Didn't I say a
while ago that I was gonna help a brotha out with some food stuff? Yes. Yes I did.
First I have to tell you that I am in no way, shape or form an expert on food, food preparation or taste. I only know what works for me and my busy schedule and that's what I'm going to share with you. Here are 10 tips to start you out on a quick journey to dinner.
1) Lean meat. No-brainer really. Turkey, chicken, pork tenderloin and the elk you just bought (score!). They tend to be bland on thier own, but please refer to #3 below for further instruction:)
2) Salt. Salt is your friend. It enhances the natural flavors of food and makes everything taste better. I use kosher salt, have it in a little
remekin next to the stove for easy access to sprinkle over whatever I'm cooking. Since you're an endurance athlete, a little extra salt is not going to kill you anyway. You're working your electrolytes daily, so replenishing is a good idea:)
3) Marinate. When I come home from the grocery store, I immediately marinate whatever I have bought to cook for the week. Usually a pork tenderloin and some chicken breasts. The greatest marinades (IMO) consist of soy sauce, citrus, citrus zest, honey and spicy chile sauce. I have a recipe on my site that works wonders for meat and poultry.
4) Pound. In order to speed up the cooking process you must pound your meat thin....(not that meat you sicko!) Do this by layering, say, a chicken breast in between two sheets of plastic wrap and use a heavy pan to flatten it out to about 1/4-1/2 inch. Then you marinate it:) Thicker cuts of meat like a roast or pork tenderloin get seared quickly in the pan on high heat and finished off in the oven. I like the brown crust it gives and it also keeps it moist this way since you've basically made a juice barrier by searing it.
5) Roast. I roast everything. All of my veggies get showered in a bit of olive oil, salted and then thrown in the oven at high heat (400 degrees) for 15-20 mins. They are nice and carmelized, sweet and still crunchy. I like to actually taste my food.
6) Grill. While the veggies are roasting, I'm grilling the pre-marinated protein. And since I've pounded it flat, it takes very little time to cook on each side.
7) NO CROCKPOTTING! For feck's sake man, I can't believe that Nytro actually wants to join the ranks of folks that cook like this. It's an abominiation to food to throw it all together and make every mushy thing taste like the previous bite. Gross. And crockpotters...no need to be hatin'..it's my blog and I can say what I want! I can only think of one good thing to make in a crockpot and that's chili. Everything else....you're just being lazy. Good food doesn't take that long to make. Get fresh!
8) Starch. It's really just an afterthought at dinner for us. I don't like eating pasta or potatoes at dinner because we eat late and it just sits in my belly all night. But when I do, it's usually brown rice (I take a shortcut here and choose instant - you don't lose any of the good nutrients, but you do lose the time it takes to cook it!) seasoned with LOTS of fresh garlic, ginger, salt, pepper and olive oil.
9) Stir Fry. Ingenius really....veggies and meat cut small and cooked on very high heat so it all cooks at the same time. Yes! Make your own sauce or throw some bottled sauce on it for flavor...or just salt it:)
10) Magazines. Fine Cooking and Cooking Light magazines offer up very well-written recipes that are full of flavor and don't take very long to make. You usually have all ingredients on hand you just have to make the effort to follow a recipe.
When it comes time for me to make dinner, I usually just open the fridge and let my imagination take over. I rarely plan my meals out, but here are examples of what we have for dinner:
*Pork tenderloin, garlic mashed potatoes and roasted veggies
*Chicken enchiladas (soooo easy! ask me for the recipe if you want it) with whole wheat tortillas and roasted veggies
*Boboli pizza with ham, pineapple, veggies and low-fat cheese
*Grilled chicken breasts, creamy polenta and spinach salad
*Turkey burgers with oven-roasted fries and salad
*Chile Verde (bite sized pork cooked in a bottled salsa verde) with whole wheat tortillas, vegetarian refried beans and spanish rice
*Stuffed pork chops, green beans and brown rice
*Wasabi Pea Tuna, cucumber and tomato salad
*Broiled salmon, stuffed portobello mushrooms and spinach salad
*Whole wheat spaghetti with turkey meatballs and ceasar salad
*Turkey sloppy joes with whole wheat buns and salad
*Potato and Leek soup with grilled cheese sandwiches.
Those are all I can think of right now. It's all a sad reminder that I've got to go shopping.
Stay to the outside of the grocery store aisles unless you're shopping for bread and pasta. You'll find everything you need on the outside. Although I have been guilty of caving in and buying a box of Kraft Mac'N Cheese...it's not a steady diet of it. I stay away from most things processed and dehydrated and opt for fresh always.
I hope that helps....if not...you can always fall back on the crockpot!
Big Smile at Finish Line!
I give the thumbs up to today's ride and my faithful GB
*Round corn chips
Here's a great close-up of Buddy doing what he does best...looking regal/confused. He's 18 this year and the alzheimer's and senility is setting in, but I still love him to pieces:) There are not many opportunities to capture him on camera because he moves around a lot, but this was a good one.
Those of you that would like to join in the kitty blogging fun, visit Clare at Eatstuff and provide your permalink to her in the WCB comments. If you'd rather post your doggie pics, head on over to Sweetnicks and do that too!
My hubby is a total stud, he knows what to say and how to say it and never says anything he doesn't mean. Here's how the card read, "To the angel who stole my heart, in love with you always and forever and a day and a lot longer. Lxoxoxoxox"
There was climbing that started from mile ONE man! I'm not kidding...I'm being totally serious. Then there was more climbing for the next ten freaking miles! If you're thinking to yourself right now "oh, Katie...don't you think you're exagerating a little bit?". Well - I'm not, here's our elevation map from Sheri's GPS.
Whilst we were riding along minding our own business, this very rude reflective sign post popped up out of nowhere and viciously attacked Sheri. It tried to murder Sheri, if you will. Do you think I'm exagerating again? Think again ------->
This was her very first fall....ever....and she did get an injury out of it. We didn't think she'd have anything to show for it because her arm warmer was in tact...but underneath looked like this <------
After all of that crazy climbing was done with, we did our usual messing about. A few breaks for snacks and a little chit-chat. The ride itself was actually gorgeous. There were lots of cows and horses and a bunch of switchbacks coming down the Sunol grade that was quite pleasant. We started in Milpitas and rode all the way out Calaveras Road into Sunol. We had lunch at the only deli/cafe in town and gabbed about everything we always gab about. We talk a LOT. Check that - Sheri talks a lot - I only listen and nod my head in agreeance...it's a great partnership:D After we fed our bellies, we headed out towards Fremont on Niles Canyon Road....which seemed to be going downhill for 6ish miles...but the massive headwinds actually slowed us down and made us work quite a bit. DAMN that was hard work! 
Here we are at the end of the ride, all tuckered out and hungry. When Sheri got home she slept for five hours and ate an entire pizza upon waking up. When I got home, I curled up with a heating pad because I got some monstrous cramps and slept for a few hours. When I woke up I wanted an entire pizza...but our house lacks pizza...I had to settle for butternut squash soup with crouons and melted Istara cheese:)
Herman the Giant Bunny
This came together very quickly. Very effortlessly...boil the gnocchi, sautee the sausage and heat up the beans. Toss it all together in a Italian type pasta bowl to be authentic and MANGIA! 
Whenever we go to Kingswood or Gengi Teppan Steakhouse, we order the beef roll-ups. It's very thinly salted and sliced sirloin flashed on the grill with clover sprouts and enoki mushrooms rolled up. Let me tell you...t-a-s-t-y! I've made them at home a couple of times and it's very easy. Big taste payoff:) I served mine with thai peanut noodles. They were very easy as well. I just cooked the noodles and stirred in peanut butter and orange juice. You should all try this, it's super fast and super yummy!
Here we have Buddy and Stella venturing outside. It's a rare occasion that this happens. And when they do, they only stay out for a few minutes. They are total fraid-y cats. Any sudden noise from a neighbor dog or squak of a bird and they run in the house as fast as possible. They rolled in the grass, scratched on the trees and came back inside when a squirrel jumped the fence:D
And because this photo is just too cute to pass up, I have to share with you this one last photo of Stella inside my Sports Basement bag:)
This was actually a nice tasting wrap that I used some leftover pork tenderloin to complete it. Whole wheat tortilla, scrambled eggs and sour cream all wrapped up nice and tight. I love oranges for breakfast....love them:)
Egg substitute scrambled with minced onions and dried chile flakes. Tucked into a whole wheat pita pocket and topped with some yummy bacon.
Stella and Buddy are also on the guest list for breakfast in bed and they get their own little plate. I am such a good/weird mommy:)
Salmon steaks seared in the grill pan and finished off in the oven. I made a reduction of orange juice, dijon mustard, honey and dill to drizzle atop the salmon. YUM! Hubby said it tasted like marmalade - he didn't even know it was an OJ base either...he's so smart! Roast potatoes and garlic as well as a creamed sweet corn and sage veggie served alongside a salad. This is what Marz and Hubby ate...I had a huge salad with a can of tuna on top!
Dessert was a healthed-up cake mix using applesauce and egg whites instead of oil and whole eggs. I had a container of espresso buttercream frosting that I made from a previous time, so that saved me some effort. I just let it de"frost" and spread it over the cooled cake. I've never made a cake like that before. I liked the guilt it took away, but it wasn't moist and delicious like it should have been.
This was our dinner last night - perfect portion sizes and it looks like so much food! It was 4 oz baked sweet potato, 3 oz lean pork tenderloin, 1 cup of spinach and 1/4 cup each of tomatoes and mushrooms. I drizzled just a *touch* of olive oil and white balsamic vinegar over the top. It was enough and it was yummy:)
I ran alongside The Serpentine...where - I'm told by my hubby - some crazies break the ice in the middle of winter and swim the distance of it! Now, I've done some cold water swimming in my life....but frozen river water? I don't think so! The second run I got in was in my hubby's hometown of St. Helens, the perimeter of Sherdley Park. This is always a nice and easy run. Every other day was just too cold, wet and dark for me to motivate.
horse races while Les finished up his shopping. We won on two out of the three races we bet on!
