Bizarro World

My calves are still in bad shape from my run on Tuesday, which is starting to tick me off a little. One of my primary values in this regiment was to protect my legs, and I have violated that badly. It has slowed me down this week, and with limited exercise I'm actually feeling my mood and energy sour a little.

So still walking like the love child of Mr. Magoo and Abe Vigoda, I did what any sane person would do: go for a run. Or a waddle. Whatever. At first, hey, it wasn't so bad, but very quickly my calves told me that this was a very bad idea. I had delusions of going 4 1/2 miles, but I had to cut it to 3 miles because of the pain. Still got a good 45 minutes of exercise in though.

Here's the weird thing about the run: the downhill segments were painful, and the uphill bits were pretty good. Apparently on a downhill run you use your calves to control your pace down the hill, which is extremely painful when your calves feel like they're being beaten with a cane. I ran the mile and a half or so out at my usual blazing terrapin-like pace, but had to walk the downhills on the way home.

I got a sweat going which was nice, and worked out some lactic acid which was important. Or so I'm told. I may have done permanent damage to my ankles, hips, back, shoulder, spleen, pancreas, and likely even my uvula overcompensating for the pain in my calves during my run. But I got a workout in.

Speaking of fried calves, tonight I made veal chops for dinner. Yeah, I used that joke before, but you probably missed it the first time. And as long as there's juice in the orange, I'm going to keep squeezing it.

Veal Chops

2 veal chops, bone in (about 320 calories each for 1 pound raw)

Salt and pepper

Pan sear one side, flip, and then roast in 450 oven for 10 minutes. Flip again and then roast until done.

I topped it with a blackberry pineapple reduction which wasn't that good. It was okay, but unnecessary. Probably would have been better with some truffle salt.

Spinach and Radicchio

1 bag spinach (40 calories)

1/2 head radicchio (10 calories)

1/2 tbsp olive oil (60 calories)

1/8 cup chopped onion

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

S&P

Caramelize onion in oil in non-stick pan. Add thinly sliced radicchio, balsamic, and s&p, and toss until radicchio is wilted. Add spinach and toss until wilted. About 55 calories per serving

The Best Beans Ever

A little decadent, but they taste more decadent than they are. Basically you add the best things ever in just enough quantity to add the flavor without adding significant calories.

1 can Great Northern or Cannelini Beans (280 calories)

1 thin slice pancetta (50 calories)

1 tbsp bleu cheese (80 calories)

1 tsp olie oil (40 calories)

2 tbsp finely chopped onions

1 tsp truffle oil (40 calories)

1/4 cup stock

In nonstick pot fry pancetta until crisp, remove from pan, and put on towel to drain fat. Add olive oil and onion, and caramelize on low heat. Add beans, stock, and bleu cheese, and bring to a boil. Let boil until thick. Stir in truffle oil, and then serve with crumbled pancetta on the top. Serves 2, 250 calories per serving.