What I Eat Wednesday: The Canadian Eats Maple Syrup

More of the same - the usual meat/greens/carbs. I have a couple meals on here that are different from the past What I Eat Wednesday post. I try to take pictures of the more interesting meals, otherwise they would all look pretty much the same. Variety = spice of life, right?

This is a "what I had in the fridge" pizza. The last time I went to Trader Joe's, I bought two pizza doughs and threw them in the freezer. It's a great meal in a short amount of time and super versatile. I had some spinach that was too wilty for salad and BBQ pork that I had to eat or toss in the freezer. I used the herb crust, which I think is the best. This made about two and a half servings. 

Chicken Caesar salad made from a Dole's salad kit and some frozen grilled chicken. I used all the lettuce and half of both the dressing and the cheese, which I saved for my lunch the next day. I find that the salad kits always provide WAY too much dressing so I always buy lettuce or spinach to make another salad with. 

Grilled chicken with plain pasta and broccoli. There was a phase of my life where I only ate the most boring bland food ever and plain pasta was something I ate three times a week for dinner. I don't like eating pasta more than once a  week now and usually mix it up between brown rice, sweet potatoes, quinoa or couscous. As weird as it sounds, plain pasta is a little bit of a comfort food for me. 

Honey maple salmon with Cajun sweet potatoes and broccoli. The idea for the glaze for the salmon comes from my Canadian Henley host family - just mix a little bit of honey mustard with a little bit of maple syrup. I used authentic Canadian maple syrup but I'm sure Aunt Jemima would work just fine. It is delicious. 

Join me! #WhatIEatWed or comment below! 

What I Eat Wednesday: Meat on Meat on Meat

One of the number one questions I get when people find out that I work out two or three times a day, six times a week is "what do you eat?" The answer is complicated. As a lightweight rower, I have to fuel my body for practice but not overindulge. It's a balance I am still tweaking and fine tuning as I continue with training.

On a couple Wednesdays a month, I'd like to share some pictures from my kitchen. This past week was a little different because I had off work, so I had the time (and the Christmas gift certificates) to shop at Wegman's and Trader Joe's.

I bought 11 pounds of meat at Wegman's this weekend. Since Wegman's is a hike from where I live in Philly, getting to go is always a treat. They have really good prices on high quality food. I bought so much meat that I had to leave half of it in my boyfriend's full size freezer because it wouldn't fit in mine! My New Year's resolution is to eat more meat, so I'm going to say I'm off to a decent start. 

Dinner: Honey mustard salmon from Trader Joe's cooked in the oven, garlic butter broccoli and plain linguine with a little bit of parmesan cheese. 

 Dinner: Oven baked chicken with Italian seasoning, plain linguine with a little bit of parmesan cheese and roasted Brussels sprouts. And a mouthful of ramen, that I ended up giving back to my boyfriend because I was too full! 

Lunch: Whole wheat couscous and spicy jalepeno chicken sausage with red pepper flakes, both from Trader Joes. If I had known couscous was so easy to cook, I would have replaced any and all pasta in my diet a long time ago. I made a big batch of this for work lunches. 

Dinner: Steamed broccoli, crockpot pulled pork and my roommate, Claire's, version of fried rice. Both the pulled pork and fried rice were part of weekend food prep so I can come home from practice and have dinner ready in under ten minutes. Blue plates supposedly help to curb appetite - not really sure if that works for hungry rowers post erg workout. 

Comments? Questions? Email me or leave a note below! Want to share what you eat with the world? Tweet with #WhatIEatWed

Ten Things in Ten Days: My First Take on Philadelphia

For me, the most exciting thing about summer is the feeling of possibility. This is the feeling that no matter what is going on right now, summer guarantees exciting new adventures. This summer that feeling of excitement is especially high as I have moved my fabulous self to a brand new city. For the next three months, I will blogging from the brotherly lovin’, cheese steak eatin’, Rocky Stairs runnin’ city of Philadelphia. I am not gainfully employed (yet) but I am rowing for Penn AC’s intermediate program. Practice hasn’t started yet so in between applying for real jobs and trying to keep my out-of-shape self from getting more out of shape, I have been exploring things this great city has to offer. This isn’t a traditional “Tory’s Top Ten” but here is a list of ten things I’ve done in the past ten days since I moved.

1. Run the Rocky Stairs. This was the first thing I had to do. Granted, I did it as a workout and not to re-enact that famous scene (as many tourists do). In the five or so other days that I’ve run them, it’s cool to see just how many different types of people pay homage to Rocky on the Art Museum Stairs. On top of running them at the end of each of my jogs, I’ve also done 3x8 sets with 3’ rest and 5x5’ of steps with 5’ rest. While it’s not as hard as a true 5x5’ workout, it was definitely not easy.

2. Eaten old fashioned ice cream at Franklin Fountain. These interestingly named sundaes were a little expensive, but worth the wait and the money. I had never had a banana split before so I tried “Banana Split for My Baby” which is a smaller version of a banana split with more peanut butter. So kind of like one of my shakes …only way, way unhealthier and way, way tastier.

3. Enjoyed healthy eats at The Couch Tomato. When I ventured to Manayunk, I was overwhelmed how many restaurants I wanted to eat at. The Couch Tomato stuck out because it was a funky looking spot off the main street. The food was great (I tried the Holy Chipotle and BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad). Even if the food had been so-so, they won me over when I was asked if I wanted my dressing on the side and I didn’t have to feel like a picky snob for ordering it that way. (Even though you can’t really tell from this list, I am dieting…yeah, I swear!) Any salad can be made into a wrap and they have a ton of vegetarian options, or you can make your own. The ingredients taste as fresh as they are guaranteed to be and if you sit outside, it’s a great place for people watching.

4. Partied at The Bike Race. The Philadelphia International Cycling Championship, known in Philly as The Bike Race, is a pro bicycling race that snakes its way through Philadelphia every June. I thought people only drank before 10 a.m. if they were being hazed but when we arrived at “The Wall” at 10:45 a.m., spectators were already slurring their commentary. It was like an outrageous day-long frat party to support the bikers. “The Wall”, one of the best places to watch, refers to a giant hill in Manayunk where the riders slow down enough that I could almost high five them. If they hadn’t been climbing a hill giant enough that walking up it just once made me need a nap.

5. Got a brain freeze at Philly Flavors. Anyone who knows me knows that I love Rita’s. This might be the better version of Rita’s…with more flavors, real ice cream as well as frozen yogurt and HUGE portions for about the same price (just don’t get a sundae because those will run your bill up). They will mix Italian ice with soft serve ice cream and it is so good. I highly recommend peach ice with vanilla soft serve. Just don’t eat it as fast as I did…brain freeze!

6. Used my college knowledge to crush Quizzo at North Star Bar. Ok, so maybe I only got one question right. But my team was really smart and that’s what counts. This trivia night, hosted by Johnny Goodtimes (who sometimes raps questions), was a low key pen-and-paper game with four rounds: easy, speed, themed and impossible, with some “guess-the-song” rounds in between. And no, the question I got right was not in the easy round. The wings were pretty good, the beers were better and the feeling of winning would have been the best. Guess I have to go back next Monday for that!

7. Had my first cheesesteak as a Philadelphia resident at Mama’s Pizzeria. While it might not be as famous as Pat’s or Geno’s, I could care less because it wasn’t crowded and the cheesesteaks were awesome. And by “cheesesteaks”, I have to confess that I could only eat half. But it was a fantastic half, with perfect roll and extra cheese and grilled onions and tasty steak. I will definitely be sampling a lot of cheesesteaks over the next three months but even if there is a better one out there, it probably won’t taste just as good microwaved for lunch the next day (but Mama’s did!)

8. Celebrated Beer Week at Memphis Taproom. If I had known that Beer Week existed, I probably would have moved here years ago. Who wouldn’t love a city that celebrates beer? Memphis Tap Room was a great place for me to go to kick off my first beer week. Not only did they have a no repeat beer week beer menu, they also have fried pickles (they taste WAY better than they sound) and delicious sandwiches for not too much money.

9. Devoured wings at PJ Wellihans. Thanks to Darby’s forty cent wing night, I discovered this year that I love wings, especially sweetly barbequed wings with a little bit of tang. I might not have had a long history of wing eating, but these wings are the best I have ever eaten. Ever. We ordered 30 Hot ‘n’ Honey wings for three of us, but I am pretty sure that I could have eaten all 30 by myself. And then wanted more. They were amazing.

10. Sampled my way through Whirled Peace. I went to this froyo place for the first time in March and I was totally in love. At that point, I didn’t know I was going to move to Philadelphia (perhaps subconsciously this is what made me chose) but I knew I loved this place. They have about ten flavors of frozen yogurt, from the typical chocolate and vanilla to some super weird sounding flavors that were actually kind of good. I don’t know because I’ve made ten trips, I know because they let you have free samples of every flavor. Actually, I'm not sure if they let you do this. I just know that there were sampling cups and I was in charge of getting my own. When you stop sampling, you can add a TON of different toppings for whatever craving you have that day. So delicious!

So what if three of my ten adventures were ice cream related? Clearly I have my priorities in order. While I have done these ten things, some highlights so far that didn’t make the Top Ten include getting a bike flat, falling off my bike, successfully parallel parking my car, erging in the Penn AC boathouse, riding my bike in the city at night, figuring out where I am (sometimes), going grocery shopping in a less than nice neighborhood and not getting any parking tickets (so far). I haven’t been on the water yet, which will make 22 days the longest amount of time I have not rowed (during rowing months) in the past three years. Other than that, I am enjoying myself immensely and look forward to a summer full of adventures! Do you have any adventure ideas for me? Leave a comment or send me an email!

My Milkshake Brings All the Boys to the Yard...

This recipe is not mine at all. I take no credit for it. My coach, Michelle, got me hooked on these shakes from DashingDish.com. The owner of the blog, Katie, has come up with a low calorie, high protein shake that actually tastes good. Yes, not a lie, it ACTUALLY TASTES GOOD. Throughout my athletic career I have tried and tried to get myself to tolerate protein powder. I know I don’t eat enough protein but I am picky. I also don’t like eating things I don’t like. Most people would say “suck it up” but I think that this recipe helps solve my problem.  So Katie, I owe you and your blog a lot.

Here is the main recipe for a basic shake that I modified a little. You’re supposed to use all cottage cheese instead of yogurt but to be honest, cottage cheese creeps me out.  I tried half cottage cheese and half yogurt for a while but the cottage cheese never blended well enough and every once in a while I would get a salty cheese explosion, which is why I mainly use the yogurt. I also like a thick shake, so I put more ice cubes in it, but the less you put in, the thinner the shake will be. You could also add more yogurt depending on how you want it to taste.

Base Ingredients

6 ice cubes

½ cup water

¼ cup plain Chobani

1 scoop protein powder

1 tbsp sugar free Jello powder or pudding mix similar flavor to protein powder

Optional: sprinkle of sugar to taste (Katie uses sweetener to reduce calories but I use real sugar because I worry about cancer and chemicals and all that good stuff)

Here are some variations that I’ve tried with different powders and add-ins, etc. These are just my varations and the more shakes I make, the more I play with the ingredients to get different consistencies and flavors.

Mocha Shake

Ingredients	Calories	Protein
6 ice cubes	0	0
½ cup coffee	1 cal	0
¼ cup plain Chobani	35 cal	7g
1 scoop  Designer Whey Protein in Double Chocolate	100 cal	18g
1 tbsp Jello chocolate pudding mix (sugar free)	30 cal	0g
Optional: sprinkle of sugar to taste	7 cal	0 g
TOTAL	173 cal	25g

*I think that the Designer Whey Protein doesn’t mask the protein flavor as well as some other brands so sometimes I add some Hershey’s syrup to make it more chocolate-y. But the coffee instead of water gives it a little extra kick and the caffeine is great for when I have a class right after practice.

Vanilla Shake

Ingredients	Calories	Protein
6 ice cubes	0	0
½ cup water	0	0
¼ cup plain Chobani Greek Yogurt	35 cal	7g
1 scoop  Platinum Hydro Whey protein powder in Velocity Vanilla	140 cal	30g
1 tbsp Jello vanilla pudding mix (sugar free)	30 cal	0g
Optional: sprinkle of sugar to taste	7 cal	0 g
TOTAL	212 cal	37g

*This one is my favorite! And it’s the only one that all three of my shake-drinking housemates will eat, so I often double the recipe and divide it between the three of us.

Banana Cream Shake

Ingredients	Calories	Protein
6 ice cubes	0	0
½ cup water	0	0
¼ cup plain Chobani Greek Yogurt	35 cal	7g
½ medium sized banana	52 cal	.5
1 scoop  Gold Standard Casein in Banana Creme	120 cal	24g
1 tbsp Jello vanilla pudding mix (sugar free)	30 cal	0g
Optional: sprinkle of sugar to taste	7 cal	0 g
TOTAL	244 cal	31.5 g

*The change in protein is on purpose. Unlike whey, casein is a slow acting protein which takes longer to digest, which helps me not wake up from my nap marathons ready to eat my entire refrigerator.

Berry Berry Shake

Ingredients	Calories	Protein
4 ice cubes	0	0
½ cup water	0	0
¼ cup plain Chobani Greek Yogurt	35 cal	7g
1 scoop  Platinum Hydro Whey protein powder in Velocity Vanilla	140 cal	30g
1 cup Stop and Shop frozen berry mix	65 cal	0g
Optional: sprinkle of sugar to taste	7 cal	0 g
TOTAL	247 cal	37g

*The best thing about this one is that it can be made with any kind of fruit, frozen or not. I use the frozen kind because it’s cheaper and then I don’t have to use as many ice cubes or yogurt to make the shake thicker.

Cookies and Cream Shake

Ingredients	Calories	Protein
6 ice cubes	0	0
½ cup water	0	0
¼ cup plain Chobani Greek Yogurt	35 cal	7g
1 scoop  Platinum Hydro Whey protein powder in Velocity Vanilla	140 cal	30g
2 Oreo cookies	106 cal	0g
I tbsp. Jello chocolate pudding mix (sugar free)	30 cal	0 g
TOTAL	311 cal	37g

*So this one is definitely less healthy than the other ones, but after a really hard workout, I figure I deserve it. I consider this shake to be a “once in a while treat”, but I look forward to it because it’s so good and almost makes the pain of an awful erg workout worth it. Almost.  

Other things that I’ve added to various shakes:

·         almonds

·         chocolate chips

·         caramel creamer

·         lemon jello mix

·         strawberry jello mix

·         oatmeal

·         cinnamon

DashingDish also has a lot more variations here, most of which I plan on trying in the near future. BodyBuilding.com also has some good looking recipes here. It’s amazing how versatile this can be and basically anyone can make a shake that fits their taste preference and calorie needs.

However, unlike Katie from DashingDish, I don’t consider these a meal replacement. Whether you do would depend on how often and how intensely you’re working out. I usually eat two big meals a day (breakfast and dinner) with three or four smaller meal/snack type things in between, so I consider the shake to be a small meal.

I have to say that my favorite thing about the shake is how quick it is. I can roll out of my nap ten minutes before I have to head to class and I have a quick and easy on-the-go snack AND I can make them from easy ingredients that I almost always have around the house.

It should be noted I am not any kind of nutritionist or expert, just someone who likes to eat and is interesting in staying healthy! All the calorie and protein counts are done by me, according to the information on the packaging. Please let me know if you find any mistakes or if you make a great new shake that I have to try! 

**Special thanks to my art major friend Angie for teaching me Photoshop....hopefully my pictures will be cooler now!