Packing in the Protein

All this protein is killing me. I’m stuffed. I know it’s said that it is best to get about 1g of protein per lb of bodyweight but I find it to be almost too much. Yesterday I managed to eat 124g of protein between oat bran for breakfast, beef kabobs for lunch, protein powder after a workout, and chicken for dinner. I was so full and I ate less than 1800 calories whereas I normally eat around 2000.

I’ve been able to eat a lot of meat and fish these last few days because of all the leftovers from my dad’s birthday party on the weekend. There’s not much left so I don’t know how I’ll be able to keep up with the protein intake after that… I hardly cook meat at home. I know there are lots of vegetarian sources of protein but they don’t have nearly as much as animal sources.

I had a protein shake after my workout today and then I could barely eat dinner tonight. That was disappointing because it was so delicious. I made a twist on the British classic: fish and chips with mushy peas.

I breaded basa filets in flour, then milk, then bread crumbs and pan fried them in a bit of oil for about 10 minutes.

I parboiled sweet potato and then baked them with rosemary, thyme, and a bit of oil as the chips.

The peas were just 2 cans of peas with a tablespoon of butter, a splash of cider vinegar, and some salt and pepper.

It all sounds really simple, but it was delicious.

I had a really small portion of everything but I was, and am, so stuffed.

I’m so stuffed. Did I mention that? Like, Christmas dinner stuffed. + The maple keys in my gutters have yet to be cleaned out and the daily thunderstorms are making them give off an awful stench that is unbearable. + Now I’m watching Walking Dead with the husband and it is so gory. I’m this close to vomiting.

Breakfast

- homemade granola with homemade marmalade and coconut cream

Lunch

- leftover beef kebabs and grilled calamari
- a ruby red grapefruit

Post Workout

- protein powder with a banana, peanut butter, and water

Dinner

- fried basa filet with mushy peas and baked sweet potato ‘chips’

Total: 1482 cals 33% fat/45% carbs/22% protein

Workout

Yesterday was Chest and Triceps day in my superset routine. I skipped out on cardio because I left my hair tie at home.

Today I did Shoulders and Abs. I followed it up with a 20 minute interval workout on the treadmill. In and out of the gym in an hour. Per-fect

HIIT Treadmill Workout

The workout involves a 2 minute warm-up a 2 minute cool-down and 4 minute “waves” of increasing speed every minute.

day 128: sour cream glazed

So, today I managed to get in almost all of the 150g of protein that I’m aiming for. I calculated 138g of protein from: eggs (breakfast), some leftover Indian beef dish (early lunch), canned tuna (late lunch), and a turkey thigh (dinner- food porn to follow).

Today was Camp Day at Tim Hortons so the social committee at my office brought in coffee and Timbits for the staff today. Alas, my fat intake was a bit too high today. Damn you, sour-cream-glazed-deliciousness! You are my downfall.

(Source)

Tonight I did a late workout: 20 speed intervals on the treadmill and a power yoga class. I tried out the Wednesday night class at my gym because I’ve been getting bored of the class I do on Sundays. Plus, at 8:30pm I find myself a lot more flexible than at 9:00 am on a Sunday.

I’ll leave you with this protein porn. Gotta love thighs. Roasted. Mmmmm.

day 113: protein pudding

I don’t like drinking protein very much, but I always have it after my workout. I prefer to mix it with a little bit of water to get a pudding-like consistency and eat it with a spoon. You can add in any toppings you want, just like a bowl of oats (hell, you can even add in oats!). I find it much more satisfying than plugging my nose and chugging a goopy, gross protein shake.
I thought the one I made today was beautiful. So I photographed it many times.

I had some leftover sprouted wheatberries from my last batch of sprouted grain bread that kept sprouting little alien-like tentacles. I decided to toss them on top for extra fibre, nutrients, and digestive enzymes.

Sprouted Protein Pudding

Ingredients

• 2 scoops of protein powder of choice
• 3-4 Tbsp water
• 1 banana
• 1/8 tsp ground clove
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp molasses
• 2 Tbsp sprouted wheatberries

Directions

Mix the protein, water, and banana with a food processor or immersion blender until the desired consistency is reached. Add more water if necessary.
Pour into a bowl and top with spices, molasses, and wheatberries.

Enjoy!

day 78: hot smoothee

So by combining this awesome protein shake recipe from Foods of April with my own impatience, I have the greatest post weightlifting drink ever! I was inspired by the addition of steeped tea instead of water because it gives a whole new dimension of flavour (and plus I LOVE tea!) but I didn’t feel like waiting for it to chill in the fridge and I didn’t have any ice. So I ended up with a warm protein smoothie (yes, think Tim Hortons’ Hot Smoothee, minus all the sugar). I sipped it slowly yesterday post weightlifting while watching Monday’s Gossip Girl online.

This is a perfect post workout snack because it is two thirds protein and one third low GI carbs. Awesome.

Here’s April’s recipe with my modifications

Hot Pumpkin Protein Smoothee

180 calories, 29 grams of protein, 12 grams of carbs, 0 grams of fat

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups of sugar-cookie creamy nut oolong tea
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 serving Biochem 100% whey soy vanilla  protein powder
• 1/2 tsp each guar gum and xanthan gum
• Vanilla extract
• Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg
• Stevia
• Lots of ice

Directions:

Use a big blender and blend!

day 14: protein

I’ve been trying to up my protein intake these past few weeks for a couple of reasons: primarily to help keep me feeling full so I stop mindless eating, but also to feed my muscles. I have pretty nearly doubled my protein intake since I’ve started doing the Bikini Birthday: going from around 50-60 g per day to 100-120g of protein per day. This increase in protein coupled with my decrease in fruit has led to less frequent BMs, so I’m going to have to work out a better balance between the two so I feel my best.

I’ve started drinking protein shakes after my weighttraining and I’ve been looking for ways to get protein from food sources as well. I’m not a big meat eater so I’m incorporating more eggs, fish, and cottage cheese into my diet.

I was really surprised by the amount of protein in cottage cheese! A cup of 1% cottage cheese is 70% protein (28g). So now I’m going to substitute my yoghurt for cottage cheese as much as possible. I ate some this morning with a tablespoon of peanut butter mixed in and found it to be quite substantial (although I was hungrier by 11:00 than I had been when I ate 2 eggs at breakfast)

Fish is also a great source of protein and how easy is it to just open up a can of tuna? Last week I was eating a pre-workout snack of a half can of tuna mixed with a teaspoon of salsa and spread on celery stalks. That half a can of tuna is about 95% protein or 14g! I was really impressed by this too.

Salmon is only about 30% protein, but it also has a lot of good heart-healthy fats. I really love lox, or cured salmon, so last weekend I got it into my head that I should try making it at home. I bought a pound of fresh Atlantic Salmon (since we don’t get Pacific salmon in the winter), covered it in salt, pepper, sugar, and dill, wrapped it up, and tossed it in the refrigerator. I completely forgot about it until Friday when I finally washed it off and sliced it up. I have to tell you, it turned out AMAZING. I was so impressed with myself. Try the recipe at home; it’s extremely easy.

Cured Salmon

Ingredients

• 1lb fresh salmon
• 2 tbsp salt
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp pepper
• 1 bunch fresh dill

Directions

Spread out a piece of plastic wrap and put the salmon in the middle, skin side down.

Mix the salt, sugar, and pepper together then spread on top of the salmon flesh, covering it all.

Put the bunch of dill on top (you don’t need to chop it up).

Wrap it all tightly with plastic wrap then put it into a baking dish or something that will catch the juices as it sits in your fridge.

Refrigerate at least 2 days (I left mine for 5).

Toss the dill and wash the salt off of the salmon. Slice thinly with a very sharp knife.

Rinse the salmon again.

Eat :d