Dinner for One - Lentils and Quinoa

Forgive the ugliness of this meal.  I will also admit that I had a leftover slice of pizza while this was cooking so my portion was quite small.  The main goal of this was to have leftovers that I could put on top of a salad for lunch the next day.

Recipe

1/2 cup Lentils

1/2 cup Quinoa

Stock (I used Mushroom)

1/2 tsp Paprika

Pepper

Both lentils and quinoa have a water ratio of 2 to 1.  Since we have a total of 1 cup of dried goods, use 2 cups of liquid.  This makes it easy to adjust when you want more or less.  I just happened to have some celery that needed to be used so it got diced and tossed in, but it doesn't really affect the dish much so it can be left out.  Combine everything in a pot and bring to a boil.  When it starts to boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for around 15 minutes or until the liquid is all gone.

Possible modifications

This would be really good with other spices, especially curry powder.  I had considered tossing in some hot peppers, but decided I wasn't in the mood.  Get creative with what you have in the pantry and what you are in the mood for that day.

Salad Option:

This is what lunch the next day looked like.  Well worth the effort of the day before, but you could also have just go straight to making this as dinner.  Underneath there is a bed of romain lettuce, parsley and tomatoes.  On top there is the lentil and quinoa mixture plus some goat cheese.  It makes for quite the satisfying lunch considering how much protein is in lentils and quinoa.

Dinner for One - Cabbage Saute

Admittedly this was lunch, but it could just as easily be dinner.  The inspiration for this meal was Reuben sandwich.

1/2 Small Cabbage

1/4 to 1/2 cup Pulled Pork

1 small can Green Chilies

1 tsp Dijon Mustard

1/2 tsp Caraway Seeds

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Toss everything in a skillet and saute on medium heat until the cabbage is tender.  Roughly 10 to 15 minutes.  Serve on top of a toasted piece of bread with some cheese on top.  Obviously the bread and cheese are optional.  What really makes the dish are the caraway seeds.  The caraway seeds provide the distinctive flavor that rye bread has which is goes right along with a Reuben.  If you don't happen to have leftover pulled pork you could easily substitute some other protein, like a sausage link, ground beef or ground turkey.  Whatever you happen to have on hand will work just fine.

Dinner for One - Beets and Millet

It doesn't get much easier than this.  Open a can of beets put half on a plate next to whatever grain you have (I had millet).  Top the grain with a bit of butter and salt and microwave the whole thing.  Top with a bit of goat cheese and dive right in.

This may not be the prettiest picture, but it sure was tasty.

Booty Camp Oct 19 2011

Warm up - Jog two laps around the track

3 circuits of the following.  Place the weights 10 yards apart, going out to 50 yards.

1. Jog to the first weight
2. 10 push-ups
3. Pick up a weight
4. Jog back to the start with the weight
5. Return the weight to its starting position
6. Jog to the start
7. Repeat going to the second weight

After each circuit do 4 minutes of one of the following while holding a weight

• Lunges
• Dead lifts
• Dead lifts with a squat jump

Just for the fun of it CB brought out two 50 lb bags of seed and split us up into two teams.  Then we raced around the track with that bag of seed.  CB got quite the kick out of watching us do it and it really was a good work out.

10 minutes of abs, doing each exercise for 1-2 minutes

• Tick Tocks
• 6 inches (hold your legs straight 6 inches off the ground)
• Flutters (flutter your legs up and down 6 inches off the ground)
• Out/In (spread your legs out and back in 6 inches off the ground)
• Hold your legs straight in the air and reach up to touch your toes
• Keep your feet on the floor and reach up to touch the sky
• Sit in a V position with your knees bent but feet off the ground and then alternate touching the ground on either side of you

Don't forget to stretch afterwards.

Stats

Duration 53:06

Calories 445

Average HR 146
Max HR 181

Fat Burn 12:12

Fitness 40:43

In the news - Farm:Shop

I recently read this article about Farm:Shop.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/oct/07/hi-tech-urban-farming

I have to say I love the idea.  The general premise is that they are growing/raising food in an urban area through volunteers.  They are proving that you don't need the country side to produce food.  One way in which they are doing so is by raising chickens on their roof.  One of these days when there is no threat of abandoning them for weeks at a time I may consider doing something like this.  The unfortunate part is that I really think chickens are disgusting, but they do serve a purpose.  Fresh eggs really are tasty and they work wonders on food scraps.

The other cool part is that they are growing lettuce hydroponically.  If you read closely they learned how to grow the lettuce from people that are growing cannabis in their homes.  Ha!

Perhaps something like this will makes its way to Dallas some day.  Here is to hoping.

I Learned Something - Oktoberfest Beer

Question: What makes a beer an Oktoberfest beer?
Answer:  


For starters and Oktoberfest beer is also called a Märzen.  I would guess they are marketed here as Oktoberfest beers because it is more recognizable than Märzen.  Märzens came about way back in the day when they couldn't brew beer in the summer because it was too hot and there was no refrigeration.  They would brew these beers in March (März) with a higher alcohol content and more hops so they would last through the summer being stored in a cellar.  These beers would then be served at Oktoberfest, giving it the more common name.


For more reading, wikipedia to the rescue
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marzen

Happy Drinking!

Booty Camp Oct 12 2011

Warm up
In the shape of a square that is about 20 yards x 20 yards repeat the following for 2 minutes

• Jog
• Side shuffle right
• Jog backwards
• Side shuffle left

Main workout

• 10 sprints up the bleachers - Walk slowly back to the bottom and stop for 10 seconds before going back up so that you are sure to get a sprint instead of a jog
• Jog one lap around the track 
• 20 push-ups
• 20 squats
• 20 lunges - 10 on each leg
• 100 leg flutters - Lay on your back and flutter your legs up and down about six inches off the ground

Abs

1 minute of each of the following

• Superman - Lay on your stomach and raise your arms and legs off the ground as if you were flying like superman
• Continue to lay on your stomach and raise your left arm and right leg while keeping the others on the ground.  Then switch.  Keep switching for the duration.
• Plank
• Straight leg raises
• Bicycle
• Tick Tocks - Raise your legs straight up in the air and lower them from the right side, back up and then to the left side.  We did this one for 2 minutes.

Stats

Duration - 59:26

Calories - 467

Average HR - 141

Max HR - 200

Fat Burn - 18:22

Fitness - 40:54

Dinner for One - Sweet Potato and Millet

As usual I didn't really use a recipe, and didn't really write one.  Consider this a dinner idea and run with it.

For starters Millet is a type of grain that is high in manganese and phosphorous.  One of my favorite websites, Worlds Healthiest Foods, provides quite a bit of information on Millet and its health benefits.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=53

It is easy to prepare and is similar to cooking rice.  Simmer one part Millet to two and a half parts water for about 25 minutes.  I made a large batch on Monday so I could enjoy it all week.  To reheat, I just add a little butter and salt and microwave for about a minute.  It doesn't get much faster than that.

As for the sweet potato, I bought a bag of frozen diced sweet potatoes and microwaved them according to the directions on the bag but you could easily cook up a fresh one instead.  Once they are cooked I stirred in a small spoonful coconut butter, a teaspoon of curry powder, quarter teaspoon of allspice, and a quarter teaspoon smoked paprika.  

Plate everything and top with a few coconut chips and call it dinner.  

My estimations are that this meal is about 300 to 400 calories.

Let's do the math - Oct 10 2011

How did yesterday go?

Cereal with Milk - 260
Carrots - 60
Hummus - 100
Creamed Spinach - 150
Bread - 200
Chicken Tortilla Soup - 300
Toppings (sour cream, cheese, avocado) - 150
Chips - 130

Total 1,350

Not bad at all.  Obviously these are estimates so I could be off on a few of the items.

I have been trying to do a recap of the weekend to see how that went, but I am a little afraid.  The weekend was full of celebrations and there was plenty of alcohol involved, which adds up to lots of calories.  The good news is that I didn't over eat.  Other than breakfast Friday and Saturday I didn't eat at home so it is really hard for me to estimate calories.  Next weekend will be better....

I learned Something - Tubers

Question: Are tubers and roots the same thing?
Answer: Not exactly

According to Wikipedia (which is always right) there are stem tubers and root tubers.  It is a bit confusing that a root tuber is called a tuberous root meaning that it is a root, but has some qualities of a tuber.  The common phrasing of root vegetable could refer to either type of tuber so you have to be careful with what you call it. In addition, sweet potatoes and yams are frequently used interchangeably, however a sweet potato is a tuberous root and a yam is a tuber.  It is definitely clear as mud.

A little extra reading if you are interested...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuber
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_vegetable

As an aside I will be having carrots with my lunch and they are a taproot which is a root, not a tuber.  If I were to be having potato for lunch then I would be having a tuber.

Let's do the math

Curiosity has gotten the better of me and I am going to attempt to figure out how may calories I ate yesterday.  Here goes...

Bowl of Cereal - 150
2% Milk for Cereal - 110
Yogurt - 100
Walnuts - 150
V8 Butternut Squash Soup - 160
Goldfish - 100
Peanuts - 50
Babybel Cheese - 70
2 Quesadillas - 350
Sour Cream - 31
Green Olives - 45
Roll Fresh out of the oven with butter - 130
Half a Spaten - 93
Life Saver mint - 15

That all adds up to 1554

The calculator says that if I were to lead a sedentary lifestyle my body would need about 1,600 calories a day.  The reason I even started thinking about this is that I am heavier than I used to be.  There is a possibility that I can blame this on boot camp because I am doing more weight training than I used to, but my pants are tighter than I would like.  Ultimately it isn't the scale that I am concerned about, but I am not about to buy new clothes.  If I could maintain this eating habit every day I would be fine, but I think my weekends habits are sabotaging my good work during the week.  It is time to get to work on that!

Booty Camp Oct 4 2011

Tonight was a tough one.  We did quite a few sprints and my shins were not too happy about it.  I am currently icing my shins as I am typing and I think it might be time for some new shoes.  The fun part about the evening was that I wore a heart rate monitor for the first time.  It was fairly comfortable and I only noticed it while doing exercises that required laying on my stomach.  Anyhoo here are the stats...

For the main portion we did 4 laps around the track, sprinting 100 then stopping and doing a floor exercise for one minute.  Rinse and repeat.  The floor exercises included squats, lunges, dips, pelvic thrusts, leg flutters and many more that I don't specifically remember.

Abs were two minutes of each of the following (they may not have been in this order and I may not have them all, hard to remember):

• Tick Tocks - We started and ended with this one
• Feet in the air and reach up to touch your toes
• Balance on your bum and twist your upper body from side to side
• Lay on your back and lift your legs in the air and bring your bum off the ground then lower down until your legs are 6 inches off the ground, repeat.
• Lay on your back and raise one leg 6 inches off the ground.  Raise the other leg to 45 degrees.  Alternate at Ethan's whim.
• Flutter your legs 6 inches off the ground while keeping them straight (I unfortunately could only keep them straight or 6 inches off the groung...not both)
• Bicycle

Heart Rate Monitor

• Duration - 56 min
• Calories - 420
• Average HR - 137
• Max HR - 181
• Fat Burn - 21 min
• Fitness - 34 min

Booty Camp Oct 3 2011

I need more Booty Camp in my life.  Last week I was only able to make it on Monday so I need to get my rear end in gear.  Here is last nights recap...

Bleachers:

• 5 times
• Run straight up
• Run up sideways leading with your right foot
• Run up sideways leading with your left foot
• 3 squats with a weight on each step
• Lunges with a weight all the way up
• 2 or 3 times (I don't remember which was which)
• 3 military presses on each step with a weight
• 3 dead lifts with a weight on each step
• I'm not sure the name of this one but you start with the weight hanging down and raise it all the way up above your head while keeping your arms straight out in front.  Do that 3 times on each step.

Floor exercises:

• 3 sets of 15 inclined push-ups 
• 3 sets of 15 dips
• 2 minutes of standing with a weight above your head and bending to the left and right to work your obliques 
• 2 minutes laying on your back with your feet in the air and reaching to touch your toes with a weight in your hands
• 2 minutes of simulated rowing with a weight in your hands while keeping your feet off the ground
• 2 minutes laying on your back with your feet on the ground and reaching to the sky with a weight in your hands
• 30 seconds of plank while keeping your right leg elevated
• 30 seconds of plank while keeping your left leg elevated

I am going to take my new fangled heart rate monitor with to bootcamp tonight to see how many calories I burn.  Stay tuned.

I learned Something - Red Tide

This will likely be the first of many posts in this series.  I subscribe to the belief that you need to constantly be learning to continue to grow as a person.  If there is something that I don't understand or know anything about I will usually read up on it until it makes sense, this is one of those times.

While in Laguna Beach, Steven and I noticed that there was a large area in the ocean that was red.  We didn't think anything of it until Herr V asked if we saw the red tide.  Growing up in Texas where it takes a day to get to the coast, I really don't know much about the ocean so I had no idea what he was referencing.  Of course, wikipedia to the rescue...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_tide

My assumption at the time was that the red we were seeing was some form of seaweed.  It turns out the redness was a form of algae.  The part I didn't understand is why people would still be swimming in the water with it there and frankly I still don't get it, but I have issues with strange things in the water touching me that I don't think the rest of the world has a problem with.  Swimming in murky water gives me the heebie jeebies.

I know this post may seem silly to those of you that grew up on the coast, but this is a pretty cool learning experience to see something first hand and then figure out what it is later.  The nerd in me thinks this is pretty awesome.

Jalapeno Popper Breakfast Sammich

I went and did it again...turned a perfectly good menu item into my own crazy creation.  It seems I have a bad habit of doing that.  Anyway, we found ourselves in San Diego at the Cheese Shop (http://www.cheeseshopdeli.com/) for breakfast recently and I had my eye on the Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese sandwich that is on the menu.  Considering it was breakfast time I wanted some egg to go with it so I did what any logical person would do...asked for a fried egg on the side.

I had full intentions of adding this egg to the sandwich when I got it, but the server was kind enough to ask if he should have the cooks go ahead and add the egg while they were cooking it.  Man was that sucker good.  The jalapenos were fresh instead of pickled, the cheese was gooey and delicious and the fried egg rounded it out with a little extra oomph.  This might just become a staple.

Side note...Steven got the Breakfast Feast with the blueberry pancakes and they did not disappoint.  We would definitely go back next time we end up in San Diego.