Challenge: Day 2
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Today’s Challenge was, shall we say, a bit more challenging?
I was hungry today. I was super hungry when I got home from work. My hope was to get to the gym in time for the spin class, but thanks to commute traffic and leaving work late, I missed the class by about 10 minutes. Instead, I tried 4 different aerobic machines at the gym tonight, did one easy set on the lateral pull down, and some stretching.
Today’s Menu
Breakfast (8am): 1 package TJ’s Steel Cut Oats & Quinoa
Snack (10:30am) : 1 cup carrots
Lunch (about noon): 1 cup non-fat Greek yogurt with 1/2 cup frozen cherries, 2 tablespoons chopped pecans, 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
Snack (about 3pm): 1/2 cup chicken salad (made with non-fat Greek yogurt) & 1 cup cherry tomatoes (counting as fruit today)
Post-work out while cooking snack (about 8pm): 1 Baby Bel light cheese
Dinner (about 8:30pm): 1 cup skinless chicken breast (marinated in a white balsamic vinaigrette) and a drizzle of balsamic glaze, 2 cups steamed veggies (asparagus & green beans)
Daily cheat (with dinner): 1 glass red wine
So I figure this is about
* 3 cups vegetables
* 1 1/2 cups fruit
* 2 1/2 cups protein
* 1 cup carbs
* 1/8 cup healthy cheese (“light”)
* 2 tablespoons dressing
* 2 tablespoons nuts
I’m now enjoying a cup of mint tea with just a touch of honey after dinner. This satisfies my post-dinner sweet tooth.
I now feel completely satisfied food-wise – even after a 90-minute workout. I admit it was a light workout, I didn’t push too much, but I worked out.
Steamed Asparagus & Green Beans (2 cups)
Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breast Marinated in a White Balsamic Vinaigrette
Early this morning I marinated 2 large chicken breasts in about 2 tablespoons of a prepared White Balsamic Vinaigrette. I cut each breast onto 2-3 smaller pieces (for quicker cooking). These two cooked breasts worked out to be about 3 cups of chicken chunks. This is perfect, because leftovers will be critical in my being able to keep up with food prep for this Challenge. I don’t like processed foods, so I’ll want to cook pretty much everything from scratch. That will be one of my CyclingFoodie twists on this Challenge.
To prepare the chicken – I simply cooked the pieces of chicken breast in the marinade in a non-stick pan for about 25 minutes. First on high heat, brown both side of the chicken. Then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook about 20 minutes until the chicken is thoroughly cooked and tender. If you find there is a lot of liquid in the pan, you can reduce it a bit to make a little sauce. If you want to get fancy, you could deglaze the pan with a splash or two of white wine and make a very light sauce by reducing that. That would be a nice touch … maybe I’ll try that next time. I added a touch of balsamic glaze while I was reducing the residual liquid in the pan. That added a nice depth of flavor.
You can eat light and healthy, and still have lots of great flavor. I am lucky – I never really liked rich, heavy, creamy sauces. However, I do like flavorful and well-seasoned food.
While the chicken was cooking, I cleaned, trimmed, and lightly steamed my vegetables.
To serve, place the hot vegetables in a nice bowl, top with 1 cup of the chopped chicken, and drizzle with a bit of balsamic glaze. Season with a bit of salt and pepper, if desired.
Enjoy!