January 8, 2012 in Random Pedaling, Recipes
This morning I altered a recipe for a breakfast wrap from Ellie Krieger’s book, “So Easy.” My breakfast was oh, so good. Here’s how you make it:
1 spicy tortilla (or regular if that’s what you’ve got)
1.5 boiled eggs, remove all but 1/2 of one yolk
1/2 packet of Wholly guacamole
1/2 ounce feta
8 slices of cucumber
Ms. Dash Onion and Herb seasoning.
Microwave and eat. Yummy. Mine clocked in at 237 cals.
August 31, 2011 in Random Pedaling, Recipes
Aids, Jeep, Bicycle 1986 - Andy Warhol
I’m obsessed with Andy Warhol. Some of his work I appreciate. Others, I detest. He’s fascinating because of his marketing savvy. He knew what people wanted and gave it to them. He sought fame and stardom, and knew what he needed to do to make it happen. He changed the face of art while copying the world around him. He was a publisher, editor, filmmaker, music manager, painter, photographer, he mixed media, he drew, and he sat back and observed. Fascinating!
I’ve been observing a lot lately. Sitting on the couch watching documentaries on Andy Warhol and art, following athletic people’s twitter feeds, reading magazines on food and fitness. It’s over 100 degrees outside every afternoon when I get out of work. I wait for summer to end so I can enjoy being outside again. Today it’s 103, but Sunday the forecast says 96. Relief is on its way.
The new NTC app blows away the first version . They are nothing alike. The promotional photography is by Annie Leibovitz. Free app with inspiring packaging is a win, win.
The Nike Training Club app and spin class have kept me busy in the A/C. If you have an iPhone I strongly suggest you download it. It is the perfect fitness app, and it’s free. Spin class, I’m less infatuated with. Too many instructors yell while wearing microphones in small rooms. I already don’t want to spin. I miss dirt. Instructors, let’s make this pleasant because the pool of sweat under the spin bike proves I’m busting my butt. No need to yell out every number in your count, or grunt your own rap in “uhs,” “Yeahs” and numbers. I’m proud to say I’ve never left when completely irritated by the shouting. Instead I channeled that frustration into my spinning legs and imagined that I was riding away from the noise.
The strength training is tough, but squats, lunges and push-ups are getting easier. So I’m now on this strength training kick, and being able to do it at home with minimal equipment, my own music and a free app is fantastic.
But the time has come to get off the couch, stop observing, and get back on my bike. It’s time to choose an event. Maybe I’ll ride a century, participate in a tri, or get ready for an endurance MTB challenge. I’ve been reading enough of others’ adventures. It’s time to have my own again.
The heat may have kept me off the trails, but it’s not kept me out of the kitchen. I feel the best when I cook my own food. This date and walnut bread from The Athlete’s Palate makes frequent appreances in my recipe rotation. You can enjoy it with breakfast, as a snack, on a run, or out on the trail.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees with the shelf in the lower half of the oven. Coat a nonstick, 1 quart loaf pan with butter (or use walnut oil if you have it handy).
In a large bowl mix dates, walnuts, baking soda, salt and honey. Add the hot water and mix thoroughly. Then mix in the eggs, vanilla extract and blend together well. Pour batter into pan. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. An inserted toothpick will come out clean when it’s done. Remove from oven and let stand for five minutes, then turn out loaf onto a cooling rack.
August 14, 2011 in Recipes
For a few weeks I was hooked on Zico chocolate coconut water. It’s full of electrolytes, potassium, it’s fat-free and all natural. Of course there are reports that counter the claims, but it’s good, tastes like chocolate milk, and after a long hot ride it hits the spot. My issue is that the stuff costs over $2 a bottle.
I’ve cut back on dairy, so I’ve been looking into milk alternatives. I found a knock-off Yoohoo recipe online, changed the recipe a little bit, and the result tastes just like Zico for about half the cost. Read the rest of this entry →
April 10, 2011 in Random Pedaling, Recipes
I was sidelined two days this week due to stomach problems. I wasn’t sick. My body just wasn’t happy with me. There was lots of mouth watering and nausea going on. I blame my diet. I confess, I have not been working as hard on my nutrition since getting back on my bike. It’s not good to make excuses, but I’m going to anyway. When I do something, I’m all in. Some might call it obsession. I prefer committed.
Six weeks ago I was cooking everything. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks – all made from scratch. The food was really good and the process was fun and rewarding. During these months of cooking I did something to my body. I made it happy. My food was made with real ingredients with expiration dates and no preservatives.
Getting back on my bike sidelined the cooking. I still cook, just not as regularly and with less zeal. I’ve been eating more prepared foods, including snacks. With a full-time job it’s a challenge to want to do that much work when I get home after a bike ride.
I didn’t think I was eating terribly. Just a few packaged things here and there when I’m hungry. My meals are predominantly homemade. But this week when I stopped making my granola bars and went back to eating store bought bars, I started to feel queasy after every meal. Since this has happened after eating these exact granola bars in the past, as well as after consuming some other “organic” crackers that were packaged, I figured it was something in the packaged food.
So the granola bars are out the door. This was a tough one because I’ve eaten these bars since I was a kid. But they’re gone, along with the supposedly healthy prepackaged foods in the pantry. Back to making my own food. Yes, it takes a lot of preparation, much like biking, but man do I feel like a million bucks when I do what I’m supposed to do.
A granola bar recipe would be fitting right about now, but I made banana bread, not granola bars because I had all of the ingredients in the kitchen. This bread is good to shove in my Camelback when going on a long ride. Okay, it’s not good, it’s delicious. If you use the exact amount of overly-ripe bananas the recipe will turn out delicious every time. Don’t try to use almost overly-ripe bananas. The bread will turn out good, but not as good as it should be. (Recipe is after the jump) Read the rest of this entry →
February 1, 2011 in Random Pedaling, Recipes
Last weekend my friend Lorinda invited me to ride in the Faulkner Four, a four hour endurance race in Tyler, TX. Lorinda is inspiring. She completed her first Ironman a few months ago in Florida. She mountain bikes, kayaks, runs, competes in adventure races. My saving grace was that we’d each ride solo, not as a team.
We both are training for endurance rides later in the year. Dirty Kanza 200 for her. Sylamo’s Revenge for me (which she’s attended three times. Yes, she’s a badass). A four hour event is what I need to get my head back in the game.
The past month I have spent more time cooking than riding, so the night before I made a batch of peanut butter chocolate rice crisps treats. This was my fourth batch. They came out perfectly. I urge you to click here for the recipe. They are really good. You can also see with whom I’ve been cheating on my bike blog.
