Category Archives: New Rules of Lifting for Women

NROLW and video

Monday morning! This was the last workout A for NROWL for stage 5. One more lifting workout this week.

  • 1 arm dumbbell snatch:  4 x 4  at 25 pounds
  • 1 legged dumbbell deadlift:  4 x 4  at 30 pounds
  • Bent over barbell row:  4 x 4 at 75 pounds
  • 1 arm overhead dumbbell squat: 4 x 4  at 15/30 pounds
  • Incline dumbbell bench press:  4 x 4  at 25 pounds
  • Planks:  3 x 2 minute holds
  • Reverse wood chop:  4 x 4 at 50 pounds
  • Leg matrix  3 times

Biked home.  It’s only a shade under 2 miles, but after doing the leg matrix, that is a tough ride!

Had a delicious bowl of banana oats topped with peanut butter.  I made the PB yesterday with some maple syrup.  Yum!

P9280034

Here is my first lifting video.  (Excuse sweatiness, I did this at the end of today’s workout.)  I wanted to showcase one of my favorite moves – the deadlift/row combo.  You can start with the barbell on the floor if you want, I just have it on this rack for convenience.  Important thing in this exercise is to not lock your knees and to flex from the hips, not your back when lowering the bar so that you don’t round your back.  * Note, if the sound isn’t down, you may want to turn it down to block out the gym noise.

Hope you enjoyed!

I’ll be back later with an anniversary post 😀

Last challenge check-in for September will be on Wednesday, since that is the last day of the month. Just a couple days to go!

NROLW and balloon festival bust.

Thank you for all of your opinions on my 2 dresses.  I should also note that those are the only 2 dresses I own!  As I lost weight, I have always worked without needed them, so I just got these recently.  I have John’s opinion on the 2 dresses, now I just need to make up my mind.  😀

Didn’t sleep really well last night (like that is anything new….).My legs are also a bit stiff from yesterday’s run.  We have a long bike ride tomorrow, so hope they feel better soon!

NROLW Stage 5 B

  • Deadlift/bent over row:  4 x 4  at 75 pounds
  • Single leg partial squats:  4  x 4
  • Wide grip lat pulldown:   4 x 4 at 70 pounds
  • Back extension:  4 x 4 at 100 pounds
  • YTWL:  4 x 4 at 10 pounds
  • Crunches, reverse crunches, lateral flexion:  3 x 10
  • Prone cobra:  3 x 2 minute holds

Then I walked on the treadmill for 15 minutes. Almost done with stage 5 – only 2 more workouts to go.  Then it’s the scary chinup stage :O

Yummy protein pancakes for brekkie!

brekkie

This plate is a little small for the blueberry sauce.  I almost made quite a mess.

Pixie was falling asleep watching me eat (yes, I was in a computer chair by the printer….).  P9250007_edited

Spent a good portion of the morning cleaning the house.  It’s amazing that we both work at home, and yet the house gets out of control at times.

Lunch break!

wrap

Tuna wrap and Kiwi!

I picked up a sweater at one of my favorite consignment shops today, plus the black shoes that you saw in in the dress photos.  I am addicted to consignment shopping!

The hot air balloon fest tonight was a bust.  It was pretty windy and cold, but we biked there anyway to see what was up.  Lots of people there, lots of food vendors, but no balloons.  At least they weren’t going up for a while.  There was a chance it would be later, but because we biked there, we couldn’t stay too late and had to leave time to bike home before dark.  We brought along a couple protein bars to eat instead of eating the stuff for sale there.

Hopefully balloons will go off tomorrow!  We decided to stop for some warmth on the way home:

dd

No donut for me, though!  I had this when I got home:

pear

So, Saturday should be a long bike ride to Greenwich for their fall festival, if my legs can hack it. They are a bit tired (shouldn’t have biked tonight). It’s 32 miles round trip. Going to pack some lunch foods and snacks and hit the road. Gonna be chilly, though. It’s perfect for a fall festival!

NROLW, drive by post

Sounds like most of you love cheese like I do!  Yay!

Going to a Tupperware party later, so thought I would squeeze in a partial post in case I don’t get by later.

Preworkout snack today:

chegb

My chewy granola bar.  This was good for over an hour, so I am happy with that!  Biked to the gym under gray skies this morning to do NROLW:

  • 1 arm dumbbell snatch:  4 x 4  at 25 pounds
  • 1 legged dumbbell deadlift:  4 x 4  at 30 pounds
  • Bent over barbell row:  4 x 4 at 75 pounds
  • 1 arm overhead dumbbell squat: 4 x 4  at 15/30 pounds
  • Incline dumbbell bench press:  4 x 4  at 25 pounds
  • Planks:  3 x 2 minute holds
  • Reverse wood chop:  4 x 4 at 50 pounds
  • Leg matrix

John arrived just as I was finishing the matrix and I had to get on the bike for bagels!   This workout took me an hour to do, which I don’t like – too long!

That was a tiring ride after that.  Need to rethink bike rides after the matrix LOL  (maybe I won’t be doing the matrix much in the future.  It’s not my favorite).

Had some delicious coffee and a bagel which I could barely wait to nosh on as I was so hungry!

bagel

So good.  I love eating after a workout because it is so satisfying!

It started to rain on us as we left.  That was no fun.  I don’t mind running in the rain, but when biking the rain blows into my face and is irritating.  It wasn’t heavy rain, so we just continued on to home.  My legs were filthy from a dusty backsplash.

Gotta get a lot of work done early. Talk to you later!

Question:  Do you own Tupperware?

NROLW and chewy oatmeal bar recipe

Preworkout snack was 1/2 a homemade chewy oat bar.  Recipe at the bottom of the page:

bar

Another chilly morning!  I biked to the gym today, and I think it felt colder today than yesterday, although that might be because I was wearing less layers since the gym is only a couple miles away.

New Rules – Stage 5 workout B:

  • Deadlift/bent over row:  4 x 4  at 75 pounds
  • Single-leg partial squats:  4 x 4
  • Wide grip lat pulldown:  4 x 4 at 70 pounds
  • Back extension:  4 x 4  at 100 pounds
  • YTWL:  4 x 4 at 10 pounds
  • Crunches, reverse crunches, lateral flexion:  3 x 10
  • Prone cobra:  3 x 2 minute holds

I am so loving these workouts!  I feel so strong.  I kind of feel like it is my secret superpower.  I can walk around at 5’2″ and seem small, but inside I know I can kick someone’s ass if I need to!  Just let someone try to mess with me.   😀  I might try making a video of a couple of these moves, if I get the nerve to put my form out for review!

Yummy oats for breakfast.  Warm oatmeal is even better on a cold morning!  This bowl was a small banana and cocoa powder cooked in topped with peanut butter.

oats

Work, work, work!  Reveling in winning the football picks yesterday – that means John has to take me out to dinner this week of my choice!  😀

Ended up eating a huge lunch, I was really hungry today.  Have you tried the Food Should Taste Good brand chips?  You absolutely must!  The Sweet Potato ones are my very favorite.    Served with a yummy pear, cucumbers and tuna with lemon pepper.

tunalunch

This kept me full for quite a while (but not so full that I didn’t enjoy my afternoon latte!).

Dinner was one of my standards of grilled chicken.  Yesterday we stopped by the smokehouse and stocked up on meat.  I love shopping there because the meats sold there are from smaller local farms:

smokehouse

The prices are quite good, too.  Sometimes much better than what is at the grocery store, and it’s nice to know you are supporting a local farmer.  It’s worth it to us to go 7 miles to buy meat.

So, part of that ended up on the dinner plate.

chicken

Plus my usual beverage of choice:

polar

After dinner I went for a walk around the track while John did his 5K run.  Here he is whizzing by me!

jrun

1 year ago, John started running.  He did his first 5K in around 45 minutes.  Tonight’s 5K was 26:45 !! He is awesome.  John started really working on weight loss this year and has lost over 30 pounds.  He is 7 pounds from goal and I am so proud of him!

Chewy Granola Bar recipe:

Adapted from this recipe

  • 2 cups ]rolled oats
  • 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/2 cup wheat germ
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup ground flax seeds
  • 1 cup Rice Krispie cereal
  • 60 grams protein powder
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons molasses
  • 1-1/2 cups natural applesauce
  • 1/2   cup cinnamon chips
  • Preheat oven to 350 F
  • Line a 13.9 pan with parchment paper (or spray with nonstick spray)
  • In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients (except cinnamon chips) and stir to combine.
  • In a separate bowl, mix together all wet ingredients.
  • Add wet mixture to dry and stir until dry ingredients are incorporated.  Add the cinnamon chips.
  • Press mixture into the 13×9 pan evenly.
  • Bake for 30 minutes until the top is lightly browned.
  • Cut into bars while still warm.

Cut into 15 bars, they are about 200 calories each.  These are actually quite good, although they are missing some crunch.  I think I would add nuts next time.  I was trying to reduce the calories, so I left out nuts and added Rice Krispies instead, but they didn’t hold their crunch.  This is a good starting base to play with, I think.

NROLW and funny search terms

Short post today.  It’s the start of my weekend.  Need to keep up the good work.  Challengers – stay strong, halfway through the month now!

Little kitten made it through the night.  He is getting bottle fed now:

kitten

Good news, though – I was able to find someone who fosters kittens to take him!  She works through a shelter and will be able to get him neutered and shots and all that before adoption.  I spent a good portion of my day off trying to home the sweet thing.  I feel so much better now.  He will be going away tomorrow morning.  I have gotten a little attached to him, though.  I think I have the word ‘sucker’ tattooed on my forehead.

So, back at the gym this morning.  I actually did workout A, but when I did wordless Wednesday, I didn’t post the workout that day, so here it is:

  • Barbell deadlift/row:  4 x 4  at 75 pounds
  • Partial single leg squat:  4 x 4
  • Wide grip lat pulldown:  4 x 4  at 70 pounds
  • Back extension:  4 x 4  at 90 pounds
  • YTWL:  4 x 4  at 10 pounds (Yeah!)
  • Swiss ball crunch, reverse crunch, lateral flexion:  3 x 10
  • Prone cobra:  3 x 2 minute holds

Just so you don’t get bored 😀

Came back to protein pancakes.

pancakes

I have maybe a pound or so of my Winney’s blueberries left.  Ahhhhh!!!  I was trying to figure out how many pounds of fresh blueberries I ate this season.  John cracked that it was half of the GDP.  He’s hilarious, isn’t he??  I think it probably has to be around 20 pounds!  Better than 20 pounds of cookies, though.

I got *the* biggest kick out of this.  I was looking through where people come from to get to my blog.  This has to be the funniest search string:  “Chinese Girls Kickboxing movies big smooth legs”  Can someone please tell me why my site comes up #1 for this????   😀  Hope they found what they were looking for ROFL!

Not much exciting on the eats front, so I’ll just sign off for the night.  Talk to you all tomorrow!

NROLW and losapalooza.

Hello everyone!  Back to lifting!

lifter

Started with a preworkout snack:

kbarNo more of these for preworkout fuel.  They are just too weeny.

Today started stage 5 of New Rules of Lifting:

  • 1-arm dumbbell snatch:  4 x 4 at 25 pounds
  • Single leg dumbbell dead lift:  4 x 4 at 30 pounds
  • Bent over barbell row:  4 x 4 at 75 pounds!
  • Incline dumbbell bench press:  4 x 4 at 25 pounds
  • Overhead dumbbell squat:  4 x 4  with 15/30 dumbbells
  • Plank:  3 times with 2 minute holds
  • Reverse woodchop:  4 x 4  at 50 pounds
  • Body weight matrix (it’s back!!) 3 sets

Holy crow.  I went ahead and did 4 sets on most everything, as the  recommendation was 3-4 sets.  Less reps, more weight.  I tried to use 30# dumbbells for the incline press, but I couldn’t quite push them up, so I had to back down. I can’t seem to get past 25# dumbbells on these.  I think I need the barbell for stability and will try that.  The body weight matrix – I forgot how freaking hard that is!  My legs were shaking so much after I got done that I nixed any treadmill walking, since I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to bike home!  Phew.  I am thinking my legs may dictate tomorrow’s workout 😀

I was ravenous when I got home and had  a genius idea!  Chocolate protein pancakes with banana/PB2 topping:

cakes

Pancakes were 1/3 cup oats, 1/3 cup cottage cheese, 1 egg, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1 teaspoon cocoa powder.  Blended in the Magic Bullet.

Topping:  1 serving of PB2 mixed with an extra teaspoon of water and then I mashed a small banana into it.  Tres delicious!  Really ripe bananas are best for this.

On a side note: Here is a link to the Apple Crisp recipe from the other night:  I had left out the nuts and the lemon juice.  I also used a couple teaspoons of tapioca with the apples just to make sure it wasn’t watery.  Not sure if you really need that or not.

I am very pleased with how I ate yesterday.  Pretty much on plan, plus I got in some exercise.  Normally Sundays are my rest days, but I rested Saturday instead.  Maybe that was the difference?  I don’t know.  Should have a good report for the challenge tomorrow!

Kind of a leftover day eating wise.  Dinner was some of the clam chowder from the other day.  Just as good ‘aged!’  With some delicious strawberries.  Isn’t it funny how some boxes of strawberries are divine and others are blah?

dinner

Went for a walk after dinner to hopefully keep my legs from being too sore tomorrow, but I think that might have been an exercise in futility.  My hope was to do a run/bike brick, but not sure if my legs will be able to make it!

Came back to dessert:

crisp

1/4 cup of plain lowfat yogurt and 1/4 cup of apple crisp.  Yum!

Check out this site for September 15th, everyone!  http://loseapalooza.com/

For every accepted mention or acknowledgment of “Lose For Good” made on September 15 via blogs, Twitter, Facebook and MySpace, Weight Watchers will make an additional donation to feed children and families who need it for just one day of social media activity.  So do it and tell your friends!!

Challengers, we will be checking in tomorrow!

NROLW and beverages

Happy Monday!  Nice to see all the personal challengers for this month.  Let’s do this and reach our goals!  I might see if I can scrounge up something and pick a random participant at the end of the month 😀  I’ll do a check-in post once or twice a week so we can root each other on.

Chilly morning today as I biked to the gym.  It’s still August, and it was in the 40s last night!  I finished up stage 4 of NROLW today.  I will do 2 more days of random lifting though, as I want to have an even round out to the week (I am dorky that way).

  • Dead lifts:  1  x 8 55 pounds, 1 x 8  65 pounds, 1 x 8  75 pounds
  • Split squats 3 x 8  35 pounds
  • Underhand lat pull down  1 x 8  60 pounds, 2 x 8  70 pounds
  • Reverse lunge with forward reach  3 x 8  10 pounds
  • Prone cuban snatch 3 x 8  10 pounds
  • Crunches, reverse crunches, lateral flexion  3 x 8
  • Prone cobra  3 x 2 minute hold

I am very pleased to be able to do the cuban snatch with 10 pound dumbbells.  It took some time to work up to that!  After this week, 1 week off from weights and then stage 5!

I was thinking about PB2 this morning since I am going to order during their sale.  (I’m almost out!).  I decided to incorporate it into pancakes this morning.   I made my usual protein pancakes and made the following topping:  1 serving of PB2 made with an extra tsp of water, 1 well mashed banana.  Mix and microwave for about 20 seconds:

brekkie10

I was going to put some cocoa powder into the pancake batter, but forgot – so I sprinkled on some dark chocolate chips.  This was quite good.  I think it would be awesome with real nut butter and not the PB2!

Work was a little slow before lunch, so I helped John with the business.  It’s amazing how much more activity I get doing that than sitting on my butt doing transcription.

Lunch was something different.  I decided on a tuna melt.  Topped with smoked cheddar cheese and put under the broiler.  Smoked cheese doesn’t melt really well, I think it is a bit dry for that.  Tasty, though!

lunch18

I love cheese!

Work got very busy after lunch, and I should get an early start tomorrow since there is so much extra!  Good thing as it is my niece’s birthday tomorrow and we are going down for cake tomorrow evening.

Quick turkey chili for dinner.  Put some coconut oil in a pan and sauteed some cumin seed with onions and green peppers, added 1 can of chopped tomatoes and 5 ounces of chicken breast, chili powder and a 1/2 cup of cooked mung beans.  Simmered for about 15 minutes:

dinner22

Very good.  Speaking of good – these chips are Food Should Taste Good Lime chips.  Perfect with the chili. I was happy to find those at the store!  So tasty!  Also there is a bowl of strawberries peeking out there. 😀

Went to K-mart tonight to get something for my niece.  It is really hard shopping for a 10 year old!  We feel totally inept since we don’t have kids.

It’s football night tonight.  Last night my sad Broncos struggled against the Bears.  Why they ever let Cutler go, I just don’t get it!

So it’s snack time:

nuts

Measured out into 1 serving:

snack7

These are very good!  Yum, yum!

Regarding our trip, I think we might be leaning towards Cancun.  Ireland would be great, but probably not in January!

I had someone ask me what I drink other than coffee 😀

I do not like artificial sweeteners, so that  cuts down on the possibilities for me.  I drink a lot of water, and a lot of seltzer water.  I also drink hot tea in cooler weather. Plus ice tea if I am out at a restaurant.  I rarely drink juice.  I have found most restaurants that serve soda can give me a glass of soda water with lemon in it.  I really don’t think I could have sweetened drinks with meals ever again, I have really grown so accustomed to unsweetened beverages that it tastes weird when I try one.

Overall a good eating day.

Question:  Do you drink diet sodas?

NROLW, Chocolate Mill and vacation dreaming

Rainy, icky day here.  I actually slept until a little after 7am!  Yay! My gym opens at 8 on Saturday, so I went there this morning to do a little  lifting.  I was just doing that, so I didn’t snack ahead of time.

  • 10 minute warmup on the stationary bike
  • Barbell squat/push press: 3 x 8  45 pounds
  • Stationary lunge: 3 x 8  35#
  • 1 point dumbbell row: 3 x 8 25 pounds
  • Step ups: 3 x 8  30 pounds
  • Push ups:  3 x 8
  • Cable woodchop:  3 x 8  45 pounds
  • Planks:  3 x 2 minute holds

Yay on the planks!  Zipped on home.  I drove to the gym since it was raining.  Out of bananas, no pumpkin and I just had pancakes yesterday, so I made a different breakfast today:

p8290001

1-minute muffin topped with chocolate PB2 frosting!  It was quite good.  Not for those that are afraid of fat, but so filling and full of fiber!

After a Chobani yogurt with cereal lunch, we headed out to the library.  The library was recently redone connecting the old building with a new rennovation.  It’s lovely.

lib

p8290014

Stopped at a new place downtown called The Chocolate Mill.  It’s kind of an upscale chocolate shop/bakery that serves breakfast and lunch.  I don’t have many pictures of the inside as there were so many people.  I’ll have to be more detailed at a later point.  We waited in line for quite a while and I stared at these:

p8290016_edited

so that’s what I got.  Plus a skim latte.

p8290019

I really loved the little cinnamon roll.  Small desserts always are so appreciated!  I do wish (as did John) that there was more than 1 size latte.  This was a smaller cup than we do at home.  The flavor was quite good, although maybe a bit bitter with the crema.  Definitely need another visit here to really make up my mind.

We sat with a few books while trying to decide on our winter vacation next year.

p8290020

We didn’t go anywhere together this year, and I only took a long weekend to New Orleans with my sister.  So, John and I need a nice long getaway.

Tonight went  to see the original black & white 1925 Phantom of the Opera movie with live organ music with my mom.  Fun!  Wish I could have taken a pic during the showing! This performer brought his own organ!

p8290024

Then we ended the evening at Starbucks and I got a “why bother” 😀

p8290026

Sleeping cuteness – I think she didn’t want me to take her picture!

p8290011

Talk to you tomorrow!

Question:  Do you go to the library?  And how many books on average do you take out?

NROLW and Bumble coffee

Nice and cool this morning – so refreshing!  I was so hungry when I woke up today.  Had the very last piece of Ezekiel bread with the last of the apricot jam and PB for my snack.  Tasty stuff.

toast2

Here are some more stealth shots of my new gym.

cable

gym1

I’m in in the last couple workouts from Stage 4 of NROLW.

Today was B:

  • Deadlifts: 1 x 8 55 pounds, 1 x 8  65 pounds, 1 x 8 75 pounds
  • Bulgarian split squats:  3 x 8  35# plate
  • Underhand grip lat pulldown:  1 x 8 60#, 2 x 8 at 70#
  • Reverse lunge with forward reach:  3 x 8  10# dumbbells (yay!)
  • Prone cuban snatch:  3 x 8  10# dumbbells (super yay!)
  • Crunches, reverse crunches, lateral raise
  • Back extension machine (instead of prone cobra) 3 x 8  at 90#

I decided to do the back extension rather than the cobra because I am tired of that one.  😀  I’m feeling strong and it feels so good!

Texted John (I can’t believe I have actually sent some texts recently!) to meet me and bike onward to breakfast!  Speed on the way there, just under 12mph.

Someone there wanted my coffee.  I love this guy – one of my favorite Christmas specials 😀

bumble

And the brekkie!

bagel9

Biked home.  Speed on the way home hit 13.5 mph.  Think it was the bagel and the carb boost?  Indeed.

Light on work this morning, which is a good thing because I was meeting someone at noon.  Noon is lunchtime for me, normally – so it was an ‘on-the-go’ lunch.  Been a while since I have had one of these!

zone

Some cereal snackage when I got back (oooooppppssss…..).

cereals

More delicious coffee after trying to get into a work rhythm.  If I didn’t actually see blood come out when I do donations, I would assume that my veins are full of coffee.

latte4

John grilled steak for dinner – yum!  Haven’t had steak in forever.  I so love our local smokehouse.

dinner17

Usually I go and get a bunch of chicken (I’m cheap).  John went and came home with a $8 per pound steak!  One piece of meat that is really worth paying good money for is steak.  Never buy cheap steak.  Other cuts, yes – but not steak.  So good.

Dessert:

chips

So, I am feeling a little aimless without having a goal since I am not doing the half marathon, although finishing NROLW is a good goal!  I’m doing a couple 5Ks, but it’s not quite the same.  I saw a duathlon in the paper in October this morning, and I just  might go ahead and do that.  It’s 2.2 mile run/16 mile bike ride/2.2 mile run.  I think that might be a good way to send out the active season.  I had an odd desire to to a brick the other day (what was I thinking??), so maybe I should do it.

Or really, what I should do is buckle down and take off the last 10 pounds instead of dinking around.

MST3K from Netflix tonight!

Question: What are your lunches (or any meal) on the go?

NROLW and POM iced coffee!

Thank you all so much for the nice comments on my running story.   I didn’t think it would be so much of an inspiration.  Now – go get those sneaks on!  😀 Woke up to maybe a little less humid today?  Hope the humidity breaks soon.

Preworkout snack of Ezekiel bread with apricot jam and PB.

snack4

1 piece of Ezekiel left.  Doubt I will buy it again.  It rained last night, but the morning was clear so I biked to my gym (love being able to bike there!).  I am getting more used to the gym, although still disliking the music.  Guess there are more people that want it than don’t 🙁

Anyhoo, did Stage 4a of NROLW today.

  • Barbell squat/push press:  3 x 8 45#  (can’t seem to progress more than this)
  • Step ups:  3 x 8  30# dumbbells.
  • Dumbbell 1-point row:  3 x 8  25# dumbbells
  • Push ups:  3 x 8
  • Stationary lunge:  3 x 8  35# plate
  • Planks – 3 x 2 minute holds
  • Horizontal wood chop:  3 x 8  40#

I was able to hold the plank all 3 times for 2 minutes without having to touch my knees down!  First plank easy.  2nd plank a bit harder. I thought I was going to die on the 3rd one. Serious breath hissing going on.  I probably got some looks, but I don’t care LOL!  Let them try it!  I am not sure why I can’t increase the weight on the push press – I have been at the empty bar for 2 stages now.  That one is very difficult for me, and I think it is the transition in grip between the squat and the press that is the problem. It’s just awkward.

Got on the treadmill for 20 minutes before biking home, and all I could think of was pancakes while I was walking!  So that is what I had for breakfast:

brekkie7

When we went shopping the other day, it was at a different store so I was able to get my Cedars Lemon Hummus!  Yum!  It was part of lunch today mixed with tuna and FSTG sweet potato chips.

lunch14

A package from POM Wonderful came for me today to sample.  POM iced coffee! This has my name written all over it!  Yay!  There were 2 flavors in the box, Cafe au Lait and Chocolate.  Thank you POM Wonderful!

pom

I had the Cafe au lait for my afternoon snack.  It was very good and tasted a lot like one of those Starbucks frappucinos you can buy in the grocery store, only better.  Nutritionally a little shaky with a lot of sugar, but the Cafe au lait has 7 grams of protein, plus some pomegranate antixodant extract (patent pending 😀  ). I like that they use Rainforest Alliance certified coffee.  Nice touch.  This was a fun treat, but I don’t like to drink my calories, and don’t drink my coffee sweetened hardly ever.    It is nice to know that if I am out and that is in the cooler at a convenience store, I can get a bit of energy with protein without resorting to soda.  Hmmmmm….. I bet this would be good running fuel.  John said the chocolate one was really chocolately, so he was quite happy.

You know how I love those quick dinners!  We like to keep jars of different sauces in the house for things like this.  Kitchens of India has some nice jar sauces.  I have a mild curry one (for John…. wimp), which I used tonight.  This dinner took about 15 minutes to whip up.

dinner15

And yes – strawberries are back!  How I missed them during my blueberry (purple?) haze.

John bought a plantain the other day, and he decided to cook it with dinner.

It smelled very much like a banana here:

plantain

He sliced it up and pan fried it in coconut oil:

plantain2

I snagged one to try.

plantain3

mmmm….. GBD.  The verdict?  Interesting.  It did not taste like banana at all.  It was very starchy tasting and similar to a sweet potato in consistency.  It almost had a tiny hint of sweetness.  Not at all what I was expecting.  I don’t know if this is considered a fruit or veggie.

Question:  Have you ever tried plantain?  If so, how do you eat it?