Busy Week, busy weekend, finally felt real tired! And cooking up a storm!

I was wondering when I was going to crash and I think this week did it! Finally, I got some decent sleep even though it is only 5 hrs that I actually got out of bed at 8:30 Sunday morning. Woo hoo! I know it is short lived but I felt a lot better today.

Yesterday, Sat was my typical Galloway run. I was late getting there so never got a chance to get to the bathroom but because it was so freaking humid and hot, I did not have to go pee. That is a first! No, a second, I remember biking in temps of 106 and did not know it even got that hot - I am talking about upstate New York where it never gets this hot!

The 13 pace group in which we run 2 mins slower and even slower on hot/humid days did wonderfully. We completed our Ron Wahula 10 miles( means it is more than 10). Everyone did great and was so ectastic since it is their first time into double digits. I am so proud of them. My legs and butt were still sore from a combination of training with Jackie and Sparta so the first 3 miles were pretty sore and uncomfortable but after that, it was OK.

Sunday was Sparta at Arrichion and you never know what the coaches will throw at you. Sparks had us do the Hardcore 64 which this time is a series of 8 exercises, each one with certain number of reps, done within the min for 8 mins - hence forth the 64. We did things like burpees, chin ups, pullups, suitcase abs (killers), toes to bar (another killer) and so forth. I was tired and drenched and sore but this is typical of Circuit classes at Arrichion because it is designed by wrestlers - and they are super strong. And you think only guys take these classes? No way, some of the girls here, they are super power houses. I wouldn't mess with them.

After that, went on a cooking spree for the short week. I did a series of stir fry green beans, asparagus and red snapper.

Red Snapper - grill and brush with a glaze
- created a concoction of eggs, rosemary, garlic, black and white sesame seeds, onion powder, and coconut milk and white pepper as marinade, then coat it with almond flour - grilled that -
- brushed the fish with mixture of gluten free tamari, ginger, cactus honey sugar, sesame oil
so it almost looks like blackened fish ala Sue

Asparagus - I believe I included the recipe last post- this seems to be a big hit - there is never anything left

Green beans szechuan style- well at least my rendition
- cooked the green beans with a mix of olive and coconut oil - then put them to the side
- minced up a mixture of scallions, ginger and garlic - heat up the wok with little bit of olive oil -dry frying - add the mixture, let it turn brown - add the beans,
- once the beans look pretty ready - season with soy sauce, sugar, pepper

After my cooking, I went to Jackie's bootcamp class which she introduce some new exercises which I like a lot. It is very similar to Tabata at least to me - short intervals but what she does it is many exercises that will last 1 hr and we used kettlebells- so we did swings, shoulder press, one hand swings - and we ended with a serious of ab workout. Enjoyed the class thoroughly

Enjoy the post,

Sue

Lack of sleep sucks but I must be operating on adrenaline - so good to get back to training, running has taken a different form and thanks Arrichion

For those of you who can sleep through the night, I am envious. For as long as I can remember I would go to sleep, wake up in 3 hrs and take a while to get to sleep and wake up in another 3 - so I never get a full night sleep. Been through the sleep study, they say I have a mild case of sleep apnea but no CPAC machine needed. So I should be happy but still don't know why- next step is to see the pulmonary dr and he will conduct a day time sleep study to determine if and when I dose off and go from there. Wish me luck!

But other than that, it has been a busy week at work but I like to keep it that way otherwise I get bored real easily.

So good to see my trainer this week. I really miss her. Initially, when I first started training with her, it was pure agony. I would be so sore that I would curse her out and wonder if I should go back but I do because I know there is light at the end of the tunnel and it is all good. Results are starting to show and I feel a lot better and stronger. The weight training has made me stronger in my running believe it or not.

My running coach has put together a running plan for me. I am in the basics phase and I am to run twice a week about 4-6 miles each time. I used to hate this since it takes me forever to run this distance and it still does. But it is the mental thinking that - how much more I have to go, oh man, I hurt, am I there yet?

Well, for the first morning, I went out on my 4m run - I put on my headphones and said "here I go" and as I started my run, I just zoned out and kept going. The 4m was done and that feeling was strange but felt really good. I like this.

So besides the weight training with Jackie, I go do Sparta and Warrior at Arrichion, the hot yoga studio. Warrior is a circuit class with cardio included in that 45 mins. Really good class. Sparta is lot harder and more weights to get you stronger. Sparta was one I could not do at all because of shoulder injury. Now I am given a second chance in life - One would think if I can get this training here at Arrichion for free - why am I doing personal training.

Well, in general, I am very good about exercise but I tend to get lax and need someone to kick my in the butt to get me going. That is what Jackie is here for , to kick my ass and Arrichion is here to kick my own ass.

Even since the start of my weight training with Jackie - I have a different mindset when I go to Warrior and/or Sparta - I am going to try harder and do my best instead of going through the motions. The fact now, that Ty, Sparks, Dunbar, and others pushes me and people like Nancy, Kristen, Kelli, Casi, whom I look up to - it just makes me try harder to better myself - Thanks guys!

To quote Quinn once again "IT IS A PROCESS" and for the other coaches at Arrichion "YOU CAN DO IT" and for my trainer, Jackie "GREAT JOB, WELL DONE" With all this positive motivation which I never had, it is indeed a great feeling!

Treating my blog as my journal - more cooking, more experiementaiton, helping a friend

My last entry was last week. I was thinking about my blog and what I should talk about. At first, I wanted to just write my recipes, what I think we should eat that is nutritional, where I travel if any but I think I am changing this somewhat.  I grew up not having many friends, many people to talk to so I tend to bottle my emotions. Perhaps by writing about it, I will feel better and I do! So, if my blog bores you, then oh well, but if you find it of interest, please continue to read on.

I really miss the past few days of not being able to do weight training with my trainer. Sadistic as it sounds, I like the pain. Working out seems to take my mind off things and I do feel better. Besides weight training with Jackie that causes pain, I love my trainer. I go to Sparta at Arrichion which is more pain and I love every minute of it. That group of people are like my family. I love their words of encouragement, I just love them.

So Sunday, I went to Sparta and some of those supersets were quite hard for me. I have not master the rope climb or the pull up on the bar without a band or the box jumps, or the bench press but that is OK. It is a process as Quinn would say. And Ty, Sparks and Dunbar would say - just keep at it, you will get it. Oh my! Monday, I was real sore that I did not want to get out of bed for my early run.

I also did some more experimenting with seasonings for food. This time I made some seassoned chicken breasts, seasoned fish cooked in foil instead of parchment, stir fry asparagus. Well, folks , once again, these foods don't last too long in the house but I did manage to snap some pics which I will upload at a later time.

I now have 2 new cooking challenges. A friend asked me how to cook schuan green beans and for another - I need to come up for recipes for her gentle tummy.

Oh my friend in need, poor friend, her dog passed away so I cooked and brought her dinner. So yes, there is a picture of that which will upload.

But here are the seasonings for the 3 dishes. Please remember, I have no recipes just what I thought at the time would go together:

Chicken breasts seasonings;
- fresh rosemary
- fresh garlic
- fresh basil
- fresh ginger
- cooking wine
- sesame oil
- coconut oil or grapeseed oil
- gluten free tamari

Fish seasoning:
- agave nectar
- braggs aminos
- white pepper
- olive oil
- ginger
- julienne zucchini, carrots or whatever vegetables - I seasoned that with black pepper, and sesame oil

Stir Fry Asparagus
- garlic cloves smashed
- heat oil til hot - throw in garlic - let it brown or burn
- throw in asparagus
- salt, pepper, to taste
- only stir fry at high heat for 2 mins or so
- add some vegetable broth or chicken broth
- put a lid on it and let liquid evaporate - steams the vegetables and maintains texture and taste
- finish off with sesame seeds or not

Enjoy!

Took Friday off, much to do but had a pleasant day- more cooking to share!

So today I took the day off - places to go, people to see, things to do so the saying goes. I was supposed to do training Thursday but my poor trainer did not feel good- I sure hope she is OK. As I was sitting at my desk and talking to someone about my college days - I started to get very depressed because those times were not happy. I had to clear my head so when I got all my work done - I dashed over to Shelley to do a run. I would never thought this would happen. I totally hated running and I just do it for the friendship and the comaraderie of it all. It actually felt good.

Today, I felt better and went to Tiger's Eye at Arrichion. I love this place, the people and the classes - you can get flexible, strength and strong all in one. After I got home, I was thinking of cooking again and this time it was fish and some cucumber salad to go with it.

Here is the seasoning for the fish:

Pecan crusted Red Snapper, Covina, Tilapia, or whatever white fish you like;
- I mixed a concoction of dried ingredients - ginger power, rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper, onion powder,
- I mixed a concoction of wet ingredients - sesame oil, coconut oil, cooking wine
- I had Joe crusted some pecans in the food processor
- Rub the fish with the wet ingredients -
- Sprinkle with dry
- Rub the fish again with wet
- Roll the crushed pecans
you can choose to pan fry it or grill it

Cucumber salad
- cucumbers sliced up
- carrots sliced up
- apples sliced up
- cactus sugar or xylitol - anything but refined sugar
-apple cider vinegar
- you can add lemon or lime juice if you like

We also had brown rice and sweet potato for dinner

Arrichion Sparta workout was tough and new chicken recipe

So I was bitching about our Galloway 9m run because of the hills, but I did recover from that. Thanks goodness for my massage therapist, Tim Hackett who worked my legs.

Sunday, I was suppose to go to Jackie(my trainer), bootcamp class but it got changed to Monday instead. Good thing since I already signed up for Sparta at Arrichion Hot Yoga. These classes are intense and you feel tired and promise yourself, you would never do it again but you go back for more. There were a series of 6 supersets and the one I remember the most was the last one - which we did a series of sled runs, ball thrusters and running up the hills. I was so tired and sore Monday that I forgo the bootcamp class. Today I feel a lot better and went training with Jackie - totally great stuff she had me do. I know I will be sore tomorrow.

My last posting was the recipe for the brown rice pasta with mixed vegetables. I hope Claudia sees this recipe. I was trying to come up with recipes where it has little oil and little salt - I know my trainer is going to be on a strict diet and anything I can help her out with especially in the cooking. Both her and my friend, the other Jacqui told me I should do journaling, do blogs to write down how I feel or whatever comes into mind.

I have totally forgotten about this blog. I have totally forgo my passion of cooking. I have totally forgo many things in life - just because I was not feeling it anymore. These two friends have made me feel a sense of self importance. And plus, I got my Arrichion Hot yoga family and my buddy Ivy whom I can talk about anything. So life is good!

So my recipe for Marinated Chicken breasts or Thighs - was having my trainer Jackie in mind: So here are the ingredients. Now how much, I don't know...you just have to feel your food:

Marinated Chicken Breasts or Thighs
- 2 packages of 3 of the Chicken - I got organic chicken from Costco
- Seasonings:
rosemary/garlic
onion powder
oregano
basil
ginger powder
black pepper
nutritional yeast
sesame seeds
The below 3 ingredients - I would say I did a dash of sesame oil and a dash of the Braggs
and about a tbsp of coconut oil to bind the seasonings to the chcken
--sesame oil
--coconut oil
--braggs amino

I threw everything together and put them in a ziploc bags and let it seep - maybe lik3 30 mins. Joe, my husband grilled it but you can pan fry it. I did a sampling of it and it was good.

Sorry I could not supply pictures. First I have to figure out this blog how to do it and plus the noodles were gone - just like that.

If you ever want me to come up with a recipe for something. Let me know I will try to put my creative juices to use.

Enjoy,

Sue

A recipe for the vegetarian minded

Yesterday, Sat was a tough run where we started at Oak Park - at the New Balance store in Raleigh, NC - hills coming back were rough for me - my butt, hamstrings and psoas were tight but at least this is a good thing since those are firing whereas it was not before.

One of the girls in the pace group said she liked my blog and posting and will be looking for recipes because she wants to become a vegetarian. I got some recipes in the blog that she can try, but here I am adding another one. This one is gluten free, less oil, less sodium. You can always add eggs, tofu or beans to it for added protein.

Brown Rice Spaghetti with mixed vegetables
- I brought this gluten free pasta from Whole Foods - cook it for 15 mins approx. - you want it al dente
- mixed vegetables - zucchini squash from my garden, carrots, broccili florets, red onions, garlic but you can add anything you want.
- added a little oil for stir frying - onions and garlic first, then the carrots and broccili since they take longer to cook -
- then add the pasta -
- the the zucchini since this does not take long to cook
- you can add any sauce you want to it, I added sesame oil, some cooking wine, Braggs Aminos, some oyster sauce, black pepper, if you like you can throw in the hot sauce
- Toss everything and ta da - you got a beautiful looking pasta dish

Enjoy!

Food Intolerances - new recipe.

So for those who don't know - I have sleep issues so basically I am always tired but then with my ADHD 'condition' my body and brain and always in full gear. So I can be so tired, I can't fall asleep -and who knows perhaps this causes my mood changes.

I had to make some changes in the types of foods I eat because I am trying to figure what foods triggers inflammation that causes me not to breathe so nicely. Have asthma sucks but if I can help to deal with it better...well, at least that is my plan.

So besides this, my husband tells me he needs to be on a special diet for his ailments - no tomatoes, eggplant , peppers. So I was thinking what I can make that both of us can eat.

I was on a "Selective Not Eating Certain Foods and see what happens" diet. I eliminated soy, corn, eggs, dairy, gluten, refined sugars, peanuts and then added them one by one to see which ones causes inflammation. So since then, I have added eggs, peanuts, and corn back on my diet. The others I realize was causing reaction to my body. Going dairy free which I am ok with since I developed an allergy to it but gluten is all new. So no pasta, breads, etc...of that nature.

My recipe for today is: Rice Noodles with chicken, spinach, mushrooms and chinese cloud's ears (fungus)

- Rice Noodles you can buy from the Asian market  - now there is a difference between the vermicelli and rice noodles - so pick the right one. Vermicelli is used for vegetarian dishes such as Buddah's Delight
- Mushrooms - I happen to have some Shitake mushrooms so I soak that and the cloud's ears in water to soften it up. Cloud's Ears is the black fungus you eat if you eat Hot and Sour Soup
- Chicken - u can either select breast or thigh - just sliced it up thin - trick is to coated prior to stir fry - so a little bit of salt and pepper, some sesame oil, and cornstarch to bind and coat - stir fry that alone until it is semi - cook - You don't want to throw it into the noodles - first the noodles will get mushy and the chicken will get tough.
- I forgot you can add onions or scallions - I like the latter since the flavoring is nice and it gives it a different color to the dish itself.
- Stir fry , mushroom and fungus - throw in the rice noodles - and keep tossing until warm and noodles start to soften a little , add the chicken - add some of the water from the mushroom mixture
-Condiments I used are sesame oil, cooking wine, soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce and little bit of sugar- I used the cactus sugar - I do not know how much so your taste
- you can add hot sauce as well - then I toss the scallions on top and sprinkle with sesame seeds

Vioila all done!

Probably at some point - I will make fried rice or my rendition of Korean dish - called Bulgogi - but I will use chicken instead

Sunday was a bad day however...

Sunday was not a good day for me. For some reason, felt depressed for whatever reasons at all. However, got myself up went to circuit/yoga class at Arrichion and got to see Analisa who moved away. Good to see her.

Cooking is my mental therapy. I seem to feel better when I am in the kitchen creating. So I had this bag of of brussell sprouts and what to do with them. Whatever I created, it seems it was a big hit. Say it this way, when my husband likes them. I was trying to come up with dishes that he can eat since he is on some special diet so no tomatoes, no eggplant, no peppers which is pretty hard for him being Italian growing up on eating those.

I was also pleasantly surprised that a co-worker read my blog and was totally impressed with some of the recipes I had written down and that he was going to try. He said I should get together with his wife - Oh totally great since I would love to experiment with Thai spices and condiments.

So here is what I did with the brussell sprouts - I called them Roasted Brussell Sprouts ala Sue

- Coconut oil - unrefined, which I found at Costco
- Rosemary
- garlic or garlic powder
- ginger powder
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- sesame oil

-Tossed these ingredients with the brussell sprouts - put them on a baking sheet and set the oven to 450 and baked them til they look done and roasted color - Then I sprinkle them with sesame seeds -

Give it a try or just wait until next time I make it again and I can bring some in for the lucky ones who knows me to try. Just kidding!

Training this morning and was asked do I have a blog? - a simple quinoa summer salad

So this morning I went to training session and Jackie asked if I had a blog and I said NO - and then as I was driving home - I really do but have not updated in a long long time. We were talking our hobbies and loves and I love to cook because it is therapy for me to create in the kitchen. And also for me, seeing objects, and colors and blending of objects I believe I was good at. So I learn how to cook from my father - I mean that man can flip at whole fish in a wok with a pair of chopsticks and the foods he would create - you will never get that in a local Chinese restaurant for that matter a classy Chinese place at that. I have to thank my father for teaching me the techniques and the blending of condiments. I have to thank my mom for blending exotic condiments to create sweet/sour, hot/sour, spicy dishes. When I was young, I had wanted to become a gourmet chef and go to CIA (Culinary Institute of Arts in Hyde Park, NY) but...that was then this is now.
 I do not know how good of a cook I am - but I do get compliments about my cooking. So I guess it is good.

There was one time my friend insisted she knows the recipe - she loved my fried rice. Every year, Monica would invite Neka, Aimee, and myself over her house in Durham, NC and we would literally trash her kitchen cooking. There, her daughter Alexa would have a pen and notebook in hand watching carefully what and when I put the ingredients together - timing and what goes in when is crucial - I would sprinkle, pour, throw , and Neka would say - yeah about 2 tbsp, oh about 1/2 c - I guess if they can repeat my so to speak recipe, plagerism is a form of compliment. I sure miss that group of friends.

 So while I was training, Jackie said I should create a blog and put my thoughts of the food I make - ya never know she said - Hmmph, sure why not! So today I post an easy recipe with the use of quinoa.

Quinoa is a superfood, a complete protein, very versatile - for breakfast, lunch, side dish. Today would be a simple quinoa summer salad - sorry I have no measurement of what I throw in - so guess so see what your palate likes

 Quinoa summer salad - what you need
-cucumbers - baby ones are nice, and crispy - you can totally peel the skin or leave some one and dice them - cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes - I usually cut them in half
 - sweet onion or purple onions or green onions - peppers - red, orange - I don't like the green ones -first they are boring in taste and they are bitter
- cooked quinoa - the best way to cook quinoa is 1 c of quinoa to 2 c water- rinse the quinoa ow it will taste bitter
 -condiments - simply something sweet- I used agave nectar or brown sugar; something sour- I used apple cider vinegar

Happenings in 2013 continuation of last post (Been a long time...but I am back - got lots to cover- but broard overview of missing time)

So continuing on with my life for 2013 - I decided to join a local gym near work to continue my running and build up speed and do another race. Perhaps it is karma, perhaps it is coincidence, perhaps it is timing. I joined Fitness Connection so I can continue with my runs on the treadmill during the winter months. I thought with all this running, I was in good healthy shape - they did an assessment and shockingly - I was at 48% bodyfat -and over 150 lbs - how is this possible with all the running I did?

 But personal training was out of the question since it was quite expensive so I decline at the moment - but when I went back to run - I heard something popped- my foot hurt, I could not bend it, I could not run - it was a stressed fracture - and like I said - it must be karma.

 I met up with one trainer who was going to train me but then she could not and I met up with Jackie Adamo who gave me a free session of what is to come. Karma is that I met her the night before and just said hi and said to myself - I would love to have this person train me. Weird huh?

 But back to the assessment, OMG, I thought I was in good aerobic shape - I knew then that this is what I have to do and want to do. I was going to give weight training a try with wanting to get leaner and stronger.

 I was ready to make changes in my life- at least right now - physically for now.This I started in January , 2013. It is the best decision I made. It keeps me focused, it keeps me out of trouble, it keeps me sane, it keeps me happy,and keeps me not thinking about my problems at the moment and above all - I met some new friends and my trainer has become my friend. How great is that?

 Training is tough - I go home and next day whatever body groups are work, i am so sore that at times I can't even sit down or lift a fork to eat. But it is totally worth it in a sadistic sort of way.

  I was really worry that not running at all until the Galloway run season began was going to hurt me. In fact our first run on May 18th, I was totally OK, my legs felt strong from the training. And even though it was only a 3 m run, I was not tired or hurting.

So now I can truly say I love the weight training, I love the aspects of it, I love what it is doing for me and I love my trainer-she is the greatest - and she truly cares that you succeed and reach your goal - remember her name Jackie Adamo More on next blog post

Been a long time...but I am back - got lots to cover- but broard overview of missing time

So I have totally forgotten I created this blog way back when when my friends asked me many questions about nutrition of what I ate to lose weight. This was when I started with Box-2b-fit -in 2008 when I was over 200 lbs -my all time low of how I saw myself physically, mentally, and emotionally. It was a difficult time for me but thank goodness for my 2 friend Neka and Aimee that we struggle through the workouts.

Unfortunately I had to stop going to the gym because of cost and I was suffering from injuries that I had to totally stop doing any form of physical activity. This was in 2010.

 Since then, I have been taking hot yoga and also paying visits to a massage therapist - Tim Hackett- who have been working on my muscle imbalances. Every time I would go run, like 1 mile I would be in extreme pain.

As I said in my other posts, 2010 was my first half marathon and with hot yoga at Arrichion and Tim - I was able to complete my first half marathon in 2010.

 Since then I have done more half marathons and even done a Sprint triathlon. It sure looks like things were getting better but I was having personal issues and more injuries and lack of interest in anything I did. I gained back not all my weight back but a significant amount that my once smaller clothes no longer fit and I just did not care anymore.

 Then in 2012 I decided to once again do something of self worth with my life- I asked a friend at work to help me come out with a training plan for me so to enable me to run injury free and not hurt if and when I would do another race. This I did 40 miles/week and I started to feel better about myself at least this part. I was still a total mess with ongoing personal issues but I put that aside. So in 2012 I did my 6th half marathon and I managed to PR my time by 40 mins.

 A triumphant moment for me that I thought I should continue because alas it was something I can do and my only competition was within myself - at least what I thought. Please continue reading the next blog post with most recent happenings for 2013