Archive
06.23.06-06.29.06
work was a bit hectic this week, so i had to shift my training schedule around a bit. i wasn’t feeling my best either and i haven’t figured out why. lack of sleep ? not enough calories ? i’ll figure it out eventually… i didn’t do any strength training this week and i’m not too happy about that. part of my treatment for Osteopenia is to do weight bearing exercise. i have to remind myself every day that strength training should be my priority.
friday 06.23:
* rest day
saturday 06.24:
* practice tri: .25 mile open water swim, 16 mile bike ride, 2.3 mile run
sunday 06.25:
* 1200 meter swim
monday 06.26:
* 1hr spin class
tuesday 06.27:
* 1000 meter swim
wednesday 06.28:
* 38 min run
thursday 06.29:
* 19 mile bike ride
Agave Mustard Dressing
I don’t know why I hadn’t attempted to veganize Honey Mustard Dressing before. I used to enjoy it quite a bit back in my non-vegan days. I decided to try it tonight for some unknown reason. I had been craving a salad, but I’ve been having trouble consuming enough calories lately so I had to add a lot of protein and a bit of fat to it.
4 oz organic arugula
8 oz seitan, cut into bit size pieces
bragg liquid aminos
1/4 cup wild rice flour
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
Dressing:
2 tbsp vegan sour cream
1 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp agave nectar
1/2 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper (to taste)
1. To make the dressing, mix mayonnaise, sour cream and mustard with wire whisk. Add agave nectar, lemon juice, salt and pepper, stirring until well combined. Set aside
2. Spray (or brush) each piece of seitan with braggs.
3. Place flour and garlic powder in a large zip-lock bag. Place seitan inside of the bag. Close the bag, making sure to leave some air in it.
4. Shake the bag until each piece of seitan is coated with the flour mixture.
5. Heat olive oil in a wok or large pan over moderate high heat. Gently add seitan and cook for about 10 minutes or until each piece is golden brown.
6. Place a generous amount of arugula in a bowl. Add some of the cooked seitan and then pour the delicious dressing over it.
Wow ! I couldn’t believe how good this dressing is. I will definitely be making this more often. If you want, you can add some sunflower seeds too.
tri-ed it
and loved it !
i did a practice tri this morning. i went through my checklist last night and packed everything i needed. i woke up at 6 something this morning and dragged Jose out of bed. i had a piece of toast with strawberry jam, filled my water bottles and packed my fuel. i cut off the tops of two dixie cups so they were half their normal size. i cut one cliff bar into six pieces and put them in one of the dixie cups. i put six cliff blocks in the other dixie cup. i then put both dixie cups in my bento box (side by side). this worked really well.
the beach is 2 miles from my apartment. we arrived there around 7am. i set up a “transition area” in my trunk. the weather was perfect. i couldn’t have asked for a nicer day. i ran/walked to my starting point and swam back to where my car was. Jose was waiting for me where i was supposed to stop. i ran back to my car and got ready for the bike ride. i finished my .25 mile swim in 9 minutes 14 seconds.
i got on my bike and immediately my legs felt heavy. i caught up to a group of riders. they were riding slower than my regular pace, but i thought i’d use them to pace me until my legs started to feel better. my legs didn’t start to feel better until the half way point where i turned around. on the way back i got a little rained on, but not much. it was refreshing. i caught up to a guy who was riding alone and wasn’t looking well. as soon as i passed him, he picked up his speed and caught up to me. as we arrived at a red light he thanked me and said i had given him a second wind. he was doing a 70 mile ride and was on his way back. i quickly did the math in my head. he had to be at least 15-20 miles from home. i pulled until i got back to my transition, wished him well and got ready for my run. i rode for 16.2 miles in 51 minutes and 20 seconds. my average was 19mph – not too bad considering how bad my legs felt.
like any transition run, the first few minutes were weird. my legs felt like gummy worms. i eventually found my rhythm and was able to make it home before 9am. Jose waited for me at different points during my short run to make sure i was ok. he was very instrumental in the success of my practice tri. i ran a total of 2.3 miles in 20 minutes and 35 seconds. that’s about a 9 minute mile – not my favorite pace, but i had plenty of energy when i was done. overall, it was a great experience. the morning went by so quickly, yet i enjoyed every minute of it. the hardest part was putting up with Jose when i woke him up at “too early” o’clock (for him).
i now feel even more confident about the triathlon and knowing Jose will be there will give me even more confidence on race day.
06.16.06-06.22.06
this was a good week of training. the weather held up pretty well and i was able to do my open water swim. i feel more confident about the triathlon now. i am doing a practice tri this weekend. i guess you’ll read all about that in next week’s log. i haven’t met with my local swim team/coach yet. for some reason i’m not very motivated to do that. i am one of those weird people who like to train alone. on the other hand, if there’s something wrong with my form, i’d like to know now so that i can correct it before the big event.
friday 06.16:
* rest day
saturday 06.17:
* 25 min run
sunday 06.18:
* 30 mile bike ride
* 1/4 mile open water swim
monday 06.19:
* 1hr spin class
tuesday 06.20:
* 20 min run
* 750 meter swim
* strength training: legs, abs
wednesday 06.21:
* 1hr spin class (very intense)
* strength training: abs
thursday 06.22:
* 1200 meter swim (endurance)
Coconut Vegetable Stirfry
This recipe was inspired by 28 Cooks’ Thai Coconut Vegetable Stirfry.
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger, minced
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 (14oz) can coconut milk
1 head broccoli, in florets
1 medium eggplant, in cubes
1 red bell pepper, chopped
crushed pepper flakes (to taste)
1 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp agave nectar
1 tbsp dried basil
1. Place garlic, ginger and lemon zest in a food processor. Pulse until minced.
2. Combine processed mixture with coconut milk in a large saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Add broccoli, eggplant, red pepper and crushed pepper flakes. Simmer for 10-12 minutes.
4. Add tamari, lime juice, agave nectar and basil. Cook for another 3 minutes, gently stirring.
5. Toss in some cashews and transfer to a bowl or serve over rice.
This was absolutely delicious !
06.09.06-06.15.06
i tried to take it easy on my legs this week and work harder on my swim. i couldn’t get out to the beach on sunday because of the nasty weather so i hope to accomplish that next week. i am also going to start meeting with a swim team/coach 2-3 times per week until my triathlon (only 4 weeks away -yikes !).
friday 06.09:
* rest day
saturday 06.10:
* 20 mile bike ride
* 500 meter swim
* strength training: upper body, abs
sunday 06.11:
* rest
monday 06.12:
* 1hr spin class
tuesday 06.13:
* 22 min run
* 800 meter swim
* strength training: legs, abs
wednesday 06.14:
* 20 mile bike ride
thursday 06.15:
* 1000 meter swim
Sesame Garlic Seitan
My little brother just graduated from high school so I took him out for lunch. At this point, he knows to choose a place where I can find something vegan. We normally compromise one way or the other. One of my picks was P.F. Chang’s. He said that wasn’t real Chinese because they don’t have Sesame Chicken on the menu. That got me thinking… Jose was always a big fan of the bird and might enjoy a vegan version of something like that. Here’s what i came up with:
8 oz seitan, cut into strips
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp peanut oil
1/4 cup agave nectar
red pepper flakes (optional, to taste)
sesame seeds (to garnish)
Batter:
1/4 cup flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp egg replacer
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup plain soymilk
1 tbsp tamari
2 cloves garlic, minced
1. In a deep bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, egg replacer and baking powder.
2. Add soy milk and tamari. Whisk until there are no lumps. Stir in the garlic.
3. Heat oils in a wok over medium-high heat.
4. Mix the seitan in with the batter and transfer to wok.
5. Stir fry the seitan, stirring constantly, until each piece is golden brown.
6. Lower heat and stir in the agave nectar and red pepper flakes. Cook for another minute. Transfer to serving plate and garnish with sesame seeds.
I was very happy with the way this turned out. Yum !
The Tequilo
About a month ago, I started fantasizing about having a triathlon specific bike. I wanted something old, used and cheap. Something that I could play with and beat up without feeling an ounce of guilt. See, when I joke about my road bike being worth more than my car, I am not really joking. I live in constant fear that something will happen to it.
Well, Jose actually found what I wanted on eBay. The bike arrived in pieces two weeks ago. I immediately took it to the shop and picked it up on Friday. I took it for a test ride Saturday morning. Oh my. This bike is fast !
The bike is old, but it’s in great condition. I changed a few things on it: new saddle, tires and bar tape.
I took it out for another short ride tonight. There were nasty headwinds, but we managed. I am looking forward to a long ride this weekend. Let’s hope the weather cooperates.
aye carumba
what a day… it all started at 6:35am when my alarm went off. i was supposed to do a long ride and was really looking forward to it. as i mentally ran through the ‘getting ready without waking Jose up’ routine in my mind, i noticed how dark it was in the room and then heard that dreaded noise – raindfall. i hate rain. i know it’s good for the plants, yada, yada, yada. it can rain at night when i don’t ride my bike or run or do laundry or… you get the point.
i looked out of the bedroom window to confirm what i’d heard. yup. rain. falling hard. i went back to bed. it rained all day. at one point i could almost hear the rain inside of my apartment. i thought i was going crazy until i walked past my bathroom and saw the enormous leak over my bathtub. i didn’t feel so crazy after all. it was literally raining inside of my apartment. i immediately called my landlord. he came over in a flash and looked at the leak. he must have apologized 100 times on his way out and then said the ceiling would collapse around 9pm.
i started to make dinner. i finished slicing some summer squash and set my knife down. BANG ! an explosion of sheetrock all over my bathroom. i looked at the time. 8pm. early. we spent an hour cleaning the bathroom. again. and went to Sublime.
Pad Thai
The night before my birthday, one of my oldest and dearest friends took me to my favorite place on earth, Sublime. She had never been there and asked what she should have. She is a Pad Thai kinda gal and I remembered the Pad Thai being very good the last time I had it. Of course, that had been a year ago when the restaurant was under different management. Still, I thought vegan Pad Thai is Pad Thai minus the fish sauce. I was wrong. She and I were both very disappointed, so I decided to try out my own Pad Thai recipe at home.
8 oz dried flat rice noodles
3 tbsp coconut oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup lemongrass, chopped
1 cup bean sprouts
1 cup scallions, finely sliced
1/4 cup peanuts, chopped
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt (to taste)
Sauce:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp agave nectar
2 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsp tomato ketchup
1. Combine sauce ingredients and set aside.
2. Cook rice noodles according to package directions and set aside.
3. Heat coconut oil in a wok over medium-high heat.
4. Saute garlic and lemongrass for a minute.
5. Slowly add the sauce. When it starts to sizzle, add the bean sprouts, scallions, peanuts and red pepper flakes. Cook for another minute.
6. Stir in the noodles and add the salt. Serve immediately with tofu, if desired.
The first time I attempted this, I had tons of left overs and got sick of Pad Thai. This time I made 4 servings which was perfect !
