Dave's Tuna and Santa Cruz

This was a blog I wrote a few weeks ago and for some reason found it sitting in my drafts! So, I would not be doing this on a diet....ha ha no way! Although its a little late, its still a great story.


David and I went over to Santa Cruz not long ago, we wanted to go have the deep fried calamari at Aldo's. Years ago we would come here quite often, we owned a sailboat and so were here just about every weekend. 

We had a great time sitting in the sun, eating and laughing. As you can see by the picture above, it's not a fancy place, in fact, if you go to the "fanciest" restaurant at the harbor you will be right across from this place, behind glass windows paying a fortune, and probably eating frozen fish...Aldo's also has huge wonderful breakfast served late...

I started in on my calamari, they catch it on their own boat and clean it right there, it's the freshest you can get.  I looked at David and told him I felt sick, I don't recall the last time I ate this. He laughed and said the same, we decided we just cannot eat the deep fried stuff like this any longer.

We had a glass of wine and I looked at the small menu on the table. I couldn't figure out what they were trying to convey.

I asked him if the letters and numbers were the "coordinates" of where the wines were from, you know, since it is a nautical theme. He almost spit his wine in my face laughing so hard. Talk about being blond! It was the price! G=glass B-bottle.

I laughed at myself too.

Afterward we stopped at Dave's Gourmet Albacore. Here is a picture of the canned products they sell. I have been eating Dave's tuna for years. Dave's employs the most ecologically responsible methods available to harvest his seafood. 

The process of harvesting both Dave's Gourmet Salmon and Albacore are among the most primitive and discretionary methods when it comes to selecting the best! Dave's standards are strictly hook & line, also referred to as 'Trolling'. This technique allows fishermen to hand select and properly store each fish to insure freshness and purity. 

In overseeing quality and care from the ocean's catch to the delight of the eater, Dave's high standards demand only the best hook & line seafood from his fleet. Dave's fishing fleet covers an area of stretch from Big Sur to Alaska.  

Dave's wife, Krista sells at the Campbell's farmers market, so I can pick up some great tuna every week. Some of our favorites though are the albacore loins they sell. Beautiful, thick loins of sweet albacore. I picked up a couple in the freezer section, I will take them home and make my own tuna, tuna confit. I will post my recipe later, complete with pictures.

If you eat tuna, you deserve to eat the best and treat your body right. The smoked albacore is a treat, I open a can and gently flake apart the huge chunks, then top it on a salad.

Stop by Dave's and give them a try!

Meals after Over Indulging

Saturday I went off the diet, I was in control, I planned it. I have to be fair to David and this is our month of fun, July when he is off. Anyway, I don't need to starve myself for three months.

I do have to get back to the right foods though so on Sunday I ate wonderful, healthy, fabulous foods. I know several competitors who wouldn't dare eat this when they are prepping for a competition, but I can and I do.

I started the day with my usual meal replacement drink, then a protein-carb (1 to 4 ratio) drink after training.

Breakfast was 1 cup egg whites with low sugar ketchup and some hot sauce, then one serving of steel cut oats with splenda and cinnamon.

Lunch #1 as David refers to it (actually meal #3) was this salad. I shredded raw green cabbage, chunks of tomatoes, roasted beets, thick cucumber, raw bell pepper and 4 ounces cubed cooked chicken breast. I tossed it with homemade balsamic vinaigrette (no oil, recipe will be at the bottom).

Dinner was this salad, a modified salad nicoise (my favorite). David made it for me (with my strict direction as he loves his olive oil), he does a great job. We went to the farmers market in the morning and bought it all there.

Thick slices of heirloom tomatoes, chopped green bell pepper, sliced breakfast radishes, sliced cucumber. Then I cooked pasture raised eggs, till the yolk was almost set, and topped it with two of those.

Stacy introduced me to pasture raised eggs. I used to buy organic, these are so much better, even my son can tell the difference and he asks for these ahead of time now to make sure we cook the right ones.

Whole eggs are more calories, about 50 per egg, but I am not drastically reducing calories now, just keeping it all clean, and on an even keel, besides, if you noticed there was no starch in this meal or the other one, when I reduce starch I increase fats.

Whole eggs occasionally are very good for you, in fact, when I am not prepping I will eat them more often, these are creamy, rich and have a fantastic mouth feel. 

Then I had 4 ounces of grilled ahi tuna. Rare, really, really rare. Topped with chopped chives and again, my balsamic vinaigrette, salt and pepper and I was not only satisfied but feeling good.

Had I not been dieting I would have shared David's lunch. These are fresh Monterey sardines, wrapped in grape leaves pulled from our vines out front. He just took them off the BBQ.

Here is the actual meal, looks pretty tasty huh? He oven roasted these cherry tomatoes with olive oil, coarse sea salt, balsamic vinegar, sherry vinegar and fresh thyme. Served with bread to sop up the oils, looks great but just a little to much for me right now, I have a goal in mind.

Then I made the boys a rustic crostada, it is a dough of white flour, white sugar, butter, salt, rolled out and then sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon and a mound of fresh apricots from our backyard is piled on, the entire thing is baked till flaky and golden.

And when it comes out of the oven it is sprinkled with confectioners sugar, and served hot with vanilla ice cream. I went to bed so I didn't have to suffer through the moans and groans of pleasure! ha ha

Vinagrette: Mix to your own taste approximately 1 Tbsp grainy mustard, 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp splenda, salt and pepper. Keep it on hand always, take it with you when you go out to dinner so you aren't tempted to put any of their dressings on, they are full of oil and garbage! 

Vacation

The other day a friend asked why I started my diet so early when I can lose body fat in only 5 weeks. I do want to clarify that it was a past trainer who coined the name for me, based on her observations of my dieting skills. In addition, although I can lose the fat quickly, a fast loss is never the best way to go, it's far better to do it slowly. I thought I might explain a bit about the reason though.

So this is what I did on vacation.It all started on Friday evening before I even left town- I went to Henry's Hi-Life and had a martini, bar-b-qued ribs and wine.

Then the bar in the airport in Los Angeles between flights.

Then the plane from Los Angeles to Mexico, I was in first class, so that means all the free alcohol you want, and you know what happens when alcohol is free? You drink more! They served a hot croissant with ham and melted cheese, it was good.  Probably not the best quality, but the last time I had a croissant was in July of 2010 in Paris when I stayed with my brother.

By the time I got to Mexico I had already blown my diet for two days! ha ha



Chaise lounge, sun, sand, water and wine by my side, and a few really good books! All day long.

My only exercise was running on the sand for 20 to 30 minutes everyday, before anyone else was up. Or so I thought. One day a man walks by me and says "how was your run this morning?" Hmmm....THIS morning? Does that mean he has been watching EVERY morning? I wonder....

Yes, it was 10 weeks (or maybe 11) before a competition, but that is why I started a diet earlier than usual. I enjoyed myself, and when you are a competitive athlete in a physique based sport, it is often difficult to do this, you constantly feel you should be depriving yourself.

It really isn't healthy, emotionally speaking that is.

Anyone who competes knows why this is a huge deal, those who don't are thinking I have some major issues..I mean I have 10 or 11 weeks to lose a few pounds- isn't that almost three months?!

Yes it is, like two and a half actually. But, when you diet down to lose fat for a competition, you don't just lose weight to drop scale weight, you need to carefully lose the fat, retain the muscle, and still look healthy and firm.

All this while maintaining a full time job (for most of us) and training just as hard as usual, sometimes twice a day. Once the diet starts, you cannot go on weekend benders or it will show in your physique, you really have no where to hide the flaws when you are standing in stage under bright lights, almost naked to the world. And believe me, the world IS looking at you very, very carefully, scrutinizing everything, even your skin tone!

So while I had a great time, I still struggled to eat properly because I couldn't easily have the small meals with the complex carbohydrates, lean protein and massive amounts of fresh vegetables (plain) that I normally would, so I was hungry quite a bit, I mean trying to get by on 3 meals a day when I usually eat 6 is hard. And if I ate 6 meals at a restaurant, I would be rolling myself along the beach!

Whats a girl to do? TUNA!

Yes, I went to the store and bought several cans of tuna packed in water, and it had pull tops! Unfortunately my wine glasses tended to smell fishy afterward, but that's OK, I love fish!

Beach, sand, sun, water, red wine and tuna, a great combination. The tuna ensured I got the protein I needed, and I wasn't so hungry.

I brought some meal replacement bars, but those were emergency only since all of them, no matter what they tell you are really glorified candy bars with a hefty price tag. I ended up eating 2 only.

Me and David.

Check out the glutes! They are growing at a steady pace and soon will have a life of their own! I read an article where someone was discussing how your glutes grow and he made a very intelligent observation, when training the glute muscles, they will grow out (as in behind you), not sideways, and so many women are afraid to train them heavy as they think they will get big butts.

I am living proof that your butt will keep growing out behind, and stay slim on the sides if you lift right and eat properly, I mean it's almost comical in this picture!

Glory to the butt!

Albacore Chowder

I had this for meal #4 on Sunday and loved it!

Dave's Gourmet Albacore is in Santa Cruz and sells quality products. I first tried Dave's many, many years ago when Dave's wife Krista used to sell their products at the farmers market in Los Gatos.

They have amazing canned tuna, smoked tuna, salmon, fresh tuna, sole, the list goes on and on, check out the link above for a full list.

Dave is a purist, all of the fish he sells is caught "hook and line", none of this garbage where they use huge nets that catch and kill other fish and dolphin  that get in the way. It is the humane way of fishing and allows him to select only the best.

This tuna is expensive, but it is the highest quality and the best you will ever taste. They even have canned albacore with no oil, water, salt, nada!

Dave also happens to be a weightlifter!

I ran into a gal selling his canned products two weeks ago at the Campbell farmers market, it's the one I prefer to go to. Krista is now back at the Los Gatos market too I understand.

I bought this albacore chowder and some clam chowder. What I found intriguing is that she said there were no potatoes in the chowders any longer because she is on a low carb diet, so Dave replaced them with water chestnuts!

I can vouch for the albacore, they weren't potatoes (and it was great anyway!). I didn't follow the directions of adding a can of milk, for two reasons, one, I am lactose intolerant, and two, I wanted less calories. I suppose you can use skim milk if you like though. I added a can of my homemade turkey stock!

Here is the back label:

One can serves two people (don't forget you add a can of liquid).  The breakdown is as follows:

160 calories
4 grams fat
285 mg sodium (ridiculously low for a canned product)
9 grams carbs (see no potato)
0 sugar
9 grams protein

Now this doesn't have enough protein for a complete meal, but you can have a nice salad with it and in the salad add some small pieces of chicken, or a couple hard cooked eggs (toss the yolk).

You can find Dave's at their shop in Santa Cruz, several farmers markets or online and even my favorite grocery store Cosentino's sells some of their canned tunas.

Provencale Tuna

I love tuna. I am lucky here in California to be able to get fresh wild albacore quite often. 

Tuna can be grilled or pan fried, and it can be prepared in numerous ways, from high fat and high calorie, to low fat and low calorie, all is delicious.


Luckily David loves albacore too, so I can make one dinner with slight changes to satisfy both of us.

Above is my dinner, steamed plain green beans, steamed fingerling potatoes and a nice thick, rare piece of albacore (there is a handful of supplements on the side too).

The albacore has been marinated for an hour, turning occasionally in the following:

1 Tbls dry white wine
1 tsp olive oil

Juice from 1/2 a lemon

1 tsp Herbes de Provence

Herbes de Provence can be purchased in any grocery store spice section, they are wonderful! It is a mixture of thyme, marjoram, rosemary, basil, fennel, sage and lavender.

Pat the albacore dry, then on a prepared grill or hot skillet (spray or coat with some oil), quickly grill the fish as long as desired, we like it really rare, so a 1 inch thick tuna gets cooked 2 minutes per side at most.

Here you see David quite happy and quite blurry I am afraid, he had Remoulade sauce with his. This is a handmade sauce of

salt, pepper, garlic, shallots, parsley, capers, hard cooked egg yolks, raw egg yolk, olive oil and lemon juice.

Mine, I squeezed fresh lemon on it.

This is dish is great any time of year, and the fish is fine room temperature too, we eat it often. Even if you are watching your fat intake, olive oil is a healthy oil,  and the tiny amount in the marinade is not going to impact your diet one bit.

Now the Remoulade, that's another story, it's a treat that's for sure, not something you would want to eat on a regular basis, but once in a while, it won't hurt you.