100 Workout and Good Eats

When I was cleaning out my refrigerator the night before last, I realized we still had some leftover filet mignon from our dinner out at Ruth’s Chris over the weekend.  As luck would have it I still had bread leftover from when I made it over the weekend.

I made this olive oil bread – it made two loaves, and while it was delicious, I missed the crunchy crust.  But I knew it would make a delicious breakfast crostini:

• 2 slices (3 oz.) olive oil bread
• 2 ounces diced filet mignon
• 1 cup spinach
• 1/2 cup egg whites
• 3/4 ounce cheddar cheese

I cooked the egg whites and spinach together until the eggs were just about done, then added the steak at the last minute.  At work I toasted the bread lightly, then divided the egg mixture between the two, topped with cheese, then put it under the broiler for about 5 minutes.

That is a salad plate, not a dinner plate, but this was totally filling, and nice to chew my breakfast.   Breakfast comes in at 440 calories, 12 fat, 46 carbs, 3.3 fiber and 32 protein.

For my workout yesterday, I decided to do the 100 Workout.  I know Errign, my sister,  and Marisa have done it. 

I started out with a 5 minute walk on the treadmill.  I actually had no idea how long this would take me.  I can tell you that I am really sore today!  What I liked about this was that you kept going so your heart rate was kicking the whole time.

It ended up taking me 31:30!  I finished with a 9 minute walk on the treadmill to cool down.  I am going to give myself 1.5 miles towards my 100 miles for August for this workout.  I can definitely see doing this at least once a week – best of all, really no equipment required!

One of the dishes I made for me and my SIL this week was beef and barley stuffed peppers.  Barley is still a new grain to me – I actually use the instant kind.

Beef and Barley Stuffed Peppers for Two

• each serving is one whole pepper:  465 caloires, 17 fat, 50 carbs, 6.6 fiber and 27 protein

Ingredients:

• 2 whole peppers
• 6 ounces raw ground sirloin
• 1.5 cups tomato sauce (I used my homemade marinara sauce that had garlic, Italian seasoning and crushed red pepper)
• 1 cup cooked barley
• 1 ounce of cheese

Cut the peppers in half, remove the seeds and microwave on fresh vegetable.  Meanwhile, cook ground sirloin.  When its almost done, add in the barley and stir to combine.  You could add extra seasonings if you want – I added a bit more Italian seasoning and crushed red pepper.  Mix in 1/2 of the tomato sauce or marinara.

Carefully remove the peppers from the microwave.   Divide the meat mixture between the four halves.  Sprinkle with cheese and melt under the broiler.  I added 1/4 of the remaining sauce to the bottom of my plate and scooped up the sauce with every bite.

This pepper looks like a butt to me!  Yep, I am a 9 year old boy sometimes.

When the weather starts to get cooler, I am definitely going to try Tami’s Split Pea, Beef and Barley soup – I really like this grain.

One of Tony’s favorite dishes is Pasta Carbonara.  Truth be told, I don’t think I’ve ever had it in a restaurant, because I know how calorie laden it is – I mean it has bacon, crème fraiche, egg yolks and Parmesan cheese.

One of my favorite chefs to watch is Eric Ripert.  First of all, he’s not bad on the eyes and he has an accent

He has a new cookbook out called Avec Eric.  One of his recipes is for the classic carbonara, but of course, I had to try to make it somewhat healthy.

Healthy Pasta Carbonara from “Avec Eric.”

I also adapted mine for two servings.  Each serving of mine is 414 calories, 19 fat, 35 carbs, 4.8 fiber and 24 protein.

My changes are in blue.

• 1/2 cup diced cooked bacon (I used 4 slices, or 2 slices per serving)
• 2 cups crème fraiche (I used 1 cup fat free half and half)
• 2 large egg yolks (I used one)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper (I used 1/2 teaspoon)
• pinch of salt
• 8 ounces dried linguini (I used 4 ounces of orecchiette)
• 1.5 cups of freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I used 1/2 cup total)
• 4 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh chives (um, no thanks!)
• 1 cup frozen peas

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Meanwhile cook bacon.  When the bacon is done, don’t drain the fat, but reduce the heat and add the fat free half and half and let it simmer for about 5-7 minutes. Add in the egg yolk and mix to combine.  Add the pepper and season with salt.  Remove from heat and add in the frozen peas – they will defrost really quickly.

When ready to serve, add the cooked, drained pasta to the sauce, stir in the Parmesan cheese and let sit for a minute so the flavors can meld.  I actually prefer to put the cooked bacon on top of my pasta instead of stirring it in the sauce at the last minute.  I also kept out about 2 tablespoons of the shredded Parm to add 1 tablespoon on the top of each of our dishes.

I’ve actually never cooked with this pasta before, but I am in love.  The “little ears” held onto the sauce amazingly well.

While the sauce wasn’t as thick as traditional carbonara, this was pretty damn good and Tony gave it the thumbs up!

And guess what?  I didn’t have any snacks after dinner either.

Stats for August 8:

• 1369 calories, 54 fat, 132 carbs, 15 fiber and 89 protein
• 100 Workout – I am calling it 1.5 miles
• 79.3 miles to go for my 100 miles in August

Time to put my food together for the day – I am going to be trying the Chobani Vanilla Chocolate Chunk yogurt to make a strawberry parfait for lunch – hope its as good as it sounds!

Make it a great day!