Great week

So the first week of my new training is done and it has gone very well. I have to admit that I am actually pretty darn proud of myself, and I am really looking foreward to the next week. I have done 3 bike workouts, 4 runs and 2 swim workouts and all together is sums to:

- 2 hours of spin class
- 65 min on the hometrainer
- 40 km run
- 4700 meter swim

The weekend was pretty tough. I didn't go swimming on friday since the pool was closed because of a meet, so Saturday I had to do the home trainer workout and then go straight to the pool afterwards. This is where it was great to be accountable to someone other than myself, I was pretty stressed because I was having people over for dinner and needed to do all kinds of things before then, but since I had to log this workout I got up early and did the things I had to do. Had it been just me, myself and I the bed would probably have won that battle.

As for the eating part of things, that has not been so great. I have been able to stay on track most days but there has also been a few major cheat days. This week I have to be much better at planning my week so that I don't get home from training at 7 or 8 and then have to figure out what to eat - that should just be a done deal...

This week I will be doing 3 bike workouts, 4 runs and 3 swims, but that will hopefully go just as smoothly as this week did...

Cod with rucola tarpenade and celeriac fries

So I am so excited about the start up for the triathlon training even though it's not that different from my daily training so far. Yesterday I wen't for a body sds treatment which is a combination of deep tissue massage, zone therapy, acupressure, chiropractor and relaxation. It is oh so tough and rather painfull but it definitely works and afterwards you feel like you have just completed a half marathon. I had a spin class in the evening and the class itself might not have been that tough, but I was so tires that I could already feel my legs hurting during the warm up... That was a VERY long hour.

Today I wen't for an easy run with a friend of mine, and afterwards I pulled myself together and made a delicious meal even though I was much more inclined to go to the local salad pusher. Anyway todays dish was cad with rucola tarpenade, cellery fries and a tomato salad.

Recipe for 2 (sorry about the metric units):

2 cod fillets

lemon juice

1 head of celeriac

100g rucola (1 bag)

60g pitted olives

2 tbsp capers

1 garlic clove - minced

olive oil

salt and pepper

Cut the celeriac into fries, place them in an ovenproof dish, sprinkle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake the fries at 450 degrees for approximately 10 minutes. Place the fish in another dish and season them with salt and pepper and a splash of lemon juice.

Decrease the temperature to 400 and bake the fish together with the fries for 8-10 minutes.

Mix the rucola, olives, capers, and garlic in a foodprocessor and cut it into a tarpenade. Serve the tarpenade on top of the fish and add the fries and perhaps a small salad. Voila an easy fish dish with a "sauce/dip" that can be used for all kinds of things. I have started using a little cheese in my salads and other dishes, I know this is not really paleo but I use it moderately and it just makes some salads even better.

Trying again - but doing it right

So just like everyone else entering into the new year I have made som resolutions. I actually made way to many and most of them only lasted the first week, such as being better at keeping my place tidy, spending more time watching the news and less watching Greys anatomy, mad men, gossip girl etc, getting up early and going to bed at a normal hour - you know the usual getting your life in order resolutions. Well that didn't really work out, but at the same time I had the same resolution as I had last year - to finish the half ironman. And that one I attend to keep. So I have finally got my but out of the couch and started going to spin classes to get into bike shape, and it is actually going rather well. Compared to a trip on the road it is oh so boring, but at the moment it is not that bad getting through them since I know that they are a means to an end.

Other than that I have hired a personal coach to help me reach this goal, and I am starting the program that he is supervising next week. I am so excited about this, and I really hope that this will help me stay on track and help avoid the injuries. So I have posted my first week of workouts and I will let you know how it goes.

It has also been a while since I have posted a meal, and I actually made one a few days ago, just didn't have the time to write up a post. This recipe is just another clean out the fridge kinda thing, but it turned out great.

Creamy Tomato Chicken

3-4 persons

1 lb chicken cut into pieces

1 onion cut into pieces

2 cups of sliced mushrooms

4 cellery sticks

1 garlic clove minced

1 cup coconut milk

2 cans of tomatoes

2 cubes of chicken broth

Olive oil

1 head of cauliflower - riced

Heat up the olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the chicken, onion, mushrooms, cellery and garlic until the chicken is tender. Add the coconut milk, tomatoes and chicken broth and let it simmer for 15-20minutes. Serve the tomato sauce on top of the rice. Yum.

Toad in the Hole Almond Trout

So the recipe that I tried out a few days ago was called Toad in the Hole Almond Trout. Quite a name if you ask me, but that just makes it all the more interesting. So I went to the local fish market and bought two small trouts with the head and everything. I have never made an entire fish before, and half a year ago I definitely would not have just tried this out. This is such a great thing about getting the meal plan from paleoplan each week, I just try to make the new dishes that they send me no matter how strange it sounds, and so far I haven't tried anything that I didn't like.
I decided to bake the fish instead of frying it. Baking often makes the meat more juicy and that way the filling stayed inside the fish.

I just gave it 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees.

The end result was really great, very juicy meat that didn't have that fishy taste that trout often has. Definitely going to make that again next time they have trout at the market.

Brussel Sprouts with Almonds and Ginger/Soy dressing

So the earlier post was yesterdays dinner, and since it is the weekend my energy is slowly getting back on track, hence this second post...

Dinner today was just pasta with meat sauce which is just the chili recipe with whatever vegetables I needed to get rid off served on top of lightly boiled squash. Delicious. But that is not the reason for the post, behold the side dish.... Brussel Sprouts with almonds in Ginger/Soy dressing. I have never liked brussel sprouts, but to be honest I probably havn't tried them since I was 10, but this dish was fantastic.

Recipe for 4 persons:

1 lb brussel sprouts

1 handfull almonds

Dressing:

4 Tbs olive oil

1 tsp minced ginger

2 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp tamari soy sauce

Boil the brussel sprouts in water with 2 tsp salt for app 5 minutes or until they are tender. Chop the almonds into large chunks and dry roast them. Add the dressing to the brussel sprouts, stir it well and sprinkle with almonds. Easy dish that tastes great.

Fruited Chicken Thighs

So my whole statement of coming back from vacation with plenty of energy is really not working out as planned. I have been dead tired all week and on top of that I have gotten the worst cold ever. I hate having a cold, you are not really sick so you go to work looking and feeling like crap, and on top of the you don't even get the pity vote, because it is just a cold...

Anyhow as promised I would try to be better at posting in the new year, so last night I made Fruited Chicken Thighs with Roasted Asparagus and Cauliflower Rösti.

I had some leftover "rice" from last night and instead of thowing it away I just mixed it with a ½ cup of grated cheese and some ham, and then let it bake for 30 minutes or so - voila Cauliflower Rösti . The entire meal was really great, and a lot easier than I had expected (never was any good at the whole chicken stuffing thing).

This week has not been great on the eating front but my plan is to go almost full frontal next week. Almost being code for cocktails and cheese in moderation being alright - a girls gotta live a little.... So hopefully being a bit more strict will also turn my body around and give me more energy, and get rid of this stupid cold.

Happy New Year

So I'm not dead or anything, but December turned out to be rather stress full due to exams and work so didn't have the time to post. I spend my vacation in Cap Verde away from the snow in Denmark so I should be back with plenty of energy by now. Lets hope that is the case, and that I have not lost everyone due to my break.

Of course the resolution for the new year is to get back on track with the food, exercise, and the blog. So yesterday I went for a 15 km run and then finished the evening of by making coconut shrimp with honey dill carrots. I made the sauce for the shrimp on light coconut milk and then served it on top of "rice". This is definitely one of my new favourites and definitely one of the dishes I will be serving when I have friends over for dinner.

Hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years and that you are ready for 2011.