A Blizzard and Starbucks

Whew, it has been a while. I continue to tell myself that I am going to keep this thing updated and then my 5,467 other interests and hobbies kick in and I forget....

I got up this morning, sat on the computer for a little while and then went to the gym. They were playing Indiana Jones in the "cardio cinema" so I watched Harrison Ford battle with the Ark of the Covenant while I cranked out 53 minutes of cardio on a elliptical and burned 667 calories. I didn't stop at 666 calories because it is Sunday.

I did biceps and triceps today and then I went into the aerobics room where two girls had decided to make it their very own workout gallery and they were blasting Whitney Houston from the speakers so I went and did my situps and stretches by the stairs instead.

This afternoon I went to visit a dear friend of mine who was once one of my patients. He told me that he had been transferred to a rehab center from the hospital last week so I drove into the city to see him and we talked for an hour about him and his family and everything in between.

I really love being a nurse. The people I have met have made every second worth it.

When I left the rehab facility, a blizzard had started. I was covered in snow in 0.1 seconds and I headed to my brother's house to see my favorite nephew and give him a frog hat that I found for him at the Outdoor Retail show and then decided to drive home because the snow wasn't stopping and the plows hadn't started....did I mention I have two bald tires?

One hour and a starbuck's coffee later I was home to my sweet manfriend. Sitting warm and cozy now. We talked at length about apple and his new ipod and determined that neither of us knew anything about loading music onto one of those gadgets.

Making my workout schedule for next week!

This is the year....

Ok, so I know that everyone everywhere makes resolutions and claim that they are going to do something and within a few weeks they stop. I am serious this time. I think that manfriend thinks that I am a little crazy with my bodybuilding obsession, but as a fellow athlete I also think that he understands. Living with another athlete helps, but he is also one of those that was blessed with a metabolism that naturally burns 10,000 calories a day and he has a six pack just by sitting there and watching TV. Thumbs down.

I have decided that this is the year of the Summy Six Pack:

That isn't me. That will be me this year, though. Back in March/April, I was workin' a 4 pack and then....well I lost some lean. I have found over time that my desire to become more and more lean has just increased. I have sort of become "pissed off" for it as the Hogetwins would say. I wish I would've taken a pic of my abs back then to use as a bit of motivation. I haven't been posting a lot of recipes recently because I haven't been cooking a whole lot. I have been trying to focus more on my diet and frankly my meals have consisted mostly of things that I don't have to cook, like fresh fruits and veggies.

I have also been spending some time on my facebook Summy Fitness page. Summy Fitness

I have been taken back by how many people started following me and it feels pretty neat having some peeps share their fitness goals and accomplishments with me.

I will post some of the things that I eat and products I use.

Whatever your goals are, stick with them. Stay focused!

P.S. I have been pushing it extra hard at the gym. Supersets and working to failure and I keep forgetting to take my magnesium and calcium . So sore. Don't do that. Calcium and Mag and sore muscle article

Jamie Eason's Carrot Cake Protein Bars....Veganized

So, I have a confession. I love Jamie Eason. I want to have her babies. She is one of my fitness idols and she has created a series of healthy protein treats that are posted on bodybuilding.com. I took one of her recipes and I veganized it. Below my veganized version is a link to the video for the original version, so if you are not a vegan you can make these yummy treats and stare at this beautiful fitness goddess. I just love her!

Jamie Eason's Carrot Cake Protein Bars....Veganized!

1 cup oat floar
2 scoops vanilla protein powder (I used Ultimate Nutrition's Wheat Protein)
2 tsp cinnamon
1/ 2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp nutmeg
6 tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer
8 tbsp warm water
3/4 cup Stevia
2 containers of baby carrots
8 oz water (fill the empty jar up twice with water and add)

Combine the oat flour, protein powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, allspice and nutmeg in one bowl. Mix thoroughly.

In another bowl, mix the egg replacer, warm water, Stevia, baby carrots. Once the baby food jars are empty, fill those up with water and add to this mixture (this is the additional 8 oz of water).

*I had to add more water because my vegan wheat protein is very doughy. I would start with just 4 oz and then after mixing the dry and wet ingredients check the consistency to see if more water is needed. It should be similar to cake batter.

Add the wet to the dry ingredients and mix....this batter is delicious.

Pour into a glass brownie dish and bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Baking time will also depend on the type of protein you use. I would check the bars at twenty minutes with a toothpick and then leave in additional time if needed.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/video-jamie-eason-carrot-cake-protein-bars.htm

An update on Summer Stout....not the beer....the person

This summer has been crazy madness. I have been cooking on and off, but have failed to update you with any recipes....all 4 of you....that follow this blog.....

Updates.....

Manfriend continued to race all summer. He ended the summer ranking 2nd in state in the SuperD (super downhill). If I hadn't mentioned it before, Chrissy gets on gigantic mountain bikes and races them down the sides of mountains. This summer he earned a bunch of fabulous metals, some scars, a helmet, some VEGAN protein bars and a concussion. Yay! Good thing his ladyfriend is an awesome nurse. Yeah....

Pogo still pisses in his bed and sometimes on the carpet. He was bit by the neighbor, but it was most likely his fault seeing as how he likes to antagonize anyone bigger than him. He has yet to get a job to earn his keep and has been receiving daily lectures. 

I've continued to train 5-6 days a week. I saw a physical therapist about my old-lady-knees and I am back into a running program that still hurts sometimes, but hopefully that will get better.

I took some swimming lessons from a marathon swimmer and concluded that I am not a fish, nor will I ever be....but I still swim anyway.

I started biking...a bit....on a road bike and bought a mountain bike. Chrissy took me mountain biking this last Saturday. It was fun.....afterwards.....when I realized I was fine.

I am lifting more....not more often, just bigger weights. I have been focusing on not being able to do more than 6 to 8 reps per set and I have seen the rewards. Rad.

The Fall NPC was this past weekend and I have decided to compete again.....this means that the cooking will officially come to a halt in January since I get to eat the same things every day for 4 months! Jealous?

Also, I want to learn to play the Banjo. I do.

I started instagram....ming. I am not a hipster, but I know that they do weigh an instagram. 

Ok, that is all. I am not dead. I will try to enter some updates in this here bloggy. I do have some more favorite vegan/bodybuilding products to add to the mix, as well.

Here are some photos from the summa-time:

Clean Ice Cream with Protein

So I keep seeing these "pins" in pinterest for banana ice cream. I looked at a few and thought I would try it myself. A lot of them added peanut butter. I love me some PB and it contains healthy fats, but too much healthy fats just become fats and who wants that? I took out the PB and added my vanilla soy protein powder instead, which is high in protein and low in sugar (1 gram of carbs). Here was the result:

Clean Ice Cream with Protein:

 

3 bananas sliced

1 scoop of protein powder

1 tbsp cocoa powder

I sliced the bananas two days ago and put them in the freezer. This afternoon, I piled all of them into my food processor. For the first little bit it looks sort of crunchy, but then it smooths out and it tastes like soft serve ice cream. I could probably just eat it like that! I added one scoop of vanilla protein powder and a tbsp of cocoa....the amount of bananas I used made a TON, so I probably could have added two scoops of protein. The awesome thing is I HAVE SOME FOR LATER!! Yummy!

Protein Powder Fun Fact:

When choosing a protein powder, most people tend to think any protein powder will do. This is not true. There are a lot of naughty companies out there that create protein powders that are FULL of protein, but to make them tasty them fill them with sugar. Point of all this? Read the labels!! Ingredients are always listed by weight on a nutrition label. Look to make sure that sugar hasn't found it's way in to your powder. Also, look at the carb and sugar content. Both of the powders that I use contain 1 gram of carbs per scoop. Your body burns carbohydrates for fuel and if you are taking in more then your are burning, the carbs go to your fat stores (aka straight to your ass). So, if you are pairing you carb loaded protein powder with another clean carb then you are getting way too many carbohydrates. It is all about servings and it is important to make sure you stay as far away from the "white poison" (sugar) as you can and have a balanced diet that includes equal amounts of both proteins and carbohydrates. 

Clean Eating Cappuccino Pops

Before we begin....
Yes, I know what that popsicle resembles. Get it out. Laugh it up. Those were the ONLY shapes that Bed, Bath and Beyond had that day. Dirty bastards.

Ok, so I know that Mother's Day has passed but my mama was a coffee fanatic!! That is probably where I get it. I was going to make these on Sunday and then realized I didn't have the molds. I made them Monday and took them out of the freezer today and they are.....AMAZING!!! They are clean and healthy and the perfect fix for a chocolate craving....YUMMY-NESS! I got this recipe out of one of Tosca Reno's Clean Eating Diet books.

2 tsp arrowroot
1 cup low-fat milk (I used soy)
2 Tbsp semisweet chocolate chips (I used vegan dark chocolate chips)
1/4 cup of pure honey
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup of freshly brewed espresso or very strong coffee (I used decaf because of Chrissy's "dicky" heart)
Pinch of sea salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a small bowl whisk the arrowroot and 1/2 cup of milk. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate chips on medium-low heat. Stir in the honey, cocoa powder, espresso, salt and the reserved arrowroot-milk mixture and remaining 1/2 cup of milk. Increase the heat to med - high and whisk constantly until the mixture is smooth and thickened. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla. Transfer to a liquid measuring cup and pour into the pop molds....the recipe said that it would fill 6 molds, but mine only filled 4.

Set molds in the freezer over night. To unmold, run under luke warm water.

Ginger-Lemon Kale with Squash and Chickpeas

Kale is one of the healthiest vegetables around. I found this on a clean eating website and couldn't wait to make it. The original recipe was made with lime juice and pomegranate seeds, but the store was OUT of limes and lime juice and there were no pomegranates to be found....

2 cups butternut squash, peeled and seeded (cut into 3/4 inch cubes)
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil divided
1 medium onion diced
2 cloves of garlic diced
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger root (I used ground ginger)
1 can (16 oz) of chickpeas/garbanzo beans
8 cups thinly sliced kale leaves
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl toss the squash with 1/2 tbsp oil. Place the squash onto a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet and roast for about 25 minutes or until the squash is fork tender.

Place the rest of the oil in a deep/wide skillet and cook the onions and garlic on high until the onions are clear (cooked through). Add the ginger and stir for thirty seconds. Add the kale. Mix for about ten minutes or until the kale has wilted. Add the chick peas. Stir until the chickpeas are cooked through. Transfer everything into a large salad/mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, salt and cranberries. Toss. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Facts:

Hella healthy....don't worry 'bout it.