Category Archives: fitness

Steak Salad

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So, you remember when the Werewolf Fetus turned me, right? Well my love affair with red meat hasn’t abated and neither has his. (Yeah, okay, even the 8 year vegetarian in me thinks watching him wave a piece of steak in the air while yelling “MEAT!” is pretty dang funny.) Apparently some of us were just born to love meat and there isn’t much more to say. Anyway, we all know good steak is hard on the budget, but not when you know the secret to turning the cheap cuts into the best steak you’ve ever eaten.

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The day I found this recipe, I got very excited. You need to plan ahead a little more than doing them the “ordinary” way, but lean, cheap flank steak turns into a meat lover’s dream with this method. It’s so incredibly flavorful that eating it cold as a salad is still amazing. It is tender. It is juicy. It is out of this world. I made the salad with 7 ounces of steak, half a vine ripened tomato, and a bed of romaine lettuce. Add two tablespoons of your favorite dressing and you have the best lunch ever.

So here’s a quick recap of the steak recipe:

Approximately 1.75 lbs of flank steak
2 teaspoons of kosher salt (can’t use fine grained table salt for this)
Garlic powder
Your favorite steak seasoning blend or rub (I like Trader Joe’s Everyday Seasoning or a little fresh ginger grated over top in addition to garlic powder and black pepper.)

  1. Salt each side of the raw steak with 1 teaspoon of the salt. Sprinkle liberally with garlic powder. Let it stand one hour per inch of thickness of the steak. (In other words, a 1 1/2 inch thick steak would stand 90 minutes.) There seems to be some flexibility in your time frame, but I haven’t pushed it too far either way.
  2. Rinse well. I mean, REALLY REALLY WELL. I thought I had rinsed well the first time and… let’s just say it’s a good thing I like salt. Then pat dry with a flour sack or other towel that doesn’t have a lot of lint.
  3. Broil or grill to your preferred doneness. We’ve run the gamut and find that the steak is at its juiciest and most tender when prepared medium or medium rare, but, to each their own.
  4. Enjoy half for dinner. Save half so you can enjoy the world’s best lunch tomorrow. Slice into strips when cool.

Dear Fat Pants, Let’s break up.

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In fact, I’d like to break up with the whole concept of “fat pants.” And I want a break from the idea that I have to punish myself and be miserable in order to be healthy. That I’m somehow giving something UP in order to be strong and feel good. “Cheating” on my exercise and eating plan is like cheating at Solitaire… WHO EXACTLY AM I GETTING OVER ON? I’m not playing a game against myself, here, I’m trying to better myself. What I’m trying to tell you, in other words, is “I’m ridiculous.”

Thanks to my wonderful fitness pal Jenn B, and to Chris Freytag’s awesome example (yeah, I’ve mentioned it before), I’m feeling pretty good about this right now. I find it really motivates me to have a buddy- no matter what it is I’m trying to get done, it’s just way more fun when you’re not in it alone. You need someone to encourage you when the way ahead looks really steep, and to high five you when you get to the top! AM I RIGHT?

In other news, since I have all this awesome stress release (5 workouts and 5 walks in 5 days, and counting) and my energy load isn’t being burdened with unhealthy food (I have NOT eaten any of the tortilla chips in the pantry. Go me.) I am more patient with my little people and (dare I say it?) nicer to my husband. Also, I am working WAY ahead on my Holiday To Do list because I don’t want it to get in the way of my health plan in December, so I win again. How about it? Are you in? Grab a pal or follow me on Facebook. We’re checking in every day and discussing our progress on our healthy eating plan and how our workouts have gone- we’d love to hear from you too!

PS- don’t you just LOVE my hair in that photo? Yes, as a matter of fact, YOU MAY have the name of my stylist.

PPS- this project has a Pinterest Board.

Hold the Line… Or storm the coast. Something like that.

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My delicious lunch

I haven’t mentioned fitness and health in a while. That’s because, when I get discouraged, I get depressed about it and then I don’t want to talk about it. I have done a few things right. I’ve been walking regularly. I actually did use the South Beach Supercharged book’s recommendations on starting an interval walking program. That took 2 minutes off my 1 mile time over the last few months. So I’ve been moving!!!! But my discouragement and lack of interest has meant I haven’t made as much progress on my goals as I could have.

With the holidays here again it’s time to shake things up. (and maybe see some more progress!!!) I and a friend have started the 10 lb slimdown (again for me, new to her) and South Beach (back on the wagon for both of us!) this morning.

I’m so excited about stepping up my health and fitness and about doing it with my friend that I’ve been as spazzy as a yappy dog all day.

I’ve done my official weigh in, my walk, and the upper body workout. Why don’t you join us? We’re doing the 10 lb slimdown (but you could do whatever you like) which, in addition to Amazon.com, is available from iTunes. We’ll be doing weekly progress reports and we’re doing daily support checkins on Facebook. YES, WE CAN! I like it. 🙂

Monday Progress Report:

Day: 1
The scale has moved: 0
The inches have changed: 0
I feel: Excited! Pumped up! Awesome!!!!

JOIN US!!! Here’s my Day 1 pic. I think my hubby snapped it while I was talking, which accounts for the look on my face. It may be my reaction to him suggesting I let him take the photo without my shirt. I said no. YOU ARE SO WELCOME.

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Milepost #4: Wardrobe

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My milepost for today is that I went to the thrift store and bought myself summer clothes that fit right now. I had almost none, but had been resisting buying any because I thought it was a “waste.”

Let’s break that down, shall we? First of all, there is the obvious danger that I could end up NAKED. (No One Wants That. Trust me.) On top of that, the daily frustration of trying to find something… ANYTHING… to put on is very demoralizing. Even if the reason for “nothing to wear” is that I’m thinner, wearing unflattering, ill-fitting clothing every day is a perfectly good way to feel down on myself. And, as we all know, in my case, that is quickly followed by eating an entire cake. Because buying a few pairs of shorts in my current size is a “waste,” but eating myself into an early grave Makes Perfect Sense. Right.

So, I went shopping. I got a couple pants and some shirts that don’t ride up and expose my post-baby belly. (no need to thank me for that last part, it was my pleasure.)

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1.7 miles

Milepost #3: I don’t want to LOOK strong, I want to BE STRONG.

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Man, is it easy to lose sight of what’s important when setting goals for yourself, or what? There are so many subtle and unsubtle ways that we are pressured to LOOK good that it’s easy to forget that looking good and actually BEING good are not the same thing. For instance, I saw an episode of Project Runway where they were designing outfits for Olympic athletes. The designers were cautioned to remember that these were muscular women and to be careful not to make them look too wide. REALLY? Really. Olympic athletes, people. Supposedly the definition of physical perfection. Strength, agility, stamina… but we wouldn’t want to LOOK WIDE, now would we ladies?

I have firmly grasped the tail of this. I have placed firmly before me that the physical shape I want to get back into is NOT the one that could wear size 5 jeans, but instead the one that could one-arm a 50 lb bag of dog food without getting out of breath. And if I happen to “look wide” while doing it, I Will Not Care. Because anyone who doesn’t like it will be challenged to arm wrestle. YEAH.

Oh, sorry, were you looking for some progress on that to make it qualify as a “milepost?” I have successfully implemented a total body freeweight routine. As my hero, Chris Freytag, so often says, “muscle burns more than fat!” And then, because she’s awesome, she smiles and says, “Yes, you can!”

Yes. Yes, I can.

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3.54 miles

Milepost #2

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I am keeping a diet and exercise journal. This is helping me with the “mommy meal skip,” where you feed everyone else, change a diaper, do a task, look up at the clock and realize it’s 2:30 and you last ate at breakfast.

Here, at my house, this is the setup for eating everything in sight from that moment until bedtime. Okay, not quite everything. The kids are safe.

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1.6 miles

Mile Posts to my Healthiest Self

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I’m guest blogging over at Modded Momma today about my weight loss journey after baby. Body issues before kids were simpler. I’m not saying I didn’t have any. I don’t think you can be female and alive in this society and not have SOME. But they were simpler. More like, “does my butt look good in these?” and, “what should my next tat be?”

Then I had kids. And I Got Big. Really, really Big. Twice. After Ian was born, I said, you know, if this chubby gig was just buying bigger pants and eating ice cream, I’d be just fine, but, gosh, my health. And I lost the weight. No problem.

This time, it’s been harder. Possibly because I was much fitter when I had Ian than this time. Maybe because my doctor unwittingly raised the stakes by stressing my risk factors for Type II diabetes. Whatever the reason, I’m struggling this time.

I Held The Line over the winter holidays. Which is something to be proud of, but then I KEPT HOLDING IT. I’ve been very hard on myself about all of it, which is, not surprisingly, not making me any healthier. Starting today, I’ll be celebrating the mile posts as I come upon them along the way.

Project Hold the Line

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This week’s progress report: my waist is down 1/2 an inch and I’m down another pound.

More importantly, earlier this week Ian said, “Mommy, let’s run and jump over the cracks.” and I freaking DID IT. The next day, my friend’s daughter decided to head out into the wide world on her own. At a run. And I freaking CAUGHT HER. 10 more days of the 10 lb Slimdown to go…