Summer’s Ultimate Protein Shake: The Watermelon Cooler

I’m baaaaaaack! Yoga training was great (and hard. and exhausting. and exhilarating. and inspiring.)  After being gone for more than two weeks, I’m trying to get my house and life back in order. Including a run to the grocery store to grab some produce while it’s still fresh and local.

All I can say about this little blender creation is, Oh My. It tastes like a creamsicle made out with a watermelon.

The Delicious Watermelon Protein Cooler Recipe

• a cup or so of seedless watermelon
• 1 tsp konjac flour/glucomannan powder
• ice – 10 or more cubes
• water or almond milk, enough to thin
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I used my very last scoop of Protein Freeze – delicious!)
• stevia drops to taste

Blend and enjoy! But Allie, you might be saying. Isn’t watermelon totally high glycemic and will make my muffin top runneth over?! Actually no. Although the GI of watermelon (and carrots) is high, the glycemic load of watermelon is pretty darn low, just like carrots, when the serving size is normal. Don’t eat a whole watermelon by yourself.

Here we have my new favorite thing in the world (besides my newly loosened yogic hamstrings) -  Konjac Flour/Glucomannan Powder. Konjac is the magical root from Asia that gives us shirataki noodles. The flour is pure fiber, without the fishiness of shirataki noodles. It makes shake volume and creaminess without guar or xanthan gums! I’ve barely touched the gums since I got this bag. Naturally, it’s not cheap and not readily available. They can’t make it too easy to enjoy fabulous low calorie treats, right?

You can get glucommanan (think of the “root” word glucose – glucomannan is blood sugar lowering fiber) in capsules or the bulk bag online. I got mine at Carbsmart.com but Amazon.com carries it too. Both vendors are currently out of stock of the big bag, but should get it back in stock at some point.
If you pick some up, here are a ton of other recipes you can make with it from Prevention.

Is your Vita-Mix half full or half empty? Frankly it doesn’t matter – look how much creamy goodness it makes!
More about konjac, from Carbsmart.com:
Konjac glucomannan is a natural, odorless soluble fiber that is found in the konjac plant. The konjac glucomannan is the most viscosity food gum in nature. It has about ten times the viscosity than the cornstarch. Konjac glucomannan is also called konjac flour or konjac gum. Unlike the cornstarch, the konjac powder is the soluble fiber, which does not contain starch and sugar, it does not have calories.

Konjac flour can be used as a thickening agent in food application. When using konjac flour for thickening, always mix it with a small amount of liquid (cold water, stock, wine, etc.) till smooth, then add this mixture to the food that you want thickened. If you add konjac powder directly to your food you will end up with a lumpy mess. Konjac powder can be used as a thickener for smooth gravies, sauces, glazes, soups, stews and casseroles. It is also a thickener in pies, puddings, custards and cake fillings. This naturally odorless, vegetable powder is also gluten-free, making it the perfect substitute in cooking and baking when flour and other glutinous starches must be avoided.
 
Konjac powder doesn't thicken very much when mixed with cold water, but quickly thickens when it's heated. This is why you don't add dry konjac powder directly to hot liquids. It will seize and immediately turn into lumps because the konjac powder that contacts the water so quickly and fully absorbs the liquid before the adjacent konjac powder can. Mixing konjac powder with cold water allows it to absorb the water slow enough that it's easily and fully dissolved first. The dissolved konjac powder can then be added to a hot liquid to absorb it without lumping.

Konjac powder is an ingredient to thicken sauces and gravies or any other cooked recipe. To use konjac powder as a thickening agent, first disperse it in a little cold water or other "watery" ingredients such as soy sauce, and slowly add it (with constant stirring) to the other ingredients while they are cooking. About 1 teaspoon of konjac powder will gel about one cup of liquid. If you have not used konjac powder as a thickening agent before, it is best to experiment with it by beginning with lesser amounts, and adding as necessary until the desired consistency is reached.

Konjac powder has about ten times the thickening power of cornstarch. Dissolve the konjac powder in a little cold water before adding it to the sauce. Konjac flour thickens nicely when it's heated to boiling temperature, so it usually works well for savory sauces.

Wordless Wednesday: A Glimpse of Yoga Training

Downward Dog Balls and Other Yogic Snacks

Well, here it is folks. I’ll be MIA for the next few weeks as I’m undertaking an endeavor even scarier than walking on stage in hooker heels and a $175 rhinestone bikini…gulp - a 200 hour yoga teacher training.

Am I ready for this type of yogic intensity? We’ll see. Is yoga ready for my irreverence and penchant for flippant remarks? Again, that remains to be seen.

My intention was never to become a teacher although if the perfect opportunity arises, I would do it. I will help friends and family who want to learn the basics of yoga, but this training is for my own personal growth. My worldview has been steadily evolving – less weightlifting (but not abandoned by any means), drastically less gym time, more walking, more playing, less obsession. Yes, I’ve gained some weight that irks me immensely, but my body is thanking me and my psyche is healing from overtraining and overdieting and frankly, demanding way too much of myself.  Biology wants us women to have bigger butts. It’s a sad fact that Mother Nature has plenty of junk in the trunk. But apparently, some of us (damn you DNA!) cannot be rail thin in order for our hormones to function normally.

I’ll be logging 10 hour days of intense yoga immersion for the next few weeks, with no time for blogging and very little time for eating. I will only have energy to move and breathe, with perhaps a little time leftover for sweating.

I’m nervous about my energy levels. I’m sure I’ll cry. I’m sure I’ll hit the wall. I’m sure at some point my muscles will give out. I’m sure my body will unfold its tight places in amazing ways to new places of release. I’m sure I’ll miss my yummy shakes and of course all of you.

You can bet your pigeon pose that I’ll bringing along some carbohydrate & protein based power balls to try to maintain my energy.  It’s basically just protein oatmeal and not actually a cookie, so measurements are arbitrary.

Downward Dog Balls

• 2 1/2 c. old fashioned oats
• 3 scoops protein powder (about 1 c.)
• 1 egg
• 1/3 c. golden flax meal
• 1/3 c. golden raisins
• 1/3 c. walnuts
• 1/3 c. sunflower seed butter (or any nut butter)
• 1/3 c. granular sweetener
• 1 tsp vanilla or almond extract

I cooked 2 cups of oats with 2 cups water until thick but still underdone and then folded in the raw oats. Mixed in remaining ingredients and popped onto a nonstick mat with an ice cream scoop. Baked for about 10 minutes at 350 until firm. Popped into a container for the freezer.

Also stashed in the yoga bag:

• An amino acid supplement.
• Vega Shake ‘n Go, because I have some left after my review.
• Vitamin C and Coromega fish oil packets.
• The Aurorae yoga mat that I won from Super Sana. (Thanks Sana and Namaste Aurorae) I love this mat and I love the non-slipping chalk bag that came with it.
• Water bottle with water and green tea. Yes, no doubt that I’ll need the caffeine.

Unfortunately, I won’t have this magical Glucose powder that I saw at the local Indian market. For Non-Stop Energy! Awesome. Yes, sugar is that magical white energy powder that was so popular in the 80’s, isn’t it?

There will be little of this protein girl on the web for the next couple of weeks. Hope you all have a great summer and see you soon.

Namaste,

Allie

Patriotic Greek Yogurt

So cute. Run and make this adorable breakfast, snack or dessert from Shelly.

Not as pretty as mine, made with sugar cookie protein ice cream.

Happy 4th of July! Celebrate your own personal independence and do something active today.

Thoughtful Friday: Tell Your Daughter She’s Fat

What do you mutter if you catch an unflattering glimpse of yourself in the mirror? Maybe it’s the “How in the ^*#!@)! did I get so fat?” or maybe it’s a sigh of frustration and sadness so subtle that you don’t even notice it.

Next time you find yourself making an unkind statement to your body or your brain, go ahead and tell your daughter she’s fat. Watch a small face become crestfallen and wounded and sow the seeds of a lifetime of body image distortion.

You wouldn’t do that, would you? Nah, I don’t recommend it, even as an experiment for the greater good. But, I’ve actually imagined my beautiful, precocious, obnoxious 5-year old daughter looking in the mirror at herself sighing and saying…

“my thighs are too big.”

“if only I could lose those stubborn pounds, THEN I would wear shorts.”

“I hate my butt. I hate myself.”

If those words spilled from her lips or even if those thoughts crossed her mind, my heart would break into more pieces than a crappy store-bought stale cookie.

Not too long ago, my child was sitting in her booster seat in summer shorts and remarked, “my legs look fat like that.” I instantly told her (in escalating volume) how beautiful she was and that bodies come in all shapes and sizes and no she certainly wasn’t fat but and big legs are powerful and strong and and and… I went on and on. She was taken aback watching mom become the conductor on the Crazy Train since she was only commenting on the physics of leg flesh squishing out a little when seated, which is just a force of nature. Like gravity pulling down menopausal boobs on Grandma. Or me peeing my pants a little when jumping on the trampoline.

My point is, you wouldn’t tell your daughter she’s fat, so stop telling yourself that. It only perpetuates the cycle from generation to generation, little ears are listening, little eyes are watching, and little thighs are already wondering if they’re too big for their boosters. Every time my brain attacks my body like a playground bully, I am now trying to mindfully launch a counter attack of pure gentleness. It’s the way of my own personal peaceful warrior.

You are beautiful now. Right now. Not 10 pounds from now, or 30 pounds ago, or even 100 pounds to go.

Be your own ideal mother and don’t tell your daughter she’s fat. We are our own mothers and we are our own children. So treat yourself like a precious innocent child when you’re naked dripping wet from the shower and in front of an unforgiving mirror, don’t give yourself a bad rap. Instead, wrap yourself in a towel of love, fresh and warm from the dryer.

I’m just sayin’…

Now get out there, have a great weekend and do something fun and nurturing for your soul.