tourist

Monday Gym Day
Today I decided to go with my typical (or what has become my typical) Monday routine of hitting up the gym for elliptical and weights. I started with about 15 minutes of the elliptical today, then hit the weights for back and biceps. I went with trisets of 3x8.

TS#1
Underhand barbell rows
Pullovers
Single-arm rows

TS#2
Dumbbell curls
Hammer curls
Cross-body curls

Assisted pullups - 8
Concentration curls - 5 (went pretty heavy with idea of just going to failure)

I finished out with another 15 minutes on the elliptical. Overall, a really strong workout. It was definitely what I needed today as a stress reliever.


Mustard Sauce for Monday
I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do for dinner tonight. Last night I actually had cereal (gaps). We had some asparagus that needed to be used up quickly, so I went with that and built the meal around roasted asparagus.

I did roasted sweet potatoes (rosemary, salt, pepper, parsley), roasted asparagus (salt and lemon pepper spice blend) with homemade Chikn' Seitan Patties that I basted in a sauce of Dijon mustard, splash of vegetable broth, salt, pepper, parsley, nutritional yeast flakes and baked. I made a Dijon Mustard Sauce that turned out wonderful. I was rather proud of it as I just threw in ingredients.

Dijon Mustard Sauce
Ingredients:
1/8 cup minced red onion
Dijon mustard (maybe 1 1/2 tbsp)
Splash of balsamic vinegar
Small amount of no-salt vegetable broth (to consistency basically), white wine would be good too
Nutritional yeast flakes (approximately 1 1/2 tbsp)
To taste: salt, pepper, parsley

Directions:
Lightly saute onions then add in remaining ingredients and allow to simmer to desired consistency.

I was really pleased with how everything turned out. It wasn't a complicated meal, which is even better after a long Monday. Do you ever build a meal around one single item like a veggie on the way out the door or do you start with the protein as a base? Or is it totally random from day-to-day? For me it can vary. Sometimes I think of a sauce that sounds fantastic and then figure out what to use the sauce on even. Perhaps a bit backwards....

Legs, My Aching Legs
I must say that last night after sitting down to eat dinner, I wasn't sure my legs were ever going to function normally again after this sequence of workouts: 12-mile run (Sat), legs (Sun), 8-mile with intervals (Mon). Let's just say we need a new thing of tiger balm now.

Of course, the reason I did the run on Monday rather than today was because I was supposed to have jury duty. I didn't have a clue what the day would bring so I was prepared to make it a rest day if needed. I called the number last night as directed and listened to the names being rattled off, not once, but twice through because my name was never called. At the end of the message it just said that if they didn't say your name, you didn't have to report until further notice. Seriously???? Oh well, at least I got the run done right? 

This morning, oddly enough, my legs weren't nearly as bad off as I had expected. I can walk normally and even hover over the toilet at work. Huge plus ;-)

So today wasn't a rest day after all. Though, I must admit I'm feeling one coming on tomorrow most likely. Unfortunately it's supposed to storm on Thursday, which means another long training run on the treadmill if I don't go run tomorrow.

Anyway, I wasn't going to push it (too much) with any super leg intensive workout like step. Instead I decided to do my typical weights/elliptical day. Today was back, biceps, abs. I started with a 10-minute easy warm up on the elliptical.

Assisted pullups (I dropped the weight as low as I could to at least get 2 reps so it's closer to unassisted)

SS#1 3x8
Underhand barbell rows
Alternating curls

SS#2 3x10
Pullovers
Cross-body curls

SS#3 - 3x8
Single-arm rows
Concentration curls

I did some ab work then returned to the elliptical for another 15 minutes.

This morning I started pressing tofu for dinner tonight. Then at lunch, I made a marinade (that will also act as the sauce).

Coconut Peanut Curry Sauce
Ingredients:
1 can lite coconut milk
31/2 tbsp PB2 (or use natural creamy peanut butter)
To taste: curry powder (approximately 1 1/2 tbsp), garam masala, cinnamon, salt, freshly grated ginger, basil, red pepper powder, cinnamon

Directions:
Whisk together all ingredients.

Coconut Peanut Curry Tofu and Chickpeas
Ingredients:
1 recipe for Coconut Peanut Curry Sauce
1 package extra-firm tofu, pressed
1/4 white onion, diced (I ended up having to use red but think white would be better)
2 carrots, diced
1/4 cup frozen peas
1 cup chickpeas
Prepared brown rice or quinoa

Directions:
Cube tofu and marinate in some of the sauce for at least one hour, the longer the better.

Bake tofu at approximately 400 degrees until firm (about 45 minutes).

In large skillet, saute onions and carrots until begins to soften, add in the remaining sauce, chickpeas, and frozen peas. Cook until peas are heated through then toss in the tofu just to coat.

Serve over rice or quinoa.

The tofu smelled so fragrant while baking. This turned out really well. It was full of great textures - I'm definitely a texture gal.

No Cereal After All
Well, after much debate over dinner, we did not eat cereal after all. Jason ended up putting together some Toasted Tempeh and Bean Burritos by browning tempeh, along with red beans, red and green bell peppers, onions, some salsa, and typical Tex-Mex spices with a splash of lime juice. We sprinkled some whole-wheat wraps with Daiya, filled them with the mix, rolled and toasted up.

I have a feeling we'll make these again. They were tasty, filling, and fairly simple. 

Monday Gym Day
It's another absolutely gorgeous day here. Too bad I didn't have a run scheduled or that's what I would have done during lunch. Trying to follow the plan (for the most part), I didn't run but rather hit the gym for back and biceps and a short elliptical stint. It's pretty much the same routine as last Tuesday. I started with 10 minutes on the elliptical then hit the weights going with 3 sets of 8 reps:

Assisted pullups - 8

SS#1
Alternating biceps curls
Underhand barbell rows

SS#2
Pullovers
Hammer curls

SS#3
Cross-body curls
Single-arm rows

Assisted chinups - 8
Concentration curls - 1 set of 8 reps

After the weights, I hit up the elliptical again for another 15 minutes, then called it quits.

Best Kind of Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day is really just any other day, but today was rather special - it was like spring. It was so pleasant walking to the car around 5:20 and the sun still being out. This means spring is just around the corner. I am sure we'll end up having at least one more cold snap, but we're sooooo close. Today was close to 70 degrees again, and it's pretty much supposed to be this way all week. Can someone say outdoor training runs??? OK, then I'll say it - outdoor training runs!!

Jason and I don't really do anything super fancy for Valentine's Day. Every once in a while we'll go eat out somewhere nice, but this year we're cooking in. The menu is a collaborative effort, and Jason is doing most of the cooking. In some form or fashion the following will be used: homemade Seitan Cutlets, roasted beets, roasted kabocha squash, spinach, and a mushroom sauce. That's the best present in my opinion.

I'll be sure to post the recipes and menu tomorrow. But for this once, I'm going to log off and enjoy the evening and not worry about blogs, blogging, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

I hope you all do the same!