This is my attempt to keep a daily food and fitness diary. This isn't Pulitzer-winning writing; these are spontaneous, often hastily written rambles of what I eat, do and learn in my ongoing effort to feel awesome all the time. It may not always be pretty, but at least it's honest. You can find more stories and recipes at SmarterFitter.com.
I like turning leftovers into something entirely different.
Having adapted Heidi's recipe for brussels sprouts and tofu, I adapted it again by mixing the leftovers with little gem lettuce and celery to create a crispy lunch salad!
I like cold porridge, especially when it involves barley. It becomes sort of a rice pudding.
A surprisingly good trio, tossed with pine nuts and cooked with a bit of maple syrup and garlic. I adapted Heidi Swanson's Shredded Brussels Sprouts and Apples recipe, using savoy cabbage instead of brussels sprouts. I really enjoyed it! But it needed some freshness such as cilantro, celery or cold crispy romaine lettuce. I might add all three to the leftovers tomorrow.
FYI: I used plain tofu, marinated in a made-up mix of soy sauce, cider vinegar, maple syrup, liquid smoke and water. Given the maple syrup in the recipe, I'd skip that in the marinade next time.
The pear was woefully flavourless.
Energy in:
Breakfast: Bircher muesli for the win. Made with oats, flax seeds, dried sour cherries, and raisins. Topped with banana, toasted pecans and yogurt. Served with coffee brewed from fresh home-roasted coffee beans.
Lunch: Salad nicoise with egg, tuna, anchovies, fresh basil, sundried tomatoes, hot read chillies, sugar snap peas, red onion, little gem lettuce, balsamic vinaigrette, salt and pepper. I think this is the last of my traditional, tuna-based salad nicoises. I feel somewhat skeptical about tinned tuna, even the so-called "sustainable" varieties.
Snack: Apple and a cup of decaf tea. Laster a few nibbles of farinata to get me through a work assignment without being distracted by hunger.
Dinner: Tofu scramble with a side of perpetual spinach from the garden, sourdough toast and avocado. The scramble comprised one of my favourite medleys: onion, fennel seed, garlic, red bell pepper, corn, broccoli, lots of fresh basil, and tofu of course (also works well sans tofu, or with chickpeas or lentils). A couple wedges of orange to cleanse the palette at the end.
I had intended to go for a swim this morning, but when I woke up at 6:30am (a sleep-in for me) I felt the morning already escaping, and my tummy already rumbling. So I opted for a walk around the farm. I've been wearing a support bandage around my knee (called a "tubigrip"). It helps considerably but I'm trying to ween myself off of it so kept it off this morning. The walk was significantly more difficult. But I got through it and no harm done (hopefully a bit of good, instead).
I wore the tubigrip on a post-lunch walk this afternoon in the glorious hot sun. You will never hear me complaining that it's too hot in England. I'll take it every chance I can get.
Today was not caffeine free, but it's my third day in a row without booze - a minor miracle these days it seems. I'm feeling good, that I can't deny I felt a strong craving for a cold glass of white wine this evening - something to wash down the end of a long, sunny day. But all in good time. The week needs to be about getting stuff done, building my businesses, being focused, energised, creative. I'm not so fussy about the weekend, but even then, it's still about making choices that make me feel as good as possible.
There's a time and a place for cold glasses of white wine, a time and a place for swimming, a time and a place for writing... and on and on. The only universal thing for which there's always a time and place is kicking ass and taking names. Onwards towards tomorrow.
