An adventure in Seitan and Kale

Tonight I decided to be adventurous and let my Door to Door Organics delivery determine what I would make for dinner.  By adventurous, I do mean being as adventurous as one can be while being relegated to complete rest for at least a week.  Since I am baking chicken and noodles for Mike, once I opened the D2DO box and saw what was inside I knew exactly what to make for myself: greens Italian Style with seitan and kale chips for snacking later.


The greens I am using are kale and rainbow chard, two of my absolute favorite.  Throw in some spinach and I am in heaven.  I use these three leafy veggies at every single meal.  Yes.  Every.  Mm-hm, breakfast included.  And here is what is really going to make you go 'hmmmm"...  I add them to my breakfast smoothie, often with Chocolate Shakeology.  Yumm-o!

Rainbow Swiss Chard

Inspiration struck when I saw the two large bundles sitting proudly atop the organic bounty at my doorstep.  I love Italian dishes centered around veggies with pasta as a side-kick. I also love leafy greens.  When the opportunity arises to combine the two I jump at it.


Kale and Swiss Chard are both powerhouse veggies packing tons of vitamins for very few calories. Chard has an added benefit; the phytonutrient antioxidants in chard act as anti-inflammatory agents. Sometimes they lower risk of chronic, unwanted inflammation which  has repeatedly been shown to increase our risk of obesity, atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and several forms of arthritis. Ew.  


Seitan (vital wheat gluten or wheat gluten) is a great replacement for animal proteins if you are not gluten intolerant and prefer to abstain from consuming copious amounts of soy. 


I happened to have on hand some Italian style canned tomatoes and some Italian style seitan, as well as some odds and ends of veggies that must be consumed pretty quickly else they would find themselves populating my composter come mid-week.  My next adventure will be to make my own seitan, but for now I will happily consume the prepared versions.


On to the recipes!


Verdi stile italiano con Seitan
(Greens Italian Style with Seitan)
You must pardon me - I literally make these up as I cook and never really measure anything too specifically. I believe in cooking from the heart and cooking from the pallet. I think of recipes as guidelines unless it is a more scientific food such as souffles or baked goods. So take inspiration from these recipes and do what will work for your kitchen, your family, and your pallet. 

• 1/2 bunch Swiss Chard
• 1/2 bunch Kale
• 2 cans of Italian style tomatoes plus any additional tomatoes laying around
• 5 large Mushrooms (baby portabella)
• 1 Zucchini
• 1/2 Vidalia onion
• Coconut oil (or any other vegetable oil)
• Italian style seitan (I used Upton's)
• Past or Rice of choice

Cook pasta or rice per directions.  :-)

In a saute pan  heat the coconut oil and then toss in all the vegetables except the canned tomatoes and greens.  Saute until the onions are translucent then  add in the seitan.  Stir to heat through then add the greens and stir to coat.  Lastly add in both cans of tomatoes and heat through.    

Once fully heated serve over rice or pasta. 

Kale Chips To Live For

I am stealing the roasting temp and time from my friend Jaye - Every time that I have made kale chips before they have fallen flat to my expectations: wilted and soggy or burnt... or wilted, soggy AND burnt.   The key here is roasting them at the right temp for the right time. Thank you Jaye! 

• Roasting pan or cookie sheet
• Kale very roughly chopped in to 2-3" sections
• Sea salt (I used Celtic sea salt since it has trace minerals) or you can use any seasoning you like - barbecue or garlic would also be very good. 
• Oil (I actually used grapeseed oil since I was out of olive oil)

Pre-heat your oven to 350*.  Mix in a bowl the rough chopped kale and oil.  Lay out on pan to roast, sprinkle with seasoning or sea salt.   Roast for ~25 or so minutes.  

Be careful when you take out of the oven as they are pretty irresistible!  

Mmmmm indeed. 

Healing with Food - Last Chance Broth

Hello everyone!  I hope that you are having a good weekend.  As for myself, I went to the Urgent Care today due to being under the weather for a week or so now.  I was diagnosed with Viral Bronchitis and Laryngitis. This means no training until I am well as my body is fighting and I am both fatigued and full of mucus, sorry for being blunt.  The doctor told me, like so many other people, that over doing it now will set me back weeks. So, doctor's orders are the be taken into complete consideration.  Rest rest rest!

Since I will not be burning calories this week training, I decided to clean up the diet and go completely vegan and sugar free to eliminate all dairy and other inflammation causing foods.  Also,  because I am on an antihistamine, I cannot take the food sensitivity test as antihistamines can alter the results which means that I will be staying on this detox for at least a month.

One thing that I find calms a sick body is a good soup.  I make a lot of random thrown together soups, so tonight is no different.  In an effort to help me be ready for the next week, I decided to make a detox broth chocked full of veggies.  Since I have a new Door to Door Organics order coming Tuesday, I decided to clean out the fridge and use all of the veggies that are in there to make what I am calling "Last Chance Broth".

I named this Last Chance Broth because it is the last chance for me to use these veggies.  Between the Vitamix and the soups I make, I have been very good and not wasting as much.  This broth can be used as a ready to eat soup, or can be the base for so many other things - everything from the medium in which I steam veggies, cook foods, or make other soups from.  I will even make my rice with the broth.

So this week I am back to tracking and eating clean clean clean and very plainly as my body heals.  I can tell by the amount of fatigue that I have that my body is fighting this thing with all of its might.  I realize that it is best to respect this and take a week or so off from training, than to set myself back a month.  I have a long road ahead of me and with that I must practice the fourth sport of Ironman - patience.


Detox Last Chance Broth

This can be made with literally any and all vegetables you need to use up in a hurry.  The list below is what I had on hand, you can use whatever you like and it will still turn out.  I find that using a rainbow of veggies makes the most nutritious broth.

• Kale
• Celery including leaves
• Carrots
• Beets including greens
• Yams
• Onions including skins
• Green peppers
• Zucchini 
• Garlic
• Spinach
• Broccoli
• Turnips
• Celtic Sea Salt (with trace minerals)
• Water
• Stock Pot
• Coconut oil (or any other veggie oil)

I start by adding a few teaspoons of coconut oil (or a tablespoon of whatever oil desired) into the bottom of the stock pot over low heat. Coconut oil melts are very low temperatures, so if youa re using another oil you may want to cook over a higher heat. 

After rough cutting all the veggies, I place them in the pot and toss in the oil, allowing them to cook a little bit before adding the water and salt.  

Add enough water to coat the veggies - for me I had to add about 4 cups since I had quite the full pot.  I then added ~ 1 Tbs of Celt Sea Salt because it has so many nutrients and helps draw out the flavors of the veggies.  

I increased the heat to medium to bring to a boil., then reduced on low for an hour.  Remove the veggies and use the broth immediately, or store in the refrigerator and use in place of water in any recipes.

Enjoy! 

Antsy.

I am antsy. I waited it out, this sickness within me. I went through it, and now feel remarkably well. Almost too well for having to stay home in bed on Tuesday. I think that it is just the end of the cold, but I am at the stage where I could easily slip up, over do it, and end back in bed with a worse cold.

Mike has been sick for almost 2 weeks now. It migrated to his chest and he is a coughing machine. Me, not so much. I need to stay on this side of health.

My Saturday swim got nixed, so I am left with two options. Both are pretty good, so I am at no loss with either choice. I like those types of choices... win-win. I sometimes wish life was more win-win than win-lose, but I guess the saying that goes something to the effect that without pain we would never know how good life can be is true, and honestly some of those loses have shaped me into the woman I am today.

So what choices lie before me?

To do or not do Yoga Friday night.

I know, difficult, right? ;)

Rest has got to be about the HARDEST thing a person can do. I am not a restful person. Do not get me wrong here, I sleep well, I relax very well, and I know how to have a great peaceful time. But complete rest is so... boring. I am antsy people! ANTSY!

I want to go run so badly, but with the cooler temps and the head cold, that would not be a pretty sight. I want to swim, but alas the whole idea of head submerged in water while struggling to intake air while OUT of the water does not sound so terribly good. Well then how about biking? Yeh I am sort of exhausted.

For the first time in long time I am no longer afraid of rest. That makes attempting it no easier, however it definitely makes doing it feel less guilty.

My fear of going sloth and stopping all forward motion, of going back to the lazy Jenn is still within me, buried, but there. But I realize that rest does NOT equal sloth. And I can still move forward even with a week of body healing.

How freeing that is to realize!

So will I do Yoga tomorrow? I should just stay put until Monday just to give myself a full chance to recover, starting next week of strong and ready to go like I originally had planned.

I sort of like that idea.

Well that was remarkbly easy to decide.

But I am still antsy...

})i({

PS - My preggers friend Christina (the bunny) went in to see the Dr. today - um, she is 6 months pregnant. 6 MONTHS people! Holy cow! The reasaon that this is BIG news - She thought she was getting close to 18 weeks... not 26!!!!

Coughing and persepctive. What an unlikely duo.

I am still sick... scratch that. I am even more sick now than this past weekend. And no the party did not effect it, I swear! I was a good girl, didn't drink and got to bed at a reasonable time *halo shines brightly*

I had to call off work today because I am exhausted. So not cool... and so not productive! :( NOT awesome. Not awesome in the least. Today I am here at home watching TV. And sleeping. And catching up on blogland.

Rocks informed me that my A-race Oly tri NEXT JUNE has been SOLD OUT. It is November, the year before the race. Seriously! Sold out already? I guess that is what happens when they only allow 400 people to partcipate. 2009 I will so be there. So in lieu of the Big Fish this year... I will tackle Motor City.

So Rocks I will see you at the Motor City Tri!

The beach swim start for the Motor City Triathlon

Yesterday on the way to work I heard something on the radio that got me to thinking. The theme was "Are you a believer?" and although they were talking about the Lions being 6-2 for the season already... whoooooping the Bronco's arses this past weekend... it resonated with me.


Not the Lions, but believing.

I believe in other people, often more than they believe in themselves. I never ask for proof on intentions, only that you strive to be the best you that you can be. I am a work in progress and every single person has to start somewhere. Everyone is a work in progress.

Many people on the radio were saying that they were not believers in the "new" Lions. They feel that they have not beat a team that is 500 or over yet
(more wins than losses), therefor it really doesn't count.

Many times I would stop believing in myself because my achievements were based on similar constraints. It doesn't count unless there are over so many people in the field, or the weight loss doesn't count because I should have worked harder.

Isn't a win a win? Isn't a loss just that... a loss? Do people think that the Lions are sandbagging it? Hardly - they do not have control over the teams they play. The play the teams as they come on the schedule.

A few posts back I was in a rough spot. I was thinking through the mind of the person I used to be - timind, afraid of judgement, and not believing in myself.

I have come SO far in the past year. I have fought many demons... all of which were mine to slay, not imposed onto me by anyone except for my insecurity in certain situations.

I started swimming, battled the common problem of freestyle breathing and being comfortable in the water. To top that off, I am comfortable in the skin I am in. I just forget that when I go out of my comfort zone. I revert back to that timid, afraid Jenn who thinks that people can see through her tough skin and see the doubts floating through her head.

If they see my doubts, won't they start believing them as well?

If they do... oh well! That is not what I want my journey to be about. My journey is about pushing myself and growing into the person I want to be. If anyone else has doubts about my abilities, I just cannot spend the energy on that. It cheats me out of the experience, and it cheats my friends out of a confindent and solid friend.

Life hands us a map with the milestones blurred out. It is up to us on our journeys to bring clarity to those milestones, and bring them into focus. Worrying about what people will think of me is not a milestone. Being there for a friend in need is. Achieving something great, even if it is great only to me, is. Following someone else's map is not.

This past weekend while clothes shopping with my gal Christina (the bunny) I realized that I have become a different person. Not just physically, but emotionally. In a moment of weakness I may waffle and go back to doubts, but when I wake up I realize that I am a lot stronger than I sometimes give myself credit for being. And at the end of the day as long as I am true to myself - it will be all good. ;)

I guess what this is all about is that I have woken up - and gained the perspective I forgot about in a moment of weakness.

So this upcomming Saturday - if I am healthy enough - I will be going to the swim practice of my tri club, and I will not be nervous anymore. My nervousness has transformed into excitement.

I am working at kicking this sickness once and for all so I can enjoy getting back into the pool!

I hope that everyone is having a great week so far! :) STAY HEALTHY!

})i({ Runner-to-the-girl

Finding the inner beauty.

I have realized some very important thing lately. At the top of that list - is the fact that I can feel comfortable and beautiful in my skin as it is... while wanting to improve upon it And I think that that is vital for me to proceed forward with the weight loss.

I feel cute again, I feel admired again... dar I say it? I even feel attractive again. And it has been a long time since I felt that I was attractive to anyone other than Mike.

I know a lot of it stems from cat calls at clubs... just kidding... a lot of it has to do with itting the gym 5 times a week. Lately I have been walking with a self-confidence I had lost a long time ago.

I think that confidence is down right sexy. So I decided to give it a try. For the past two weeks I have been really taking the time for myself. I get up early so I have time to wake up. I check emails, I make a nice hot breakfast, I spend time on me.

This has set the mood and pace for the remainder of the day. I am more assertive at work, and I carry myself better.

I am thinking that I am pretty under the weight, and I think that this is shining through. Now when I go to stores, people come from all over to help me. Be it to load groceries in my car, or to help me get something from the tock room... they are coming from out of the woodwork.
At clubs and when we go out in general, I have been getting more and more comments. General winks and lingering glances that make me feel good about myself. I no longer hide in the corner hoping not to be seen. I am proud of my curves, and respectively show them off.

When Mike looks at me and says "Wowy wow wow" that makes my heart skip a beat. Because at the end of the day, if he feels special to have me on his arm, then that is all I want. ;)

By changing my outlook on me internally, I think that that really does show through externally.
I am very excited to have lost nearly 5# since starting WW (yeah that would have been on 4/10). So in 10 days I have lost almost 5#. That is awesome to me!
I am sticking to the plan, because I want to look at beautiful as I feel. :) All in all I feeling pretty good!

Have a good week everyone!

Michigan Intolerance... it could happen to you.

I went home sick today AGAIN. Not a sinus infection this time - but a serious-out-of-left-field-hell-hath-no-fury-like-this, illness. blah.

I am intolerant to Michigan I have determined. I was perfectly healthy in Florida. I was perfectly healthy in Chicago. Upon returning in both cases I fell quite ill. All in the past 5 weeks. Grrrrrrrrrr I think a few more trips out of Michigan can help ease the pain of my intolerance for this state of many sasons. Also I am getting my metropark passe for $16 this year (thank you corporate discounts!) and plan on spend a lot of time on the lake again - both in the boat and in the water or on the beach. Very niiiice.

~~~~~~

So my hopes of getting to the gym tonight are nilch now. Even if I do feel better, one of my co-workers works out at the same facility I do in Novi, so if she saw me there... that would just look strange given that I left work in a flurry of tears at 11:30.

I really wanted to get in some strength training tonight. I guess I can go to the gym here in our complex... that would work. But I feel a lil weak.

This raging headache needs to leave my body! I have had ringing ears all day, and a headache that "headache" meds won't cure. I am thinking it is something else, but I do not want to go there... again. I have had a nice 1.5 year break... I am not quite ready to go back there... to that place.

Aside from the pending doom that it my stomache/head/sinus cavity/brain, I am proud of my workout last night. I felt really strong running, and the 60 seconds zoomed right by. My hopes are that I will emerge from this program with a sub 30 minute 5k time. :) If I can sustain that, then my goal is to run a 10 minute mile CRIM this year. Oh and that would be the 10 miler. Man if I could run the CRIM in an hour or less... I would be so happy!!!!

The end of the C25K program for me will fall in the week of May 26th. That will give me around 2.5 months to get in gear for the CRIM and Chicago Distance Classic which I am running on my B-day weekend. I can so do this! The C25K program will leave off right about week 3 or 4 in the Hal Higon approach, which will end right at the time of the Chicago Distance. How perfect?

Man... I finally found my rehab plan. Slow introduction, find a good pace, run like a mad woman for 13.1 in August.

I love this rehabilitation - bad habits out... good habits in. I feel like the bionic man saying - stronger, faster... just all around better!

Sometime you gotta know when to fold 'em.

Today on the way back from the Doctor's office I started to think about how beautiful it was outside. I was super geeked to grab my shoes and get in some leisurely miles.... when I remembered that I am sick (sinus infection)- prescriptions for antibiotics and nasal spray in hand offer the reality check I needed. Have I mentioned that I have been sick for about 3 weeks now? Yeah welcome to runner's hell.

Sometimes when you have goals you need to let nothing short of an act of God get in your way. Well folks I am at that crossroads yet again. Act of God... step right this way...

I have roughly 6 weeks left until the Flying Pig Half Marathon. I am just not in the position to pull of the half with just 6 weeks of training under my belt. I barely survived RnR AZ, as some of you were witness to first hand.

To top it off, I would only really have 1 week of training, plus a potential 11 days due to my April work schedule. I refuse to pull another RnR AZ and run cold. It is not healthy, it is not smart, and it is far from the thing a runner should do. I seriously could have hurt myself in January if I had not ran as smart as I did and walked when I needed it. I am taking it as a stern warning, and swear that I will never EVER do that again. RnR AZ was my get out of jail free card.

I am taking my hat out of the ring and withdrawing from the Flying Pig Half. It is the only smart and responsible choice that I can make at this point. My body has taken a thrashing this past month, and I just know I will not be able to pull 13 miles out at the rate I am going.
Sometiems as a runner hoping to accomplish what you have set your sights on, you have to take stock and really weigh the options. In my case, I could go ahead and stay in the Pig, pull the 13.1 miles out in a half-assed attempt, potentially ending my running career by hurting myself beyond repair.

Alternatively, I could stay at home and wait until my body is completely ready for me to start running again. At which time, start back into my training calendar and run a good 13.1 miles, well prepped, well trained, well timed, and above all else, well thought out.

If you want to accomplish your goal no matter the cost, a foolish runner would opt for plan A - run it anyway. The smart runner realizes that planned properly, there will always be next year for THAT particular race, and there will always be many, many more races where that comes from.

Yeah I am bummed. I missed the opening two races of running season (Shillelegh and the Corktown Races). I am going to miss the Flying Pig. However, my running schedule has become flexible, and honestly - I am geraing up for a fabulous showing at the CRIM this year, as well as Chicago a few times over.

Them be the breaks a runner takes I guess. You win some, you lose more, but in the end... you run now (or don't run now, as my case would be) so you can run more later.

Consider this my fold... I am just not ready to go all in.

SIck... AGAIN??!

Man oh man. Welcome to week three of my hell.

Oh yes folks.. I am sitting here with a HUGE head-cold. I just am not getting better. :( I did get in my runs last week, but a 6-miler today? I can barely breathe, and my nose is completely inoperational. Me thinks that I will have to get in my 6 sometime during the week. But we all know how I have deviating from the plan.

I just do not see how I can do it today, but I will try. I mean even if I have to walk 1 mile and call it quits... I need to at least get out there. (snotty nose and all!)

Ugggh... well time to go back an dlay in bed to see if I can banish this soon to be full-force headache.

Stay comfy out there folks!
~RunnerGirl