Gremolata with Almonds!

It's me and the Food Network. We're gremolata buddies.

Actually I just started making "pesto" with cilantro or parsley and almonds and garlic and lemon zest...and it turns out that the recipe for gremolata (with almonds) was lodged in my brain. It's my new Everything condiment, and a replacement for oil in my diet. I've literally gone nuts for nuts. Ground almonds and cilantro, peanut butter with trail mix and chocolate chips (why eat a Cliff bar when I can make the same thing without the flour and added sugars?!), avocado or peanut or macadamia oil in small amounts...and there's the coconut craze, as well. Coconut oil, coconut milk, coconut milk ice cream = THE BEST. I've been eating these frozen bars called Larry and Luna's Chocolate Bliss, and they have excellent creamy texture. It's a fudgesicle, basically.

I like how all this plant fat means I don't get hungry immediately after I eat something, and that I don't have a huge sugar crash. Fat slows digestion down, keeps you full. You don't want to eat a giant handful of nuts right before running several miles, of course. But a quarter cup, with some chocolate chips...pretty good, actually. No problem.

This morning I ran 6 miles - with lunges and interval sprinting uphill - after having an early morning protein smoothie and then a late morning hardboiled egg, followed by a blob of peanut butter with chocolate chips and dried fruit. No problems. Oh, and a double espresso was also involved. I was zipping along like lightning. I wanted a really hard workout to justify my rest day tomorrow. And then, on Saturday and Sunday and Monday, more hard workouts! And Tuesday is my second day of rest. SECOND DAY OF REST. Amazing. I feel so lively! All this resting is going wonders.

Lindsey's Almond Gremolata (goes great on grilled zucchini, grilled chicken, tomatoes...EVERYTHING):

2 cups roasted unsalted almonds
2 bunches cilantro or parsley (you could do 3 bunches, no one says you can't)
fresh garlic cloves to taste
generous helping of lemon zest (I zested the entire lemon, plus the juice)
lemon juice

Throw all that in a food processor and make a paste. Thin it out with more lemon juice or even some kind of oil, if you need to. If you're not like me and you still think eating salted food tastes good, then by all means use Tamari almonds or something salty like that. I'm sure it would be delightful. If only I could still eat salt without getting monster tongue burn.

I slathered it on grilled mushrooms and steak today. Maybe it was actually an almond-infused chimichurri sauce today.

It's funny how margarine used to be healthy, and now it's the worst thing you could possibly eat, aside from straight up Crisco. Hydrogenated, trans-fat! Now the best kind of fat you can eat is coconut, avocado, nut butters, or pasture-raised meats. All high in Omega-3's (as opposed to the more common, less helpful, less anti-inflammatory Omega-6's - read your labels!). Especially pasture-raised beef. Go figure. The right kind of steak is much better for you than the wrong kind of margarine.

And eating too much tofu will mess with your hormones. True of all unfermented soy products - anything outside of tempeh, natto, and soy sauce. Too bad. Soy burgers will eventually join margarine in the land of Too Good To Be True Processed Foods.

And eating too much salt will give you high blood pressure.

And eating too much white flour and sugar destroys all the good anti-inflammatory, heart-healthy things that those Omega-6 fatty acids have done for you.

Everything gets so complicated. But!

Simplicity is key. Cows that eat grass. Chickens that eat bugs. Fruit not sprayed with too many pesticides, or grown out-of-season and all flavorless and expensive. Like those hard nectarines they're trying to sell right now.

Yep.

Two Day's Rest per Week

My compulsive side is freaking out at taking two - TWO - scheduled rest days per week. I will be going on slow meditative dog walks instead of doing sweaty calisthenics or running between five and ten miles. I'm also restricting my calories with the goal of lessening the strain on my overloaded knees; I was 129 lbs for turning 30, now it's six months later and I'm almost 10 lbs heavier, ugh.

And my skinny jeans are a little too tight, which is vexing.

I've added muscle since weighing in at 129, though. So I'd be happy weighing between 130 and 135? And also, to avoid injuring my knees - and other parts of me - in the future, I'm adding that second rest day to my weekly schedule. CRAZY I KNOW.

My periods actually attained an average cycle length - 28 days, down from my erratic 45 to 65 day polycystic cycle frequency - when I weighed approximately 130 lbs. Health! Wellness! Endocrine magic. I will sustain you, dammit.

Refined foods are rather toxic, aren't they? That sad, I have found that a Cliff bar slathered with a tablespoon of unsalted natural peanut butter is an excellent Insta-breakfast. Or afternoon snack. Protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals...and enough fat to keep one full for a few hours. Valuable stuff. Puck o' nutriments.

Tomorrow: As many Turkish Getups as possible with 15 lbs, with at least four sets of pullups - however many I can manage - and perhaps some Donkey Kick Static Holds to cool down. And an hour of dog walk, too.