VO2 Maxxed

Fishetarians?

2009-08-19T06:16:00.000-07:00

my new diet (no wheat/gluten) is working really well. my stomach and day to day digestion feels better than ever, my workouts and races are going great... and best of all I am getting faster! over the last 10 days I have also cut out lactose and all dairy... with a slight slip up this past sunday with some cheese on my salad and some fro-yo for dessert. i really haven't noticed any changes since cutting out the lactose/dairy so I don't think I am going to stick to it. I already ate it in moderation and pretty much just ate greek yogurt, good cheeses (feta, bleu, gorgonzola, goat), and some frozen yogurt. so i will probably add these back into my diet but keep it in moderation as i have in the past.

i used to eat a lot of chicken, more red meat, and fish maybe once a week. that's really not the case these days and it was not a conscious change. over the course of the last year our consumption chicken and red meat consumption has decreased dramatically and our intake of fish has increased. don't get me wrong i still like chicken and love a great steak and burger. we just love fish. we make it in a bunch of different ways, there are loads of health benefits, and for me it seems fish and eggs are the easily digested animal proteins.

i would say an avg week of dinners would break down like this:
fish 4-5 days
chicken 1-2 days
eggs 1-2 days
red meat - once every other week

obviously that's more than 7 days but it changes week to week and again it's not conscious it's just what we like to eat.

some examples from last week:

Grilled yellow fin tuna & shrimp rice (brown) bowl/plate.

rimels makes a killer rice bowl that comes with great fish, wok'd veggies, and brown rice. so i decided to make it at home but grill the veggies on the grill instead. I also tried some some thing new with the purple cabbage. i halved, then quartered the half, and then wrapped the eight slices in foil with a little salt and pepper and put it on the grill. it come out perfect along with everything else.

ingredients:
yellow fin tuna
jumbo shrimp
red & yellow bell pepper
purple cabbage
broccoli
button mushrooms
zucchini
squash
red onion
brown rice w/ seaweed (didn't really like the seaweed)

Ahi Tuna Nicoise Salad

Beth made me this rad salad for dinner. so good.

ingredients:
seared ahi tuna
mixed greens
hard boiled eggs
green beans
kalamata olives
red potatoes
tomatoes
red onions

grilled salmon, veggies, and cold beet & tomato salad. no description necessary.

cold quinoa and grilled vegetable chopped salad

2009-07-25T06:23:00.001-07:00

staying away from gluten and wheat hasn't been that hard... and beth has been helping a lot making some killer food. i have been sticking with a lot of the sweet potatoes (I prefer the "oranger ones) and quinoa. most people don't know difference between yams and sweet potatos... this article clears things up. either way... or whatever you call them they are awesome and a great source of CHO.

ok... so the recipe. this week beth made me a killer dinner. we had grilled yellow tail, a pickled cucumber and red onion salad, and cold quinoa and grilled vegetable chopped salad. great food. no wheat or gluten.

here's the recipe for the cold quinoa and grilled vegetable chopped salad from beth:

4 servings quinoa (cook according to box)
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 small red onion
3 zucchini
olive oile
balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper

put veggies on grill and grill a few (4?) minutes on each side. if you don't have a grill, you can roast them at 400 degrees for probably about 25 minutes.
mix veggies and quinoa. drizzle several tablespoons good balsamic vinegar (if you have balsamic syrup this works really well, its like a thick balsamic), and a little bit of olive oil. add lots of salt and pepper. put in refrigerator and chill at least 2 hours. YUM!

major changes....

2009-07-06T17:14:00.000-07:00

with everything going on with me, doing a lot of research, and consulting with my doctor i have made some pretty significant changes in my daily diet. prior to getting diagnosed with anemia due to low iron, b12, and folate (vitamin deficient) I was eating very healthy, following a pretty "primal/paleo" diet, but in retrospect wasn't eating enough to support my training workload. i was still kind of curios as to why i had low iron, b12, and folate. I eat quite a bit of iron in red meat, spinach, and veggies. I take a multivitamin and i also take a b12/folic acid supplement to aid with revovery... and the levels were all still really low.

my doctor wanted me to start eating more... both carbs and protein. so i did. I started incorporating a lot more sprouted wheat bread, wheat tortillas, wheat english muffins and rice into my diet. i was eating this stuff before but a lot less frequently and only in small amounts. i started getting some vicisous, daily stomach aches.... more than usual. I have dealt with stomach issues for years but never really did anything about it because i thought it was just how my body worked, but with all the added wheat products they were getting way worse.

so after reading up on food allergies and symptoms i found some interesting information. one thing that stuck out was that a lot of people with celiacs or a gluten intolerance can suffer from vitamin deficiency form of anemia ( low iron, b12, and folate), which is what i was suffering from. this is due to your intestines being inflamed/unhealthy and unable to absorb nutrients. so after doing even more research and talking with my doctor for the hundredth time (she loves me! haha) we decided to eliminate gluten/wheat from my diet and schedule some allergy testing.

as of right now I am about 4 weeks into a gluten/wheat free diet and will be getting a full spectrum of allergy tests later this month. avoiding gluten has actually been very easy for me. there are tons option out there and it was pretty fun hitting the stores in search for some new foods. i will be honest though... i have been drinking beer occasionally, but thankfully it hasn't been affecting my gut. i even bought some gluten free beers. their not bad but c'mon... they are no san diego style IPA!

i immediately noticed changes when i eliminated the gluten/wheat a couple of weeks ago. no late day bloating, gas, or stomach aches... i mean none and after dealing with this on a pretty much daily basis for years I was kind of taken back. like it was too good to be true. beth is probably as stoked as i am because I am not stinking up the house daily/nightly (sorry... but it's true), my energy levels are way up, my recovery from work outs is going better than it has in months, but i still have my fingers crossed.

i am hoping i found one of the causes of what let me to my delpleted/overtrained state. only time will tell.. and the allergy tests hopefully will also shed some light.

I don't think i have celiacs, but i think there is a possibility i could have gluten intolerance and maybe a wheat allergy.

so my plan to start posting more on Vo2 Maxxed with what i am doing with my diet, what i am doing for nutrition before, during, and after training while avoiding gluten/wheat. some of it's going to be tough but i have no problem being a picky eater... i have been for years!

there will still be plenty of orginial style Vo2 Maxxed recipes but just without the gluten/wheat (for now).

I have also found a lot of good information regarding anit-inflammatory diets that I am finding very interesting. check out the links below.

http://blog.firstendurance.com/2009/06/anti-inflammatory-foods/
http://www.velonews.com/article/91925

Nuttzo Omege 3 Multi-Nut Butter

2009-07-03T05:31:00.000-07:00

i usually don't like to post the same information on the Vo2 Maxxed that I do on my racing and training blog but I think this is worthy and is relevant to both. check it out...

a couple month's i came across a new product at jimbo's: Nuttzo. it's a an omega 3 multi-nut butter made from valencia peanuts, cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, and flax seeds. i was way into it after one taste... same with beth. anybody who knows us knows we like our nut butters. we ALWAYS have at least 3 to 4 jars in our fridge, it's usually a couple different kinds almond butter, peanut butter, and recently sunflower seed butter. so Nuttzo was perfect!

after trying Nuttzo I found out it was local company and got in contact with the owner, Danielle (in the video below). I told how much we liked Nutzzo and how I had been using it my pre/post race meals and snacks... it's awesome right out of the jar. We worked out a sponsorship agreement and I couldn't be more stoked. So beth and I will be fueling with and representing Nutzzo out at the races this year.

Check out the Nuttzo site for more information and also check out the incredible things they are doing with The Project Left Behind Foundation. Danielle's off to Nepal next week!

Nuttzo on a banana before the the Santa Barbara Bike Fest XC race.
Show all

Enough is Enough...

2009-05-22T06:24:00.000-07:00

i am well aware we have totally dropped the ball on this blog, but it's all beth's fault! ok... not really, but we have both been really busy and just updating our other blogs has taken what free time we have. that's going to change.

i am about to change my diet pretty drastically in an attempt to pack on some muscle and get bigger/strong/faster. the way i have been eating is just not working anymore. my staples will still be there and i'll keep it as primal as possible but I need more calories from both protein and carbs if I am going to make this happen. the bottom line is i am too skinny and have hit a pretty big plateau in my training... and it's not for lack of doing the work. i think it is largely do to my diet. yeah it's healthy, probably too healthy, and not enough calories. i want to go faster!

luckily i have an awesome FW who is going to help and my homeboy Denner has offered up tons of advice... that dude know's how to eat and go fast! So updates will be coming... a lot more often.

one sidenote. my homeboy Donald has started a food blog. check it out: Chew' Ur Food

just to hold you over... if anybody still reads/subscribes to this... here are some photos of recent meals to hold you over until i drop a real post. really nothing new and beth always gets on me for posting the same photos... but it's what we eat. the weather has been great and i have be grilling it up at least 4 nights a week... i love it!

grilled tri-tip, shrimp, veggies, and bread

stuffed beef burger (blue cheese & sun dried tomatoes) on a gilled portabello mushroom, sweet potato fries, and grilled mexican zucchini

scallops with mango salsa

kale!

bbq chicken tenders and more grilled veggies

grilled chicken sausage, buffalo burger, and mushrooms

plated with some grilled/steamed (in foil on the grill) brussel sprouts and broccoli

my favorite way to cook brussel sprouts and broccoli... on the grill. no clean up.

Jaakko's Oat Power Cookies.

2009-02-24T06:54:00.000-08:00

Here's a guest post from out Favorite Finnish triathlete, Jaakko Hiekkarana. He races and trains in some pretty harsh conditions but has more dedication and desire than most. I am trying to get him out to California for a training camp... and to introduce him to some of the ladies!

Here's the recipe straight from Jaakko in Finland (check out original post on his blog):

G'day!

Ok here's a quick recipe for making your own powercookies. These are great for snacks, training nutrition or in-hurry breakfast with some fruit to go with.

ingredients for 15 cookies:

- 7-8dl oats
- 2 tbls sugar-free cocoa powder
- 1 scoop whey protein
- 1 egg
- 2dl water

Mix all of the above in a bowl. Preheat the oven to 225C. Shape the mass in to cookies on a sheet. Put it in to the oven for 7-8 minutes and Voilà! Delicious, energious, healthy, easy and cheap. You can add sugar if you want more sweetness but that'd somewhat lessen the health-factor.

Mexican Chicken and Veggie Stoup

2009-02-12T13:43:00.000-08:00

That's right I said "stoup"... lame. I'm a kook. As much as I think Rachel Ray is annoying I don't think there anything else to call this. It heartier than a soup, but not as this as stew. So there you have it.... Stoup(id)

Beth and I recently bought a crock pot and this was my second attempt at using it. My first attempt came out OK. It was a Chicken and Veggie soup. A slow cooker/crock pot is perfect for us with how busy we are. Just throw all the ingredients in the pot before we leave the house in the morning, set it low... and BAM... dinner is ready and waiting after a long day of work and training. No cooking.

Like I said, my first concoction came out just OK. I made a couple of bad vegetable choice (broccoli & Brussels sprouts) that did not hold up well in the slow cooking process. The rest of the veggies (carrots, sweet potato, celery, onion) and the chicken came out well, but the bad veggies kind of killed it.

So this time I was a little smarter and decided to mexi-fy (sweet word... I'm sure it's in the dictionary) it. So here's the recipe.

1 sweet potato, rough chopped
6 celery stalks, rough chopped
1 Huge sweet onion, rough chopped
2 parsnips. rough chopped
4 large carrots, rough chopped
4 small red potatoes, quartered
3 6oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in 1 inch cubes
4 cloves garlic, slliced
2 basil leaves
1 can enchilada sauce
1 can smoked, diced green chilies
6 cups of chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste.

I chopped all the veggies and chicken up the night before so the morning was easy. All of this was thrown into the crock pot in the morning after getting off the bike and heading out the door to work. I set it on low for 7 hours and once the cooking time expires it switches to "keep warm" mode for up to 4 more hours. Perfect.

Beth and I both ran with the lululemon run and when we got home dinner was already ready already. sweet.

I topped it with organic, baked yellow corn tortilla chips, avocado, hot sauce, and some sour cream.

It was good and hit the spot.... but still not great. There was something missing. I could have seasoned it a little better. Maybe some cumin or chili powder, ot added some stewed tomatoes... not sure. Any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Next week I'll give the crock pot another go. This time I am thinking beef stew.... or come kind of seafood stew.... or carnitas. We'll see.

8oz Burger Bar

2009-02-08T06:24:00.000-08:00

This will be the first resaurant review here on Vo2 Maxxed. It's something I have been meaning to do for quite some time just never have. So here it goes.

It's now secret that I am huge fan of Mexican food, and in particular, healthy burritos usually filled with grilled fish and veggies... and plenty of guac. A close second for me is a good burger. When I say a good burger I mean quality meat (it can be chicken or turkey too) and these I am always on the lookout for grass-fed/organic options.

This weekend I was up in Los Angeles hanging out with my sister and I was looking for new restaurant to try. She first suggest Tart, which looks good, but I wanted an epic burger. So I discovered 8oz Burger Bar and all it took was one look at the menu and I was in... and what sealed the deal it that they have Green Flash West Coast IPA on draft. I just posted on my beer blog a couple of weeks ago that this could be my new favorite beer. So I was stoked.

Green Flash West Coast IPA

The menu is simple. You basically just pick your burger and then can pick from a bunch of killer toppings. I ordered their signature "8oz" and my sister ordered the "Melrose".

Here's the description of the burgers from the site:

"The 8oz" signature burther, as well as the "Melrose", are made using only humanly raised, hormone-free Blank Angus sirloin, short rib, and chuck. Meat is ground in-house then aged in a Himalayan salt-tiled meat locker before being grilled on live oak.

I got mine with lettuce, pickle, 80z special sauce, and balsamic grilled red onions. I also got a side of their sweet potato chips and heirloom tomato ketchup.

My sister got her "Melrose" as is which comes with wild baby arugula, garlic roasted tomatoes, and red onion marmalade with a side of roasted baby broccoli.

The crazy cocktail my sister got.

Our food was awesome. It's definitely one the best burgers I have ever had... if the not the best. I can't wait to go back and try some more of their epic food and beers.

Blue corn encrusted Mahi Mahi

2009-02-03T21:07:00.001-08:00

This was a bit of an experiment. Last week I pan fried some breaded Tilapia fillets and they came out great. Since those came out so well I want to try another "crust" and make if more of a Mexican meal.

So I breaded Mahi Mahi with baked blue corn tortillas.

Step 1: Making the "crust"

Baked chips in food processor with a couple tablespoons of Panko bread crumbs. In the mix I also added some cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder.

Breading the fish. Simple. I beat one egg and put the chip mixture on a plate. I just dipped the fish in the egg, shook of the the extra, and pressed in the chip mix to cover.

Cooking the fish. Heat a pan over medium heat and throw them in. Cook them until they are done. About 4 min a side.

To go along with the fish I made a healthy tartar sauce.

1 cup fage greek yogurt
2 tbsp lite mayo
2 tbsp lite sour cream
1 tbsp diced capers
2 tbsp dill relish
juice of half of a lemon
salt & pepper to taste
Tapatio (mexian hot sauce) to taste

All of it came out really good. I topped it with some southwest salsa and had some steamed veggies on the side.

Chicken & Veggie Tortilla Soup - Perfected!

2009-01-29T14:18:00.000-08:00

First of all... as always... we have been slacking on the food blog front. But we now have some new motivation. Our friend Ryan and his girlfriend Angie just started a killer new blog: Primal Fusion. They are already making us look bad and have posted some really good stuff. Check it out.

For my birthday dinner Beth cooked me one of my favorite meals... Chicken Tortilla Soup. She has made it for me a handful of times and each time it's been a bit different, but always very good. We order chicken tortilla soup when we go out to eat to try find the right combo of spice, veggies, and chicken with out it being to heavy (creamy).

El Caribe probably has our favorite version so we have been wanting to duplicate it.... and even make it better. Well... Beth nailed and made me hands down the best Chicken and Veggie Tortilla soup I have ever had. It was probably the best soup I have ever had.

Beth doing work in her new killer sweat suit.

Here's how it went down.

1 pound shredded, cooked chicken
1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
1 can of diced tomatoes with jalepeno's
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 Green bell pepper, chopped
2 zucchini, sliced
2 celery stocks, chopped
2 large carrots, sliced
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Everything but the chicken was cooked in one pot. Just chuck all the veggies in the pot and let them cook a bit and then add the Chicken broth. After the vegetables are almost done throw in the chicken. We used organic, free-range chicken breast from traders that we steamed in steamer bags and the she shredded it. They came out perfect.

Once the chicken is shredded throw it in the pot and let if cook for a while so everything is cooked through. Turn down the heat and let all the flavor combine.

I was responsible for making the guac.

2 avocados
1 tbsp Cilantro, chopped
juice of one lime
sea salt and black pepper to taste
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 small heirloom tomatoes, diced
2 tbsp of greek yogurt (makes is creamy and works well in the soup)

For the tortillas we used our favorite corn tortillas from La Fe. The La Fe Tortilla Factory is local and they make killer tortillas with very few ingredients. All the package lists are corn, water, lime juice, and salt. You can't beat that. We put the tortillas in the toaster oven to get them crispy and then broke them up into chips of the soup... and some extra for the guacamole.

That's it. It was awesome.

Blythe's holiday turkey burgers

2008-11-24T11:20:00.000-08:00

CRANBERRY-FETA TURKEY BIRGERS

'Tis the season to put a holiday twist on everything. Up in San Francisco this weekend, Blythe put together a fantastic pre-party dinner of cranberry & feta turkey burgers on whole grain buns, organic green salad with cherry tomatoes and avocado, and oven-baked sweet potato fries. I had to post about this one because the turkey burgers were genius- why didn't I think of that?!?! Here's the pre-cooked burgers (i think we had too mcuh wine beofre we actually ate the meal to remember to take a picture of the finished product with all the fixins :)

For 8 good size burgers use:

2 packages lean or extra lean ground turkey (Blythe mixed one extra lean (99% fat free) with one lean (93% fat free)- perfect! )

3/4 cup dried cranberries (just throw in a couple handfuls)
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Mix 'em together and grill 'em up- about 8 minutes per side. These were PERFECT as is, but james and I were just talking and thinking they could be spiced up even more with chopped celery and onions (kind of like turkey stuffing burgers) or some spices (sage or rosemary?) would both go well.

Serve with oven-baked sweet potato fries of course!

and a picture with the cook!

Matisse & Jacks Cranberry Pumpkin Power Snacks

2008-11-20T05:46:00.001-08:00

Just in time for the holidays... a healthy bar. Perfect for your pre-Thanksgiving day ride or run... or a good way to sneak a healthy snack on to the table during the holidays.

Last week before the 12 hour mountain bike race I baked 5 batches of Matisse & Jacks bars and tried a little something different with each one. The one that turned out the best and the ones that got eaten the fastest were the Chocolate Chip Power Snacks that I added Pumpkin and Agave Nectar too.

So last night I made another batch, but this time I used the Cranberry power snacks to make it more of a Holiday/Thanksgiving bar. Here's the recipe... super simple. I think it took about 5 minutes to mix up and get in the oven.

1 box of Matisse & Jack Cranberry Power Snacks
1 heaping cup of pumpkin (all natural)
2 tbsp of Agave Nectar (i put in the microwave for 15 seconds before mixing it in.
4 tbsp water
Pumpkin Spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice) to taste

Put it in an 8x8 pan and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. When it's done let it cool for 20-30 minutes before ripping into them.

Dinner with Marky V

2008-11-03T06:19:00.000-08:00

On Saturday night Beth and I headed over the Mac and Meredith's awesome beach house in Cardiff for good food, good wine, and definitely good company.

Marky V offered to cook us dinner and promised he wouldn't let us down... and he didn't.

the chef... so stoked on his halloween candy!

On the menu:
Grilled Salmon
Grilled tilapia
Grilled chicken
spinach salad
saffrron rice
grainy garlic bread

Everything was cooked to perfection and we stuffed ourselves. Beth and I brought dessert and wine.

When we were in Sonoma for Vineman we visited the UNTI winery and picked a bottle of their 2004 Syrah. We figured this was a good occasion to open it up and it was good. I think I drank half of it myself.

For dessert... you guessed it. Fro yo!

Matisse & Jack's Cranberry Power Snacks

2008-10-14T12:50:00.000-07:00

once again we have been lagging on the Vo2 Maxxed blog front, but we have been busy. Beth has been racing a lot and also putting a lot of mileage in preparation for the Las Vegas marathon. I have been busy with racing and training also. Last weekend I raced the Xterra USA Championships and now I am getting ready for worlds at the end of the month.

I mentioned on my blog that I recently picked up a new sponsor, Matisse & Jacks. They make killer bake-at-home snacks that are perfect pre or post workout or whenever you just want a healthy snack. On of the best parts of the mixes is that hey are easy to customize and you can create your own concoctions based on what you like.

Here is a version I made just before heading up to Tahoe.

I started with the standard Matisse & Jacks Cranberry Power Snacks mix. The mix makes 9 bars. Here's the nutrition info per bar without any additions to mix.

mix (per bar)
160 cals
4.5g f
22g carbs
- 10 sugar
- 3 fiber
9g protein

The bars are killer made just following the instructions but occasionally I like to add some more protein, nuts, or try some random flavor. Here's what I added to this batch.

3 tbsp PB2. This is defatted peanut powder. You can mix it with water and make peanut butter without the fat but I just like adding it to yogurt or cottage cheese for some peanut butter flavor. They have a regular peanut butter flavor and a chocolate peanut butter flavor. Check it out... kind of weird but definitely good.

1 cup TJ's Greek yogurt 0% & 2 tsp of vanilla extract. This is my favorite yogurt and it's loaded with protein.

1 scoop Any Whey from Optimum Nutrition. The protein powder is made to be used when cooking and I have it's definitely the best any thing that's hot. It's completely flavorless.

I just poured the mix into a bowl and added all the ingredients. It couldn't be easier.

then into an 8x8 pan.

and then 30 minutes later... booyah! Killer bar for before, during, or after a workout.

here's the nutritional info for my bars.
195 cals
5g fat
24g carbs
14g protein

Cooler Fish Tacos

2008-09-05T06:59:00.000-07:00

The weather has been great lately. Sunny and warm. Perfect for training and grilling out. Last week after a weekend of killer workouts and lounging by the pool Beth and I were in the mood for Mexican, but some thing cool (as in not too hot).

Beth and I both love lettuce cups as an appetizer and always order them when we go out to eat. A couple of months ago I got the idea of making fish tacos and instead of using red cabbage in the tacos I would use cabbage leave as the shell/tortilla/wrap. I am sure I didn't make this up, but I had never had cabbage used as the shell, it's usually butter/bib lettuce or something green. We both really liked it so we did it again. This coupled with Beth's gazpacho made for a killer dinner.

I also made some avocado salsa inspired by a recipe J.P. posted. I changed it up a bit but it came out awesome and we have been eating all week... on everything.

the avocado Salsa.

1 avocado
1/4 diced onion
1/2 diced jalepeno
2 cloves of garlic
juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup tomato sauce (mexican hot style)
1/4 cup Trader Joe's 0% greek yogurt
handful of cilantro
salt & pepper
a little water to help thin it out and blend

things i added... the yogurt added some creaminess & protein and the sauce gave it a bit more spice.

DANGER! Beth helping out!

I could eat this like ice cream (or frozen yogurt).

I took care of the salsa and Beth whipped up the gazpacho and rest of meal was pretty simple. We just threw some mahi mahi fillets on the grill with an ear of corn (for garnish and small side).

After the fish was grilled and corn was charred it was time to eat.

good.

Life on the run (and swim & bike)

2008-08-29T14:22:00.000-07:00

Things have been crazy lately for me and Beth. We have been going nonstop. Beth started back at work full time and that coupled with the start of her marathon training (under the watchful eye of this dude) and I have been going as hard as I have all year. This means meals need a little more planning, thought, and prep work to make sure we are eating healthy and getting all we need for training... and of course eating what we like.

I have been in charge of cooking most of the dinners (what else is new!) lately because I am usually at home and done working out before Beth. I get my stuff done early in the morning and at lunch and Beth's schedule has her working out in the morning and evening. So here's a couple of things I cooked up last week. These are by no means any kind of of gourmet or complicated meals. They are just simple, healthy, and most importantly... quick. If you want more gourmet cooking checkout J.P.'s blog. He's cooking up some awesome stuff... and racing fast!

We also made a couple trips to El Caribe. Having a healthy restaurant right around the corner with killer food makes life easy when things are busy. Perfect food for post workout and fueling for the next day... and cheap.

Monday I cooked something new. Cornish game hens.

I split and cleaned the hens and then marinated them with some BBQ sauce and spices while I was at work. I got some cooking tips from J.P.. When I got home I threw them on the grill.

They came out awesome! I was kind of shocked. I mean I had hoped they would be good, but blew my expectations away. I can't wait to cook them again.

On Wednesday I made some carne asada and shrimp fajitas. I marinated some top sirloin, shrimp, bell peppers and onions in a healthy, all-natural Asada marinade that Beth picked up. I usually like to make my own marinades but this stuff looked good and I was in a hurry to get them marinating before heading to work. I was really stoked about this meal and it was quick, easy, and healthy.

When I got home from work I just threw the veggies and meat on the grill and broke out the salsa, organic whole wheat tortillas, and guacamole. I hadn't made mexican food at home in a while and this hit the spot. I need to get back at it. So from here on out I am stealing the Cotter's (another killer blog with good food) idea and having at least one taco (burrito/fajita) night each week.

On Friday night I was on my own for dinner while Beth was getting her swim on down at the cove with the Tri club. I bought some healthy turkey burgers from Costco this week and really wanted to give them a go. So after I got home from my ocean swim I fired up the grill. They are frozen patties but don't have any added ingredients and 35 grams of protein. Just what my scrawny butt needs. I just made a grilled turkey burger wrap and some grilled sweet potato fries. It was good.

Another thing that has been going on is some serious lunch packing. We both make and take our lunch everyday... and plenty of snacks. So right after dinner, before we clean up the kitchen, we go into full on assembly line, lunch making mode. We have been trying to make extra at dinner so we left overs which helps speed up the process.

Salads for 2.

a day of food for Beth.

one last thing. I restocked the mixed nuts supply this week on a trip to henry's. How long do you think it will take us to go through this (about 3.15 lbs)? I put the date on them to see.

Grilled Veggies and Summertime chicken

2008-08-20T11:22:00.000-07:00

We love salads.

We both usually eat at least one salad a day... sometimes two. They are easy to make, mega healthy, and never get old because there are so many ways to change it up.

This summer I have been really into making grilled veggies(like almost every night!). I still get my salad fix at lunch and dinner it's time to throw what ever veggies we have on the grill.

Some of our favotites:
zucchini
squash
asparagus
sweet potato (yams)
onions
button mushrooms
portobello mushrooms
Bell peppers (all colors)

a lot of the time I will make grilled veggie salads and just throw all the grilled goodness on top of some mixed greens and top with some goat cheese and homemade dressing.

For the protein part of this meal I grilled up some chicken. I don't really have a name for the recipe/marinade I used for the chicken but it's been a staple for me and reminds me of good times in the summer living in Virginia Beach. We used to have big backyard BBQ's at my good friend Ricky's house. We used to surf all day, come home drink some ice cold beers and cook up tons of food. Ricky or his dad would always make their famous "broasted chicken". His dad was a killer cook and actually owns The Jewish Mother in Virginia, and Ricky now runs the place.

Here's the recipe for the marinade. You can use any kind of chicken you want. I think bone-in works is the best but I just had some skinless breasts on hand so I used those.

Summertime Chicken Marinade:
I don't use any measurements and pretty much eyeball everything so these are just guesses.

1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp Tapatio Hot Sauce
1/2 lemon (squeeze out the juice and leave in the dish used for marinading)
1 lime (squeeze out the juice and leave in the dish used for marinading)
fresh ground black pepper to taste
canjun seasoning to taste

That's it. Give it plenty of time to marinade... at least 8 hours. Then Grill. Then get down.

Cioppino...our olympic stew!

2008-08-18T20:03:00.000-07:00

when you want a restaurant quality meal, but really want to ea tat home to tri geek out to the Olympics, cook some Cioppino!
We served this up with a summer salad while we watched the men's olympic triathlon streamed on the internet....It makes a ton of broth, so right before I put in the seafood, i took out half of the broth and froze it. that way, next time we want Ciopinno, just defrost and add fresh seafood! Or, just be cooler than us and actually have friends over and there's Ciopinno to share!

CIOPPINO

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 large shallots, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes,
¼ cup tomato paste
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
1 can quartered artichoke hearts (no juice)
2 cups dry white wine
4 cups of fish stock (one of those large boxes is good)
2 bay leafs
1 pound little neck or manilla clams
3/4 pound mussels,
3/4 pound uncooked large shrimp
1 pound assorted firm fleshed fish fillets such as halibut or mahi mahi
3/4 pound scallops

2 slices whole grain or sprouted bread. toasted and cubed for "croutons"...or just go "big" with a sourdough loaf and dip that in- that would be DARN good.

Heat oil in a very large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, shallots, and salt and sauté until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and ¾ teaspoon of red pepper flakes and sauté 2 minutes, Stir in the tomato paste. Add tomatoes with their juices, wine, stock and bay leaf. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium low. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Add the clams and mussels to the cooking liquid. Cover and cook until the clams and mussels begin to open about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and fish. Simmer gently until the fish and shrimp are just cooked through, and the clams are completely open. (Discard any clams and mussels that do not open). Remove bay leaf. Season the soup to taste.

taking it to another level... an experiment.

2008-08-03T03:52:00.000-07:00

I read a blog last week that was very inspiring, reassuring, and motivating.

Check out this post by Simon Whitfield.

If you guys don't know Simon Whitfield is one of the fastest triathletes in the world and an Olympic Gold Medal winner... and he's making another run at this year. Whitfield is definitely one of my favorite triathletes and he has one of the best blogs out there. Beth says I have a man-crush on him... maybe so! The dude is fast!

So his post was about the way he eats and it was a good one. He follows a very Primal/Paleo diet (as discussed on Mark's Daily Apple) which is much like what Beth I strive for (check out "Nutrition Mission" post). I have had people tell me that this kind of diet (low grain, high fat/protein, tons of fruits/veggies) is not sustainable or beneficial for an athlete but I have always disagreed. Since I have been eating this way (all this season) I have been feeling great, recovery better than ever, and have had the best races of my life.

a typical dinner these days. Grilled top sirloin and grilled veggie salad.

After reading Simon's post I am going to step it up a notch and add more good, healthy fat to my diet. I already get quite a bit from raw nuts, nut butters, flax seeds, and meat but I don't think I am using enough healthy oils. I also think I can up my protein intake a bit. So over the next month I am going to adding a considerable amount of fat to my diet and upping the protein intake.

I hit the store over the weekend and stocked up on some essentials.

Beth has also recently turned me onto Kombucha. So I am going to be trying to get a serving a day of the "miracle" juice.

that's about it... we'll see how it goes and I will post some more later on how it's going.

a day on the mission...

2008-07-16T04:46:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about a post of all the things I eat in a day but it's just too much trouble. I am too much of a grazer so here are some of staples... taken from one particular day. Not everything I ate on this day is in here.

Breakfast/Post ride. Protein shakes and smoothies are definitely a huge part of my everyday routine. I am big on post workout nutrition and eating/drinking within 30 minutes and 99% of the time it's a shake or recovery drink. I usually alternate between 2 different kind of shakes.

1. some kind of choclolate, peanut butter, banana concoction.
2. fruit smoothie with whatever fruit we have on hand.

some ingredients for a #1 shake

ready to hit the road. I usually slug it on the way to work.

a fruit version. In my favorite glass!

Some of my Lunch (at my desk).
- homemade egg salad: 1 egg, 3 whites, red onion, red bell pepper, celery, pickles, honey & grainy mustard, and spoonful of chive cottage cheese.
- 2 corn tortillas (ingredients: corn, water, lime)
- 100 calorie packet of Wholly Guacalmole
- Tapatio hot sauce

kind of weird but very good...

Now let's get to dinner. Last night it was grilled top sirloin, and a pile of steamed veggies (broccoli, brussel sprouts, mushrooms, sugar snap peas, zucchini squash and carrots)
I also made a small side salad. Mixed greens, strawberries, bleu cheese, walnuts, almond slivers and a balsalmic/honey mustard/agave nectar dressing.
close up of the salad.

and of course I topped the night with a glass of this....

One more quick thing... Beth and I both really sauces (bbq, steak, siracha, ketchup, mustard, etc.) with our food. This can be kind of tough. Most things in the grocery store have a ton of ingredients and usually have quite a bit of added sugar and random chemicals. Here are couple good ones though...
we basically live on mustard. at any given time there are at least 5 different varieties in the fridge. organic honey mustard from whole foods. good one.

Last thing... If you are trying to kick the soda or artificial sweetener habit I highly recommend some sparkling water. In my opinin crystal geyers is the best and they have quite a few flavors. drink up.

The Nutrition Mission

2008-07-08T10:35:00.001-07:00

It's pretty nuts how many people ask Beth and I questions about food/diet because of this blog. We are pretty dedicated to eating healthy and finding good ways to do it.

After my "transition" phase and with Vineman 70.3 coming up we decided to take it a step further and really be a little more conscious of what we are putting in our bodies. A lot of people probably think that we already eat healthy enough and there is no reason to change any thing. This is true but there are always refinements you can make to your diet.

Here's our plan.
The Nutrition Mission

THE STAPLES- these are all items we eat a lot of and have in the house right now:

leans meats and fish (as much free range/grass fed/organic as possible... but we aren't rich!)

tons of fruit, veggies

eggs (mostly whites, some yolks)

protein shakes

raw nuts

Fruits we love:
apples (mostly fuji)
bannanas
kiwi
strawberries
bluberries
raspberries
canteloupe
watermelon

veggies we got on tap:
jicama
tomatoes
broccoli
carrots
cauliflower
bell peppers (raw & roasted)
sprouts
onions
cucumbers
artichokes (whole & hearts)
hearts of palm
pickles
mushrooms
snow peas
red cabbage
broccoli slaw
Yams

salads - mixed greens, spinach, romaine hearts
homemade dressings (balsalmic/red wine/white wine vinegar, olive oil, mustard, lemon juice

all natural nut butters (peanut/almond)
-naturally more

-power butter
-pb2

100% fruit juice/vegetable juice
almond breeze - unsweetened

agave nectar

honey
stevia

100% fruit preserves

sport nutrition products (PowerBar!) - only when training long

No artificial sweeteners (soda, splenda, salad dressing, sauces, creamer, sugar free fro yo, sugar free candies- all out! (tear from beth's eye..))

No preservatives/processed foods

No added sugar (organic cane sugar in some condiments/foods is ok in moderation... ie. organic ketchup from Trader Joe's)

No grains
No chips
No roasted/salted nuts
No dried fruit with added sugar/ingredients

Dairy- dairy sources high in protein but low in sugar/carbs allowed in moderation:
plain greek yogurt (o% or 2%)

low fat/nonfat cottage cheese
stinky cheese on salads (goat, feta, blue)

concessions:

1 small serving of frozen yogurt (only 8 - it's all natural!) a week... after a big day of training!
1 piece of dark chocolate a night
corn tortillas (in moderation) as long as the ingredients are just corn, salt, and water

wheat tortilla when I get a burritto from El Caribe... I love mexican food too much and I have never seen a burritto sized corn tortilla

alcohol:
wine is allowed... always (james).. in moderation (beth)

beer on the weekends (james).. none for beth
no liquor... you need a mixer = sugar/artificial sweetener

Now this is just a guideline on what we want to do. There are many "diets" and philosophies out there. We have gained tons of knowledge from reading Mark's Daily Apple and his Primal Blueprint. I have also done a lot reading on Paleo diets and but we think it really comes down to finding one that works for you, makes you feel good, and allows you and your body to do what you want with it.

We will of course cheat! After races, holidays, and anytime we deem appropriate, but this is pretty much our daily plan. Life is to short to not eat and drink what you want... in moderation of course.

summer strawberry salad with agave balsamic vinaigrette

2008-06-20T16:57:00.000-07:00

THE SALAD
mixed greens
sliced strawberries
hearts of palm- chopped
goat cheese- crumbled
slivered almonds- toasted
red onion- thinly sliced
cracked pepper

THE DRESSING
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons whole grain mustard
2 tablespoons amber agave nectar
2 tablespoons (or more) extra virgin olive oil

agave is a perfect mix with mustard and balsamic and really cuts some of the acidity to make it smooth. we love to use agave in salad dressings, on peanut butter toast, in coffee....wherever...if you read this site, you will see that agave nectar is a great alternative to table sugar and is actually sweeter, so you should use about 25% less than a recipe with sugar would call for. it is also lower on the glycemic index, so it shouldn't spike your blood sugar too much. AND it's all natural!

this salad was a quick concoction we made for dinner with james' family in virginia...the crowd was pleased! goes great with a lean grilled steak and grilled whole grain rolls...

yum...beth likes it

cold soup for hot people

2008-06-10T17:53:00.000-07:00

when i head back east to see the folks, i also intevitably revert to acting like a child. sometimes, i like to prove that i really am all growns up, (despite the fact that i am still in school and just 2 years shy of 30) so i cook up a good dinner. but i must admit, its not always just an act of kindness- sometimes i like to take the reins since my momma tends to have a paula deen type of heavy hand in the butter.

it is freaking hot in pennsylvania, so what better on a hot day, than a cold soup! and gazpacho is like crack for antioxidant lovers. its full of tomatoes, which in-and-of-themselves have a lot of lycopene. When tomatoes are made into juice or sauce the lycopene-o-meter goes way way up! Lycopene is a potent antioxidant that loves free radicals. So for endurance athletes, who probably have more of those floating around looking for some cells to damage, when lycopene is in the body, it hooks up with the free radicals and sweeps them off their feet ("hey baby, wanna bind?") before they kill and damage cells. i kind of see it like a sugar daddy (antioxidant) who distracts a little floosy/gold digger/home wrecker (free radical) before she has a chance to be a home wrecker and swoop on your crib (nice happy cell) and steal your man.

nothing really has been proven proven linking antioxidants and superior exercise performance (but there is a lot of soft supportive literature out there), but they do help fight disease and aging...and the jury is out on whether you can overdo your antioxidants (some say that you can have so many that the free radicals can't do their job and destroy crappy useless tissue...who knows...)

i'm certainly no expert, i just know that i love gazpacho! its a cold blended vegetable soup. if it were served in a glass, people would call it a smoothie. like if i poured my smoothie into a bowl it would be "chilled summer berry soup"..anywho...

gazpacho
4 tomatoes (peeled and de-seeded- see*below)
2 cups V-8 (or tomato juice)
2 slices whole grain crusty bread
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar or sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
2 peeled and seeded cucumbers-chopped
1 red bell pepper-chopped
1 yellow bell pepper-chopped
1 red onion-chopped
1 celery stalk-chopped
3 cloves garlic- minced
1/2 jalapeno- diced
1 handful flat leaf parsley-chopped
1 handful cilantro-chopped
kosher salt

*boil a pot of water. cut an X in the skin of each tomato. submerge tomatoes in boililng water for 20 seconds. remove immediately and dunk in ice water or place under the faucet. peel off skin easily....then core them and squeeze out the seeds as best you can

first, combine the olive oil, vinegar and tomato juice or V8 & crusty bread in one bowl. i used a really seedy grainy bread, but you can use whatever.

in another bowl, chop all the vegetables and mix 'em up. then combine both bowls together and blend until smooth-ish. i use an amazing hand blender (get one-it will change your life), but all you crazy protein shake boys can just use a reuglar old blender if that's what you got. then chill the soup for at least two hours (better overnight- my bowl today was better than yesterday).
you can save some of the chopped veggies or herbs for garnish if you like. avocado and a tortilla chip also makes a nice topper (and that's true for pretty much anything :) )..

i made this last night (along with crab cakes and corn on the cob..HOLY DELICIOUS!!!!)...and it was a big hit with everyone. i changed the recipe from a lot of others that i found in that i used less bread (and made it whole grain) and less olive oil...i also added sweetness from a yellow pepper (most recipes call for green) and good quality oil, it tasted PERFECT. i liked using V8 too...that's what we had on hand...

make it! yum.

Slacking and Steak sandwiches.

2008-05-31T06:13:00.000-07:00

Me and Beth have been totally neglecting this blog. She's busy with work, grad school, and training, and I am busy with work, training, and getting ready for my racing road trip. As busy as we are we have still be eating well. We have just been keeping the fridge stocked with a bunch for fresh veggies, berries, fruit, and other foods that can be prepared quickly.

When we have had time to get in the kitchen there has been some good stuff going down. Last Saturday Beth wanted cheese steaks. She's from philly so it's to be expected. Obviously we weren't going to settle for a unhealthy mediocre version of the classic. So instead of using Steak-Ums or some other cut of meat we chose to go with Filet Mignon.... seriously.

Beth took care of everything and all I had to do was thinly slice the steaks and throw it in the pan. We had the butcher slice it as thin as he could but when we got home I chopped it up some more. Beth sauteed some onions and mushrooms and then came awesome. She also made a killer horseradish mayo for the sandwiches.

We don't eat a lot of white bread around here... pretty much never. Beth tried her best to find a good multi grain roll but to no avail. So we went with sourdough, which ended up being a great call even though I was hating on it a bit. Sorry...

For a side Beth made a rad Mediterranean salad.

The sandwiches were Epic... and that's not a word I throw around. Beth killed it!

we don't eat fish tacos every night....

2008-04-14T21:39:00.001-07:00

yes. we probably eat grilled fish tacos or salads w. lean protein most nights of the week...but sometimes we venture out....a little...

the other night i made chili and strawberry spinach salads (random combo, i know)

for chili:

1 pound lean ground beef ( or turkey) today i used 97% lean beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic , crushed
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 teaspoon cocoa (confession- i make this chili all the time at my house. so i have cocoa powder on hand. james did not have any and i am lazy. so i threw two dark chocolate hershey kisses in the pot. not kidding. its the same thing, right? the chocolate is the secret ingredient so i couldn't leave it out.)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper sauce
1 can (32 oz) whole tomatoes, undrained
1 can (15 oz) beans, undrained. (kidney, black, whatever. i used black today)

Cook and stir ground beef, onion and garlic in 3 quart saucepan until
beef is brown: drain. Stir in remaining ingredients except beans:
break up tomatoes. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer,
stirring occasionally, 1 hour.

Stir in beans. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. simmer uncovered, stirring
mixture occasionally, until of desired consistency. ( about 20
minutes.) then top it with whatever you like.

for the salad:
spinach
sliced strawberries
thinly sliced red onion
slivered toasted almonds
sprinkles of crumbled blue cheese

dressing:
i just mixed 50% balsamic vinegar with 50% light blue cheese dressing . i call it balsamic blue cheese dressing. yeah, real creative....

oh, and i sprinkle on fiber one "croutons".....gross, huh? i LOVE fiber one. but i am also crazy. james orders his without the fiber bomb

james loves chili....or does he?

turkey meatballs and spaghetti squash

2008-04-04T21:17:00.000-07:00

there's been some good foodspiration going on in blog-land. lucho's been juicing it up...seems like he's on a yam kick...james has been the kettle chip fairy, spreading the love for some good training tips from Cody....and benson made me jealous with his italian chow.

Also over on mark's daily apple, there are 10 great ways to "eat green".

james and i have been super busy over here (more work for both of us than usual), but still eating well. here's some of the latest:

turkey meatballs with spaghetti squash....

1 spaghetti squash

cut the squash in half and scrape out the seeds. preheat the oven to 375 degrees. brush in olive oil, salt and pepper. place on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minute to one hour. After its soft...take it out of the oven and scrape the flesh with a fork to get the "Spaghetti"... Season as you like it with salt, pepper, olive oil, maybe a little sage or parsley

turkey meatballs with marinara
1lb 99%lean ground turkey
2 egg whites
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 an onion-diced
3/4 cup diced mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
worshteshire sauce- a bunch of shakes
parsley, salt, pepper, oregano
sprinkle o cheese (i used part-skim mozz)

i sauteed the onions, garlic and mushrooms with a little bit of olive oil in the pan. i heard that by adding in mushrooms, the lean turkey would stay moist and hold together in meatballs better. after that, i mixed up all the ingredients and formed into 8 balls. put them in a saute pan over medium heat and brown on both sides (3-4 minutes a side? clearly from the picture i made mine "crispy") then dump in as much spaghetti sauce as you like (i like organic ones with low-ish sugar content- you really need to look at the labels on red sauce, they vary SOOOO much. whole foods 365 brand has some great choices)

yum!
that's it for now.. i also made some good chili and strawberry-spinach-balsamic salads this week...more on those later...and i think we're doing some healthy thai apps in the next few days.okay, time for dessert. bye!

Fish Tacos (From Dad)

2008-03-25T09:19:00.000-07:00

Beth and I both have been lagging on posting on Vo2 Maxed. Needless to say life has been busy. Luckily my Dad kills it in the kitchen and has provided us with another entry. Last time it was Pollo Asado Tacos and this time it's Fish Tacos... and no my dad is not of Mexican descent. The Walsh family just loves our Mexican food (and beer)!

Fish Tacos by Jim Walsh. Here is a recipe for fish tacos with all the trimmings.

My fish taco. Carb Smart tortilla. (notice the paper plate... keep it real dad. jw)
Fish tacos differ greatly from location to location. My philosophy of fish tacos is:
1. Always but the freshest fish available. Any "white" fleshed fish will do, as long as it is of a "heavy" consistency. (Cod is usually used, but grouper, tilapia, ahi tuna, mahi mahi, or in this case wahoo are also good choices. Freshness in more important than the variety.)
2. The fish MUST unadulterated and be grilled. (Breaded fish in tacos may as well be made with packaged, frozen fish sticks.)
3. The fish MUST not be seasoned prior to grilling. Just a brush of Extra Virgin Olive Oil to keep it from sticking.
4. After fish is grilled, while still hot, flake and season. (See Recipe)
5. The true test/taste of the fish taco is in the garnish and condiments. Therefore, these must be to your taste.
6. Fresh homemade garnish / condiments are always the best.
7. Flavors must be layered, like the filling. There is a delicate balance between sweet and savory. It is very easy to overpower the flavor of the fish.
8. A fish taco is not a fish taco without a Baja Sauce. (See Recipes) Try all four and pick your favorite. These are ours.
With these guidelines in place, my recipe for the "Best" Fish Tacos follows.

Four pieces of Wahoo, approx. 1 inch thick, ready for the grill.

Grilled and ready to flake.

Ready to serve.

Garnishes
Shredded cabbage, grated cheese (cheddar or "Mexican" blend), and guacamole(definitely). Diced tomatoes, sour cream and diced Spanish onion (if you must).

Fish Filling

Approx. 2 lbs. of fresh fish, Wahoo in this case
2 Tbsp. Fresh Cilantro, very finely chopped.
1/2 tsp. Obie Cue or other brand Fajita Seasoning (Available from www.obiecue.com , best I've found. Also, try their Texas Soul. Great Mexican seasoning)
1/2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Brush fish with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and grill until desired doneness, (Fish must be grilled to the point that it will flake easily).
Remove fish from the grill and flake while still hot and keep warm. The method I use is to heat a cast iron skillet in the oven to about 250 degrees and place flaked fish in the skillet to keep warm. Once all fish is flaked, very sparingly, season with the Fajita Seasoning and Cilantro. You don't have to use all the spice and cilantro. This should be just a "touch" of seasoning, and has to be applied while the fish is warm. Just a hint if seasoning.

Serve Immediately.

Mango Salsa

1 Cup of fresh Mango, diced small
1/3 cup roasted Red Peppers (The "canned" variety are used here, sweeter than home roasted)
1/3 Cup Red Onion, diced small
1 Jalapeño pepper, seeded, deveined and minced
1 Tbsp. fresh Mint, chopped (If you can't find fresh mint, dried mint leaves can be substituted, 1/4 the amount of fresh)
1 Tbsp. fresh Lime juice

Combine all ingredients. Refrigerate until needed.

Clockwise from the top: Green Baja Sauce, Pink/Red Baja Sauce, Chipotle Baja sauce, Amargo Baja Sauce.

Green Baja Sauce
This Baja Sauce is like a thin mild / cilantro guacamole. Add more Jalapeño if you want it hot.

1/2 Cup Mayonnaise
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
1/2 Cup Cilantro leaves
1 large Jalapeño pepper (seeded and deveined)
1 - 1 1/2 Avocados (Depends on ripeness, less ripe, more Avo.)
1 Tbsp. Fresh Lime juice
Dash Ancho Chili Pepper

Combine cilantro leaves, Jalapeño pepper and avocado in a food processor or blender and pulse until mixed fairly well. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Refrigerate until needed.

Pink/Red Baja Sauce
This sauce is very similar to Taco Bell Baja Sauce. (Mild)

1/4 Red bell pepper
1 large Jalapeño pepper (seeded and deveined)
1/4 small Spanish onion
1 cup Mayonnaise (not fat free)
1 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 tsp. Fresh ground Black Pepper
Dash of Garlic Powder
Dash of Cumin
Dash of Ancho Chili Pepper
2 Tbsp. water

Combine red bell pepper, Jalapeño pepper, onion, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, ancho chili pepper and water in a food processor or blender and puree. Combine 5-6 Tbsp. of this mixture with the Mayonnaise and vinegar. Refrigerate until needed.

Chipotle Baja Sauce
Great "smokey" flavor (Tangy)

1/2 Cup Sour Cream
1/3 Cup Mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. Fresh Lime juice
1 Tbsp. canned Chipotle chilies
2 Cloves of Garlic
1/2 tsp. Chipotle Chili Pepper

Note: Dried Chipotle Chilies can be reconstituted in boiling water and used in place of the canned variety. They will take slightly longer to break down in the blender.

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Refrigerate until needed .

Amargo Baja Sauce
This sauce has a slightly sour / bitter taste. By itself, it does not taste very good, but in the taco it provides a contrast to Mango Salsa. It is an acquired taste.

7 oz. Crème Fraiche
1/4 Cup Buttermilk
1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
1/2 Tbsp. Honey
1 tsp. Spanish Smoked Sweet Paprika
1 tsp. Spanish Smoked Hot Paprika
1/2 tsp. Chipotle Chili Pepper

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse until well combined. Pour mixture into a sauce pan and gently warm until steaming. Refrigerate until needed. To serve, reheat until warm. Pour into condiment dispenser and serve warm.

ride snacks and a recipe

2008-03-03T17:56:00.001-08:00

tri bloggers don't just ride, they eat and ride and tell you about it. personally, i like to hear about the snacks even more than the rides.
here's some of the latest:

paul's been cooking up some red potatoes in la jolla for his long rides. i guess if you live in la jolla you are spending all your money on your house (or diapers :)...just kidding. i am totally trying this soon.

james brought along a smuckers whole wheat peanut butter 'n honey on his last ride. i stole a bite, it was amazing. throw that thing in the freezer and stick it in the jersey pocket...210 calories with 26 grams of carbs...perfect

i tried to bring some sweet and salty chex mix with me on my last long ride. bad call. it was like sand when i pulled it out. not sure how i crushed it, but i managed somehow. if i could have a ride snack fairy to bring me something special, i would request that she make me a couple of these rice krispie sushi wonders by kerrie (see pictures 3&4)

oh and to drink, i have been loving putting Gatorade G2 in my bottles. electrolyte love. and has anyone tried that new propel with caffeine? it's goooooood (just what i need for my sleep problem, right?)

last week, when i rode with bethany, she ate a homemade gluten free PB&J, half a snicker's charged and a ring pop and then pulled the group for 40 miles....hmmm...maybe she's onto something.

and before his rides, moonpie cooks up some steel cut oats n nuts n berries that put our frozen trader joe's version to shame. if you click on his blo, please disregard the trans-fat-a-licious confection decorating the upper right corner of his page.
any other favorites out there?

now the recipe...

this one comes as a guest post from my way-cooler-than-a-step-mom-step-mom marsha. she is the best cook around and specialized in "three pile meals" (meat, starch, veg), anything barefoot contessa or jamie oliver, and soup soup soup. i steal all of her recipes and tell james i made them up. as for soup, she makes killer turkey chili, potato leek, butternut squash, carrot curry, and like this chicken chili she made while i was home....yum...
but this recipe is not about chicken chili, its CIOPPINO! fish soup....protein power so we can swim like fishees! click on that cioppino link for the history of the stuff. interesting. i like how it was originally just a pot of whatever remained from the catch of the day. that's like most soup thouh i guess. i think one day i want to do an unannounced soup challenge and get people to make a soup from ONLY what is in their house at that moment, especially things that need to be used up. could get some interesting recipes

okay, from the kitchen of marsha gerdes:
CIOPPINO
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 large shallots, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes,
¼ tomato paste
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
1 ½ dry white wine
5 cups of fish stock or combination fish stock and vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
1 pound manila clams
1 pound mussels,
1 pound uncooked large shrimp
1 ½ pound assorted firm fleshed fish fillets such as halibut

Heat oil in a very large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, shallots, and salt and sauté until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and ¾ teaspoon of red pepper flakes and sauté 2 minutes, Stir in the tomato paste. Add tomatoes with their juices, wine, stock and bay leaf. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium low. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Add the clams and mussels to the cooking liquid. Cover and cook until the clams and mussels begin to open about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and fish. Simmer gently until the fish and shrimp are just cooked through, and the clams are completely open. (Discard any clams and mussels that do not open). Remove bay leaf. Season the soup to taste.

and here's her photo! (i love it, the fam is now "into" the food picture things and she sends me meal pics from her iphone)
o-mega-good.

Lagging, good finds, and some dinner.

2008-03-03T05:28:00.001-08:00

Ok... I have been lagging posting on VO2 Maxxed. Beth has been getting it done and we actually have two guest family posts waiting on deck. So since I have been blowing it and haven't posted in a while. Here's quick highlight of some of the meals and wines we've had recently and some killer products we found at Trader Joe's.

Find #1: Individually wrapped, single servings of Steelcut Oats. They are awesome and perfect for right after masters.

Find#2: Trader Joe's Spicy Spinach Pizzas

We hooked them up with a bunch toppings... like fire-roasted tomatoes, red onion, mushrooms, artichoke heats, more spinach, grilled chicken, and feta cheese.

Dinner#1: Grilled swordfish with corn salsa and avocado with a side of steamed veggies.

Dinner#2: Salmon burrito.

Dinner#3: Veggie Egg scramble

Dinner #4: Filet mignon... perfect medium-rare

We also stocked up on random wines at Trader Joe's. I am big fan of the "House Wine" and Block 50. Beth really liked the Les Moirets Cotes Du Rhone.

there... that's it... a post from me. Now maybe Beth will get off my back!

muffins for those who dont want muffin tops

2008-02-27T16:25:00.000-08:00

i've been on a muffin rampage. bakin' up a storm over here in san diego. today i made these after my trainer session and run. i ran in the house like a crazy person and started mixing stuff up super fast. You would have thought it was T1 or something the way i was iron-cheffing because i wanted to get outside by the pool (75 and sunny!) to do some studying (gotta love grad school). James' roomate's gf was like, "are you going to use a recipe?". i told her no, because i vaguely know some sort of basic muffiny base (flour+sweetener+egg+applesauce+baking soda) and i just put in fruits, nuts, vegetables and spices that i like to flavor it up. sometimes this means that my concoctions suck, but i usually like them even when other people don't (hey, i like all the ingredients on their own, they must be good mixed up!). MORE FOR ME! and healthy tastes great, right?
today i made what i call:

CARROT CAKE PUMPKIN PIE MUFFINS
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup splenda (or your sweetener of choice- good ole cane, agave nectar, brown rice syrup, HFCS if you want to slowly kill yourself)
1 cup shredded carrots
1 can canned pumpkin (NOT p. pie mix)
1/2 cup egg whites (or you can whole egg it up, make it the omega fortified kind)
1/2 cup no sugar added applesauce
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or just more cinnamon and some nutmeg)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder

heat oven to 350 degrees. mix dry ingredients. mix in wet ingredients. actually, i just mix it all up at the same time but this is how they typically tell you to do it. spoon into muffin pans (like a 1/3 cup mix in each) and bake away. i think mine took 40 minutes, but it may take less. James' oven is wack (who says wack? sorry). just bake them until an inserted knife is dry-ish.
i made half the recipe as shown above, and in the other half of the mix, i threw in a cup of wheat bran and a 1/3 cup of blueberries and a little extra egg white to make some fiber bomb muffins..the blueberries and the egg were to balance the extra dry fiber (just balance out the wet/dry stuff when you bake and it should be good to go)

i think they came out pretty good. kind of like chewy pumpkin pie carrot cake which is what i was going for (see recipe name). they don't get too cake-y, they are more sponge-y and that's because if you look at the recipe, for every muffin, at least 3/4 of it is straight up fruits and veggies and nuts. just a little flour and egg glue to hold it all together.

last week. i made pretty much the same muffins but instead of pumpkin, carrot & raisin, i substituted 1 1/2 cups (or 3 whole) bananas...banana walnut goodness.

last night for dinner james made grilled swordfish steaks with avacado corn salsa fresca. and kitchen sink 2-pound salads as usual (last night they had sprouts, spinach, tomatoes, pickles, artichoke hearts, broccoli, carrots, red onion (which rachel ray thinks should be renamed purple onion and she tells you in EVERY show), red and yellow bell peppers, sugar snap peas, mushrooms and i think that's it). with some awesome miso dressing that we love. oh, and i put fiber one "croutons" on my salad. yes, i am a weirdo with fiber. can't get enough. maybe i am writing this so that james will post a picture from dinner and review all the wine he drank this week. wine is like rocket fuel for james. oh, and post about our favorite new breakfast-y find from trader joes too! please! i'll be nice and make you muffins...oh, wait...

Keeping it in the Family: Pollo Asado Tacos

2008-02-20T13:31:00.000-08:00

Ok... so I had my Dad throw together a post for us. He killed it!

Make these... they are good.

Healthy Pollo Asado Tacos

Your food blog says "a different kind of fast food". This is NOT fast food. Homemade marinade and homemade salsa. Check it out. Turned out pretty good.

Simple: one carb smart tortilla (warm), pollo asada, cabbage, salsa fresca, cheese, EAT. (Note: Paper plate, for James)

You might have noticed that I have borrowed from the fish taco arena by garnishing with cabbage. It is crisper and cleaner tasting in this application. Also, if you use canned salsa, you might want to chop some onions, tomatoes, and lettuce for additional garnish.

Pollo Asada

5-6 chicken breasts
Pollo Asada Marinade (See Recipe)

Split/Filet each chicken breast to approx. 1/2 thickness, resulting in 10 - 12 pieces. I find that doing this allows the marinade to soak in and flavor the chicken better. Place the chicken filets into a 1 gallon Ziploc bag with the marinade. Close the bag and mix the chicken and marinade by turning over several times and agitating the mixture.Do this for several minutes. Open the bag and carefully squeeze out as much air as possible.Reclose and place in refrigerator for 2 - 4 hours, turning periodically.

Remove chicken from marinade and grill to desired degree of doneness.

Chop chicken filets prior to serving.

Off the grill.

Chopped and ready to serve.

Green goo marinade. (Note: Mario bowl, for Beth) Recipe follows:

Carne / Pollo Asada Marinade

4 garlic cloves
1 roasted, peeled, cleaned jalapeño pepper
1 large handful fresh cilantro, finely chopped
salt & pepper to taste
2 limes, juiced
1 orange, juiced
1 lemon, juiced
1 tsp. lime zest
1 tsp. orange zest
1 tsp. lemon zest
2 Tbsp. white vinegar
1/2 cup first, cold pressed, Extra Virgin Olive Oil
(Note: The zest contains most of the citrus flavor, so I hate to waste it. It only enhances that citrus zing.)

Roast jalapeño pepper on grill or stove top burner. Peel off all skin, cut off ends, halve, and clean out seeds and veins. Dice.

Press garlic and diced jalapeño pepper into a non-reactive bowl using a garlic press. Add cilantro, salt and pepper. Using a spoon, press / crush ingredients against side of bowl, to form a "paste".

Add lime juice and zest, orange juice and zest, and lemon juice and zest. Mix with spoon to combine. Add vinegar and olive oil, stir.

Pour into a large, 1 gallon. Ziploc bag.

Chicken in marinade. Place in refrigerator for 2-4 hours.

Dad's Salsa. Recipe follows:

Dad's Salsa Fresca

1 1/2 - 2 cups, seeded, diced tomatoes
1/2 - 3/4 cup diced red onion
1 Tbsp. roasted, jalapeño pepper
1 Tbsp. roasted, pabalano pepper
3/4 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 large, or 2 small limes, juiced
1/2 tsp. lime zest
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Cut tomatoes into quarters and remove seeds. Dice tomatoes. (I like to use a 1/2 and 1/2 mix of vine ripened and roma tomatoes. The vine ripened for sweetness, the roma for body). Dice red onion. Roast peel and clean jalapeno and pablano peppers, dice. Mince garlic. Juice lime and zest. Chop cilantro.

Combine all ingredients in a glass bowl. Adjust seasoning and peppers (heat) to taste. Refrigerate until needed.

POKEZ, pumpkin, & pancakes

2008-02-17T19:27:00.000-08:00

in "other athletes that love food news"....
it looks like GZ over in boulder, co is getting down with some wok action...he's fast on the road AND in the kitchen! (maybe i'd be fast if i had kids to work as my little sous chef minions too! :) ...hmmm....james is little, he can pass as a kid, i need to put him to work.... actually not true since he probably cooks as much as me or we team cook which is most nights. anyway, back to the plan...

POKEZ

we usually go to el caribe tacos n juice at least once a weekend for fish tacos and salads...that place definitely deserves its own post in the next week or so....james would definitely classify it as epic.

but left all to my lonesome with j out of town, and far from el caribe, being downtown in my hood (james lives up in north county).....i had to pull out an old favorite for a good post 50-miler mexican meal since i finally wanted to eat after being sick...
POKEZ! POKEZ (pronounced poh-keeez and there is an accent over the E which i can't figure how to make with blogger) is kick ass mexican food made the right way in a little place downtown that looks like a dump...
i think some veg-o person owns it because there is no lard in the beans and everything on the menu can be ordered vegetarian, vegan, whole wheat, tofu, spinach, whatever.....
I went with a mahi mahi grilled fish taco and beans...here is about a third of what they gave me (had to save some for later..meaning like 30 mintues later)...

and waiting around while they cook up my food is not so bad. pokez is hipster heaven and there is plenty of ink and piercings to admire on the wait staff. i probably looked pretty cool in my sweet cycling getup. i especially like the skateboard/jukebox wall...

PUMPKIN
when james is not around, i also have a tendency to make odd dessert-ish foods in single servings. james is not so into dessert- he doesn't even like pie or cake. well, i am obsessed with pumpkin pie and love the easy things you can do with canned pumpkin. i also am down with the health benefits of pumpkin:
"Pumpkins are packed with beta carotene, an antioxidant with properties that can help improve immune function and reduce the risk for chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease. A cup of cooked pumpkin has only 50 calories and nearly three grams of fiber, making it the perfect healthful addition to your meal"(from http://www.healthcastle.com)

so, i like to make mini pumpkin "pies" in little rammikens (love that word)
i use:
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 egg white
sweetener (your pick-splenda, brown sugar, i like SF maple)
sprinkles of cinnamon
sprinkles of pumpkin pie spice (you can buy this and its a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, etc)
sprinkle of rolled oats
i mix this all up (save the oats) in the rammiken with my mini whisk, sprinkle on the oats and then microwave for 2 minutes...that's it. delicious, desserty and essentially you're eating vitamin packed vegatables + protein (egg white) for dessert....
looks kind of gross, huh? but is swear it is TFG (totally f-ing good).
i also like to put the same spices and 1/3 cup of the pumpkin into my usual oatmeal....pumpkin pie for breakfast, what's better?

PANKCAKES
xterra athlete emkruse sent this killer pancake recipe where you can get your oats and dairy at the same time...

Oat Pancakes:
Old-fashioned oats - 1 part
Low-fat cottage cheese - 1 part
Egg whites - 1 part
Sweetener - optional

He says, "Pop all of this in a strong blender and mix it up until it's smooth. Then you just cook it up like a pancake.You can get the ingredients in more or less the same size package at the store so it's real easy to measure. FYI, I like to add 8 packets of Splenda to a blender full just to sweeten it up a bit. This is a great new breakfast option in our house, thanks to our friends Jason and Sherrie. You can add blueberries or better, you can even make banana pancakes and pretend like it's the weekend."

so, emkruse, we're on it....on valentine's day, while james was on the trainer, i cooked us up a delicious brekkie thanks to you! i made egg-white omelettes and blueberry pancakes. i followed emkruse's recipe but subsituted fage total 0% greek yogurt (13 grams of protein in 6oz!) for the cottage cheese because that's what we had on hand.
these got a big thumbs up from both me and james and the blueberries were a nice addition...and damn it we ate it so fast we forgot to take a picture!

that's about it...James just bought a bunch of food-related books from amazon, so expect some future book reviews (or clif notes if you're lazy) and i did make him some (like 100) awesome granola bars for valentine's day...there were four flavors: "ride" (xtra delicious and carby), "recover" (extra protein, more carbs), "fiber bomb" (serious fiber here), and "everything balls"....but the pictures are on his camera. maybe i'll post the recipe but make him post the review....

later! keep eating....

discoveries...by beth

2008-02-11T17:28:00.000-08:00

this morning i discovered a couple of things. first, i found out that i can wear bib shorts on the trainer without anything else on top without even being completely indecent...all the necessary parts are covered! i wouldn't sport this look in a group sesh, but in private watching the Today show---fo sho!....yet another advantage to small boobies. (sorry dad if you are reading this...)

i also discovered how to motivate myself for a 35 minute run right off the trainer....as soon as you're off the trainer, throw some oats and mix-ins into a rice cooker (1 part oats to two parts water)- today i spiced mine up with 1/2 a diced fuji apple, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sprinkled a couple chopped pistachios. turn that rice cooker on and run....when you come home, you will have PERFECTLY cooked oatmeal and think about it during the entire run...

can you hear it? it's saying.....eat me, i'm delicious!

Chicken Curry and Steamed Veggies.

2008-02-07T19:45:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick one for you. While Beth is in New Orleans partying it up at Mardis Gras (she's actually there for a Psychology conference... good timing!) I am at home recovering and cooking for myself.

When I was at Trader Joe's yesterday I picked some of the new Curry Chicken Breast Tenders. They are just raw chicken tenders marinating in some bright yellow curry sauce. I usually by the Pollo Asado and Carne Asade that comes packed the same way and they are both killer. The good thing about these packages is that there is a lot of meat... typically 5-6 servings. So I portion it out and freeze it. Enough of that.

So I got home late tonight and already had some of the Curry chicken waiting in the fridge so I busted out the the grill pan, chicken, veggies, and steamer bag.

If you haven't tried the new steamer bags that Glad and Ziploc are making I highly suggest them. They steam all kinds for vegetables to perfection in 4-6 minutes and I have even steamed up some chicken in them.

I heated the grill pan, sprayed it with some olive oil and got the chicken going.

Then I threw a ton veggies (Brussels sprouts, green beans, mushrooms, broccoli, sugar snap peas, carrots, and red onions) along with some salt, pepper, and curry powder.

I topped it all with a some lemon pepper and a little bit of soy sauce (reduced sodium of course). It only took be about 10 minutes to whip this together and it was good. The curry chicken tenders are winner!

Go Eat.

PB & J

2008-02-03T17:40:00.001-08:00

this blog is going to be about food (and the occasional drink) that helps us go our fastest.
when james and i met (in august 2007), one of the first things we realized that we both love to cook delicious food that is mega-healthy and nutrient packed. every week is pretty much a fruit and vegetable party with some whole grains and lots of lean protein mixed in. we both have our vices....james can destroy a bag of kettle chips, bottle of jack, or a canister of nuts like none other, and i am working on separating myself from a golden spoon frozen yogurt addiction and letting go of the splenda...

but other than that, we eat lean, green, clean, and with plenty of caffeine...

right now, we're in a fish phase, (up to 5 nights a week-and james has been swimming fast...correlation?) and we're always in a salad phase...most nights, the dinner staple is a HUGE salad with about a dozen fresh ingredients, some lean protein and a homemade dressing.

this blog is about any of the random eatings, cookings, and drinkings we may do. from reviews of whichever pinot noir was on sale at the grocery store, to weekly soup and granola recipes (sunday is soup day), to post-race eats, to my favorite organic produce stand, to product favorites (like fage, almond breeze, clif z bars and PB2).....

no matter what we write about, it's all mostly an excuse to post pretty pictures of killer food.....(except when james uses the freaking tupperware...we may have to do a poll on that. i'm anti glad ware unless we are going to work, and james is decidedly pro....i guess he likes to keep it real and i like to front)...

okay, enough with the words...this is the kind of stuff we're talking about....

pumpkinx-flax-cranberry-pistachio granola

chicken chili

the guac

greek yogurt with figs, berries, and mangoes

salad...."the chron"