What I Ate Wednesday #125: After Effects of Vegan

My Valentine’s Day dinner was the first time going back to meat and dairy after 2 weeks of eating completely vegan. To be honest, I haven’t looked back. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t like my experience or could never fathom having a vegan meal again, but I just really enjoy pretty much all things meat and dairy. Egg whites in my oatmeal, crispy bits of roast chicken, a nice bowl of yogurt with bananas and cinnamon. YUM!

My experiences have adjusted the way I’ve been eating, however, and I’ve really been enjoying these changes. If you recall, Cyrus had me on a 70/15/15 diet focusing on 70% carbs coming from fruits and vegetables. I’ve been using MyFitnessPal to track my macros and am doing my best to try to hit that 70/15/15 breakdown but in reality have been getting closer to a 60/20/20 split; certainly not the end of the world! And aside from my oatmeal, I’ve been sticking with the fruits and veggies source of carbs.

[Breakfast]

I seriously missed my oatmeal with melty nut butters! The basic idea of this breakfast has remained the same but I’ve added some extra fruit on top. I will typically mash up 1/2 of a banana into the oats and now slice up the other half on top. Or I grab some frozen mango/papaya/pineapple frozen mix when I’m out of bananas.

[Lunch]

Lunch has definitely seen the biggest change. I’ve swapped my daily big ass salad for a bunch of roasted sweet potatoes and some source of protein on the side like quinoa beet burgers, tuna, or shredded chicken.

Cyrus mentioned that lunch is the time to really load up on carbs in order to fuel the rest of your day, A salad, while obviously healthy, is typically a lower carb option full of ingredients that will essentially fill space in your stomach but not provide the source of energy that your body needs. I’m in loveee with sweet potatoes so this has not posed any issue for me at all.

[Dinner]

Speaking of potatoes, we’ve basically been eating roasted russets every night with dinner. Nathan is certainly happy; variations on chicken and potatoes might be one of his favorite meals!

[Snacks]
Typical snacks throughout the day include bananas [sometimes up to 3 per day!], apples, and the occasional bar. I know bars aren’t always ideal and I definitely used to rely on them more than I do now. I didn’t want to have too much sugar, even the natural stuff, but since increasing my carbs, a banana is the perfect snack to take with me to work. And sometimes if I’m home, I’ll dip into a little nut butter too 😉

Any changes?
I was most curious to see if I’d notice any changes in my body, skin, weight, etc. by going vegan. In the first week, I lost 2 lbs and saw an increase in ab definition. I was also super crabby, low energy, having trouble getting through my workouts, and just generally exhausted by the end of the day. I wasn’t eating enough.

Cyrus explained to me that my RMR [Resting Metabolic Rate] is about 1600 calories per day and after adding in my workouts, active lifestyle, and simply the energy expended from my body digesting my food, I should be taking in about 3000 calories per day. I’m not sure I ever hit 3000 calories, but once I started eating more, the 2 lbs came back and the extra definition was lost. Was I bummed? A little. But at the same time, I actually had my energy back!

I plan on keeping up the increase in carbs, mostly because I love sweet potatoes and bananas. In terms of noticeable physical changes, I really don’t see a difference and I happen to be much happier not limiting myself in my diet. If I want a vegan meal, great! I’ll have one. If I want a huge cheesesteak [Nathan got one while I was eating vegan and said it was the best of his life], I’ll eat a huge cheesesteak! I just enjoy food and the experiences I have with Nathan trying new things entirely too much to give it up.

It was a great experiment and I’m glad I did it. I think it’s important for me to experience different diets, workouts, etc. to be able to speak to it if someone asks. I’m up for a challenge and I’d try another if the opportunity presents itself.

Food for Thought

What’s the most extreme change in diet you’ve tried before?

What I Ate Wednesday #124: Valentine’s Feasting

Valentine’s Day might be one of my favorite holidays. We don’t do the bouquet of roses, sappy cards, get dressed up for dinner kind of thing. We learned that wasn’t necessary many years ago. Not to mention, who wants to pay $200 for a dinner that takes HOURS to come out after ordering while 100 other people wait around you? Personally, I’m a fan of a quiet night at home, cooking together and drinking some good wine.

We cheated a little bit this year and bought our main dish. Last year, we went all out and made a pistachio-crusted lamb which turned out wonderfully. This year, however, we went to the farmers’ market the week before Valentine’s Day and saw that Roli Roti has a new rotisserie duck l’orange. We already love their rotisserie chicken, brussels, and potatoes, so how could we say no? We woke up on Valentine’s Day and got to the market as soon as they opened to get our duck.

It was so nice to relax rather than having to work on the main dish. So we broke out a bottle of Black Zeppelin, a 2009 Syrah blend, that we got in 2012. We bought 2 bottles and had the first right away. This bottle was even better than we remembered!

It was also gone pretty quickly!

I also made a cheesy [ha.. in both senses of the word] plate to snack on while the side dish was in the oven. Thank you very much, Cabot!

And what goes better with cheese than prosecco? Only the finest bottle in our house..

The main event.. it was better than I could have imagined! Did I mention that this was my first time eating meat in 2 weeks? Nathan’s idea for the dippy egg over top of the rosemary garlic roasted potatoes and brussels was killer. I was absolutely in heaven!

And if that wasn’t enough, I made a “single serving” [which really turned out to be a double. So we nicely shared.] of Smitten Kitchen’s blueberry crumb bars. I’d only made them once before, a couple years ago, and Nathan has been talking about them ever since. I decided Valentine’s Day was the perfect day to break it out again. We also bought some Tahitian Vanilla gelato from our favorite place, Lush, right down the street. It was the perfect topping.

Dinner was fabulous, as always, and we were more than full. Or as we like to say, fat and happy.

Food for Thought

Did you do anything special for Valentine’s Day?

A Love-ly Weekend

Gooood morning! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and hopefully a nice Valentines Day too [if you celebrated.] Friday was a bit crazy for both of us and by the time we got out for dinner, all we wanted was something cheap and easy. Mexican it was!

It was the last dinner of my 2 week vegan experiment and what could be a better way to finish it off than with grilled veggies, rice, black beans, and lots of guacamole? Oh right.. fresh tortilla chips and salsa, too 😉

Saturday was all about taking it easy. In all of the running around that we’ve been doing lately, we decided that pulling the married card out and relaxing all day sounded like the best way to spend Valentines Day. We hit up the farmers’ market bright as soon as they opened to get the main star of our dinner—rotisserie duck l’orange. I guess we cheated a little bit in a way by not making the main dish like we usually do, but hey, it was hard to pass up! And such a gorgeous day, too. Which is why we took the opportunity to spend more time outside and walk over to the nearby rose garden.

Too bad we forgot that it’s still winter [yep, 75 degrees in February!] and there were only about 10 roses to be seen. Ha! We’ll have to make our way back over there in a couple of months.

The rest of the day was spent watching movies and having a few drinks on the couch.

Only the finest in our house! The perfect apertif while we were cooking up some roasted brussels & potatoes to go with the duck. We also popped open a bottle of Black Zeppelin, a 2009 Syrah blend, that we bought in 2012. It was surprisingly better than we had remembered!

Don’t worry, I’ll fill you in on the rest of the food on Wednesday. Except for dessert.. a homemade personal pan blueberry square topped with Tahitian Vanilla gelato from Lush, down the street.

Sunday was for workouts, working, errands, and the start of the new day bed for all of our guests! Ikea is the best.. ish.

Don’t worry Mom and Dad, the room will be a little more put together in a week and a half when you get here! Looking forward to this week being a little quieter. And actually being able to do some real meal planning. I missed meat and seafood!

Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday – 20 Minute Thai Basil Turkey and Lemongrass Rice Bowls
Monday – Kung Pao Salmon and Chicken with Sweet Potato and Broccoli
Tuesday – Leftover duck l’orange with citrus fennel and avocado salad
Wednesday – Smoky Chipotle Beet and Quinoa Burgers
Thursday – Burrito Bowls
Friday – Out!
Saturday – Leftovers

Food for Thought

Did you celebrate Valentines Day?

Foodie Friday: Bourbon Banana Cheesecake

Planning a Valentine’s Day dessert is always a struggle for me. Everything I see is always chocolate, understandably, but Nathan is more of a fruit dessert kinda guy. I don’t discriminate. Any kind of sweet is good by me! I played with a few different ideas over the past few years; chocolate raspberry truffles, blackberry cobbler, chocolate strawberry cups.. they were all good, but I wanted to do something different this year. I’m also a fan of doing something a little healthier. That way I don’t feel so bad when I eat all of it 😉

I’d seen a few cheesecake recipes floating around the interwebs and thought that might be fun, but I wanted to make it a little more special than just a regular cheesecake. One of Nathan’s favorite recipes is bananas foster [if you recall our wedding cake] so I played around and had a little fun [read: broke out the alcohol!].

Bourbon Banana Cheesecake

Serves 9
Adapted from Skinnytaste Skinny Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Ingredients
– 2 medium bananas; mashed
– 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp raw sugar; divided
– 1-2 oz. bourbon
– 2/3 cup crushed cinnamon graham crackers
– 1 tbsp coconut oil
– 8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese; softened
– 6 oz. fat free Greek yogurt
– 2 large egg whites
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 1 tbsp all purpose flour

Optional Toppings
– 1 can full fat coconut milk; refrigerated
– 1-2 oz. bourbon
– 1 tbsp maple syrup
– Dark chocolate bar [for shavings]

Directions
Place a small pot over medium heat and add the mashed bananas and 1 tbsp raw sugar. When the sugar has dissolved and the bananas are smooth, take the pot off of the heat and add in the bourbon. I say 1-2 oz. so you can do to your taste. Let cool completely.

While the bananas are cooling, preheat the oven to 350°F and spray an 8×8 pan with non-stick spray.

Crush the graham crackers [I used my food processor to make sure they were really crushed!] and mix with coconut oil. Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, 1/4 cup raw sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Gradually add in the Greek yogurt, egg whites, and flour. Finally, mix in the bananas until just thoroughly combined. You don’t want to overmix. Pour the mixture over the crust.

Bake 30-40 minutes until the center is just set. Allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for a few hours before slicing. When you’re ready to serve, slice into 9 equal squares and top however you like!

I served ours with bourbon coconut cream.. it was really supposed to be whipped cream, but the coconut milk just didn’t want to whip.. whoops! That didn’t make it any less tasty though. I also used my zester and to add some dark chocolate shavings over top.

Nutritional Information
Per square, without toppings

183 Calories  /  7g Fat  /  21g Carbs  /  14g Sugar  /  1g Fiber  /  7g Protein

Not too shabby for a rather decadent dessert, huh? 😉

Food for Thought

What is your favorite dessert?

What I Ate Wednesday #74: Our Valentine’s Feast

One of the reasons I love Valentine’s Day is because everyone loves showing off their “best meal ever.” Certainly I’m no different and I can guarantee you our dinner and dessert.. and drinks.. were all fabulous! We always make an effort to come up with a menu together, Nathan takes over the protein, we work together on the sides, and I’m in charge of dessert. It’s my favorite. And when everything comes out perfectly, it’s that much better!

I got dressed up.. right down to the shoes 😉

Nice angle, yes? Haha

Appetizer

We cheers-ed to our 10th Valentine’s Day together with Lagranja sparkles.

Don’t be fooled by the small pour. We smashed that bottle!

I love their red wines and figured I couldn’t go wrong trying this. We also demolished an awesomely tasty plate.

Truffle gouda, grapes, balsamic jam from Italy, smoked almonds, & nut thins.

The chunks of truffle in the cheese took us right back to Italy. That cheese is really something special!

Entree

To make the crust, we threw pistachios, rosemary, and garlic into the food processor. I think we both could have polished off a plate of the crust by itself. That’s always a good sign!

We hit the pan.

The flip. Check out that crust!

The final product! Pistachio-crusted lamb with cherry port sauce, Moroccan wheat berry salad, and roasted carrots & butternut squash.

The flavors of each pieces blended so well. I love the bite that the wheat berries have, the carrots and squash were roasted just right, and the lamb. Ooooh the lamb. Nathan couldn’t have cooked it more perfectly. It was medium rare and the crust had such a nice crunch. The cherry port sauce was flavorful and not sweet at all. I could have eaten more!

Dessert

More to drink? Beer goes well with dessert, right?

One of our faves.

What wouldn’t go with bourbon banana cheesecake?

Bourbon banana cheesecake with bourbon coconut cream, cinnamon,
and dark chocolate shavings.

I thought that amount of chocolate looked nice for my picture but I immediately added more before I actually sat down to eat it. It was so creamy and I’m happy to report that it’s actually not so bad for you either! I’ll be sharing the recipe this week 😉

My valentine.

After just a few drinks [ha!] and with full bellies, we cozied up on the couch to watch the first episode of House of Cards [holy moly!] I hope you had as great of a day as we did. Perfect way to kick off the weekend!

Food for Thought

What were your plans for Valentine’s Day?
Do you stay in or go out to celebrate?

Link Love #24

Well I’ve been running around like a nut job trying to get everything together for when my parents get here. Tomorrow. Seriously, we’ve been talking about it for what feels like forever and now it’s finally here! I couldn’t be more excited! Clearly the best way to share my excitement is to share some wonderful posts from the past week. Enjoy 🙂

Health

Why This Registered Dietitian Eats More Fat – fANNEtastic Food via Kath Eats

Why This Registered Dietitian Eats More Fat – fANNEtastic food via KathEats
Nutrition Q&A: Protein and Plant-Based Diets – Oh My Veggies
What’s Wrong With The Modern Diet – Business Insider
Mindful Living – Carla Birnberg via Eleven by Venus
5 Reasons to Workout in the Morning – Happy Fit Mama

Fitness

3 Cross Training Workouts & Allowing Mental Breaks – Cotter Crunch

3 Cross Training Workouts & Allowing Mental Breaks – Cotter Crunch
HIIT Bootcamp Inspired Tread & Shred Workout | Bodyweight Total Body – Sarah Fit
My Sweaty Valentine Workouts – Running Hutch [Awesome partner workouts for more than just Valentines Day!]
450-Rep Workout (All Pinterest Exercises!) – Pumps & Iron
Racing Heart HIIT – Just Call Me Janks

Food

Coconut Apricot Truffles with Himalayan Sea Salt – Fit Foodie Finds

Coconut Apricot Truffles with Himalayan Sea Salt – Fit Foodie Finds
Asian Salmon Burgers with Miso Dressing – The Curvy Carrot
Homemade Harissa (Spicy Red Pepper Sauce) – Half Baked Harvest
Market Mediterranean Pizza – Tartine and Apron Strings
Breakfast Friday | Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins for Two – Edible Perspective

Food for Thought

What is one of your favorite posts from the last week?

Five Things Friday

Happy Valentine’s Day! Have any fun plans for tonight? We have done good stuff coming up in the next week.

1. My parents will be here in less than a week! I realize I mentioned this yesterday, but can you tell I’m excited?!
2. I stocked up on our Valentines Day dinner/dessert ingredients yesterday. On the menu:
   Appetizer: Truffle gouda with crackers and balsamic jam [from Italy!] .. Entree: Seared lamb with a cherry port sauce, Moroccan rice with pistachio and dried apricot, and roasted rainbow carrots .. Dessert: Cheesecake squares. But I can’t tell you the flavor because that’s a surprise for Nathan. There may or may not be pictures to share later 😉
3. I miss the snow a little bit but I have to admit it was awfully nice to be able to take a walk this afternoon when it was 65 degrees.
   
   My parents just got a little dusting.
4. Nathan surprised me last night by picking me up after work to go out to a point near our place and watch the sunset.
   
   It was a really crisp, clear night and such a nice way to end the day. Doesn’t hurt that he’s cute too!
5. This weekend is Belgian Beer Fest at Max’s. It is, by far, our favorite bar in Baltimore and Belgian Beer Fest is the best. Definitely missing that this weekend. We’re going to try to make up for it this weekend and while my parents are here.. I’ll report back.

Giveaway Winner!

Congrats to Tiff at Love, Sweat, & Beers! You’ve won my Peanut Butter & Co. 31 Days of Dark Chocolate Dreams giveaway!

Food for Thought

What are your Valentines Day plans?
Are you being hit by the crazy weather?

What I Ate Wednesday #35: Recent Favorites

This week hasn’t exactly been the most exciting in the kitchen, so I thought for this week’s What I Ate Wednesday, I would share some of my recent favorites that I’ve had. I’ve already shared my Valentine’s Day dinner and dessert [have you made those chocolate cups yet?!] and I figured I’d save you from another week of sweet breakfast scramble 😉

A couple weeks ago, Nathan and I ventured over to BonChon, a Korean restaurant in the area that we had yet to try. As I noted last week, we love Asian food so we were pretty psyched to go! I absolutely love beef bulgogi and had never tried Bibimbob before so there was no question as to what I was getting.

Amazing. Seriously, I couldn’t have imagined it to be any better. The bottom of this hot pot [which was really hot!] was lightly lined with sticky rice that crisped up as it sat. Tons of veggies were loaded on top; picked carrots, daikon, green onion, mushrooms, etc. Finally it was topped with beef bulgogi and a single egg yolk that, once popped, cooked over the hot beef and coated everything. It was so good.. I wish I could go get one right now! I think I might have to make a trip this weekend.. Luckily for you, it’s a chain. Find one in your area and go!

Another recent favorite is, of course, brussels sprouts. I constantly wish I had an unlimited supply so I could eat them everyday. What’s with the bad rep that these delicious morsels get? I’ll never understand. Rather than roasting my sprouts, I decided to put a little spin on them and came up with a sweet and tangy twist. And how appropriate for the love your veggies month theme?

Cranberry Balsamic Brussels Sprouts

Serves 4

Ingredients
– 1 lb brussels sprouts
– 1/4 cup dried cranberries [dried cherries would be great too!]
– 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
– 1/2 tbsp EVOO
– Salt and pepper to taste

Optional Toppings
– Cashews or your favorite nut
– Unsweetened shredded coconut

Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Chop the ends off of the brussels sprouts and slice in half. Once the water is boiling, drop the sprouts in and cook for about 2 minutes. Drain completely and return the pot to a burner over medium heat. Add the EVOO to the pot and return the brussels sprouts back in.

Saute the brussels for a minute and then add in your balsamic vinegar and cranberries. Cook for a few more minutes, allowing the vinegar to caramelize the brussels sprouts. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with some nuts or coconut and enjoy!

Nutritional Information
Per 1/4 lb serving without toppings

100 Calories  /  2g Fat  /  19g Carbs  /  5g Fiber  /  8g Sugar  /  4g Protein

Food for Thought

What is your favorite vegetable?

Roasted Banana Berry Chocolate Cups

With Valentine’s Day being on a Thursday, I knew I wanted to be able to whip up a quick and easy dessert. [Nathan was in charge of dinner!] Even though we had a great idea to make homemade dim sum together, we knew that it would have to wait for a weekend. When I saw Tone It Up’s post of Valentine’s Day desserts, I knew I had something to play with.

Makes 10 cups
Adapted from Tone It Up

Ingredients
– 10 squares from 6.8 oz dark chocolate bar
– 1 medium banana
– 3/4 cup non-fat, plain greek yogurt
– 1 cup berries; sliced if using strawberries
– 1/4 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut; toasted
– Ground cinnamon [optional, for garnish]

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Microwave the chocolate chunks in 30 second increments until smooth. Spray 10 mini cupcake liners lightly with non-stick spray and paint the melted chocolate on each of the liners to about 1/4″ thickness. Place the cups in the freezer for 20-30 minutes until hard.

While the cups are in the freezer, place the banana on a cookie sheet and into the oven, still in its skin. Roast for 15-20 minutes until very brown. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. After the banana has cooled, mash it up and mix it into the greek yogurt.

Remove the chocolate cups from the freezer and peel out of the liners. Spoon some roasted banana yogurt into each cup, top with a few berries, some toasted coconut, and a sprinkling of cinnamon. Serve immediately.. they won’t last long! 😉

Nutritional Information
Per cup

97 Calories  /  5g Fat  /  13g Carbs  /  2g Fiber  /  9g Sugar  /  3g Protein

Food for Thought

Did you treat yourself to a Valentine’s Day dessert? Did you make something special or order out?

Bootcamp is Almost Over?!

There are only 2 weeks left in Tina’s Best Body Bootcamp. I can’t believe it! The first 6 weeks have flown by and I feel like I’ve accomplished so much already.

The workouts over these past 2 weeks have been either pyramid sets or high intensity circuit training. I definitely am more a fan of the pyramids. While I enjoyed the timed workouts in weeks 3 and 4, hitting a certain number of reps and sets is more my speed.

Weeks 5 & 6 Thoughts

As I mentioned in week 1, I’ve been doing this bootcamp routine along with the Love Your Body Challenge which ended on Valentine’s Day. Between the schedules of both routines, I’ve been able to really challenge myself with new workouts and push myself further. I’d have to say my biggest accomplishment thus far has been running a 10K! Before a few weeks ago, my longest run was just over 4 miles but now I’m confident that I can keep upping my mileage. Maybe there’s a half marathon in my future?

Killer. Loved it. Like I said, the pyramid workouts were my favorite; they really pushed me out of my weight comfort zone and into pressing up to 30 lb dumbells! And somehow, over 8000 calories burned later, at the end of the weekend I’m actually feeling refreshed and ready to go again! These last 2 weeks are the time to really kick it into high gear and I’m looking forward to mixing it up again. My muscles are so confused.. that’s definitely a good thing!

Favorite Meal of the Week

Valentine’s Day is always a day for Nathan and I to have a great dinner at home. I know I posted this fun Valentine’s date idea, but in reality, with the big day being a Thursday, that just wasn’t going to happen during the week.

Instead, we made shawarma-spiced lamb chops, roasted asparagus, Israeli salad [cucumber, tomato, onion, dill, lemon, & olive oil], and tahina sauce. I also picked up some fresh naan, lemon rice, and a platter of Mediterranean appetizers complete with falafel, baba ghanoush, stuffed grape leaves, and more!

Finally, for dessert, I was inspired by a Tone It Up recipe and made my own twist on their dark chocolate strawberry cups. Expect to see it on the blog soon 🙂

Previous Reviews

Best Butt-Kicking Bootcamp [Week 1]
Bootcamp – Take 2 [Week 2]
Beat Up Bootcamp [Week 3]
Bootcamp: The Midway Point [Week 4]

Food for Thought

How do you measure success in your workouts?