FIVE Weeks + Protein Pancakes

FIVE weeks until TC Marathon --- brb when I go hide in a hole ;)

I am kidding, well sort of. I am nervous but after this week/weekend the hardest week of training will be in the complete (in my opinion). This week I am upping my mileage to see how this works for me. My game plan for the week:

Monday- 13 miles (complete!)

Tuesday- legs

Wednesday – 6 miles + upper body (only 30 short minutes)

Thursday – 9-10 miles

Friday – possibly 8 miles OR sprints + shoulders

Saturday – rest? If weather is nice then 20 miles

Sunday – rest or run, depending on Saturday.

If all goes as planned I will be logging about 48 – 57 miles, which will be a huge increase from my previous weeks. I am hoping by upping my mileage I will not be as icky feeling on my long runs.

Okay, enough marathon talk! I have an amazing

Protein Pancake recipe to share {I have shared them before and they are also under my “recipe” tab}.

Protein Pancakes:

¾ c. egg whites

½ c. cottage cheese

½ c. oatmeal

2 T. coconut flour

½ t. vanilla

½ t. baking powder

put all ingredients in the blender – once blended cook on griddle or pan – when finished top with all your favorite toppings!

What I love about this recipe is it is full of FIBER {coconut flour} and it is easy. This is one very large serving, or I usually make 5Xs this and then freeze them for a quick breakfast!

Today I had strawberries, tru-whip, a wee bit of chocolate syrup, and berry yogurt on top of my pancakes! Macros: 58c/10f/37p {14g fiber!}. It keeps my full for FIVE hours, which is unheard of ;) ha ha!

Because It Fits

I feel like I have tried so many “diets” {hate that word, btw}, and they have all failed me….

Until I heard about IIFYM, which stands for “If It Fits Your Macros”. Basically it taught me about balanced eating, why people should not label foods, the importance of micronutrients, why carbs and fats are NOT bad for you, and so much more. Really it has helped me have a healthy relationship with food, which is the number one goal right?

Cucumber, homemade ranch and ham sandwiches. With the good
comes the bad {see below}

A CHEESE CURD BURGER. My mouth is watering looking back
at this picture. It was as amazing as it sounds. There is also
ham on the burger but I took that off because ham just
does not sound good with a burger.

Everyone has a different opinion on all the different kind of “diets” like: paleo, low-carb, low-fat, high-protein, no bread, shake diets, pill diets, etc. I get it, because when you find something that works for YOU, you will stand behind it. I stand behind IIFYM, not because I get to eat donuts and lose weight, but because it has helped me not stress about food.

I went through this obsession with pizza - this is BBQ chicken with homemade
ranch. Below is turkey pepperoni with a side salad. I am getting in protein (from my meat and cheese)
plus carbs from the tortilla. Winning!

So what do I do? Each day I log my food into My Fitness Pal, but not only do I log my food but I also weigh it on a food scale before I eat it. It seems like a lot of work but honestly you get the hang of it so quickly. Why weigh and not measure? Well, have you ever measured 2T. of peanut butter? Yeah, I have too, and it is always at least .5 over the serving size. By weighing you are getting the exact macro count.

Breakfast sandwich! Cheese, eggs and turkey bacon on an english muffin.
Tastes just like McDonalds but a lot healthier ;) 

Mexican food is my FAV and I ordered a Mexican themed omelet once.
It was really yummy, I tried to make one myself, but my flipping skills suck.

This ONLY happens before a long run (13 miles +). This is a full
bagel, no "thins" here!

So do I count calories? NO!! I count macros (protein, fat, carbs).

What about eating out? With practice I have gotten good about knowing about what to eat, I always over-guess at the restaurant too so I can try to be under my macros vs. over. Two night ago I shared fajitas with Catherine and I opted out on shells so I could enjoy unlimited chips and cheese!

I eat salads about 5 days a week. And when I say salad I mean
one full bag of lettuce and one bag of spinach. They say,
"Go Big Or Go Home"

Boom Chica Pop is seriously amazing paired with a
bagel thin, turkey, turkey bacon and come fixings. 

What if I make a meal/recipe at home? It is actually super easy! For example, with the coconut balls I shared the other day, I weigh all the ingredients before then mix them all. At the end I weigh the whole batch and that’s the serving #. Finally, every time I eat a ball, I weigh it – booom! I have the exact macro count.  I will share a more detailed post about this in the near future.

This was heaven! The chocolate stuff if cream cheese with a jello
packet plus some cool whip. Of course I put it in a mini gram cracker
pie tin thing with whip cream!

Balsamic roast beef with veggies - this meal is Whole30 approved! 

Do I eat donuts everyday? No (I wish ;)). Everyday I make sure to eat my micronutrients (fiber, vitamins, etc.) and then once those are filled I can eat a treat. I do not eat treats everyday and 80% of the time my treats are still considered nutrient dense foods with whole ingredients…. BUT, an occasional donut that fits my macros is not going to make me gain weight.

Yummy dessert - two ingredients! Banana's and peanut butter. Warm the PB
so it gets all melty! 

REAL bacon - no turkey crap here. This stuff is from Whole Foods and
I paid my left leg for it, but its legit, no crap in it.

I am happy, healthy and crushing both weight-loss goals and fitness related goals :) If you have questions about how to get started I would love to help you for free! I just want everyone to have a good relationship with food and help them meet their goals.

Almond Joy Protein Balls

About a month ago my family met with a nutritional therapist. She not only talked with us about eating healthier and making changes that will help our bodies feel better, but she also shared with us some awesome recipes.

I have been wanting to try these Almond Joy Protein Balls – I FINALLY got to it yesterday, and today I am going to triple the batch and freeze them for lunches.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons almond butter

1 cup chocolate protein powder (I used Isagenix)

¼ cup cocao powder 

1 tablespoon stevia

1 tablespoon almond or coconut milk (add a few drops more if needed to form balls)

1/4 teaspoon almond extract (I did not have any so left it out - but I bought some today!)

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons coconut oil

5 tablespoons maple syrup

½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes and more for coating (I used ½ cup total and put half inside and used the other half for coating)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and form into 1 inch balls. Coat with coconut flakes and refrigerate.

3 balls were 15f/22c/12p – not bad!!

Marlaine, from Culinary Fix has some more awesome recipes that I hope to try in the near future. If you try any of her recipes or these protein balls let me know :)

Blueberry Zucchini Cake With Lemon Buttercream Frosting

Recently we made this delicious blueberry zucchini cake with lemon buttercream frosting – OH.MY.GOODNESS.

It was not healthy at all but SO worth all the calories, carbs and fats. Ha! The original recipe is from I Am Baker and we made a few changes.

Ingredients

         3 eggs, lightly beaten

         1 cup vegetable oil coconut oil (warm it to make it liquid)

         3 teaspoons vanilla extract

         2 1/4 cups white sugar

         2 cups finely shredded and drained zucchini

         3 cups all-purpose flour

         1 teaspoon salt

         1 teaspoon baking powder

         1/4 teaspoon baking soda

         1 pint fresh blueberries (you can reserve a few for garnish if so desired)

         Lemon Buttercream

         1 cup butter, room temperature

         3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

         1 lemon, juice and zest of (about 2 tablespoons)

         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

                  1/8 teaspoon salt

         **I ADDED already whipped cream, about 1 cup**

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two 8-inch round cake pans.

Grate a large zucchini (or two small zucchini) and place in a clean dish towel. Squeeze until most of the liquid comes out. You will want to have 2 total cups of shredded zucchini after it has been drained. Set aside.

In a large bowl and using a hand mixer, beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini.

Slowly add in the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Gently fold in the blueberries. Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans.

Bake 35-40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Frosting

Combine butter, sugar and salt and beat till well combined.

Add lemon juice and vanilla and continue to beat for another 3 to 5 minute or until creamy add in whipped cream if you want. Fold in zest.

Again, this recipe is from I Am Baker – it was really great and we are making it again this weekend. We used all organic ingredients so I feel a little better ;) ha ha! Enjoy!!!