Protein Carrot Cake

I have been trying to think of food to make and post on here that will help you get past the desire to eat an entire row of Oreos (definitely an issue for me).  I made chocolate zucchini cake and carrot cake and they're both delicious.  Here is the carrot cake recipe.

side note: I made this recipe by changing a few things on Jamie Eason's Pumpkin Protein Bars on bodybuilding.com.  They (the pumpkin bars) are really good so you should go to the link and get the recipe.  And just an little extra FYI, Tom and I are doing her 12 week plan (found at bodybuilding.com as well) and it is one of the best plans I've seen.  It gives you a lot of food options and pretty much teaches you how to eat to build muscle, lose fat, tone up, etc.  I recommend it.  

Nutrition (approx. without walnuts): 1 square = 50 calories, .7 g fat, 8 g carbs, 3.7 g protein

Nutrition (approx.  with walnuts): 1 square = 65 calories, 2.3 g fat, 8 g carbs, 4 g protein

Ingredients:

• ½ C Xylitol Brown Sugar Blend (Ideal brand -- I got mine on Amazon)
• 1 - 4 oz. no sugar added applesauce 
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 ½ tsp. ground ginger
• ½ tsp. ground clove
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 large egg whites
• 3 large carrots, shredded
• 1 apple, shredded
• 2 C oat flour (oats ground in a blender)
• 2 scoops vanilla whey protein (mine is V Core from Complete Nutrition)
• ½ cup almond milk
• ½ C chopped walnuts/pecans (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Spray a 9 X 13 Pyrex dish with non-stick spray.
3. Combine first 11 ingredients and mix well.
4. Add the final 3 ingredients (4, if adding walnuts), and mix until incorporated. Spread batter into the Pyrex dish and bake for 30 min.
5. Makes 24 squares.
6. Store in the fridge!  Do not leave out.  There are no preservatives and it will go rancid if left out.

Here's someone I follow on Instagram.  She posts a ton of healthy vegan recipes and they all look really good.  I made these today and I liked them.  I'm dying to find a recipe that really tastes like Quest Bars though.  

lilsipper on Instagram

A Day of Physique Friendly Recipes

In the last post I gave you one of my meal plans.  I'm sure a lot of you thought it seemed really boring.  I mean, egg whites and oats for breakfast every day?!  Cottage cheese for a snack?!  I have some recipes to share that will hopefully give you ideas on what you can do to make your clean meals delicious.  

When I was preparing for my competition, my trainer told me that veggies and most fruits were freebies (but don't go overboard on the fruit).  Spices and things that have no calories are fine to use as well.  That said, here is a day of clean, so, so good recipes.  

Meal 1: 4 Egg Whites and 1/2 Cup of Oats = Pumpkin Pancakes

Put ingredients in blender and add 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree, some apple pie spice, cinnamon, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp baking powder and puree them.  Then cook it like a pancake.  I put unsweetened apple sauce on top of these but I usually use sugar free syrup.  You can add Splenda or your sweetener of choice to the mix.

Meal 2: 5 oz Cottage Cheese = Spaghetti Squash Garlic Alfredo

Cook 1/2 spaghetti squash in the microwave and set it aside.  Cook a package or head of cauliflower.   While that's cooking, sauté 1 tbsp garlic in 1/2 tsp olive oil (or use cooking spray for fewer calories) until brown. Put cauliflower and garlic in the blender.  Add 5 oz cottage cheese and 1/4 cup (more or less depending on how thick you want it) of 30 calorie/serving unsweetened almond milk (this adds like 10 calories -- not enough to count it).    Puree it and add it to the spaghetti squash.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Meal 3: 3 oz Chicken Breast, 1/2 c Brown Rice, Veggies, 1 tbsp Smart Balance Butter = Stir Fry

This is kind of self explanatory.  Cook everything together and enjoy.  I add popcorn flavorings or some ranch seasoning (Hidden Valley Ranch packets to make dressing -- don't add the dressing, just the powder) or just salt.  

Meal 4: 4 Egg Whites, 1 Apple = Egg Whites and an apple.

Plus pico!!!

Meal 5: 3 oz Chicken, 4 oz Yams = I substituted and did a 3 oz hamburger and microwaved "potato chips" (red potatoes, which are lower on the glycemic index than russets and okay to eat while training to compete) with pico and mustard (this one from Dean and Deluca -- it's the only mustard I really like).    

 I don't always make recipe meals like I did this day and meal 6 was either more egg whites or I ate it before I took a picture.  I just wanted to show you that there are options besides bland.  You should enjoy your "physique friendly" food or there's no way you're going to make it past the first week.

Swimsuit Season Prep is On!

I was recently asked how long it took for me to stop craving junk food while I was training for my competition.  The answer is that as soon as I decided to do it I didn't crave anything.  It was like that food wasn't even available to me.  Did chocolate chip cookies sound good?  Duh (ok, I think that is such a class-less word but I say "obviously" way too much).  But I didn't want to cheat.

Now that I am in normal mode again and it has been five months since my competition I have to decide what I want to do.  Should I do another competition?  Should I just get ready for swimsuit season?  Whatever it is, something needs to change.  No more eating a dozen cookies three nights in a row.  That habit counteracts any "normal" amount of exercise.  I promise.  I weighed myself for the first time and I've gained 16 pounds since competition day (still less than when I started though!).  I think that 5-10 would be fine, so now I'm focusing on that extra 6-11.

I don't want to compete again this year.  I think I'll wait until Morgan is in school.  Maybe next spring.  But I do want to have mini abs for swimsuit season so I have decided to train and eat as though I am going to compete this summer.  It really is a mindset!

Here's my "week 2" meal plan that I started today.  If you'd like to use it you may.

To answer some questions:

Lots of people ask if I get tired of plain chicken and rice.  You bet I do.  That's where these amazing salty popcorn seasonings come in (found in the popcorn section of the grocery store).  I flavor my chicken, egg whites, cottage cheese, rice, quinoa, and whatever else I want with them.  I'm not worried about the salt.  I know that some people are but sorry, I just don't until a couple of weeks before the competition and only because it makes me retain water.   And, well, since I'm not going to compete in the near future, gimme salt!

I chew gum because it makes me not want to snack.  

I use Splenda to sweeten things like oats.  I know it's not "clean."  And I'll do a post on the difference between "clean" food and physique friendly food soon.  

If you don't like cottage cheese, you can substitute it with lean meat or even Greek yogurt.

I like sweet treats but obviously can't have whatever I want.  If you crave chocolate, try adding a little cocoa powder and Splenda to your cottage cheese.  You can try it in the blender or food processor if the texture bothers you.  Put it over strawberries.  Yum.

Drink like a gallon or more of water a day.

If I get stuck away from home (like a shopping trip that took longer than planned) I like to have low sugar protein powder or bars in my car to use as a meal substitute.  It's not the best but it's better than skipping a meal or eating crap.

Any questions?

The Color Run 2014

It's that time of year again... Time for The Color Run!

August 23, 2014 

*for SLC and Boise

Announcing the 2014 Kaleidoscope Tour! They're hitting your cities like never before... Amazing new participant gear (t-shirt, headband, wrist band and sling bag), Fresh music, and Color crazy race attractions. This is 5K Magic like only The Color Run can do.

The link I have is for Salt Lake City or Boise but you can use the promo code for a $5 discount to any city!

Promo code COLOR5OFF will give $5 off a registration to ANY city. Important: code must be entered at time of registration, cannot be retro-applied. Also please type the code in, do not copy/paste. Not valid with other sales or promotions.

I did this last year with my family and it was so much fun.  We loved it!  It was my 4-year-old's first 5k and I framed her shirt.

30 Minute In-House Workout

Ah.  It's been what?  Five months?  I can't promise that I'll blog regularly but I will answer questions about diet and exercise when they come to me.

A long time ago I served a mission for my church.  I was in the Washington DC area for 18 months.  My days were always very scheduled and exercise was not part of the schedule.  If we wanted to exercise we had to wake up earlier than our normal 6:30 AM wake up time to get it done.  When I trained someone new we always woke up an hour early anyway because new missionaries got an extra hour of study time but I didn't want to use it during our normal proselytizing time.  So when I was training someone I often woke up at 4:30 AM to exercise.  It's not something I would recommend and I think that it probably hindered my productivity a little because I was so tired.

Oh, the things I would do differently…

Anyway, now the church has put 30 minutes of exercise per day in the missionaries' schedule.  How cool is that?!  I'm a little jealous.

The question I had is how.  How can someone get a good workout in 30 minutes inside when weather is bad and the neighborhoods are worse (specifically in Russia)?  What are their options without televisions (no Jillian DVDs or iPad apps for missionaries)?

On my mission I was usually lucky enough to have roommates who would go running with me (not an option for some people).  When I didn't, I was lucky enough to have a treadmill (also not usually an option).  The last thing I did was buy a jumprope and hung out in the living room jumping to the most upbeat hymns I could find.  Boring.

Here is a list of things I would recommend to take up the 30 minute time slot without having to buy expensive machines -- but if you can get bands or a couple of dumbbells that would be great:

Do 1 minute of each cardio option 2 or 3 times.  Then pick the part or parts of the body you want to work with resistance and finish the 30 minutes doing reps of those things.  Or do 30 minutes of jumprope.  I promise the first idea will go by a lot faster.

Cardio
jumping jacks
high knees
jump squats
jump in a square
run in place (like sprint in place)
jump rope
butt kicks

Resistance
Arms:
triceps dips
bicep curls (with bands or weights)

Chest:
push ups

Legs:
lunges
squats

Shoulders:
shoulder raises (with bands or weights, if possible)
upright rows (with bands or weights)

Back:
rows (with bands)
pull-downs (with bands)

Competition Pics Pre

Not trying to mislead you but you are about to see pictures of me in a bikini.  If you are going to be all weirded out about it, stop here.  If not, proceed to:

HERE


or

http://thelosscause.blogspot.com/2013/11/competition-pics.html

Competition Pics

Hey!  So, I'm not sure if you remember, but a few weeks and about 10 pounds ago I did this bikini competition.  Yeah?  Well, here are some pics from it!  

Having had time to think back on this journey (and eat Nutella, Halloween candy, sugar cookies, buttered popcorn, and lots and lots of cheese), I come to the conclusion that I'm not sure what to think.  Part of me wants to do it again.  Part of me doesn't.  The actual show is NOT the reason I'd do it again. Comparing my body to some of the other girls', I just am not sure I have the right shape to win in a big competition.  Bummer.  Oh, and I'm 33, not 20.  Another bummer.  That only means that when I was in my early 20's all I had to think about was me.  I got to choose to go to school, work, the gym, etc.  Now I choose to take care of my kids.  And that makes it a lot harder to train to compete.  So the main question is:  Is it worth it?  

Tom's not sure.

I'm not sure.

I definitely don't want to do it alone.  I see a lot of people who train with friends.  They have a "team" and that just looks like a much better experience.

And I don't want to pay a trainer.  I think I pretty much got it down.  I need someone for accountability but I'm not sure that's worth $1,200.

It has been a difficult adjustment to go from competition training to normal life.  I feel like I have no self control.  I'd like to blame it on the holidays.

The first week off of my supplements was hard.  I was tired All.  The. Time.  And I kind of had the "after Christmas blues" but it was after competition -- like, what happens now?

I'm better now.  We are getting our new house organized and my life is coming together.

Anyway, enough talking.  Here are the pictures where I look the fittest I have ever looked.  I have to say that my legs are AWESOME!