My Food

My diet changes throughout the year, when I am gearing up for a competition, I am super strict, I have to be. In fact, my diet will start on Tuesday, February 28. This is the day after my annual vacation to Mexico ends; I refuse to diet on vacation.

This is 9 ½ weeks until my competition (oh, I recall a steamy movie by that name!) I know, you are supposed to start your diet 12 weeks ahead of time but my vacation always falls here, so that’s life right? Vacation is more important than any competition where, at best I can only go home with a couple plastic trophies, and I have plenty!

So just what am I eating these days anyway? Here is an example of my food on Thursday.

4:15 a.m. Lean One shake from Nutrition 53, this has 20 grams protein, 19 grams carbs and is 220 calories. I have a bunch of supplements too.

5:00 a.m.  to 6:00 a.m. Intra workout I will have 20 grams BCAA’s. Yes I know that the package says 5 is enough, but according to Charles Poliquin (and Roy), I need 20 grams, as it is by bodyweight. I have noticed a great improvement in body composition since starting this, higher weight and less body fat.

6:15 a.m. Post training is a mixture of amino acids, glutamine, beta alanine, L-leucine and more supplements. Then coffee.

7:30 a.m. homemade waffles made with 1 cup egg whites, 1/3 cup oats and flavorings. I have 1 tablespoon peanut butter on them too….with cinnamon; I eat all the stuff I love at once. More supplements.

10:00 a.m. an orange from my CSA delivery and water.

11:30 a.m. is lunch. I have 4 ounces chicken breast, 2.5 ounces soo-foo and a mixture of radicchio and kale that I roasted with balsamic vinaigrette and mushrooms. I do not weigh or measure my vegetables. More supplements.

3:00 p.m. is afternoon lunch and I have a salad of 4 ounces chicken breast, sugar snap peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, endive, broccoli slaw and a ¼ of an avocado. I have a bottled dressing here that is great and super low cal- Lean on Me Naturally .


I used to buy this at Cosentino's but they closed and now I cannot find it. If anyone in my area knows where to get this, please tell me! My favorites are the Caesar and the Citrus Sesame.

6:00 I am so ready for dinner, I am starving. I am having soup, today I made tilapia soup with my favorite Thai Peanut Soup mix. I added 5 ounces tilapia that I cut into chunks and seared,  then a huge handful of chopped and par boiled kale (Kale is one of the best vegetables you can eat), and mushrooms. I topped it with Sriacha Sauce and some Greek yogurt. Umm... more supplements.

The fish is chunked then quickly seared in a bit of olive or coconut oil.

The Thai soup mix I love from Montebello Kitchens, I get this at Whole Foods. I use 1.3 ounces of the powder mixed with 2 cups water, whisk then add any ingredients I like. 

Here is the finished soup, looks great doesn't it? 

Seafood Soup

I can eat soup almost everyday. There was a time in my life where I only wanted thick, creamy soups. Now, I cannot even digest that and certainly don't dream about eating it. I like clear broths, with homemade stock and lots of vegetables.

Scallops, shrimp, asparagus, mushrooms, zucchini, wild rice and homemade chicken stock.

Mmmmm

I actually made this at the spur of the moment due to a timing error with the family's meal. So, I had to throw together something at the very last minute. I had made chicken stock so I knew that would be the base.  I searched in the freezer and found a bag that had three very small scallops in it and one that had 5 plump uncooked jumbo shrimp. Bingo!

Into a small pot I placed the chicken stock, and all the vegetables cut into bite sized pieces. They were already cooked, it was Sunday and I had cooked a bunch of vegetables for lunches. Asparagus, mushrooms and zucchini. They warmed in the broth as I cooked the seafood.  I added one ounce of cooked wild rice for some texture.

I ran the shrimps and scallops under cold water and they quickly thawed, then I sprinkled the shrimp with chile powder. I heated my skillet and added a very small amount of coconut oil and then quickly seared the scallops and shrimps.

The scallops cooked first, I pulled them out and placed them in the serving bowl.

The shrimps still had the shells on and took longer, I added a splash of water to keep them from drying out and sticking as they finished cooking.

When they were done, I pulled them off, took the shells off and cut them into smaller pieces. I added them to the bowl with the scallops, then poured the broth and vegetables over.  A couple squirts of sriracha sauce and it was ready to enjoy!


Soup is so easy to make, just use your imagination! If you can make your own stocks it's a bonus as you don't have to worry about sodium and what may or may not be in it, and the flavor is phenomenal. 

Chilled Carrot Soup with Garden Herbs

I receive a CSA delivery each week, and for the last few weeks it has had an abundance of carrots. What to do when it's 100 degrees outside and you have lots of carrots?

Soup, chilled soup!

This is not on a competition diet- but it is a wonderfully healthy and tasty soup if you aren't prepping.

I found it on Epicurious,  Serves 6

This lovely summer soup has a rich, smooth texture even though it contains no cream.

6 tablespoons olive oil 5 large carrots, thinly sliced 2 1/2 cups thinly sliced onions 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1 teaspoon golden brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 4 cups canned chicken broth 1/4 cup orange juice Chopped fresh chives Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add carrots and onions and sauté 4 minutes. Add thyme, brown sugar and nutmeg; sauté until vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes.  Add chicken broth. Cover pot; simmer until carrots are very soft, about 25 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to processor. Add 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Puree vegetables until smooth. Return puree to pot. Stir in orange juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.) Sprinkle with chives.

I have a hand held immersion blender and I just stuck it into the pot and pureed it that way, it worked fine! I caution you, if you do not have whole nutmegs that you grate yourself just prior to use, I suggest you cut the nutmeg in half as it can be very overpowering.

Curried Chicken and Cauliflower Soup

This recipe is from the January issue of Clean Eating magazine. I enjoyed it quite a bit! 

I added more curry than the recipe called for, I seem to like things spicier than the average person.

I am a sucker for coconut milk and will make just about any recipe with that as an ingredient. I have never purchased the full fat version, there is no need to, the lite is just fine. 

Even then, it does have a large number of calories but this uses just a small amount. Not wanting to open a can and then throw everything but a couple tablespoons away, I decided to get an ice cube tray and fill it up with coconut milk! Each cube is 1 tablespoon. I froze them then popped them out and filled up a zip lock bag. I was actually quite surprised at how much flavor just a small amount adds to a dish. I will try this trick with other soups, especially since I have a bag full of frozen coconut cubes!

This serves 6 (makes 8 cups)

Total time is 25 minutes, a real quick dish.

Ingredients

• 1/6 cup Coconut Milk, Light
• 12 oz Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast
• 4 cups Cauliflower,raw
• 1 cup Red Bell Peppers
• 9 oz Potato
• 4 cups Chicken Broth-fat Free, Low Sodium
• 4 tsp Spicy Curry Powder
• 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
• 6 green onions, chopped
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• Plain fat free Greek yogurt

Directions

In a 4 qt pot heat coconut milk over medium heat, do not let it boil. Add cubed chicken breast and curry powder. Cook for about 6 minutes until lightly golden. Add cauliflower, bell pepper, potato and broth, cook on medium high until it boils. Cover pot and reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes.

When cauliflower and potatoes are tender, uncover & simmer for 1-3 minutes to thicken slightly. Season with black pepper,

Spoon into soup bowls, top with green onion and cilantro cilantro. Finish with 1/4 c nonfat plain Greek yogurt.

One serving is 1 1/2 cups soup and 1/4 cup yogurt

Calories: 186
Total Fat 4 grams
Saturated Fat 2 grams
Carbs 15 grams
Fiber 3.5 grams
Sugars 3 grams
Protein 24 grams
Sodium 131 mg
Cholesterol 33 mg

Halibut Soup

I love soup! I made this and enjoyed it quite a bit. It is an adaptation from a recipe from my cookbook "Gourmet Nutrition" by Dr. John Berardi.

I love his recipe but didn't have all the ingredients and I rarely run to the store for something when a craving hits, I just make due with what I have.

So how did I make this?

I first started out by hitting the fish market on the way home from work for some halibut, one of my favorites. Then I went home and looked in the fridge to see what jumped out at me.

I sauteed some chopped onion in coconut oil, then added garlic, smoked Spanish paprika and a few tablespoons chicken broth.

I added a few cups more chicken broth and an 1/8 cup quinoa and then simmered about 10 minutes, until the quinoa was cooked.

I added some chopped carrots, some peas and lots of chopped dried kelp. The kelp is a fantastic flavor! Then I let is simmer about 5 minutes.

I sauteed my halibut in a separate pan until just cooked through and then poured the soup into a huge bowl, pulled the fish apart into large chunks and added it to the soup.

Soup is so easy to make, by using some strong flavored ingredients such as onions, garlic and paprika, you are guaranteed a great broth.

The peas and quinoa serve as the starch, get used to eating your soups without bread!

Curry Peanut Soup

Sunday afternoon it was rainy and I was in the mood for soup.  I love soup, it can warm the soul and fill the belly.

I cut this recipe out of the December issue of Oxygen magazine because it had something in it I love: Peanut Butter! It also costs $1.12 per serving, pretty darn cheap if you ask me!

I LOVED it!! I had it for meal #4 and will have it for dinner the next day. Of course, I made some changes and I will tell you about that once I write the recipe here.

Keep in mind that the nutritional breakdown is an estimate (from the magazine), because nothing is weighed, it cannot be exact. Unless you are in competition prep mode, there is no need to concern yourself with the fact that this is not exact. And, anyone in prep wouldn't be able to eat this anyway!

Makes 12 servings, ready in 40 minutes

2 Tbsps low sodium soy sauce
1 onion, chopped
2 small sweet potatoes, diced (I peeled mine)
1 large carrot, cut into half moons
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 lb small shrimp, cleaned and deveined
1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
32 oz low-sodium vegetable broth
1 15 oz can low sodium garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped, fresh cilantro
3 Tbsps natural peanut butter
2 tsps curry powder

Heat 1/2 cup water and soy sauce in a large pot.

Add onion and sweet potatoes, cook 5 minutes over high heat, stir occasionally.

Add carrot, celery and red pepper. Cover and cook 3 minutes, stir occasionally.

Add shrimp and cook until white, 5 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes, stock, beans and cilantro.

Blend peanut butter with 1/3 cup water and curry powder, add to soup.

Stir to mix well, cover and simmer 10 minutes. Serve in 1 cup servings.

Calories 140
Fat 3 grams
Sodium 400 mg
Carbohydrate 15 grams
Fiber 3 grams
Sugar 3 grams
Protein 13 grams
Now, I didn't follow this recipe exactly, here is what I did.

I planned on making this and freezing it in single portion servings. I didn't want to freeze the shrimp (as shrimp is always frozen when you buy it anyway, it has just been defrosted).

I made the soup, omitting the shrimp. Then when I was ready to eat some, I added 1 cup of soup to a small pot and added 1/4 pound shrimp. I also want more shrimp than the recipe calls for...I found it to be a little thick, not quite enough broth for me, so in went a little tap water. I just heated it through and it was great.

Now what makes this so much more exciting (for me) is that Cooper tried it before I added the shrimp and liked it very much! David also liked it. Cooper said he would like me to get a nice, tender cut of beef, cook it so it was still pink, and then cut it into chunks. Add this to his soup instead of shrimp and he would be more than willing to have it for dinner, in fact, he said he would enjoy it very much. He liked the peanut taste and the mild curry flavor.

I made their soup with the beef, and it was great! I would eat it like that too.


So, shrimp in mine, beef in theirs and everyone gets a great bowl of soup!