Cauliflower, lentil and quinoa dish

Some of my favorite meals are the ones that involve no recipe but a lot of creativity.

Cauliflower is not my most favorite vegetable but I picked one up at the grocery so I could make myself do something yummy with it in the kitchen. I first thought about baking it in the oven but that seemed rather boring as I was feeling a overly creative yesterday.

As I was deciding what to do with this white vegetable, I cooked some lentils (about 1 cup) in water on the stove top.
I then added some quinoa (about 1 cup) to the cooked lentils (with a little more water) because, well, why not?
I seasoned the lentil quinoa mix with a little salt.

Still stuck with the cauliflower, I softened a pack of sliced tempeh in the microwave for 90 seconds and then cooked it on a skillet in a little olive oil until browned on all sides.

In the same large skillet on medium heat, I sauteed chopped onions (about 1/2 large onion) and garlic (2 large clove) because I knew that it would bring out a lot of flower in my soon-to-be-made cauliflower dish.
I decided I would chop up the cauliflower and do something with it...eventually.

Finally, I added the chopped cauliflower to the sauteed onions and garlic, with a little more olive oil and on low heat, I covered the dish for around 20 minutes to let the cauliflower soften. I occasionally stirred the mix and added a little water to help soften the cauliflower.

When the cauliflower was soft, I added a good amount of shredded fresh reggiano cheese and a few pinches of salt and my dish was finally ready to plate.



I love it when I impress myself.
Yum, yum, yum!

When's the last time that you were extra creative in the kitchen?
Don't stress about it - it's just food.
Meals are simply a bunch of ingredients thrown together.

Be brave in the kitchen as there are no rules.

Have fun creating your future yum and be sure to take a picture of your final product before it goes into your body to make your tummy happy!

3 Explore Cuisine product recipes

As promised in my last blog, here are three delicious recipes using Explore Cuisine products. 

PRODUCT OPTIONS
Bean Pastas: Organic adzuki bean spaghetti, organic black bean spaghetti, organic edamame and mung bean fettuccine, organic edamame spaghetti, organic soybean spaghetti.

Product Spotlight: Organic black bean spaghetti
Per 2 ounce dry serving:
215 calories
2g fat
23g carbohydrates
1267mg potassium
12g dietary fiber
4g sugar (natural)
25g protein
32% daily iron (based on 2000 calorie diet)
15% daily calcium (based on 2000 calorie diet)


Black Bean spaghetti with kale cilantro pesto
1 cup kale
1 cup cilantro
1/3 cup chopped almonds, toasted
1 garlic clove
1 small sweet banana pepper
2 tbsp lime juice
Pinch of salt
½ cup parmesan cheese
½ cup olive oil
1 box (8 ounce) Explore Cuisine Black Bean Spaghetti

1. Blend first 7 ingredients in food processor. Add cheese and slowly pour in olive oil.
2. Boil 8 cups of water and pour in Organic Black Bean Spaghetti. Cook for 8 minutes and drain.
3. Top spaghetti with pesto.
(recipe adapted from Explore Cuisine website)

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Pulse pastas: Organic chickpea fusilli, organic chickpea spaghetti, organic green lentil lasagna, organic green lentil penne, organic red lentil penne, organic red lentil spaghetti.


Product Spotlight: Organic Chickpea fusilli

Per 2 ounce dry serving:
200 calories
2.5g fat
35g carbohydrates
5g fiber
11g protein
15% iron
4% calcium

Organic Red Lentil Penne Mac n’ Cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup onion (finely chopped)
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1.5 cups 1 or 2% milk
2 cups shredded cheese (sharp cheddar)
1/3 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
¼ tsp pepper
Pinch of salt
8 ounce organic red lentil penne (cooked)

1. Heat deep skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp oil and onion and sauté until golden brown. Remove to plate on side.
2. In skillet, add butter and 1 tbsp olive oil. When butter melts, add flour and stir to combine with heat-resistant whisk until smooth (about 3-4 minutes).
3. Slowly add milk while whisking.
4. Bring milk to a bubble while stirring so that milk can thicken. Then stir in sharp shredded cheese, one handful at a time. Keep stirring. Add pepper and a pinch of salt.
5. Add cooked penne to the sauce and coat completely by turning over and over into the sauce with a spatula.
6. Transfer penne and cheese mix to a baking dish and top with parmigiana cheese.
7. Place baking dish under hot broiler and brown the cheese. 

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Product Spotlight: Organic Red Lentil Penne

Per 2 ounce dry serving:
190 calories
1g fat
35g carbohydrates
3g fiber
11g protein
15% iron
2% calcium

Baby tomato, peptias and goat cheese chickpea fusilli 

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cups chopped baby tomatoes 

1 cup chopped white onion 

1 large garlic cloves (finely chopped)

8 ounce package sliced mushrooms

½ cup dry roasted pepitas 

½ cup chopped basil

Pinch of salt 

2 cups baby spinach

1 tbsp lemon juice

8 ounce Organic chickpea fusilli (cooked)

½ cup goat cheese (soft, crumbled)

1. In medium skillet, heat to medium heat and add olive oil chopped tomatoes, onion and mushrooms. Gently toss until soft and lightly brown (around 6-8 minutes). 

2. Add garlic, salt, pepitas, basil, lemon juice and spinach. Gently toss and cook for 2 minutes. Turn off heat. 

3. Add cooked pasta to veggie mix. 

4. Top with goat cheese.

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Food to Thrive Foundation

Explore Cuisine is committed to fair trade and sustainable living. Two percent of all Explore Cuisine worldwide proceeds go directly to the Food To Thrive Foundation, providing education, empowerment and advancement in farming programs to every Explore Cuisine team member. 

Feed me...I'm training for an Ironman!!

How much food does it take to fuel two triathletes training for the Ironman World Championship? 

A lot!!

With almost 9 weeks left until Karel and I use our bodies for 140.6 miles on the big island of Kona, the training is getting a lot more specific....and a LOT longer. 

There is a lot to juggle every day with work/business, training and the rest of life and a lot of food must be consumed to keep our bodies healthy and well fueled. 

As for our weekly staples (we make at least two grocery trips per week):
Milk
Eggs
Cheese
Yogurt
Deli meat/meat (for Karel)
Tempeh/tofu
Irish butter
Cottage Cheese
Veggies - all kinds
Mixed greens
Fruit - all kinds
Potatoes
Waffles
Oats
Fresh bread - all kinds

Saltine crackers

Pretzels
Rice cakes

Cereals
Maple Syrup/honey
Peanut butter
Jam
Soup
Rice
Whole Grains
Coffee

I think that's it for the weekly staples and there are always "extras" based on what we make for meals, what we are craving and what is accessible and convenient.
But regardless of how much we train or how busy we are with work, there is always time for home cooking. 

A big time saver for us has been preparing a big batch of food and eating twice (and cooking once). One skillet dishes work great for less clean-up but on the days when we have more time, we plan for leftovers and load-up the stove and oven. 

Here are a few of the many dishes that have helped fuel our extremely active and busy lifestyle over the past week. 

A delicious combination of lentils, basmati rice and a stir fry of red peppers, celery, corn and onions (cooked with olive oil) topped with cheese. 

Store-bought DiGiorno spinach, mushroom and garlic pizza dressed up with extra mushrooms and served with a large salad. 

Maple-syrup drenched french toast made with fresh local bread and free-range eggs.
Served with fresh fruit...and did I mention a lot of syrup? I stocked up when we were in Lake Placid! 

We love summer fruit!! Berry, cherry overload!! 

Keeping it simple with Amy's Organic soup dressed up with frozen veggies. Served warm with a dollop of Greek Yogurt. 

The egg salad requires a little patience to prep but it's always worth it!

3 eggs, 1 egg white 
3 large radishes chopped
1/4 cup onions chopped 
3 stalks celery chopped
4 red sweet peppers
Large spoonful Fage 0%plain Greek yogurt
1 tbsp horseradish mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

An overflowing taco stuffed with lettuce, cheese, Greek yogurt, veggie meat, kamut, edamame, peppers, mushrooms, onions and corn.

And while we emphasize a real food diet throughout the day, it's all about sport nutrition "products" when we train to help meet the metabolic demands of training.  

AND to help keep our body in good health by supplying our bodies with the fluids, carbohydrates/sugars and electrolytes that we need.


I hope you enjoy fueling your body in motion just as much as we do! 

Trail run, beach and Tacos

When you own your own business, the weekends often get squeezed together with the weekdays as every day is a work day.

Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition, LLC works great for Campy because in his world, every day is a weekend!!

I'm really looking forward to speaking at Speaking Of Women's Health in Jacksonville on August 24th on behalf of the HeartWise for Women prevention program. I can't wait for my talk on "Keeping eating healthy, easy and delicious" and doing a cooking demo with Mai Oui Gourmet catering my talk.

I also have a talk this Sunday with two other GI MD's at Baptist Medical Center Beaches where we will all be discussing GI related diseases and how they affect the fitness enthusiast. My portion will be on fueling the individual who has a GI-related disease (Crohn's, stomach cancer, IBS, celiac). 

I wonder what they are dreaming about?

It's been a very busy two weeks since returning from Lake Placid but I wouldn't want it any other way. 

                            

This morning (after my 2500 form focused swim + hip/core work) around 7:40am, I prepped the set for my 8am hour TV segment with News4Jax on "Healthy budge-friendly lunches for kids". I will share the link via Facebook and blog when it is on the website. 

So for my last weekend of unstructured training....

A little girl time on bikes with my friend Heidi

A little mountain biking in Hanna Park for Karel (Sunday - 1 hour) after we slept in with no alarm. 9 beautiful hours of sleep and not working out until 9am.

And on Sunday, my 2nd run since Ironman Lake Placid, a 40 minute run on the trails (10 min run, 2 min walk after each trail segment). I was drenched in sweat and covered in spider webs and looking forward to wearing my new swim suit from Oakley Women. 

Love my unstoppable Oakley bag - perfect for a beach day with Karel to enjoy unstructured exercise before easing back into structured training. 

So on to more delicious news.....

Plant strong tacos

1 wrap
Veggie meat
Mixed greens
Onions
Broccoli
Mushrooms
Garlic
Lentils
Salsa
Cheese
Greek yogurt

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a casserole dish (small yet tall rectangle), spray lightly with non stick spray and place 1 cup (per person) veggie meat and 1 package sliced mushrooms (washed) w/ 2 cloves garlic chopped and 1/2 large onion chopped (thick slices) into the dish.
3. Steam broccoli and then cut into segments and place on top of mushroom mixture (the meat, mushrooms and onions will soak up a lot of flavor from the meat and the broccoli will be nicely roasted). Sprinkle with turmeric and a pinch of salt. See step #6.
4. After 20-25 minutes or until broccoli is a little brown, remove from oven (and turn off oven).
5. Remove broccoli from the top of the casserole dish and stir together meat with mushrooms, onions and garlic.
6. Prepare lentils according to package (I did a 1:3 ratio of lentils to water).
7. Place 1  warm wrap on a plate and spoon cooked lentils on the wrap. Add a little cheese (any kind - the real kind, not factory made cheese like fat-free) and a spoonful of salsa and then top with a big spoon of mushroom mixture and then with leafy greens. Close wrap and top with dallop of greek yogurt (not pictured as that would make my picture messy looking).
8. Serve with roasted broccoli and enjoy!

Homemade "chips" - toasted wrap at 375 degrees for 3-5 minutes each side (or until almost hard and slightly brown), then broken carefully into triangles (kinda) and drizzled with a little olive oil and a pinch of salt and black pepper. I bet cinnamon would be yummy on these too!