Keeping Things Interesting

In Weight Watchers this morning (I'm still on point for my maintenance at goal weight!) we talked about some tricks and trades for staying on track and my big thing is to keep it interesting. This is even more important as a vegetarian because it is so easy to fall into a rut with eating the same things.  I add excitement by constantly trying new recipes (if you haven't noticed) mostly from Hungry Girl and Pinterest, but also from finds that my momma comes across. I also try to go back to the really good recipes and repeat them every so often so that they aren't forgotten. One of my favorites are these sweet potato burgers that are so tasty, but I also made this new cheesy, veggie bake for the first time to go alongside the burgers. Both are definitely keepers...and I only made minor adjustments from the original post :)

Sweet Potato Burgers

(8 WW points per burger using a sandwich thin as the bun and topping it with avocado)

1 can white beans
1 large sweet potato, baked/peeled/mashed (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup Panko crumbs

1. Peel the sweet potato and bake until soft (you can peel after, but it's so hot, that I do it before)

2. Drain beans, add to mixing bowl and mash using a potato masher

3. Once the potato is done, cut it up to make it easier to mash, add it to the beans and mash it all together

4. Separate into 6 patties and coat with a layer of panko crumbs

5. Heat up a pan with a spritz of cooking spray, add the patties to the pan and cook for about 5-6 minutes on each side, or until they start to brown

6. Transfer cooked patties to paper towel. Cool for a few minutes.

7. Serve on a sandwich thin with as many toppings as you'd like. I went with lettuce, avocado and mustard

Cheesy Veggie Bake
(6 points for half the recipe, from the shredded cheese)

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 medium yellow onion
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash
1 medium tomato
1 cup shredded Italian cheese
Optional - a head of broccoli

1. Preheat the oven to 400

2. Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic. Sauté both in a skillet with olive oil until softened

3. While the onion and garlic are sautéing, thinly slice the rest of the vegetables

4. Spray the inside of an 8x8 square or round baking dish with non-stick spray. Place the thinly sliced vegetables in the baking dish vertically, in an alternating pattern. Top with the onion/garlic mixture

5. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, top with cheese and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown

Here's the whole meal together

Okay, time for my confessions. I did not run Friday. I know that I shouldn't try to justify it with excuses, but I really was tired! And I had eaten half a pineapple again and I didn't want a repeat performance from the citric acid. I'm trying really hard to not get burnt out on running this year, so I let myself have that break...and because of it, I added a couple extra miles to today's workout:

Life is all about balance!

Gym rant and new goals

So, I know one of the reasons why I don't like lifting weights, weight rooms are ridiculous. I went there today hoping to do my little weight routine (check it out here), but it ended up getting cut short because there was a lot of judgement going on, from both sides. First, I cannot stand the guys who are all pumped up and high fiving each other after every rep. Really? Second, don't watch me workout! I do not want your 'advice' on how I could do it better or that my workout has no focus. How about you FOCUS on your own workout. Third, I don't know where to stand. I always feel like I'm in someone's way. So, I left. I did most of the workout (just not bench press, modified pull up and then I did the negative resistance when I got home), but I was very uncomfortable there. I'm seriously tempted to go buy my own free weights...hm, food for thought.

Speaking of food! I have to tell you what I had for lunch - a vegetarian Reuben! *swoon*

My mom taught me this substitution on one of my favorite sandwiches from those days when I ate meat (has it really almost been 4 months?!). Now mine had some modifications today because I used what I had, but I'm going to teach you how to make it the right way.

Vegetarian Reuben
(10 weight watchers points)

You'll need:
-Meatless lunch meat. Any kind is fine, my favorite is Lightlife turkey or bologna, but I used hickory smoked tofurky today and it was just as tasty
-sauerkraut
-laughing cow light swiss wedge. I only had the queso fresco & chipotle kind, but you want to use swiss if you want it more authentic
-Bolthouse Thousand Island Yogurt dressing. I didn't have any today because I just got home and haven't been to the grocery store, so I did without, but I recommend using it to get the true taste of a reuben
-Bread

1.  Gather all your supplies and pop your bread in the toaster
2. Smear the laughing cow on one side of the bread
3. Top with sauerkraut
4. Top with thousand island dressing
5. Top with lunch meat
6. Dig in!

I like to add some tomatoes and lettuce to mine just to boost up the veggie intake, feel free to make any modifications based on what you have available.

**Instead of toasting the bread, you could assemble the sandwich first then give it a press on a panini press, but I made it the lazy/quicker/cleaner way.

I had my sandwich with some Special K Sweet & Salty Popcorn Chips. Delish! It's kind of like a mix between a tortilla chip and popcorn and you get 28 of them for 3 weight watcher points! I thought they were going to taste like those bland rice cake things, but these are really good.

So, the whole reason I started this blog was because I read an article in Runner's World that talked about how it can keep you motivated if you express your goals. I figured that if I write them out instead of just keeping them in my head, that I will be more likely to work toward them, even if no one reads it. Here goes:

-Short term goal - Drink more water. I don't think I'm ready to cut back on coffee and diet soda, but I'm going to try to drink at least one of my camelbak water bottles a day for the next week, then reassess from there.
-Middle goal - 7:00 min mile. I did my last graded 2 mile run for the Army in 15:29, so about 7:45 miles. I'd like to get the 1 mile down to 7 minutes and see how it helps my graded 2 miles
-Long term goal - Sub 2 hour half marathon. The last half marathon I did was in October 2011 and it was 2:07. I've still been doing races since then - 5k's, 10k's, marathons - but I haven't done a competitive half since then (Disney Princess Half Marathon doesn't count!). I'd like to be below 2 hours by the end of June. I'm going to try to sign up for one next month to see where I'm at and then train accordingly.

They are out in the world now, even if just for me to come back and check on.

Hopefully, my workout schedule for this week will play out like this:
Tuesday - 5 mile run
Wednesday - Weight lift, speed
Thursday - 6 mile run
Friday - Weight lift, speed
Saturday - 7 mile run
Sunday - rest

Now, I need to go buy those free weights so I make sure my weight lifting gets done this week!

Tasting Hawaii

I have only been doing the vegetarian thing for a couple months now, but I have never had an issue finding plenty of things I want to eat on a menu. I have been asked a few times, "so, what do you eat?" As if they couldn't imagine a meal being complete without a serving of meat (my husband included). So, here are a few of my finds from around Hawaii:

-Spicy Tofu Stir Fry - the very first night here we ate at a cafe in the hotel called Koko Cafe. They had a couple vegetarian options so my momma went for the veggie burger with a garlic sauce, and I did the spicy tofu stir fry. It was amazing, especially if you like your food with a kick. There were all kinds of veggies mixed with soba noodles and tofu. Extremely filling, too.

 - Fish Quesadillas - I will admit that I do have more choices because I do eat seafood still, but I am not willing to give it up and things like fish quesadillas are my favorite. I got these from Schooners Restaurant, outside of the Pearl Harbor memorial. They were so tasty! The wraps were crispy, the fish was tender and the salsa was loaded with all kinds of tomatoes and peppers. They do have a bean and cheese version if you don't eat fish.

 -Ahi Tartare with Risotto Cake; Mango, Avocado, Pecan Salad; and Salted Chocolate Pretzel Tarte - This was from a restaurant called Town that was a recommendation from a friend of my husband's. The menu changes daily and most choices do have meat in them, but I love their slogan, "Local first, organic whenever possible, Aloha always." The food was absolutely amazing! However, the portions were pretty tiny, and the wait was long, but the tastes made up for it. The salad had a 'green goddess' dressing on it that was kinda tangy and delish, and the tartare was on point, but i wish I would have ordered what my momma got! I had dinner envy just staring at her plate and dug in shortly after finishing mine. She had this vegetarian assortment plate (not on the menu) that had all kinds of veggies I had never heard of, but they were all amazing. I don't even know the names of most of the things, but there was grilled squash, polenta, kale with pine nuts, and so much more. I wanted to order a plate of my own even after my tartare! Now the dessert, oh. my. It was so good. The chocolate was incredibly rich and the pretzels added just enough savory to balance it out. We spilt it between the three of us and it was perfect.

 - Mediterranean Tofu Pizza - We were so exhausted one night that we just ate at the restaurant at the hotel, Biba's. The pizza was good, crispy crust, tomatoes, mozzarella, lots of herbs and tofu, but was definitely not weight watchers friendly because it was also covered in oil.

 - Macadamia Nut Pancakes and Veggie Omelet - These were the best pancakes I've ever had and that is saying something because I just spent 3 months in Columbia, SC eating at The Original Pancake House. They came from Eggs N Things and they had macadamia nuts cooked inside them, as well as on top, along with powdered sugar. I don't typically use syrup (too many WW points) but their coconut syrup was delish. The omelet was just as good. It was packed with zucchini, spinach and mushrooms, and it usually comes with cheese, but we skipped it. Me and the momma split both and it was the perfect amount of food.

 - Peanut Butter Shaved Ice - This was not what I expected. I expected something like a snow cone, but it was actually very soft, creamy, melt in your mouth flakes and covered in these sweet syrups. Super tasty and something Hawaii is known for so I couldn't leave without trying it. 

-Pesto Salmon and Fries - I really wanted French fries and sometimes you just have to give in to that craving. This meal was back at Koko Cafe in the hotel and it was just as tasty as the first. The pesto was kind of salty, but it was laying on top of a sweet tomato sauce that balanced it out nicely. The fries definitely hit the spot.

 - Pumpkin Soup, Tempura Veggies, Mediterranean Vegan 'Chickun' pasta, Avocado Smoothie - It sounds like a lot, but it was all split with the momma. Now before I describe the food, I have to give a disclaimer that this restaurant, Simple Joy Vegetarian, is not in the best area. I recommend coming during the day, with a group and driving there. They have free parking. Now, the food. It was amazing! The pumpkin soup had chunks of roasted pumpkin in it, the pasta had olives, onions, roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts and herbs, and the tempura veggies held up even after a half hour walk before we ate. The only thing I wasnt impressed with was the avocado smoothie and that may just be an acquired taste. It tasted like it sounds, a blended avocado. We had a couple sips each and then tossed it. Overall though, the food was so good, but check out my post 'Hawaii - Day 4' for the whole experience of getting the food.

 - Fish Burrito - This was at a hole in the wall Mexican place called Serg's Mexican Kitchen. Like most holes in the wall, the food was excellent. I ate till I was stuffed (not weight watchers friendly). The burrito was filled with grilled mahi mahi and Mexican slaw (which looked like lettuce and guacamole) and came with beans and rice. Commence food coma. This was our favorite meal of the trip. We were talking about it for days after eating it.

 -Tuna and Avocado Salad - This was from a little ocean side place called Crouching Lion. This was my kind of salad, all kinds of goodies on it. There was tuna, avocado (obviously), pineapple, carrots, tomatoes, cabbage, cucumbers, onions, croutons and papaya poppyseed dressing. Delish!

 - Parmesan Crusted Grilled Cheese - The last night here the rain wouldn't stop so we ate at Biba's again. This was like a grown up version of the grilled cheese. It had mozzarella, provolone, tomato, basil, covered in Parmesan and grilled. Cheese overload! Again, not weight watchers friendly, but boy, what a sandwich. The basil really gave it a kick. At the same time, the momma was having an ahi tuna sandwich with wasabi aoli. The Aoli was everything I hoped it would be - amazing.

 - Rare Ahi Tuna Salad - We ventured to the Hilton next-door to our hotel and ate at the Tropics Bar & Grill. The tuna was pepper-seared and had a wasabi dressing. I love wasabi, so that is what drew me in. It also had edamame, seaweed, pickled ginger and carrots. It was okay and the wasabi gave my sinuses a good clean out, but it was probably my least favorite meal for the whole trip. We had a tropical fruit crepe a couple hours later that totally made up for it, though.

 - Chocolate Covered Macadamia Nuts - I had to have some of these since we're in Hawaii and I was instantly hooked. I think they may have added crack to them. Luckily, we left them in a hot car and they turned into an unappealing, chocolate goo.

 -And i LOVE me some iced coffee with coconut creamer/syrup. It's like a special treat, without the insane calorie count that comes with a blended drink.

 Now, like I mentioned, a lot of this food was not weight watchers friendly, but we really wanted to enjoy ourselves while on vacation. Time to get strict again!

Meatless Marathon

Yesterday I logged my 5th marathon!

How many people can say that?! Let's celebrate my moment of excitement!

Okay, now let me add that it was my first marathon after becoming a (near) vegetarian, this past January!  Now, I knew completing a marathon without eating meat was possible because my momma has been running with me and she's closing in on four years as a (near) vegetarian; however, I have spent the last couple months having a some people tell me that I don't get enough protein to sustain running for that long.

Let me tell you something about me - I love to eat.  Seriously, I LOVE to eat.  I am not even a little bit picky.  You do not have to worry about me not getting enough protein. Also, I survived the marathon and I'm still standing today and I feel great! (save a couple of blisters)

It was a trail marathon, so the time is not impressive, but my momma and I have done it together for the past 3 years and it's become a bit of a tradition for us.  Just an FYI, we complain for the last 6 miles. We complain A LOT for the last 6 miles.  Thank goodness that after you leave the manned aide station at mile 18, you're committed.  There is no sag wagon for this race, so you have to finish the last 8.

Here's me and the momma on the trail (I'm on the right).

Now, going back to it being my first marathon after I stopped eating meat.  Typically, after my past marathons I would have a celebratory burger, or Chinese food, or chili, or just a little of everything because, hey, I just completed a marathon. Instead, we had jackfruit sandwiches, coleslaw and mac n cheese with broccoli. Yummo!

If you are a vegetarian and you are looking for some more meat-type substitutes, you have to check out jackfruit!  It was the first time I had it and I will definitely be a repeat customer.  My mom saw it on the cooking channel and checked it out and has had it a few times since then. She has only found it at Asian markets so far and you want to make sure you get it in brine or water, not syrup. The syrup makes it sweet and adds calories, but the brine or water makes it so you can make it savory.

The way she prepared the jackfruit made it like a pulled-chicken sandwich.  Again, yummo!

Jackfruit sandwich
-2 cans of jackfruit, in brine or water
-BBQ sauce
-2 cloves garlic
-1 tablespoon olive oil
-Buns

1.  Drain and wash the jackfruit in several changes of water (to rinse off all that brine).  After washing it, squeeze out as much water as you can.

2.  In a pan, heat the oil and garlic, add the jackfruit and cook for about 3-4 minutes

3.  Transfer the jackfruit to a slow cooker and add enough BBQ sauce to fully cover the jackfruit, mix it well.

4.  Let it cook for about an hour, stirring occasionally and add more BBQ sauce as needed if it starts to dry out.  The jackfruit is done when it is fork tender and comes apart easily.

5.  Take the jackfruit out of the cooker and shred with a fork.  Put it in a container and let it sit for several hours or overnight in the fridge to further develop the flavor, or if it tastes good to you right out of the pot, go for it!

6.  Serve on a bun and add a bit more BBQ sauce, or any other toppings that you would like.

Delish!