Spicy Chicken-less Chicken Pomodoro

Spicy Chicken-less Chicken Pomodoro
Serves 4

Sauce
1 T. olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 shallot, minced

28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
juice of 1/2 a lemon
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 t. Better than Bouillon No Chicken Base
1/2 c. water
pepper to taste

Protein
6 servings vegetarian "chicken" strips (Trader Joe's brand, Morningstar, etc.)

Pasta
4 servings capallini pasta

In a small cup, mix bouillon with water and set aside.  In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.  Saute garlic and shallot until softened, about 3 minutes.  Add lemon juice, bouillon mixture, tomatoes and red pepper flakes.  Mix well.  Bring to a boil and then simmer on medium-low for about an hour, stirring occasionally.  Add pepper to taste.

Cook cappellini according to package directions.

Spray the inside of a medium sized pan with cooking spray and saute "chicken" strips over medium heat, approximately five minutes.

Spoon sauce over cappellini and top with "chicken" strips. 

Nutritional Information
460 Calories, 32g Protein, 59.5g Carb, 16.75g Fat 

Tofu and "Sausage" Breakfast Scramble

This is one of my new favorite protein rich breakfasts.  The recipe below is for two servings, but feel free to make it in even larger batches.  It keeps very well in the fridge and can be reheated quickly for a fast and easy breakfast.  And if I'm feeling extra lazy, I just throw the breakfast patties in the microwave for about 45 seconds.  Just as good in my opinion.

Tofu and "Sausage" Breakfast Scramble
Serves 2


1 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. dried thyme, crushed with your fingers
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of ground turmeric
1/4 c. water
2 servings extra firm tofu, crumbled (I like the Trader Joe's High Protein brand)
2 garlic cloves, minced (more or less to taste)
cooking spray
2 T. nutritional yeast
Fresh black pepper to taste
4 vegetarian breakfast patties (Trader Joes/Morningstar/etc.)

Add cumin, thyme, salt and turmeric to a small cup.  Mix with water and set aside.  Spray the inside of a medium sized pan with cooking spray and place over medium heat.  Saute the garlic for about one minute.  Then add crumbled tofu and saute for about five minutes.  Depending on how much moister is in your tofu you may need to turn up the heat or add a little bit of water.  I like the Trader Joe's High Protein brand because it is already very firm (i.e., no need to press out the excess water).  Add the spice blend to the tofu and mix well.  Add the nutritional yeast and pepper.  Cook for an additional five minutes.  Place the vegetarian breakfast patties in a small pan and heat over medium heat for approximately five minutes, turning frequently.  Cut patties into bite-sized pieces and serve over tofu.

Nutritional Information
240 Calories, 28g Protein, 11g Carb, 12g Fat 

Day 1 plus a Meal Planner

Well, shit.  Chest and Back.  Ab Ripper X.  Consider my ass kicked.  I don't remember the last time I had to do so many push ups.  Maybe high school gym class?  Probably.  That was a good thirteen years ago.  And those pull ups?  No way.  Today, I used the chair method of attempting to pull my ass, er, chin up to that damn bar.  I got like six, maybe.  And a sloppy six at that.  Oh, and of course those push ups were done girly style on my knees.  Ab Ripper was absolutely impossible.  Not just because I broke a nail at the very end of the workout (watch out for that Mason (Kayak) Twist), but also because I can't even do a proper sit up.  So all those sit your ass up moves were just not happening.

Today was also day one of the new nutrition plan.  I'll give you some context for the change.  Prior to my new found "Fat Shredder" diet, my meals primarily consisted of carbs, a good 60-70% carbs.  I mean, what can I say, I love the baked goods and gummy worms.  And that booze is just empty (delicious) sugar calories.  So upping my protein intake to 50% is going to be challenging.  Below are my recipes for the day.  I don't claim to come anywhere close to making my 50/30/20 split, but I'm giving it a good try.

Breakfast
2 scrambled eggs
1 serving Trader Joe's Soy Chorizo
1 serving black beans
1 oz. Tillamook Medium Cheddar

Total: 550 calories, 35g Protein, 35g Carb, 29g Fat

Lunch
2 c. arugula
1/4 c. Mozzarella
2 T. Shelley's Garlic Dressing
Total: 220 Calories, 8g Protein, 4g Carb, 18.5g Fat

Snack
Luna Cookie Dough Protein Bar
Total: 170 Calories, 12g Protein, 21g Carb, 6g Fat

Dinner
Sriracha Chik'n Tikka Masala
1/4 c. (dry) Trader Joe's Quinoa
2 peaches
Total: 452 Calories, 36g Protein, 47g Carb, 11g Fat

Recovery Drink
ON 100% Whey Protein Powder
Silk Light Vanilla Soy Milk
Total: 190 Calories, 30g Protein, 13g Carb, 3g Fat

Grand Total: 1582 Calories
121g Protein (30.6%), 120g Carb (30.3%), 67.5g Fat (38.4%) 308.5g

Sriracha Chik'n Tikka Masala

So my bf is non-veg, which means we love a recipe that can be easily adapted to both meat eaters and vegetarians alike.  It was a Saturday night (his night to cook dinner), so he began perusing the shelf of cookbooks, one of which was  The Sriracha Cookbook: 50 "Rooster Sauce" Recipes that Pack a Punch.  We found a recipe for chicken tikka masala with a sriracha twist.  I'm not the biggest fan of sriracha, but I know it has quite the following, my boo being one of them.  So he marinated chicken.  I marinated the chik'n.  And we split the sauce.  Needless to say, we were both very happy.

Below is my Sriracha Cookbook inspired vegetarian version of chicken tikka masala.  I switch out the rice for some higher protein quinoa, use Gardein Chik'n Scallopini instead of real chicken and add in yogurt and whole milk instead of the fat laden heavy cream.  

Vegetarian Sriracha Chik'n Tikka Masala

Marinade
1 c. plain low fat yogurt
2 T. Sriracha
Juice of half a lemon juice
2 cloves minced garlic
1 t. ground cumin
1 t. ground allspice
1 t. ground black pepper
1 t. salt

Sauce
1 T. butter
3 cloves minced garlic
1 t. ground cumin
1 t. ground coriander
1 t. garam masala
1 t. paprika
1/2 of a (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
2 T. Sriracha
1 c. whole milk
Salt and ground black pepper
Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)

Protein
4 Gardein Chik'n Scallopini


Cut each chik'n into squares.  I like cutting it once longways and then twice across.  In a medium bowl, mix together the yogurt, Sriracha, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, allspice, pepper and salt.  Add chik'n to bowl and coat with sauce.  Refrigerate for one hour.

When chik'n is done marinating, pre-heat broiler.  Thread chik'n onto skewers, setting each finished skewer on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Just a note, the chik'n will be very soft at this point, so thread carefully.  Place baking sheet under broiler and cook, turning once, 7 to 9 minutes.   Save any remaining marinade for the sauce.

To make the sauce, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add the cumin, coriander, garam masala and paprika and cook for an additional 30 seconds.  Stir in the tomato sauce and Sriracha.  Two tablespoons of Sriracha provides a fairly spicy sauce, so increase or reduce based on your taste.  Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.  Slowly add the whole milk and remaining marinade, stirring to avoid curdling.  Simmer for an additional 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Remove the chik'n from the skewers.  Serve with the sauce over quinoa.  Garnish with cilantro.

Shelley's Quick and Easy Lemon Garlic Salad Dressing

This is my absolute favorite salad dressing.  I'm a firm believer that you can never have enough garlic, and this dressing delivers.  The measurements listed below aren't set in stone, so feel free to experiment if you like more or less lemon or garlic.  If I have it handy, I throw in some fresh herbs, too.  Think, basil, sage, cilantro, etc. 

Quick and Easy Lemon Garlic Salad Dressing
2 garlic cloves
pinch of salt
1/2 lemon
1 T. olive oil

Place 2 garlic cloves and a pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle.  Crush garlic until paste-like.  Mix in juice of half a lemon.  Then add olive oil.  Mix and serve.

The Fitness Test

Well, I passed.  Amazing considering my compete lack of activity, heavy stress-related chain-smoking and numerous recent nights of drunken debauchery.  But I passed, and it's good to focus on the positive.  I can't do a pull up, mind you, but I guess that shouldn't be a big deal.

I've ordered my resistance bands, and I already have a pair of 5 lb. hand weights from my Jillian Michaels days.  My fiance also has a pull up bar screwed into the doorway, and I have more than a few yoga mats.  

These are the bands I ordered.  Review to come.

We also ordered these for my beau.

 I guess now all I have to do is actually start this damn thing.  Wish me luck! 

And so it begins...

I get bored.  Easily.  Also, I'm lazy.  Not in my personal or professional life, but in my physical life.  I'm the kind of person that takes the elevator one flight, the kind of person that circles the parking lot looking for a closer space even though there are clearly open spots in the back.  I'm the kind of person that has never joined a sports team, can barely ride a bicycle and thinks my walk from the car to the bar should suffice as an exercise routine.  In other words, I hate physical activity.  So it should be no surprise that I have never really been a fan of the gym.  I’ve done the occasional workout video.  In the past year or so, I have acquired a collection of Jillian Michaels videos: Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30,  Jillian Michaels: 6 Week Six-Pack,  Jillian Michaels Killer Buns & Thighs.  I also woke up more than a few times to Rodney Yee and his A.M. Yoga for Your Week.  But my dedication has been less than consistent.  Well, more accurately, I should say, down right bad.  It wasn’t that I didn’t like the videos either.  Jillian Michaels will kick your ass.  I wasn’t bored and it didn’t actually take that long (30 min. for Jillian, 20 for Rodney).  But I wasn’t committed.  I never actually completed all five days of Rodney’s week long workout, and I never graduated past level two of Ripped in 30.  It just wasn’t doing the trick, or rather, I wasn’t doing it.

But recently I decided I needed to do something.  I feel like that’s how all these diet/weight loss/exercise programs start.  But it is what it is, cliché or not.  I wasn’t in fact gargantuan, but I started feeling like the 700 pound man.  Yes, perhaps I was watching too many TLC shows.  But I did.  In my mind, I already had the fat man’s waddle.  I would ponder life’s mysterious question of whether your waistband should be above or below what I call the donut (depending on size, it could be a donut, maple bar, bear claw, etc.; it’s that annoying belly fat that always gets in the way).  I would look longingly at the piles of clothes I could no longer fit into.  And mostly, I just felt shitty about how I looked.  Well, except that I finally had boobs.  From a negative A to C boobs.  But that’s another story.  So enter Tony Horton.  

I had heard about P90X many times.  My previous acupuncturist would do the workouts every day.  And she was badass.  My hairdresser showed me his after picture.  And he was ripped.  I wanted to be ripped.  I wanted to be a badass.  So I DVR’d the infomercial.  My fiancé and I watched it, and after many discussions (mostly about whether I thought I could actually do it), we ordered the DVDs.  

This blog is about my journey with P90X.  More importantly, it’s about my vegetarian journey with P90X.  I am trying to stick to the nutrition plan as best I can.  I don’t know how it will turn out, and I definitely don’t guarantee that I will make it the full 90 days.  But I sure am going to try.  “Do your best, forget the rest,” Tony Horton.