Mia Cooks - Pork Tenderloin, Green Beans, Scalloped Potatoes, and Gravy!

Alright! I'm injured. Still injured. My ankle was swollen to the size of my biceps Saturday night (only slight exaggeration). Until my health insurance kicks in...Coach has mandated (wisely) that I am NOT allowed to run or do anything resembling impact. Blah blah blah, Coach is right, blah blah. Running resumes March 1.

In the mean time, I figured it was time to dedicate myself to some time in the kitchen! One of my goals for these two weeks with Christine has been to make a food plan at the beginning of the week and cook more of my meals. Normally, I'm really good at this, but probably one week a month, I fall totally off the wagon. We'll be out of food, I'll be too tired to go to the grocery, and face it, tomato soup from Cosi sounds SO good right now...

But this weekend, we hit up Costco and Safeway and Washington's Green Grocer delivered an abundance of beautiful produce. The freezer and fridge are PACKED, and mostly with produce!

And so, in the frustration of being off my ankle, I decided to cook! This episode of Mia Cooks focuses on how to cook a pork tenderloin. The best think about this dish is that the meat is craycray cheap. You can get a two pack at Costco for pennies.

Below, I've got my recipes and step by step for pork tenderloin, green beans, scalloped potatoes, and gravy. If you decide to make everything, here is a list of what you'll need in total:

Tenderloin:
- Pork tenderloin(s)
- soy sauce
- sherry cooking wine
- rice wine vinegar
- vegetable oil
- orange juice
- shallot
- fresh or ground ginger
- rosemary
- italian seasoning
- butter
- salt, pepper, garlic salt, seasoned salt
- garlic cloves

Green Beans:
- green beans
- onion
- powdered chicken bouillon

Scalloped Potatoes:
- 5-8 small potatoes (enough for 2-3 c. sliced)
- chives, bacon, cheese (optional)
- powdered mustard, paprika, salt
- 1 1/4 c. milk and cream

Gravy:
- broth (optional)
- flour
- left over juice from cooking tenderloins

1) Optional Trimming I thawed the tenderloin out over night and then, mid afternoon, I trimmed up the tenderloins. This is optional. I recently had the opportunity to observe an incredible chef cook - during this time, he demo'ed how to trim a tenderloin. I will admit, I am not nearly as adept at it, but here is the general gist, via video:
 (video coming shortly)

Basically, take off the fat and the tendons (anything white). You can do this with a sharp knife and some patience. If you're lazy/time crunched, don't bother...though I REALLY do recommend doing this.

2) Marinade. Then, I marinaded the meat for a couple hours. My marinade recipe is:
- 1/4 c. soy sauce
- 1/4 c. sherry
- 1/8 c. rice wine vinegar
- 1/8 c. veg oil
1 tbsp orange juice (or just a splash)
A couple dashes of rosemary
1 chopped shallot
Dash of powdered ginger (it's preferable to have about a tablespoon of chopped fresh ginger, but use what you've got.)

You can put this in a big bowl or dish, but I prefer the "no clean" option of a plastic ziplock. Easier to move the meat around the marinade this way.

3. Wait. Let it sit in the fridge for however long, but 2+ hours is preferable. Overnight is even fine.

4. Crust. (ps. now is the time to preheat your oven to 400). I like seasoning the outside of the tenderloins in addition to the marinade. Here's the "no clean" way to do it. Pull out foil and grind a good layer of salt, pepper, seasoned salt, herbs (italian blend works fine), and garlic salt. Then roll your tenderloins over it (that's what she said). Then, I have slices of garlic cloves (thin) and put small knife cuts into the tenderloins and insert the garlic slices.

5. Sear. I like to sear the outside of the tenderloin to lock in the flavor. There are more technical terms for why this is a good idea, but I don't know enough to tell you why. Go with me, here.

Just melt about 2-3 tbsp butter in a skillet that can go into the oven (which should be preheated before you sear the meat.) Make sure the butter is hot enough that when you put the meat in, you hear a sizzle, but not too hot that the butter browns before you put the meat in. On my electric stove, this is a 5-6 on a scale of 1-10. You can test the butter by dripping a tiny bit of (like, a drop or two) of water or marinade.

Cook each side of the tenderloins for 1 minute - just enough to sear the outside.

Don't worry if some of the red at the ends isn't gone. It's thinner and will cook just fine in the oven.

6. Cook. This is a tricky one. If you get the normal sized tenderloins at costco or wherever, then this is a decent cooking time: 

• 8 minutes - mostly raw
• 6 minutes more - smaller tenderloin is done
• 3 more minutes - larger tenderloin is ready

These cooking times are for a "pink" tenderloin. If you prefer yours well done (???) or have family members or small children who can only eat well done meat, I would add another 3 minutes to these times. The key, really, is to have an instant read thermometer. I've seen a range of temperatures, so I may be wrong, but 155-160 appears to be the right internal temp. 

The biggest mistake I made when I was learning to cook was taking the meat off when it was exactly where I wanted it to be. WRONG. Meat doesn't stop cooking the second it is out of the heat, so make sure you take it off a few minutes before it appears "done" (whatever that "done-ness is to you.)

Here is what "done" is for me:

7. Rest. Yes, rest. Rest, for meat, is just as important as rest is for athletes. Take the meat out of the skillet (watch the handle, it IS hot and will sear your flesh off). For the no-clean method, put each tenderloin on it's own sheet of foil and loosely wrap the foil around it. This will keep it warm and allow the meat to cool, finish cooking, and have the juices set. This will keep the juices from spilling out all over everything (and drying your meat) when you cut it. I let this happen for about 10 minutes (or while I'm finishing making dinner.)

Sides

Yes, I know we can all live on meat alone, but it's SO much better with some sides. Normally, I'd make something a lot more healthy, but I was feeling indulgent. I added scalloped potatoes, green beans, and gravy.

Scalloped Potatoes

Recipe adapted from Joy of Cooking

I tend to make these when we have some potatoes have seen better days - usually, smaller potatoes. Some of them are starting to sprout and all that. No matter. Take enough to fill two cups with slices (this will be between 5-8 smaller potatoes).

1. Peel them. You can do this with a knife a little more effectively and easily than with a peeler, but it's chef's choice.

2. Slice them. The more thinly and evenly you slice them, the prettier and more evenly cooked your dish will be. I recommend going for something around an 1/8th of an inch.

3. Prep your secondary ingredients. And preheat your oven to 350. Chop up about 1-2 tbsp butter. You want smaller pieces you can "dot" around the layers of the potatoes. Grab about a 1/3 cup of flour and have that on the side. If you want to add some new flavors, grab some chives, a half an onion, or some bacon (or all of them!) Some people also use cheese. 

4. Layer. Cover the bottom of the pan with one layer of potatoes. Dust with flour and with a few pieces of butter and whatever extras you'd like to add. Keep layering until you're out of potatoes, but don't dust the top with flour or any extras. 

5. Mix liquid. Depending on your level of decadence, heat up a mixture of 1 1/4 c. milk and cream so that it's about bathwater temperature. Sometimes, I add more milk or more water to have more liquid. No more than an extra 1/4 cup, though. 

Mix in 1/2 tsp. of paprika and another of powdered mustard. I add salt in at this point (about a teaspoon). Make sure it's really mixed up or you just get a lump of seasonings in the bottom of the pan.

6. Pour liquid over the potatoes. 

7. Bake. Cover this bad boy with foil and pop it into the oven. In about a half hour, take off the foil. Cooking it with foil for the first half hour keeps it from drying out or burning on the top. Let it bake for another 45 minutes to an hour - but check it at a half hour. I just told Chadd to take it out after an hour while I was at a meeting, so ours came out a bit more "done" than normal. 

Green Beans

I assume most people know how to make green beans, but if you don't - or you want a new twist - here's how we make them in our house.

1. Heat water. Put about an inch and a half of water into the bottom of a larger pot. Add two heaping tablespoons of chicken bouillon and half of an onion, cut into large sections.   

2. Clean the green beans. Rise, then chop off the ends of each green bean. I'm not meticulous about it, don't let yourself spend way too much time doing this.

3. Cook. With about 6-8 minutes left on the rest of your meal, throw in the green beans and just keep an eye on them. Take them out when you can pierce them with a knife, but before they turn brown. They will look vibrantly green when they're done. If you like your green beans soggy - don't come over for dinner. 

Gravy

Recipe non existant, but mad props to my dad for teaching me how to make gravy.

When you took the tenderloins out of the oven and moved them to foil, I'm sure you noticed that you had a lot of extra juice and stuff floating around in the bottom of the pan. This is good. 

1. Thicken. Toss a tablespoon or so of flour into the juice in the pan on medium low heat. If this makes paste, add some water, broth (any kind, really), or left over marinade. Your choice. If you use the left over marinade - match that 1 for 1 with water since the marinade will be very strong in flavor. Don't over do it.

2. Simmer. Bring gravy to a simmer. Too thin? Add flour a spoonful at a time to avoid lumps. Too thick? Add water, marinade, or broth. Stir continuously so you don't burn the gravy.

3. Repeat. Until you have the consistency you like. A word on using the marinade - that has raw stuff floating around in it. Make sure your gravy simmers (bubbles) for a bit if you've decided to use that as a loosening agent. 

Timing

I think timing is probably the hardest thing for people to master as they are learning to cook. Here is my cheat sheet to make everything above and have it all finish at roughly the same time.

Earlier in the day: prep tenderloins and marinade them

2 hours before dinner: prep scalloped potatoes

1.5 hours before dinner: put in scalloped potatoes

1 hour before dinner: take foil off potatoes, prep green beans

30 minutes before dinner: sear tenderloins and place in oven

15 minutes before dinner: boil water for green beans

10 minutes before dinner: put on green beans, take out tenderloin and let rest

5 minutes before dinner: make gravy

And voila:

The meat is a little pink for my taste, but Chadd likes his tenderloin more rare than I do. 

Success!

Questions? Mia Cooks requests? Soup recipes coming soon!

The Solo Run

I announced it on Twitter, and probably on Facebook the other week, but I don't think that trickled into my blog.

I pulled out of the Myrtle Beach Marathon.

This is the first race that I have ever DNS'ed (did not start).

The longer story behind my DNS is that I've been injured since the first week of January. Between foot surgery years ago and an already weakened left ankle, my left arch swelled up, my ankle was tight, every step I took was agony, likely because of over use, old shoes, or just...bad luck. As I started to heal with the help of rest, active release therapy, and a lot of foam rolling, the marathon drew closer and closer and all I had to show for it was one long run of 18 miles.

Coach T and I met, discussed that I would skip the tapering period before the marathon and, instead, ramp up. I felt like this was a doable strategy. I'd run marathons on stranger training regiments. I'm stronger, faster, more consistent...after Coach and I had dinner, I knew I could do it.

The night before I was supposed to head out for 12-13 miles, I was up the wall with stress, anxiety, and guilt over whether or not I should do the race. All I could hear in my mind was "Failure. You gave up. You are not an athlete. Liar. Fraud." I cried. I paced around the apartment. I couldn't tell if I was lying to myself about the pain and I was wimping out or if I was actually injured (spoiler alert: I was actually injured. But it was a unique experience to test physical pain versus mental denial).

In the end, I was so paralyzed by my inability to know how I would be healing that I had to make a decision. The stress of hoping to not be injured was driving me mad. My foot was still swollen, my ankle still tender, and crying over a 12 mile run was the final straw:

It was time for a mandated break.

In the end, this would have been my fourth marathon. I don't want to take the little vacation time I have, to only hopefully PR a marathon, much less finish it without injury. I didn't want to spend the energy I have left at the end of the day worrying about something that is supposed to be a joy...and, finally, I have some lofty goals for the end for the year (sub-6 half IM in Augusta). To do a marathon in February that may have lasting implications for my foot, right as training season revs up? It wasn't a sacrifice I was willing to make.

I'm still fighting to remember that injuries are things to be taken seriously, that there are other marathons, and that sometimes, NOT training is the smartest training decision that can be made.

But, my brain and determination are stubborn. So, to prove to myself that I haven't bitched out on training, I hit every workout this week AND I got up at 5:30 this morning to meet team RAGE for a 6:30 am run.

Rachel and Victoria had a much longer run on the calendars, but Coach T let me get to Saturday morning run early to go out with them as they begin to train to start a run in the early morning for race day.

The sun had not yet risen. And it was COLD. Like, 18 degrees according to my iPhone cold. I had my headlamp and LED flasher (who says I don't train for Ragnar?). I wore long spandex, shorts, a long sleeve tech shirt, thick tech bright orange jacket (thanks, Jason!), two pairs of gloves with hand warmers (thanks, Mom!), ear warmers and baseball hat. Bundled is an understatement. And I was still cold.

As we were getting ready to go, Coach jumped out of her car and rallied with us to run a quick 6 miles. What a gift. How amazing it was to spend a few miles running with Coach. When we hit 3, Coach ran ahead, Victoria and Rachel kept going on Beach while I turned around to head back to the car. Three miles, alone.

It's been a long time since I have run alone.

Aside I headed back, the sun was rising over Rock Creek, squirrels were stirring up the leaves, I saw a runner here or there, but mostly, I was alone.

I stopped my Garmin at one point to stand on a small bridge over the creek and watch the water rush past. Then I picked up the pace and held sub-9's the rest of the way home.

My confidence boosted by the lack of pain in my ankle and foot, the success of getting up early, the excitement of running with Coach...all of that seemed to churn up everything else on my mind in a cathartic manner.

I spent the better portion of my solo run back to the car pouring my heart out to the frigid air. I confessed my deepest thoughts and feelings to imaginary running companions. Perhaps, if you want to know the state of my heart, it is best to run long with me.

Running strips away a certain amount of armor that we all have. I am the most honest with myself in those moments and miles. I love myself the most; I forgive myself the most.

As I write this, my ankle and foot are tender, a little reminder that I made the right decision about the race, for which I am grateful. But the good news is that it all seems to be on the path to healing and I've overcome a huge mental obstacle for me - I am not a failure for pulling out of a race. I am learning to listen to my body. And there will be other marathons.

Running Partners - An Essay

I have always been a solo runner. I trained for and ran my first marathon totally alone. I didn’t know there was a running community. I didn’t know that running groups really existed in the numbers that they do, or that there were people as slow as I was at the time. I didn’t even really know about running stores, now that I think about it. Chadd actually took me to the Georgetown Running Store after my face went numb following my first 15 mile run (I didn’t know about Gu or that perhaps running with Gatorade was a good idea). Please don’t ask how I got myself marathon-deep without knowing any of this. I ran my first marathon in a cotton, long-sleeve shirt.

I valued the time alone. When I was training that first time around, I was struggling through the aftermath of a rough break-up, a full college course load, and work. I “wrote” a lot of the creative fiction required for my English degree on the Capital Crescent Path. I listened to the same playlist for hours on end. I cried or swore my way through that final mile more times than not.

I was afraid to run with other people. I was sure everyone was so much faster than I was; that they never stopped to walk, that I would only ruin their run. I ran once or twice with a co-worker. She was gracious enough to run with me and pretend that I wasn’t pulling her back (I most certainly was). I read articles in Runners’ World about the companionship of running partners, but I felt that these people were the elites, the dedicated, the run-in-ice-and-snow types. I was not.

I trained for a second marathon, again, by myself. A lot of lonely hours spent on the Capital Crescent trail went by, and by the time it was over, I had PRed, but not met my sub-four goal. My same running friend had jumped in to run the last 6 miles with me (a gift I can never repay – I’d not have finished without her). And yet, I still didn’t want to run with people, despite that race-saving experience.

When I signed up for my third marathon, I was still without a running group, without a coach, without a running partner. One thing I did have was a massive, terrifying goal: a sub-4 marathon. I had pulled my original 4:22 to a 4:10, but I was inconsistent, not committed, and again – alone. Running alone had gone from a private, joyful experience to a self-contained torture.

Then I met Coach T. Then I went to track practice. I was still alone – not fast enough to be with one group, but not slow enough for the pack right behind them. Alone, surrounded by others. It was at least a step in the together-ness direction.

Then I had my first long run as instructed by Coach T. I drove to Peirce Mill with all of my running gear. I had my Gu, my hand fuel belt, my calf sleeves (though I don’t think I used them). I didn’t have a Garmin, or even a digital watch. Victoria had told me that she’d be at the long run and she, too, had about 10 miles to go through. My palms were sweating the whole way to the meet-up. Could I make it through 10 miles pacing with someone? What if I couldn’t keep up? What if I had to walk?
Instead, Victoria stayed with me. She encouraged me up and down the hills along Rock Creek Parkway. She let me pause to eat a Gu on the way back, but that was it. Running with her, I realized I COULD do 10 miles without stopping and that it didn’t feel bad. In fact, it felt good. Really good. Like I could do this again, and again, and again, good. But we didn’t very often – our training schedules were wildly different for the majority of 2012.

Fast forward almost a year.

We planned to race Myrtle Beach Marathon together along with Rachel. More accurately put, they convinced me to join them. It became a beacon to me while I was unemployed. I have to get up because I have to run with my partners. Saturday morning runs with Rachel and Victoria became one of the few things that I actually did with regularity and excitement.

I got home from Atlanta after Christmas, slept terribly, listening to the wind blowing in a snow and ice storm the last weekend of the year. My alarm went off and I headed to the park. I’d fumbled my way through my morning -  couldn’t find my Gus, or my handheld water belt, or my watch, and my Garmin was dead. But there was Victoria, standing there in the fog next to Coach, the rest of the group gone out for their runs.

Off we went. We only had 12 miles this morning, but the distance felt insurmountable. The air was heavy with what would soon be rain, ice, and snow.

The first few miles, we caught up on traveling for the holidays – our families, my new job, gossip from Twitter – then we fell silent. The weather had kept many people at home; we rapidly became the road's only inhabitants.

At the turn-around point, the rain began to fall.

Per usual, I stopped briefly to eat a Gu, then we began the trek home.

The weather picked up and turned to something between water and solid. My thighs were stinging with the rain and sleet. My gloves and hat were becoming water-logged and I could feel my socks absorbing any precipitation that my spandex had shed. But our bodies felt good, despite the elements. We had to pace check several times (something Victoria does since she reliably monitors her Garmin).

The only things I heard for the next few miles were the sounds of the weather falling through the branches around us, our quiet, matched footsteps, hushed exhalations from our mouths that turned to steam, and the calm, working beats of my own heart. I had a brief second imagining that our bodies were machines, or horses, with the seemingly unending ability to run the distance. This is a rare, silent moment of intense beauty that life sometimes gives you.

The rain turned to snow.

Our conversation picked up again to topics that build a friendship, or perhaps better than that – a running partnership. We ran through serious discussions as we did miles. The last three miles, we built faster and faster, silent again, intent on finishing strong, despite the weather. Sometimes, the silent miles are the most powerful, lost in your own thoughts, but unconsciously aware that you are, in fact, not alone.

------

A note: I've written, re-written, and started from scratch this essay more than I can count. It's been sitting, lonely in a word document since the afternoon after that snowy run. Despite how much effort I've put into it, I still can't find the appropriate words to describe the importance of this run and of running partners - particularly mine - but I couldn't let it sit anymore without the moment slipping further and further from thought. I feared that the more I wrote and rewrote, the more I would lose the truthfulness of that morning. Apologies to Victoria for any embarrassment this may have caused outing her as my running partner. 

Mia Cooks - Bolognese Sauce

If you didn't get a chance to watch me live-tweet my cooking adventure tonight, you can easily catch up on my twitter handle.

Here's my promised blog post!

I intended to make butternut squash soup tonight. I have all the ingredients sitting around and I love having the soup for lunch at work or as a quick snack after a workout. But I love cooking for Chadd and he needs more than soup for dinner and frankly, after a 95% fruit and vegetable set-up for my meals today, I was DYING for some meat. I find that when I'm really craving something (no, french fries don't count), I usually need it.

I made bolognese sauce tonight. Chadd still eats a lot of grains but I'm on a reduced grain diet (diet being lifestyle, not DIET). When I make things that usually go with pasta, I substitute spaghetti squash for my dish. The first time I tried it, I liked it, but I didn't love it. After several incidents with it, I've grown to like it MORE than pasta. Who knew.

I'll show how to make spaghetti squash another day, but I had some leftovers laying around.

I decided to double the recipe and make some modifications from the recipe that was shown in Practical Paleo. I should note that I almost never make a recipe out of a cook book exactly as listed - but that doesn't mean you can't. I just get bored and "want to see what will happen" - most of the time this works out...some of the time, it does not. But tonight! It worked!

Ingredients:

1 pound pork sausage

1 pound ground beef

8 strips bacon (optional, but really good)

2 onions

2 carrots

2 stalks celery

2 cloves garlic

6 oz. tomato paste

1 c. coconut milk

1 c. white wine (optional, but highly recommended)

2 TBSP butter

Seasonings (sage, fennel, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper)

If you are just beginning to learn how to cook, the best advice I can give you about cooking is to have everything prepped beforehand. Chop, peel, thaw, and measure everything before you start. Pretend you're on a cooking show. It does mean more dishes, but it makes timing everything so much easier.

Want to see how to chop an onion? Here ya go:

1. MELT THE BUTTER. I melted 2 TBSP of butter over a medium heat (half of what was recommended) in a BIG skillet. I probably could have done with even less than that, but whatever. If you're making half this recipe, you don't need a HUGE skillet, but make sure it's deep so you can stir without spilling. If you want, go ahead and grab a big soup or pasta pot.

2. ADD THE VEGGIES. I threw all of the veggies that I'd chopped into a billion pieces into the butter and stirred around. When you're sauteeing veggies, just use a spatula to toss them around now and then so they don't burn or get soggy. Every 30 seconds is fine.

2 small onions (I prefer yellow onions), 2 carrots, 2 stalks celery, diced

3. ADD THE GARLIC. After a couple minutes (maybe 3?) check the onions. If they are becoming translucent, it's time to add the garlic - make sure it's chopping up pretty finely. You can use the same technique I showed on the onion above for tiny pieces. Just two cloves will do. Stir around, then let sit for a minute until you start to smell the garlic. And trust me, you will.

4. ADD THE MEAT.

That's 1 pound of beef, 1 pound of pork sausage, 8 strips of chopped bacon (I cooked the bacon earlier last week and drained off the extra fat). I stirred this every few minutes to make sure nothing burned. I broke up the meat as much as possible until it was browned (this means there isn't red left in the meat. Pink is ok.)

A note on the meat here. I tend to cook the meat first and drain off the extra fat, but since this is a sauce, some of that fat is a key component for keeping the sauce thick and delicious. And frankly, we all get too scared about FATOMGFATFATFAT. Fat is good for you. Calm down.

Browned meat

4. STIR IN THE LIQUIDS. Once the meat was browned, I added the coconut milk, tomato paste, and wine. The wine is optional, but I find that it adds a depth of flavor. Don't worry, the alcohol cooks out! 

Essentially, the tomato paste takes a while to incorporate - but I put it in the center, then use the back of my spoon to even it out. Instead of stirring around the pan (splashing happens a lot this way), I did more of an up and down stirring. Scoop some meat/veggies from the side of the pan and put into the middle, then push down with the spoon. Take your time. Another attractive option would have been to mix the coconut milk, paste, and wine ahead of time so the paste wasn't difficult to incorporate. 

5. SEASON AND SIMMER. Once everything is incorporated, add seasonings and simmer. 

I added salt, pepper, a smidgen of sage, oregano, parsley, some garlic powder and some onion powder, as well as some fennel. I highly recommend the fennel - that was a last minute addition. The recipe doesn't call for any seasonings other than salt and pepper, but I found it was a bit sweet for my liking.

That looks super gross, I'm sure, but it's awesome so far. Let it hang out on low-medium for 20 minutes or so. Stir every couple of minutes so it doesn't stick (I checked in ever 3-4 minutes). If it starts super bubbling (you know, BUBBLE BUBBLE SPLAT POP), turn it down. 

After twenty minutes, the sauce should be thick without a ton of liquid. The alcohol will have cooked off by this time as well. 

6. EAT. Now it's time to EAT. When the simmering started, I put water on the stove in a medium sized saucepan and bring to a boil. Add pasta. Cook.

When I was just about to finish up the pasta and the sauce, I threw my spaghetti squash in the microwave for a minute or so.

Here's how it turned out:

For Chadd - over pasta with some parmesan cheese

Over spaghetti squash!

Reheats well for lunch!

Looking back:
- I'd probably double the amount of carrots and celery in the sauce
- I'd mix the liquids and tomato paste before pouring into the sauce

Mia's Review:
I don't like a lot of meat in my foods anymore, but when I want it - I WANT it and this delivered (see: 3 types of meat). I'm glad I doubled the recipe because I feel like it will be a solid "go-to" for the next few days and also freeze well for future "oh crap I forgot to make dinner" meals. Put it on pasta, eat it straight, mix with veggies, add greens...the versatility is hard to beat.

Mia's Score: 90/100

Chadd's Review:
It had good flavor and was very satisfying and filling while avoiding the heaviness that characterizes many sauces of this kind.

I told him that was very formal and he said: "Fine. I liked it, would make it again, good flavor, light."

I disagree on the "light" description, but if he means light on grease and other heavier factors, then he's right. It eats clean to me.

Chadd's Score: 87/88 out of 100

I'll upload the videos tonight and I'll have another cook along (or possibly a lot of cook alongs) coming in the near future. After all, I did promise butternut squash soup.

Mia Cooks - Why?

I am not #fitfluential.

I won't ever apply. Not that I blog enough, though I certainly tweet enough. Regardless. Over the past few months, some of us have noticed that the "fit crowd" (my term to make sure I don't help their SEO), have been endorsing some not so "fit" options.

Thus was born #Fatfluential. I have no idea who is behind it, but I want to be their best friend forever (seriously, I love you guys). It started as a light-hearted, spoof account. It was the "Mean Girls" movie in the Twitterverse; it showed the fit crowd as larger-than-life, mostly-ridiculous. And then, buoyed by their no-bull followers (myself included), #Fatfluential started taking on it's superficial cousin instead of just spoofing them, and so did their followers.

What is Fatfluential?

Train hard, eat lots, laugh harder - we are athletes who eat - RTing the best of your #proof (this is a spoof of FitFluential)

Recently, our cousins got a little taste of some "food" and decided that it was blog worthy. I'm not without sin. I've eaten frozen stuff. I've indulged in pizza. I won't judge if you eat it. But I will judge if you dare tell me it's super healthy.

Because it's not.

Fatfluential responded with the following Tweets

And you know what was amazing? People started offering to teach others how to cook. For free. 

All over the country.

Because I once relied on losing weight as being calories in/calories out, I feel that I can speak with some authority on this topic. You can lose weight eating processed food. But you know what happens? You're miserable and everything tastes vaguely...fake. And when you want something real, it all goes to hell. At what price convenience? 

I started working with Christine (that link will take you to a limited time offer to work with her at a reduced rate). I learned that just because you love to cook does not mean you only have to cook unhealthy (but delicious) food. I also learned that healthy, home cooked food is...wait for it...amazing. I lost 12 pounds following this basic plan and it wasn't hard; in fact, it was easy.

And so I volunteered my kitchen to teach people how to cook.

I'm trying it out tonight through the hashtag #miacooks. I'll start at 8:30pm and [hopefully] upload a blog post with video, more pictures, and further directions.

Tonight, kids, we're making butternut squash soup. And you may get dragged along for the ride when I make homemade bolognese and mushroom caps. We'll see.

Happy 2013!

So it's 2013 and I still haven't written a recap of my half IM. Sorry. It probably won't happen unless I just copy paste an email I sent to my training penpal. Which maybe I'll do.

But the point of this post is to tell you three universal truths to health, fitness, and a healthy weight:

1) Pick up heavy things. Frequently. I'm not saying you have to join crossfit, or a gym, or spend a billion dollars on a bowflex...but life is hard and there are heavy things in it, and we need to be able to lift them. Learn how. Practice. Be strong.

2) Run as far as you can. Often. This is not a good marathon training strategy, but if you're looking to get in shape and be healthy, and really help your own mental state, running is good for you. Go do it. If you can run a block - that is awesome. Run a block. If you can run and walk 4 blocks, off you go. 4 miles? Same.

3) Eat your veggies. Don't believe me? I lost 11 pounds just by eating more veggies. If you want better instructions, try to cut out half of the foods that you eat that come through a factory...and fill that empty space up with veggies.

On that wavelength, Victoria and I are continuing our weightloss pact - other #holiloss (if you follow my twitter) are doing a recreation of the weightloss pact and worth checking out. But if you want to play with the two of us, let me know.

Eight Pounds Down - How Am I Doing It?

It's no secret that I am really Type-A. It's also no secret that I have a tendency to choose one focus and become involved 100% with it. I've had a history of about 8-10 pound weight swings because I seem to have the ability to focus on EITHER fitness OR food. Never both.

I'm lucky that when I gain/lose weight, I don't look too much different. Or maybe I'm wrong and no one has the nerve to tell me so. Anyway.

Clearly this year has been the year of the half tri. It was all I thought about, cared about, trained for. And as a result, I gained weight. Biked for 3 hours and ran 10 miles? Eat a pizza. Why not?! Yeah, no. And thus, I found myself miserably out of shape after my race (One day, I will shut up about the half. Today isn't that day.)

I had a few half hearted attempts: I tried to go back to my 100% clean diet. Fail. I tried calorie counting. Epic fail. I put it off one day, then another day, and the more I did that, the more I put off getting back to off season training. Fun fact - off season training is not actually code for "sit on your ass." The more you know.

I finally admitted that perhaps I was going about things wrong. Perhaps I had no idea what I was doing. Perhaps, it was time to put my negative experience with nutritionists behind me and seek out help. If working with Coach T could keep me in line on my training, perhaps if I found someone who was equally as awesome in nutrition, they could keep me in line on my eating.

I use Twitter to find Coach T, so science says I could find a nutritionist in the same fashion.

Thankfully, the people behind Fatfluential responded to my cry for a nutrition specialist with experience with endurance athletes and introduced me to Christine.

I sent her an honest email:

"I am, for better or worse, a little type A when it comes to training and planning...but I lack much experience in the way of nutrition. I've done the calorie counting thing until I realized that (surprise!) lean cuisines are NOT particularly healthy for ou and my mile times began to suffer. I did a really strict diet...until I realized that I was letting my diet direct everything I did and was totally miserable."

I got the response that made me commit to 6 months of counseling with her:

"Type A people know how to set goals and follow through, it's just a matter of knowing which goal to set with nutrition. There is so much conflicting info out there and some of it works, but most of it doesn't." 

I just wanted someone to cut through the bullshit. And Christine did. I need someone to hold me accountable, and Christine does. She actually tweeted at me to put down a donut. Brave. It doesn't hurt that she is an accomplished endurance athlete. I felt like she knew what I was talking about even though I am no where near as badass as she is.

We talk every other week for an hour - but her twitter presence will strike fear into my heart when I think about a cookie that I don't really want. Our conversations have built from the foundation up - what kind of fuel produces what results? What does my body want? Why? How am I incorrectly interpreting what my body says it wants? And dear God, what do I eat?

We started super simple. Half of my lunch/dinner became greens over night. Magically. I lost some weight. Then we went about bringing grains down. Funny, I feel not-so-bloated and not-so-tired.

I made "nutrition tiers." Essentially, I have three "levels" of my eating habits. The vacation/celebrations level - I can have 2 "splurge" meals, but I stick with my half-greens and hydration. I have my "main" diet, where I have 1 splurge meal a week and am dedicated to my greens being at least half of my diet and I try to keep grains at 0-2 per day. For my super clean/race week/getting sick diet, I cut out all splurge meals and stick with 0-1 grains a day. And I drink the left over water from making my greens. Trust me, it just tastes like strong tea. It's not so bad.

I've been bad about starting my food journal since getting laid off, but that is something we're starting, as is a breakfast experiment that I promise to start doing as well.

I've hit my 1 month goals:
- 5 pound weight loss (I wanted to feel "not puffy")
- Go-to list for cravings - sweet? and orange and 10 dark chocolate chips, salty? celery and hummus or a little peanut butter
- Have an "off-season" training diet

My three month goals are already in reach:
- 10-15 pound weight loss
- Modify diet for "beginning of season" training
- Reduce eliminate cravings

The moral of this story is four-fold -

First, greens are golden. Even if you're going to splurge, if you eat the greens, you'll eat less of the splurge food, more of the greens.

Second, it takes two weeks to "want" to stick with the diet, but if you can make it past the first two weeks, the diet propagates itself. I found myself craving greens.

Third, it IS possible to lose weight while training. Absolutely possible. My training has gotten exponentially better. I sleep better. I WANT to train more.

Fourth, Christine is the best person in the entire world.

When I stepped on the scale today, I was totally blown away. Down 8 pounds. I literally got off the scale, checked that it zeroed out, then stepped on it again. I even did basic math using my phone because I didn't believe 8 pounds. But I did it. And man does it feel good and sustainable.

Keep me accountable readers. I don't want to be back where I started ever again.

My Dream Gym

I referenced my dream gym in a recent post and since I'm unemployed, Type-A, and apparently have an amazing network...I figured I'd go ahead and tell you about my dream gym in hopes that maybe one of you knows a bored billionaire.

Attitude
I loathe corporate gyms. Why? Because they hire anyone. Sure, that guy at the front desk is really nice, but does he actually care what you do at the gym that day? Nope. He cares that he has two baskets of towels to roll before his shift is over.

I want to have a gym that behaves like a community. I know it's possible. I've seen it happen with my tri team, BodyPump, the GW GroupEx staff...and it's alive and healthy at my Crossfit gym, and I'm confident that this isn't because of the activity - it's because of the staff.

You see, a lot of gyms see running and owning a gym as a money maker. What if we stopped thinking about profits and started thinking about gyms as life changers (eww how cheesy was that?) But truly. Think about it - would you rather go to a gym with all the machines and stuff and friendly staff or to a gym where all your friends hang out, who want to know where you were last Tuesday, how that big project turned out at work? I know what I'd choose any day of the week.

At my dream gym, the entire staff is full time (if they want to be). Fitness is their life. And the people who would want to work there would want to know who you are, what you're trying to accomplish, and what's going on in your life.

Facility
When the Real World moved into DC and disrupted my quiet street, I was irritated, but when they finally moved out, I dreamed of having the money to buy that massive house and turn it into a gym.

In reality, what I need is a two part gym:

The Dirty Side
If I have a dream gym, Chadd is clearly a part of that picture. Ninja warrior stuff all over the place. Nothing says awesome like an adult jungle gym. The space is nearly identical to what you need for Crossfit. So, that's an easy add. Put an indoor 400 meter track around it for track practice. Epic. I can see so much awesome happening at the same time in this space.

The Svelte Side
I can't give up my love of Spinning and my budding interest in yoga. I'd have a spin studio and a yoga loft (yes, loft. Yoga District is killing it with their beautiful space in Dupont. Serious zen). On top of that, let's go ahead and put in the VERY basics (mats, balls, bosu, weights, a couple cardio machines), but hell no, we are not using weight lifting machines. More often than not, those encourage terrible form and injury. Three training studios - rented out to trainers who want to have a home for their services.

The Pool Side
Obviously. And I'm going to ensure that Victoria oversees it and the Masters program.

The Dream Extras
Trainers: Trainers will greet you when you walk in, ask you what you're working on that day, if you'd like help with anything, and will be easily accessible when you want to talk to them. Trainers will be on the floor at all times - and included in your membership. You get a monthly, free one-hour workout with a trainer of your choice.

Membership Levels: Tiered membership levels allow for drop-in rates, passes, area-specific, and all-inclusive. No contract.

Nutrition: Nutrition is the most ignored part of every gym. In a fairy tale world, I'd convince my holistic health counselor (info on my resources tab) to move to DC and run the nutrition program. The gym would have a full demonstration kitchen with frequent cooking classes, nutrition seminars, and specialized counseling available - once a month, one hour sessions included in your membership.

Clubs: Clubs are so underrated. Remember how awesome it was to be in a club in high school or college? Triathlon clubs (clearly, I'd convince Coach T to take over this part), Running groups 5k to marathons, yoga groups, you want it? We'll start it.

Social Events: Why can't a gym have a happy hour? Club mixers? Competitions? Clinics? Let's do it.

The Name

Vortex

Definition: an activity, situation, or way of life 

regarded as irresistibly engulfing

Hashtag, Eating My Words (The Crossfit Story)

After a many month dedication to all things 7[2].3 related (yes, 72.3, I had an extra 2 miles on my bike course), I have been burnt out on all things swimming, biking, and even running.

Related: in a crazed state, I bought a Living Social deal for a month at Crossfit Dupont. Why? Chadd has recently taken up Crossfit to supplement his Ninja Warrior training and really enjoys it, so I agreed to try it for a month in some sort of reparation for being absent for so many months of training. The results were surprising. In fact, I did not expect to be writing this blog post.

I know, I know. I'm sorry.

As many of you know, I've always been fairly "anti-box" - not because I think there is something wrong with Crossfit - but because most people who are *seriously* into Crossfit had a thing against those of us with a penchant for endurance sports. And frankly, I have no time for those people. I didn't even have time for those people who were pro-endurance sports while I was training. And have you ever had to deal with a Crossfit Bro? Spare me. Those are the guys who made it their purpose in high school to tease me for being less-than athletic (how you like me now, assholes.)

But Chadd has loved it, assured me that the coaches knew what they were talking about, and that it would be, at the very least, a challenge.

Game on.

I signed up for the foundations class - a 2x/week for 3 weeks course on appropriate technique and basic movements. Class was great, I knew after a couple of the intro courses that this would be a good fit for me...but then I skipped for about a week due to attack of the angry ankle and too much work. But, I finally manned up and after the hurricane kept me cooped up for 2 days, Chadd and I went to a Tuesday night workout which looked like this:

SWOD:
- 3x5 Squats

WOD:
- 150 pushups*

*For every time you have to rest without being in pike position, sprint down and back on the basketball court

Dear.God. Yes, I did the push-ups on my knees. And when that started to fail (somewhere around 120), I switched to the belly-ups. I did a lot of sprints to stay loose (maybe every 25?) But I did it in around 9:30.

Because this was so much fun, I decided that because I had to stay late at work and miss track on Wednesday, that I'd just go right ahead and hit up Crossfit. WHY NOT? (wait for it....wait for it....)

SWOD:
Power Clean and Split Jerk

WOD:
- 50 Ball Slams
- 50 Double Unders* (or 100 extra high jump ropes if you are a like me and can't link double unders)

*Every time you break on double unders, do another 5 ball slams or 10 more if you are doing singles.

So. I was already in some pretty brutal pain from what felt like a couple billion pushups. I knew I was in trouble when I started to feel faint during the warm up on Wednesday. Yes, the warm up. Around ball slam 30, my vision went dark in places. Warning sirens are going off in my head. I am 2 minutes into this workout, y'all. In my mind's eye, I saw this headline:

"NEWSFLASH: HALF IRONMAN PASSES OUT MID-CROSSFIT WORKOUT. COACH SAYS: I TOLD YOU ENDURANCE SPORTS WERE STUPID."

It took me 4:09 to do Wednesday's workout. Guys. Less than 5 minutes (not bragging about this time, making the point that it only took 4 minutes and 9 seconds to bring me to destruction). I was sure I was dying. Yes, I ordered the Humble pie over here.

I woke up the next morning and I couldn't lift my upper body. My arms would not support my weight. Putting on clothes was impossible. Getting my contacts in? Y'all, I couldn't touch my face.

It is Sunday night and I can still feel soreness hiding in places through my upper body. It's seriously awesome.

I was practically high on Wednesday night when I got home.

Though I knew I would not survive a Thursday morning workout, I still hit refresh a billion times on the CFD page to see what the workout would be. We call this "signs you may have a problem."

Yes. I am very well aware that I made a 180-degree change on my opinion of Crossfit and because when I'm wrong, I try to admit it, you have this blog post.

But why do I like Crossfit so much? Here ya go:

1) I'm a masochist. The faster I can reach my physical end and the more often I can be sore from a tough workout - the better. It takes me multiple hours with my sportz to hit that kind of pain. Crossfit? Apparently, 4 minutes.

2) I love working out with Chadd. As someone so aptly put it, "So...the point between a half Ironman and Ninja Warrior is...Crossfit?" I guess so. And I love it. Chadd and I never get to work out together on something we both enjoy. Even mud runs are compromises to some extent. I've spent a lot of lonely hours at the gym or training in the past year; to spend some time together is wonderful.

3) I suck at it. Stay with me here. I love seeing something that I didn't think I could do, and then doing it. Or working my ass off to do it. I have a slightly "disturbing" past with this type of thing. Never done a road race? Let's sign up for a marathon! New to triathlons? How about a half IM! I am addicted to fear. And as Coach T says, fear is a powerful motivator. I know Chadd is grateful that this was the new fear endeavor instead of a full Ironman (for now).

4) I used to do this. Kind of. Before I was primarily obsessed with endurance sports, I was a personal trainer and a group exercise instructor. BodyPump was a huge time suck, but it was a lot of fun. I do enjoy weight lifting and body mechanics. Abdominal surgery just made me forget how much I had enjoyed it.

5) New Friends! Everyone has been really nice. The girls get to workout together and, clearly, this leads to talking. The girls have been really supportive and friendly and it turns out, a fun number of them are also runners. Commence blah blahblah running marathon blahblah running blahblah which races blahblahblah let's run together blahblahblah.

So. I take it back. Crossfit isn't evil. Or, maybe it is, but it's the right kind of evil. Though, if I ever say "GET AFTER IT" in regards to my workout without irony, you have my permission to punch me.

Living the Dream Life - Unemployment

Last year, about this time, I woke up, went to work, put in a full day, and right before I was about to go home, I was called into my boss' office and laid off. The Friday before Thanksgiving. I cried a lot, ate a pizza, then spent two plus months unemployed. And it wasn't that bad.

Yesterday, about this time, I was called up to the COO's office. I saw HR in the room and knew instantly what was about to happen.

"Your position is being ended...It's not a performance issue...Our overhead is simply too...We looked everywhere for a contract position for you...You aren't the only person we have to have this conversation with..."

I got laid off.

And a surprising thing happened. I was relieved. And I was seriously stoked that I wouldn't have to commute over an hour each way any longer.

I actually spent the majority of my time comforting other people while I was cleaning out my desk and sending files to my coworker.

"Really, I'm going to be fine. It's not like I'm dead or have cancer or something."

While I drove home yesterday, I thought a lot about how I would handle being unemployed again. Whether it's for a few days, weeks, or months (god forbid years...)...I knew I couldn't do what I did last time. I did a lot of what I am going to call "productive wallowing." I stayed at home, avoided the gym, but I churned out applications like you wouldn't believe.

I have no idea how much weight I gained, but it was an amount that is fairly embarrassing for only being unemployed two months. My mile time was probably abysmal.

I made a few preliminary decisions on how unemployed life will be this time around.

Every Sunday I will set a calendar for the business week. It will include the following:
- Lunch with a friend
- Workout Schedule
- Set-Aside job application time
- One new "DC" activity

Becoming all consumed with job applications is the wrong way to go about this. This next job needs to be a good decision - both in terms of what company I join and what the position is. I want to spend at least five years at this next job - not 8 months. I want to love what I do (so...hey...anyone want to hire a race director? Or sponsor my gym idea?)

What IS a good thing is all the time I have to work out. I tweeted something the other day where I pinned for the day where I could work out all day as a top priority. And they say dreams don't come true.

My [fitness] goal for the next 30 days is two-fold:
1) Dedicate myself to getting to a good baseline for running - track practice is required, as are any other runs that Coach puts on my schedule

2)  Not suck at Crossfit - this is a post for a future date, but Chadd and I have been doing crossfit together and I totally suck at it. I love it, but I suck at it. Talk about a humbling experience. My half ironman seems like a joke compared to some of the workouts I've done (Did you know that if you do 150 push ups, you see Valhalla? Try it sometime and find out.)

So! With that, I fully embrace my unemployment for some dedication to fitness.

But, seriously, if you want to fund my gym, I'm all ears.