MyLeanBody Boot Camp 

On a cauliflower kick...                                                             June 11, 2010

Greetings!  

I am having trouble believing how quickly the weeks are going by!!  I only have 4 training weeks for my competition.  I got my shoes...they were rather scary looking coming out of the box, but it turns out that I can walk in HIGH heels!!  :)  You will probably not recognize me on the stage.  I look like I am 12 feet tall.  It is amazing what 5 inch heels do for the legs! 

shoes

I know I missed a week of newlettering...so this one will have to pass for two.  I have included three recipes today.  They all include my favorite food of the week, cauliflower!!!  :)  If you don't think that you like cauli, please give it another shot.  I am totally addicted to it at the moment.  Chris had to remind me that I was on a diet yesterday, and I had to put the cauliflower mashed potatoes away.  I guess you are not allowed all the cauliflower you can eat on a competition diet...who knew?!?!!?  :)  You might even be able to pull a fast one on your kids with a couple of these recipes.  Let me know how you like them! 
 
I want to thank you all so much for all of your hard work.  I am training and dieting right along with you.  Sometimes, it is not fun.  Do the sacrifices along the way make the end result that much better?  I guess we will have to wait and see.  I hope that my choices allow me to end up with a big trophy!  :)
 
How are you feeling about the choices that you made today?  Are you still hung up on that cookie that you did not eat?  Do you think that by not eating one cookie, you will lose a pound?  I do wish that it worked that way for all or our sakes.  There are 3,500 calories in one pound of fat.  So, if not eating that one cookie is the only change that you have made, you will have to give up about 20 cookies before you see a pound loss.  Do you usually eat 20 cookies a day?  I know, even on my cheat days, I wouldn't eat 20 cookies.  :) 
 
My point is, more than one sacrifice is going to be needed to lose weight.  But with a shift in your thoughts, giving up the cookie is not a sacrifice.  You are working out each morning not only to lose weight (most of you), but also to get healthy, feel better, have more energy, look better and the list goes on and on.  Giving up the cookie, helps all of those things.  Not only does your body not need sugar to function, it actually works better without it. 
 
Sugar causes inflammation in the body.  Sugar is addicting.  Sugar makes your blood more acidic (which leads to bone loss).  Sugar breaks down the connective tissues in the skin which causes WRINKLES!!  How appealing is that cookie now?  Think health.  Put the foods that increase health and well being into your bodies.  Don't even consider putting the cookie in your mouth.  The three seconds of gratification are not worth it.  Think long term.  Think about eating cauliflower!  :)  Crave cauliflower!  :)
 
How important are reaching your goals to you?  Will eating cookies take you closer to your goals?  Healthy foods taste good (especially cauliflower)!  Healthy foods make you feel good and have boundless energy.  You all ask me day after day what I am on to get my energy...well, I am on healthy foods!  Grains, bread, sugar, and processed foods zap your energy.  Go out tonight and gorge yourself on pizza, wings, ice cream and beer and then come to class in the morning.  You will see how that food does not provide your body with the energy to get through your workout.  It is simply not worth it.  Eat healthy tonight, lean protein, veggies (cauliflower, maybe?!!?), maybe some fruit for dessert, and tomorrow, you will feel like you can run forever! 
 
I know how hard it is.  I am going through it right now.  I have this competition coming up and I refuse to get up on stage in front of any one, let alone YOU, if I do not look and feel my best.  So, I am going to push through and know that my body is responding to the diet.  It is worth the hard work.  It is worth all of the effort.  I want to make you proud when you see me up there on stage.   
 
Luckily for you, by following the nutrition rules, you never have to be hungry!  How great is that?  You are on a diet, and you do not have to starve.  You get to eat when you are hungry and stop when you are satisfied.  It is like Chris always says, "It is not about eating less, it is about eating BEST."  Give you body what it needs, and it will respond by giving you what you are working so hard for!  The body of your dreams is right around the corner!  Go get it.  Show me how badly you want it.  Don't give in to the "cookie."  :) 
Cauliflower "Mashed Potatoes"

I LOVE cauliflower.  Ever since I was a kid.  I remember how my mom and I would pour red wine vinegar on top of it at the table.  It probably was not the cauliflower or the vinegar that I liked as much as the crystal pourer that she kept the vinegar in, but it has made my love of cauliflower last a life time (Thank you, Mom...I miss you!!). 

Thank you to Katie for eating mashed cauli and writing it down on your food journal.  I have found a new love.  I had tried to make the mashed potatoes with cauliflower a long time ago and they did not work.  Katie told me exactly how it is done...If you are missing mashed potatoes, you have to try this!  It is really good...but be careful not to eat too much cauliflower!  :)
 
1 head Cauliflower, cut up into smallish pieces and steamed until soft
2 T. light sour cream or plain Greek Yogurt
Salt and pepper
 
Steam the cauli for about 20 minutes.  You want it to be very soft.  Put it in the food processor - this is where I went wrong so many years ago.  Process it until it is smooth and whipped.  Add in the salt and pepper to taste.  You can stop here or mix in the sour cream.  I like to be able to really taste the sour cream, so I put mine on top.  It is unbelievable how delicious these are and how close the texture is to mashed potatoes.  Chris even tried them and agreed that they were "pretty good."  I bet that he would not have known that they were cauli, if I wouldn't have told him. 
 
Give them a try.  I promise that you will like them...and if you don't, I will come over and eat the rest!  :)  Who would have ever thought that I would be told not to eat too much cauliflower!   

 

Roasted Cauliflower with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
 
Cauliflower roasted in big chunks is delicious and the quick blue cheese vinaigrette makes it special and yummy.  I also love blue cheese...so this is like two of my favorite things in one!  Try it as a side dish for a lean steak.

4 servings
Active Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

 
Ingredients
1 large head cauliflower, leaves trimmed
2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/8 teaspoon plus 1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese
1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon minced scallion greens
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
 
Preparation
Position rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 450°F. Coat a large rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.
 
Cut cauliflower into quarters. Remove any extra woody core from the ends, but keep the quarters intact. Brush with 2 teaspoons oil and sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Place cut-side down on the prepared baking sheet.
 
Roast the cauliflower for 15 minutes. Turn so the opposite cut sides are down. Continue roasting until tender, 15 to 20 minutes more.
 
Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, blue cheese, vinegar, water, scallion greens and pepper in a small bowl. Serve the roasted cauliflower drizzled with the vinaigrette.
 
Nutrition Per serving: 90 calories; 7 g fat (2 g sat, 5 g mono); 3 mg cholesterol; 3 g protein; 2 g fiber; 304 mg sodium; 283 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (70% daily value).
I am unable to take any credit for this next cauliflower recipe...but I really wanted to pass it along because it seems that I could eat cauliflower with about anything at the moment...  Ciarra sent out the info about a blog Nutritionista (http://yournutritionista.com/).  The blogger made a cauliflower crusted pizza that looks amazing.  I am a bit afraid to try it while I am on this diet, for fear I would not be able to stop.  It looks so good I had to put it in the newsletter.  Check out some of the other interesting things that are on this blog if you want. 
 
Here is the pizza recipe.  Someone try it and let me know if it is good!  I know that I will be making it after my competition...pizza is my one downfall...and if this crust tastes anything like pizza crust, I may be in heaven and be able to stay on my diet at the same time.  :)
 
Cauliflower Crusted Pizza
 
For the Crust:
1 cup cooked cauliflower, processed in a food processor
1 egg
1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
Salt, pepper, oregano
 
I steamed the cauliflower for about 15-20 minutes to get it nice and soft, and then into the food processor it went with the mozzarella cheese and egg.

After everything was nice and creamy, on to a greased baking sheet it went. I baked it for about 15-20 minutes at 450 degrees until it was golden.
Meanwhile, I roasted some peppers and onions with some olive oil, salt, and pepper at 450 for around 25-30 minutes to bring out the flavor.

Assembling the pizza was a breeze. I just added some canned tomato sauce (WITHOUT added sugar - so hard to find!), a bit more mozz, some Boar's Head pepperoni, and finally, the veggies. Then, it all went under the broiler for 5 minutes.

Verdict? Doughy pizza this was not. But it was still absolutely pizzalicious. Rachel said it reminded her of the pizza she used to eat when she was a kid, which I think is a good thing. Yes, it required a fork to eat, but I think if we had cooked the crust a bit longer, it might have gotten more stable. Either way, it was totally worth the hassle. If you're looking for a gluten-free pizza crust that doesn't taste awful, give this recipe a try!

 
Here is the original recipe.  You can see pics here or on the nutritionista blog.
 
http://yumventures.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/dear-dominos-a-letter/
Saturday Morning Workout

We will be meeting at our usual Saturday Morning workout spot tomorrow - IWU track parking lot.  Chris is on duty, so I will be doing two workouts back to back.  One at 7:30 and the other at 8:30.  We will be leaving the parking lot, so if you are late, please call me or send a text. 
 

Also, if the weather is iffy in the morning, check your email.  I will email you by 7 AM if the workout happens to be cancelled.  Hopefully we will be able to get in a good workout without any hang ups!  I know how you all love the Saturday workouts!
June Nutrition Class

As announced in class, we are going to have the June nutrition class on Thursday, June 24th, this month.  As most of you know, my mama gets home from Italy on the 16th, and I want to be able to go and see her on the 17th.  I have not gone this long without seeing or talking to my mom EVER and I MISS her!!!  I hope that you all understand and can make it on the 24th. 
 

We will meet again at Brook Ridge Park (corner of Hershey and Ireland Grove - on Ireland Grove) at 6 PM.  We will talk about how to order and eat healthy at restaurants.  This is going to be a very important class as we all know that eating healthy out, is not the easiest thing to do!  If you have specific restaurants that you want help at, please email me in advance, and I will find out the info that you need. 

I am so proud of all of you for your hard work in the class competition.  We will be weighing again on Monday and Tuesday, so be ready.  Eat the cauli this weekend and not the cookie!  :)  I know that we have a pretty heated competition going on in the 5:15 class, so ladies, be ready for some big numbers!  And with the two weeks of crazy workouts (you can thank me later) the results, I am sure, will be unheard of!  I am SO excited. 
 
I will be sure to keep you filled in on my diet progress as well...4 more training weeks...5 weeks from tomorrow, I will be up on stage.  If any of you are interested in coming I would love to have you cheer me on!  More info to come...but mark your calendars now...July 17th, Morton, IL...history will be made!  :)
 
Have a great afternoon.  Hope to see you in the morning!  Thank you for the hard work!  Love, Emily