Week 2 - March '13 Magazine

Clean Eating Week 2 from the March 2013 Magazine!

Chicken Orange Balsamic Salad

Better than I expected! 

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups spinach
• 2-3 oz chicken breast (BBQ is best for taste)
• 2 tbsp chopped or sliced almonds
• 1 tbsp feta cheese
• 1/4 c chopped tomato
• 1/4 orange, segmented
• 1 tbsp balsamic, 1 tsp EVOO, 1/2 tsp honey mustard mixed for dressing

Fajita Burrito (with eggs)

Doesn't look like much in the pic, but this burrito was delicious!  It was an amazing way to get lots of veggies in a lunch without having another sandwich.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 bell pepper, sliced
• 1 small onion or 1/2 large onion
• handfull of spinach
• 2 eggs
• sprinkle of chile powder, cumin, salt and pepper
• Greek yogurt - plain
• Salsa
• Whole wheat wrap

Saute the pepper and onion, adding in spinach for last few minutes.  Mix in the spices.  Add egg on top, reduce heat and cover to cook egg through.  Slide all ingredients onto a wrap, and top with a couple scoops greek yogurt and some salsa.  

Yum!  Very filling.  Could add meat instead of eggs, or cheese to add some more flavor, but I liked it as is.

Tempo Run 2.25.13

After my epic fail last Monday, I had a great day today.  Went 6 miles, but it was a tempo run, so I did a 1 mile warmup and 1 mile cool down, and 4 miles at "race pace."  Here are my stats:

6 miles (stopped recording at 5.58 mi) 59:03
Mile 1 - 11:23 min/mile pace
Mile 2 - 10:54 min/mile
Mile 3 - 9:58 min/mile
Mile 4 - 10:09 min/mile
Mile 5 - 9:41 min/mile
Mile 6 - 11:30 min mile

Felt good about it - the 4 miles in the middle were hard - really hard.  Its good to know that my "hard" pace is right around 10 min miles.  After finishing 5, i slowed way down to jog the last .6 miles before walking the rest of the mile.  Felt like my 11:30 mile pace is one I should be able to keep up for a while, so I'll try to run at that slow pace on my slow/long run on Wednesday.  Specifics about my morning:

• Ate breakfast 2.5 hours before the run - had multigrain oatmeal with almond milk and a half of a banana
• Drank at least 1 liter of water this morning - making sure to drink at least 8 oz a half hour before the run
• No caffeine, and no prep energy (no gummies, 5 hour energy, gatorade)
• Measured out 4 oz increments on my water bottle, so I knew that every 15-20 minutes I had to drink 4 oz.  
• Started running at noon.  I would try next time to wake up a bit earlier so that I can start earlier.  
• Ate a fajita burrito with egg for recovery lunch - yum!

Loaded Veggie Burger

Clean sandwich lunch!  

Bread (or english muffin, or tortilla, or lettuce wrap)

Veggie Burger (TJ brand are fav)

Hummus (or honey mustard)

Spinach

Tomato

Onion

Avocado

Yum!

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

The BEST creamy enchiladas recipe.  Not clean eating.  I could always use more green chile sauce.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

Salmon, veggies and salad

Got 4 out of 4 stars with Jordan, I'll do this again.  Filled us up.

4 oz salmon (I used the moroccan salmon spice mix and cooked accordingly)
1 cup of cooked broccoli (i added salsa)
1 cup of black beans, 1/2 cup corn, 1/2 cup diced bell pepper (added salsa to mine here too)
Spinach salad: 2 cups spinach, 1 tbsp cranberries, 1 tbsp feta, 1 tbsp onion, 2 tbsp apple, red vinegar and EVOO

Moroccan Spiced Salmon with Nectarine-Pine Nut Couscous

From Clean Eating Magazine, August/Sept 2012, 4 out of 4 stars

Makes 4 servings (with no leftovers, I suggest at least 1.5x the recipe for 4 in case you have people who want seconds)
25 minutes total

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tsp paprika
• 3/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 4 4oz boneless salmon fillets, skin on
• high heat cooking oil (such as sunflower, safflower, peanut or grape seed oil), as needed
• 1/2 cup whole wheat couscous
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 1 oz pine nuts, toasted
• 1/2 cup diced nectarine

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a small bowl, combine paprika, cumin, ginger, cardamom, black pepper and 1/4 tsp salt.  Sprinkle evenly on all sides of salmon, pressing mixture into flesh to adhere.
2. Heat a grill pan on medium-high and lightly brush with cooking oil.  Add salmon, skin side up, and cook for 2 minutes.  Turn and cook, skin side down, until salmon is opaque throughout, about 5 more minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring 3/4 cup water to boil.  Stir in couscous and remove from heat.  Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.  Fluff with fork and stir in onions, bell pepper, nuts, nectarine and remaining 1/4 tsp salt.  Divide salmon and couscous mixture among serving plates.  

NUTRIENTS PER SERVING (1 filet and 3/4 c couscous mixture)

Calories 274,  Total fat 10g  Sat fat 1g  Mono fat 4g  poly sat 4g  Fiber 6g  Sugars 2g  Protein 26g  Sodium 313 mg  Cholesterol 62mg  

Clean Eating Meal Plan Week 1

This is an example of a Clean Eating Magazine's weekly meal plan.  The first picture is the actual plan from the magazine, the second picture is one that I have adjusted.  Honestly, we get a weeks worth of food from just shopping for the first 4 days.  Can usually make that last for a week!.

Pasta with Shrimp and Broccoli

A Clean Eating meal, 2 out of 4 stars.  Next time, it needs to have more heat and flavor, such as sautéing a tiny bit of bacon with the shrimp, or adding red pepper flakes for heat.  It needs that arribiata flavor.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 oz shrimp per person
• 3/4 c tomato pasta sauce per person
• 3/4 c dry pasta, or 1.25 c cooked pasta, preferably whole wheat per person
• 1 c broccoli per person
• 2 tbsp parmesan cheese 

Saute shrimp in a little garlic, salt and pepper, cook pasta and broccoli, add sauce and mix.

Chicken Teriyaki and Veggies

This is one of the easiest throw together dinners in my stash.  Easy prep, easy cooking, and yummy.  Except for marinating the chicken takes about 30 minutes total

Serves:  Flexible - as many as you want

INGREDIENTS

• A grain - rice, quinoa, brown rice, pasta - enough for 1 c per serving
• Chicken Breast - 4-6 oz per serving
• Veggies - Broccoli, Onion, Bell Pepper, Carrots, Peas, Green Beans, etc, 1 c per serving
• Trader Joe's Soyaki Sauce - 2 cups at least

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Marinate chicken breasts in ziplock bag with 1/2 to 1 c of the soyaki sauce.  Can marinate for up to 8 hours. Keep turning every few hours to evenly coat
2. Cook your grain
3. Steam veggies - I use a steamer, but you can steam in a pot on the stove, or even just microwave. If you want more of a stir fry texture, then saute the veggies
4. Barbeque the chicken for best taste.  Or you can saute.
5. Top serving of grain with cooked chicken, cooked veggies and 2-3 tbsp of the sauce

VARIATIONS

1. Use salmon instead of Chicken Breast

A Wake Up Call

Since I started training for my first half marathon back in December, I've had my fair share of ups and downs.  But this past week, I went through runners purgatory.  I needed to document my journey in order to not repeat the same mistakes again.  My long runs have worked their way up to 9 miles, and this time, I was supposed to run 10 miles.  I got about 3 done and was experiencing what I suspected was the beginning of the "runners trots,"  where your digestive system just gets angry and cramp at you for not properly prepping for a run.  To avoid the trots, you're supposed to not eat a lot of fiber and protein the night before a really long run (10 miles for me).  I stopped at a Starbucks restroom with no relief, and just kept going.  At 6 miles, I stopped running.  The stomach cramps were unbearable and I was at the point of wondering if I was going to pass out.  Not good.  So here were the details of the previous 24 hours, in order to never repeat them again:

• Slept horribly the night before, maybe got 5 hours
• Had a strong cup of black coffee when I woke up, which did help me empty out a little unneeded pounds (sorry, gross.)
• Ate english muffin with peanut butter for breakfast, 2 hours before run
• Ate almost no carbs night before, and only carbs that who day was a multi grain wrap for lunch
• Not diligent enough with water prep day before or morning of
• Drank 5 hour energy as an experiment - would it make me run better?  
• Experiencing dehydration s/sx at the end of the run and throughout the rest of the day: dizziness, weakness, dry skin, stomach problems, decreased urine output, increased digestive activity, pale skin and increased HR

All in all, I think I was super dehydrated and improperly fueled.  The excess caffeine didn't help the digestive system, and also I think my body reacts to Gatorade.  I just never feel great with Gatorade as my hydration.  I'll stick with water.

Tips from friends:

• Have a carb-heavy meal the night before, with low protein and low fiber to keep the digestive system at a proper pace during the run
• Hydrate during run, 4 oz every 15 minutes
• Fuel with snacks every 45 minutes into a run
• Sleep night before
• Jillian Michaels says the equivalent of 1 medium cup of coffee 45 minutes before you exercise will help with fat burning/endurance during a workout

Kale Chicken Caesar Salad

From Clean Eating Magazine, March 2013, pg 84, 3 out of 4 stars

Not a great pic, sorry

Makes 4 medium servings (entree for 3, side for 5)

30 minutes start to finish

I used store bought croutons because I already had them, but this was a good clean meal.  Lots of kale, I would have cooked chicken differently (or used rotisserie chicken) - maybe sauté or barbecue, but otherwise turned out great.  Dressing very sour/spicy, salad didn't need shallot, but tasty.

INGREDIENTS:

• 16 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 large cloves garlic, divided
• 1/4 tsp sea salt and ground black pepper
• 1 bunch kale, chopped
• 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp olive oil
• 2 slices sprouted grain bread (let bread dry out overnight)
• 1 shallot, minced 
• 1 cup jarred artichoke hearts (water-packed) and chopped
• 1 tbsp raw pine nuts

DRESSING

• 2 large cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice (2 limes)
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (1/2 lemon)
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1.5 tbsp EVOO
• 1 tbsp grated Parmesan
• 2 tsp dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground cayenne (I went without it, and dressing was spicy enough)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Fill a large pot with water.  Add chicken, I clove garlic, salt and black pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a gentle simmer, cover and cook for 5 minutes.  Turn off heat and let stand, covered, until chicken is cooked through, 12-14 minutes.  Drain and let cool slightly.  With two forks, shred chicken.
2. Meanwhile, fill a large shallow pot with 1/2 inch water.  Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium and add kale.  Drizzle lemon juice over kale and cook for 5 minutes.  Fill a large bowl with ice water.  Add kale to bowl until cool.  Drain and let dry (or pat dry).
3. Prepare croutons: Arrange an oven rack in top position.  Preheat broiler to high.  In a small bowl, combine 1/2 tsp olive oil and 1 clove of garlic halved.  Rub garlic on both sides of bread.  Arrange bread on a baking sheet and broil on top oven rack, turning once, until golden.  Cut each slice into four triangles.
4. Prepare dressing: In a food processor, puree dressing ingredients and 2 tsp water until creamy
5. In a large bowl, combine kale, shallot, artichoke hearts, chicken and nuts.  Add dressing and toss to coat, top with croutons.

NUTRITION per serving (3 oz chicken, 3 c salad, 2 croutons)

Calories: 323  Total Fat: 11g   Sat Fat: 2 g   Mono Fat: 6 g   Poly Fat: 2   Carbs: 21g    Fiber 4g   Sugar 1 g   Protein: 34 g   Sodium 440 mg   Cholesterol 67 mg

Alterations/Leftovers

• Put a serving of the salad (minus croutons) in a wrap for lunch

Whats a Blog?

I have a job now. But it doesn't start for a month. So what do I do with my relaxed free time (vs. stressed "job hunting" free time) for the next month?  Figure out what all this blogging madness is about.  Mostly this is another attempt at trying to organize my life - and keep all sorts of info in one place.  So if I had a blog, I would blog about my collection of recipes, my progress of half marathon training, my experience as a new nurse, my thoughts about faith, life and family, and any other hobby things that pop in there.  Here we go!