So for the past three weeks I was on detox. This one was the hardest of them all. I pushed myself to be hardcore and be even more strict then usual with my diet. As a result I unknowingly didn’t consume enough protein. It caused some fatigue and a little bit of depression. Feeling deflated I hated that I couldn’t work out harder. Once Dr. Nancy and I were able to peg protein as the problem, I had to use a calculator to figure out that I needed double what I was already consuming. I had to drink double the protein shakes. It’s an expensive endeavor but entirely worth it. I immediately bounced back to running 10.30 min miles. Lifting weights and playing tennis again. At this point in my weight loss it’s become harder to lose. I use to wake up every morning and be a few oz to a lb lighter. Sometimes even two lbs. But now I scrutinize over every pound. And If I lift weights I can be sure to not see the scale move down. But I know it in the jeans I wear. What was tight in Jan, are now loose and ready to be filed away in to the “when I get pregnant I’ll bust this baby out again” pile.
Overall I what bugged me was I couldn’t figure out “why struggle now?” I hadn’t had this kind of drama in the past. At most I’d be grumpy because I was hungry. But this time I was straight up cold sweating for some deep fried love. And I realized it wasn’t love at all, it was temptation from the devil! I was going through spiritual warfare and food was the disguise. So I prayed and just like that I felt light and happy again. Saying no to bad foods was a breeze. I’d still feel hunger pangs and crave, but I could see clearly my end goal and just as easy I’d shut that devil down. If you really want success, take care of yourself mind, body and soul. As lame as it is to sound like an “Eat, Pray, Love” mantra, I whole heartily swear by this. If you don’t nourish the soul with prayer, you will fail somewhere somehow.
I posted on a sticky note my magic number. That weight number I want to reach. The number is based on what percentage of body fat I want to be. For me it’s about athleticism. I am in training, and the less body fat, the more athletic I can become. Soon I will dust my brother off the tennis courts and I will be unstoppable.
Detox is over and I’m always a little bit sad to say goodbye to it. The supplements help me so much. They provide me with nutrition without the guilt of calories. Like a nutrition fairy, they shower my organs with vita dust.
So what did I do to celebrate? I decided to cook dinner for some new friends of mine. Why? Because I can, and because I wanted to. Nothing fancy just a meal like any other, except this one has pasta and cheese and cream, and chocolate oh my! And all the stuff I can’t have on detox! YIPPEEEEEE!!!
Some really simple recipes I spotted a long time ago. You can make them simple or complex by adding on to them. The key is to always keep use the freshest produce. And as always I spot recipes and make them even better ;)
Menu
Antipasta
Mixed green salad with blue cheese and balsamic vinaigrette (prepared by Danielle Syrup)
Bruschetta with French bread toastini
Aged salami from La Rochelle, France (provided by Allyson)
Entree
Durum Wheat Heart and penne pasta with roasted garlic alfredo sauce
Dolce
Gluten free dark chocolate cheesecake brownies
Milka chocolate bar with caramel and hazelnut
Recipes: (serving size 10)
Brushetta:
2 large heirloom tomatos diced
5 oz mozzarella in water sliced
1-2 avocado diced
Handful of basil julienned
Small handful of Pine nuts
Sea salt (to taste)
Black cracked pepper
Cold pressed olive oil (enough to cover everything)
1 bulb of garlic cut the whole bulb in half. Put in foil, douse with olive oil, a bit of sea salt and pepper. Wrap it up and throw it in the oven for 20 mins to roast. It will be soft when done and pop right out of the cloves.
Directions: throw it all together and fold carefully.
Toastini: one loaf of French or Italian bread sliced thinly. Brush on olive oil. Throw into the oven until it’s crisp but slightly tender in the middle. Use the toastini to spoon the bruschetta (at this point if you’ve used the best olive oil out there, taste your bread. Note the nutty and full bodied taste).
Pasta with Parmesan Alfredo sauce:
Peel half a bulb of garlic and roast just as you did for the bruschetta
Use Whole wheat or Durum wheat pasta because it is the heartier pastas, its flavor is amazing and its jam packed with nutrition.
Bring a pot of water with salt to a boil, turn off stove. Hold off on the pasta for now.
½ pint of heaving whipping cream, ½ cup milk and ½ cup of butter to a simmer on high. Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn heat to medium.
4 oz of parmesan reggiano (the king of parm) freshly grated-slowly add in pinches of parmesan while stirring rapidly with a whisk. Add it very slowly and whisk very rapidly. Otherwise the parmesan will clump. Continue until all the parmesan is added. Turn off heat.
Turn pot of water back on, wait for it to boil, and add in the pasta.
Continue to stir your sauce otherwise it will form a dairy skin on top.
Boil until right before its aldente. Get a scoop strainer and strain out pasta and right into the sauce, some pasta water will follow and that’s a good thing, the starchy pasta water will add to the goodness. The pasta will continue to cook a little bit more with the residual heat in the sauce to become aldente.
Take the garlic out of the oven and add it to your pasta and sauce
Fold the sauce to cover all the pasta, and serve!
***thanks for dining with me, it’s always my pleasure and next time, when we meet, let’s build a menu together
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