Rebekah's Musings

Monday, July 23, 2012

Week one of DietBet, Kale Chips & Korean Triangle Steaks (yum!)

I weighed in one week ago for my DietBet social weightloss/diet. I'm looking at it as my making better food decisions and kickstart into better eating. Granted, during my week, I have had pizza and beer, a peach milkshake, and a few glasses of wine. But when I have had all of those items, I've also exercised. I've kept track of my calories, and allowed myself to "indulge" because I was not over my caloric budget for the day, and they didn't put me over for the day. During this challenge, I need to lose 4% of my body weight within 4 weeks. I have 3 weeks left and have lost 2.5 of my 6.5 pounds. I'm using Loseit to track my food intake and my heart rate monitor to track my caloric burn during workouts.

I've also done some meal planning again. I find when I actually plan out the food for the week, it makes eating healthy that much easier - and cheaper! Tonight's dinner was a fantastic Korean Triangle Steak with asian pear kimchi. Our appetizer was parmesan kale chips. Both were awesome. The steak came from a great magazine: Cuisine Lite, Fresh & Fabulous. This is also where the Cherry Chipotle Chicken Recipe comes from.

Kale Chips
2-3 large kale leaves
2-3 Tbsp Shredded parmesan cheese
olive oil spray
1-2 tsp sea salt

Pre-heat oven to 325F
Take 2-3 large kale leaves, remove the stem, shred into bite size pieces
Spray baking pan with olive oil spray
Spread kale on pan
Spray with olive oil spray - not too much, though
Shake sea salt over
Sprinkle parmesan cheese onto kale
Once the oven is to temperature, place the baking sheet in for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, take out the sheet and use a spatula to "unstick" the kale and parmesan cheese. Put the pan back in the oven for 5 more minutes. Keep an eye on the chips to ensure they don't burn. Once the kale is crispy, take it out and enjoy while warm.

Ready to go into the oven

mmm...

All done - Kale and Parmesan cheese crispiness. It doesn't look that amazing, but one bite and you'll be hooked.

These do not last long in our kitchen! A serving of this yumminess is about 60 calories and is packed with healthy greens that taste fantastic.

And for dinner...

Korean Triangle Steaks with Asian Pear Kimchi
This dinner is spicy, sweet, sour and just plain delicious. If you are looking for a wonderful medley of flavors, this answers.

For the Steaks -
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 Tbsp. molasses
1 Tbsp. minced garlic (you can press your own, or to save a minute, use the jar kind)
1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger (I used the jar kind here, too)
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 tsp. chili garlic sauce (like sriracha)
4 triangle steaks = tri-tip (4-5 oz. each)
1 tsp. sesame seeds, toasted (I toasted these while the the kale was cooking)

For the Kimchi -
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1 Tbsp. chili garlic sauce
1-2 Asian pears, peeled, cored and sliced (or just regular, firm pears)
1 cup seeded and sliced cucumber (I used 1/2 a cucumber)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1/2 cup sliced red onion

Brush the grill with oil
Preheat to medium-high
Whisk together all ingredients for steaks (minus the steaks and sesame seeds) and pour into a baking dish
Add steaks and marinate 10-15 minutes, flipping every 2 minutes (this isn't hard and fast, I think I ended up marinating about 30 minutes, flipping every 5 or so minutes) to hasten marinating time.
Combine the Kimchi ingredients and chill until ready to serve
Grill steaks, covered for 3-4 minutes each side for medium rare, 5 minutes each side for medium. Brush steaks with remaining marinade during grilling to help meat caramelize. Remove from grill and tent for 5 minutes.
Garnish the steaks sesame seeds and serve with kimchi

Nutrition Breakdown -
Per serving: 205 calories, 6g total fat (2 g sat, 2g mono, 1g poly); 45 mg chol; 212mg sodium; 10 g carb (1g fiber, 3 g total sugars); 28g protein; 3mg iron; 43mg calcium

Pears, cucumber, onion, bell pepper, vinegar and sriracha - a tasty combo

Sriracha is the star of tonight's dinner

steaks marinating

All cooked and tented

Mmmm, and plenty for leftovers

Cooked, garnished and ready for consumption

Steak, kimchi and beer = a great dinner for under 400 calories

The final product

The cutting of the veggies took the most time in making this dinner. I'd say I spent about 40 minutes total making dinner when it was all said and done. And this dinner was a true winner in our household. Let me know if you try either and what you think!

Monday, July 16, 2012

Money as a weight loss incentive...sounds good!

I have been ebbing and flowing on my dedication to weigh loss. I will be doing awesome and then have a hiccup and then another. Thus, I'm not really moving on the scale, and if I do, it is in the wrong direction. I will overindulge some days and not burn the necessary calories to move that indulgence off of my mid-section!

So, the other day, I saw a fun incentive to lose weight that also puts some of your own skin in the game. It is a bet that you'll lose weight - 4% of your body weight to be exact - within 4 weeks. And you put $15 on the line. The cool part is that if others fail (sucks for them), all winners split the pot. Current pot is over $2k. The challenge begins on Wednesday and you can sign up here if you are interested: http://bit.ly/N1muwo

So, that is my challenge for the next 4 weeks. I weighed in today. 165. Goal weight: 158, thus 1.5 pounds of weight loss per week. And with that, I'm off to my workout!

Friday, July 13, 2012

A sad change in humanity

I had my first big crash of the season on Sunday. I went over the bars while downhill biking too slowly off a drop and supermanned through my fall. My buddy Chaz said that he heard me exclaim, "OH SH*T!" then, "Rider Down!"

The good news - no broken bones. My right wrist is still a bit sore after 5 days and I've got some scrapes on the left hand and a fantastic bruise on my right thigh. I've been tracking the progression and the colors of the bruise. It is entertaining:

Monday

Tuesday

Friday

It kind of looks like a topographical map of some island.

I had a trip to NY on Monday night for work. It was a good trip for work and personal reasons, as I met with two clients and a potential agency, plus I got to visit with my cousin, Corinne, and my childhood best friend, Marcee, her husband and their baby! So wonderful and rewarding!

Because my wrist was hurting on Monday, I ended up wrapping it in a bandage for my trip and moved my seat from the exit row. At security, I was the recipient of the bomb swipe (and a comment that I must have taken a good spill), and then getting onto the plane, no one helped me with my suitcase! I shouldn't blame it on the fact that I was on my way to a city that typically doesn't go out of their way to interact with strangers, but I was shocked that no one stepped forward to help me, including the flight attendant who just stared at me and didn't even attempt to move. When we were deplaning, 5 people walked by and the two people who were sitting next to me on the plane watched as I tried to get my bag down. I was so sore, I could barely move my wrist. Finally a gentleman helped me out.

This situation made me rather sad. What is this world coming to that people don't stop to help one another? Are we too connected with our phones and other mediums to realize what is literally going on in the world around us? Do we no longer have compassion for others who struggle with suitcases or have issues bending over to get things? I guess I've been disabled enough times that maybe I'm just hypersensitive to helping others, but I hope that this situation isn't an indication of how our society is changing, as it leaves me disappointed. It also renews in me the need to make sure I'm more aware of those around me who struggle and visually "ask" for help even when they don't verbalize the need.

Do you go out of your way to help others, or only when it is convenient? Have you noticed a similar trend, or is it just a "NY" thing, do you think?

Thursday, June 21, 2012

12 beds in 18 days

To say that June has ~~started out~~ been busy is an understatement. I can't believe that the month is almost over. I have been travelling a lot this month. I had an overnight trip on the 6th to Sacramento to meet with a new client. I got hom on Thursday night and Matt picked me up from the airport and we drove to Angel Fire for his first race of the season. He did well. At the end of last season, he moved up a class category and although he was mid-pack on his race run, he would have been first in cat 2. Photos of the race can be found here.

We got home late Sunday night. Matt left early Monday morning for a business trip. I left early Tuesday morning for Europe. Matt got home Tuesday night and we shared a few text messages as I was sitting on the plane in Newark waiting for the boarding to finish. We taxied out and were in queue to take off and the captain came on that there was a mechanical issue! What! We were already an hour late leaving. So, we sat until a gate was made available. We sat for a good 90 minutes. A gate was available, but we were kept onboard. Then, the debarked us. And then the flight was cancelled. As it was already almost 10pm, we were out of luck for a flight that night to Europe. So, I got rebooked on a Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt the next evening. I waited in line with the rest of the lemmings to get a hotel room for the night - which the airline paid for - but the line to take the shuttle bus was insane! Another guy and I finally just shared a taxi to the hotel.

The hotel we were put in was clearly an airport hotel - abused and used. But, it worked, I was tired and it was past midnight when I shut my eyes. The next morning, I took a car into NYC and met with a potential client and then went and saw one of my oldest friends. Marcee and I met when I was in 5th grade and she in 4th. Despite my move to Georgia, we have always kept in touch. And she just had a little boy about 3 weeks earlier (my day seeing her was her actual due date). So, I was honored to be one of the first friends to meet wee Lev. It was also great to see her hubby and sister, who was also in town.

I got back to Newark on Thursday with no traffic. I went to the ticket counter only to learn that I was on standby for my flight!!! WHAT!!! I was not happy. I had called Lufthansa that morning and the agent had given me my seat number and everything. So, I was directed to go ahead and check my luggage and head to the Lufthansa lounge (having gold flying status is a wonderful perk when flying in Europe). At the lounge, the gentleman was able to help and just put me on a flight flying from Newark to Düsseldorf (a better route anyway) and then to Zurich. I made it to Zurich, but alas, my suitcase did not. Ugh! I filled out the necessary paperwork, gave the agent a list of the hotels I'd be at (all 7 of them) and purchased a train ticket into the city. I walked to my hotel, took a quick shower and met with the hotel representative to do a site inspection. From there, I went with the convention and tourism delegate to see lots of venues and sites around the city. She also gave me a pass to use for the trains, buses and trams during my stay. I used it, too! I ended up my evening having dinner with our local partner agency owner, Silvan. Getting out, seeing the city and staying up late certainly helped on the jetlag front!

I was wonderfully impressed by Zurich. The views are lovely, with a huge lake looking at the alps. The transit system is simple and really easy to use. The people are nice and the city is small enough that you don't get lost. I ended up seeing 5 hotels while I was there, staying at 3. And I did quite a bit of walking. I enjoyed dinner with Silvan, his wife and two small children on Friday night and on Saturday morning, I took the train to Lucerne, a town about 40 minutes from Zurich to do a site at a potential venue. I would LOVE to have our meeting there. It would be amazing. I got to Lucerne and purchased my boat ticket. I then wandered through the Saturday street market and purchased a bag of fresh cherries and a container of strawberries. They were both amazing. The ferry boat ride for an hourish was beautiful. Pictures below! I enjoyed a lovely brew on board and when I finished, I was at Pilatus. We rode the steepest cog railway up the mountain side and stepped off to the most breathtaking views. To one side of the mountain was the panorama of the alps. The other side was the city and the lakes. I really wanted a mountain bike to ride! I saw a baby ibex go across the side of the mountain briefly, too! After my site of the meeting space, I took the gondola back into Lucerne and walked to the bus stop and took the bus back to the train. When I got back to Zurich, I was pooped!

One really fun purchase I made in Zurich was a new messenger bag. I've been wanting to get a messenger bag for a while and this one fit me quite well. It is a company called Freitag and it was started by two bike guys. They take old truck tarplains (more of a European thing that is used along the side of shipping trucks to help id the truck and prevent things from flying out), bicycle inner tubes and seat belts to construct all sorts of bags. Take a look at their story.

Sunday morning, my alarm went off at 4:30 so I could catch the tram to the airport for my 7am flight. Why I booked a flight that early, I don't know. Corporal punishment? Copenhagen greeted me with rainy, gray skies. Bummer. I got to my hotel, checked in and then took the metro to the city center and walked along the waterfront. After a fair bit of walking, I decided to grab lunch at a little cafe. I enjoyed a lovely salmon and asparagus sandwich with a Carlsberg Special, since it is the local brew there. My new bag went with me, and the fact it is waterproof was handy in the drizzle.

Unfortunately, I caught a cold along the way. My throat had been itchy on Saturday, and I just waived it off as allergies and being around more smokers than I'm used to. But on Sunday evening, I wasn't feeling great. I ended up eating at the hotel restaurant and had an early night to bed. I did take a nice walk along the river after dinner to just clear my head, and tummy. On Monday, I met with the agency and saw a few hotels and venues. Tuesday was more of the same. On Tuesday night, I stayed at a hotel on the waterfront, so I took the opportunity to walk down to the Little Mermaid statue after dinner. Since the sun doesn't set right now until about 10:30, it is easy to have evening walks! I, unfortunately, was wearing the wrong shoes and my feet ached when I got back to the hotel. Upon further examination, I realized I was developing blisters on the pads of my heels! I had no idea that could happen, but oh by, it is sore. Today's meandering through airports has been interesting to say the least!

And with that, I'm back to the US. Thankfully, I think I nipped the cold in the bud and it hasn't gotten worse. Other than a bit of congestion and some mild coughing, it isn't bad. It could have been a lot worse!!! I am currently waiting on my flight back to Denver. Tomorrow, I'll head to my 12th "new" bed in Crested Butte, where Matt has his next race this weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing the beautiful wildflowers there!

So, there is my catch up. And now, some photos of my journeys over the past week! I'll be sure to post some photos from the beauty that is Crested Butte!

ANGEL FIRE

Looks like we are ready to ride some bikes!

Dillon got bored and was using the toolbox as a headrest.

Looking down the mountain and across the valley after the race (the race was in the trees to the left)

Yeah, that climb was pretty steep!

Leanne and me taking a break during our walk back up the hill after taking photos

Taking the chairlift back down to the bottom. Gorgeous views!

ZURICH

Sam Adams and Gummy Bears - What could be better?

Flying into Zurich

More Zurich pics. I typically don't take the window seat, but I had no option. And since the guy next to me put on his eye blinders and ear plugs immediately, my bladder was quite full upon landing!