Day -2

August 7, 2011 at 3:49 pm · Filed under Updates

Getting close to the start of the challenge!  I’ve been very conscious  of this all week, and I’ve kept busy getting my cheats in before the official start.  You could say my 80% rule was notched down to about 65%.  Drank a few beers at the Crossfit Games viewing party, hit up Adobo Grill downtown for some delightful Mexican food, played fast and loose at the Indiana State Fair, and took advantage of a “welcome to the neighborhood” free pizza coupon from the neighborhood establishment.  Needless to say, I’m not at my leanest at this moment, but I think it’s a reasonable start point.

I’m weighing in on Monday August 8, and the official start date is August 9.  Official rules are here, if you’re interested in some of the specifics of what Kerry and I are getting ourselves into.  I’ve never kept a food log for more than 2 meals, so I see that as being the most difficult rule to adhere to.  We did buy some journals to help out with that, and I will even go a step further and try to painstakingly log calories to the best of my ability with the help of websites/phone apps like MyFitnessPal.  I may even find the time and energy to analyze the results and post anything interesting here.

Fitness-wise, in addition to the “Cindy” workout, I think I will track my 5k run time.  I’m planning on running a 5k every Monday evening, and I started two weeks ago.  The goal is to run it as fast as I can each time and track performance. I’d also like to track my strength numbers, but that may be more loosely defined, based on whatever comes up in the Workout of the Day between now and September 22 (I think I counted that right…).

At the outset, my personal goals are not really to lose any weight at all, but see a drop in % body fat and an increase in strength, endurance, and speed.  So we’ll see how it goes.  I’ll try to update the blog 2-3 times per week, but it will most likely be published in waves of 2 or 3 at a time.

Today’s recipe is for a Brussels sprout hash.  My recipe is based on Alton Brown’s Brussels sprout episode.  Alton is the closest thing I have to a celebrity idol, and 90% of my culinary technique is a direct result of Good Eats episodes (watching some numerous times).    I combined the two recipes demonstrated in that link to arrive at my dish which celebrates the bright vegetal funk of the sprouts.

Into a food processor with the slicer attachment goes about 1 lb of sprouts, 1/2 lb of broccoli florets, 5 spring  onions (or 1/4  large onion), and about 6 baby turnips.   I then tossed the vegetation combination in a large bowl while seasoning with salt and pepper.

Halfway through the processing stage.

Setting the bowl aside, I diced 2 or 3 strips of bacon (shown are half strips) and rendered out the fat in a hot skillet.  Once the bacon bits started to crisp up, I simply added all the veggies and cooked it per Alton’s method, like a hash.

Use a large skillet that can handle all that green without spilling over.

I believe I served this up with my thick cut grilled pork chops, or you can take Alton’s advice and go with the roast turkey.

While I didn’t break it down, this just has to be packed with nutrition, and it’s a super tasty way to learn how to enjoy Brussels sprouts.  Feel free to garnish with some roasted pecans or almond slivers or dried cranberries.

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