A foodie's quest to turn up the heat through strength and conditioning with whole food and a hungry mind.

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Portobello Mushroom....Birthday Cake?


Yesterday, Friday, was my 28th birthday.....whoopee....  I spent most of the day at work, though, and not much else.  My mom came over and we just enjoyed each other's company while sharing life stories.

Since Kelley and I work in the same office, she was able to give my co-workers good gift ideas.  I usually despise b-day (or any other) celebrations at work since healthy food choices are about as common as a vegetarian in a steakhouse. But Kelley and my friends/co-workers pulled through and surprised me with the best gifts I could as for, fresh produce!

My boss/friend scheduled an afternoon "business" meeting for our team, and while waiting in the meeting room, they entered with the best "cake" ever; a portobello mushroom with a candle in the middle.

Just look at it, so simple, but so good!  I don't eat a lot of things with sugar anymore, and cake is just not an option for me, but they brought carrot cake so they could have something too.  More mushroom for me!


I also received a bunch of carrots, dry roasted edamame, and sliced cremini and shitake mushrooms. Basically must-have foods in our home (for me, can't get Kelley into the 'shrooms), most of my friends/co-workers saw me radiate with delight from their gifts.  To them, it's mushrooms and carrots, but to me it's MUSHROOMS AND CARROTS! See the difference? Do you experience the same thing with people in your life?

Although simple foods, that's all I really want since I can't stand food that I didn't get to have a say in or know exactly how it's prepared. Me? Obsessive and nit-picky? Yes! I have no shame when it comes to what I put in my body.  If I want the turbo to spool at full potential, I want the 100+ octane fuel, not 87.

I'd like to sincerely thank my co-workers for the kind gifts as they are exactly what I'd want.  Their simple gift of produce helped make this the best birthday I've had in a while!

Kelley got a me a new Cuisinart food processor that I can't wait to use to, well, process foods with.  I've been using the food processor my mom got in 1991 for her wedding, so it's just a little outdated. Hopefully you'll see more healthy recipes created from my new processor.  Do you have any ideas of what I should make for my first processed creation?  Maybe no-bake peanut butter cookies or a tuna veggie combo to make tuna cakes?

No worries, I'll just do them all; it's a win-win! While in PA, my mom brought one of her exercise DVD's called "Tabata Inferno" that I tried a few times.  It was enough to get my daily dose of intensity to keep me sane and it was something different than just running.

Being the wonderful mother she is, she saw how I enjoyed the video and bought me the complete DVD set for my birthday.  This is pretty cool and will be useful for my "rest" days from strength training. She gave me 2 six packs of local brews and cool turtle figurine too. I like turtles and have a nice collection going on now!

I'm currently trying to gain strength, and therefore weight, but being a former fat kid, this is not as easy as it sounds. Trying "bulk" when so many of my food choices are low calorie veggies that fill me up before I even come close to a calorie surplus.  A quick solution to this problem would be  more dense foods like, say peanut butter! I just received a few jars of PB Crave to review, so I'll just get a jar and spoon and see what happens!

Kelley agreed to give me the whole weekend to celebrate my birthday, so we're going to the Texas Motor Speedway for some rally and Indy racing today.  Afterward, we'll rent the best thing Redbox has to offer and have a nice evening together.  I think tomorrow will be when I put the processor to use. Can you sense my excitement?

Q:  Do you "let go" on your b-day and eat things you normally wouldn't or are you unwavering 24/7?


I have read too many labels to ever be able to enjoy most "treats" now, but am perfectly happy making my own at home. I consider extra PB my treat though!

6 comments:

  1. Happy birthday! Hope you enjoy all your gifts. I might "borrow" the DVDs from you! I love you!!

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    1. I loved my birthday and your gift; Mom's too. I'll join you with the DVD's too! Love you!

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  2. Happy birthday!! (: Haha, That cake sounds so awesome, i want that for my birthday too!

    www.happymeanshealthy.blogspot.com

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    1. So glad to see others like the idea. Everyone at work (besides my wife), just think I'm crazy. Meh.

      I just posted about it below, but if you like hummus, I'd say cover your mushroom with whatever flavor for the best mushroom cake icing ever!

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  3. Happy Birthday! Like you, cake just isn't an option for me. I eat like I normally would on my b-day b/c I eat what I like every day - it's not deprivation so no need to splurge!
    i'd eat a mushroom cake, too! maybe it's what i'll have in a few weeks on my b-day! :)

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    1. Thank you for the wishes! When is your b-day? If you don't mind me asking. My Mom's is the end of July so I am just curious if yours is close too.

      I agree, I enjoy eating the healthy, unprocessed food everyday and don't feel like I'm "missing out" on anything.

      Oh, if you do have a mushroom cake, I bet covering the top of a giant portobello with hummus would make for an awesome icing! I wish I thought of that before devouring......maybe I'll just have to recreate it again! Anyway, have a good one....I think you're camping this week, hope you guys have fun!

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