Mango sorbet, like ice cream but better!

The only difficult thing about this recipe is getting the consistency right.  If it's placed in the freezer after it's made and gets too cold, your taste buds get a little numb and can't detect the flavors as well.  You really want to aim for a soft serve consistency so you can fully experience the flavors.  Additionally, I've found that it gets rock hard if stored in the freezer, and that's no fun to try to serve!

The mango slurry itself can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge until you are ready to put it in the ice cream maker.  The bowl of the ice cream maker should be placed in the freezer the night before you need it.

Mango sorbet

4 to 5 ripe mangos
1 can of full fat coconut milk
juice and zest of 1 or 2 limes

Place the juice, zest, coconut milk, and most of the mangos in a blender or food processor.  You may have to process in two batches depending on the size of your appliance.  I have a dying blender so I had to coax it a little bit to get everything to blend smooth.  Blend all ingredients until you reach a smooth consistency and place in a large storage container in the fridge until you are ready to make your sorbet.  It should reach a pudding-like consistency in the fridge and is quite yummy this way too.

10 to 15 minutes before you are ready to serve, place the desired amount of cold-from-the-fridge sorbet in your frozen ice cream maker bowl and process per the manufacturer instructions.  For the model I have I just put the paddle in, put the lid on and turn it on for 15 minutes or so.  When the sorbet has reached a soft-serve consistency, it's ready to serve.  This is especially delicious with some fresh blueberries!

 

Long run stats, menu plan, disappointment, and pain. Plus a new strategy!

Wow, could I have come up with a more depressing title?

First, a warning, this post is not 'all about' running or paleo.  It will probably be filled with whining.

The week has been rough.  Nothing's really wrong.  I haven't injured myself.  No one has died.  But, Wednesday I lost my running buddy.

When I first got the wild hair to run the half marathon, I asked someone at work if she would be interested in running a well known local 12k with me, which takes place a few weeks before the half.  It seemed like we had quite a bit in common and I was hoping to make a new friend.  She agreed, we discussed plans to do our weekly long runs together, I shared my training schedule with her and she liked it and decided to follow it.  We had been updating each other on our results via Facebook.  It was nice to have someone to talk running with.    Well, Wednesday she told me that she is having surgery the week before the race and so she's decided not to do it.

Now, surgery is a totally legitimate reason to cancel something.  But since there's so much time between now and then I asked if she still wanted to run on Saturdays and she said no.  Then she mentioned that she's "still following my training schedule!"  and, "has really started to love running!" 

We never actually got to run together because the weather here has been yucky lately, and I am probably taking this far too personally.  But I can't help but feel like I got, uh... honey badgered.  As in, "Thanks for the treats, stupid!"  (this video is not safe for work due to language)



I didn't think it would really affect me as much as it has.  Running the half was my personal goal from the start and I usually prefer to exercise on my own.  Maybe it doesn't have anything to do with running.  Maybe I'm just disappointed that it seems like she didn't want to run with me.

So, along with getting that news Wednesday, the rest of the week has had me in a little funk.  My legs were sore during my run on Tuesday and it was painful.  I still did my press and deadlift workout on Wednesday though I did fewer reps of the assistance work. Thursday I decided to skip my run due to knee pain (okay, okay, I was a little sad, too!  But mostly it was because of my knees) and of course Friday was my scheduled rest day.

Aside from the difficulty with running and my lack of a social life, I've been feeling bingey all week long.  I've had a couple run-ins with homemade almond butter and a little too much fruit.  The scale has been creeping up and I'm about 5 lbs over the weight I was at when I started this whole thing.

I guess that leads me to my new strategy.  Feeling disenchanted with running, for whatever the reason may be, I downloaded The Primal Blueprint.  I've always liked Mark Sisson's take on chronic cardio, and I had it in the back of my mind since before I decided to train for the half.  I haven't finished the book yet, but I've decided to change up my training strategy a bit based on Mark's recommendations.  Basically this means lowering my intensity during my runs, adding in sprints once a week, and continuing to lift weights.  See below:

I tried to keep my hr during today's run between 55 and 75% of my max (105-144 bpm).  This meant that instead of running I was pretty much at a slow jog, with a couple short walk breaks if my hr got over my target zone.  I have to say, it definitely took me longer to do my 4 miles today than it did last week, but I could tell I didn't dip into my glycogen stores as much as I have in the past.  I came home feeling pretty stable and I didn't need a piece of fruit or a sweet potato after my run.

Distance: 4.26 miles
Time: 56:12
Avg HR: 132
Max HR: 157

Along with switching up my training strategy, I'm trying a couple different things with food this week.  No fruit except berries, and no nuts except macadamia nuts.  The fruit is definitely affecting me in the same way sugar does (makes me want to binge, eat when I'm not hungry, and puts me in a nasty mood!) and the nuts are just too easy to overconsume.  I stopped buying almond butter for that reason, but it looks like even the 2 year old bag of raw almonds in the pantry is a trap, the nuts are just screaming to be turned into almond butter (delicious when roasted, salted, and ground up with some coconut oil  *drool*).  Anyway.  The goal is to try the lower intensity running for a bit, and to keep my insulin well controlled.  Hopefully I'll see a bit of improvement with these changes!

This week's menu:

Roast chicken

Carrots and curried cauliflower

Salad

Pork roast

Roasted root veggies

Salad

Meatballs and pasta sauce

Garlic green beans, spaghetti squash

Salad

Leftovers

Carrots

Salad

Macadamia nut chicken

Broccoli

Salad

Leftovers

Broccoli

Salad

Meat massacre and first two days of training

First two scheduled workouts down, many more to go!  Yesterday's mission was to find my 1 rep max for bench press, overhead press and back squat.  I ended up at 60, 55, and 95 respectively.  Then I did a quick 3 rounds of bodyweight stuff: 20 squats, 15 kb swings with 25#, 10 lunges with 10# and 5 assisted pullups.

Tonight was a 3 mile run.  Stats are as follows:

Distance: 3.1 miles

Time: 35:50

Avg HR: 154

Max HR: 171

Not too bad for a quick 5k.  Definitely an improvement over my first attempts at 3 miles.  And, even though I find the running boring, it's getting easier.  (Per the display on the treadmill) I was able to increase my pace comfortably, and I've noticed my HR is decreasing a little bit, too. 

After I got back from my run today I had a decent sized banana.  On Saturday I made the mistake of having some banana and water before my 3.5 mile run, and I found that I got a little heart-burny so I don't think I'll be doing banana before a run again.  Also, banana seems to be fine after longer runs, but my time is decreasing on these 3 mile runs and since my HR is right around 155-160 most of the time, I don't think I'm burning enough glucose to really need a banana afterwards.  I felt pretty darn good fuel-wise today in comparison to the first couple runs... I am pretty sure I basically bonked on the first run.  Lately I've felt comfortable at the level of carbohydrate intake I'm at.  Perhaps I'll save the sugary fruits for the longer weekend runs and stick to sweet potatoes after the shorter ones.

And now... the meat massacre!





Blood spray from tenderizing the meat!

 



Monday's lunch and breakfast: leftover salsa chicken on
zucchini, squash and onions.  Eggs and broccoli slaw,
avocado and blueberries.

I kind of messed up my Whole30 yesterday by marinating the meat in tamari.  I could've done without it, but I was trying to impress my husband (and he was definitely impressed with the flank steak)... so, not exactly sure where I'm going to go with that.  I'll have to consider it tomorrow and decide what I'm going to do!


I ran tonight for the first time in over a month...

and it went ok.

I can't say much about my time, but I completed 3.1 miles on the treadmill tonight after not having run for over a month.  Not bad for someone who has been on a pretty insane weight loss diet for several months!

Distance: 3.1 miles
Time: 40 mins
Avg HR: 148
Max HR: 170

I felt pretty comfortable with my HR around 150-160, and didn't have any problems with breathlessness at higher rates.  I do realize my pace was pretty awful, but I'm sure that will improve with more training.

By the time I was finished I could tell I was reaching my limit as far as fuel goes.  My legs felt like jelly and I was starting to get a little bit dizzy at the end.  When I got home I had an apple, an ounce of leftover chicken, some leftover roasted broccoli and carrots, and a clementine and that seemed to get me back on an even keel.  I don't think the apple was the best carb choice but it was one of the only things I had in the house.  I'll need to try a few different things for post workout refueling.

I finished my tentative training plan for the half marathon and will be posting that in the next couple days!