Category Archives: chocolate

Solo ride and duo ride for 63 miles!

Saturday is long ride day.  I puttered around waiting to eat for a while.  Saturday mornings are so nice and quiet!  When I got around to breakfast, I filled up with some banana custard oats.

John decided he didn’t want a really long ride today as he was feeling tired, so I decided to take a solo ride before we went out together.

I wound around town and the paths.  My legs felt so awesome!  I took a complete rest day on Friday and it really did make a big difference.  I went around the Feeder Canal.

Didn’t want to lean too far here!

Just to show all isn’t beauteous path that I ride – I do go in traffic.  Main road.

Not much traffic on a Saturday morning, though.  This has a nice wide shoulder.  Not all of the roads do.

Then I was back on some of the path.

I really like this section.

It is one of my favorites.

The canal is really high right now, too.

I pulled back into home at mile 15.6. I was cruising along, too!  I did an average of 13.5 miles per hour, which with all the stops and stuff I was pretty happy with.  John decided he was ready to go, but then we thought we would wait until after lunch.  I didn’t want to eat lunch out and then have a cupcake.

So we dined on leftover calzone John brought back from his poker game last night.  Hello carbs!!!

Nom, nom!

John and I then headed out for our longer ride.  No pictures of the first 22 miles because we didn’t stop at all!  We really cranked out that ride.  I swear I should always do a 15 mile warm up ride before a longer one. My legs felt awesome!  We arrived in Saratoga at mile 22/37 ready for a carb hit.

Check out this amazing mansion:

Could you imagine living here??

We averaged 14.1 miles per hour on the way to Saratoga! I was psyched at that speed – even with the headwind on the way there.

Of course, you know what is coming!

S’mores cupcake!

I wanted to see how close I could get to the cupcake with my lens.

Pretty close.  My finger bumped the frosting :mrgreen:

We then walked around town a little bit.  There was a new soap store in town.

Very nice inside.  I wasn’t bowled over by anything, but I bought a bar to help out a fellow soaper!

Then it was time to head home.  I was still feeling really good.  Even the hills seemed easy.  We crested the last of the big hills and took a break.  This was mile 47 on the day.

Can you see the rolling hills?

That a bit of a tough section.

Then we rocked out the rest of the ride.  The Saratoga portion, which is about 44 miles, we did 14.3 miles per hour average.  Fastest trip yet! After eating some fruit and a little cereal, we did go out to the cafe for a snack at night.  I had a plan that if I did a long ride, I could have this.

John and I shared (although I ate more of it).  Chocolate so dark light cannot escape its surface.

Nice evening of relaxing and resting up the legs.

Honestly, I could have better food choices on these long ride days.  Oh well.  I really enjoyed it!

I couldn’t bear to walk to the cafe after 60 miles, so we actually biked there and back!  Just for a couple extra miles.

Daily total:

63.5 miles

Ride time: 4 hours 39 minutes (not including time off bike)

Average speed on the day 14.1 mph!  Yeah!

Top speed: 27.7 mph

Calories burned: 2034.

Feeling great.  We are going to do another 1 or 2 long rides and then do the 100 miler.

Happy Father’s Day to my dad and all the poppas out there!

To the dark side

I was worried that snow would keep me from the lifting today, but I lucked out as it seemed to have been delayed some, so I was able to get there before the snow really accumulated. Here is me pulling out of my driveway.

It’s not quite fully light out, so I don’t know if you can see any definition in the snow banks.

Exercise Set/rep/weight Muscle worked
Cable Squat to Row 3 set of 10 at 60# Full Body
Stiff-legged deadlift 3 sets of 10 at 75# Lower Body
Dumbbell Pull Over 3 set of 10 at 20# Back
Incline Dumbbell Fly 3 sets of 12 with 15# DBs (30# total) Chest
Planks 3 sets 70-second holds Core
Seated Calf Raise 3 sets of 10 at 140# Calves
Face Pull 3 sets of 12 at 30# Shoulders
Lower Back Extension 3 sets of 10 at 100# Low back

The planks felt good today and I didn’t struggle at all. Actually I felt very strong today. I don’t know why, but I’ll take it! Actually, I think it is my overall reduction in exercise right now that makes me feel stronger.

Just a reminder on my lifting.  I don’t want anyone to feel bad if they don’t lift like I do, and I would not expect someone to take one of my workouts and do it successfully right off the bat.  There are plenty of people who lift a lot heavier than me (and are tinier!).  Also keep in mind that I have been lifting for a few years now, so I have a really good base of strength built up.  Just a PSA.

I came home for a different breakfast today. A cheese omelet!  With a bigazz bowl of blueberries.  Yum

Funny how I love to eat omelets for lunch and dinner, but I rarely have them for breakfast unless I am out to eat :mrgreen:

The snow fell in wet sticky flakes today.  I love how it makes the bare bushes look:

I planned out my lunch for today last night and still wasn’t all that enamored of it.  Except the peanut butter.

One more can of tuna and then it is going back on the ‘tired of it’ list again.

I received a wonderful package in the mail today from FoodBuzz as part of the Tastemaker program.  2 samples from Pure Dark!  Pure Dark is a division of Mars and have come out with a new line of chocolates.  The idea is that these are a premium chocolate with minimal processing.

For an afternoon snack, I had to crack into the Bark Classic, which is dark chocolate topped with cherries, roasted almonds, and cacao nibs. I fit it into my eating plan for the day.  There is *always* room for chocolate!

With a latte and it was totally delicious!  John and I both agreed. I loved the crunchy cacao nibs in it.  Didn’t taste much cherry (which is okay by me). I’ll talk about the slab one another day 😀

Dinner time was just assembled tonight.  I had chicken spread with laughing cow and hot sauce.  This is really good!

Lots of food talk today and not much else.  It was a quiet day, which really can be a relief sometimes.

John and I are headed out to Starbies for some coffee and relaxing!  I will be having cream in my coffee and bringing some nuts for a snack.  Total carbs for today is 90.  Yesterday was 86.  I just count all carbs – I don’t do the net fiber or whatever other people do.  I love how all that food looks today, too.  So colorful!

Tomorrow will be a grains day, which means it’s bagel time :mrgreen:

Question:  Sweet or savory breakfast?

All in a day’s work.

Another day, another dollar, right?  My plan was to bike this morning, but then I laid there and thought I would go out later.  So, I just got up and made some brekkie!


I have a problem wolfing down my waffles.  I think it is because they are never as hot as my oat dishes, so I can eat faster.  That’s a project to work on.

We are getting set up for the new windows.  I think we chose the right company, which actually happened to have the best price, too!  We got a very good vibe from them, and the person that came in to do the final measure this morning was great and answered every little question.  It will take about 5-7 weeks or so before our windows are done.  They have to be made.  Nice that these windows are made in the US, too.  Plus we get the tax credit on them.  The company better appreciate doing 17 windows!  That is a chunk of change.  Once the windows are installed, I will talk about the company.  Don’t want to recommend before the job is finished!

Lunch break included some vanilla yogurt mixed with pumpkin and All-Bran.

Plus a kiwi on the side.

This tasted so refreshing and yummy!

I spent some time this afternoon getting set up with my new company.  The software installation is what takes the time, and I have to fit it in while I am still working the other job.  I was told that nobody runs out of work, but you never really know if that is true or not, because there are slow periods for everyone around holidays.  I should start training on my new accounts later this week.

Time for a chocolate snack with my latte:

Dark chocolate with raspberry bits.  Tasty!

Can you believe it is almost the end of June?  I am going to try something really, really different for me in July as part of my goal series.  At least I think I am, as I have some trepidations about it.   I’ll outline my goals on July 1.  I still can’t believe I am writing out the word July!

Dinner time and I went old school with some seasoned french fries.  John put these in the grocery cart, and I had thought they were sweet potato fries, but they weren’t!  I liked them, too 😀

Chicken topped with caramelized onions.  We made up a bunch and froze some.  I can’t imagine life without a freezer, can you?  That’s a little pluot on the side, there.  So juicy.

After some self debate, I decided to take a day off of exercise.  I have not had a real rest day since last Thursday,  and the rest of the week is booked up with workouts.  So instead, I am going out with my mom for a little R&R!  The question is…. coffee or frozen yogurt???

Chocolate mother lode!

Wednesday and a busy day for me today!  Started out with a nice lifting routine.  After a warm up walk, I did the following:

  • Chin ups:  2 sets of 2, 1 set of 1
  • Barbell stiff-legged dead lifts: 1 set of 10 at 45#, 1 set of 8 at 65#, 1 set of 6 at 85#, and 1 set of 4 at 105# (go me!!)

Superset

  • Dumbbell side squat: 3 sets of 10 with 25# DBs
  • Upright row: 3 sets of 8 with 25# EZ curl bar
  • Cable squat-to-row:  3 sets of 10 at 60#

Superset:

  • Wide grip lat pulldown: 3 sets of 8 at 60#
  • Push ups:  3 sets of 10

Superset:

  • Preacher curls:  3 sets of 8 with 35# EZ curl bar
  • Nose breakers:  3 sets with 30# EZ curl bar
  • Decline sit ups:  3 sets of 10
  • Lower back extension (machine): 3 sets of 8 at 100#

Good workout, although it felt a little random.  Maybe that is because I wrote it out at 11 p.m. last night! 🙂

So, we hit up a different spot for bagels called Cool Beans.  We like this place, but it is a little further away and not much seating inside, so you never know if you can get a table.  In summer it’s okay because you can sit outside, but not in winter…

Look at the coffee urns!

I had a sunflower bagel.

I actually brought my own cream cheese today (yes, I am a dork).  I know you are all going to get tired of seeing the extra protein, but I need it for this lifting I am doing.  (I am trying to get to at least 100 g per day.)  So, I mixed some vanilla protein powder in cream cheese with a tbsp of pumpkin and spices to make my spread for the bagel.  It was pretty good and gave me about 15 grams!

Busy working today with a little helper.

I love her expression here.  It’s like she is annoyed that I am bothering her with my work.  This is how it is most days in the morning with Pixie.

A box came for me today this morning, and I opened it up and was thrilled to see this!

A dark chocolate jackpot!  I won a giveaway on Apple Crumbles (great blog, btw) and Hershey’s sent me this.  Yes – that is a case of chocolate bars there!  They are the 100 calorie bars, so not so bad. :mrgreen:  This stuff must go up high or John just might come downstairs one morning with me passed out and chocolate smeared all over my face.

I wanted chocolate for lunch after opening this box, but I resisted.  I made up this mix, which included 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt, 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce, cinnamon, protein powder, and some grapenuts.

It was quite good.  It was a little runny, but I sprinkled in some of that gluccomannan and it thickened up a lot!

I broke into the chocolate stash for the afternoon snack.

Good stuff.  Chocolate and coffee are like a match made in heaven.

It was so beautiful out today.  Wish I could have gone for a bike ride, but a lot of work to do, and then dog training in the evening!

Needed a quick dinner, so guess what that means?? Salad!

I tell you, having precooked meal components is really a lifesaver when you are busy.  It takes me about 5 minutes to put this together.  A meal that actually takes longer to eat than it does to make!

Had a good training session.  I think I might be working with Storm for real in May.  Kinda scary!   I stopped afterwards to chitchat with my sister at McDonald’s of all places.  That’s because this one wanted a happy meal:

I tried something from the McCafe for the first time ever.  I actually haven’t been in a Md’s in at least a couple years.  This was a nonfat latte:

The verdict? Not bad.  For an automatic espresso machine, it was about what I would expect.  At least it was fresh!  No topping bar available, though – so no cinnamon or nutmeg to dust on top (okay, I’m a snob, I admit it).  It was also hotter than the sun…  gheesh!  Why do places make their lattes so hot?

Now relaxing time.

Question: Do you precook foods for easy meal preparation later in the week?

Attune chocolate bars giveaway!

I am kicking of National Nutrition Month with a giveaway!  You all know how much I love Attune bars and talk about them a *lot* like a lovelorn teenager.  Well, the nice folks at Attune noticed my bloggy love and sent me some bars and the opportunity for one of my readers to win some!  Was I going to turn that down??  Thank you Attune!

What are Attune bars? They are probiotic chocolate bars. From their website:  Each bar contains –

  • Only 3-8 grams of sugar
  • Excellent source of calcium
  • Only 80-90 calories
  • 3 grams of fiber
  • Attune probiotics are proven to survive in the digestive tract, where they can provide optimal health benefits.
  • The probiotics in Attune have been clinically tested to support a healthy digestive system and a strong immune system.
  • Attune wellness bars also include prebiotics (inulin), which support healthy digestive function and work in harmony with probiotics.

Attunes are found in the yogurt section of the refrigerated case.  Or, in the natural foods refrigerated case (where they are in my store).  There are several different flavors to choose from.  The milk chocolate flavors (plain and almond) and the white chocolate blueberry are good, but my favorites are the dark chocolate ones.  The straight up dark chocolate bar is great for that portioned chocolate fix in the mid afternoon 🙂

The coffee bar has bits of crunchy coffee beans in them and a nice coffee flavor.  The raspberry (which you all know I love) has chewy bits of real raspberry in there, giving the bars a tart and sweet taste.

Then I think the mint chocolate is #2 for me, as it has a cool minty flavor along with some rice crisp crunch.  Guess I like the textural thing….

Now, I will be honest here, I don’t buy these so much for the probiotic part.  What I like is that they are the perfect portion size, which is probably one my favorite things about them.   Dark chocolate belongs in everybody’s healthy diet, and this is a great way to get it in there.

Now for your favorite part!  Attune is offering a week pack (7 bars) of dark chocolate Attune bars to one of my readers:

Da rules:

As these have to be shipped cold pack from Attune, the drawing is for US residents only.

You have 3 chances to win.

1. Visit the Attune website and leave a comment on this post of what product you would most like to try.

2. Become a fan of Attune on Facebook and post a separate comment here that you have done so.

3.  Post a link to this contest on your blog and let me know in a separate comment that you have done so.

Entries will be accepted until Thursday 3/4/2010 at 11 a.m. EST.  I will then use random.org to draw a number to choose the winner.

Note to self – unwrap before eating….

Cruise fitness and chocolate and musings

The cruise was very nice and we would probably do another one at some point.  We did one 10 years ago, so I guess in another 10? 😀   One of the things that was very different on this cruise versus 10 years ago was the fitness system available on the ship.  I did post some pics of the gym a few days ago, but here are some more.

Here is the locker area:

And the sauna:

I actually never used the outdoor track on one of the upper decks except for a 1 mile walk on one night.  It was pretty windy, and the deck was wet in the mornings when I wanted to run, so I just did the treadmill.  Let me tell you, running on a moving boat on a treadmill is weird.  We hit some rougher seas, but the ship really barely moves because it has giant stabilizers in it.  Occasionally you can feel a ‘leaning’ sensation, which you get quite used to as the days go by.  The other morning we had gone through a storm and the boat was moving a little more than usual when I was on the treadmill.  If any of you have run across a field or grassy area probably can relate to how it feels.  You are going along and it will take a shorter or longer time for one of your feet to hit the surface because it is uneven and you can’t really see that.  Same thing running on the boat.

John went with me or met me a few times in the gym.

There were a good number of people using the fitness center, which was good to see.  I did a good amount of exercise, and I give myself a grade of A for that.  Foodwise it was more like a C.  I ate too much.  While it was not anywhere near what I would have eaten in the past, it was still more than normal and I have some puffiness on the scale today.  I can’t imagine what it would have been without the exercise 😯  No worries, though – that will come off.  While it is easy to eat healthy on the cruise choice wise, it is also very difficult to eat healthy at times just because of the availability of food.  I tend to fall prey to that.  It’s just my nature as a food lover 🙂

The last cruise we too, we actually enjoyed the ports of call the most.  This time, we were actually disappointed with our return to Cozumel.  It changed so much in 10 years.  We wanted to go to Chankanaab, which is the National Park in Cozumel.  Last time, we went there and enjoyed the beach and nature and did snorkeling.  When we got there, the base admission fee was $19 per person, which included a tshirt (??) and a beer (??) The view they must have of tourists….  Plus admission to ‘shows’.  We didn’t want to see hokey shows, we wanted to see the natural beauty!  It’s so weird because in the US, national and state parks may have a fee for a car to drive in which isn’t much, but if you walk or bike, it’s free entrance and you go there to see nature.  It was like the Mexican government was trying to turn it into a theme park or something.  Just weird.

Also at the entrance of the park was this sign.

At the entrance of a national park you can pick up antibiotics, muscle relaxants, or steroid inhalers.  I stood with my mouth open for several minutes looking at this sign. Gotta love it.  I was infuriated about this because this leads to antibiotic resistance.  There are reasons why certain drugs are prescription only.  Sorry about that rant….

Let’s sweeten it up a bit.  The chocolate buffet.  It was actually part of the lunch time buffet, which was different.  It used to be a midnight buffet.  At least we didn’t have to stay up!

Chocolate orange cake:

Chocolate cheesecake:

Chocolate torte:

Chocolate pear cake:

Diet raspberry cake (their words)

Pink marshmallows, mini donuts, jellied fruit.

Mini espresso paniers, candied nuts and biscotti.

Raspberry hazelnut torte.

Check this out – looks like sushi, but it’s all sweet!  Dessert sushi. The rice is sweetened and it’s topped or filled with fruit:

I loved this. 😀  I think I was irritating people because I was taking pictures and they wanted to fill their plates :mrgreen:

Hope you enjoyed!

Time to go watch the Superbowl – Geaux Saints!!

4-miler and Chipotle!

Woke up to a sunny morning, and I thought a nice outdoor run was in store, but would do it after breakfast.  Had a comforting bowl of banana oats topped with PB2 and apple butter!  This was delicious!

PB070012

Then I checked the temperature.  26 degrees.  😯   I really had to talk myself into going out for a run.  I knew if I didn’t do something in the morning, I would likely not get any exercise in at all.  I contemplated over a 2nd cup of coffee and the temp didn’t rise at all.  I finally sucked it up and put on my Nike technical turtleneck and sweats, and added some 180s to keep my ears warm!

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(The turtleneck is a Nike  drywick – $50 shirt I got at TJMaxx for $15.) Did 4.2 chilly miles! The only thing I forgot was a tissue.  My nose runs on the best of days when I run (guess it likes exercise as well).  So, nose – meet sleeve.  I was fine after about 1/2  a mile and still got really sweaty in this cold!

My mother was feeling well enough to go shopping, so we hit a big craft show.  I brought along a Zone bar and one of my granola bars to keep from eating whatever food would be there, and it worked!  I got a couple of Christmas gifts, so that was good to get started on shopping early!

We went to the Chocolate Mill for some coffee and a snack afterwards.

cm1107

Small desserts, again perfectly good and perfectly sized.  I got an almond apricot tea cake:

PB070020

Mom got a lemon tart.

tart1107

I owed John his football dinner from last week, and this was the first chance we had for me to take him out!  He wanted Chipotle since one had opened up nearby.  I kind of panicked, because Chipotle can be hefty on the calories.  However, we hadn’t been in over 3 years since we moved out here, and there were more choices.

In the old Lori-weighs-250-pounds days, I would get a barbacoa burrito with rice (no beans), cheese, hot salsa and sour cream. Usually I got extra rice because I did not get beans.  I would eat the entire burrito, too.  Looking up nutritional info, this would be over 900 calories just for the burrito!

Today, I still wanted some cheese and sour cream, but that meant leaving out something else.  I chose to get a lettuce base in a bowl and to leave out the rice:

chip1107

This left me with the yummy flavors of the meat and my favorite cheese and sour cream, but no rice or tortilla.  This salad was 410 calories.  That’s half of what I would have eaten before – and it was really tasty.  Yes, I kind of missed the rice, but I also realize that I had a treat earlier, so in the calorie balance of the day – I knew that was the best choice.

It’s back to work for me tomorrow.  Good weekend, a little indulgent, but not overly so 😀

Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

p6200001Chocolate cupcakes! I got this recipe from Steph Chows with a tiny bit of tweaking.

1 cup natural apple sauce
1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
25 grams of dark chocolate chips (60 chips to be exact)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.Spray a 12 cup small muffin tin with nonstick spray (or use liners)

In a bowl, mix the all the dry ingredients except the chocolate chips.

In a mixing bowl, combine the egg, sugar, vanilla, and applesauce.


Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet, stirring well, but don’t overmix.   Divide evenly into the 12 muffin cups.  Press 5 chocolate chips into the center of each cupcake. Bake for about 15 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 cupcake
Amount Per Serving
Calories  74
Calories from Fat  12
Total Fat  1.3g
Cholesterol  16mg
Sodium  167mg
Total Carbohydrates  15.0g
Dietary Fiber  1.8
Sugars  7.1g
Protein  1.8g
Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 4% • Iron 4%

Not too bad!  These are very tasty.   Moist and bite sized.  2 makes a decadent snack with a cup of coffee or tea.  Big thumbs up from John the chocolate lover.  Even though I love to add protein to things, I think I would leave these alone so they don’t get rubbery.

I think some chocolate buttercream icing may have made its way onto the cuppicakes before we left the house, though…..

Banana Chocolate Protein Bars

A new recipe! Also posted at my food blog.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup mashed banana (I had an 89 gram nana)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk (I used 1%)
1 cup oat bran
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
1 scoop (28 grams) protein powder (I have Designer Whey unflavored currently)
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
45 grams dark chocolate chips (1/3 cup or so)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9×9 pan with parchment paper. In a stand mixer, cream the sugar, banana, and eggs until light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla and milk and blend.
In a separate bowl, combine the oat bran, wheat flour, protein powder, salt, and baking powder. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry mix to the wet until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Pour into the prepared baking dish evenly.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Don’t over bake.
Using the parchment paper as a sling, remove from pan and let cool on a rack.
When cool, slice into 9 pieces.
Store in a covered container in the fridge.

Using my ingredients, the stats are:
211 calories, 4 grams of fat, 35 grams of carbs, 3.5 grams fiber, 8 grams of protein.

These are very, very good. The longer they sit, the more moist they become and the chocolate has a wonderful flavor with the banana. A great snack with a cup of coffee or tea.

On track – and snow!

Got our first snowfall today. About an inch of heavy white stuff. Then it turned to sleet. What a great day to stay indoors snuggled under a blanket!

Had the Flame broiled beef patty today. My styrofoam puck that turns into a decent and yummy dinner! I put some worchestershire sauce in the tray before adding the boiling water.
The only thing I don’t like about the burger is that it gets cold very fast, and it isn’t as good that way LOL! Wish it were just a bit thicker to help it stay warm.

Need to pick up a few groceries tomorrow – I do not want to go to the store on the day before Thanksgiving!! Ahhhhh!! Maybe during the day won’t be so bad.

For dessert tonight, I tried the Chocolate crunch bar. Yum!!! It was really, really good! I gave DH a bite, and he really liked it too!