Enough with the calorie counting!
Today was our "free" day, and I made a super tasty treat. Serve this with brown rice or couscous to soak up the yummy sauce. Add a side of steamed asparagus dressed with olive oil, sea salt and fresh ground pepper - you have a complete meal.
PORK TENDERLOIN WITH PORT AND DRIED PLUMS
1 2 lb pork tenderloin
1 teaspoon salt, divided
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup minced shallots (5-6 large)
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup sherry or red-wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dry thyme
1 14-oz. can reduced-sodium beef broth
2 cups large pitted dried plums
1 cup tawny port
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Season pork with 1/2 teaspoon salt and plenty of pepper.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the pork; cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 3 minutes. Transfer pork to a baking dish.
4. Roast the pork until just cooked through, 40 to 45 minutes (an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center should register 155°F). Let rest, loosely covered with foil, for 5 minutes.
5. While pork cooks, add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet. Add shallots and ginger and cook, stirring, until soft and lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Add brown sugar, vinegar and thyme. Bring to a simmer and immediately add broth. Simmer for 10 minutes. Stir the prunes and port into the shallot mixture. Reduce heat and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.
6. As pork is resting, combine water and cornstarch in a small bowl. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the prune/shallot mixture a little at a time, stirring and adding more as needed, until the sauce just coats the spoon.
7. Slice the pork and arrange on a serving platter. Spoon the sauce over the pork. Serve immediately.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Food Journals
More than two-thirds of Americans are overweight, and we spend billions each year on products and services that promise to help us shed pounds. Cyclists typically aren't overweight by average American standards, but we're nonetheless fixated on weight, wanting to make bike and body alike ever lighter in a quest for better performance. As I noted in a previous post, Phil and I have learned a few things about weight management over the last few seasons.
One tip I failed to mention is the benefit of keeping a food diary or journal.
In a recent study by the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, participants who kept food journals lost almost double the weight of their non-journaling counterparts.
I used to be a Palm Pilot gal, and I used the Diet and Exercise Assistant application to keep track of my calorie intake and expenditures. I found it quite easy to use, and having it with me all the time, rather than having to wait until I was at my computer to update the entries, made me more likely to honestly track everything that I ate.
I recently made the switch to a Blackberry device (I’m not a Crackberry addict yet, but it might happen . . .). The food diary applications for the Blackberry do not seem to be as user-friendly as those for the Palm, but I recently uploaded Ascendo Fitness and I’m getting used to its quirks.
If you prefer the pen and paper approach, here is a guide to making your own nutrition journal.
Most weight management advisors and nutritionists recommend keeping a food diary for a minimum of 3 days in order to get an idea of your typical diet patterns. I don’t keep my log all the time, but I do try to keep it for 3 or 4 days at a time every month.
Keep in mind that a food journal is only good if you are completely honest. You may need to measure your food for a couple of days until you learn to eyeball portion sizes. (You may be shocked by how many grams of almonds were in that handful you ate for a snack. . .) I use the Salter Nutri-Weigh Scale.
Reviewing my food journal after 3 or 4 days allows me to see:
What is my average daily calorie intake?
What is my average daily calorie expenditure?
Is my diet meeting my macronutrient goals? (How many grams of carbs, protein, fat, sugar, fiber and milligrams of sodium am I eating daily?)
Where are the deficiencies? For example, am I not eating enough protein and eating too much fat?
Our first coach, Bob Seebohar, had a mantra – “Eat to train; do not train to eat.”
Keeping a food journal allows me to see if I am following that advice. Do I overeat on days I’m not working out? The key to weight management is balancing the intake and the output and a journal gives me immediate feedback on that point.
Here is a site with reviews and links to several web-based food journal applications.
Give food journaling a try – you might be surprised by what you find hiding in your daily diet.
One tip I failed to mention is the benefit of keeping a food diary or journal.
In a recent study by the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, participants who kept food journals lost almost double the weight of their non-journaling counterparts.
I used to be a Palm Pilot gal, and I used the Diet and Exercise Assistant application to keep track of my calorie intake and expenditures. I found it quite easy to use, and having it with me all the time, rather than having to wait until I was at my computer to update the entries, made me more likely to honestly track everything that I ate.
I recently made the switch to a Blackberry device (I’m not a Crackberry addict yet, but it might happen . . .). The food diary applications for the Blackberry do not seem to be as user-friendly as those for the Palm, but I recently uploaded Ascendo Fitness and I’m getting used to its quirks.
If you prefer the pen and paper approach, here is a guide to making your own nutrition journal.
Most weight management advisors and nutritionists recommend keeping a food diary for a minimum of 3 days in order to get an idea of your typical diet patterns. I don’t keep my log all the time, but I do try to keep it for 3 or 4 days at a time every month.
Keep in mind that a food journal is only good if you are completely honest. You may need to measure your food for a couple of days until you learn to eyeball portion sizes. (You may be shocked by how many grams of almonds were in that handful you ate for a snack. . .) I use the Salter Nutri-Weigh Scale.
Reviewing my food journal after 3 or 4 days allows me to see:
What is my average daily calorie intake?
What is my average daily calorie expenditure?
Is my diet meeting my macronutrient goals? (How many grams of carbs, protein, fat, sugar, fiber and milligrams of sodium am I eating daily?)
Where are the deficiencies? For example, am I not eating enough protein and eating too much fat?
Our first coach, Bob Seebohar, had a mantra – “Eat to train; do not train to eat.”
Keeping a food journal allows me to see if I am following that advice. Do I overeat on days I’m not working out? The key to weight management is balancing the intake and the output and a journal gives me immediate feedback on that point.
Here is a site with reviews and links to several web-based food journal applications.
Give food journaling a try – you might be surprised by what you find hiding in your daily diet.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
For the Love of It
The Amgen Tour of California is going on this week. Levi Leipheimer, the defending champion, is leading the overall classification.
If you read VeloNews.com, Bicycling.com & cyclingnews.com every day (as I do), it is easy to keep up with race news. If you read any other mainstream daily newspaper or watch the news, you won’t hear a single mention of the race.
Oh . . . I take that back. Lance Armstrong is racing – his first race on US soil since the Leadville 100 in August, and that has generated one or two reports on ESPN.
But even borderline obsessive bike geeks like me might not know that there was a women’s event associated with the Tour of California. Thank you New York Times for giving a shout out to the mostly anonymous women bike racers.
This article highlights the reality of professional sports for most women. Sure, there are a few stars on the LPGA tour, and if I give you a few minutes you may be able to name at least one woman who plays in the WBNA.
Maybe it’s my estrogen talking, but I honestly enjoy watching many women’s sports more than men’s.
I love the women’s NCAA basketball tournament. I know I’m old, but I grew up playing basketball when defense was still considered an important part of the game. Watching men’s hoops, it’s all about the offense. In the women’s game, fundamentals matter, and I think it makes the game much more fun to watch.
I also love to watch LPGA golf. A couple of year’s ago the Women’s US Open was held at Cherry Hills Golf Course. We spent a day wandering around the course and watching the amazingly talented players. I have also been to watch the men’s field at the International in Castle Rock. With the guys, it is kind of overwhelming. There is simply no way I can drive the crazy distances they do, so I have a hard time relating to their game. The women in the LPGA also out-drive me by about 150 yards, but somehow their play seemed more like something I could aspire to. Finesse counts – it isn’t all about power.
At the end of the day, maybe I enjoy the women’s games because I know that they know they are playing for the love of it.
Maybe .5% will be able to make a living playing their sport. They are never going to sign an Alex Rodriguez-type contract. Yet they devote themselves with passion and determination that I find inspiring.
Maybe that is why I relate to them. I’m never going to win a bike race.
Never.
But I enjoy the challenge and I am driven to improve. Every time I enter an event, the few spectators that show up (hey, it’s local amateur racing, not the Tour de France) shout “You Go Girl!!”
And I do.
And I’m better for it.
If you read VeloNews.com, Bicycling.com & cyclingnews.com every day (as I do), it is easy to keep up with race news. If you read any other mainstream daily newspaper or watch the news, you won’t hear a single mention of the race.
Oh . . . I take that back. Lance Armstrong is racing – his first race on US soil since the Leadville 100 in August, and that has generated one or two reports on ESPN.
But even borderline obsessive bike geeks like me might not know that there was a women’s event associated with the Tour of California. Thank you New York Times for giving a shout out to the mostly anonymous women bike racers.
This article highlights the reality of professional sports for most women. Sure, there are a few stars on the LPGA tour, and if I give you a few minutes you may be able to name at least one woman who plays in the WBNA.
Maybe it’s my estrogen talking, but I honestly enjoy watching many women’s sports more than men’s.
I love the women’s NCAA basketball tournament. I know I’m old, but I grew up playing basketball when defense was still considered an important part of the game. Watching men’s hoops, it’s all about the offense. In the women’s game, fundamentals matter, and I think it makes the game much more fun to watch.
I also love to watch LPGA golf. A couple of year’s ago the Women’s US Open was held at Cherry Hills Golf Course. We spent a day wandering around the course and watching the amazingly talented players. I have also been to watch the men’s field at the International in Castle Rock. With the guys, it is kind of overwhelming. There is simply no way I can drive the crazy distances they do, so I have a hard time relating to their game. The women in the LPGA also out-drive me by about 150 yards, but somehow their play seemed more like something I could aspire to. Finesse counts – it isn’t all about power.
At the end of the day, maybe I enjoy the women’s games because I know that they know they are playing for the love of it.
Maybe .5% will be able to make a living playing their sport. They are never going to sign an Alex Rodriguez-type contract. Yet they devote themselves with passion and determination that I find inspiring.
Maybe that is why I relate to them. I’m never going to win a bike race.
Never.
But I enjoy the challenge and I am driven to improve. Every time I enter an event, the few spectators that show up (hey, it’s local amateur racing, not the Tour de France) shout “You Go Girl!!”
And I do.
And I’m better for it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
