Dessert for breakfast. Part three.

The reason I'm not usually fond of running is because I get bored. The reason I like kickboxing is because it involves changing movements every 15 seconds.

Lately I've been hearing a lot about HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). I thought I'd try it out today on the treadmill. Here is what I did:

Minutes 0-5: 3.5 mph
Minutes 5-15: Alternating 5.5 and 5.9 mph every minute
Minutes 15-25: Alternating 5.8 and 6.2 mph every minute
Minutes 25-30: Alternating 5.5 and 5.9 mph every minute
Minutes 30-35: 3.5 mph

Changing my speed every minute made the run go a lot quicker! Also, I felt more tired than I normally would after a steady 35 minute run. (I find that a good thing). I think I'll try it next time with a slight incline!

Yesterday at the grocery store, I found out some horrible news about my beloved bran flakes. I guess I never really stopped to look at the ingredient list of "healthy" cereals but now I know that even "healthy" cereals contain sugar. And now I'll be eating oats and other such grains for breakfast.

But why not make the oatmeal interesting?! This morning I made carrot cake oatmeal. I was inspired by Angela's recipe.

I cooked my oats in skim milk with shredded carrots and a splash of vanilla. And then I mixed in walnuts and flax seeds.

Topped with coconut banana soft serve (frozen banana + few spoonfuls shredded coconut blended).

For lunch, I brought back the brussels sprouts in raw form with a brussels sprouts salad.

I used the fresh brussels for this as they are easier to chop finely.

I added red bell peppers, a couple of tomatoes, a clove of garlic, and half of a serrano pepper. And a couple of handfuls of pepitas.

I dressed it with lemon juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and a pinch of black pepper.

Surprisingly, the raw brussels tasted almost as good as the roasted! And it didn't even require a huge amount of dressing. Success!

The Cabbage Cousin.

Now that winter break is coming to a rapid close, it's DETOX TIME!!!

I'm not actually doing a real detox. What I mean is I need to get back on the health train. And the 6 pack train.

What better way to start a detox than by eating brussels sprouts? When I was younger, I never really understood why people my age didn't like brussels sprouts. I loved when my mom made them! I should have asked for her recipe.

Today, I bought all kinds of things at the grocery store, including a bag of fresh brussels sprouts, a bag of frozen brussels sprouts, swiss cheese, and Smart Balance.

I compared the four different kinds on the shelf and ended up with this one. Also because the other three contained fish oil.

I thought I'd put both the Smart Balance and the swiss to good use for dinner. Hint: grilled cheese.

Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I used the frozen brussels for this recipe, and sauteed them over medium heat with some olive oil.

About 5 minutes later, they had nicely browned.

Then I added 1.5 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar and covered the pot for a few minutes.

To further cook the brussels I added a few splashes of water and covered the pot again until most of the water had been soaked up.

And lastly, I seasoned with salt and pepper.

During this process I was also busy preparing my grilled cheese, with some Smart Balance on both slices of Ezekiel bread.

A complete meal!

Brussels sprouts can taste good. This is just the beginning of brussels sprouts week!!!

Tips from a Restaurant Chef!

This is an exciting post for The Fitness Gourmet.

I met a restaurant chef named Mario Bello of a restaurant called Oasis during my vacation in Costa Rica. Oasis happens to be both a vegetarian friendly and healthy restaurant!

Mario is vegetarian (and sometimes vegan) and his dishes are extremely innovative. While the typical Costa Rican meal consists of rice and beans, he aims to be creative with his foods, especially since there aren't many vegetarians in Costa Rica.

I met with Mario and documented two dishes that he made. The first one was the traditional Costa Rican fried plantain. I specifically asked Mario to make this, as I had seen this particular dish everywhere! The second dish he made was a creamy vegetable soup, but here's the catch: no dairy or cream was involved!

Costa Rican Fried Plantains

For us Americans, plantains are rare. In fact, you may not even be familiar with this fruit. I wasn't.

This is two plantains stuck together. 

First, peel and slice the plantain.

Heat butter and olive oil together in a skillet.

Place the plantain slices in the skillet and let cook for a few minutes.

Flip the slices and observe how brown and crispy they are!

Cook for a few more minutes on the other side, and season with a couple of spoonfuls of sugar. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

This turned out SO incredibly crispy and delicious! Mario's method of making the plantains was a bit different than what I'd tasted earlier this week. While his were more crisp, the others were softer and in a syrupy medium rather than the sugar/cinnamon combination. My verdict: these were fantastic!

Creamy Vegetable Soup

As I mentioned before, this soup is completely vegan. Additionally, it is not a typical Costa Rican dish; rather, it is one of Mario's innovative vegetarian recipes.

Ingredients:

• potatoes
• onions
• tomato
• minced garlic
• red bell pepper
• fresh spinach
• peach palm
• cilantro
• celery
• vegetable oil
• water
• rice
• salt/pepper/vinegar

Roughly slice the vegetables and saute them in a pot with vegetable oil until cooked. Mario sautees the vegetables before boiling them to bring out the flavor. This is important later!

Add water and rice, bring to a boil, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the rice has cooked.

Let the pot cool, and then transfer the soup into a blender.

Blend until the mixture is completely liquefied. Mario filtered the pureed mixture before seasoning to make sure the soup was smooth. He then added the salt, pepper, white vinegar.

After blending, I was actually a bit confused, because I thought I'd missed a step. I asked Mario if he'd added any seasonings, because I didn't recall. He hadn't added any of the seasonings yet, and told me that this is why he sautees the vegetables beforehand. The vegetables themselves had such a strong, aromatic smell.

Oh man, I can't even describe how creamy this soup was despite the lack of dairy! Who knew that pureed vegetables had such a creamy texture? And of course, the taste was wonderful. After observing Mario's technique, I realized there really isn't a need for lots of seasonings to make a dish taste good.

Thanks again, Mario, for allowing me time to document your cooking!

For anyone who plans on visiting Costa Rica, I definitely recommend stopping by his restaurant for a healthy, vegetarian, delicious, and substantial meal. 

Greetings from Costa Rica!

Or should I say "Pura vida!"

I really have not updated in quite some time. My apologies. I promise once winter break ends (and I am not on vacation) I will have recipes aplenty.

For now, I'll post some of the delicious vegetarian foods I've had in Costa Rica so far.

A simple cabbage salad with a lovely presentation! See the mango-esque fruit in the top right corner? That's called a peach palm. It has the texture of garbanzo bean and a neutral taste with a sweet aftertaste. 

Eggplant parmesan sandwich. SO DELICIOUS. 

A typical Costa Rican meal (minus the meat): white rice, black beans, fried plantains, and a huge chunk of cheese. This meal also included scrambled eggs, a side salad, and sauteed veggies. 

Other delicious items:

Stay tuned for the next Costa Rican food update!

Puddin'.

My most recent culinary experiment involved avocados in dessert form.

Before you assume that this was another failed experiment (I wouldn't blame you), let me explain! It seems like lots of vegan desserts these days involve avocado because of its creaminess when pureed. I originally wanted to try making avocado ice cream, but decided I'd save that for another day when I've had some sort of avocado dessert experience.

I made avocado pudding. I also had the intention of making this vegan, but that plan fell through when I added milk.

Ingredients:

• 1 avocado
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 tablespoon brown rice syrup
• 1.5 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons chia seeds

Did I mention that this experiment involved lots of forms of sugar?

I cut the avocado and blended it until smooth with a hand blender. 

Then I added the cocoa powder, stirred, and blended some more.

I added a couple of tablespoons of the milk, stirred, and then added the honey.

This is where I thought the recipe was over. And then I tasted my creation. So I added the brown sugar.

And then the rest of the milk. And brown rice syrup.

For additional protein and thickness, I used chia seeds.

And then I topped my small bowl of pudding with cinnamon toffee almonds. 

Beware, this is some thick and filling pudding. And also requires somewhat of an "acquired" taste.