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Chicken Ov-Un-Fried Tofu

  Check out this delicious recipe made by my friend Joey Mock, RD, LD, CLT. For more recipes, education and motivation, be sure to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter HERE. Ingredients 1 block (14 oz.) extra firm tofu ⅓ cup plain bread crumbs ¼ cup panko ½ tsp salt ½ tsp paprika ½ tsp parsley ½ tsp garlic powder ¼ tsp sage ⅛ tsp onion powder 2-3 dashes cayenne pepper (optional) Freshly ground black pepper to taste 1 egg, lightly beaten ½ cup low fat milk 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour Cooking spray (olive or canola oil) Coconut oil (optional) Your favorite barbecue or sweet chili sauce (optional) Preparation Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Drain water from tofu and gently squeeze/blot out any excess liquid using a few paper towels. Turn the block of tofu on it’s side and cut into two symmetrical sheets. Cut each sheet into medium to large sized squares. Set aside. In a medium bowl, mix together breadcrumbs, panko, and seasonings. In another small bowl, mix egg and milk together...

Changing eating habits without fear of weight gain

Are you tired of living with a rigid and restrictive style of eating? Do your food-related habits affect your relationships? Do you want to stop feeling so anxious, stressed, overwhelmed and conflicted around food-related events and decisions?  Are you wanting to make food choices that help fuel your active lifestyle, help you feel good physically and satisfy you mentally?  Are you ready to break free from food rules and build a healthy relationship with food and your body?  If you said yes to any or all of the following, you may find that there is one thing that is holding you back from feeling controlled by food.....you are worried about gaining weight/body composition changes.  Unfortunately, we live in a world saturated with diet culture. We are conditioned to group food into "good" and "bad" categories and it's almost universally acceptable to fat shame. Even worse, nutrition experts often encourage disordered eating strategies as a way to improve health, l...

Lake Logan Half Ironman Race Recap (Karel)

  The past 12 weeks have been difficult for Karel. After a hard impact mountain bike crash, he broke his right (dominant) hand. While the bones healed according to schedule within 6 weeks, the nerve pain and weakness has been slow, frustrating and painful. It took over two months for Karel to feel somewhat comfortable riding outside because the vibrations of the road caused tremendous pain in his hand. Because he still has a lot of weakness in his hand, this affects his grip while riding and how he swims (he doesn't have much of a "catch" in the water). The pinky and ring finger are numb and this numbness continues down his hand, which can be painful and annoying. There is also a lot of scar tissue in his palm and elbow which causes pain if he touches or hits it in the wrong spot. Throughout this journey, which has been filled with a lot of low, discouraging moments, Karel kept showing up. Not knowing when or if his hand would fully heal, there were a lot of really tough ...

IM Lake Placid RR - 26.2 mile run

  I was really looking forward to the new run course. With the first two miles net downhill, it was easy to find my running rhythm. At home, we live on the bottom of a hill so every run is always starting uphill. Although my transition was a bit long, that extra time (plus potty stop) contributed to quickly finding my running legs after a really exhausting and challenging bike. I had no time or pace goals for the run as it’s nearly impossible to predict how the body will feel and perform in a marathon after 114.4 miles of racing. And there’s just no way to simulate the mind and body fatigue that you feel when you start the run. I’ve had Ironman runs where the fatigue doesn’t hit me until mile 18-20 and others where I feel it on the first step (which makes for a very, very long marathon). Although I have had a lot of experience running a marathon after biking for 112 miles, participating in the 3-day, coast to coast, Xtreme triathlon really gave me a lot of confidence with my run...

IM Lake Placid RR - 112 mile bike + T2

As I made my way through town, my first focus was to safely get out of town. The first few miles are a bit technical and with the wet roads and rain, I didn’t want my day to be over in the first few miles of the bike. Once I made my way to the first big climb passed the ski jumps, I felt like I could start settling into a good routine.  The few miles before the Keene decent are very challenging as there are a few climbs that seem to roll but you never get enough momentum on the back of one hill to carry it to the next hill. So it really is a steady climb over several hills that makes it feel like one long climb. I enjoyed the out and back section into the Olympic cross country ski area as it was nice to break things up and see the other athletes in the other direction. I found myself around a few female professionals and only noticed a few age group riders ahead of me. I knew there was a lot left in the ride/race so I just focused on riding my own race but also using those around...

IM Lake Placid RR - 2.4 mile swim + T1

  After my alarm went off at 3:45am, I found myself feeling calm and in a positive mindset. I changed into my race kit and went upstairs for my pre-race meal. Although I typically have a bagel, I was really feeling a waffle so had two Belgium style cinnamon waffles and topped them with peanut butter, syrup and banana slices. I had a small cup of coffee (instant Nescafe Gold) and glass of water. I didn't find it too hard to eat which was a good sign that my mind was in a good place. All of the Trimarnis in the house were in the kitchen together so overall, the energy was really positive.  After I ate, I went down to my bedroom and did some light foam rolling as part of my pre-workout/race routine and then went outside in the light rain for a little jog before one last stop at the house bathroom. Karel was giving me reassuring words and telling me that I always do well in the Ironman distance. I appreciated his words and support.  Around 4:50am, we all squeezed into two car...

IM Lake Placid RR - Travel and Pre-Race

  We left our house on Wednesday morning around 4:20am and arrived to the GSP airport just before 5am. It was a smooth check-in with our two suitcases and two Scicon hard cases w/ our bikes inside. Each bike case weighed ~50lbs so we were able to check those items for free on Delta and then just pay $40 each for our suitcases. We felt a bit rusty with the entire airport process as the last time we traveled via plane for a race was October 2019 for the Ironman World Championship. We flew to Detroit, had a ~2 hour layover and then flew to Albany. Both flights were smooth and went by quickly (we napped on both flights). It was fun to meet up with a few Trimarnis in the Detroit airport before they made their way to Burlington.  Since we flew into Burlington in 2013 for IM Lake Placid, I decided to try out the Albany airport and ~2:15 hr drive. It was an easy process from luggage pick-up to getting our rental car (right across the street from the airport - no shuttle needed) and th...