Learned Truths and Really (really) Salty Food

Today was sort of backwards. I didn't workout this morning because when I woke up at 6am, thunder and lighting were havin' it out. The last time there was lightning around here, Randy witnessed the field next to our apartment (yes, we live by cornfields #Iowa) being struck by lighting. No thanks.

So I got up and because I had a leadership meeting at work, I fixed a lovely Shakeology breakfast and started getting ready for my day.

I got home after work and immediately made dinner. I had an early lunch and because of the meeting, didn't get a snack when I normally do, so I was hungry. HUNGRY. So I made this little creation with some pork loin we had in the refrigerator. It was...interesting. Good, but since I made it up and it's the first time I made this, it could use some tweaking. (note: I'm not putting this in my recipes section because it's not perfect, but I will tell you how I made it below.)

Careful with my portions AND my carb intake, I wrapped my concoction in lettuce leaves! After eating, I waited a few minutes and THEN I worked out. I told you today was backwards! Today, I learned a few truths about myself, so of course, I want to share.

1. Running in the morning makes me a better person. I was restless all day without it.

2. Under no circumstances does any recipe that involves soy sauce require any additional salt. (please read this point again and commit it to memory. It's vital.)

3. Lettuce leaves instead of tortilla shells make that disgusting I'm-so-full-I-need-my-elastic-pants feeling non-existent.


Sweat is literally dripping of my face and Reba wants a belly rub. -_-

4. Yogurt is the best after dinner snack. It gives you the sweetness and creaminess of ice cream without the guilt. Again, I realize I'm late on the bandwagon, but whatever. I'll own it. I used to eat Yoplait, but decided I like AE (Anderson Erickson Dairy, for you non-local folks) better.

5. Yoga stretches after a Shaun T. workout are a-ma-zing. They are necessary, therapeutic and wonderful. But then, I'm a closet yogi. Also, a truth about Reba (my foster cat niece) is that she too, loves yoga. She does not, however love anything overly strenuous. She's actually quite lazy.

6. I actually LIKE lower body workouts. Guys. Really. This is truly amazing. Squats, lunges and the like are hard and my muscles are going to PAY for this tomorrow but I felt like I did some WORK today.

7. I crave my morning Shakeology. And water. Some people in the meeting got a can of pop in the afternoon for that after lunch pick me up. Usually the sound of a can of sugary carbonation fizzing open makes me crave it, but I totally didn't. I even surprised myself at the amount of water I drank. Bam. Changes are happening, y'all.

This journey is helping me learn many things about myself and I'm sure this topic will be recurring. The way to LEARN these things, however, is to actually be consistent enough to notice changes. :)



Ok-- here's my recipe. I really just threw some stuff together- there are no measurements here! I wanted to make Korean BBQ Pork lettuce wraps, but I didn't want to go to the store. So I took some flavors that I love in my sushi and made this delicacy.
Preheat oven to 350. Take 1 pound of pork loin with the fat trimmed and slice it into medallions. In a bowl, create a rub of pepper, garlic powder, ginger, (and I used salt. DO NOT do this.) Toss medallions in the rub, coating as well as you can. Add about 2 Tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce, 2 Tablespoons of brown and spicy mustard, 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and dash or two or sesame oil(this is powerful stuff, so you don't need much). Toss the medallions in that as well. Put the pork in baking dish large enough for the pork medallions to lay flat. On the top of the medallions, slice 1-2 apples (I just did one because that's all I had). Bake for about 25 minutes or until cooked. Once cooked, slice into smaller pieces.

I used a cheese grater to slice some cucumber and fresh ginger and made that into a slaw, of sorts.  (That actually helped balance some of the big flavors in this!). Additionally, I made a little sauce of Kraft low-fat Asian Sesame dressing (this is a serious must have in my house), spicy brown mustard and a LITTLE soy souce. I also had some basmati rice in my refrigerator that we had from a meal last week, so we used that in the wrap.

In a lettuce leaf, add a spooful of rice, the pork/apple mixture and cucumber mixture. Top with sauce and a few sesame seeds. Voila!