[me] & goji - athlEAT Cereal

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Carl at [me] & goji - Custom Artisanal Cereal to see if I wanted to create my own cereal or granola concoction. I was SO excited to try it out.


Once on their website, you can easily navigate around to pick your base and then add mix-ins. Basically all of the choices are healthy SUPERfoods and I had a hard time not adding all of the 50+ ingredients!


Some of my favorite things about this product:

• All pure and organic ingredients, so you are getting some of the best whole foods nature has to offer.
  
• Gluten-free options, which would be great for those suffering from celiac disease.
• The capsules are packed with 50% more cereal than regular boxes. There is SO much in the capsule!
• Nutritional Values are updated real-time! As you create your customized mix, you can see what that particular ingredient does to the nutritional value....very cool.

So, let's check out my mix, but first - here is the nifty looking capsule.Ingredient List:
ARTISANAL CEREAL (multigrain oat bran, rye, spelt, barley, amaranth, wheat germ), CHOCO-GRANOLA (oats, agave syrup, sunflower seeds, chocolate, coconut, raisins, gojis, mulberries, sesame seeds, sea salt), GOJI, BLUEBERRY, MANGO, COCONUT, ALMOND.
For you history buffs, the lid provides a little background on cereal. Pop the top and it reveals some MAJOR deliciousness.
I couldn't wait to dig in...
And let me say - this stuff is pretty darn good and I also feel pretty healthy eating all this natural goodness. I especially love the tartness of the goji berries and the huge pieces of coconut!


So check out their website and order some for yourself, but I don't think you can go wrong with my athlEAT mix. It even made their blog for Top 5 Cereal Names of the week! :)

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Weekly Workouts, a Restaurant & a New Product

Hey there. I am SO happy its FRIDAY!

Since my throat was bothering me last week - my workouts suffered. But this week has been about getting back into the swing of things!

Workouts

MON: 40 min - No More Trouble Zones (Jillian Michaels ), 50 mins - arc trainer

TUE: 5.3 mile Interval Treadmill Run

Remember the training program I was on? I got off course for awhile, but I am back now. I need to make sure I incorporate these interval runs each week.

I thought I would share this treadmill workout. (You should adjust the pace to what is most comfortable for you.)

• 10 min warm-up, 6.0
• 1200m, 6.5
• 2 min Rest Interval, 6.0
• 1000m, 6.5
• 2 min RI, 6.0
• 800m, 6.6
• 2 min RI, 5.9
• 600m, 6.5
• 2 min RI, 6.0
• 400m, 6.7
• 2 min RI, 6.0
• 200m, 6.5
• 10 min cool down, 6.0

WED: Rowing, 5000m – 28 mins.

I plan to start incorporating a weekly rowing workout. Kevin and I are participating in our first adventure race on April 25th (EX2 Greenhorn Adventure Race), so I want to be prepared for the paddling portion of the race.

Rowing is extremely tough. My entire body felt fatigued. It also felt good to do something different.

THU: Body Pump Class – 1 hour

Has anyone taken this class? If you are like me – you don’t do as much lifting as you should. I am thinking that this class may be the answer for me.

It kept my heart rate up and we worked eight separate muscle groups. Each person has a bar and you choose the amount of weight you are lifting. I kept it pretty light since it was my first time, but saw a lot of people changing out the weights as they went. I plan to do this next time. More information about Body Pump can be found HERE.

FRI: REST DAY. My body hurts from Body Pump.

SAT: Mountain Bike – 1-2 hours.

Supposed to be a beautiful day, so I am excited to get back out there! Hopefully the trails aren’t too muddy.

SUN: Co-ed football game, Run Outside – 1 hour

Kevin and I have played football for the last year or so and it is a blast. It is supposed to reach the 70s this weekend in our area, so I am thinking a run will feel great.

Eats

Last night, after body pump, I was STARVING and it was 8pm, so Kevin and I decided to go out for dinner to this great neighborhood place – Birches.

Below is a picture of the bar area where we sat. There is a nice dining room area, but since we were in workout clothes, we felt more comfortable in the bar. (Borrowed the picture from their website.)

I forgot my camera, but we will be going back and I will be getting the SAME exact thing because it was absolutely delicious.

Baby Spinach Salad with a Honey Scallion Vinaigrette, Oven Roast Roma Tomatoes, Duroc Dry Cured Bacon, Sriracha Buttered Popcorn and Grilled Halloumi Cheese

Perfection. That is all I have to say about this salad.

Oven Roast Turkey Burger topped with a Cranberry Goat Cheese Spread and a Leek Confit, Cinnamon Sugar Dusted Sweet Potato Frites.

The waitress informed us that this was an outstanding choice. yes! It was served without a bun and instead, came served over a potato latke. Kevin and I split this and I savored every bite because it was the best burger I have ever had. No lie - and I am not even a burger person! It could have been the cranberry goat cheese on top. Oh and the sweet potato fries were baked, so they were not greasy at all.

New Product

I recently found these Vegetable Masala burgers in Trader Joes and wanted to share with you because they are one of my new obsessions. I have had one for lunch twice this week. The first time I served it with leftover Mediterranean Curry Couscous and green beans. Delish. The second time I had it over a green salad with zucchini and grape tomatoes with whole wheat naan on the side. Also delish.

Nutrition Facts for those interested. Question

What is your latest food obsession?

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Valentine's 10k & Bee Pollen (2.14.2009)

Check this out...Yup. It was a hilly 10k, but it was beautiful scenery. We ran on a very secluded road in the middle of Loch Raven Reservoir.

There were probably about 40 people at the start and most of them looked extremely serious and hard-core. I whispered to Kevin that we needed to make sure we weren't last. Goal for the race: relax and enjoy it, but not be last!

The race was very low-key, but they had one water stop in the middle of the course that we hit twice since it was an out and back.

As we hit the turn-around cone at 3.1 miles, the guy called out that we were at 29 mins. Considering all the hills, we were happy with a 29 min 5k.

My legs felt strong and I was thinking about all the lunges and squats I have been doing - those really do make a difference.

We were on the way back to the finish - but we knew we had a big climb to get through. We stayed steady up the hills and ended up finishing the race right under 60 mins - 59:58 is the last time I looked at the clock. Not too shabby.I made sure to rock some Valentine's Day colors. :)

We went out to breakfast afterwards at the Paper Moon Diner. This place has a SUPER eclectic atmosphere and is just plain cool. Oh and Charm City Cakes is right around the corner. The Food Network show, Ace of Cakes, is filmed there, but unfortunately there was no Duff spotting.

We started with coffee in my favorite kind of diner mug.I ordered the Tofu Scramble for my meal. The tofu was sauteed with garlic, lemon, spinach, and mushrooms. Wheat toast on the side. I ate every bite. It had great flavor. Definitely something I want to try and re-create.

After eating at Paper Moon, we stopped by Mill Valley Garden Center and Farmer's Market right around the corner. There wasnt much to choose from, but we picked up some yellow onions and this...Bee Pollen! I asked the lady a bunch of questions about it that she couldn't really answer, so I figured it was worth the risk and bought it. I came home and did some quick Internet research.

Obviously, if you have bee allergies - you should stay away. A few things I found out about Bee Pollen:

• Some of the bee pollen benefits have to do with the fact that bee pollen has high concentrations of the B vitamin complex, and also contains Vitamins A, C, D, and E. [Source]
  
• It contains one of the highest protein levels known to mankind. [on the jar]
• In some cultures bee pollen is even used as an aphrodisiac. [on the jar]
  
• It acts very effectively as a natural energizer for your body. [Source]

I tend to be skeptical when it comes to stuff that sounds too good to be true - because it probably is:

• Many people claim that the list of benefits is almost endless, but a lot have yet to be proven. [Source]
  
• Promoters call bee pollen "the perfect food" and stress that it contains all of the essential amino acids and many vitamins and minerals. However, none of these nutrients offers any magic, and all are obtained easily and less expensively from conventional foods. [Source]
  

I tried a small taste and it was crunchy and had a weird flavor. I really don't know how to explain the taste. Maybe a little like protein powder, but more like I was eating a plant or something.

So, I am wondering - do any of you know anything about this so-called, "Super Food" - Bee Pollen? Good or Bad?

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Country Bob's Tofu & Giveaway Time! (2.11.2009)

The good folks at "Country Bob's" were kind enough to send me two bottles of their All-Purpose Sauce to try out. I love getting to try new things!I thought it might be great to use as a marinade for my baked tofu because I saw another blogger using this same sauce as a dip for their tofu. (I cant remember who I saw doing that!)

The flavor of this sauce is tangy with a subtle sweetness and a strong Worcestershire flavor. The consistency is thicker than regular Steak Sauce, more like a BBQ sauce, and I can understand everything in the ingredient list!It was cut off in the picture, but the Serving Size for the nutrition facts above is 1 tbsp.

The tofu didn't crisp up as much as I like, which could have been because I was anxious to try it. After my first bite, I realized I hadnt used enough sauce for marinating because the flavor was not coming through, so I drizzled more Country Bob's on top for extra flavor. Yum. I especially like this sauce because it makes me want to listen to country music and plan a BBQ. :)

Want to try it?

Country Bob's has offered to send TWO lucky people - 2 bottles of their All Purpose Sauce!

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post by Thursday, February 12th @ 9pm and you are entered to win!

I will use the random number generator to pick TWO winners tomorrow night. Good luck!

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Competition is Fun (11.05.2008)

Yesterday during my lunch break I meandered over to Trader Joes to pick up much needed nut butter and bananas. I grabbed the raw, unsalted almond butter and realized this isn't my usual stuff. I am probably going to be adding some salt for my taste when I use it. Mission accomplished and that is all I bought!
Of course that is a BIG, fat lie because it isn't possible to go into that store and not find something that you just have to have, but don't really need. They were giving samples of this new product: Spinach, Lentil and Garlic soup (Palak Dal Shorba) and serving it with naan. It was great, so I bought a package of each variety they had, along with some whole wheat naan. These are going to be perfect for my lunches.

Picked up some coconut date rolls because they looked interesting. They are a little drier than I thought they would be, but had good overall flavor.

I really needed (wanted) some whole wheat bagels and this cool looking dude was on the package, so it made me curious. You can read about Mr. Spinoza here. Let me just say - these are the best whole wheat bagels I have found yet. Chewy and great toasted with almond butter and chocolate chips!

Last night, Kevin and I played racquetball. I had so much fun and haven't laughed that hard in a long time. I don't think I have ever played a real game, so after practicing for awhile and learning the rules...we were off. Best 2 out of 3 wins and decides what we do for dinner. I win - I wanted to go out for sushi. He wins - he wanted me to make him dinner.

In all the games we have played so far that involve a racket/paddle and ball (tennis and ping pong) - I won. And I love beating him. Especially because we are both SO competitive in all things sport-related. Oh and it is really fun to rub it in that he just got beat by a GIRL. ;)

First game, he goes up 11-2. I start getting cranky. He lets up and isn't hitting it as hard. I get even angrier that he isn't playing his hardest. He starts playing harder and I start coming back. Highlight of the game: The ball hits kevin in the back of his head. Delay of game as I laughed for 5 mins straight. Game 1 Score. Kevin: 21, Me: 16. SO CLOSE.

Second game, he goes up 10-3 and gets cocky. I start coming back and can see he is scuurrred. Then his serve gets me 5 times in a row. Damn those angles! Highlight of the game: Me hitting a "finesse" short shot and him sprinting to try and get it, but he slams into the wall and I get the point. Game 2 Score, Kevin: 21, Me: 14.

I blame my losses on the fact that I wasn't as quick and agile due to my still healing hamstring. :)

Dinner was steamed chicken/vegetable dumplings and lettuce wraps (the easy, frozen kind). No picture because my camera battery needed charging.

Anyone have big plans for the weekend?! I have a busy weekend ahead, starting with a dinner out tonight in DC for my friend Erica's 30th birthday!

Happy Friday everyone.

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JamFrakas Review

The stars of this post will be my niece and nephew - who are 3 and 5 (almost 6) years old respectively. Jenna dressed to impress in her purple princess dress! :) (I just re-read and realized I am a poet)

I thought this would be a better way to review the JamFrakas since they are targeted for children. This will be their first time tasting all of the flavors, except chocolate chip, which they had tried once before this taste test. Thumbs up and Thumbs Down are the method of judgement we will be using...

So lets see what the kids think! The set-up...

Strawberry Crispiscrumptious.

Justin was not a fan of this flavor, but Jenna loved it! I thought strawberry flavor was just OK for my "adult" taste.

Apple Crispalicious:

Both immediately threw up their thumbs - they loved this flavor and I agree it was better than strawberry!

Peanut Butter Blisscrisp:

Peanut Butter was also a hit. So far, Jenna likes them all! A girl after my own heart - not much I wont eat. ;)

Banana Chocolate Blastocrisp:

Jenna's first thumbs down - she did not enjoy the banana/chocolate! Justin gave it a thumbs up - but his face doesn't show it. ha. This was my FAVORITE flavor - I ate the rest of it!

Chocolate Chip Cosmocrisp:

The first taste was a thumbs up by Jenna and a strong thumbs down by Justin, but after trying it again...

he decided he liked it - chocolate chip was a hit. I thought it was just OK.

My favorites - Banana Chocolate and Apple! I think that these bars are great for kids. Perfect kid-size. Whole Grain. No HFCS.

But for me - I will stick with the regular Larabars - more nuts and sophisticated flavor choices!

Happy Monday all!

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