Now that I’m back at the gym, I feel a rejuvenated desire to keep track of my progress, in mind, body and gullet. Where my previous Food Diary was just about the food, I want to make my latest tracking effort about the big picture, much like the divas over at Nourished Fitness, Eat Live Run, Healthy Tipping Point, and Kath Eats Real Food.
I bring you, A Day in the Life, a summary of my efforts to get smarter and fitter, all the while eating awesome food and having a good time of life.
- Gym: 40 minutes on the elliptical and 20 minutes of weight training. Felt really nauseous the whole time. A consequence of the weekend? Who knows.
- Breakfast: A 1-egg veggie scramble with some sourdough toast that I baked over the weekend, and a bit of avocado. Savory breakfasts rule!
- Lunch: Smoked tofu and sauerkraut sandwich with salad. It’s like a veggie reuben, without the meat, cheese, or thousand island dressing. So, nothing like a reuben sandwich at all.
- Dinner: Hot sauce glazed tempeh with steamed greans and parsnip mash. The parsnips were a revelation. Scroll down for the recipe.
- Study: I’m taking an Open University course in human biology. Right now I’m studying sleep and dreaming. Did you know that babies spend most of their time in REM sleep? We don’t know why exactly, but research suggests that REM sleep is important for the development of the brain.
If sleep didn’t cure my queeziness, then the parsnip mash surely did. What a find. I usually have my parsnips roasted, which is amazing, but a bit too heavy and sweet for regular consumption. It’s is a shame, since the orgasmic box usually comes packed with parsnips that end up collecting at the bottom of my fridge for weeks at a time.
I think parsnip mash will change everything. The recipe makes use of horseradish to counter the sweet parsnip. It’s a nice change from mashed potatoes, and bonus: boiled parsnips are lower GI than boiled potatoes (52 vs 87 according to glycemicindex.com).
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Parsnip Mash
Inspired by this Parsnip Mash recipe on BBC Good Food.
1 tbsp butter
3 tbsp milk
2 tbsp horseradish
Simmer the parsnips in salted water until really tender, about 10 minutes, and then drain. Tip into a food processor with the rest of the ingredients and whizz until smooth. Tip back into the pan and gently reheat before serving.
Serves 6. Per serving: 211 Calories; 3.3g Protein; 2.8g Total Fat; 45.9g Total Carbohydrates.
The parsnip mash sounds yummy! I like that idea of adding horseradish.
Horseradish makes everything better. Except maybe ice cream. Then again, I could see a green tea and horseradish ice cream being kind of good. But maybe I’m just weird.
Your food looks wonderful. I had never thought of adding horseradish to parsnip mash. My mum used to make us a parsnip and carrot mash with just a touch of butter and salt, that I adored as a child, I must re-visit parsnips, I generally think of them as an autumn and winter veg since they can be heavy roasted.
I made some celeriac burgers (posting it tomorrow) which included horseradish. I really liked it, so I think I will like this parnsip mash. The sandwich looks really good too, must try that someday.
Thank you so much for the shout out! I’m definitely going to need to try Parsnip Mash, sounds great!
Alison – Before this mash, I had the misconception that all you could do with parsnips was roast them. They’re wonderful this way, but I needed a change up. I think parsnips ARE a autumn/winter veggie, but we’re still getting them in the organic box here in the UK. Maybe that’s because the UK’s weather feels perpetually like autumn and winter, and parsnip grows year round? No clue, but I’m looking forward to a break.
mangocheeks – i await your celeriac burger with baited breath. do you know about my search for the ultimate veggie burger? it continues. perhaps horseradish is the key?
Alyson – you’re very welcome. I think parsnip mash could be a nice addition to your Kabocha creations. =)
I’m growing parsnips this summer so having new ideas is great. Living in the pacific northwest reminds me of living in London alot (I lived there 3 years) 😛
Glad to have you back blogging your food. I often get ideas from your meals – particularly love the look of that lunch sandwich. And parsnip mash too – yum.
Alison – I just moved from London to the country after a 3-year stint in the city. London is an amaaazing place but it’s such a relief to be relocated to greener pastures (literally). If I ever move back to the US, the NW is definitely on my list of places I’d consider moving to. Looking forward to hearing how your parsnips grow. I am only braving potatoes this year – which reminds me, I need to plant those asap!
kathryn – thanks for the encouragement. its good to be back!