Thursday, June 30, 2011

Black Bean and Avocado Wrap with Red Cabbage Slaw

black bean and avocado wrap

I got the idea for this from here and because I'm me, I have to make it as easy as possible in eight variations. But the basic idea is 1) mashed beans and avocado with a little salsa mixed in, 2) topped with some sort of cabbage slaw or salad greens, 3) wrapped in a tortilla. Now the dealio with cabbage is, cabbage is huge. I wish cabbages were the size of grapefruits. Who knows how long a whole cabbage will last, I've gotten a week's worth of wraps out of a quarter of a small red cabbage. So even though I'm going to present different distinct recipes for these wraps, I forsee them actually happening with whatever beans and slaw I happen to have on hand...

3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
a quarter head of red cabbage
a small tomato
two green onions
a chipotle pepper
a can of black beans
an avocado
1 Tbsp lime juice
fajita-size whole wheat tortillas

Whisk the olive oil into the vinegar in a large bowl. Finely slice the red cabbage. Add it to the dressing, toss, and set aside.

Finely dice the tomato, and mince the green onions and chipotle. Rinse and drain the beans and mash in a flat bowl (I use my skillet) with a potato masher. Peel and pit the avocado and mash it right into the beans. Stir in the tomato, onion, chipotle, and lime juice.

To make a wrap, I toast a tortilla right on an open burner with tongs. Spread a stripe of bean mash across the middle of the tortilla, top that with some slaw, then roll it up.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The Buyer's Guide to Wheels: Atom Jukes

juke 95s and 97s (!)

I have way calmed down on wheels, you might not even know. I had this blog for about a year before I rebooted it to make it better, like My Sweet Audrina, by which time I had finally settled on Juke 95 slims and have been skating pretty happily on them this past season. I'm not even sure that I need new wheels, I just don't want to not catch up to the obvious until preseason and have to break in new wheels then.

So I was just picking up a couple four-packs of new Juke 95s at ECDX when I saw... Juke 97s. OOOoooOOOOOooooo. People think that I'm on the light side to be skating on 95s, but they really do grip for me and I am sooo slow in 93s. Now I did try Fusions (97s) on our skate court, and it was Very Bad. Those are standard height wheels though, I do think the Jukes' shorter height works for me. Like I have better control on Jukes than I did on D-Rods (standard height, 95s). Anyway I don't know when Jukes started being available in 97s, but I am stoked. I got a four-pack to try for my outside wheels, will see how that goes.

Oh and another thing, Grn Mnstr was taking preorders for a new kind of short, slim wheel that I have forgotten its name but is next on my list. See how the face of the Jukes is flat, this new wheel has a lip. Pictures will be better than words, TK but probably not for a little while...

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Summer Sleep Wear

According to the chart I should have:

16 v-neck t-shirts
16 boxer briefs

I only have 12 t-shirts and 9 boxers for sleeping in, good enough. More wouldn't fit in the bin, anyway.

summer sleep wear

I haven't had fancy pajamas in forever, I'm a little bit crazy about fresh pajamas every night and nice pajamas are too expensive for that. And there isn't room in the bin.

My sleep results came in, by the way. I'm bummed because she measured my hips, but my hip measurement isn't included in the results. I'm proud of my hips. Yes, I know. I could measure them myself. Also pooh, where is my resting heart rate. I wanted to know that, too.

Anyway, all good:

Waist: 28 inches
Height: 5 feet 4-1/2 inches, very excited about this, I always thought 5'4"
Weight: 143 pounds
BMI: 24.2, just under "overweight" ha ha
Blood Pressure: 99/65, I have champion blood pressure
Total Cholesterol: 189, normal is less than 200
HDL: 85, normal is 40 and above
LDL: 87, normal is less than 130
Triglycerides: 85, normal is less than 150
Glucose: 88, normal is less than 100
Hemoglobin A1c: 5.7, 5.7-6.4 is at risk for diabetes
Average sleep duration: 8 hours 20 minutes
Time to fall asleep: 28 minutes
Sleep efficiency: 86%, 85% or greater is typical for adults
Oxygen Desaturation Index: 1 event/hour, 10 or greater indicates risk of sleep apnea

Diabetes does run in my family, I bet I can get that hemoglobin number down if I add cinnamon to my smoothies.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Utah's Pineapple Mango Yogurt Smoothie with Coconut

utah's mango pineapple yogurt smoothie with coconut

I use the Bella Cucina Rocket Blender to make my smoothies.

This is the second of two smoothies from the blender of Joanie Utah, I have heard that "Joanie" is her jammer half and "Utah" is her blocker half...

I was extremely doubtful about the coconut at the end, but it is So. Good.

nine or twelve cubes of canned or frozen pineapple
nine or twelve cubes of frozen mango
about a half cup of yogurt
almond milk
flaked coconut

I don't really know how much pineapple and mango, I guess about enough to fill the blender cup three quarters up. Add yogurt and pour in a good amount of almond milk. Screw on the cap, stick the cup on the motor base, and blend for 30 seconds. Then take it off the base and give it a little shake to get anything that's stuck on the top of the cup. Blend for another 20 seconds or until the smoothie is churning freely from top to bottom.

Top with flaked coconut.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Summer Food Plan

So you know my basic guideline for eating around workouts is:

BEFORE
complex carbs &
light protein

IMMEDIATELY BEFORE
simple carbs
 
WORKOUT IMMEDIATELY AFTER
simple carbs &
light protein
AFTER
complex carbs &
light protein
BETWEEN
complex carbs &
heavy protein

Immediately before/after means within 45 minutes, before/after means within 1-3 hours, and between means more than 3 hours before or after workouts.

Since my workouts are mostly in the evening, it works out like this:

  • Drink - water when I wake up
  • Breakfast - complex carbs and light protein - yogurt-based smoothies
  • Lunch - complex carbs and heavy protein - avocado bean wraps, in development
  • Dinner - complex carbs with light protein - pasta salads
  • Workout Drink - simple carbs - CocoOJ2O
  • Post-Workout Snack - complex carbs with light protein - banana-based smoothie

If I could decide whether I want to eat an afternoon snack, that could be complex carbs with heavy or light protein. Though really I only ever eat light protein, all yogurt or beans or tofu and whatever protein is in whole grains. That also makes it pretty easy to flop my meals around when I do work out in the morning or afternoon.

You may be thinking that's a lot of smoothies. I just don't feel like cooking, I don't know what's up. I thought about just eating cereal for dinner, but that's too much sweet for me and I'll burn out. You know what would be great, savory cereal. I guess that is called chips.

What I'm trying to reconcile myself with is, really is it so wrong to get a coffee and bagel from Corner Bakery for breakfast and then a sandwich for lunch on the two days I work? Or even better, a salad? I like their salads, I would be actually eating fresh vegetables twice a week. I feel pretty comfortable about this nutritionally, and am starting to think that's it's financially worth it. Really the main part I feel bad about is all the plasticware, which I don't need. I have silverware at my desk. I was throwing the unopened plasticware into my desk drawer and then I had to move my plasticware collection to a bigger drawer, it's getting like the Sorcerer's Apprentice in there. I try to catch them before they give me more, but sometimes I'm not fast enough.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Summer Fitness Plan
 postseason

Break: Strength training and muscle activation

Back to where we started from, postseason again! And for better or worse, again not on Second Wind. Good news, bad news, who knows. I mean, it's old news. In any case, it means that I get an actual postseason. There's a lot to be said about getting in a good postseason, namely the abovementioned strength training and muscle activation.

I should say first, I'm taking a whole two week break from practice. Except for playing in the Rice vs. Beans challenge bout at ECDX!

Then, this:

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
SLEEP
 
SLEEP
 
SLEEP
 
SLEEP
 
SLEEP
 
SLEEP
 
SLEEP
 
HOBBY
 
HOBBY
 
WORK
 
HOBBY
 
WORK
 
HOBBY
 
PLAY
Kru
HOBBY
 
HOBBY
ACE
WORK
 
HOBBY
ACE
WORK
 
HOBBY
alla Poppy
PLAY
lead plyos
PLAY
Referee
HOBBY
ACE
PASTIME
 
PLAY
DDPP
PLAY
Derby Lite
PASTIME
 
PASTIME
 
PASTIME
 
PLAY
League
PASTIME
 
PASTIME
 
PASTIME
 
PASTIME
 
PASTIME
 
SLEEP
 
SLEEP
 
SLEEP
 
SLEEP
 
SLEEP
 
SLEEP
 
SLEEP
 

Most of this is self-explanatory, not that that's going to stop me from explaining a little bit. Over the summer I will still be leading ref practices and developing the ref skating program, a new thing is that the league is offering a light schedule of non-contact practices that I will be taking advantage of, hopefully I will be leading a few more Derby Lite practices while I'm on break, I'm doing a course of Kru boot camps for the abovementioned strength training and muscle activation, and then also leading plyos for others.

But what is DDPP, you ask? I'll tell you what it is, it's Wednesday night awesomeness that I heard about from Karmageddon. An all-girl hour dance party, at 7:00 PM, because I'm a grandma and can't hang anymore with hipster dance parties that don't start until 11:30 PM.

But but but, I have a dilemma. I also am thinking instead on Wednesday night about leading a skatefit practice for myself and others. Because then I can putter about in the morning, study in the afternoon and evening, and then go skate like on Mondays. Eight weeks of skatefit would make me ROWR for preseason. But but but, all-girl dance party... would it make me even more ROWR to do something fun and different... do I already know the answer to this question...

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Post Season Gear Roundup

I figure that postseason is a good time to assess gear, and get new gear so that it's broken in by preseason. Here's what I'm sticking with, and what I wasn't so enchanted with or found I could live without:

Bauer 7500 hockey helmet
Love my helmet, should last me the rest of my derby career.

custom mouthguard, courtesy of Dr. Michael Harada
Love my mouthguard (lower picture). I've had it for a year, it's saved me twice, actually, from losing my front tooth. I should get it checked for fit and it should be good for one more season.

Rector Proformer wrist guards, Fat Boy elbow and knee pads
Okay, these. I know, I know, these wrist guards and elbow pads needed to be replaced three weeks ago. But I wanted them to serve through the end of the season, I reconstructed the palms of my wrist guards with gaff tape and also pretty much have been taping on my elbow pads what with the lower velcro straps all worn out. I could have replaced the velcro, but I didn't feel like it with just three weeks to go and not really liking them. I did mend the knee pads like new with some scraps of t-shirt fabric, where the velcro from my knee gaskets tore the lining up. They've lasted nicely otherwise for a full season, and I like them quite a bit. Since the wrist guards and elbow pads are falling apart and it's been a year for the knee pads, I'm trying all 187 gear next. TK!

wrist and elbow gaskets
These were so worth getting. I think my wrist guards would have lasted better if I had worn these gaskets all season, I started wearing them about halfway through. I'll tell you something, I haven't had to wash my wrist guards since I started wearing the gaskets and I used to have to wash them religiously every week. Both the wrist and elbow gaskets themselves are totally washable. I have twelve pairs of each, wear a fresh pair for every practice, and then throw them in the laundry. They've held up very well in multiple washings.

Gladiator knee gaskets
I had to replace my knee gaskets halfway through the season, I was hulking out of my mediums. Probably I am a little bigger than medium and a little smaller than large, I've been wearing the larges for half a season and they still look pretty new and haven't torn at all. They aren't totally snug, though. They're good to go for a while longer, maybe they'll last all next season.

Ezeefit ankle booties
I think I've had this one pair of ankle booties for two years, and finally they're falling apart. So I need a new pair. I started wearing the booties over, not under, my socks, which has helped them not smell so bad and also I think not fall apart so much. So my new pair might last even longer.

Riedell Vandal skates with 265 boots and PowerDyne Thrust nylon plate
I have had these skates since April 2008, so they're three years old. And you know how I love gear, I've been drooling over Sirens all season... but these boots just fit me better and better, and I'm not sure that I'm going to like any other boot better for my duck feet. And I'm still skating on Thrust nylon plates, I keep hinting to Steve that I might like to try Reactors and he keeps telling me to try just changing up my cushions.

Powerdyne white/black cushions
Switching to yellow magic cushions at the beginning of the season was a major fail, I went back to the new old white cushions that I had and it was like getting my skates back. But those old cushions are being phased out, I figure I had better learn how to make these magic cushions work for me. Steve thinks the yellows were too hard for me, they're rated for 170 lbs and I'm 145 lbs and should probably be on oranges. I had such a bad experience with the yellows, I didn't want to experiment during the season. Summer project, TK!

Snyder round toestops
These toestops wore down so fast at first, I figured I'd change then up when I saw metal poking through in two weeks; but then they sort of stabilized, and they're probably fine to go for months. I have Gumballs that I've wanted to try since January, though...

Bones Swiss bearings
Love my bearings, I've had these since I started rollerskating and they're still rolling strong.

Atom Juke 95 Slim wheels
Love my wheels, I was a wheel junkie until I tried these wheels. I dunno, they just get me. They're even getting bald and a little rounded on the edges, but I always know where I am with them. I'm almost getting a little superstitious about getting new ones, which are going to be green (pooh). But I suppose I must, get them broken in before preseason...

The only thing I tried this season that I decided not to bother with was shin guards. Which you could tell from the state of my shins, so use your judgment.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

A Chart for My Clothes

I am organizing all my clothes! Of course I am! I have come up with a formula for how many of each item of clothing I need! Of course I did! The formula is:

(n x 2) + 2

...where n is the number of unique wears for that item in a week, multiplied by two weeks, plus two more just in case things really get out of control and laundry gets away from you for more than two weeks. But if you do laundry roughly every week, this is a very comfortable margin.

You don't think that I didn't actually make a chart for my clothes. Of course I did.

I'm angling toward having an exact roster of every piece of clothing that I actually need, and ruthlessly throwing out every piece of clothing that doesn't make the roster. Also ruthlessly throwing out every last pair of pants that doesn't fit.

I wish I could take a picture of my closet, which is two sets of aluminum utility shelves at the back of the bedroom. But I only have light in the front of my apartment and the bedroom is in the back. Also the kitchen is the back, which is why all my food shots are sitting in the front window. But anyway, there has been a paradigm shift in my closet. I don't know why I never thought of this before, my clothes have been organized by color for years and years. Now they are organized by type! Who even knew that I had so many t-shirts and tank tops, now that I can see them maybe I'll wear more than the same three of them over and over and over. Or maybe I can edit some of the others out.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Summer Chart

So it's seeming like a pattern that I take a break at the end of the season and start the next season fresh, I think that's a pretty good pattern. I mean winter, spring, summer, and fall. Though also the home season is finished and The Fury have won the championship, and now I'm in postseason.

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
SLEEP
 
SLEEP
 
SLEEP
 
SLEEP
 
SLEEP
 
SLEEP
 
SLEEP
 
HOBBY
 
HOBBY
 
WORK
 
HOBBY
 
WORK
 
HOBBY
 
PLAY
Kru
HOBBY
 
HOBBY
ACE
WORK
 
HOBBY
ACE
WORK
 
HOBBY
alla Poppy
PLAY
lead plyos
PLAY
Referee
HOBBY
ACE
PASTIME
 
PLAY
DDPP
PLAY
Derby Lite
PASTIME
 
PASTIME
 
PASTIME
 
PLAY
League
PASTIME
 
PASTIME
 
PASTIME
 
PASTIME
 
PASTIME
 
SLEEP
 
SLEEP
 
SLEEP
 
SLEEP
 
SLEEP
 
SLEEP
 
SLEEP
 

Not too different from my spring chart, I'm still studying for the ACE exam and writing for alla Poppy, and working two days a week, apart from skating. Not writing for Livestrong for the time being, it's really good to retire notions that you really don't have time for. Hopefully I am headed toward being a certified personal trainer with this semi-popular blog that has some useful and fun stuff.

If I can, I would love to be able to dive right into studying on Wednesday mornings instead of doing my usual soft shoe with cleaning all the things before I get to work. It's stressful to see how little time there is for the work that matters, but that is also the reality that tends to strike back with equal and opposite force when refuted. So, gently with that.

Friday, June 3, 2011

June Diet Quality Card

june diet card

So I backslid to coffee and blueberry muffin, and then coffee and bagel with cream cheese and then also bought lunches at work. And lemon bars, the crystal meth of baked goods, for the afternoon snacks that I supposedly don't need.

But I haven't had food made because I was having too much fun making human anatomy flash cards for the personal training certification that I'm studying for and I didn't feel like being interrupted to cook veganly beans again. I mean, what does that tell you. In no particular order: 1) you, Munt, are an organism that needs food to function, no matter how much fun is going down, 2) your idea of fun is a little weird, 3) you know that it's cheaper and better to cook for yourself, 4) but god, sometimes, cooking and eating and doing dishes day in and day out, 5) the sweetie man says, it's like you're in the grip of Big Food, 6) hahaha, 7) probably I'm burning out on veganly beans, 8) now that I'm thinking, this blog is not just a witness but an agent for how I eat, 9) I mean, it pretty much keeps me turning over new recipes, and 10) about twelve weeks is long enough for me to play out the variations on a theme, and then it's time to change with the season.

I lied about that not being in order.

And it's finally summer, right? I have ideas for summer salads.

But I do need to take a little break, I've learned that the food plan falling apart means that I need reculer pour mieux sauter. Brb.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Quilty: Love, Triangle

Doris Day of the Dead asked me to do this episode of Quilty about how to use the half- and quarter-triangle ruler with her sister Mary and Barbara Brawlters who I think actually quilts. I did finally find my seam ripper under the chaise, so I can start ripping my old dresses any time now—

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Fishnet Surgery: An Easy Undershirt

fishnet shrug

This is just a pair of fishnets upside down, right? Really the only trick is to remember to make the hole a lot smaller than your head, I just snipped out the three inches of crotch seam and that's it. Well also, I cut the toes off and tore little holes for my thumbs. I left the waistband on, so it all stays put.

To put it on, you stick your head in the hole and then carefully put your arms in the legs one at a time. I wear this under sleeveless t-shirts and tank tops, here's what it looks together.

If you make the hole for your head the size of your head, it'll roll down your shoulders. Which is a look, but then you can't fuss with it on; that's the rule.