The Nutrition Mission

It's pretty nuts how many people ask Beth and I questions about food/diet because of this blog. We are pretty dedicated to eating healthy and finding good ways to do it.

After my "transition" phase and with Vineman 70.3 coming up we decided to take it a step further and really be a little more conscious of what we are putting in our bodies. A lot of people probably think that we already eat healthy enough and there is no reason to change any thing. This is true but there are always refinements you can make to your diet.

Here's our plan.
The Nutrition Mission

THE STAPLES- these are all items we eat a lot of and have in the house right now:

leans meats and fish (as much free range/grass fed/organic as possible... but we aren't rich!)

tons of fruit, veggies

eggs (mostly whites, some yolks)

protein shakes

raw nuts

Fruits we love:
apples (mostly fuji)
bannanas
kiwi
strawberries
bluberries
raspberries
canteloupe
watermelon

veggies we got on tap:
jicama
tomatoes
broccoli
carrots
cauliflower
bell peppers (raw & roasted)
sprouts
onions
cucumbers
artichokes (whole & hearts)
hearts of palm
pickles
mushrooms
snow peas
red cabbage
broccoli slaw
Yams

salads - mixed greens, spinach, romaine hearts
homemade dressings (balsalmic/red wine/white wine vinegar, olive oil, mustard, lemon juice

all natural nut butters (peanut/almond)
-naturally more

-power butter
-pb2

100% fruit juice/vegetable juice
almond breeze - unsweetened

agave nectar

honey
stevia

100% fruit preserves

sport nutrition products (PowerBar!) - only when training long

No artificial sweeteners (soda, splenda, salad dressing, sauces, creamer, sugar free fro yo, sugar free candies- all out! (tear from beth's eye..))

No preservatives/processed foods

No added sugar (organic cane sugar in some condiments/foods is ok in moderation... ie. organic ketchup from Trader Joe's)

No grains
No chips
No roasted/salted nuts
No dried fruit with added sugar/ingredients

Dairy- dairy sources high in protein but low in sugar/carbs allowed in moderation:
plain greek yogurt (o% or 2%)

low fat/nonfat cottage cheese
stinky cheese on salads (goat, feta, blue)

concessions:

1 small serving of frozen yogurt (only 8 - it's all natural!) a week... after a big day of training!
1 piece of dark chocolate a night
corn tortillas (in moderation) as long as the ingredients are just corn, salt, and water

wheat tortilla when I get a burritto from El Caribe... I love mexican food too much and I have never seen a burritto sized corn tortilla

alcohol:
wine is allowed... always (james).. in moderation (beth)

beer on the weekends (james).. none for beth
no liquor... you need a mixer = sugar/artificial sweetener

Now this is just a guideline on what we want to do. There are many "diets" and philosophies out there. We have gained tons of knowledge from reading Mark's Daily Apple and his Primal Blueprint. I have also done a lot reading on Paleo diets and but we think it really comes down to finding one that works for you, makes you feel good, and allows you and your body to do what you want with it.

We will of course cheat! After races, holidays, and anytime we deem appropriate, but this is pretty much our daily plan. Life is to short to not eat and drink what you want... in moderation of course.

summer strawberry salad with agave balsamic vinaigrette

THE SALAD
mixed greens
sliced strawberries
hearts of palm- chopped
goat cheese- crumbled
slivered almonds- toasted
red onion- thinly sliced
cracked pepper

THE DRESSING
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons whole grain mustard
2 tablespoons amber agave nectar
2 tablespoons (or more) extra virgin olive oil


agave is a perfect mix with mustard and balsamic and really cuts some of the acidity to make it smooth. we love to use agave in salad dressings, on peanut butter toast, in coffee....wherever...if you read this site, you will see that agave nectar is a great alternative to table sugar and is actually sweeter, so you should use about 25% less than a recipe with sugar would call for. it is also lower on the glycemic index, so it shouldn't spike your blood sugar too much. AND it's all natural!

this salad was a quick concoction we made for dinner with james' family in virginia...the crowd was pleased! goes great with a lean grilled steak and grilled whole grain rolls...

yum...beth likes it

cold soup for hot people

when i head back east to see the folks, i also intevitably revert to acting like a child. sometimes, i like to prove that i really am all growns up, (despite the fact that i am still in school and just 2 years shy of 30) so i cook up a good dinner. but i must admit, its not always just an act of kindness- sometimes i like to take the reins since my momma tends to have a paula deen type of heavy hand in the butter.

it is freaking hot in pennsylvania, so what better on a hot day, than a cold soup! and gazpacho is like crack for antioxidant lovers. its full of tomatoes, which in-and-of-themselves have a lot of lycopene. When tomatoes are made into juice or sauce the lycopene-o-meter goes way way up! Lycopene is a potent antioxidant that loves free radicals. So for endurance athletes, who probably have more of those floating around looking for some cells to damage, when lycopene is in the body, it hooks up with the free radicals and sweeps them off their feet ("hey baby, wanna bind?") before they kill and damage cells. i kind of see it like a sugar daddy (antioxidant) who distracts a little floosy/gold digger/home wrecker (free radical) before she has a chance to be a home wrecker and swoop on your crib (nice happy cell) and steal your man.

nothing really has been proven proven linking antioxidants and superior exercise performance (but there is a lot of soft supportive literature out there), but they do help fight disease and aging...and the jury is out on whether you can overdo your antioxidants (some say that you can have so many that the free radicals can't do their job and destroy crappy useless tissue...who knows...)

i'm certainly no expert, i just know that i love gazpacho! its a cold blended vegetable soup. if it were served in a glass, people would call it a smoothie. like if i poured my smoothie into a bowl it would be "chilled summer berry soup"..anywho...

gazpacho
4 tomatoes (peeled and de-seeded- see*below)
2 cups V-8 (or tomato juice)
2 slices whole grain crusty bread
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar or sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
2 peeled and seeded cucumbers-chopped
1 red bell pepper-chopped
1 yellow bell pepper-chopped
1 red onion-chopped
1 celery stalk-chopped
3 cloves garlic- minced
1/2 jalapeno- diced
1 handful flat leaf parsley-chopped
1 handful cilantro-chopped
kosher salt

*boil a pot of water. cut an X in the skin of each tomato. submerge tomatoes in boililng water for 20 seconds. remove immediately and dunk in ice water or place under the faucet. peel off skin easily....then core them and squeeze out the seeds as best you can

first, combine the olive oil, vinegar and tomato juice or V8 & crusty bread in one bowl. i used a really seedy grainy bread, but you can use whatever.

in another bowl, chop all the vegetables and mix 'em up. then combine both bowls together and blend until smooth-ish. i use an amazing hand blender (get one-it will change your life), but all you crazy protein shake boys can just use a reuglar old blender if that's what you got. then chill the soup for at least two hours (better overnight- my bowl today was better than yesterday).
you can save some of the chopped veggies or herbs for garnish if you like. avocado and a tortilla chip also makes a nice topper (and that's true for pretty much anything :) )..

i made this last night (along with crab cakes and corn on the cob..HOLY DELICIOUS!!!!)...and it was a big hit with everyone. i changed the recipe from a lot of others that i found in that i used less bread (and made it whole grain) and less olive oil...i also added sweetness from a yellow pepper (most recipes call for green) and good quality oil, it tasted PERFECT. i liked using V8 too...that's what we had on hand...

make it! yum.

Slacking and Steak sandwiches.

Me and Beth have been totally neglecting this blog. She's busy with work, grad school, and training, and I am busy with work, training, and getting ready for my racing road trip. As busy as we are we have still be eating well. We have just been keeping the fridge stocked with a bunch for fresh veggies, berries, fruit, and other foods that can be prepared quickly.

When we have had time to get in the kitchen there has been some good stuff going down. Last Saturday Beth wanted cheese steaks. She's from philly so it's to be expected. Obviously we weren't going to settle for a unhealthy mediocre version of the classic. So instead of using Steak-Ums or some other cut of meat we chose to go with Filet Mignon.... seriously.

Beth took care of everything and all I had to do was thinly slice the steaks and throw it in the pan. We had the butcher slice it as thin as he could but when we got home I chopped it up some more. Beth sauteed some onions and mushrooms and then came awesome. She also made a killer horseradish mayo for the sandwiches.


We don't eat a lot of white bread around here... pretty much never. Beth tried her best to find a good multi grain roll but to no avail. So we went with sourdough, which ended up being a great call even though I was hating on it a bit. Sorry...

For a side Beth made a rad Mediterranean salad.

The sandwiches were Epic... and that's not a word I throw around. Beth killed it!

we don't eat fish tacos every night....

yes. we probably eat grilled fish tacos or salads w. lean protein most nights of the week...but sometimes we venture out....a little...

the other night i made chili and strawberry spinach salads (random combo, i know)

for chili:

1 pound lean ground beef ( or turkey) today i used 97% lean beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic , crushed
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 teaspoon cocoa (confession- i make this chili all the time at my house. so i have cocoa powder on hand. james did not have any and i am lazy. so i threw two dark chocolate hershey kisses in the pot. not kidding. its the same thing, right? the chocolate is the secret ingredient so i couldn't leave it out.)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper sauce
1 can (32 oz) whole tomatoes, undrained
1 can (15 oz) beans, undrained. (kidney, black, whatever. i used black today)

Cook and stir ground beef, onion and garlic in 3 quart saucepan until
beef is brown: drain. Stir in remaining ingredients except beans:
break up tomatoes. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer,
stirring occasionally, 1 hour.

Stir in beans. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. simmer uncovered, stirring
mixture occasionally, until of desired consistency. ( about 20
minutes.) then top it with whatever you like.

for the salad:
spinach
sliced strawberries
thinly sliced red onion
slivered toasted almonds
sprinkles of crumbled blue cheese

dressing:
i just mixed 50% balsamic vinegar with 50% light blue cheese dressing . i call it balsamic blue cheese dressing. yeah, real creative....

oh, and i sprinkle on fiber one "croutons".....gross, huh? i LOVE fiber one. but i am also crazy. james orders his without the fiber bomb

james loves chili....or does he?

turkey meatballs and spaghetti squash

there's been some good foodspiration going on in blog-land. lucho's been juicing it up...seems like he's on a yam kick...james has been the kettle chip fairy, spreading the love for some good training tips from Cody....and benson made me jealous with his italian chow.

Also over on mark's daily apple, there are 10 great ways to "eat green".


james and i have been super busy over here (more work for both of us than usual), but still eating well. here's some of the latest:

turkey meatballs with spaghetti squash....

1 spaghetti squash

cut the squash in half and scrape out the seeds. preheat the oven to 375 degrees. brush in olive oil, salt and pepper. place on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minute to one hour. After its soft...take it out of the oven and scrape the flesh with a fork to get the "Spaghetti"... Season as you like it with salt, pepper, olive oil, maybe a little sage or parsley


turkey meatballs with marinara
1lb 99%lean ground turkey
2 egg whites
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 an onion-diced
3/4 cup diced mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
worshteshire sauce- a bunch of shakes
parsley, salt, pepper, oregano
sprinkle o cheese (i used part-skim mozz)

i sauteed the onions, garlic and mushrooms with a little bit of olive oil in the pan. i heard that by adding in mushrooms, the lean turkey would stay moist and hold together in meatballs better. after that, i mixed up all the ingredients and formed into 8 balls. put them in a saute pan over medium heat and brown on both sides (3-4 minutes a side? clearly from the picture i made mine "crispy") then dump in as much spaghetti sauce as you like (i like organic ones with low-ish sugar content- you really need to look at the labels on red sauce, they vary SOOOO much. whole foods 365 brand has some great choices)

yum!
that's it for now.. i also made some good chili and strawberry-spinach-balsamic salads this week...more on those later...and i think we're doing some healthy thai apps in the next few days.okay, time for dessert. bye!

Fish Tacos (From Dad)

Beth and I both have been lagging on posting on Vo2 Maxed. Needless to say life has been busy. Luckily my Dad kills it in the kitchen and has provided us with another entry. Last time it was Pollo Asado Tacos and this time it's Fish Tacos... and no my dad is not of Mexican descent. The Walsh family just loves our Mexican food (and beer)!

Fish Tacos by Jim Walsh. Here is a recipe for fish tacos with all the trimmings.

My fish taco. Carb Smart tortilla. (notice the paper plate... keep it real dad. jw)
Fish tacos differ greatly from location to location. My philosophy of fish tacos is:
1. Always but the freshest fish available. Any "white" fleshed fish will do, as long as it is of a "heavy" consistency. (Cod is usually used, but grouper, tilapia, ahi tuna, mahi mahi, or in this case wahoo are also good choices. Freshness in more important than the variety.)
2. The fish MUST unadulterated and be grilled. (Breaded fish in tacos may as well be made with packaged, frozen fish sticks.)
3. The fish MUST not be seasoned prior to grilling. Just a brush of Extra Virgin Olive Oil to keep it from sticking.
4. After fish is grilled, while still hot, flake and season. (See Recipe)
5. The true test/taste of the fish taco is in the garnish and condiments. Therefore, these must be to your taste.
6. Fresh homemade garnish / condiments are always the best.
7. Flavors must be layered, like the filling. There is a delicate balance between sweet and savory. It is very easy to overpower the flavor of the fish.
8. A fish taco is not a fish taco without a Baja Sauce. (See Recipes) Try all four and pick your favorite. These are ours.
With these guidelines in place, my recipe for the "Best" Fish Tacos follows.

Four pieces of Wahoo, approx. 1 inch thick, ready for the grill.


Grilled and ready to flake.

Ready to serve.

Garnishes
Shredded cabbage, grated cheese (cheddar or "Mexican" blend), and guacamole(definitely). Diced tomatoes, sour cream and diced Spanish onion (if you must).

Fish Filling

Approx. 2 lbs. of fresh fish, Wahoo in this case
2 Tbsp. Fresh Cilantro, very finely chopped.
1/2 tsp. Obie Cue or other brand Fajita Seasoning (Available from www.obiecue.com , best I've found. Also, try their Texas Soul. Great Mexican seasoning)
1/2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Brush fish with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and grill until desired doneness, (Fish must be grilled to the point that it will flake easily).
Remove fish from the grill and flake while still hot and keep warm. The method I use is to heat a cast iron skillet in the oven to about 250 degrees and place flaked fish in the skillet to keep warm. Once all fish is flaked, very sparingly, season with the Fajita Seasoning and Cilantro. You don't have to use all the spice and cilantro. This should be just a "touch" of seasoning, and has to be applied while the fish is warm. Just a hint if seasoning.

Serve Immediately.


Mango Salsa

1 Cup of fresh Mango, diced small
1/3 cup roasted Red Peppers (The "canned" variety are used here, sweeter than home roasted)
1/3 Cup Red Onion, diced small
1 Jalapeño pepper, seeded, deveined and minced
1 Tbsp. fresh Mint, chopped (If you can't find fresh mint, dried mint leaves can be substituted, 1/4 the amount of fresh)
1 Tbsp. fresh Lime juice

Combine all ingredients. Refrigerate until needed.


Clockwise from the top: Green Baja Sauce, Pink/Red Baja Sauce, Chipotle Baja sauce, Amargo Baja Sauce.


Green Baja Sauce
This Baja Sauce is like a thin mild / cilantro guacamole. Add more Jalapeño if you want it hot.

1/2 Cup Mayonnaise
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
1/2 Cup Cilantro leaves
1 large Jalapeño pepper (seeded and deveined)
1 - 1 1/2 Avocados (Depends on ripeness, less ripe, more Avo.)
1 Tbsp. Fresh Lime juice
Dash Ancho Chili Pepper

Combine cilantro leaves, Jalapeño pepper and avocado in a food processor or blender and pulse until mixed fairly well. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Refrigerate until needed.

Pink/Red Baja Sauce
This sauce is very similar to Taco Bell Baja Sauce. (Mild)

1/4 Red bell pepper
1 large Jalapeño pepper (seeded and deveined)
1/4 small Spanish onion
1 cup Mayonnaise (not fat free)
1 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 tsp. Fresh ground Black Pepper
Dash of Garlic Powder
Dash of Cumin
Dash of Ancho Chili Pepper
2 Tbsp. water

Combine red bell pepper, Jalapeño pepper, onion, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, ancho chili pepper and water in a food processor or blender and puree. Combine 5-6 Tbsp. of this mixture with the Mayonnaise and vinegar. Refrigerate until needed.

Chipotle Baja Sauce
Great "smokey" flavor (Tangy)

1/2 Cup Sour Cream
1/3 Cup Mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. Fresh Lime juice
1 Tbsp. canned Chipotle chilies
2 Cloves of Garlic
1/2 tsp. Chipotle Chili Pepper

Note: Dried Chipotle Chilies can be reconstituted in boiling water and used in place of the canned variety. They will take slightly longer to break down in the blender.

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Refrigerate until needed .

Amargo Baja Sauce
This sauce has a slightly sour / bitter taste. By itself, it does not taste very good, but in the taco it provides a contrast to Mango Salsa. It is an acquired taste.

7 oz. Crème Fraiche
1/4 Cup Buttermilk
1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
1/2 Tbsp. Honey
1 tsp. Spanish Smoked Sweet Paprika
1 tsp. Spanish Smoked Hot Paprika
1/2 tsp. Chipotle Chili Pepper

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse until well combined. Pour mixture into a sauce pan and gently warm until steaming. Refrigerate until needed. To serve, reheat until warm. Pour into condiment dispenser and serve warm.