Fitness And The Foodie: Excuses, Excuses

There are a lot of reasons to NOT get out of bed at 5:00 a.m. This morning in fact I could think of about a dozen of them. When my alarm went off I actually had to remind myself why I had set it in the first place. This happens to me a lot in fact but most of the time it is because in my sleep induced haze I think it is Saturday on Wednesday.

Today though it was just Tuesday and it was 5:00 a.m. and my alarm was telling me to get up, get dressed and go to Spin. I grabbed a Greens Plus Protein Bar with Whey Isolate (not soy!). I really like this bar before intense workouts. This morning in particular it was especially needed. When I arrived at the gym and checked in for the class a half hour early the desk attendant kindly informed me that on the first Tuesday of every month Spin is an hour and a half, not an hour. So at 5:30 I scarfed my bar and headed for the bikes.

After the workout I was really energized and ready for a very long day. By the time I got to my office though hunger was setting in. Time to try the pumpkin oatmeal (oh, and another Americano from Starbucks).

I'm not posting the oatmeal recipe until I get it right. This one was only so-so. I've got some work to do before I'm ready to share. The flavor was good but it is still turning out dry. I think I'll add applesauce next time.

Lunch was a quick salad and leftover stuffed zucchini which, I must say, was even better today. And, a quick bite of dark chocolate for the road.

I raced up to Carlsbad for a meeting with Sur La Table to discuss their involvement in the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival and our new event, The Gourmet Experience. The store is a gourmet enthusiasts dream come true with every type of gadget you could possibly hope for. But after a two hour meeting and an hour and a half commute I knew I'd need some kind of fuel in me for long night ahead.

Sometimes healthy options are not available, and rarely available at industry dinners. The wrap from Starbucks had 290 calories and was enough to hold me over so that I did not graze on all the food stations at the awards ceremony.

The California Restaurant Association Gold Medallion Awards recognizes restaurants and chefs who have excelled in the past year. Voting is done by CRA members, betting is done by us. Yes, guilty, we do place bets on who will win though this year the ceremony went very late and we all had to sneak out before we found out who took home the awards.

We've seen a lot of Kevin and Steve lately. They are both incredible matchmakers and seem to know everyone in the industry. The night was filled with introductions.

And a first time at the CRA's for Mary and Joyce who are a huge part of the Fast Forward team. There was also a lot of catching up and I was able to spend some time with Ingrid Croce (Owner of Croce's restaurant and former wife of singer Jim Croce)

There were a number of food stations during the reception of which I tried the ceviche from Peachtree Catering (fantastic!), and the beef from US Foodservice.

Dinner was a simple salad with prawns (skipped the dressing), and a beef dish that I did not eat. I was really happy to have had that chicken wrap. It kept me full all night.