Bacon-wrapped fish!

So last night I had bacon-wrapped Mahi Mahi for dinner - yum! Here is the recipe:

• 7-ounce mahi mahi filet
• Rosemary
• Lemon juice
• 2 slices bacon (I used turkey bacon from Trader Joe's - no nitrates)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Pepper

1) Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2) Season the fish fillets with pepper, rosemary, and lemon zest. Wrap two pieces of bacon around each fillet.

3) Warm an iron skillet over medium heat, and pour the olive oil in. When it is hot, set the filets in. Cook for 1 minute.

4) Flip the fish and then transfer the skillet to the oven and cook 10 minutes.

I also had wilted spinach and steamed asparagus. It was delicious!

So this Paleo thing is pretty great.  I have also been doing a weight lifting program online with Jamie Eason (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-livefit-trainer-phase-1-day-1.html). I have been doing this program for two weeks and feel great!  I also just signed up for a half marathon (my second!) and I am really excited about it.  It's in June! 

Well, I am off to the gym...speak soon!

Yum yum.

I meant to take a picture of my delicious dinner tonight (if I do say so myself), but I accidentally ate it all.  I took it from here: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=388716 but turned it Paleo like this:

Coconut Crusted Mahi Mahi

Minutes to Prepare: 10

Minutes to Cook: 15

Number of Servings: 2

Ingredients

Coconut oil

8 oz Mahi Mahi
1/2 cup finely chopped coconut
1 egg
1/4 cup ground flax seed 
Pepper & Cayenne Pepper (To taste)

Directions

Preheat Oven to 375
In a bowl, Mix Flax Seed, and both peppers until evenly blended
In bowl, lightly mix egg
Place chopped Coconut on a plate
Place fish in flax mixture on both sides to cover
dip Fish in Egg and then the coconut to cover (may need to press down a bit)
Place on Baking Sheet and place a tidbit of coconut oil on top. Bake until fish flakes easily with a fork and coc0nut is golden

Last night I made Paleo granola (http://paleomg.com/paleo-granola/) (minus the maple syrup). I can't stop eating it!!

My mom believed in me...

She told me to buy the organic chicken with the bone in -- she said I could do it.  I was scared I would be too grossed out (having not eaten any meat pre-Thanksgiving 2011 since 1998) and wouldn't be able to prepare it, cook it, or eat it.  But always the frugal thinker, my mom was convincing me I wanted the chicken that was on sale. Which was on the bone.  (Bone in? This is really what people call this phenomenon?)

So I bought it.  And tonight I cooked it!! Granted, I squealed and said, "Gross!!" out loud as I put it in the pan on top of a big piece of tin foil, but once it was in, I topped it with mushrooms, peas and chopped sweet potatoes.  A little olive oil, some rosemary and some garlic and then covered with the big piece of foil -- 45 minutes later on 350 F it was delicious!! (And I was fondly reminded of my days as a girl scout cooking with foil on the camp fire!)

Also, I have been sick with a cold for the last week.  (That's not really me.  That's just how I feel.)  Wednesday at home and feeling rotten, I really wanted some chicken soup.  I found a recipe online (but now I can't find it again) and promptly put all the ingredients into my crock pot - chicken breast, can of diced tomatoes (mine had chili peppers), coconut milk.  Put it on for like 8 hours - the next morning I shredded the chicken and it was done! I was going to bring it with me to work, but I felt so lousy I stayed home again.

Garmin

This is my Garmin Forerunner 110 that my mom and stepdad got me for my birthday. Isn't it lovely? As I was running 3 miles this morning I decided I needed to blog about my love for this item. It has really kinda changed running for me because it tells you the pace you are going during every step and also has a heart rate monitor.  Then it uploads your runs onto your computer for you so you have a place to review your progress. Pretty neat, right? It also works if you are on a treadmill by telling you how many calories you have burned. So there's that.  

Recovering Vegetarian

So...I made this. It's got kohlrabi bulbs with leaves in it.  If you know me, you know that I have never been an adventurous chef. I certainly would never have gone to the store and purchased something I had never even heard of before and then cooked it that night for dinner.

Well, that's what I did tonight! I made sausage, eggplant and kohlrabi bulbs with leaves. So my blog is now going to hopefully include exercise and food information.  

One year ago I got a stress fracture in my femur from over-training. I was on crutches for basically ever (10 weeks) and it was a slow process to heal. I recently decided it was time to increase my protein intake (I had been a vegetarian for 12 years up until this point) and try to build muscle. So now I am eating chicken (but only organic) and tons of fruits and veggies as part of the Paleo diet.  

I guess an important side note is that I went to a personal trainer a few months ago and he told me I needed to lose 7 pounds that I had gained from being incapacitated.  I gave up carbs and basically did some version of the 4 hour body (http://www.fourhourbody.com/) and lost the 7 pounds -- but I felt like it was pretty unnatural.  I did the 4 hour body without eating meat and eating a lot of tuna and tofu and protein shakes, but it made me very conscious of what I was putting in my body. So now I am eating protein in the form of chicken and turkey and egg whites. 

So here is the meal I made tonight: (from http://paleofoodie.blogspot.com/2011/05/eggplant-and-sausage-mash.html)

Eggplant and sausage mash (serves 2)

- 2 kohlrabi bulbs with leaves separated and chopped

- 1 red onion, chopped

- 3 chicken spicy sausages (Trader Joe's), chopped

- 1 eggplant, diced

- 1 tsp ground cayenne 

- 1 tsp coconut oil

1. Boil some water in a steamer, and steam the kohlrabi bulbs for approx. 15 minutes until soft.

2. In the mean time, heat coconut oil in a skillet and fry onion until soft, then add sausages and fry until golden brown and cooked.

3. Add eggplant and leaves and saute for approx. 3-5 minutes until the eggplant is fork tender. Remove from heat.

4. When the kohlrabi is done, puree and stir into the eggplant and sausage mixture. Mix well.