10 days of Feasting



My pancake view from Jer-ne at Marina Del Ray

 After completing my first NPC Bodybuilding Competition in San Diego, I did what any girl would do: I pampered myself completely and took a well-deserved break from my workout schedule.

Yup, that’s right. I gave myself a 10 day vacation to eat whatever I wanted and be a couch potato before going back to the gym.

So did I pig out on burgers, steak, pizza and pasta? Um…no. Surprisingly, none of those things really tempt me and I seldom eat them.

Also I don’t eat red meat or pork so a lot of the stuff normal people eat when “off” their diet doesn’t even make it on my plate. I have never even had a Big Mac in my life.

MICHELLE'S LIST OF CRAVINGS:

What was on my list of indulgence was much more specific:



The best pancakes -EVER!



1) Pancakes -Pancakes are actually a part of my workout plan and I'm allowed to have them once a week as my cheat meal - which I'm glad because they are my comfort food.

But I'm pretty sure these pancakes that I ate the morning after my competition would not be approved by my coach.  They are from Jer-ne in Marina Del Rey and I had researched them in advance, knowing they would be the treat I would have as my first celebration meal. 

They were worth the wait and so was the journey to Jer-ne at Marina Del Ray (ha ha...I'm so puny).

 That stuff on top is graham cracker strudel and peaches.  What you are not seeing in this photo is the bowl of vanilla cream and hot maple syrup that came on the side. So good. 

I ate it all. Every. Single. Spoonful.

2) Bread and Wine – Kind of feel like I’m writing about the biblical last supper here, but for me really good bread and a glass of exceptional wine are perfection. I’m not talking bagged grocery store bread. Nope. I’m talking the thick and hearty stuff that goes great with a chilled glass of Chenin or bold Cabernet.

I was able to get my fill at George’s at the Cove in La Jolla. My “All the Breads I’ve loved before” blog goes into detail about my love of this treat so I won’t go into it now.

Fried stuff

3) Fois Gras – Yes, I know this is bad in so many ways, but what can say? It’s one of my weaknesses.

Normally, I’ll get it as a treat when I go to San Francisco, but I knew I wouldn’t be going there during my 10 days of feasting.

Instead I settled for the Fois gras at George’s (yes, the same place I got the bread). Needless to say, it was a pretty fabulous meal. 

4) Something Fried – I don’t eat a lot of fried foods as I’m a little bit sensitive to oils and bloat up like crazy, but I do like fried oysters.  Unfortunately the place I went to in La Jolla to fulfill my craving didn’t have them – so I settled for spring rolls.

While they weren't the best rolls I had ever eaten (too much chicken and not enough vegetables), I loved the atmosphere of the place and the giant fire pit on the patio.  If you go to La Jolla, being near fire is a "must have". It gets cold there at night.

Roppongi, the name of the place, also has happy hour appetizers and drinks if you go there before 6 p.m. which I did. Don't worry.  I didn't go to George's and Roppongi on the same night.  I split up my decadent treats so I could fully savor them one day at a time.

Fruity girly drink (cherry was at the bottom)

5) A Fruity Drink with a Cherry - What I did get on the same night (mostly because it was happy hour) was a super girly fruity drink. This one was called a Tokyo Rose and it fullfilled all my fruity drink cravings. 

Not only was it thick and fruity, it also came with a cherry!

6) Popcorn - Yup, that's right. I wanted plain popped corn. No butter, no flavorings - just the real thing.  Not showing you a photo of this as that would be lame.

7) Lobster - I actually was lucky and got to have lobster in three different ways during my 10 days off my training dietary plan.

Three days after my competition I was food judge for an iron-chef style of competition.  One of the mystery ingredients was lobster (bonus!).

That night I savored it poached and with a cream sauce.  Both were yummy.

Miso Marinated Black Cod

But that wasn't enough. I stopped at Navio at Half Moon Bay on my way back from San Diego and they happened to have a lobster appetizer on the menu.

How could I resist?  I had to get it once more.

Again it was poached with some sort of fruit enhanced vingarette. Grapefruit maybe?  I can't remember exactly, but I do know it was a light, delicious treat that I followed up with #8 on my list.

8) A Really Flavorful Meal - While I liked most of the foods on my training program, nothing beats a gourmet meal -- especially if you get that meal from a five-star restaurant like Navio. 

While watching the sun set over the ocean, I ordered the Miso Marinated Black Cod that was in dashi broth.  I know you're thinking this isn't exactly the most fattening of meals, but for me, it was all about the taste.  Good food doesn't have to be heavy - just yummy.

Tiny profiteroles:-(

9) Ice Cream - The last two weeks before the show, I has intense ice cream cravings. This could be because it was finally hot in Sacramento or maybe it was because one of my friends kept posting these amazing sundaes on Facebook or texting them to me on my phone.

I'm usually not a big ice cream eater, but once the craving was planted in my brain, I couldn't get it out.

I ordered the ice cream filled profiteroles from Navio for dessert, but that didn't do it. They were too small to satisfy my craving. 

So the hunt was on.  AND on my last day of decadence I found the ice cream dessert worthy of my sweet appetite. 

Ginger Elizabeth (the chocolate genius of Sacramento) has salty caramel ice cream bars made with macarons.  It was love at first bite and I knew I had finally found the treat to satisfy my ice cream craving.

Salty caramel ice cream bar

10) Chocolate - I love chocolate. I think I may have had some sort of chocolate treat every day of my 10 days of feasting (well, maybe not every day, but at least 7 of the days).

I had chocolate cupcakes, M and Ms, flourless chocolate cake, hot chocolate with whipped cream and chocolate chip pancakes. I even had chocolate oatmeal.

Yes, I think I am done with chocolate now and can go the next 8 weeks without feeling like I'm missing out.

READY TO HIT THE GYM
After 10 days of eating, am I ready to go back? Yup. I miss the gym, miss how flat my stomach was when it wasn't bloated and am actually missing my healthy meals. 

But I am glad I took these 10 days off to indulge. 

It's now back to the being good. 
FOLLOW MICHELLE PONTO ON FACEBOOK