Category Archives: hike

Quinoa, finally!

Happy Memorial Day to all my fellow Americans! Today is traditionally a day to remember those who fell in honor and defense of our country, and also a day that Americans use as an excuse to sit on their butts, drink lots of beer, and eat massive amounts of food – not that there’s ANYTHING wrong with that once in a while.

I decided to start the holiday off in a different way. After a leisurely morning at home with yet another spicy breakfast scramble, I headed back to the park for hiking. The heat was ridiculous today and the flies were out in full force. When I say flies, I don’t mean the pesky little ones that buzz around your ears, I mean the ones that thirst for blood and attack! I endured an hour of biting, buzzing, sweating, crowd-fighting misery before getting back into the blissfully air-conditioned car.
Up next were errands that had to be dealt with: picking up cat food from the pet store. Could there be anything more thrilling? The dog joined us on the trip, and since we were out and there just happened to be a new self-serve frozen yogurt place nearby, we had to enjoy a lunch of cake batter fro-yo outside in the blissful summer air.
Back home, a big stomach ache ensued. I may have forgotten to mention, but I seem to be lactose intolerant… I’m really good at sticking to soy substitutes, except when it comes to ice cream/gelato/frozen yogurt and cheese. Goat cheese has become my new favorite for those times I just can’t go without a cheesy, spinach omelette in the mornings. I decided to make some sun-dried tomato hummus from scratch to help ease my tummy.

Sun-dried Tomato Hummus: Makes 2 cups (Recipe from allrecipes.com)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp salt (I normally leave this out. I don’t want anymore sodium added to my diet than I take in already)
1.5 tbsp tahini paste (Also known as sesame seed paste, can be found in Albertson’s in the asian food or kosher aisle)
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 (15.5 oz) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup olive oil (Again, I use a bit less than this and add water to thin out my hummus)
2 tbsp finely shredded fresh basil (or 1-2 tsp of the dried stuff)
1. Place garlic, salt, tahini and lemon juice into a food processor; process until smooth. Pour in the garbanzo beans and 1/4 cup of olive oil; process until smooth, scraping sides as needed. Once smooth, add the sun-dried tomatoes and process until they’ve been chopped to very small pieces and have made the hummus a pink color. Finally, add the basil and pulse a few times until mixed in.
2. Pack hummus into airtight container and refrigerate for at least one hour. When serving, I like to add a little lemon zest to the top to give it even more color and zing 🙂

(It tastes much better than it looks)

Of course, I wasn’t able to eat this right away since it needs to refrigerate, so I decided to finally get working on the quinoa that I meant to start a few days ago. We ran out of zucchini and onions, but I found some shallots bought for a recipe I meant to make last week, so I thought that I would take a risotto recipe I learned from the amazing Giada De Laurentiis when I was obsessed with the Food Network and substitute quinoa instead. (Original recipe here) I also removed all traces of cheese and butter, but feel free to add some into yours! I might try some soy cream cheese substitute in mine next time.

Lemony Quinoa:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 large shallots, diced
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
1/4-1/2 cup good white wine (something you would like to drink)
1.5 cups of reduced-sodium vegetable broth
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1. In a saucepan, heat olive oil, add diced shallots and saute until translucent.
2. Add rinsed quinoa and mix with shallots and olive oil to toast.
3. Pour in white wine and stir until absorbed.
4. Slowly add the vegetable broth, 1/2 cup at a time until absorbed by quinoa.
5. Once quinoa is cooked (the little tail-looking thingy appears and the quinoa is tender but still has a little pop to the bite – very scientific, eh?) stir in the lemon zest and juice, and fluff with a fork.

Quinoa before

Quinoa After

For 1/4 cup of quinoa there are 160 calories, 3 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein. These little grains pack a punch, plus, in the lemony quinoa recipe, you’re also getting healthy fats from the olive oil. I think when I reheat this for lunch tomorrow, I’ll get some zucchini and butternut squash to saute and add in for some veggie-power.

And now, while everyone else relaxes and enjoys their barbeques with friends and family, I’m off to a pointless 3 hour shift at work where I’ll spend my time holding up a counter and watching the dust bunnies roll across the tile while the minutes drag by. Who wants to sit at home eating bratwurst and drinking good beer when you can work a night at retail?

Oh wait… I do.




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Filed under barbeque, basil, beer, frozen yogurt, hike, hummus, Memorial Day, Quinoa, shallots, wine

Rainy Days

Kitchen Sink Salad – possibly one of the best inventions my mother has ever come up with (along with the Breakfast Scramble). For dinner last night, KSS was on the menu. The recipe is excessively simple and you get a massive amount of veggies to fill up your daily quota.

Kitchen Sink Salad:
1 bag of lettuce (any kind is good, but I recommend a spring mix or baby greens)
1 bell pepper, diced
1 small zucchini, chopped and sauteed in 1 teaspoon of olive oil and a sprinkling of Herbes de Provence (available at any grocery store) until soft
1/2 cup of warm, cooked lentils
1/2 cup of Trader Joe’s Spicy Ranchero Egg White Salad
Dressing:
1 tsp Extra Virgin olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp whole grain mustard
Simply throw everything into a gigantic bowl, mix and gorge!
The main calories come from the lentils (120 calories for the 1/2 cup), but you also get a nice 9 grams of protein and no fat! The egg white salad also throws in 7 grams of protein so you finish this meal feeling plenty satisfied, plus you’ve just knocked out 4 servings of veggies for the day!
I went on a 45 minute bike ride last night, of which the last 300 feet nearly KILLED me. I need to mention that I live on top of a mountain. And by mountain, I mean a really really steep hill. I got a good workout prior to heading back home, but the last slope to reach the driveway is painful! Luckily I had the KSS waiting for me as well as some wild caught Alaskan Cod. Perfect way to end the day. It was only missing the Fat Tire that I’ve sworn off of until I’m done filming mid-June.
This morning I woke up to a misty morning. Had my usual breakfast scramble (the fridge is re-stocked! Yay!) that starts me off with another crazy amount of veggies.
Breakfast Scramble:
1/2 zucchini, chopped and sauteed until soft
1/2 bell pepper, chopped and sauteed until soft
3-4 asparagus, chopped and sauteed until soft
2 cups of spinach, chopped and sauteed until wilted
After all the veggies are sauteed, push them to the side of the pan, then scramble 1-2 eggs on the other half. Once the eggs are set, mix it all together, then top with either 1/2 cup of fresh salsa or a few dashes of jalapeno sauce.
After an amazing meal and a lot of cleanup, we headed out to the trails for another easy 52 minute hike in the light rain. I think the bike ride yesterday pretty much drained all of my body’s resources, so this one was pure torture, but it always feels amazing to be done and be pumped full of those endorphins.
I was going to get home and go on another bike ride, but considering I haven’t been on a bike consistently in over 2 years, I decided to not risk the wet roads and crazy Cali drivers. Instead, I made my version of rice pudding.
Rice Pudding:
1/2 cup warm, cooked brown rice
1/8 cup unsweetened soy milk
Drizzle of pure maple syrup
Dash of cinnamon
Stir in a mug and eat while watching the rain. It’s a nice way to get your whole grains in and cure a sweet tooth while getting some protein as well.
Since I couldn’t bike, after I finished off some leftover Alaskan Cod and half a banana, I decided to go get some much-needed workout clothes. I hit up Sports Chalet with a hot mug of unsweetened Jasmine Green tea and got 2 dry-fit shirts, then went to a bike shop and got some even MORE needed padded bike shorts. After a few days on that bike, sitting down anywhere is enough to bring tears to your eyes!
Of course, now the sun is out and the roads seem to be calling me. The question is, give my body a rest, eat some bell peppers and spicy hummus and start a dinner of quinoa (pronounced Keen-Wa), roasted zucchini and butternut squash, or go outside and receive the pain I’m bound to get…

Decisions, decisions…

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Filed under hike, lentils, olive oil, padding, Quinoa, rain, salad

New Beginnings

First post! After a few weeks of contemplation, I came up with a name that I hope suits my blog… What I’m aiming for is a fitness/nutrition blog as I go from soft around the edges to totally ripped – having to show my stomach in an upcoming film I’m shooting might be a big motivator, but in general I just love sweating like a pig and being completely exhausted from exertion.
Finally back after a long 8 days in Colorado for my brother’s wedding. Fort Collins, Colorado: an amazing place for biking outdoors, hiking through the mountains, jogging through the parks and drinking good beer from the New Belgium Brewery. Unfortunately, I only succeeded at the final task – the drinking of GOOD beer. My hopes of biking along the bike paths that are set next to roaring rivers were overtaken by drives up to Estes Park to check out the wedding location, picking up a freshly-pressed wedding dress, and meeting up with new members of the family. Oh, that and the three free mugs of Fat Tire that were provided each night by our amazing hotel. Whoops…
The wedding was absolutely beautiful. A nice brisk morning in an open field in the mountains with the sun shining and a gorgeous bride emerging from the limo to walk down the aisle and meet my beaming brother. I’ve never seen him look so happy in my entire life. Vows were said, tears were shed (a lot by me :-/) and they sped off in their little convertible. I can honestly say it was the PERFECT wedding, and seeing how in love they both are just made for a joyfully blessed day.
Overall, an amazing trip. I’m a little bummed I didn’t get (or didn’t make time) to go biking around Old Town Fort Collins or hike in the mountains, HENCE this blog! I’m finally back on track!
We got back last night, finished our week with sushi and more Fat Tire, and watched our Glee episodes that we missed. This morning I woke up headache-free and raring to go. Had my typical Emergen-C, mug of coffee with some Silk creamer and honey (it’s antibacterial and healthy! At least that’s what I’m telling myself) and a big-ass salad with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar and whole grain mustard. Normally I wouldn’t have salad for breakfast, but I was kind of craving it, plus our refrigerator was completely empty after being cleaned out for the trip. Lettuce is all that survived.
Next came the hike in the national park that we live next to – just a quick 44 minute climb since we haven’t been moving in over a week. The temperature was absolutely perfect and the views are incredible! I’m enraptured every time we go there.
Lunch was a grilled salmon filet with a homemade honey-mustard crust and some pre-cooked frozen brown rice from Trader Joe’s. Up next is a bike ride on my new Specialized Hardrock mountain bike that looks totally kick-ass, PLUS has this awesome Fat Tire sticker I got for free at New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins.

I’m still waiting to hear about a job that starts tomorrow, so that’ll determine my workouts for the upcoming week. My goal for this week is to get on my bike as often as possible after early morning hikes, and focus on lots of push-ups and crunches. I’m the kind of person who, if she doesn’t see results after two days, throws her hands in the air and says, “why bother?” Hopefully writing all this down will be a memory-jogger for me.
Aaaaand first post done! Signing off for a bike ride, and I’ll meet you all back here later! 🙂

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Filed under beer, bike, brewery, eat, fitness, hike, New Belgium, nutrition, salmon