell myself that it's a good solid number, a healthy amount of weight loss for just under two weeks, and a legitimate weight loss not simply water weight. On the other hand, I admit that I'm really disappointed with that number. I take it as a challenge, though, to do better and up my game. I know I can do better and stick with the plan and modify my eating to increase my weight loss and decrease the number on the scale. 

The 'recipe' I've come up with for breakfast during the first phase was really good and I'd just bought a bunch of eggs, which I wouldn't be using now that it's Shakes only for the next two weeks, so I recreated it for lunch yesterday. Sooooo good! I figured I'd share it here. It's pretty much the same thing I've talked about before but I've made a few modifications in the last couple of days to increase the tastiness! Usually, when I have eggs, they're just scrambled with some seasonings, topped with cheese, smothered with ketchup, and eaten atop toast. Well, I am not eating cheese or ketchup now so I've really struggled with making my eggs just as tasty and delicious as usual. My topping of choice now is salsa but it kept making everything soggy and a weird texture so I've been playing around and this is my new favorite way of eating eggs :)

 I begin with some peppers and onions in a pan. I've been using frozen because it is really easy and pretty cheap, especially when the veggies are out of season and getting pricy. While those are sauteing (no oil or anything needed) I threw in some broccoli and a little bit of kale too. Then when that's pretty much cooked through, pour over the eggs. Here is two whites and one full egg all stirred up. But, you could do any combination, using two or more eggs depending on your preference and the amount desired.

And let it cook! Then when it's almost cooked through (pretty solid but still shiny on top) I give it a little flip. Sometimes I can do it all at once like a pancake but usually it falls a part a little, like it did here. I have found that letting it burn  brown a little on the bottom takes the taste up a notch. While that's cooking, I smash up an avocado and put it on some toast. Here is left over 'guacamole' from the night before (an avocado mixed with a forkful of salsa) which is why it looks a little on the brown side.

Then, when the egg is cooked all the way, lay it on top of the delicious toast with guac, add a touch more salsa if desired, and dig in!! The eggs don't have much flavor on their own, but all those veggies, the crispness from the salsa, and the fatty goodness of the avocado all come together to make it delicious. Truth be told, this is a FULL breakfast and usually makes me feel totally stuffed. I enjoyed it for lunch yesterday and it held me over for a few hours just fine. It would be good probably later in the day too but without the toast to cut out carbs after mid-day (one of my goals here too). Enjoy :D

Day 10 - Phase One Done!

Today is Day 10 so I am officially done with the cleanse phase today. Know what that means?? No more Fiber Drink!!!!!!!!! That, in and of itself is great news worthy of celebration. I drank the whole thing this morning and almost didn't make it. I have to admit, though, after drinking that and eating breakfast I was STUFFED. So, guess it works. After that, I had a salad for lunch (at Panera of course, it is Sunday after all) and that made me feel super stuffed too. I still felt like eating something sweet and yummy but I resisted and that is one of my biggest achievements from this whole experience. But, I'm not done yet! Ahead of me is 14 more days of Phase Two, which I hope to be super effective. I want to lose weight! Now!! I know the whole "thigh gap" thing is not in my future but I'd really like to not have any more cottage cheese going on down there. So here's to a successful next two weeks!

I haven't felt like I've had anything worth posting the last few days, mainly because every day has been really weird and not at all sticking to my plan/schedule. Unfortunately that has also meant my eating has been a little all over the place too. Personally, I think I've still made good choices and stuck with the principle of the 'cleanse' but the scale does not seem to agree. Friday the hubs wanted Chinese food, so we went out. I got a tofu and mixed veggie dish with a little brown rice. Saturday we went in to Atlanta and had lunch at IKEA. There, I love the meatballs but haven't had those in a looooooong time. Fortunately they have some options and I had a tomato and veggie soup with a small side salad. Dinner was at Panera before we hit the road to head home, and there I had a cup of black bean soup with a half of the classic salad. It was delicious! Today at Panera I had my usual Thai Chopped Chicken salad sans the Chick.

Overall, I do feel better and don't feel quite so bloated and icky as often. So.... that's good :) We'll see what happens next!

And in other news, I've been working on a project for my friend who just bought a house. Her colors are yellow and grey so I made a little lap blanket/afghan. It turned out cute. If I'd have used my time better I could have bade it bigger but oh well. :)

 I laid it out on one of my blankets to evaluate the size and arrange the squares. I ended up finishing the border in the car so I didn't get a good picture of the whole thing laying down but imagine the two pictures combined and you can get the picture :)

One of my purchases at IKEA was this cute jar so of course I had to use it! So, today I made some almond butter using my new Vitamix I got for Christmas. Super yummy!!!!!! Made a AB&J sandwich for the hubs and he loved it. He said that's the way he always wants it from now on :)

Day 5

Half way done with the cleanse!! Woohoo!! Best part so far? No more fiber drink for a few more days!!! That thing was the worst... could never quite finish it to be honest. Also, I'm really enjoying the Spark drinks. Even considering ordering more of those to have on hand after this whole thing is done. Not sure it's healthier than coffee, especially since it's been pretty much proven that all those extra vitamins are pointless and just get peed out, but we'll see. Oh, and speaking of peeing... I can not seem to drink the recommended amount of water every day, and when I even get close I have to pee every 20 minutes! Ok, maybe that's an exaggeration but it feels like that sometimes.

And along those lines of TMI :) I'm finding that the herbal cleanse pills are not as bad as I had thought. Taking them at bed time is definitely a good thing, except that every morning I wake up with a stomach ache. Obviously, that means it's doing what it's supposed to and it goes away quickly after the pills 'work' but still, it's not pleasant.

Biggest down side that I've noticed so far: I just feel so tired these last few days. It may be totally unrelated but still frustrating. Forces me, though, to focus on my food for energy and nutrition instead of just comfort and making bad decisions because I'm tired. Other downside is the bloating and icky feelings I had from the fiber drink and cleanse pills. I know that that is part of the territory with fiber, so I'm not saying that's a problem with the program just a personal issue :)

Perks! Down 3 pounds as of today! Not as much as I'd hoped but still progress. The food I'm making and enjoying is better because I am forced to use herbs and such for flavor instead of butter, cheese, sugar, and condiments. Speaking of this is my new favorite snack:

May look kind of gross but tastes amazing!! Half a sweet potato with a little coconut oil mixed in, a good dash of cinnamon, and sprinkled with chopped walnuts. Wow! SO great! No butter or sugar needed!!! I could eat this all the time :) Great post workout snack!

Advocare cont'd...

I figured the day-to-day minutia of my struggles wouldn't be all that interesting so I haven't made a post in the last few days. Basically, this 'cleanse' phase is harder than I thought it'd be. Mainly because my hubby isn't doing this with me so there is still a lot of junk in the house and pantry (chips, bread, chocolate, etc) taunting me every day. I have allowed myself a minor indulgence here and there but Sunday was really rough. We went out for lunch, which I had planned on, but then I was just so hungry all afternoon! I ended up adding another snack in the afternoon and then *sigh* we went to get frozen yogurt that evening. It's pretty much my hubby's favorite thing to do every weekend so I couldn't say no, and I couldn't go and not get something! Well, ok technically I could, but really? really?!?! Who does that?! So, all in all, I tried to make good choices within the bad actions :) Instead of the chocolaty goodness I usually get, I got a fruit sorbet with only fruit topping. It was yummy, not the same, but still good.

The good side to this process is that it is forcing me to experiment and cook a little more than I usually would. I fall victim to convenience all to often, especially when I'm hungry and don't want to even consider chopping, mixing, and cooking for an hour before I can eat. But now, by planning ahead, I am doing better. My dinner a couple nights ago was a total experiment and it turned out really well! Super yummy Mexican inspired concoction full of veggie goodness.

 Prepping some veggies for the meal as well as snacks. Cucumber slices with hummus is one of my favorite snacks!! Fulfills my crunchy cravings as well as flavor and protein.

 Chopped onions with all the peppers :) yummmmm and looks so pretty too doesn't it?! love it! To that I added chopped broccoli for some greens and some cauliflower too for bulk. Then, I 'riced' more cauliflower to fill up the dish without using grains. Basically, just grated it using a cheese grater.

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 Look at all that color and veggies!! Oh yeah and I added some black beans and a little cilantro mixed in at the end. Delish!

In the bowl, topped off with some avocado, salsa, and extra cilantro. Tastes soooo good! Even the hubby tried it and wished he'd had that instead of his burger for dinner :)

Advocare Day 1 & 2

So I just wrote this whole blog post and deleted it. GRRRRRR Which means this one will be less interesting, inspired, and original.

First things first - Day 1: Complete and Day 2: In progress. So far so good. At this point I have two main thoughts.
1. I love coffee. I miss coffee. ok getting over it....
2. I hate the fiber drink. Fiber drink is gross.

Now that I got that out of my system... :)
Yesterday was a little rough for me, and I admit that I cheated twice. In the afternoon I was feeling really out of it and hungry so I had an extra snack. It was broccoli and hummus so overall not a bad addition (some extra greens and protein) but still extra. And secondly, I had a little dessert at the end of the evening. For my final snack I had some chopped walnuts with vegan mini choc chips. I love those little chips of chocolaty goodness. To make sure it wasn't too much of an indulgence (I do want results from this experience) I looked at the ingredients and such and it was very straight forward and no added sugars so I just went for it. Not the best, but sometimes I feel it is better to allow myself certain things in order to not obsess over it and binge later. My water consumption wasn't and isn't quite up to par but my word I feel like I'm swimming sometimes! I am just not used to that much liquid right away in the mornings (except for coffee, notice above) and I simply forget to really drink water throughout the day. Obviously I do when I'm thirsty, but other than that I quite literally have to remind myself and almost force myself to drink more water.
Overall, I'm still feeling a little sluggish and kind of 'out of it' but hopefully that will get better. I have taken naps both days, which is not unusual for me but has felt very necessary lately. Glad to report, thought, that I had the energy to complete a 5K this morning! I had no exactly planned well for the beginning of this 'cleanse' and a race on the same weekend. Originally I had planned on starting on Sunday, but mainly because I had enough coffee to last me to Sunday... and I decided that was a dumb reason to put it off. Running 3 miles on the morning after taking a ginormous herbal cleaning pill did not seem so dumb I guess.... Fortunately it all worked out. Many runners have a "that one time I crapped my pants" story, and I'm determined to NOT be one of them. So far so good :) Seems that everything worked the way it was supposed to before the race, so I was very relieved. (hah pun not intended) But, due to the race this morning, my usual schedule and meal plan was all kinds of messed up. Plus, the hubby wanted to go to Panera to celebrate (he did the race too and won his age group! first race!!). So, it was spark this morning, a banana and half an orange right after we finished, then the fiber drink after the race. I had intended to do the protein shake then too but saved it for this afternoon as a snack. We went to Panera for lunch where I had the Thai chopped chicken salad with no chicken. It's good stuff :)
Yesterday was a little more structured:

 Fiber drink of gritty grossness.... ugh I did figure out though that shaking it up in this really helped some of the grittiness and then chuuuuuuuug.

 One bonus to drinking more water is getting to use this really pretty water bottle that I got as a Christmas gift from one of my students. It's so nice and I love it!!

 Breakfast: 1 egg + 1 egg white scrambled with a pepper and onion 'compote' (an accident when trying to use another device to chop them up) topped with salsa and toast on the side. Ended up being a little soggy since I'm not used to adding salsa but overall a good meal that can be made even better with some tweaking in the future.

 Lunch and dinner were reheated left over veggie stirfry from a couple days ago. It's a mix of broccoli, cauliflower, yellow and orange peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, onion, and garbanzos/chickpeas. For lunch I put it with the quinoa I had left over too, but for dinner I just heated it up in this pan and ate it like that. Very yummy :)

This is the weekly sheet I made for myself to plan ahead and also to track my meals, water, and exercise each day. This blog is helping me track my feelings and thoughts as well. I am not publishing my starting weight but I did document it and am tracking the pounds lost each week as well. I haven't weighed myself today and probably won't each day but I will definitely track it throughout. I didn't have time to take measurements yesterday as my 'official' start day but I think I'll do those at the end of the cleanse phase to really chart the difference that the second phase makes. I know most of what happens now is toxins and water weight so I want to it to be actual inches lost.