Just keep swimming

Finals week. Over.  I survived yet again, barely! I went home for a week to celebrate the 2nd birthday of a very special little niece.  We got her some baby-sized scrubs and a toy doctor kit (or as I re-labeled it “K-bug’s Physical Therapy Kit”)  She spent the weekend using her “med-cine” because “Dora sick.”  So cute!

I also got to go to Branson while I was home.  Woo hoo, or should I say, Yee Haw!  I went to a show for the first time since I was in high school.  My good friend was the lead in a Cirque du Soleil type show.  Look, I know celebrities!

It’s always fun catching up with family and old friends but, I have not cooked.  I have lots of stuff stockpiled, however, so don’t fret!  Here is an attractive and delicious dish I made a couple weeks ago.

Grilled Chicken and Peaches With Chipotle Sauce (adapted from Epicurious.com)

• 1/3 cup peach preserves *(I used Apricot)
• 1/3 cup peach nectar *(Apricot-peach blend)
• 4 tsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp adobo sauce from canned chipotle chilies
• 1-2 minced chipotle chili *(I added this to make it spicier)
• 2 tsp EVOO
• 1 tsp chopped fresh cilantro plus garnish
• 3 large peaches, rinsed, de-fuzzed, cut into 8 wedges
• 4 boneless chicken breast halves

1.Coat grill with some nonstick spray. Heat grill to med-high. 2.Stir preserves, next 3 ingredients, 2 tsp oil, and chopped cilantro in a medium bowl. season with salt and pepper. Transfer 1/4 of sauce to a small bowl. 3. Brush peaches, then chicken with oil and sauce from the small bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.  4. Grill chicken until cooked through (~ 7min each side) and peaches until slightly charred (~2min per side). 5. Place Chicken and peaches on plates. Drizzle with remaining sauce and garnish with cilantro. 

The time has come!  Tomorrow we leave for Santa Barbara.  Saturday is the big day! Wish me luck! In the meantime, here is a quick swim workout that I did that you should try:

• Warm up                  300
• Pull                           200
• Base                         6 x 100 (:05 rest)
• Threshold Intervals   4 x 75  (:10)
• Kick                           200
• Cool-down                 400
• Total   2000 meters

I thought I got shot

This weekend was much like all the others.  Crazy busy! We went on a long ride Saturday.  25 miles to a delicious breakfast of Eggs Benedict Florentine and Sweet Potato Tater Tots. Yes, tater tots.  And they are AWESOME! We were on our way back home when **BANG**  I thought it was just a flat tire but when we went to change it this is what we found….

Ugh! The whole tire was destroyed.  After I got over the initial shock of thinking I was shot, (It was that loud!) I realized I was not going to be working off those tater tots. I had to get a ride home. Bummer! But, the weekend was not a complete bust. We enjoyed some great meals. Here’s one you should try:

Southwestern Style Chimichurri Sauce (from WholeFoods.com)

• 1 cup chopped Italian Parsley
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 T chopped onion
• 2 T minced jalapenos
• 3 T red wine vinegar
• 2 T fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 cup EVOO
• salt and pepper to taste

Put everything in a food processor and pulse until well chopped. I marinated some chicken in it for a couple hours reserving about 1/2 cup.  We grilled the chicken and added some extra sauce on top. Serve with the some grilled bread and grilled corn.

Grilled Corn with Cilantro-Lime Butter (from Epicurious)

• 1/4 stick of butter
• Juice from 1 small lime
• zest from that same lime
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3-4 fresh corn, shucked

Combine the butter, lime juice, zest, sugar, salt, and cilantro in a bowl and mix well.  Grill the corn on a medium-hot grill for 10 minutes, turning occasionally, blackening the outside slightly.  Serve the corn with the butter.

Paddington says she hopes everyone had a great weekend too!

Ready for Battle

This weekend we decided to try something new. I’ve now been consistent with my running and lifting,but this my friends, was a whole new beast. The Warrior Dash. Just a little 5k, no big deal.  Oh, but let’s throw some cars to climb over, walls to scale, ropes to climb, fire to jump over, and end with crawling through mud under barbed wire. Now that is what I’m talking about! First, obviously, you must have a costume.

We decided to call ourselves Warrior Goddess. Chad was a little offended so we amended it to Ultimate Warriors. I think we look tough 😉 It’s the gold sequin headbands.

It was pushing triple digits in heat again so our 3 pm start time was not ideal. But, we made it, we got dirty, and had a blast doing it.  I highly recommend even you non-runners to try one of these events.

Now, if you are going to race like a warrior you need to eat like one too.  Here is a recipe that I originally started using back when I was on the Clean diet a year ago. It was a good book with many good points. I found, however, that it is just not realistic as a lifestyle. It is also not a good choice for someone who works out. I became very irritable and tired, which is exactly opposite of how you are told you will feel. I was in the middle of a tough quarter in grad school, so being exhausted all the time was not an option. I only lasted two weeks of Clean. But, as I said I learned some good things from it and I use many of the delicious, healthy recipes like this one.

Baked Citrus Fish in Parchment

• 2 filets of fish (I’ve used Cod, Halibut, and Orange Roughy, all good)
• 2 T olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped Kalamata olives
• 1 Lemon sliced
• 1/2 zucchini sliced
• 2 T capers*
• 1 T lemon juice*
• salt and pepper to taste*
• Parchment paper

Preheat oven to 425*. Cut two strips of parchment, approximately     in size.  Drizzle oil on paper and place fish on top. Arrange zucchini and lemons on top of fish, alternating them.  Top with remaining oil and lemon juice (split between the two equally).  Add the olives and capers to each and salt and pepper.  Fold up paper around fish like a little package.  If I can’t get the paper to stay put I secure it with toothpicks.  Bake in the oven for about 12-15 minutes.The paper will be slightly browned. Serve in the paper immediately. 

This time I didn’t have the lemons, but I would highly recommend them. I also added fresh basil from my plant and used spears of mini zucchini instead of slices. I grilled some shiitake mushrooms and brussels sprouts for a side.  Just a little olive oil drizzled on top with some salt and pepper. There is also a mini steamed artichoke in there 🙂 This is so easy, so healthy, and so delicious!

It’s probably about time that I give an update on the actual Operation Meltdown.  The mission has been less about weight loss and more about getting healthy and it is paying off.  Slow and steady I am now down six pounds.  Not a ton but if you have been following for a while you have seen the ups and downs as I have tried to figure out what works and what doesn’t.  I’m feeling good and I’m only four pounds away from my goal. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon!