Baby it's cold outside!

Winter is here. And this year, so far, it's a cold one. You might want to listen to our favorite version of "baby it's cold outside" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjYUzpdKMZs (no advertisement).

The holidays are over, resolutions have been made and now it is time to put some plans together. We talk to many people who like to plan athletic events in the future to keep motivation for training and good eating. Today, especially since it is so cold outside, we sat inside and we put together some targets throughout the year that involve a triathlon, half a marathon, a 10k and a weekend hiking trip. They're spread out through the year in order to always have something to "get ready" for. Intersperse that with a beach vacation or two and you should have plenty of motivation for your year.

The plans don't have to be big and complex to stay healthy. Yesterday we went Snowshoeing. This is a great way to get yourself out in the snow and enjoying amazing views and a good workout, even when it's cold. And when we say cold we are talking about 25F - with no wind and sunny clear sky it is the optimal day to go and play in the snow.

Snowshoe trail at Tahoe Donner.

Snowshoeing is a good moderate exercise which seems important based on a few health studies that have hit the news in the last few months. The news reports, which typically attempt to condense a scientific study to a 20 second summary of the most scintillating material seemed to imply that running was bad and running hard and long worse. One study "Cardiovascular Damage Resulting from Chronic Excessive Endurance Exercise" concluded among other things that a sweet spot for health was running less than 20 miles per week, in runs of 30 to 45 minutes over three or four days, at about an 8:30 to 10:00 pace. I read a summary of an editorial in the British journal Heart that summarizes it well including the nuances that are important to understand before you hang up your running shoes and hit the couch. The basic theme here is that the study finds the situation with excessive intense running analogous to increasing wear and tear on the heart instead of making it stronger. The link to the summary is http://todayhealth.today.com/_news/2012/12/03/15625246-running-farther-faster-and-longer-can-kill-you?lite.



Sunday brunch over Sunday newspaper of course...

Sunday's breakfast, after waking up to another sub 10 degree morning in Reno, was warm, filling and Sunday worthy! This one is my take on an oatmeal casserole I make when we have company for breakfast. Quinoa and almonds pack this casserole with protein and the fruit adds fiber and sweetness. the recipe is here.

We did a lot of "test kitchen" experimentation through the week. Lots of interesting things, but not worthsharing. One meal did stick out because it is a vegetable that is often overlooked for anything but salads. The radish develops an amazing nutty flavor after cooking. We broiled them after slicing so thin you could see through on a mandolin. Broiled in olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and it was a great accompaniment to a green salad.

















Stay warm out there, Yifat and Bob.

A New Year is here

Two big events this last week got the creative juices flowing for food. First to have something not allowed on Detox and the second to keep the food interesting during Detox. I (Bob) am still not sold on Detox and we posted a paper last week that explains that science isn't sold on it as well. But if it helps being more focused on the food you eat and general healthiness then more power to it.
A Note from Yifat: Our Body is naturally detoxing every second we breath. by cutting out foods that over load our detoxification systems we are allowing it to take a breather, catch up, and do its work more efficiently. This process might not be proven; but, it is working out for most of us, leaving us feeling more energized, more focused and it can restart weight loss :)
Processed food is a very big no no on Detox so when thinking of what you want to eat, simple comforting processed food comes to mind.......think frozen food section of the supermarket....... lasagnas, casseroles, perogies, burritos and potstickers. We have a winner, potstickers! so we actually went to the supermarket to buy a big bag of frozen potstickers. I am not putting on airs or trying to act superior, but we just couldn't do it. The list of ingredients went on for several inches and we love each other more then to put some crap in our bodies (most of the time). So now we had a project- homemade healthy potstickers.

They were great!!! and definitely worth sharing. Chinese potstickers have been around since the Song dynasty (960 – 1280 A.D.). According to quick research "The exact origins of potstickers are lost to history", but it doesn't take a genius to understand how they came to be, an accident in the kitchen and overcooked dumplings and walla you have a culinary masterpiece. We did take one shortcut and that was to buy pre-made wonton wrappers.... next time wholewheat from scratch! Look below for a dipping sauce recipe worth trying with your potstickers, we used the same sauce as a salad dressing and drizzled it over our grilled veggies. Yummy.



Preparing potstickers

 

 

potstickers in the Pan 

Come and eat them while they are hot!

New Year's eve was a fondue party that was fun and had a lot of healthy choices. unfortunately we didn't take any pictures during, only unpublishable pictures of the after party (and they are not worth sharing ;) ) Everyone knows about the health studies that promote red wine. I personally subscribe to the "a drink a day keeps the doctor away" study. Either way we had it covered several times over on New Year's Eve.
A couple of champagne factoids:

• Experts put the ideal temperature at between 39 and 48 degrees.
• The industry standard is that it should take six counterclockwise twists to pop a cork.

A cocktail recipe that comes with St. Germaine, probably our favorite liqueur, is "The St-Germain Cocktail". You can skip the soda.

The second part of the food creativity was keeping the detox interesting. As we write this we are on day 4.

So what did we eat for detox week you are asking?

You can pretty much eat anything you want except: Sugar, Dairy, Meat (any animal product really), processed food, peanuts, corn, wheat and alcohol… Don’t roll your eyes, you can still eat a lot of good delicious foods – whole food plant based – what more do you need?!

We are starting every morning with a different kind of shake - one thing they all have in common is dark leafy greens! Except protein they are full with fiber to help kick your digestive system into gear and all that fiber will keep your hunger at bay. Adding a scoop of protein powder makes it a complete meal (there is plant based protein powder available).

For lunch we had a big salad and left over soup from the previous night - choosing soup at night was a good way to keep warm and to keep our meals light and easy to digest.

If a detox sounds like something you would like to try but you feel like it is too hard to start it cold turkey - you can always think about adding a green shake in the morning, a big salad at lunch and a nice veggie side dish to your regular menu. think about crowding out foods with veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds instead of eliminating food that you like. Cook at home as much as you can and drink lots of water.

Here is an example for a veggie side dish you can easily make - Grilled veggies with Asian Ginger Dressing.

Grilled veggies with Asian Ginger Dressing.

Close up shot!

 

Have a happy healthy worth sharing year!
Bob and Yifat