1/2 c eggbeaters cooked with Mrs. Dash Garlic & herb, wilted spinach and mushrooms, LCL cheese wedge and a banana on the side 
0% chobani, juicy juicy juicy chopped nectarine 
Mojito-water! I've been sprucing up my regular h20 with some fresh mint and lime juice, and voila! Mojito water!
Bean and corn salad and cajun chicken over mixed greens with chopped cucumber and salsa on top. HUGE MONSTER SALAD= amazingly filling and delicious. Perfecto. 
1/2 c lf cottage cheese, blueberries
I sauteed my shrimpies in 1 tsp of EVOO, 1 clove of garlic and added s+p, parsley and basil and a splash of white wine (the good stuff- Riesling from Canada!). Then I placed them atop a bed of 1/2 c brown rice with more asparagus on the side. 
I used Protein Powder + 8oz h20 + a splash of almond milk. Creamy! 
Who knew the land in Canada would be so great for growing wine grapes? Surely no one gave it a bit of thought for some time, because the wine business in Niagara has only been thriving for 60-some odd years. But now with the rising popularity of Icewine and vintages such as many 2007 varieties gaining worldwide popularity, the wine industry in the Niagara peninsula and further has put Canada on the map for wine making.
On both Sunday and Monday, I participated in two 4-vineyard wine tours throughout the Niagara area, put on by Crush on Niagara wine tours. For five hours each day, Nick and I were led from vineyard to vineyard on a company bus, learning more and more about the wine tasting, varieties and the industry and how far it has come today.
Our first tour guide was a retired man named Paul who simply does the tours because he likes to. Informative and candid, he picked us up right on time at 12:45 and we headed to downtown Niagara on the lake to pick up one other couple, from California, and take us to our first winery.
The first winery we went to was a fairly small 12-year-old winery called Strewn, which produces around 25,000 cases per year. Our guide brought us downstairs into the wine cellar where we were among the barrels as she taught us the basics of wine tasting. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the “rules” of wine tasting, a brief overview:
· Is it dry (not sweet)?
· Or if it is sweet, how sweet? Wineries tend to use a sweetness scale, from 1- semi dry, to 20 or above being very sweet (as a dessert wine usually is)
· Does your mouth tingle and dry when the wine hits your tongue? Those are the tannins in the wine causing these sensations.
· Do you pick up certain flavors or spices, fruits or maybe an oaky taste from the barrel it was in?
All of these will help you develop a sense of the true taste of the wine- to you, that is. Good wine is good wine, but everyone has their taste preferences and that will never change.
I loved doing the tour because I felt as though I heightened my taste for certain wines, and have more of a general idea as to what I prefer. But the perfect wine can always change that! More on that later.
In the cellar at Strewn, we were presented 3 wines; a white, a red and a late-harvest dessert wine.
The white- a 2006 Riesling Gewürztraminer. This was a scale 1 semi dry white wine. I could instantly smell the fruit- very peachy. With a little bit of spice. I liked this a lot, it was great for a white because I usually prefer red. Hmm. Maybe I just haven’t been trying the right white wines for my taste?
The Red- a 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon. We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to try the red from both the barrel, and from the bottle. The straight-from-the-barrel wine was as expected; bitter and lacking depth of flavor. The tour guide also explained to us that the wine in the barrel came from all of the same vineyard, whereas bottled wines contain many different barrels and many different vineyards. The bottled version was much more mature, and much heavier. It was good, but not my favorite- a bit too spicy for my taste.
The Late Harvest- Late harvest wines are harvested in Novemeber versus September, so the grapes are much sweeter, and the wine serves as more of a dessert wine or an aperitif with cheeses. This late harvest Riesling wine had a Level 4 sweetness- I liked it a lot. Definitely for dessert, not the table, but I would have a glass for dessert any night of the week! It is similar to Icewine, just not as sweet.
All of the Strewn wines are VQA labeled, which stands for "Vitners Quality Alliance," which means all of the grapes in every bottle come from Ontario vineyards.
The second winery we went to was Caroline Cellars, a smaller family-owned winery that produces approximately 10,000 cases per year.
For only ten thousand cases, that is quite a selection! 
The only difference between white and red wine (aside from the taste)?? White and red grapes both give off clear juice- red wine has the peel added for color!
Iniskillin has the most history of the wineries we went to. It is a large winery, producing over 120,000 cases per year! It is famous for it's Icewine, a special sweet dessert wine only available in Canada. 
Ok, it's not really mud... ;) 
You can't see it, but there is 0% chobani greek yogurt underneath the mass of delicious juicy nectarine. Yummm.... 
1 piece leftover meatloaf, sliced in half and placed between 2 pieces of Ezekiel bread with a LCL cheese wedge and a squirt of ketchup. Carrots + cuke to round it out!
WOW! These bars never fail to amaze me. This tasted like a cross between a Reese's cup and a peanut butter brownie!! Must. Buy. More. 
I lightened up my cajun chicken AND my bean and corn salad. The bean and corn salad contained: 
LOVE this combo- Wilted spinach, mushrooms and grape tomatoes cooked with 1/2 cup scrambled egg whites, sprinkle of Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb and a laughing cow light cheese wedge. With a banana! 
(I keep forgetting to take pics of my bars!) 
I didn't realize you couldn't see inside the pita before I put this up! Sorry! 
Ok, very lumpy and not so photogenic. But it is 1/2 cup lowfat cottage cheese mixed with 1/2 cup Dannon Light n' Fit cherry yogurt, to make for a tasty mid-afternoon meal! 
I had been craving meatloaf (I know, weird for me- the ex veggie) and I knew my mom's version was not so healthy... so I created my own! I was lacking in the motivation department today; but not for Body For Life- for cleaning!
I had put today aside to clean and organize my room and closet; well I think that was a bit ambitious for on day. I am the biggest procrastinator in the world!!
At least I got my butt moving early this a.m. and got to the gym before the procrastination set in!
I drank 2 glasses of water and headed to the Y for my 1st (real) day of upper body strength training on BFL. I say “real” because two days ago I went through all the exercises at the gym with my mom- and my arms are still sore from it!
Here’s what I did for my UBWO (upper body workout):
Chest
Dumbell bench press
12 @ 10 #
10 @ 16 #
8 @ 20 #
6 @ 24 #
(1 min rest between each)
12 @ 16 #
Dumbell flyes- 12 @ 16 # (no rest in between)
Shoulders
Seated dumbell press
12 @ 10 #
10 @ 16 #
8 @ 20 #
6 @ 24 #
(1 min rest between each)
12 @ 16 #
Side raises- 12 @ 16 # (no rest)
Back
One-arm dumbell rows
12 @ 10 #
10 @ 16 #
8 @ 20 #
6 @ 24 #
(1 min rest between each)
12 @ 16 #
(No middle set- missed it! whoops!)
Triceps
Dumbell extensions
12 @ 10 #
10 @ 16 #
8 @ 20 #
6 @ 24 #
(1 min rest between each)
12 @ 16 #
Bench dips- 12 @ bw (body weight) ---> these were HARD!!
Biceps
Barbell curls
12 @ 10 #
10 @ 16 #
8 @ 20 #
6 @ 24 #
(1 min rest between each)
12 @ 16 #
Hammer curls- 12 @ 16# (no rest)
Phew! Great workout!
Total time: 50 minutes (a few over the intended 45!!)
When I got home I immediately whipped up a quick and filling breakfast- I was starving!
Not the prettiest I know, but ½ cup oats cooked in 1 cup water, and 1 scoop chocolate protein powder was the perfect combo to hold me the next couple of hours while I began to tackle my cleaning challenge.
Two hours later and I had hardly made a dent...
Meal #2 was 1 container 0% chobani and a handful of blueberries.
After making some progress, I had meal #3 around 1pm.
Delicious combo! 1 baked mini sweet potato (thought ahead last night!), ½ cup low fat cottage cheese spiked with some Mrs. Dash and sea salt (the cottage cheese is low sodium) and some deliciously fresh cherry tomatoes and baby carrots. I snagged a few more tomatoes after this pic was taken. Theyre just so good!!
Easy to whip up and very filling! I loved this!
I have to admit, I was pretty upset this afternoon. I tried on some of the clothes I bought less than 3 weeks ago for school and they’re VERY tight. So of course I had a mini-breakdown and decided I was a disgrace to nutrition majors everywhere, yada yada, well a few texts to the boyfriend made me feel a little better and then I went for a 30-minute run to clear my head.
It helped a lot; I realize I’m not in the shape I used to be, but I’m working at it. And I am more motivated than ever to make this BFL challenge work. So I will!
I only had a small afternoon meal because I wasn’t very hungry- just a juicy nectarine to hold me until I made dinner (no protein, I know!)
Dinner (Meal 5) was fab though- I made my favorite Salmon with sea salt, black pepper, cayenne and garlic cooked with a tiny bit of EVOO, a slightly large serving of whole wheat couscous and some boiled asparagus.
I made extra salmon and I’m glad I did!
I ate dinner by the TV and somehow ended up falling asleep to Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations… I never fall asleep by the TV, and never at 7:00 pm!! I must have been exhausted!
Well, I talked to the boy on the phone for a bit (trying to work out visiting schedules…I don’t have Columbus day off this year? Wtf??) and now I’m sipping Meal #6
And soon I will be off to sleep… but not without reading a couple chapters of Mastering the Art of French Cooking of course =)
Night all!
Posts
All Comments
