Are we ready to go Vegan?

It has been mulled over at our house many a night, admittedly by me more than anybody else, but I am slipping more and more Vegan meals into the mix and nobody has noticed, for real!  I made "beef" stew, nachos with "ground beef" and sloppy Joe's all with no animal ingredients and nobody was the wiser!  For the stew I made seitan with high gluten flour (I know this won't work for everybody because of the gluten) but I was shocked when I served it and everybody gobbled it up!  For the ground "beef" I used textured vegetable protein, vegetable bouillon and hickory liquid smoke, again, not even a question!  I told JP what I had done and he told me to quit trying to trick him he is on board with what I am doing :-)  As long as the food is good, he really doesn't care what's in it, okay that is kind of an exaggeration but still he is pretty easy.

I don't think I am ready to go fully vegan, but I feel good when I can put something on the table, that I feel good about cooking and it happily gets eaten up-in my world that is a good day!

on a second note, now that I have talked about food and eating I will talk about training...it's going okay, pretty good actually!  I have to do a long ride tomorrow and a long run on Sunday, I'm actually looking forward to it, I think that is a good sign.  One of these days I will actually get into the pool, I cannot believe that I haven't done that yet...actually I can, I wish I loved swimming more!

Have a happy day!

Run Shadowfax, show us the meaning of haste!

My new bike has officially been named Shadowfax.  I was watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy (I love those movies) and as Gandolf and Merry took off for Gondor on Shadowfax (king of the horses, I know, I am a dork) I was madly pedaling away on my new bike and it got me thinking...my bike is is white just like Shadowfax and I hope it will show me the meaning of haste, just like Shadowfax, it had to be a sign (yes, I know that I am stretching here :-)).  I am still loving my bike, I am still trying to figure out the "lady bit" issue but it is getting better.

I have be successful in getting out of bed early this week, it sucks in the morning but man-o-man, it is AWESOME at noon when I don't have to go to the gym (I avoid that whenever possible) and is is ESPECIALLY awesome when I come home and I don't have to even think about working out after dinner.  I really hope I can keep this up and create a new habit, a GOOD habit!!

Tonight I made a really good new dinner, I wish I had taken a picture of it because it turned out really good and kind of pretty.  It was called Butterflies with Chickpeas-quick and sooooo easy, 20 minutes start to finish, it would have been quicker if the pasta would have cooked quicker!  Here is the recipe:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 plump garlic clove, minced
3 Tbsp chopped parsley
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cups chick peas or 1 15oz can, rinsed
8 ounces farfalle
salt and pepper
3 Tbsp freshly grated parmesan or pecorino Romano
1/2 cup bread crumbs toasted in the oven

Warm the olive oil in a large skillet with the garlic, parsley, and pepper flakes.  Add the chickpeas and 1/2 cup water and simmer over medium.  Meanwhile, cook the pasta to package directions.  Drain and add it to the chickpeas.  Toss taste for salt and season as necesary.  Serve covered with a sprinking of the cheeses and/or the toasted bread crumbs. Delicious!

Tomorrow is an hour run and a 2000 yard swim, I suspect I am going to be tired tomorrow night, lucky for me the in-laws will have the kids, I might sleep in on Saturday, nah I want to get my bike ride out of the way and go to Costco!

Have a happy night!

Nothing much to report

It has been a quiet week, training has gone well, I had a excellent swim on Tuesday, great brick yesterday, figured out Pandora on my iphone during my spin today, had friends over for dinner; all in all, a good week!

Tomorrow, I think I will get my bike, it might be on Saturday but it looks like I will be riding a new bike for my ride this weekend, crazy.  I am kind of getting nervous about it.  I just want to be comfortable.  Is a tri set up the right way to go?  I have been agonizing on this point, yes, no, yes, no, I guess I will find out soon enough...  I think about spending 112 miles on the bike and the tri set up seems scary but I don't really know, I am TOTALLY over analyzing it!  I am babbling, I just have to stop, it is just that I am going to spend a lot of money and want it to be right!

On a side note, Ironmom posted a link to a great article for the age group triathlete, it is a must read and gives great perspective for somebody like me.  I am by no means a gunner but it helps to hear from "professionals" that when I cut things short or postpone a workout to hang with my family, that I am doing the right thing.  I am looking forward to reading parts 2 & 3!

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend and I will post more on the bike once I ride it.

Ironman training-week 7

And this post has little to do with training, oh well!  I spent my weekend enjoying my family, playing with the kids, working out, reading and thinking about a new bike.  My focus was mainly on how we eat and how I am working very hard to "clean" things up.  I am having pretty good success so far, we are pretty close to meat free, I am feeling great and I think JP and the kids are coming around too!  JP actually commented to me tonight that he can't believe how good everything tastes, score one for me!  I have to say this and you can believe it or not but since I have switched to organics and fresh ingredients my food bill is actually going down, processed food is expensive and when you count the cost of what it does to your body, it is really expensive!  I will get off my soap box now, I am just really happy with how I am feeling, physically and mentally-it is an excellent feeling, no pharmaceuticals anymore for me. Tonight I made some spicy tofu, and spring rolls, I didn't quite have my chili garlic sauce to soy sauce ratio correct, it was REALLY spicy, it even made me sneeeze after my first bite; luckily it was just that bite that was super spicy!  I took a picture of the dinner because I thought it was pretty, the photo didn't come out nearly as good as I would have liked!

I am owning the fact that I am going to buy a new bike, it was a conspiracy all along between my dad, brother-in-law, and husband they ganged up on me and knew that I would cave in, turds!  It is going to be nice to ride a bike that fits me and my dad is going to buy my old bike to park in Kona, the bike that he currently rides while basking in the run is REALLY old so my old bike will be a step up.

It is going to be a good week, not really anything too exciting happening, I will be swimming tomorrow and embarrassing myself with my awful flip turns but I figure I have to practice to get better like anything else, I just appreciate that the lifeguards wait to laugh until I have my face back in the water :-).

I took the Polar Bear Plunge, what?!?!?!?!?!?!

I have too much going on in my head, way too much!  I am really excited for 2010, the year has already started out great, aside from a head and chest cold that I am pretty sure I exacerbated with a  few of my New Year's activities!  We decided to go see my mom and dad for the new year since we had other family here for the Christmas holiday, so we packed up the car and headed to the P's house on New Year's eve.  We had a nice low key evening, my sister and her husband came over with their kids so it was cousinville, we didn't see anyone under the age of 8 all night, they were sure they were going to stay up until midnight, luckily for us they only made it to 10 so we could go to bed too!

I woke up late on New Year's day and learned about a fun run that has been held for the past 30 years, the "Hangover Handicap" 5 mile run was starting at 9:30 and they had day of race sign up, so I ate some breakfast, and headed downtown to get into the race.  It was slushy and cold but after about the first mile I was plenty warm and very excited to be out running, what a way to start the year!  My handicap was not a hangover but rather the fact that I din't have a cup of coffee before leaving the house!  When I got home, somebody got a crazy hair and we all decided to head down to the beach for the "Polar Bear Plunge," standing on the beach in 34 degree weather in a bathing suit would not normally be my idea of fun but at the sound of the horn I headed into the water with everybody else, plugged my nose and went under BUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRR!  Once we were standing on the beach again it didn't even feel cold!  My daughter wanted to do it too but I told her she didn't have enough body fat, I was shocked at the number of kids who jumped in, I don't think I am going to get away with saying no next year...

I told my mom as I was going to bed that I am really looking forward to 2010, 2009 was a very hard year, but I wouldn't take a single thing back, we learned more and did more than we have in previous years and with about half as much money.  My mom commented that I seem to be happier than I have been in a long time too, it is interesting what you can accomplish once you figure out your priorites and let go of much of the superfluous stuff that we all hang on to.  I love my life and my family and the freedom that I have found, 2010 is going to rock!

Final workout of 2009

The year in review, unoriginal. I know :-)  I have had a pretty fantastic year workout wise!  I have made it through without injury, oh sure, I have had my fair share of aches and pains and one or two bike crashes, but no significant injuries, I will now knock on wood as I know that I should not have said anything.

I did decide to set some New Year's Resolutions, they are more goals than resolutions. I track my workouts and the time and distance spent and I am pretty pleased with how things turned out.  I originally set my goal at 175 hours, thinking this would be a stretch but better to stretch than to set my sights short, right?  As it turns out on 12/29 I have 215.7 hours, I should have gone for 225 but I didn't,I could have cheated a little and put in the hours and miles that I tracked with my Garmin (I know I am a dork) while at Disneyland in early December but decided not to, so I will mention here that we walked 48 miles in 4 days!!  Here is what the breakdown looks like: 

Bike     1,112 miles - 69.8 hours
Run         385 miles - 72.5 hours
Swim 45,695 yards - 24.3 hours
Various other (P90X) - 49.1 hours

I think I will set my goal for next year at 225 hours, I hope to ride 1,500 miles, run 500 and swim 100,000 yards.  Yikes!  When I write it out like that it seems really scary but I think it is attainable, the worst that can happen is that I don't make my goal, better to go big!!  2010 is going to be a good year, I am really looking forward to it, I am stronger and healthier than I have been in a long time, maybe ever!

I am going to resolve to get a pair of Lululemon pants this year, they are too cute to pass up and from all the reviews I have gathered they are totally worth the money, perhaps a birthday present to myself, yeah, I really like that idea!


Happy New Year!!

Training week 5 - Brick!

I actually love brick workouts now, I feel so strong on my runs after a good bike workout!  I ran a 9:56 pace today, not too shabby but it was only for 15 minutes...

My great friend and training partner signed up for the Boise 70.3 in June, she sent me an official email this morning.  That race is so fun I can't wait to go and cheer her on!  It will be strange being a spectator rather than a participant, I will get a great idea of what my husband is going through when he supports me on long races.  Hopefully the weather will be kinder than it was last year, rain and 58 degrees, burrrrr!

We were supposed to get a big dumping of snow last night and it never came, I was so excited to go sledding with the kiddos, maybe tomorrow...I will be very disappointed if we go an entire Christmas vacation and never go sledding, it just wouldn't be right!

Finally, we went to a party to watch a football bowl game today, I brought hummus and veggies, the hummus got great reviews so I thought I would share the recipe.

1 can garbanzo beans with half the liquid
1 clove of garlic
4 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. tahini
salt and pepper to taste

mix it all up in a blender or food processor until smooth, you could add a table spoon or two of plain yougrt for added creaminess.  Serve with veggies and a little olive oil on top.  Enjoy!

Christmas vacation!!!!

Yahoo, it is Christmas Vacation!!! I had a long day, didn't leave the office until 6:30 but got everything done to completely enjoy no work until next year!! I have metrics that I need to meet for the year and before I left I checked to see where I was and 6 months in to the fiscal year I am spot on with where I need to be, I poured it on in October and November and today I realized it was totally worth it! The kids are with their dad, grandparents and cousins so I am all by myself finishing up some sewing, trying to finish before they all come home. I made each of the kids and their cousins a fleece blanket (picture to the left) with their name on it, it was a lot of work but they turned out so cute, it was worth it! I seriously considered buying them each a Snuggie or a Slanket but I just couldn't do it, these turned out way better, anyway, I am just a bit tired of sewing them after 9 blankets!

I had a good workout this morning, only had to go for 30 minutes so I pushed myself a bit. I would LOVE to get faster but two good friends who have ended up sidelined with injury told me that slow isn't a bad thing if you are never injured, I think I might agree with them, what is worse a 2:15 half-marathon or not being able to participate? I'll take the slow time, thanks Nicole and Anne, your words of wisdom were heard!

I have to tell anybody who reads this about the soup I made the other night, I already mentioned it but I have to put the recipe out here for all to enjoy, I had leftovers for dinner tonight and it was even BETTER!

Vegetable and Bean Soup (I made mine with organic ingredients and I added up the cost under $10 for a double batch!)
1 eggplant (sliced in 1/2 inch rings then cut into 4 pieces)
2 large tomatoes diced
1 potato peeled and diced
1 carrot cut into 1-inch sticks
1 leek cut into rings (white and light green portion only)
15oz can cannellini beans
3 3/4 cup vegetable broth
2 tsp dried basil
1 Tbsp dried porcini mushrooms soaked in hot water (only enough to cover)
1/4 cup dried pasta (I used bowties)
3 Tbsp pesto (store bought or recipe below)

Place the beans and their liquid in a large pan, add the vegetables and vegetable broth, bring to boil over medium heat, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.

Add the basil, mushrooms (with soaking liquid) and past simmer until pasta is done (approx. 10 minutes). Remove from heat, stir in pesto and serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese if you wish. Delicious!!

294 calories; 2g sugar; 11g protein; 30g carbohydrates; 16g fat

Just watched the Ironman World Championships!

Man alive, if you need inspiration that is the most AWESOME way to get it!! I sooooooo want to cross that finish line, I know that it is going to be hard, I know that I am going to truly find out what I am made of but I am so excited! Watching the age groupers finish is what I find most inspiring, the pros are remarkable and great fun to watch; but it is the 79 year old man finishing his 20th Ironman, the cancer survivor crossing the line, the double amputee getting pulled off the bike but having the guts to go out there and try and every other story that really get me going, many tears were shed today!

All I want to do is finish and if I have to do that by carrying my leg I am going to! For some people setting a goal of 16:59:59 is probably so lame, but when I finish, even if it is only with a few minutes (seconds) to spare it is going to be right up there with the top moments in my life! :-) I am not going to wish my life away however, I need all the time I can get at this point!

Okay, just a quick side note as I finish this post; first and foremost I am a mom and there are times when I just have to laugh at the things that I say, things I could have never imagined myself saying. Just now, as I was about to publish I hear a little voice from down the hall say "K, come here and put your head in the dryer!" to which I have to respond "NO, do not put your head in the dryer, nobody can put their head in the dryer." What response do I get? "Can I put my monkey in the dryer?" Of course, go ahead and put your monkey in the dryer.

Christmas program and an Interresting workout...

We attended a "Cowboy Holiday" program at school today, the kids were so cute and they put a western spin on the songs, very creative and fun! I also got to leave work early so that was a huge bonus, I love when I gather a little extra time :-)

I find that I cook a lot since I have converted to my new way of eating, luckily I like to cook, my husband is getting tired of cleaning up after me but I am trying to be a little bit neater, lucky for me he supports my new efforts, I can't imagine how hard (impossible) it would be if I didn't have his support!

Tonight I made a great organic quinoa dish that I made up, not at all complicated but really good!
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
vegetable buillion
1 medium carrot, chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas

Put all of the first 4 ingredients into a rice cooker and wait, once it is finished I added the frozen peas. I like radish's so I thinly sliced one and added that as well, not many people like them so I left them out of the "official" recipe.

Okay, so all of a sudden I am seeing a recipe pattern, I guess it is not a bad thing, at least when I forget them I have a place to reference back to!

My workout was a bit taxing, forty-five minutes of riding that took me, oh...about 2 hours, there was a lot of off and on, fortunately the last 22 minutes were constant! One of the distractions was my poor youngest, ,she slipped when she was running into the bathroom and hit her nose on the wall, ouch! I didn't notice any bruising or anything but I think she hit it pretty hard, poor thing, I hope she doesn't wake up in the morning with a black eye because she broke her nose! I wonder if kids can even break their noses? They're so small and I think the cartiledge is pretty elastic. I just hope it doesn't hurt her through the night!

Is there a Santa Claus?

My eight year old asked me this question at dinner tonight, really? I was not ready, so we talked about how just because we don't see something doesn't mean it's not real and plus Santa always brings the presents that mom and dad can't afford :-). When my kiddos were babies I thought it was soooo hard, not getting enough sleep, etc. that was nothing compared to now, I hope I can handle it!

Did a brick workout tonight, felt pretty good, I ended up on the bike way too late, JP wasn't home and nobody wanted to go to bed. Anyway, I felt great changed my shoes and headed to the treadmill for the running portion of the workout, felt fantastic until I hit 11 minutes, my heart rate spiked to 176 and I had to slow down to 4.5 to get back into Zone 2! I didn't feel weird except for the hammering in my chest but that was a bit strange, hopefully it won't happen again.

Made a big batch of pumpkin muffins, hopefully the kids will eat them if I pack them in their lunch, today I was told that the apple sauce wasn't smooth enough...I figure at some point they are going to get hungry and have to eat, right?

Back from Vacation; Ironman training week 3 begins!

Missed all of last week due to vacation, totally worth it! I got a little exercise in though, I wore my Garmin and walked just under 50 miles in 4 days (betcha can't guess where I was :-)), I call that endurance training!

I have yet to make it to the pool since I got my new fins, I plan on getting there tomorrow; Jennifer probably thinks I am so lame, I won't consider myself lame until I actually miss the workout.

Okay, now I have to comment (again) on my new organic/vegetarian eating, I cannot tell you how fabulous I feel, it is amazing and I am not shy to tell my friends and co-workers about what a difference "clean eating" (I heard this term and wanted to use it) is making. I haven't lost any weight but that is not why I am doing it, although it would be a nice bonus! My only complaint is the bloating, I am pretty sure from the fiber of all the whole grains and the veggies but somebody recommended "Beano" and that is helping things to subside, lucky for me. I think that was an over-share, oh well!

Finally, I had a break through with the kids too, tonight they ate the dinner I cooked with hardly any complaints, woo hoo! With that I will share the recipe that I used to make my own homemade, organic pesto:

4 oz basil leaves, washed, dried and de-stemed
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts (I like to toast mine)
3 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil

Pulse in a food processor after you add each ingredient until relatively smooth and let set for 45 minutes to an hour--yummy!!

I have biked 1,024 miles this year!

After today's ride I checked my miles and couldn't believe it, 1,024 miles! If you would have told me 4 years ago that I would ride my bike over 1,000 miles in a year I would have laughed at you, now here I am and it feels great!

We are getting ready to head out on vacation, I am going to accept that we will not be able to eat organic and just live with it, there are no absolutes in this world, right?

Off to prepare for a family birthday party. Oh, I have to mention the cake and icing that I made, it is amazing! You can find the recipe at the food network, it is a Barefoot Contessa recipe, I didn't have the instant coffee powder for the frosting but it still tastes delicious! I am glad a I got a work out in so I can truly enjoy eating a piece!

Triathlons and Vegetarianism

So I am now in full swing of my 30 week Ironman training and I am struggling with the balance of training and vegetarianism since I am new to it. My shift to it was rapid, one day I could eat meat and the next I couldn't and at this point there is not compromise, I am not going to eat meat. The turkey on thanksgiving smelled so good, I thought "I am definitely having a bite of that" and when I went to grab some, I couldn't even put my fork on a piece of it, I just can't do it anymore. I need to find a good vegetarian cookbook, I have found a few but they aren't very practical--very long and involved recipes, I work fulltime, I don't have hours to cook each meal. All of the pre-made vegetarian fare is good enough but over processed is overprocessed, just because it is vegetarian doesn't mean it is made from organic ingredients and isn't full of all kinds of preservatives. I sound like a whiner(sp?), I know that I am a wine-er, ha!

I got my TYR split fins today and I am so excited to add them to my drills! The should help me to be more motivated to get into the pool, 21 degrees and foggy makes it awfully tough to slide into the cool water...