I Just Fried Your Bacon!

Nothing going on bike wise today. Pretty low key. Hung with B-Man "played guys", Legos, etc., Good times. Then I cooked up one of my fave mid week meals.

I've shown a variation of this one before with spinach and some melted cheese, but since I'm "watching my figure" I've been cutting the cheese. That sounds bad doesn't it?

Whole Wheat Pasta, Tuna & Green Peas
• 3 Servings of Barilla Whole Grain Penne (2 1/4 cup dry)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (1.5 Table Spoons)
• Frozen Green Peas (1 Cup)
• 1 Can Of Albacore Tuna in Water (6 oz.) Drained
• Red Pepper Flakes, Kosher Salt and Black Pepper
• Parmesan Cheese (about 2 Tea Spoons)

Cook pasta & drain, add drained tuna, EVOO, and cooked peas. Add red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste. I like a couple of few shakes Parmesan cheese too. Mix through, eat and enjoy.

Stats For Whole Meal: 1150 Calories, 30g of Fat, 147g Carbohydrates, 28g Fiber & 68g of Protein. Most of the fat comes from the EVOO, but only 3 grams of that is saturated fat! And that's in an entire meal! One Big Mac has 30g of Fat, 10g Saturated and 560 calories. Yikes!

Oddly I sucked down this whole meal along with a laundry list of fruits, vegetables, and cereals today and I still came in with 370+ calories to spare. Then add in what we cyclist types normally burn in a day's ride or workout and you're looking at some seriously low net calories. I find it's a combo of What and How Much. Sometimes all it takes is keeping track of your intake for a while to first realize how much you ATE, then eventually realize how much you CAN eat.

Some good rules for eating according to your Training Periodization can be found in Chris Carmichael's book- "Food For Fitness". I've read and re-read this book countless times over the past few years. Don't get the cookbook. It sorta blows.

Hope you all didn't mind me talking about freaking food. But when I get bored I always seem to write about food. Or beer. But it the work week! And I'm only able to enjoy fine beverages on the weekends. Keeps calories down and makes riding in the cold worth while. ;)

I have read a few cool things this week. I really dug this article on Pez: "Beating The Winter Blues", by Marvin Zauderer. I've always dealt with "winter Jason" as Wifey calls it, and in this year's case "winter Jason" in Spring, Summer and Fall as well. So this was a good read.

There's also a good thread on MTRB.com about weight lifting and cycling. It seems like there are many pros and cons. I think I fall somewhere in the middle of not wanting to gain any muscle mass of course but also wanting to up my muscular endurance, help prevent injuries, strengthen my aging bones and of course tighten my hips, thighs and buttocks!!! I never get around to lifting HEAVY stuff. Given my time allotment, I want to work my legs as much on the bike as I can. Lifting days ARE a nice way to break up winter indoor training though, I will say that.

One last thing- I've started freebasing. There I said it, now check it! :)

Later.