Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

L'Shana Tova!!! You don't have to be Jewish to "have a good year". So to all my Jewish friends out there, enjoy the holiday! My mom would make my brother and me potato Latka's around the Hanukkah holiday but you can't go wrong with a potato pancake any time of the year..and you don't have to be Jewish to enjoy one! Plus, with my sour cream dip that I made the other day (previous post), I had the perfect topping for our pancakes. To balance the carbs from the potato, I cooked up my favorite mixture of veggies (if you haven't noticed through previous blogs that I could eat this mixture every day for the rest of my life) which included green peppers, corn, mushrooms and onions, as well as tofu. Since I love chopping, shredding and dicing I used a large potato for my recipe. However, you can absolutely use frozen unseasoned hashbrowns (shredded) if you want to decrease the prep time for this meal. I think potato pancakes are a great way for the meat and po...

Are you a dip eater? Chips, pita chips, veggies, fruit....bring on the dip! How about spreads? Can you eat a wrap or a sandwich without your favorite condiment? Do you enjoy a little topping on your baked potato, enchilada, wrap or salad? Here's a super easy (and cheap!) dip that I put together the other night. Karel makes sandwiches every day for lunch (usually with our panini maker) and I knew he would love a spread for his panini's. Here are some other ways you can use this dip: 1) Top baked potato 2) Top potato pancakes 3) Top omelets 4) Dip for veggies 5) Dip for pita chips (portion control with chips) 6) Stir in with veggie stir-fry 7) Top tofu 8) Spread for sandwiches 9) Dollop in soup 10) Topping for stuffed peppers or grilled veggies 11) Topping on fish or grilled meat Any other ideas? Sour cream dip 1 container fat-free sour cream 1/4-1/3 cup chopped jalapenos (you can also use green or red peppers or onions) 3 cloves garlic (chopped) 1/4 cup Parmesean cheese (fre...

I love the off-season. I count down the days to my last race of the season but I also count down the days until I get to do whatever I want, whenever I want. Although the first few weeks are tough when I'm so conditioned to following a schedule (Mon = easy swim, Tues = interval bike + run, Wed = swim, run, etc.) I really enjoy just exercising and not training. Since my last triathlon race usually falls between Aug and Oct, I typically use Oct, Nov and Dec. as my active recovery phase. During this time I am usually training for running races (since running season falls from Nov-March in Florida). Come January, I start building my base for the upcoming tri season and I always enjoy this build phase because without it, I would be lost when I start my second phase of training in March which includes intervals and threshold training. I always go back this article I wrote in Hammer Enduranec News 57 when I talk about the off-season. I really put a lot of time and effort into this article...

A big problem I find with couples is that one person prefers x-food and the other person prefers y-food for dinner. Rather than preparing x or y, one person compromises and generally, it is the person who is trying to lose weight. I think a common problem for men and women (generally women) in relationships is that the person trying to lose weight is so focused on clearing the house of the "bad" foods and tries very hard to prepare and eat the "right" foods but the other person is not supportive or does not need to change his/her diet and the house becomes uncomfortable when it comes to meal time. The same thing often occurs in the work environment where co-workers do not support your "healthy" lifestyle nor your choice for healthy eating. My first question for the x-eater (unhealthy eater) is whether or not it is important to reduce risk for disease, improve quality of life, see your kids'd kids grow up and improve body composition? If you answered ye...

This has to be one of my favorite "creations" that I have put together. It came out super yummy and Karel didn't even mind that it was vegetarian. Lucky for me, he eats whatever I prepare for him, which is something creative every night. When you are in the mood for pizza, pasta or both, use this recipe to satisfy all your carbohydrate cravings. The healthy serving of pasta in this pie is matched with lots of veggies and you will find plenty of protein in this recipe. Most of all, I think this meal is total comfort food and without tons of calories and fat, you can feel absolutely healthy with every bite. Enjoy! Vegetarian Macaroni Pie *To make this non-vegetarian, keep the tofu but add 1 cup ground turkey or your choice of lean meat. To keep with the vegetarian recipe, you can also add 1 cup vegetarian Boca crumbles with the tofu mixture. 1 cup macaroni noodles 1 egg 1/2 tbsp olive oil 1/3 cup each sliced veggies: green peppers, mushrooms, onions, roma tomatoes 1/2 can c...

If you've been reading my blog for the last four years, you know how passionate I am about Hammer products. It wasn't that I was opposed to Hammer Nutrition four years ago, but I was just getting into long distance sports around the age of 23. Since graduate school, I have come across countless studies on the benefits of amino acids during endurance exercise, specifically branch chain amino acids. You probably know how much I am obsessed with whey protein and glutamine on a daily basis, in addition to complete protein foods in my meat-free diet. Many people wondered how I was able to stay focused and energized during the 112 mile bike ride of IMKY with only 3 x 28 ounce bottles of my Hammer mixture, in addition to 20 ounces of water for a 5 hour and 44 minute ride. So long as I met my hydration needs (most athletes need around 20-24 ounces per hour) I knew I was in good hands with my endurance aminos to preserve my glycogen stores and keep my brain focused. I also took Liquid E...

This is one of our FAVORITE events of the racing season. Karel has raced this event for the past two years and placed 34th his first year and 14th last year. This race is open to Pro Teams Only and if you aren't on a professional team (full-time Pro) then you must be invited. Although Karel was in the money for both years he had a few of his team members with him last year. This year, Karel was all alone, racing for an overall place and a possible position for the $15,000 overall purse prize (largest single-day pursue for GA). This race is known as the fastest cycling event in the US and with a downhill finish, I always get chills watching the finish. Last year I ran the 10K which is in conjunction with the cycling event. The event also has an incline skate division, walk division and wheelchair division. The whole course is closed to traffic and the course is NOT easy. You are either going up or down (as you can see in my pictures...if they do the course justice). We left for Mari...