Blogging the Menu: Day 84

Here's your lesson for today:  The Nazis were assholes.  This lesson brought to you by the movie Monuments Men.

Date night with the husband!  We went out for some chow, then bought some eggs because we always do boring shit like that on date night, then went to the movies.  We flipped a coin for Monuments Men and 12 Years a Slave.  I'm still going to see 12 Years a Slave.  I liked the movie, it was interesting and there were moments of humor and suspense.  I knew the outcome so it wasn't too stressful.  A winner for a Wednesday night.

And since you bitches can't go to sleep until I post my fucking food log:
On to the Menu!
Breakfast was hospital cafeteria because I'm a lazy whore who can't be bothered to cook my own eggs.  In reality it's because even though I woke up and turned off my alarm and went to the bathroom, I somehow ended up asleep again and woke up in a panic at 6:30.  Don't ask me how it happened.  I'm stumped.

Um, I ate most of it.

We went out for lunch just to get the fuck out of the office.  

Nice and bloody, as nature intended.

We went to Red Robin for dinner because we are old and had a gift card.  I had a Royal Red, because why just eat beef when you can eat beef, bacon, and eggs?  And yes, I did eat sweet potato fries twice in one day.  

Shut your pie hole.

I bought a bag of dehydrated apples to eat at the movie (no sugar added).  I didn't get a picture, but I ate about half the bag.  They were nice and crunchy.

So there you have it.  I ate out three times in one day and had fries at two meals.  Exciting stuff, yes?

And now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go have sex with the door open.

Blogging the Menu: Day 83

Day Two of my solo week has concluded (sort of).  I'm starting to wonder about the rest of the week.  Too many things pending.  Makes me itchy.  I'm trying to make sure everything is complete and tied up in a nice bow when I leave-I don't like to feel like I left things undone.

I set my alarm for the gym this morning, but I woke up with the same headache I went to bed with, and it was pretty shitty.  So I swallowed a handful of ibuprofen, reset the alarm and went back to sleep for a couple of hours.  When I woke up, it was gone.  Guess I needed the rest.  But I can go for the next 4 days, so no harm done.

On to the menu!
I had another lazy food day.  We don't have much in the way of groceries right now, so I used up what we had laying around for breakfast, hit Festival for lunch, and had pizza for dinner.  Okay the pizza was a little involved, but other than that it was lazy town.

I made a green smoothie for breakfast from a post a friend shared on Facebook.  Bananas, kale, cashews, etc.  The recipe says it serves two, but I thought "Eh, I eat as much as two people."  So I made it, and it was good, but I couldn't finish it.

Doesn't taste green at all.

I was fairly busy all morning, and I didn't get hungry (that I noticed) until after noon.  I was going to go for a bowl of chili, but I really wanted sushi, so that's what I had.

Yup.  With rice.

I'm trying to be a little more forgiving of myself this week for less-than-perfect eating.  I'm under stress and I have a strong tendency to eat my feelings.  So far I've avoided eating junk food, and I figure indulging a sushi craving will keep me from eating something far less useful.  

I also had some clementines.  

Last night I made paleo "cheese" for pizza tonight.  It's a little involved, but not difficult.  I used a jarred organic pizza sauce and topped it with turkey pepperoni along with my "cheese".  The cheese melts, but doesn't do that string thing that real cheese does.  I have to say this was pretty good.  It's not exactly like real pizza, but from a flavor perspective it's dead on and the texture is close.  I got two good sized pizzas out of the recipe with cheese left over for one more round.  

As close as I get to pizza, beer, and a cookie these days.

My big plan for tonight is watching a DVR episode of The Red Road (I started watching it because that ridiculously hot guy from GoT-the one who plays Khal Drogo-is in it) which is actually a pretty interesting show.  Then who knows..reading a book, knitting a sock, going to bed at 8pm?  It could get pretty wild in here.  

Wow, seriously.  Jason Momoa is reeeaaaaallly. hot.

Blogging the Menu: Day 82

Woo!  I'm sitting in my living room alone!  My plans for this evening involve a manicure and multiple episodes of Black Sails.

I went to the box this morning to redo 14.3.  I bested my score from Friday by 10 reps.  I wasn't feeling so hot this morning-headachy and off, but the workout went pretty well.  The friend I was judging beat her score by a bunch of reps, too, and set a new PR.  It was very exciting.  I screamed out the last 5 reps or so. Really, truly screamed.  It helped!  Planet Fitness would not approve.  I'm a 36 year old mother of 3 with stretch marks and cellulite and Planet Fitness would call me a "Lunk".  Sound the alarm.  What a crock of shit.

On to the menu!
So I forgot to take a picture of my lazy breakfast.  I went to the cafeteria for eggs, bacon, and fruit.  I had to open the office at 8 since I'm flying solo, which didn't leave much time for cooking.  It was good...

Lunch was a salad from the cafeteria.

Pretty basic.

Had a snack a little later in the afternoon.  A couple of clementines and a Larabar.

I've had a splitting headache all day and I have no idea why.  I'm well hydrated, I had caffeine, and 2 doses of ibuprofen has had no effect.  Meh.  I'll try another round before bed.  After work I hit up Festival for a few things I needed to make paleo pizza tomorrow night.  I made the "cheese" tonight so it would be ready for the rest tomorrow.

Cashews, pine nuts, gelatin, herbs, and almond milk.

In a couple of hours it should be "cheese"!

I was too lazy to do much else, so I had leftovers.  Some roast and cauliflower mash.  Filled me up and now I'm ready to do some serious relaxing.  

Beefy.

Today was pretty good at the office, but the next couple of days have the potential to get very, very ugly.  I think it'll be okay, though, as long as I have plenty of coffee.  Friday I'm all set to go to hip hop yoga with my husband.  The coolest thing about this week is I can go to the gym whenever I want!  I might even go on Thursday night for the reveal of 14.4.  The hubs and I can even go to the free WOD on Saturday together.

Wednesday night we get a date night!  I'm not on call and he's off, so we might do something crazy like see a movie.  

I'm so fucking old.

Blogging the Menu: Day 81

This is going to be quick, since I really want to foam roll and go to sleep.  I have a second date with 14.3 tomorrow at 5:15am and I want to look pretty.

On to the menu!

I had a sunbutter and banana waffle sandwich and grapefruit for breakfast.  I swear I took a picture, but clearly I was drunk because there's no picture in my phone.  Oh well, sucks to be you because it was both beautiful and delicious.

Lunch was basically a RxBar at the gym, since after Pilates and the challenge group meeting I had to come home so we could get on the road to my in-law's place.  The children are spending Spring Break with their grandparents and cousins.  Huzzah!

It's a stock photo, but I did eat one, I have witnesses.

Snack was venison sticks and veggies.

Not much venison left.

Dinner was pork chops, veg, and bacon wrapped chestnuts.  

Double pork FTW.

After dinner we had an early birthday celebration for my boys.  There was cake.  With technicolor blue frosting and ice cream.  I did not indulge.  It's odd, but it's been such a long time (81 days to be exact) since I've had sugar/flour that I can't remember what it tastes like, so I didn't really want it.  Instead I had strawberries.  They were delicious.

I don't regret the decision.

And now, off to bed!  This week is going to be a stressful one, but I get to start it with a good hard workout, and that's a good thing.

I know tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day, but I'm reasonably certain that you aren't required by law to get shitfaced and act like a goddamn fool.  So let's keep things safe, m'kay? M'kay.

Blogging the Menu: Day 80

I had a great run today!  10 miles, my first double digit of the season.  It was a lovely day for it.  Not much wind, some sunshine, and even some fluffy snowflakes.  This is the kind of winter training I love.  Kind of a shame we had to wait until March 15th to get it!

I wore my Brooks Pure Flow which is a much more minimal shoe than I typically wear for long runs, but I wore my Launch last week and frankly my knees hurt after that run.  My knees never hurt.  They're shoes I've worn before and deeply loved and this pair is pretty new-only about 75 miles on them.  Still, I didn't want to jinx myself if they were the problem, so I wore the Flows.  Verdict?  My knees felt great.  Now, I was also wearing my CW-X Stabilyx tights, which might have helped, but I was happy that my Flows held up so nicely.  I've never really entertained the notion of wearing them for a half marathon, but maybe I should.

I'm supposed to do the Two Rivers 10-mile next week, but I'm having a hard time finding a sitter, and I'm starting to think maybe I should skip it.  It is my babies' 4th birthday and it seems sad for them to wake up to a sitter.  The reg was only $25, so it's not like I paid $65 to run (ahem Soldier Field 10-mile) and it's an event I've done before.  Anyone want to buy a bib?

On to the Menu!
My husband made bacon pancakes for the kids (you know, that Pinterest thing where you pour batter over a bacon strip on the griddle?) and they thought that was pretty cool.  Since the griddle was out I made banana pancakes for myself.  The recipe is pretty Zoney, with protein, fat, and carbs.  I just added some bacon to even up the protein and drizzled on a little maple to even up the carbs.  Ends up being a 4 block breakfast.  Not too shabby, plus it's pretty.

No walnuts today.

The husband went out for a run and I wanted another cup of coffee, so I made a coconut milk latte.  Damn these are good.

My running partner today was on call and had a morning of visits, so we went out for our run around noon.  I don't usually run that late, so I had a RxBar as a pre-workout snack figuring if it sits well for a WOD it should sit well for a run.  It did.  Actually worked out pretty damn great.

With the latte it amounted to a 3ish block "meal"

The run was fantastic, but seeing as I hadn't showered since Friday morning before work (and I went to hot yoga and just finished a 10 mile run) I smelled fucking awful, so I made my post-run smoothie and stuck it in the fridge while I got in the shower.  You know when you get to the point where you can smell yourself?  Yeah, I was there.  It kept pretty well in the icebox and gave the chia seeds a chance to thicken things up a bit.  This thing was really good.  Made 2 glasses worth and is extremely well balanced.  Sweet potato, almond milk, protein powder, chia...all the big hitters along with some coffee grounds and vanilla and a touch of maple syrup.  I'd like to try it with pumpkin puree as well at some point.  

Two pints of lovely.

Dinner was meatballs of my husband's creation.  The "this sounds good" method, which means they will never be recreated.  He also made cauliflower mash, but didn't realize the almond milk I purchased for my smoothie was vanilla flavored (unsweetened) when he splashed some into the food processor.  I tasted the end product, and you'll be happy to know that you can't taste the vanilla at all when mixed with cauliflower.  You can smell it, which is odd, but you can't taste it.  

There's ghee in the mash as well, so this is a 4ish block meal.

Cauliflower takes up way less room when you mush it up.

I feel like I'll need to eat again before bed.  We'll see.  Maybe I'll have another RxBar...

Tomorrow I was thinking of doing the 8:15 WOD, but at this point I'd be better served by active rest in the form of Pilates.  Then it's Paleo pot-luck brunch time (after I play judge for a friend's 14.3).  I'm going to give 14.3 another try on Monday morning.  I want to get through those stupid 155s.  Tomorrow night I'll be dragging out the rumble roller for some painful but needed mobility.  Hopefully while watching Cosmos.  I love Neil deGrasse Tyson.  Big time nerd crush right here.

The laundry waits for me...then an early bedtime!  

Blogging the Menu: Day 79

Today was a long and active one!  Started with 14.3 at 5:15am and ended with hot yoga at 5:30pm. There was also a walk outside in there, so I'm calling this day a win.

Yoga wasn't hip hop, because the instructor forgot.  She offered those of us who came for hip hop yoga a free class because of it.  I'm going to take her up on it next Friday night.  I really wanna do yoga to rap music.  Badly.

I really don't know how I feel about yoga.  I've taken classes at the Y and at various studios over the years.  Maybe I just don't get the yoga vibe.  I like the stretching and the core work, but I don't think I'm getting out of it what I'm supposed to be getting.  When people ask me "How was yoga?" I'm always like "Ummm...okay?  I guess?"  I can't tell what "good" yoga is.

I know what good CrossFit is.  It's when I finish a workout that seemed impossible, or seemed doable but got really shitty in the middle, and I'm laying on the floor thinking that if I died right then that would be fine.  Then I get up off the floor and there's a sweat angel where I was contemplating death.

I know what good running is.  It's when I'm moving with perfect fluidity and I feel that all the pistons and fulcrums of my body are operating with a synchronicity that makes my heart sing.  It's when I finish and I'm sweaty and tired but still grinning like a fucking idiot.

Yoga?  I don't know.  I mean, I know it's useful.  It helps with flexibility and balance and static strength.  But so does Pilates and I'm allowed to talk during Pilates.  In a yoga class I always feel like I'm supposed to be having some kind of spiritual revelation or something.  No one laughs or talks and the music is always some kind of new-agey stuff that's supposed to help you find your center or some shit.  The instructor always tries to walk you through your mind-garden or somewheres with imagery and breathing and intentions.

Whenever a yoga instructor says to set an intention I find myself thinking "I will not fart in downward dog.  I will not fart in downward dog."  I'm pretty sure that's not what she means.  I also find my mind wandering to my to do list or a rerun of my last WOD or my favorite show or the book that I'm reading.  I can't focus on my breathing for very long.  And I fall asleep in savasana.  Always.  It's 60 fucking seconds and I can't stay awake.  Does that count as "releasing the day"?  I find unconsciousness pretty relaxing...

Anyway, that's why I was stoked for hip hop yoga.  I thought it might change the mood up from something serious to something fun.  I'll give it another go next week.

I'm also going to give 14.3 another go on Monday.  Because I really want that 185.

On to the menu!
I was the laziest eater today.  To the hospital cafeteria for breakfast.

It's Zoney.

Grabbed an apple and took it for a walk.  

A pink lady.  

Went out for a fajita lunch.

Weirdly, with the guac it's pretty much a 3 block lunch.

I ate a clementine in the afternoon.  Forgot to photograph it.  I grabbed a RxBar to eat on the way to yoga. I didn't have time for dinner, but knew I needed to eat.

RxBar to the rescue!!

After yoga I came home and had some fresh beef roast.  That shit was mooing two months ago.  It was delicious.  I roasted the last of my Costco broccoli.  No added fats because beef roast is pretty fatty and I roasted the veg in olive oil.

I swear there's like 4oz of meat under there.

So today was a good one.  Got a deadlift PR (a tiny one, but still), got a nice walk, got in some hot yoga, and lots of good food.  Can't beat that.  I have the weekend off, then go into next week with a third of our office staff on vacation.  It's gonna be interesting.  Since this is actually the last day I'll ever work with my partner, he made me a little "vacation survival kit"/farewell gift.  Good coffee, tea, Larabars, and fruit.  My other office mate threw in some snazzy running socks and schmancy loose leaf tea.  Wasn't that nice?

Snaaaaaaaackssssssss

The smalls will be spending spring break with their cousins and grandparents.  They are really excited.  It helps me out quite a bit because I won't have to be stressing about the kids while I'm stressing about the office (which actually makes me less stressed about the office).  Tomorrow I'm heading out for 11 or so miles with a friend and Sunday is a little CFGB fun before going to the in-laws with the spawn.  

Next week I'm going to hit the gym hard.  If I can't eat my stress I'll lift it.  And I'll end the week with hip hop yoga...and my boys' 4th birthday.  That's just fucking crazy.  They're just noisy little calendars.

Blogging the Menu: Day 78

This cold snap needs to shove off.  How am I supposed to convince myself that Spring is coming if it's going to be 20 degrees?  Throw me a bone, Mother Nature.

I'm going to rant just a teeny bit for a second. An organization called Freedom From Religion is making a big stink about the Mayor of GB inviting the pope to visit the city. They say a government official shouldn't be reaching out to a religious figure. I think they need to unclench their asses.

Is the pope a religious figure?  Yes. He is. But he's also a cultural figure.  He's in non-religious publications, he's discussed on the news, and his words are broadcast all over the world-including on motherfucking Twitter.  There's a damn magazine devoted to him (with a centerfold) being published in Italy.  He's like Kim Kardashian, only not vapid and irrelevant.  This guy doesn't just make religious policy, he actually makes social policy through the vehicle of religion.  If the pope comes to Green Bay?  I'm going to see him, and I am atheist. 

Ok.  Rant over.  PS, you should totally follow @TheTweetofGod on Twitter.  That shit is awesome.

On to the Menu!
I went to the box this morning for mobility Thursday.  It involved something called Quad Smashing and a safe word.  It was pretty awful.  I used the safe word.

Before going in I ate half a RxBar which approximates a 1 block snack.  It worked out pretty well.

The coconut Cacao ones are better.

I ate the other half as my mid-morning snack.

Breakfast was three blocks of identical to yesterday.  We have these grapefruit, so I might as well eat them.  I'm working up the nerve to try bulletproof coffee pre-WOD.

This was a great grapefruit.

Our fridge is full of leftovers, so I finished up the smashed chicken and a bag of snap peas that have been languishing in the veggie drawer for a week or so.  I also took the leftover guac to slap on my chicken.  It was sooooooo good.  Approximately 3 blocks for lunch.

Dinner was leftovers because our oven door is broken.  While my husband is attempting to fix it I made use of the microwave to nuke a kielbasa and the toaster oven to roast some broccoli.  According to the Zone book 2oz of kielbasa = 1 block, so this is about a 4 block sausage (heh. sausage.).  This is about 1 block of broccoli and considering how fatty the kielbasa is I didn't add any fats.  The grapes in the freezer are the other 2 blocks of my carbs.  I couldn't cook enough broccoli in the toaster oven to get up to 4 blocks.  Ah well.

I saw a recipe for banana chocolate paleo ice cream today.  That is getting made at some point.  Perhaps this weekend.  Ice cream and crepes.  Sounds pretty Zoney, yeah?

The 14.3 WOD announcement is in like 5 minutes.  I am terrified and excited all at once.  Tomorrow I'll do 14.3 at 5:15am rain or shine.

Oh, and Hip Hop Yoga?  Is totally happening tomorrow night.  5:30pm at Jenstar Yoga in DePere.  Who's coming with me?