Eat and Eat More Often...

When I started training for 1/2 Marathons about 2 years ago now, I really had to rethink my strategy on food as fuel. Before I would eat relatively healthy but would only have 3 meals a day. After months and months of training, not only did my appetite get increasingly more demanding, but my body really needed to fuel and fuel more often. After reading countless articles both in fitness magazines and on the web, I decided that I would try to eat every 2-3 hours. What I have learned and have tried to incorporate every day:

1) It is best to eat within an hour after your metabolic fast meaning within an hour after you wake up in the morning.

2) Eat every 2-3 hours (set alarms if you have to) and not big portions (about 250-300 calories per meal, but if you're very active 400-450 is probably more realistic).

3) It is a good idea to eat a small but satisfying meal (example: whole toast w/peanut butter or a 12 oz. smoothie) before a workout. I know there are just some people who can not eat before a workout, but I almost always have to for energy, unless I do yoga - better to practice yoga on empty tummy.

4) Drink, drink, drink WATER...this is still very challenging for me and I work at. I'd rather drink coffee all day, if I could.

5) Make wise food choices for every meal, so it counts as good fuel. We all know the difference between nutrient rich and not. Basic rule, stay away, far away from processed!

6) Most important is just be conscious of food as fuel and TRY, but do not obsess on structuring meals perfectly. Also, learn to love the foods that are good for you...for me, that was oatmeal and a handful of veggies.

You want your body to use food it needs and not store what it does not need. The idea is not to let your blood sugar drop in levels which encourages overeating. Once your blood sugar level drops, the body goes into somewhat of a panic mode and eats up muscles and holds on to and stores fat for reserves. Eating smaller meals more frequently works for me. I know everyone is different and it takes planning (I won't lie), so find what works for you, and most of all move your body as much as you can and EAT well!

Here's a typically good day of eating for me:

Breakfast: between 6:30 am - 7:15 am (usually)

Oatmeal, oh - how I love thee...oatmeal with slivered almonds, sliced bananas, and a cup of coffee (decaf for now)

Lunch: between 12pm - 1:30 pm

Usually for lunch, I will have a salad with some sort of protein (mostly chicken) and lite dressing. Try to go for the rich green leaves, this is an ok example of a typical salad.

Dinner: between 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Although dinner in my household varies a lot, this might be one typical dinner. I am not afraid to eat pasta for dinner nor bread, my balance is I try to go for whole grains and/or whole wheat varieties. This meal: angel hair pasta with turkey meatballs and marinara sauce, homemade whole wheat buttermilk garlic herb biscuit, and a side of arugula salad (love the taste of arugula, so nutty and unique)

1st Snack: between 9:00 am - 10:30 am

Typically a simple banana, yogurt, or smoothie (I may even have a smoothie for breakfast)

2nd Snack: 1pm - 4pm

After lunch and before dinner, usually fruit (fresh or dried), a smoothie, whole wheat crackers, or nuts (usually almonds)

My weakness in snacking, CHOCOLATE! My counter measure: give in when I really want it! But, I try to have on hand some semi-sweet chocolate chips. A few of these usually takes care of any chocolate craving and I feel satisfied without the guilt. On the same note, I do eat dessert once or twice a week (maybe even 3), but again I try to go for the all natural (stuff the body can actually breakdown), preferably homemade and not from a box. Moderation, not deprivation!

Crazy for Crepes!

November was a slow month for me blogging. I was so busy with kids stuff (end of soccer celebrations, classroom volunteering, girls scouts, prenatal appointments, you name it!) and oh yeah hubby needed my attention somewhere in there too. Then to cap off the month, our family hosted Thanksgiving, which is always great because I love to feed people! But it was hard to get a minute to pound the keyboard for thoughts.

Story Telling Time:

After hosting Thanksgiving and eating up a few days worth of left-overs "this and that turkey stuff," I was over it! Luckily, hubby is so resourceful (I adore him so much!)...(long story, short) he came across a coupon on Amanzon.com that had an amazing deal for a local restaurant in Huntington Beach, CA serving, non other than, specialty CREPES. The name of the restaurant is Rockin Crepes, off of Atlanta and Magnolia. What a find! It was dinner time and we were all hungry for anything but left-overs...crepes sounded perfect, the other end of the spectrum from a fall feast and the restaurant was opened for dinner. Great, let's get to gettin'...

We arrived at our destination and it was kind of hard to find at first as it is tucked away next to a UPS Store and some other small store (perhaps a tanning salon, it was HB). It was not busy at all, but it was a weeknight after all. Hmmm, could this be good?!? Open minded and a hungry belly, I was game. Looking around, it was obvious why the restaurant was called "Rockin Crepes" for the love of all that is Rockin! (I'm more of a Top 40 listener myself much to my hubby's dislike who's all time fav band is RUSH - yes ladies, opposites DO attract!). Ready for this, the decor, rows of Marshall amps (only my father-in-law could appreciate) painted on one wall, painted on the opposite wall was a chain linked fenced, rock-n-roll and sports banners splashed all around, the tables were decoupaged with pictures of rockstar icons including KISS of course (I got flashbacks of my cousin Sal's room in the 80's), and an occasional skull and crossbones as a final touch. For someone who has studied professional commercial interiors, you would think this would be destructive to my aesthetic sensibility, but not a all, it was very comfortable. The service was great! After talking with our very young waiter (all of 15 years old, very nice kid, skater type), we came to find that it is a family owned restaurant and Jimmy, our garçon (French for waiter - we are talkin about crepes), was the son of the owner. We studied the menu coming across crepes named "Alice Cooper", which the my girls ended up ordering and sharing, "Black Sabbath", "AC/DC" just to name a few. I ended up eating "Poison" and hubby ordered "Saxon"...all were savory crepes, although the menu had a wide impressive list of both savory and sweet. It was delicious and beautifully made, in the simplest terms!!! And, a full bar to boot. I definitely recommend it and would go back again and again.

Reviews in, restaurant review 4 stars for "Rockin Crepes", Huntington Beach, CA http://www.rockincrepeshb.com. Great atmosphere, great and friendly service and most of all Rockin Good Crepes! Good on them, for pairing such a delicate fare such as crepes with hard edge rock-n-roll! (Just as an aside, Jimmy Bennett, our garçon, is somewhat of a celeb in his own right, feel free to IMdb or Google him and you'll see what I mean. What was most impressive is that his parents had obviously instilled that it is important to help with the family business despite a little fame, love it!)

This morning:

I have been known to cook up my own crepes from time to time. This morning was the morning, I just felt like reinstating my ever improving, skill seeking of crepe making. I have only tackled sweet crepes, but with my new found restaurant of inspiration, I hope to tackle some savory for future...

Semi-sweet Chocolate Filled Crepes. Looks so innocent, but so mouth-watering good.

Fancy Crepe Ladle that measures the right amount of batter for my crepe pan precisely (it was a wedding gift). The amount is about equal to a 1/4 cup measure, so if you don't have a fancy ladle from William-Sonoma, a 1/4 measuring cup is just fine.

This is my special non-stick crepe pan about 8" round (with a perfectly cooked crepe on top :-)). My mother-in-law gave me this pan as gift about 9 years ago along with neat crepe recipe book. She was always so thoughtful in a culinary sense, giving me cookbooks, kitchen tools, and small appliances. I think it was to ensure that her son will be well fed. Smart woman, for at that time 9 years ago, I literally could burn water. Back then eggs were about the only thing I could do right. But, the upside is I am the perfect example that "anyone" can learn to cook decently and deliciously. Below is my go to crepe recipe...try making it fresh...it's incredible!

RECIPE: Plain Flour Crepes (I use this recipe for sweet crepes)

1-3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour, sifted

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

3 eggs

2 cups nonfat milk

2 oz. unsalted butter (or half a stick - 4 tablespoons)

Mix the flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Make a well in the center.

Beat the eggs in a second bowl, incorporating one cup of milk. Pour the mixture into the flour well and whisk vigorously until the batter is smooth and lump-free. Melt the butter in the microwave, in a microwave safe bowl, for about 45 seconds, let cool a bit. Add the remaining milk and slightly cooled melted butter a little at a time to batter.

Let the batter stand for at least one hour. This step can not be skipped otherwise you will get a different texture. It's worth the wait!

Heat crepe pan and grease a bit with butter if needed. Pour batter and spread either with a special crepe tool spreader (for lack of better term) or simply swirl the pan until you get it evenly coated with a thin layer of batter. Cook crepes at moderately low heat until it slides when pan is slightly shaken about 1-2 minutes. Turn over once and cook for another minute. Serve with fresh fruit, fruit preserves, chocolate, whipped cream, powdered sugar, maple syrup...the list of sweet fillings are endless, get creative!