Emiko: Day 31, For Hungry Bellies

Doesn't our lunch look delicious?

We have officially crossed over the 1-month mark, and a lot of our cravings and habits are melting away in exchange for more positive things. So, Patrick has been telling us, "It's all fun from here out. The hard stuff is over." Time to celebrate and just go along with for the ride, right?

Well, not quite. Tonight was hard for me.

After doing a single set of 1,4oo jumps before rushing off to work (yet again I had to cut my jumps short), I arrived at work ready to chomp down on something filling. But wait a tick— I had already had lunch! From then on it was fruit and ONLY fruit for the rest of my shift, plus a little milk. It was a loooooong 8-hour wait until I got home and was able to eat my (forgotten) post-work-out egg white, Dinner egg-white, and late-night veggies. All of which I devoured!


The real purpose of this post is to share with you all a couple of recipes. The first is that for our delicous turkey-patties, and the second is one that I made for the first time today, which is a quinoa dish. Both are really good, PCP dishes that you can make in advance (and they both make quite a bit) for future meals.

Quinoa with peas, onions and spices!

Ady's Famous Spicy Turkey-Patties

Patrick has also started to hound on Adrian and I about making sure we have a lot of variety in our protein sources (he knows we love the patties), so although we won't be making another batch of these for awhile, we hope that you will enjoy them as much as we do.

Play around with the spices, especially the chili powder. If you want it spicy, use the max given here...or even more! Also, having a lime at the ready to squeeze over your turkey burger is an absolute must. Remember that you can experiment by trying different meats such as ground chicken or even fish. Have fun!

Ingredients:
(Makes 9 patties with 100g protein, 10-20g carbs)

2.5 lbs ground, Lean Turkey (or substitute)
2 slices Whole-Wheat bread
1/2 cup sliced Green Onion
8 cloves minced Garlic
5 squirts (or about 5 tbsp.) Dijon Mustard
3 tbsp. Non-fat Yogurt
2-4 tbsp. Chili Powder
1 heaping tbsp. Thyme
1 heaping tbsp. Curry Powder
1 heaping tbsp. Smoked Chipotle Powder (optional)

Materials:

1 Large Mixing Bowl
1 Big Knife
1 Cutting Board
Cookie sheets, or some other flat surface/container to place the patties on while freezing
Freezer
Saran Wrap
Freezer Baggies
Aluminum Foil
Broiler


Preparation: Thaw the turkey until it breaks apart easily. Break up into small pieces into a large mixing bowl. Also break up the whole-wheat bread into very small crumbs and place in the mixing bowl, and set aside. Slice the green onions, mince the garlic, and add both into the bowl. Add the yogurt, mustard, thyme, chili powder, curry powder, and chipotle powder (optional). Use your hands to mix up the contents of the bowl thoroughly.

Shape the turkey mixture into 9, equally-sized patties, placing onto cookie sheets (or other surface/container) as you go. Place in freezer for 30 mins, or until patties are firm but still malleable. Remove patties from freezer, reshape if necessary, and wrap individually in saran wrap. Place patties into a couple freezer bags, and freeze. Voila!

To Cook: Thaw turkey patty for an hour or two, or defrost in microwave being careful not to cook the meat. Turn on the broiler, and place a sheet of aluminum foil on the broiler rack. Place turkey patty on the foil, and broil for 10-12 mins. on each side.

Quinoa with Veggies

Quinoa is a grain that is new to me, although I've heard really good things. It fairly high in protein, and is supposed to be a "complete" protein unto itself.

Adrian found this recipe on Google. It is the first link that comes up when you search for "quinoa recipes." I will link directly to it here. We decided to double the amount of cinnamon, and want to add bell peppers to the mix next time because it needs something more. Again, play with it!

Serves Six to Eight

Ingredients:

1 cup Quinoa
1½ tbsp. Vegetable Oil
½ Onion Diced (about 4 or 5 ozs.)
1 tsp. Grated Fresh Ginger Root
½ Fresh Green Chile (Finely Chopped)
1 heaping tsp. Turmeric
1 heaping tsp. Coriander
¼ tsp. Ground Cinnamon (or to taste)
1¾ cups Water
½ cup Fresh or Frozen Peas

1. Rinse quinoa with cold water. Use a fine mesh filter or coffee filter. If you're a klutz like me use the fine mesh filter or a lot of quinoa is going to wind up in the sink!
   
   Quinoa is coated with a natural substance called saponin that protects the grain by repelling insects and birds. Rinsing the quinoa is important to avoid a raw or bitter taste. You can tell if there is saponin by the production of a soapy looking "suds" when the seeds are swished in water.
   
   
2. Place oil and diced onions in a heavy saucepan. Saute the onions on medium high heat for four to five minutes.
   
3. Add the ginger root, chile, and quinoa. Cook for one minute stirring constantly.
   A fine, white spiral appears around the grain as it cooks.
   
4. Stir in the turmeric, coriander, cinnamon, and salt. Cook for one minute stirring constantly.
   
5. Add the water and bring it to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.
   
6. Stir in peas. Cover and cook for four or five minutes or until peas are tender and all the water has been absorbed.
7. Fluff with a fork before serving

*Optional Ingredient: 1 to 2 Tbsp. Chopped Cilantro.


Well, I know this post looks really long, and it took me quite a bit of time to write it all out. I hope that you can enjoy these recipes.

Good night everybody, and go do some happy, healthy eating!

Emiko: Day 22, Drinkable Dinner!!

I just finished reading Adrian's post, and he got me a glass of water and it was yum.

Today is the official first day of Week 4! Can you believe it? By this time next week, a month will have past. Holy guacamole, y'all.

We did our last work outs for Week 3 today. And I was really groovin', as is always the case right before we receive new our new exercise routines every Friday! I did my all-time record for jump-ropes...*drum roll*.......

600 jumps in a single set!!!!!!!!

Of course, I must admit that I tripped sometimes in between, so it wasn't a consecutive run, but 600 nonetheless! Woohoo!

I also made smoothies tonight for the first time since Day 8. That first smoothie was a complete disaster, because I blended milk, banana, egg whites, and a whole apple (including peel, which is where things went foul) into a nasty-thick pint of yuck. Please never EVER make a smoothie like this. It was my first official 'PCP Dinner" smoothie, and good lordy was it a test of my devotion to the Project to drink/gag it all down.


But tonight's was a delight! Both Adrian and I had a smoothie made with milk, 1 banana, 1/2 an apple (peeled!), and ice. It was refreshing and much more filling than I was expecting. Our bellies reported that it felt like a real dinner, that's for sure. Finally full at dinner time again!

To the right, you can see me looking rather like someone spiked my smoothie, and also unquestionably like my mom...!

That is all I have to report today. I do want to make a quick comment that ever since the PCP began, not one day has passed where I thought "where did the day go?" I like that a lot. Even if the day sucked, I was there for every moment of it and it felt rightfully long and full. A lot happens in a week, and we have been changing! With that in mind, I am excited for Week 4 and to see what wondrous things we encounter!

I just remembered that I forgot to eat my nightly veggies! Dang. Better go steam up some cauliflower!

Night night!