Whole 30 results and thoughts

Starting September 1st Becca decided to adopt the Whole 30 diet. You can read about her experiences here and here. I jumped on board as it basically was a healthy and easy way to improve my diet. To be honest it wasn’t that bad but there was room for improvement. I have to confess I wasn’t 100% committed, I still had milk in tea and H&H in my coffee and Splenda in both.

There is a long list of things that are eliminated, the big ticket items are; grains, dairy, legumes, anything with sugar added (most fruit is ok), alcohol. I reduced but didn’t eliminate beer altogether and I still had plain Greek 2% yogurt with homemade granola 2 or 3 times a week. Rice porridge is still a weekend staple. Beyond that I ate whatever Becca put in front of me.

With Becca’s broken collar bone she has become whirling Diva in the Kitchen and with my Sunday rides extended out another month it’s all tied in really nicely timing wise. The results have been pretty staggering to be honest. My weight had averaged 175lb for the last 18 months, sometimes I dipped below 170 after a big workout and occasionally I hit 178 after a big blowout. I wrote in March of last year that my ideal racing weight was 166lb and that figure was impossible to reach yet alone maintain and that I was really aiming for 168lb.

Yeah about that! In the last 6 weeks my weight has averaged 163lb, sometimes I’ll drop below 160lb after a 5-6 hour ride and that effect may linger a few days but I haven’t been above 170 since August 19th.

Obviously my weight was being focused on before September and the start of the Whole 30 plan but the consistency in keeping the weight off has been since then. My training volume hasn’t decreased and with the weight lost my performance has improved, most noticeably I am not dragging the extra 10-12lb up every hill I ride. Trust me it makes a difference! The nice thing is that the weight has been dropped from where it usually accumulates, my belly. I have gone from a 32/33” waist to a 30”ish. The flipside of this is now it is a pain to find 30x34 pants!

The ongoing transition and maintenance hasn’t been all that hard. I have a pretty high tolerance for the same food and as a result my lunches at work have become a plate of color and crunch! It makes me laugh that the same people who say wow that looks good as they walk past me preparing it come back carrying a Carl’s Jnr bag!

With the Everesting attempt now scheduled for the weekend of Thanksgiving it’s time to double down and keep my eye on the prize, so I will be strictly sticking to my 80% rule and focus on the motivation of not having to drag those 12lb over 250 miles is sure going to help!

Skratch Recipe of the Week; Sweet Cream Grits

Ingredients

• 4 cups water
• 2 cups uncooked grits
• 3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons raw sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Cream of Wheat is a great alternative to grits, but it does contain gluten

Method

• Lightly coat a muffin tin or ramekins with nonstick cooking spray
• Bring water with a dash of salt to a boil in a saucepan over high heat
• Add grits, stirring frequently for 3– 4 minutes
• Remove from heat to add egg yolks
• Return to heat and simmer on low until mixture thickens, then stir in raw sugar and vanilla
• Pour cooked grits into muffin cups or ramekins and let set for 10– 15 minutes to firm up
• TIP Serve up your grits like crème brûlée: top with additional raw sugar and place under the broiler until the sugar turns brown. Let cool before handling, this makes them uber yummy!

 

They are roughly 110 calories each! Be careful they are a little slippery and can be easily dropped when on the bike! That will make you sad…and hungry!

Skratch Labs Recipe of the Week; Peaches and Coconut Rice Cakes

Another easy recipe, the truth is they are all pretty simple and that’s one of the joys of them!

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked sticky rice
• 3 cups water
• 1 teaspoon coarse cane sugar
• ½ cup peeled peaches (canned/tinned or fresh)
• ½ canned coconut milk
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon coarse salt

Method

• Heat oven to 350f
• Combine the water and rice in a rice cooker with a dash of salt and let cook
• While the rice is cooking mince the remaining ingredients, (I mis-read this and simply chopped up the peaches)
• Lightly coat a backing sheet with nonstick cooking spray or use parchment paper
• When the rice has finished cooking mix with other ingredients
• Line a small bowl with plastic wrap and press rice into shape. From experience you can press pretty hard was you want it to stick together and keep its shape
• Remove from plastic and place on baking sheet
• Bake for 10 – 15 minutes
• Let cool and wrap

Chopping the peaches meant there was really not enough peach spread through the mix and also that it was ultimately quite delicate. Next time I will definitely make sure I mince them. That said the taste was great, very light coconut with a sweet hint of peach!

Over to you!

Skratch Labs Recipe of the Week; Raspberry & Chocolate Rice Cakes

I’ve missed a week or two but this is a good one to catch up with!

Ingredients;

• 3 cups uncooked sticky rice
• 4.5 cups water
• 0.75 cup canned coconut milk (this is the canned version not the one you have on cereal)
• Juice of one lemon (or other citrus fruit)
• 1.5 teaspoons of coarse salt or to taste
• 6 ounces semi sweet choc chips
• 1 pint raspberries

Method;

• Combine rice, water, dash of salt in rice cooker and let cook
• When the rice is finished cooking transfer it to a large bowl and add the coconut milk. Begin adding the sugar. It should taste slightly sweet to you palate.
• Add the lemon juice to give it some zing
• Add the salt to taste
• Once the rice has mostly cooled, spread half across a 9” x 12” baking pan and press flat, sprinkle in the Raspberries and Choc chips. Gently press the remaining rice onto the berries to create second layer
• Let it set up, cut and wrap

I have made this a couple of times now and here are some thoughts.

• Don’t overdo the coconut milk otherwise it never sets
• Use whole coconut milk not “Lite”
• Putting in the fridge for 30 minutes makes it easier to set and cut
• Don’t make the rice layers too thick
• Choc Chips are optional, it’s actually sweet and sharp enough without them

Ok your go…

Skratch Labs Recipe of the Week; Skratch Cookie Mix

This is not so much a defined recipe but more of a base set of ingredients that you can add to to create your favorite cookies or bars!

Ingredients;

• Skratch Cookie Mix
• 1 egg
• 1 stick of butter
• Optional…anything! That said I used fresh raspberries in a mid layer

Method;

• Preheat oven to 350f
• Mix the ingredients until they form a ball. I started with a hand mixer and ended up using my hands
• Halve the mix and spread evenly across a 9” square dish, lined with Parchment Paper for easy removal
• Throw in the raspberries and spread evenly, don’t squash! 
• Add the second half of the mix, I actually rolled this out using Parchment Paper and rolling pin so I didn’t squash the raspberries
• Cook for about 30 minutes, until knife comes out clean, I ended up under-cooking these a little but the end result is a super yummy sweet (and a little salty) gooey cookie!
• Wait till cool, cut into squares and wrap

Obviously unlike other recipes the key ingredient here is the Cookie mix. Don’t panic! You can buy this directly from Skratch themselves, you can buy it over Amazon and you should be able to find it in local stores (think running/biking) rather than grocery.

The joy of this is that you can make it pretty much what you want it to be. Don’t like raspberries but prefer chocolate chip…no problem, howabout date and walnut; you betcha, cherry and coconut; easy peasy, green peas…well maybe not but they are a great source of protein! Anyway you get it…pretty much the sky is the limit!

Here is Chef Lentine showing you how it’s done…

Do these work? Can you eat cookies and run…well yes you can! I ran 18 miles at the weekend fueled on these and with French Toast Bars (recipe to follow) no problem!

So now over to you…your turn!

Skratch Labs Recipe of the Week; Baked Eggs

This is super easy and super yummy…who doesn’t like eggs and bacon!

This is one of those things you can cook while you working on something else in the kitchen!

Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• Bacon, chopped and cooked, it has to be cut up small enough to sit on the egg
• Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper

Method

• Preheat oven to 350f
• Coat 6 cups of muffin tin with something nonstick, personally I use a strip of kitchen towel (Bounty), I wipe it over the butter and then wipe that in the cups
• Crack an egg into each cup
• Place the tin in the center of the oven and rotate every 5 minutes so the eggs cook evenly
• Once the egg whites turn white remove and set on side, sprinkle with salt, pepper and cheese
• Top of with the bacon, I actually found that if you add the bacon before the whites harden the bacon sinks into them and is less likely to fall off
• Give them a wiggle with a small spatula so they don’t set to the tin
• Allow to cool, wrap and store

Roughly 80-100 calories each these are a definite improvement on you memory of a hard boiled egg!

Skratch Labs Recipe of the Week; Chocolate Bread Pudding

This is follow on recipe from last week’s Quick Crusts. Follow on in as much as you use all the bread that is cut off. So as I used brioche I get brioche bread pudding…can you say nom nom!

Ingredients

• 2 cups cubed bread
• 4 eggs beaten
• ¼ cup sugar
• ½ cup almond milk
• ½ cup chocolate chips melted
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
• Splash of cinnamon
• ½ cup chopped banana

Method

• Preheat oven to 350f
• Combine all ingredients except bread in bowl, add cubes and allow to soak until cubes, if required add a splash of milk
• Pour into prepared pan and bake for 3-45 minutes until toothpick comes out clean

I have made this twice, once with chocolate chips and once without (we have a non-chocolate eating kid in the house). The chocolate ships I had would not melt so I just threw them in the mix. To be honest I preferred the latter, the banana taste is clean and sweet. When you cut it into 2”x 1” portions it’s moist and easy to chew and swallow!

Enjoy!

Skratch Labs Recipe of the Week; Quick Crusts

Ok this one is super quick and easy…clue is in the name I guess!

• Pre heat oven to 350f.
• Start with 2 slices of bread, I used Brioche which is super thick cut so I sliced it through.
• Add a tea spoonful of filling, I went with a knob of butter, peanut butter and jam.
• Add the second slice to the top, dampen the edges, this will help seal it.
• Cut around crusts to press them together using a wine glass…I don’t like wine so I used a bourbon tumbler!
• Brush the pies with melted butter or olive oil.
• Bake in the oven at 350f till browned.
• Wrap and store and you’re good to go.

As a picture is worth a 1000 words…here’s 6000 worth!

Based on my ingredients they round up to around 250 calories a piece.

Skratch Labs Recipe of the Week; Mushroom & Swiss Frittata

Another one from the Portables book. I whisked up a batch of these last Sunday and they are proving to be a good go to after an early swim or when you walk in the door and you’re famished!

Ingredients

• 2 cup chopped mushrooms
• ½ cup diced onion
• ¼ cup coarse chopped parsley
• 2 cups cooked rice
• 4 eggs lightly beaten
• ½ Swiss cheese grated
• 1 teaspoon of celery salt
• 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
• Dash of salt and pepper

Method

• Heat oven to 350f
• In sauté pan heat teaspoon of olive oil
• Over medium-high heat sauté onion, mushroom and parsley
• Remove from heat and drain any excess oil
• Combine the remaining ingredients in a medium bowel
• Stir in onion and mushroom mix
• Lightly grease muffin tin
• Add mushroom slice and sprinkle a little parmesan cheese on top (my step)
• Bake for 15 minutes or until center firm (I baked them a little less, this makes them moister, but more fragile)

Wrap and refrigerate…assuming you don’t eat them all in the next 30 minutes!

Skratch Labs Recipe of the Week; Crispy Rice Omelet

This one is from the Skratch Labs Portables cook book. As with all the recipes this is very simple to make. If you’re planning to cook from either of the books it’s well worth investing in a rice cooker.

This is a handy recipe that can be used a snack or a side. Savory and flavorful and easy to cook and eat.

Ingredients

• 1tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup of cooked rice
• 6 eggs
• 1.5 teaspoons grated parmesan
• Coarse salt and pepper

Method

• Preheat oven to 350f
• Liberally coat skillet with oil and heat
• Add rice and spread evenly. Cook until crisp.
• Lightly beat eggs and pour over rice. Lift edges to allow egg to run under rice
• Cover and cook until egg is firm in middle
• Add cheese, salt and pepper
• Finish in oven for 5 minutes

Voila…cut, share and eat!

Skratch Labs Recipe of the Week; Leftover Rice Pudding

As written about last month I became a Skratch Labs Taste Agent. As part of that I wanted to share some recipes as I make them from the FeedZone and Portables cook books. To kick that off I am going start with Leftover Rice Pudding. This is actually a well-worn staple in our house. I am a big fan of rice and having a rice cooker makes it so easy!

It’s something I have used as a pre-race breakfast but it’s also something that most of the kids will eat too…well you can’t please all the people all the time! It’s also something that can be flavored to taste and even used as a dessert!

Ingredients;

• 2cups milk (any)
• 3 eggs yolks
• 2 cups rice (cooked and cooled)
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional

• 2 tablespoons dried nuts/fruit
• Ground spices (cinnamon, nutmeg or allspice)
• ¼ cup ground pumpkin or applesauce or jam
• Becca makes an awesome Raspberry coulis!

Method;

• Combine the milk and egg yolks in medium saucepan, gently bring to boil and simmer
• Add rice, brown sugar and vanilla, stir and simmer till thickens
• Add optional ingredients
• Serve and eat!

Yup that’s it super simple and super yummy! Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Skratch Labs Taste Agent

As you may have read Becca and I are both experimenting with using real food for our longer runs at the weekend. This is moving us away from gels and blocks, the usual things that we have been using for years. So far it’s going well, we have been using bread, PB&J and boiled potatoes. Some of these are portable others less so!

It was when I was cruising he internet before Christmas that I found myself on the Skratch Labs website. I wondered if they had a Brand Ambassador program (or something similar) and to my surprise they did. So of course I applied!

I have used both of Allen Lim’s Books Feedzone and Portables a fair bit in the past, the Feedzone more than the other book. Both have produced some really good meals, wholesome, tasty and healthy! Here is some proof…although two of these are portables!

(l – r) Bread Pudding, Quick Crusts, Coconut Macroons

Anyway I had kinda forgotten that I had applied, with all the Christmas and New Year hoopla it went out of my mind until…

…until I got this email from them!

So there you go I am an official Skratch Labs Taste Agent! So what does that mean? Well more pictures of food and more fueling with real food. I am going to try to get at least one recipe from either book reviewed on a weekly basis too as well as give you some (and them) some feedback on their products! I hope to have some contests and giveaways throughout the year so stay tuned!

In the meantime check them out on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and of course their website!

In case you can’t tell…I am super stoked about this!

Clif Bar; Berry Pomegranate Chia and Nuts & Seeds.

Clif Bars are ubiquitous, what started as a sports nutrition product (and still is) has become a healthy snack that you can pick up anywhere from your local running store, grocery store, gas station and all points in between! Ideal for most activities it’s also just a great snack to have in your desk drawer at the office! Clif are always looking to keep moving forward and stay ahead of the competition. They have a seasonal flavor set that comes out in the fall and a few years ago they ran a limited edition Paneforte bar which was amazing! Let’s face it in a sea of bars they have be imaginative with new flavors. Allow me to introduce their two newest kids on the block; Berry Pomegranate Chia and Nuts & Seeds.

Berry Pomegranate Chia. this had a slightly unusual flavor, the berry wasn’t quite tart enough for me. The pomegranate didn’t quite come through. I have added chia to homemade granola before and it’s not something that you can really taste. The texture was something that all Clif Bars have, that moist pliable feeling that just rolls around your mouth. Overall totally edible but not something that makes you go crazy.

Nuts & Seeds; this was on the other end of the spectrum altogether. Off the charts yummy. The flavor was earthy, nutty and very edible. Was it me or my imagination that each bit tasted of a different nut variety? I am not sure but this was just like eating a piece of soft nut brittle. Perfect for enjoying with a coffee or for having on the side of a trail! It’s that perfect blend of sweet, salty, crunch and chewy! It was just…Really. Really. Good!

So there you go two new additions that you can add to your pantry or running pack or desk drawer…as I say they are everywhere so they shouldn’t be too hard to find!

Talking of stores, something I found out is that if you buy bars at Whole Foods by the box you get a 10% discount…I didn’t know that, that’s actually a better deal than at Trader Joes!

This product was provided by Clif Bar If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at quadrathon@gmail.com