Upcoming 5Ks: Dirty Girl Mud Run and Hot Chocolate 15K/5K

At our last TOPS meeting, Vicki mentioned two upcoming 5Ks. Here are the links, for anyone interested in signing up:

Dirty Girl Mud Run

August 20, 2011

Milford Hills Hunting Club (Johnson Creek, WI)

http://www.godirtygirl.com

Dirty Girl is unlike anything you’ve ever done. This female-only, 5K mud run is designed for women 14 and up of all fitness levels. The 11 military-inspired obstacles are fun and unique, but with just enough hell to keep your palms a bit sweaty.  If that’s not reason enough, get dirty for a good cause. A portion of all proceeds goes to support breast cancer research, awareness & education.

Hot Chocolate 15k/5k
November 5th, 2011    

Grant Park (Chicago, IL)

http://www.hotchocolate15k.com

The Hot Chocolate 15K/5K is a run/walk that raises funds for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training (TNT) program. It is an officially timed event (timing chips are attached directly to the back of your bib number), and participants must be able to maintain the course time limit of 15 minutes per mile or faster.

Afterwards, join fellow runners, walkers and chocolate lovers for the most scrumptious post race party in the nation!!!  Ghirardelli hot chocolate, fondue and many other chocolate treats will only be the icing on the cake.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin & Apricot Salad

This recipe was submitted by Cindi...

Grilled Pork Tenderloin & Apricot Salad (From EatingWell)

4 servings | Active Time: 40 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes

This grilled pork dish offers a triple hit of the fruit with an apricot preserve glaze for the tenderloin plus a grilled apricot and watercress salad with an apricot-spiked vinaigrette. Serve with a chilled Chardonnay, which will harmonize beautifully with the smoky-sweetness of grilled apricots.

Ingredients

·    1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed

·    1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

·    1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus more to taste

·    3 tablespoons apricot preserves, divided

·    4 ripe but firm fresh apricots or nectarines, halved and pitted

·    2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar

·    2 tablespoons minced shallot

·    2 tablespoons canola oil

·    1 4- to 5-ounce bag watercress, or baby arugula (about 8 cups)

Preparation

1. Preheat grill to high.

2. Sprinkle pork with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Oil the grill rack (see Tip). Grill the pork, turning occasionally, for 10 minutes. Brush the pork with 2 tablespoons preserves and continue grilling until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 145°F, 2 to 5 minutes more. Grill apricot (or nectarine) halves on the coolest part of the grill, turning occasionally, until tender and marked, about 4 minutes. Transfer the pork and apricots to a clean cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, whisk the remaining 1 tablespoon preserves, vinegar, shallot, oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl. Cut the fruit into wedges and add to the dressing along with watercress (or arugula); toss to coat. Thinly slice the pork. Serve the salad with the sliced pork.

Nutrition

Per serving: 247 Calories; 10 g Fat; 1 g Sat; 5 g Mono; 74 mg Cholesterol; 15 g Carbohydrates; 25 g Protein; 1 g Fiber; 363 mg Sodium; 653 mg Potassium;

1 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 1 fruit, 3 lean meat, 1 1/2 fat

Tips & Notes

To oil the grill rack: Oil a folded paper towel, hold it with tongs and rub it over the rack. (Don't use cooking spray on a hot grill.) 

My downfall---SODA!

Hello all! I just got this in my personal e-mail and thought I would share. I am a soda drinker, and I am struggling with stopping. ____________________________________________

• One thing I've not talked you about yet is high fructose corn syrup. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is scary stuff and something to be avoided. Why? I knew you'd want to know! The consumption of HFCS has been indicted for the growing obesity problem in American and in the world. One reason is the increase of the use of HFCSâit's cheap. Not only is it a concentrated sugar, it is also a preservative! And if that isn't enough, HFCS is thought to be more readily converted to fat by your liver than straight sugar. YIKES! Your body processes HFCS differently than straight sugar. HFCS blocks leptin, a naturally secreted chemical in your body, which regulates appetite. If your leptin ain't working, your appetite can veer out of control. There is a definite link between the consumption of HFCS, high cholesterol and diabetes when animal studies were conducted. The jury is still out on how it affects humans, but in my humble opinion, I think it's a smart bet to avoid HFCS anyway. The biggest culprits of HFCS are soft drinks, fruity flavored beverages and processed foodsâall high in calories, low on nutrients. The second ingredient in a soda pop after carbonated water is HFCS.


• So let's say you fill up your gas tank at the local 7-11 and while you're paying, you get yourself a little something to put in your own tank--a Super Gulp thing (64 ounces of cola). After it's all gone and you're chewing on the ice, you find you're hungry. You may have had enough calories to guzzle (that'll be 840 calories to be exact), but you sure didn't get one nutrient. Your body is starving for REAL food, the kind that will help it function, think and perform for you. You can't do that on empty calories. How do you avoid HFCS? Glad you askedâhere you go, 1, 2, 3 easy things to do:


• *Read food labelsâ¦HFCS will be clearly marked on the ingredient list. The closer to the top of the list of ingredients, the more that's in there.


• *Eat cleaner. I promise you, you will not find HFCS in fresh fruits and vegetables!


• *Replace the soda with water. Again, I repeat: REPLACE THE SODA WITH WATER. Not only is the HFCS horrible, you don't want artificial sugars and the bone eating affects of the phosphates in soda, either.

Here is the program I was telling some of you about that I started to follow. I'm not much of a runner, as a matter of fact I don't care for it too much at all. But walking was not getting my heart rate up enough, so I thought I would give it a try. I am now registered to run a 5K on May 7. We will see how it goes! :) - Vicki

Couch to 5K Running Program

Watch Out For These Healthy Food Pretenders!

I really liked this "Wellness Tip of the Week" emailed in January of 2009 so I'm sharing it here in case you didn't save it... Cindy

Watch Out For These Healthy Food Pretenders!

Pretzels
The label might say “fat free” but they’re made with refined white flour stripped of its vitamins and antioxidants, and they’re loaded with carbohydrates.

Spinach Wrap
It looks green and good for you but spinach is a scant ingredient. These wraps are typically made from refined white flour and the green hue primarily comes from food coloring. It’s higher in calories than cooked spinach and doesn’t have the high levels of vitamins A and C.

Vitamin Water
It has vitamins, but it has a lot of calories as well.

Spark Recipe Calculator

I wanted to share a great website with all of you. The Spark Recipe Calculator allows you to type in the ingredients for a recipe, and calculate the nutritional information, per serving. If you like designing your own recipes or frequently make substitutions, this is a great way to stay on top of your calorie intake!

Homemade Salad Dressing Recipe (great for a Greek salad!)

I've never been a huge salad eater, mainly because I hate the heavy dressings that seem to drown most salads. Last summer, a friend suggested that I try making my own salad dressing, so that I could have more control over the flavor and ingredients. After scouring the internet, I learned that the basic formula for a homemade salad dressing is simply:  2 parts oil, 1 part acid (e.g. vinegar, lemon juice, etc.), a minced aromatic (garlic, shallot, or onion), herbs, salt and pepper.

The recipe for the dressing I make the most often is located below. I usually make it for a Greek salad (recipe also follows). For additional homemade vinaigrette recipes, visit http://www.vinaigretterecipe.com/VinaigretteRecipes.htm.

Lemon Juice Vinaigrette
Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1.5 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients in a mason jar and shake well.
• Serve immediately, or store in the fridge for up to 5 days, in an air-tight container.

A note about picking an olive oil:
When you're making a homemade dressing or marinade, make sure that you use extra virgin olive oil. Regular olive oil has a bolder flavor, which could mask the flavors of your other ingredients, and is better suited to sautéing and grilling meats and vegetables.

Greek Salad (Horiatiki Salata)
Ingredients:

• 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
• 2 cups cucumber, sliced and then quartered
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped into 1-in. squares
• 1/4 red onion, sliced into rings
• 8 oz. low-fat (chunk) feta cheese, cut into small cubes
• Lemon Juice Vinaigrette (see above)
• 16 kalamata olives for garnish (optional, not calculated in nutritional info)

Directions:

• Place the tomato, cucumber, green pepper, onion and feta in a large bowl.
• Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss gently to combine, just before serving.
• Garnish the salad with a little freshly ground black pepper and (if desired) kalamata olives. 

A traditional greek salad does not have lettuce, but I sometimes add chopped romaine hearts to this recipe, in order to serve more people and get some extra greens into my diet :)

Servings: 6-8
Nutritional Information: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1550901.