Mmmmmm....

I call it KS Hash

(short for Kitchen Sink)

Any/all vegetables at our meal counter, sautéed with eggs over easy.

So good.

Food, glorious food...

Outdoor concert in the park. Thunder clouds approaching, so it's a quick trip through the food vendors, then we're outta here.

I keep telling Zoe she needs to stop growing, but she never listens.

Tonight's goal was to eat: I've been hungry all day. And 'Healthy' was not a primary concern. The wasabi fish tacos were fairly decent, not horribly decadent, and they were gone in a hurry.

Then Zoe had fish and chips. A little greasy, but not bad.

The piece de resistance; deep fried Oreos. Sooooo good.

Diet? I'm tired of salads. Besides, I'm running 26 miles this weekend, and I've been looking a bit thin. Time to replenish.

However, I can only loosely include this post under the label 'nutrition.'

Who Dat?

With apologies to The Riot for a tardy post, I bring you....

The Crawdad Boil.

The Riot, a born and bred Cajun, gets an annual craving for the hometown goods. And this isn't exactly a guy who does things halfway; he once ran 7 hilly trail miles after pulling a calf muscle. Why? Because he wasn't done yet.

Anyhow, once a year he places an order with a supplier in Loosana, who ships about a hundred pounds of the bad boys on an overnight Southwest Airlines flight.

Then the Riot's brother picks up the shipment and drives 3 hours to the High Desert, just in time to see the kettle prepped and ready to boil.

 

We raise our glasses for these brave soldiers who are about to sacrifice for the greater good.

They're big suckers, too.

But when it's your time to go, it's your time to go. Fire in the hole...!

 

 

Life is good.

It's just good...

Most of the time, I'm not really particular about food. Since I re-booted my diet into something paleo-like, it's a lot of salad, nuts and the like.

But....

My wife's college buddy Mike came down for a visit and did us right by making some superb meals.

Life is good.

The Amazing Disappearing Blood Markers

Cholesterol has always been a problem with me.

Ever since I can remember, I've been above 200 for total cholesterol. Never understood why; I don't eat a lot of red meat or fatty stuff. Being lactose intolerant, I don't do alfredo or Benedict or any cream in quantity. And I've been working out like a madman, which should help, right?

But it didn't. The doctor put me on Crestor to help get it under control.

I hate taking meds. Absolutely hate it. Maybe I'm a control freak. Dunno.

Long story short: cholesterol stayed level, and triglycerides actually went up. But the kicker was when I learned that this little 90-day supply of meds that costs me $20 costs my insurance company over $400.

Obscene. And it wasn't working anyway. So it's time to reboot the diet.

Kristen discovers Mark Bittmann, a food writer who used to have a weight problem and many health issues. He got mad, then made up a diet he calls "Vegan before 6." Breakfast and lunch were no meat, lots of fruit/veg, no saturated fat or processed food. For dinner, he'd have 'normal' food, just a little less of it. Goodbye, 30 lbs. Goodbye, high cholesterol and joint problems.

For the last five months, I've been the joke of the lunch table, with my biggest decision being whether to have balsamic or Green Lakes vinaigrette on my salad. No pretzels, no flour (ok, maybe a little). And eating a third less.

10 lbs lost and I'm back at the doctor.

                                                              Feb 2011            July 2011        Trend
Total Cholesterol                                      240                    241              Constant.
HDL (good chol, should be high)                49                     105              Excellent
LDL (bad chol, should be low)                   158                    125              Excellent
Triglycerides (blood fats, should be low)     167                     55               Excellent
Total Chol/HDL ratio (should be low)           4.9                    2.3              Excellent


The doctor mentioned that current thinking is less toward total cholesterol and more toward having a higher HDL and lower ratio. If I understand her explanation correctly: chol is produced/delivered by the liver as a response to inflammation of the blood vessel walls. That inflammation is caused by sugar, which is made from starch. More sugar/starch means more inflammation means more cholesterol means narrowed arteries and a whole other set of problems...

So, eliminate starch. No white pasta, cookies, or my beloved pretzels. Plenty of lean meat, avocados, nuts, and other stuff a deer would love. Not that hard once you acclimatize.

Interestingly, I haven't had a moderately serious training injury this year. Some minor kinks, but nothing that put me out of commission. And no colds.

The other big change is the shorter recovery time. Last  year, it took me about 6 weeks after my half-iron race before I felt like going hard again. This time, two weeks after my 78-min improvement over that distance, I ran the Hood to Coast relay and pretty much equaled my best 10k time in 30 years. Again, better diet means harder workouts and less recovery needed.

One other thing I changed; eating more eggs, not fewer. Nice trade-off.

Homemade Energy Gel

It's not that I mind the store-bought stuff, but a buck and a half for one ounce?
And I like doing things myself. But I'm also lazy...

So I do a search and find an interesting recipe online:

1/4 c rice syrup
1/4 c malt syrup
2 oz honey or blackstrap molasses
2 oz agave nectar
1 tbs peanut butter (melted)

Mix 'em up and taste: awfully sweet. To counteract, add a small amount of coffee grounds and sea salt. Not bad. Then I put a little bit of soy milk or water to thin it out; otherwise, it flows like 40 weight oil.

Enough to fill a couple of flasks. I tried the recipe during my first tri of the year and rocked it, no stomach issues and plenty of late energy.

A few other recipes I found:

7 tbs honey
3/4 tbs blackstrap molasses
sea salt

2 parts rice syrup
1 part carob powder
sea salt

Notes:

• Salt (sodium) and blackstrap (potassium) will help electrolyte depletion
• Agave nectar is among the best for long-term energy (low glycemic index)
• Dates are good for quick energy, though they have some fiber. Will investigate further
• You'll need to wash this potion down with water

Kinda fun to play around with this stuff. And it seems to work.