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Sleep? Who Needs Sleep

Working Out on No Sleep
After several restless nights, I had really hoped to just crash last night. I went up to read around 8:30 and had the lights off by 9:20. I dozed for an hour, then I was wide awake when Jason and the dogs came up. I fitfully dozed another hour as Jason fidgeted and kept getting up. I thought that he was just having a restless night too. However, he kept going downstairs, then back up, had the bathroom light on. Usually he would attempt some sort of discretion about waking me up. He finally came over to me and realized that I was indeed wide awake, he was about to wake me to tell me that he thought he was experiencing anaphylactic shock symptoms from this allergy shot that morning (well, the previous morning by this point). He did admit that he had been reading about it online and that he may just be working himself up over it. He does have an EpiPen at least. I kept asking what he wanted to do (911, ER). Long story short, we did not get any sleep. I did manage to doze again from somewhere around 3:30 to 4:20 then finally got out of bed at 5. Most importantly, Jason is feeling much better.

Needless to say, this morning was a major struggle for me, but I did manage to get in my workout. I mean, I wasn't sleeping anyway. It was painful though with a bit of stumbling around. I started with Low Impact Circuit warm up, the weights, then finished the cardio premix (up to last blast where I totally pooped out). Today was Day 2 of Week 7 of the Total-Body Training Rotation and consisted of 3 sets of 8 reps.

Legs - Static lunges
Hamstrings - Stiff Leg Dead Lifts
Shoulders - Arnold Press
Biceps - Alternating Bicep Curls (started in hammer position and rotated wrist in at top of move)
Back - DB Pullover
Chest - Incline DB Flyes

Thank Goodness for Planning
As I mentioned yesterday, I started the makings for dinner tonight: Fiery Dijon Peanut Tofu and my version of Curried Wheat Berry-Spelt Salad from Urban Vegan which I'll call Curried Vegetable Wheat Berry Salad. So, after another sleepless night, I was so very thankful that I had taken the time to do some advanced planning and prepping. All I had to do was bake the tofu and assemble. 

Fiery Dijon Peanut Tofu
Adapted from The Ordinary Vegetarian's Fiery Tofu Marinade

Ingredients:
1 lb extra firm tofu*
3 tbsp dijon mustard
3 tbsp low-sugar ketchup
2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp Tom Yum (make sure it's vegan)
3 tbsp crunchy natural peanut butter
1 tsp sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp cayenne
1/4 - 1/2 cup water (to desired consistency)

*Freeze tofu for minimum three days. Let defrost in refrigerator. This will give the tofu a spongy-like texture that allows it to better soak in marinades.

Directions:
Remove tofu from package, carefully squeeze out liquid. Cut tofu into "steaks" and place between paper towels to remove any excess moisture.

In medium mixing bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients, adding water to the desired consistency. Layer tofu and sauce in dish to marinate 2 hours or over night.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place tofu on baking sheet and bake approximately 1 hour flipping halfway through.

Note: if you have extra marinade, thin out with vegetable stock for a sauce.

Curried Vegetable Wheat Berry Salad
Adapted from The Urban Vegan

Ingredients:
Wheat berries
1 cup red winter wheat berries (soaked overnight, drained and rinsed)
3 cups water

Curry Sauce 
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 1/2 tbsp agave nectar
1 1/2 - 2 tbsp red curry paste (depending on desired heat)
sea salt and red pepper to taste
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp turmeric

Vegetables
1/2 onion, finely diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
3/4 cup carrots, diced
1/2 cup frozen of fresh peas

Directions:
Bring 3 cups of water to bowl, add in the wheat berries and cook 1 1/2 hours or until all water is absorbed.

Meanwhile, whisk together ingredients for curry sauce then stir in the vegetables. Once wheat berries are cooked, add them to the curried vegetables. Serve warm, room temp, or cold. 

I love the flavors of this salad and the added texture of the wheat berries. It's one that is fairly versatile in that you can add in the vegetables that you prefer, like the peas and red bell pepper. My version reduces the amount of olive oil and agave nectar as well as the addition of vegetables and omission of spelt. 

To make it a complete, one-dish meal, add in chickpeas for protein or serve as a side to another lean protein like baked tofu or tempeh.
Jason and I both agreed that this was one of the best tofu dishes I've made. The sauce became crunchy, almost as if fried in a batter. The slight sweetness of the salad pared nicely with the spiciness of the tofu marinade and sauce.This was a definite winner!

Comments

  1. No sleep AND a workout?! Yuckie! :) Did you feel crazy weak during it?

    Your food pictures are amazing! I think I need some major lessons from you on how to make food look good! hahah

    Both the recipes sound delish! I love peanut butter, garlic, soy sauce, cayenne pepper, and tahini. I've actually never cooked with tofu or wheat berries before. I should try it out!

    Glad to hear that your husband is okay & healthy... Hopefully this means a more restful night for both of you! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Carrie it was definitely not my best workout! I did manage to lift as heavy as I had wanted at least. Cardio, lucky I didn't fall flat on my face! I have just been practicing with the pictures. I totally appreciate the complement! My first pics were pretty sad LOL.

    Wheat berries are so good. They have a chewy texture to them that I just love. Really makes you feel like you're eating something. I'm really not a big tofu fan, but have found that freezing then thawing and baking for a long time makes a huge difference in texture.

    So glad you have a blog up. Looking forward to following you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yay! Your version looks amazing. I have never tried freezing tofu, I'm going to have to try this for my next marinated tofu dish.

    Thanks for sharing your spin on this marinade.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have no idea how you managed to work out today. I would have stayed in bed.

    Your dinner sounds great! I can see why you wanted to try Sarah's sauce. I am going to have to try it too. It sounds great. Beautiful presentation, BTW.

    I love wheat berries, thanks for sharing a recipe for them. We are always looking for new ways to eat them.

    Alicia

    ReplyDelete
  5. Whoa, girl! I hope you rest up tonight! I would rather you taken a rest day, but looks like you fueled up properly with awesome food! If anyone can make me like tofu, it's you!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Working out on no sleep is hard! I have done it many times in the past and even though I almost cried every single time it was so worth it as it energized me and help me sleep better following night. :-) Hope you had a good night sleep!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sarah @ The Ordinary Vegetarian freezing the tofu makes such a huge difference in my opinion. Let me know what you think! And thank you for the sauce inspiration

    Alicia @ Vegan Epicurean I really am not sure how I got that workout in either to be honest. It did at least get me moving so I didn't feel like I was in a coma. Thanks for the presentation complement. I keep trying! :-)

    Sophia I probably shouldn't have worked out, but it did give me the energy I needed to even get the day rolling. Seriously, try freezing the tofu first. I think it may surprise you. I'll be curious to see if you try it and how you like it. You try so many interesting recipes on your blog anyway!

    Vee @ veechats you're so right about exercise giving you energy (even if it's temporary). Makes me wonder why so many people don't get up and exercise...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yuck! Working out on no sleep usually sucks...although sometimes, I end up wide awake for them and just crash mid-afternoon at work instead. ;) I'm glad Jason is ok, that's scary!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love the idea of thinning out extra marinade for the sauce- yum!

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  10. Jessica @ eatdrinkbreathesweat I think it's often a fine line about working out on no sleep. Yesterday it got me moving at least. Sometimes I'm so klutzy though, that it's dangerous!!!

    Hi Heather @ Side of Sneakers ! Thanks for stopping by. I certainly didn't want that yummy marinade to go to waste. It was pretty thick, so I just added the broth and let it reheat. Great little trick!

    ReplyDelete

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