Good Morning LWL! Headed to the gym for chest and cardio, and a bunch of clients.
I finished the scarf I started last weekend and had about half the yarn left over. My step-mother admired it so much at dinner last night that I already started one for her. I'm not sure that knitting is helping my tendonitis, but I have found that I can do it on the recumbent bike and still maintain pace Multitasking!
Sorry I've been so scarce- working, working out, ferrying my son around and arguing about homework seems to drain my life at this point.
Mel - good going on the knitting. And take it easy on the other stuff!
I've had an excellent time at the gymn this morning. Legs, rowing intervals. Highpoints include being able to touch my toes early in the day. This is a great achievement for me which I've been working on hard with leg lifts and calf stretches. It's part of sorting out my knee problem. This seems as though things are going in the right direction but I'm not running at all at present. That's the acid test, isn't it?
The scales are also going in the right direction. And I seem to have better posture. Perhaps some of you remember when I used to go on about that all the time. Good posture certainly is a good thing. I think you lose half a stone (7lbs) with it.
Shush - have just realised you're a vegetarian so all my protein babbling is useless for you (CC and nuts aside)! Quinoa - hasn't that got all the amino acids in it? Quite good with chick peas, sunflower seeds, raisins, zest of lemon. Amaranth? I'm still working on that one.
Mel - It must be a funny sight to see you knitting on the recumbent bike!
Silverbirch - Hurray for another NSV
I'm not in top condition today. Yesterday had a difficult evening sorting out what will go to XH and what will be for me. No rows, but ir was emotionally draining to sort to the stuff with XH. I had a bad night (maybe also because of drinking coffee in the afternoon, I should avoid that!) and today did not improve with a mail from XH about the photo's, films and other memorabilia of our past life. I cannot see why he wants these, since he is off to his new life with NL. It really is emotionally exhausting.
Fortunately my endurance for work seems to be improving, which is good. And I'm going to power class this evening with my friend, so hopefully that will cheer me up.
Thanks Silverbirch for the tip about Quinoa I think I've got some lurking in a cupboard somewhere the only problem is i tried it once for breakfast
So any suggestions for cooking it would be great.
The start of my day was rather hectic, but I hit the fitness center as soon as I was on campus for my work out. I don't know if it's all in my head or not, but I feel so much better after getting my workout finished.
Then the rest of the day was occupied by work and classes. I'm actually beginning to figure out my graphing calculator. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks.
I did very well on my eating today, and I truly believe it's because I pack a lunch with me.
I weigh in on Saturdays and the scale didn't budge, but my jeans are definitely fitting a lot better so I'll remain optimistic.
shush - I think Quark is pretty good too! I'm not sure about the protein content, check out the labels next time you're in the supermarket!
Well, running at lunch, kickboxing in the evening and "hitting a 10" on my UBW last night. I increased everything by at least 2.2lbs! You don't get exceptional results by doing mediocre things. So there we go! However I did have problems getting out of bed this morning - I was faint and shaking lying down! I feel much better after 2 pints of squash and breakfast!
Oh and I had a really really nice meal last night - porridge (oatmeal) made with 1/2C oats, 1C skimmed milk and 1 whole egg all stirred up in the pan. It was delish! Very rich and proteiney! I didn't even need to put any extra flavours in!
Thanks Silverbirch for the tip about Quinoa I think I've got some lurking in a cupboard somewhere the only problem is i tried it once for breakfast
So any suggestions for cooking it would be great.
I'll look out the recipe we use tonight and post it tomorrow. Quark: not sure. Frus's suggestion of looking at the protein levels on the label is what I'd do!
Oh, tofu, of course! We have it about once a week.
Now, as for amaranth (which I found in a health food shop).
nuworldfoods dot com says:
Quote:
In addition to being gluten-free, amaranth has amazing nutritional benefits. Just ½ cup of amaranth, naturally supplies, without fortification, 28% of your daily requirement of protein, 55% of iron, 60% of dietary fiber and 18% of calcium. And amaranth offers higher lysine, cysteine and methionine levels ---essential amino acids required for cell and brain maintenance ---than any grain. In fact, it has a better amino acid balance than cow’s milk or soy and is called, by the National Academy of Sciences, one of the best sources of vegetable protein.
When this says 'your daily requirement of protein' I suppose that is smaller than we LWL would require.
Amaranth seed is high in protein (15-18%) and contains respectable amounts of lysine and methionine, two essential amino acids that are not frequently found in grains. It is high in fiber and contains calcium, iron, potassium, phosphorus, and vitamins A and C.
Worth investigating. As Juju Ridl (Skinny Daily Post) says: I will if you will.
Edited to say that I put quinoa and then amaranth into the 3FC search engine and came up with quite a few hits. No time to delve further.
Last edited by silverbirch; 01-24-2006 at 07:07 AM.
Feeling better this morning!. I went to "power" class yesterday & it was OK. It is some kind of lifting in a group session, with music. I use much lighter weights than usual because the tempo is higher and also there are more reps. I definitely do not want to get injured or wreck further havoc on my tennis elbow.
All quiet on the XH front: I spoke with my lawyer yesterday and I am very glad that she will take matters in hand. Furthermore, with the stuff sorted out for 80%, I can now concentrate on what new furniture to get. i went to Ikea over the weekend & I know what I want. I'll go down there again by the end of february, with the kids, to place the order & pick most of the stuff up. In that way I canmove in my stuff when he moves out his.
It's off to the health food shop for Amaranth then.
Checked Quark it has got slightly less protein than CC but less calories too and best of all no yukky lumps So that will save me having to blend it all the time.
Thanks for the tips, I'm off to check out the Quinoa recipes
I am not a cottage cheese lover either, however Avalon does organic CC and it tastes delicious! Like I HATE CC but I LOVER Avalon's CC. INHO, it is better than Quark!
Sandy.
Rabbit - I got sucked into a power class last night too! I was wiping down the just as they were starting. I wandered over to see what it was about, and before I knew it I had weights in my hand. It was a hour of being pushed hard. More squats and lunges than I usually do, plus a good upper body workout. And yes, I ended up using lower weights that normal too, but I am very nicely sore this morning. Some of that of course is from patting myself on the back for doing 1.5 hours in the gym yesterday. I won't be there again til Thurs due to other commitments. I'd considered a walk outside at lunch, but the temperature was -15F (-26C) outside this morning so probably not.
2F - you are doing great!
SB - are you a vegetarian? I must have missed that. We are what my DH calls "economic vegetarians" which means that meat is just too pricey. We do eat a fair amount of chicken and of course salmon (which he catches).
Okay, back to work. I'm reviewing applications for an "on call" position I have open, always interesting....
SB - are you a vegetarian? I must have missed that.
No, not at all! I suppose we are economic and health-choice vegetarians. We probably eat fish, meat or vegetarian twice or three times a week each. (Um, yes, I know that doesn't add up but you know what I mean!)
Here's the recipe from The Optimum Nutrition Cookbook by Patrick Holford and Judy Ridgway (Piatkus, London, 1999). Patrick is a bit wacky (see his Optimum Nutrition Bible, for example) but I quite like him.
Quote:
Quinoa pilaf with chickpeas and dried fruits
1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 small sticks celery, trimmed and chopped
2 small leeks, trimmed and chopped
125g (4oz) canned chickpeas (drained weight)
1 stick cinnamon
4 cardamom pods
100g (3.5oz) quinoa
250ml (9 fl oz) vegetable stock or water
25 (1oz) (2.5 tbsp) sunflower seeds
25g (1oz) (2 tbsp) raisins
6 prunes (have substituted apricots)
grated zest of half a lemon
some freshly chopped parsley
1. Brush the base of a deep non-stick frying pan with the oil. Add the onion, celery and leeks and cook gently for about 3 mins to release the flavours. Keep the veg on the move with a wooden spoon and do not allow them to brown.
2. Add the chickpeas, spices, quinoa and veg stock/water to the pan and stir. Bring to the boil, cover the pan and cook over a low heat for 10 mins.
3. Add the sunflower seeds, raisins, prunes and lemon zest, and continue cooking for another 10 mins until all the liquid has been absorbed and the quinoa is cooked through.
4. Pile the pilaf onto two serving plates, tossing gently to separate the grains. Sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley and serve at once.
Shush - good research work on the quark. Thanks. I might give that a go.
LWL #239 Jan 23 - 29
Multitasking!
You don't get exceptional results by doing mediocre things. So there we go! However I did have problems getting out of bed this morning - I was faint and shaking lying down! I feel much better after 2 pints of squash and breakfast! 
just as they were starting. I wandered over to see what it was about, and before I knew it I had weights in my hand. 
I won't be there again til Thurs due to other commitments. I'd considered a walk outside at lunch, but the temperature was -15F (-26C) outside this morning 
so probably not. 