Kung Pao Chicken

This is another recipe from the Clean Eating magazine "Comfort Foods" and I of course altered it.  David was at a meeting and he doesn't care for Chinese much, so that's what I made. You know: When the cats away the mice will play...


I increased the greens and spices and I eliminated the rice (I had it with Romano beans instead), although my son had it with rice. 


Delish!


Cooper loved it! I went to bed before David came home, but when I woke up at 4:00 a.m. he rolled over and said "that Kung Pao Chicken was delicious!" and he fell back to sleep.


David liked this because it was light and fresh, it didn't have a thick coating of a sauce, it had more of a light meat jus. This takes less than a half hour from start to finish. If you are having rice, that will take longer than anything else to cook! I will be making this again soon.


(This served three of us)


12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1 inch cubes
1/4 cup raw, unsalted peanuts
6 green onions, thinly sliced
2 tsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsps low sodium soy sauce
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsps grated ginger

First chop and mince your ingredients as it will cook very quickly. Heat the oil in a skillet or wok over medium high heat and add pepper flakes, chicken and peanuts, cook 5 minutes stirring frequently.

Stir in 1/4 cup water, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, green onions and vinegar. Bring to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink inside.

Done!

Serve over rice or along side vegetables of your choice. 

Competition Primer Part VI

Last I left off "between shows", and now I will about "finals" or the "evening show". Remember that all of the comparisons and decisions have been made at the pre-judging; however, if your look changes (and believe me, it can), then the judges can change their minds.

The finals will start with another athlete brief a half hour before the show. This is where they will review the schedule and make changes depending on how smoothly the pre-judging ran.


It is important to attend to hear the changes, and usually they tell you how to contact the head judge if you want feedback on your physique. Here is what the head judge had to say to me in October:

Congratulations on competing in the San Francisco Championships. You looked great!!!!

First of all I just want to say that you have a great physique. You have beautiful muscle, good balance and conditioning and a nice presentation. 

What I think would benefit your placing's would be to bring up your calves and quads. You have these great wide shoulders and they overpower your low body a bit. Bring out the sweep on your outer quad and work on the calve size and you should do better.

Keep up the great work Kristy, you look amazing for any age and phenomenal for over 50!

It is also important to get feedback, if what they tell you is a surprise, then you have some serious reflection to do! We should all be very well aware of what we need to improve on, and if we don't then we have some serious head issues and perhaps need to re-think our coach or trainer. I am quite aware that I need to bring up my quads and calves, I have been for ages. That's why I write about it so much!

At the finals it is quite common in the larger shows to just have the competitors walk out, wave and stand. You really don't get to see much of them, but families and friends tend to go to the finals as they are "glitzier", there is music and an emcee and you get to see the awards being given. 

The judges do want to compare the competitors though, so they will look at them from the front and the back and the sides. It is a lot more relaxed since you just did it hours ago, and you have a feeling where you placed. Everyone looks fabulous huh?

The finals are very similar to the pre-judging but as I mentioned, the expediter will tell you at the briefing what the changes will be and as you stand at the side of the stage, he will explain how you are to come out and pose. If you have only seen finals, you would think there was very little posing or comparison going on, but it really happens at the pre-judging.

One very important award is not yet determined until the finals and that is the "overall". The competitors in this are the 1st place winners in each height category. Not the Masters (although they usually have an overall for the 35 and over), but the "open" or "unlimited". This is all ages, by height.

This is the category you need to place high in to qualify for a National show for the NPC. Placing in the top 5 will qualify you for the Jr. USA's or Team Universe; placing in the top 3 will qualify you for all other National competitions. Qualifications last for one year.

Sometimes you will see a woman go on to Nationals, and then she is back at a local show the following year. There are those who frown upon this and those who don't. One school of thought is if she placed high enough to go to Nationals, then she doesn't belong back at the Locals taking a possible qualification from someone else; or the other thought is she didn't place well enough, so she needs to re-qualify and that is the only way.

I understand the need to re-qualify, but sometimes it can be a bit discouraging.

So this is why many women who compete in an age division such as 35+, 45+ and 50+ will also compete in "unlimited", they want to qualify for Nationals. If you are in a Masters age group, I encourage you to also cross over to the "open". The satisfaction of placing when the other women are half your age is amazing! All of my trophies in the "open" have been much more exciting to me than the Masters trophies. I expect to place in Masters, but not always in Open.

Once you get to the Nationals you can then try to win your pro-card. What does a pro-card get you? You can command a higher price as a trainer or coach, you can compete for cash prizes and you can more easily pick up endorsements. 

At the finals, they will usually call out your group, you all wave and leave very quickly, then they call out the top 5. The top 5 line up and the emcee announces the 5th place, 4th place, 3rd, 2nd and 1st. As each is called out, they move to the appropriate space designated for the place winner, #1 is always in the middle! There is always a pro or previous winner there handing you your trophy and telling you where to stand if you aren't sure. They will place the trophy at your feet, it stays there until a group picture is taken then you can carefully bend down (not over) to pick it up, wave and leave the stage as a group.

The energy backstage during finals is so high, everyone is excited, upbeat and giddy with anticipation. All of the competitors have worked hard for months to get to this point, and the culmination is something not to be missed. 

At my show I had lots of treats for after finals. I finally got to meet two friends whom I had only interacted with on Facebook and this blog! Sakura and Megan! I had actually been in competitions with Megan before but we never met.  Sakura and Megan came to pre-judging and had homemade signs to cheer both me and Maria Adelus on, and they brought us bags and bags of goodies!

Above is S'mores and homemade chocolate dipped pretzels, peanut butter, chocolates...it was overwhelming to meet them and have them bring these special gifts for us! Having them there was special and just the fact that they took time to show their support helps to remind me that I can be an inspiration to others.


My good friend Stacy stopped by prior to my show and had a gift card for Opa!...Everyone knows the way to my heart- food!

After finals, each competitor can stay and watch their friends or leave. I like to sneak out into the audience and scream out their names as loudly as possible. They can hear you! It is very helpful, at least to me to hear people cheering me on, and nothing like the big deep voice shouting "GO MOM!!!" from Cooper.


There is always a famous guest poser at the finals to bring in the muscle heads. This year, and last year at the San Francisco it was Phil Heath. He patiently poses with anyone who asks. Why does he have his hands in a #1??? This is about me, not him!

By the time finals are done it is late, late, late! Some people stay in their hotel, and they may have to if the live far away. Me? I live 45 minutes away from this venue and all I want to do is go home, eat, drink and be clean.....

Champagne, Pinot Noir and a big, juicy, rare cheeseburger on sliced sourdough. Then a very long, hot shower.  

The tanning solution will swirl around your feet, dark and dirty looking and your skin will remain stained for a week or so, not in a bad way, but still tanned a bit. Then into bed, and let me tell you, bed has never felt this good.

The next morning? I was a bit blurry (as you can see so was David I guess) and we enjoy a Ramos Gin Fizz and with the addition of a sparkling wine float it becomes a Diamond Fizz!

AminoSweet

Don't ingest this substance! This is a very important article to read- I found it on NaturalNews.


Artificial sweeteners especially aspartame has gotten a bad rap over the years, most likely due to studies showing they cause cancer. But not to worry Ajinomoto the company that makes Aspartame has changed the name to AminoSweet. It has the same toxic ingredients but a nice new sounding name.


And if you or your child happens to be allergic to Aspartame, well don’t take it personally it’s just business.


Despite the evidence gained over the years showing that aspartame is a dangerous toxin, it has remained on the global market . In continues to gain approval for use in new types of food despite evidence showing that it causes neurological brain damage, cancerous tumors, and endocrine disruption, among other things.


Most consumers are oblivious to the fact that Aspartame was invented as a drug but upon discovery of its’ sweet taste was magically transformed from a drug to a food additive. HFA wants to warn our readers to beware of a wolf dressed up in sheep’s clothing or in this case Aspartame dressed up as Aminosweet.


Over 25 years ago, aspartame was first introduced into the European food supply. Today, it is an everyday component of most diet beverages, sugar-free desserts, and chewing gums in countries worldwide. But the tides have been turning as the general public is waking up to the truth about artificial sweeteners like aspartame and the harm they cause to health. The latest aspartame marketing scheme is a desperate effort to indoctrinate the public into accepting the chemical sweetener as natural and safe, despite evidence to the contrary.


Aspartame was an accidental discovery by James Schlatter, a chemist who had been trying to produce an anti-ulcer pharmaceutical drug for G.D. Searle & Company back in 1965. Upon mixing aspartic acid and phenylalanine, two naturally-occurring amino acids, he discovered that the new compound had a sweet taste. The company merely changed its FDA approval application from drug to food additive and, voila, aspartame was born.


G.D. Searle & Company first patented aspartame in 1970. An internal memo released in the same year urged company executives to work on getting the FDA into the “habit of saying yes” and of encouraging a “subconscious spirit of participation” in getting the chemical approved.


G.D. Searle & Company submitted its first petition to the FDA in 1973 and fought for years to gain FDA approval, submitting its own safety studies that many believed were inadequate and deceptive. Despite numerous objections, including one from its own scientists, the company was able to convince the FDA to approve aspartame for commercial use in a few products in 1974, igniting a blaze of controversy.


In 1976, then FDA Commissioner Alexander Schmidt wrote a letter to Sen. Ted Kennedy expressing concern over the “questionable integrity of the basic safety data submitted for aspartame safety”. FDA Chief Counsel Richard Merrill believed that a grand jury should investigate G.D. Searle & Company for lying about the safety of aspartame in its reports and for concealing evidence proving the chemical is unsafe for consumption.


The details of aspartame’s history are lengthy, but the point remains that the carcinogen was illegitimately approved as a food additive through heavy-handed prodding by a powerful corporation with its own interests in mind. Practically all drugs and food additives are approved by the FDA not because science shows they are safe but because companies essentially lobby the FDA with monetary payoffs and complete the agency’s multi-million dollar approval process.


Changing aspartame’s name to something that is “appealing and memorable”, in Ajinomoto’s own words, may hoodwink some but hopefully most will reject this clever marketing tactic as nothing more than a desperate attempt to preserve the company’s multi-billion dollar cash cow. Do not be deceived.


Update: As many comments are being posted by readers who are allergic to Aspartame we ask that you please forward this article to as many people as you can.


Sources:


Ajinomoto brands aspartame ‘AminoSweet’


Aspartame History Highlights


FDA’s approval of aspartame under scrutiny


An Overdue Ban On A Dangerous Sweetener


Here is what the company Ajinomoto Sweeteners Europe tells us about their product.

Quad Day

Wednesday nights with Roy is quads. Monday is Hams with Roy, and on Saturdays I hit both quads and hams myself. 


That's quite a bit of work for the glutes too, and you can tell. My body responds quite well to volume and frequency, my butt has gotten big.


Not big in a bad way, it never gets big sideways, it gets big from front to back. And it has gotten quite round and is sitting even higher than before.


Wednesday Roy looked at me and was almost shaking his head. "I am amazed at how your glutes respond" (What he meant was dayam your butt has gotten big!) ha ha


I laughed and told him that my glutes do respond quite well, my butt gets big and round, but it shrinks when I diet down. But maybe it won't this time! I have added quite a bit of muscle in the last month and a half. Oh I have my share of fat; however, the lean mass is definitely winning this race.


Then he made a comment about Nicki Minaj. Well, just check this butt out. Fast forward to 1:00 on the video, it says it all. (Email readers must navigate directly to the blog to see this video below.)


 


Entertaining no?


I really noticed my butt today, I was afraid my shorts might split as I squatted....


Back to Wednesday- what did we do?


Poliquin Dips for the VMO (I really don't care for these) 3 sets of 20 on each leg, holding a 20 pound dumbbell


Bulgarian Split Squats, I cannot recall if I did 4 or 5 sets, but I started with 25 pound dumbbells and ended with 30, I did 12 on each leg, slowly as possible, it was really burning.


1 1/4 back squats. That's a regular back squat, weight is a bit lighter than usual due to the nature of the exercise, lower all the way down, very slowly, then up only 1/4 of the way, back down all the way and then stand all the way up, immediately down again. 10 reps, 4 sets. Burning, burning, burning

So if you are trying to work the glutes, the best way is really to work the quads and the hamstrings, then you will be functionally training the glutes and they will look great!

Monday Morning Motivation

"I saw few die of hunger; of eating, a hundred thousand."

- Benjamin Franklin

"The King who cannot rule his diet, will hardly rule his realm in peace and quiet."

- Passage from the "Rule of Health of Salerno", author unknown

"We never repent of having eaten too little."

- Thomas Jefferson

"To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art."

- La Rochefoucauld

"He that takes medicine and neglects diet, wastes the skill of the physician."

- Chinese Proverb

"The wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings. Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." 

- Hippocrates

Back and Arm Training

Thursday- back and arms, here's how the morning went:

Chin ups and Pull ups: 5 wide grip pull ups, 5 neutral grip, 6 chins ups, 5 slow eccentric lowering chin ups.

Barbell bent Over Row 115 pounds 4 sets of 10 reps , 90 second rest in between sets, tempo:

40/41/42/35

Low Row (cable) 85 pounds 5 sets of 10 reps (first 3 wide handle grip, last 2 triangle handle), 60 second rest in between sets, tempo: 46/49/45/48/47

Lat Pull Down 85 pounds 5 sets of 10 reps (first 3 wide handle grip, last 2 triangle handle), 60 second rest in between sets, tempo: 50/47/46/44/44

E-z Bar Curl 48 pounds 3 sets of 10, 60 second rest in between sets, tempo: 51/47/48

Skull Crushers 38 pounds 3 sets of 10, 60 second rest in between sets, tempo: 33/40/39

Single Arm Dumbbell Row 45 pounds 4 sets of 10, 60 second rest in between sets, tempo: 48/47; 40/39; 34/36

Getting Big and Enjoying Life

It was Thursday, the day before Veterans day which was a holiday for all of us. I sent David an email:


"Cooper and Lauren are going to Halu before their play- want to go out to dinner?"
"Yeeeeeeeeeeeesssssss"
"Cellar Door!"


I make reservations online through open door and get home at 5:30. We live in San Jose, on the Los Gatos border so we are right at the Santa Cruz Mountain foothills, the Cellar Door Cafe is over the hill in Santa Cruz on the other side of the mountain. It would take almost an hour with traffic.


As we drive over the hill I am talking about my "bigness". I want to get big, I am trying to get big and amazingly, my diet has been working. I have cut starches back to only 3.5 ounces ONCE a day (after training) and increased protein 2 ounces every meal, which is 12 ounces more a day- almost a pound of lean meat/eggs/fish. I have grown, I am 13 pounds more than I was 5 weeks ago. And, most is muscle, there isn't much fat, really. I have done a good job. 


But, I am still allowing myself to enjoy life and eat, drink and be merry on occasion. Tonight was one.


David said "It's a holiday! We are off!"  "Well" I said "I still have to get up at 4 am to go to the gym". "Your choice" he happily shouts as he zips along the mountain road. "Don't wake me up when you go!"


We arrive and I ask to sit at the bar, we love to talk with the chef and watch the action. We love this restaurant and we are lucky to have such a fantastic place so close. We sit and the server greets us "Hey guys! Nice to see you again!" I don't know her name but she is a wealth of knowledge regarding food and wine. 


She brings us a glass of wine then places a dish in front of us. "Chef has sent this out for you!"


Notice she said "Chef" and not "The Chef". Jarod Ottley is respected and he is "Chef". He waves and smiles, he has sent out a beautiful dish of Fried Brussels Sprouts with Smoked Chevre. 


Heaven. Absolute heaven. Jarod walks over and greets us welcoming us back. Here David is enjoying the sprouts.

And more sprouts. They aren't breaded, just fried and the cheese is smooth and smokey.

Bread from Companion Bakery around the corner, olive oil and salt.

The pizza oven and the prep area where Jarod stands and creates the masterpieces he sends out to the anxious patrons. 

We shared Local Greens, Lemon, Almond. It isn't just a salad, it is a lovingly created piece of art. The greens are local and dressed by hand, then carefully stacked on the glass plate. The couple next to me ask what it is, they want one too.

David then has Pork Belly Confit, Cippolini, Torn Bread and Bean. He has had a slightly different version of this before, he likes it very much.

I had Monterey Squid, Squash Blossom, Sunchoke, Corn. Oh I ate half before I took the picture!


A French fellow sat down next to me and we chatted, he ordered the Duck Confit.

I look at the menu and see "chocolate cookie". I ask the server about them, could they be the fabulous cookies I had last month? She talks to Jarod, no they are not the same. But Jarod will make them just for me, as a special treat!


She tells me they changed the serving size, they used to serve 6 and realized it was way too many. Funny, I ate all 5 last time, David had 1.


Here they are, my special cookies, little sandwiches, so I actually did get 6 (two per sandwich). Last time I guess there were actually 12! David didn't even have a bite.

They all watch as I thoroughly enjoy each cookie. Then the two women sitting next to David want to know what I am eating. They don't see this on the menu and they want them. Oops, Chef will need to make more I guess!

David said he would have me home in time for bed, we arrive at 8:30, I relax with a glass of sparkling wine then off to bed, 4:00 am comes early.

Next Saturday is Passport Day, we have wine shipments to pick up and they happen to be in Santa Cruz, I have made reservations for lunch at the Cellar Door again. We told Jarod we would drop off some of our wine for him.