Fitness And The Foodie: Some Chefs Make It Easy To Be Good

I've been listening to an Audible book for the past couple of weeks called Empire of Liberty about early American history in the late 1700's. I can't tell you much about it because I'm asleep usually before the introduction, the remainder of the chapters playing away in my ear throughout the night. I think I'm hoping that by osmosis I'll glean something that will leave me feeling like I'm learning. Sort of like those self help tapes that make you promises that simply by listening you will stop smoking, lose weight, stop biting your nails, gain confidence, etc. Anyhow, listing to a book as you sleep can do some pretty trippy things to your subconscious.

As I was lifting myself from the fog this morning I could hear men outside our bedroom window arguing over who would get the remaining rations of food. There was a lot of racket, things being knocked over and bunch of yelling. I remember thinking that they must be going through our garbage cans again (we've been having this problem actually). As I pulled myself from sleep to let Michael know about our foraging intruders I realized that the voices were coming at me from the ear buds, not from outside our window and in fact, I was the one who was hungry.

So I got up, and made eggs.

Michael has slowly resigned himself to eating egg whites, which I love. He's even happier when I disguise them in a way that makes him feel like he is getting something bad. For breakfast, I made us scrambled egg whites with low fat Swiss cheese and pesto left over from our panini dinner the other night. I put it all on an Orowheat sandwich round. It took about 10 minutes total to make and was a really satisfying way to start the day.

When I got in to the office this morning, my friend Stephanie had left me a tiny bouquet of herbs from her garden which totally made me smile. She is also a Fage addict and used some of the fresh mint in her yogurt with berries. I'm going to have to try that one tomorrow!

My absolute favorite snack of Fage, berries, almonds and tablespoon of Ezekiel sprouted grain cereal. Eating this mid-morning makes it so that I'm only a little hungry instead of a lot hungry at lunch.

I mentioned yesterday that Ken and I had a VIL (Very Important Lunch), with Chef Deborah Scott from Island Prime / C-Level / Indigo Grill / Kemo Sabe fame. Chef Deborah was gracious and full of ideas on how to involve her in our upcoming San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival.

We got to talking about Fitness & The Foodie as over the past year or so Chef Deborah has made her own physical transformation. She works out with a trainer who "makes her run" as she put it (I feel her pain) and has adopted a new way of eating.

So much so that she has incorporated healthy dining options at her menu at C-Level. Ken, my friend and business partner, is a wonderful photographer, and I mean that truthfully.

Unfortunately my point and shoot was a little too pedestrian for him and the photo of me with Chef Deborah did not actually take.

This is me, wondering what he did wrong:

We never did figure it out.

Now, Chef Deborah explained that her "Fuel for a Healthier Lifestyle Menu" is not necessarily low in calories, although slight modifications and portion control will make each of these dishes calorie friendly if that is your goal. All the ingredients have their place nutritionally and are well balanced meals.

I opted for the Blackened Rock Shrimp Quesadilla on a whole wheat tortilla, and asked that they go very, very light on the queso. Ken and I had a big conversation about how this request really takes away the essence of a quesadilla being a quesadilla. Way of the wood my friends, way of the wood.

My dilla (minus the quesa) was smoky and just the right level of spice and the avocado creme on top cooled the heat perfectly. I scarfed down two pieces, gave one to Ken and took the rest home for dinner.

Day two on the pasta bender for Ken (He's killing me already!) with lobster macaroni and cheese.

Thursday nights are Evil Training Monster nights so an hour before torture time I fueled up with Ak-mak, peanut butter, banana and an iced coffee/ protein drink. Ak-mak is often a base for lunch or snack and tastes great with sweet or savory toppings. I keep a box at work and at home, top with hummus, pears, turkey, pbj, laughing cow, you name it.

Tonight's workout consisted of a foursome with Michael, Shannon, Marina and myself, and of course the ETM.

I think we all started a bit slow but picked up steam when we started to see the finish line. Evil Training Monster (ETM) put us through our paces with core, upper and lower body circuit.

This move Mike (ETM), likes to call the Flashdance. Working your glutes and hamstrings you push your legs out then tuck them under, lifting your hips up at the same time. One word. Ouch.

Single leg dead lifts are usually my thing. I love doing these but toward the end, and with 25lb weights, I really needed to concentrate.

And Zeus (what a perfect name for a trainer's dog), always has to see us off as we are leaving.

I am a big fan of using leftovers for new dinners. Remember the Peppercorn Crusted Tenderloin from the other night? I used the the remaining ingredients from that dinner to make a steak sandwich for Michael. I broiled the sourdough (also left over from our Turkey Panini sandwich dinner) to get it crisp, turned it over and topped with the steak (cut into strips), and broiled open faced for about three minutes with provolone cheese and a little tomato. I added mustard and a bit of low fat mayo. He said it was AWE-SOME.