Sweet Potato Pudding

I love this for breakfast but it really can be eaten anytime. 

I am not one to snack much, I think it's more from guilt than anything else. (I swear there must have been some heavy duty Catholic suffering in my past life), but this would be tasty at anytime, just watch the calories and overall carb intake as it's more of a complete meal.

I get beautiful sweet potatoes in my CSA delivery, so I microwave them in the skins until they are soft and almost liquid inside. I let them cool then mash them up into a smooth puree and then just keep it in the refrigerator.

Just before heading off to work I will take 3 or 4 ounces of sweet potato puree and put it into a bowl.

I add one cup of egg whiles and whisk it until smooth. 

I then add cinnamon and splenda to taste and microwave it about 3 minutes and it will get puffed and almost cooked through. 

I whisk it again and wave it another minute or so. Then into a container and I eat it when I get to work.

Now you could add some marshmallows or syrup and it would ruin the health benefits. You could add a bit of PB2 or a spoon of real natural peanut butter and that would be acceptable.

This is a super healthy breakfast, quick and easy and low calories. Sweet potatoes are a dieters dream, they are a complex carb that is low in calories and will sustain you for a long time. Mixed with egg whites, the best source of protein you can consume, and the sweetness make the meal a treat!

Be creative with your meals so you don't get bored and end up eating a horrible meal from a to-go restaurant, or snacking on your kids sugar cereal!

Some best breakfast meals are what people consider only a dinner meal!

Travelling

When faced with the thought of travelling, many people start to get a little freaked out because they think they are just going to ruin their diet.

Now, of course, it all depends on what stage of your diet you are on. Are you just eating clean to maintain your health or are you actually in a preparation stage for a competition? The former would not be such a big deal, the latter could, it all depends on how you set yourself up!

I spent the weekend at my father's house along with my brother and one sister. As I have mentioned, my dad has cancer so he (in our opinion) could use a little extra care right now, although at times he is fighting us!

My brother is visiting from Barcelona and staying with him for a month, I think he may just be driving him crazy too.

I knew that many good foods would be prepared, and I had to make sure I would stick to my diet. I wrote down how many of each meal I needed while I was gone, measured out each portion and made big zip lock bags full of my food, portioned into littler bags.

One bag, had several 4 ounce bags of cooked, cubed chicken breast. One had several bags of cooked rice, beans and potatoes, and another had bags of different cooked vegetables.

I bought along a carton of egg whites, low sugar ketchup, hot sauce and plenty of spring water.

I also had my pre-made oat/egg white waffles and my supplements and whey protein.

It is important to bring more than you need, you never know what you might feel like eating and it is safer to have a bit extra than to risk eating garbage right now.

You may wonder on occasion where I get my sense of humor? Could be my dad. Here he is after we all drove him nuts for several hours fussing.

I guess the medication they gave him was no match for his nagging children! I think this shows that I also inherited some of my positive outlook from him, I mean, he is joking and laughing! It's not going to help to cry, might as well have fun.

I was fine with my food, when I walked in my brother had a wonderful smelling curry on the stove, so I had to make some myself.

I asked what spices he used and put my vegetables into a pot, added those spices, cooked it until aromatic then added some chicken stock and rice, then chicken. I had a pretty good curry along with them.

I avoided the biscuits with butter, chocolate chip cookies, Swedish fish, special brownies, and all the rest of the goodies.

I know where the closest gym is, I have been there before and it isn't convenient, but that didn't stop me. It is a 13.46 mile drive each way and a $10.00 fee.

I slept on the love seat and then tried the floor. Neither was quite like my bed, but no matter, I had a good time. Kept my phone nearby and as soon as it was time, got up, drank my protein and off to the gym I went each morning.

By the time I got home (3 hours later), everyone was up, had eaten and cleaned up and we could spend time together.

Diet? No problem!

I want to be a Bodybuilder

I want to be a Bodybuilder. Well, not really but this is funny. (Email readers will need to navigate directly to the blog to see these videos).

If you are a Bodybuilder or Figure competitor, no doubt you have seen this, it has been all over Facebook for weeks. But, there are some folks who don't get sucked into the social media websites and who may not be Bodybuilders or Figure competitors.

These two videos are so accurate it is hysterical. The person who created them is either a Bodybuilder or lives with one.

Are there any inaccuracies? A few, for instance, posing trunks may only cost $50.00 but a custom suit for a Figure competitor starts about $350.00 and goes way, way up. I have one, some people get a new one each show (yeah, I know, I just don't have the money to burn like that).

The suit I am wearing in the picture above? $380.00 and then, I decided I didn't like the first bottom that I had made, so  had a smaller one made and that set me back $160.00.

These are not swim suits, they are custom made to fit you very tightly, and show off your physique. The material is velvet with sparkles in the fabric, and then rhinestones set into the fabric, those stones don't pop off, and if they do, the person who made the suit shouldn't be in business.

I can pose in a swim suit and look like a different person in my competition suit, it does wonders!

The farting from the egg whites, ummm I don't believe I experience that.





This is even accurate about the $100.00 fee to the National Physique Committee (or other similar organization) just to be a member who can pay to enter a competition. Here is a picture of my 2011 membership envelope, just about ready to be mailed in.

The cost to do all this is crazy, and sometimes I wonder why I do it. Now, I realize, that I will never be a model, or a supplement spokesperson, or famous. That's not what motivates me, hell I am going to be 50 years old in April, I am thrilled just to look the way I do.

There are some women I know who do think they will be discovered doing this and then become famous, and I support them 100%, but it is like the poor kid from the projects who dreams of becoming an NBA star, it just doesn't happen to that many people.

For most of us, it is a hobby, and like most hobbies, it gets expensive.

This also brings up a lot of good points about the bad part of competing. You cannot go out and enjoy restaurant foods, you do have to go to bed early, get up early to train, or train late.

Pack your food everywhere you go, limit your foods at times to a very few things.

Pay $150.00 for a spray tan that turns you very dark for one day, pose nearly naked on stage (this doesn't bother me, or most people with a great physique though), stand around backstage and hours for hours and what do you get?

A plastic trophy..

But there are so many rewards, and that will definitely be another post!

Cookie Dough Porridge

I am always interested in new foods, so life doesn't get boring. You will never read any recipe here that I haven't personally made and tested, I usually make my family taste them too and will report back what they had to say.

I read about a dish that Monica Brant supposedly eats every single morning, 365 days a year. Man, I would get so sick of the same thing.

It sounded interesting so I made it. I made some changes though. First, she uses some specific brand items, and I am always a little leery about recipes that have brand name products, so I looked up the ingredients and substituted. The first change was the protein powder. Monica recommended Proto Whey protein powder. I just wrote down the macro nutrients (carbs, protein, fat) and calories and used a protein powder that had the same ratios.

Next was a product called Myofiber. I researched that and it has ingredients in it that I already take (CLA and Flax) along with Psyilium  husk. It is a proprietary blend, which means they have to tell you the ingredients, but not how much of any one thing. Proprietary blends are usually really expensive too.

Myofiber is basically a filler/fiber to make sure you have regular bowel movements (that's the psyllium husk) and I eat so many vegetables that I really don't feel the need to add more fiber, so I decided to leave this one ingredient out altogether.



Here is the recipe as she provided it in oxygen magazine.

Cookie-Dough Porridge


Ready in 5 minutes •


Makes 1 serving


1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup egg whites

1 scoop Proto Whey protein powder

1 scoop Myofiber

Stevia or natural sweetener of your choice, to taste

In a glass bowl, microwave old-fashioned oats with 1 teaspoon water for 1 minute.


Add egg whites, protein powder, Myofiber and sweetener. Stir.


Refrigerate and let cool.


So, what did I think? I thought it look horrendous when I made it. Raw runny egg whites, uncooked oats. I actually let it sit overnight. The egg whites are from a carton, so they are pasteurized, no need to worry about salmonella.

It turned out the oats soaked up a lot of the liquid, but not all. I think that if I had used the Myofiber, it may have been a thicker consistency. I would use some oat fiber I think, maybe try some of the stuff that Pauline Nordin sells on her Fighter Diet site.

Was it good? Actually yes! It was a creamy, sweet, chewy desserty flavor, I made Chocolate Peanut Butter (that's what the protein powder was).

What did David think? He thought it looked and sounded disgusting, and there was no way he would even come near it, in fact, our friend Virginia came by when I was out and he thought it was so disgusting he told her about it and I believe he even pulled it out of the refrigerator to show her. Next time I saw her she commented on it, saying it was probably one of the most disgusting sounding and looking things I have ever made.

Cream of Rice with Chicken

I have really been enjoying this concoction.  It is my breakfast pre-competition but I certainly plan to eat it more often!

1 serving cream of rice (or steel cut oats or oatmeal)
1 serving sauteed ground chicken breast or chopped cooked chicken breast  (for me that is 4 ounces)

Warm in the microwave, stir in plenty of splenda and cinnamon.

This provides the starches and protein you need for a compete meal, in place of my usual bowl of oats and a cup of microwaved egg whites.

Don't be afraid to eat "dinner" foods for breakfast, or "breakfast" foods for dinner. In fact, a favorite dinner of mine is a cup of egg whites, and about a cup and a half of mixed vegetables such as chilies, mushrooms, zucchini and then 3 ounces of brown rice or beans. Microwave all together, and if not in competition prep, you can add some fat free or low fat cheese, and plenty of salsa or hot sauce!

Week Prior to Competition Diet

The final week prior to a competition, you make sure that you eliminate all the extra sodium so you don't retain water.

That means that I can no longer have protein shakes, they are loaded with sodium. I cannot eat egg whites either, they have lots of sodium too.

So when I get up at 4:00 am, I usually have a thick, delicious chocolate meal replacement shake, but no more for the next week. 

And I need to eat protein for breakfast and right before bed, and I usually have microwaved egg whites, plain right now, but when I am not within a month of a competition I will put on salsa, ketchup, hot sauce, all sorts of things. 

What's a girl to do?

Ground chicken breast.

Yup,  I will get up at 4:00 am and start eating chicken. I will also need a carb so I will have cream of rice. I may mix them together too, like some homemade baby food.

And when I get home from training, meal 2 will be ground chicken breast, and cream of rice again.

Right before bed? Ground chicken breast.

It is very important to read labels when you buy your food, including chicken.  Many companies are notorious for adding a sodium solution to "plump" up their meats, so they weigh more and they are charging you for salt water. 

You may think you are doing everything right, but in reality, you may be buying garbage just because it may be less expensive, and it is pumped full of a 14% solution of sodium.....and you will swell like a balloon. 

Read the labels. A 4 ounce serving of chicken breast should not have more than 70 to 75 mg of sodium in it, that is the naturally occurring amount. They are also required to state on the package if there is a sodium solution used, it could actually be a heath concern for some individuals. The label is very, very tiny though.

If you buy your meat at a butcher counter, they have all the data in the back, they can tell you, make them check. 

Here I have my ground chicken breast all cooked and weighed out. I have packages ranging from 2 ounces to 4 ounces each. My week will vary, I will have higher protein and lower carbs through Wednesday, then I raise the carbs and lower the protein, to shuttle all the carbs into the muscles. I am not so keen on the meals where I get only 2 ounces of protein, it's like a garnish to tell you the truth!

Friday night will be a big meal, steak, baked potato, cheesecake so I look full and healthy the next day.  I will surely write about that meal, I get to make my own (famous) cheesecake, and enjoy it Friday night and Saturday morning for breakfast too.

Egg Whites and Blogging

This is my nightly ritual. I microwave a cup of liquid egg whites, top with black pepper and a little low sugar ketchup, grab my jug of water and start blogging. I somehow manage to keep most of it off the keyboard too!

Were you wondering when I actually had time to do this? I mean, I get up at 4:00 am to go to the gym, I then go to a full time job and I have a family and they have lives too.

But we all manage to make time for things that are important to us. For most it is watching TV. I don't do that, I prefer to read. 

I read many books, often I will have 5 or 6 going at once. My mood or energy level will determine which book I read on any given day. I also like to write, and to share my sometimes crazy ideas with people, hoping that I can inspire some of them.


My son Cooper spends most of his free time playing lacrosse. He strings heads for his friends, he practices in the backyard and across the street. I think he even sleeps with his stick(s) sometimes.

David likes car racing, specifically Formula 1. Nascar is NOT car racing, it just doesn't have the same panache.  Unfortunately there are only 19 races a year. Of course, that needs to be multiplied by 3 because you have practice, qualifying and then the actual race. He also spends a lot of time on his wine making.

My point is that we all make tome to do what we enjoy and what we feel is important to maintain our sense of balance. If you don't "have the time" to train or eat properly, you need to look inward and decide if it is really important to you.


I will bet that you will find the time if it is.