FueledByLOLZ

John’s City Diner (Birmingham, Al)

First, did you know it’s International Waffle Day? It’s the perfect day to celebrate at a diner…

When I relocated to Alabama, I knew I had to go John’s City Diner. It has been consistently named one of Alabamas best diners. Making the time to get to the diner is tough.

For a diner, it has odd hours including not being open on Sundays and only open for dinner on Saturdays. So yes, John’s City Diner is not open for breakfast on weekends. Due to my schedule, I almost thought I wouldn’t be able to make it there at all.

Johns City Diner is located right in downtown Birmingham. Since it’s in the downtown, it’s located in a row of buildings and not the usual stand-alone diner you see.

Atmosphere: B
The outside has a big sign that says, Johns. There isn’t a lot from the outside that screams diner. In fact, it’s easy to miss the restaurant unless you’re looking for it. I ran by it twice during the Drum Run and had no idea.

The inside is painted to match a diner atmosphere. There are several booths and tables. There is an awkward bar in the corner, but it doesn’t appear to be used much.

Coffee: A
The coffee was brewed fresh, and the whipped cream was homemade. It was one of the better diner coffee I’ve had recently.

Service: C
The waitress seemed preoccupied or as if she was having a bad day. Even though we got there at opening (5 pm), it took a while for our table to receive food and drinks.

Food: B
The menu at Johns City Diner is limited. There is a single page of food, and they are well known for their mac and cheese as well as chicken and waffles. I had been very excited to try their chicken and waffles, but when we went, they were out of chicken. To be honest, I was disappointed but what can you do.

For an appetizer, we ordered the fancy bacon which was bacon with grits. It was a small portion, but the bacon and grits were delicious. It was rich and while small, quite filling. It was some of the best grits I’ve had!

Because they were out of chicken and waffles, I ordered the pork chops. I was pleasantly surprised because it was a huge portion of pork chops. I was expecting a smaller size. The pork chops were delicious and cooked perfectly. It also came with a large portion of sweet potatoes and garlic spinach. I enjoyed both.

I was disappointed Johns City Diner was out of their signature menu item, but the food was still good. I was able to go again right before we left and ordered the chicken and waffles. It was by far the best chicken and waffles I’ve had to date. The chicken portion was actually bigger than the waffle!

Dessert: A
We ordered the white chocolate bread pudding which was perfect. I have no complaints. I prefer bread pudding that is actually a peice of bread so this fit the bill.

Cost: $$
For my coffee, the appetizer, entree, and dessert the cost was $40. It was pricey for a diner, but I’m not sure I would classify Johns City Diner as a diner.

Overall thoughts/ Summary:
I liked Johns City Diner, but I was extremely disappointed they were out of the chicken and waffles. If I’m in the area, I would like to come back, but with their limited weekend hours, I don’t know if that’s possible.

Atmosphere: B
Coffee: A
Service: C
Food: B
Dessert: A
Cost: $20+
Overall: B

Similar Diners: Vincentown, Mastoris

Questions for you:
Were is the best place you’ve had chicken and waffles?
Has a restaurant ever been out of something you were excited to order?

Day in the Life

I was asked last week to describe a typical day in the (eating) life. Please keep in my mind, I’m not a doctor, nutritionist, dietician, or online nutrition coach. I am just me, a person who likes to eat relatively well and tends to blow their budget on eating at restaurants.

I decided to record everything last Monday. I don’t usually count calories, but I’m generally aware of an estimate of how many I’ve eaten. I know if I’ve eaten 1500 and am starving or ate 2500 and feel fine. It works for me. Since being injured, I also know I’ve put on between 3-5 pounds. I haven’t weighed myself, but my guess is I weigh somewhere between 130-135.

Breakfast (5:15-5:30 am):

I enjoy waffles for breakfast. I utilize my waffle maker every morning. I’ve had the same breakfast for a long time, and I know it works for me. I eat the same breakfast whether I’m running, working out, racing or whatever. I’m normally in the minority, but I am hungry when I wake up.

Waffle (500ish calories):
(easy recipe)
2/3 cup flour
1/2ish cup milk
1 egg
baking powder

You can add whatever else you want in it. I’ve added blueberries, pumpkin, chocolate chips and even cocoa powder. It’s a basic ingredient list.

I normally catch up on work, emails, and everything and head out for a run between 6:30-7. I like to eat before I run and never have an upset stomach during my runs.

On Monday, I ran 4 miles. My run was uneventful and boring. It felt okay, and my ankle felt good, so I have no complaints. In fact, my ankle has felt completely injury free since too.

After my run, I ate a cup of Greek Yogurt and had coffee. I’m currently enjoying Fage or Chobani. I choose whichever is cheaper at the grocery store. I don’t normally drink coffee before a run but like to get Starbucks or Wawa afterwords…Monday was unusual for me and was my first iced coffee in about two years. I don’t know why I was craving one, but I was. That alone deserves a photo.

After showering and getting ready, it’s time to begin the actual day. The meat of my day is always interesting and no two days are the same. Sometimes I’ll work in the store of Running Co; sometimes I’ll work at home, and still other times I’m on base doing things. My google calendar has become my best friend to keep me on track and not missing anything. I have my phone and computer synched up.

Last Monday, I wasn’t in the store, but I had a couple of meetings as well as something to take care of on base. When I left my house around 9:30 am, I wasn’t home until around 4 pm. I try to pack my lunch, so I don’t end up spend a lot of unnecessary money along the way. Plus going out with friends is much more enjoyable than eating on the road.

By 11, I’m hungry. I had a roast beef sandwich on wheat bread with lettuce, tomato, and mustard. I also had a few carrots and a peach. It was boring but good. I tend to each more frequently and often when I’m out or in the store. When I’m at home, I’ll just eat lunch and move on.

By 2, I was hungry again and ate another (exactly the same) sandwich. A sandwich isn’t really a full meal, but it’s not a snack either. I just consider it two lunches.

I got home around 4 and my husband, and I decided the night before we wanted steak. I try and have red meat once or twice a week, and steak is by far my favorite red meat.

We usually do something simple like grill it and have a salad and potato. That is one of my favorite homecooked meal. It’s easy, fast and delicious. We aren’t fancy, and our meals normally take 30 minutes at the very most to prepare. I do the vegetable and potato cooking (which is not cooking at all) and my husband grills. I’ve also been drinking a cup of milk with dinner to keep getting calcium. This evening we had asparagus too.

Lately, I’ve been doing core and strength at night. I dedicate about 30 minutes to it after dinner. I catch up on TV, get more core in and then relax. From 6-9, I do that, relax and sometimes get work done. If anyone needs a new Netflix show, I have loved “Army Wifes”. A lot of social media happens at night, so sometimes I’m online for things like that too.

I’ve been making smoothies with a milk base, protein powder and whatever else I can find in the house. Sometimes cocoa powder, sometimes fruit, it depends on what I’m craving. On Monday, I added milk, a scoop of protein powder, a half cup of pumpkin and cinnamon.

I’ve stopped eating a lot of sweets and dessert every single night. We tend to go out for dessert. Do I enjoy cookies and cake? Of course, but I don’t think it’s necessary to have them every single day. I used to crave sweets almost every evening but about two years ago I stopped having as much sugar and artificial sweeteners and no longer crave them. I always add a Truvia or sugar to my coffee. Thinking out loud, I used to dump boatloads in…no wonder I craved sugars.

In summary, I’m a fairly boring person when it comes to life and food. I eat what I get on sale and try to eat healthy. Just like running, a day of good (or bad) eating doesn’t determine your health. Consistency does…

Questions for you:

What is your favorite food?

What are some good lunch ideas? I definitely need help in that department.

WIAW: Eating the Rainbow #Elfforhealth

I’m not sure if I mentioned this but I decided to participate in Lindsay’s Elf for Health Challenge. I started doing it last year but fell off the bandwagon like I normally do with goals I set. Yesterday’s challenge was to eat the colors of the rainbow. I always find these challenges to be interesting and provide a little bit of structure into my life considering right now I don’t have much.

Since the focus of the challenge was to eat the color of the rainbow (which happens to mostly be colors of vegetables) I thought it would be a good day to participate in WIAW and give you a day in the life type of post. It also gave me an excuse to use up a lot of food in my fridge I haven’t been eating.

*Caution what you are about to read is probably not that exciting of a day.

I woke up yesterday around 6:00am. I normally go to bed between 9-10 so my body’s natural alarm clock is 6 as of now. It’s fine though and I went downstairs, prepared coffee and breakfast. I am always hungry when I wake up.

6:30am Breakfast

Colors:

Black: coffee
White: creamer for coffee
Tan: coffee and creamer
Yellowish orange: Waffle
Blue: Blueberries
White: Greek yogurt
Dark brown: syrup

This is not from yesterday but it is my best foodie picture ever and relevant...so that's that. — This is not from yesterday but it is my best foodie picture ever and relevant…so that’s that.

After breakfast I hung around the house. I am most alert in the mornings and tend to work on job applications from 6:30-10 or so. After that I go to the gym or just poke around the internet some more. Today I just poked around the internet and ran up to the store (by ran I mean drove).

11:00 am lunch Omelet

I know I was feeling eggy yesterday and instead of making a sandwich I ended up really wanting eggs. It’s funny because people normally associate me with breakfast foods and today I happen to have two meals of breakfast. Normally I have eggs for breakfast and sandwich for lunch.

Yellow: eggs, butter
Green: spinach
Red: pepperonis
Whitish brown: chicken, goat cheese, mushrooms
Brown: toasted bread

I will cook you omelete. No prisoners left behind.

2 pm: 6 mile jog around the lake near my house. I have now done two 6 mile untimed runs and I haven’t felt injured. Knock on wood that my knee issue is done with.

Colors seen on my run: blue (lake), green (trees lining the lake), red (car that nearly ran me off the road) and white (birds. I hate birds…see here).

3:30pm Snack:

Violet: grapes

Grapes are my favorite snack ever. (Frozen grapes give me brain freeze so that isn't my jive) — Grapes are my favorite snack ever. (Frozen grapes give me brain freeze so that isn’t my jive)

6:30pm Dinner

Since I knew the challenge was to eat the rainbow and I really wanted an excuse to eat the local diner my house I made my move to convince Tim we should go. I think that might be cheating but I justified it with the amount of colors I obtained from dinner. (obtained…ha). He agreed.

Clear: water
Yellow: lemon in water

Salad:

Green: lettuce, cucumber
Jungle Green: Grape Leaves
Red: Tomatoes and sundried tomatoes (sundried are my favorite)
Yellow: banana peppers, egg yolk (I ended up having 5 eggs yesterday between the waffle, 3 in the omlette and one on the salad…ha)
White: Feta cheese, egg, pita bread
Pinkish orange: salmon
Black: Olives

After that we just watched quality TV at home for the remainder of the night.

8:30 pm Snack: Plantains

I really enjoy pan frying plantains and have been having them nearly every night lately.

Yellow: Plantains, cooking oil
White: Greek yogurt
Brown: Cinnamon

So there you have it. I wish I had more thrilling and exciting days to share with you but maybe I’ll do this again when I am doing more exciting things.

Questions for you:

Do you generally eat a wide variety of colors?

It depends on my day. I went out of my way (to the diner) to eat all the colors. I normally get enough vegetables and fruit but normally they are the same ones. IE: I will go through a few days of my vegetable of choice being Brussel sprouts, spaghetti squash, mushrooms…ect.

What does a typical day look like for you?

Eating on High Mileage

A lot of people question how I eat enough to withstand 100 mile weeks. It couldn’t be possible to ever gain weight while running 100 mile weeks and you couldn’t possibly eat enough to withstand that activity…ect.

First and foremost, I only ran 100 mile week. I didn’t run 52 but rather just 1. That was my peak week and most of my other weeks were between 60-80. Most not all. As much as I want to credit myself to running multiple 100 mile weeks, I know I would just get injured running several in a row. (or more then 1).

I’ve rambled about this a few times but blogging nutrition and real life nutrition is not the same thing. I feel bad for certified dieticians and nutritionists that also blog. They get mixed in with other bloggers whose research involves personal research and study which is not the same as being certified. Point blank: it’s not. I’ve taken plenty of nutrition classes but don’t know nearly enough as someone who has studied and has their undergraduate, masters, or even PhD. I can tell you what has worked for me but that is no way telling what will work for you or that is right or wrong.

The majority of healthy living blogs focus on getting enough vegetables, fiber and more vegetables into their diet. If I ate half the amount of vegetables that some people do, I would be able to run 1 mile…maybe 2 with deciding it was time to go home.

When you run high mileage and exercise you must learn that you have to eat a lot of foods that aren’t high in fiber. You must eat food that is still healthy but you can’t eat 3000 calories worth of broccoli. You also can’t eat 3000 calories worth of ice cream. Both will result in you not feeling great for a run.

A typical day for me looks something like this right now:

Breakfast: 400-500 calories

Coffee+cream (100-200 calories…my vice).

Some of my breakfast choices lately have been: Bagel and peanut butter, egg sandwich, eggs and toast, waffle with Greek yogurt or peanut butter.

A standard waffle with peanut butter and yogurt has been my go to before races right now and I think I’ll stay to that before the marathon (as well as a bagel with peanut butter while waiting around beforehand). My standard race day nutrition used to be a bagel with peanut butter and yogurt but I had stomach cramps a few races back and it was enough to change my mind.

Bagel+peanut butter+yogurt also make me happy

French toast bagels are my favorite (panera or wegmans FYI)

Run

Lunch (within an hour of running) 500-800 calories

I’ve been having a lot egg sandwiches lately. Eggs, avocado and cheddar cheese on a bagel. I really just have whatever is in the fridge. It could be a sandwich, soup or salad. I don’t have a standard post run meal or lunch. I normally just like to eat what is in the fridge.

Sometimes I’ll go to the gym in between, sometimes I won’t. (now that I’m tapering, I don’t).

lentil soup (this cold has got me craving it)

Random salad I attempted to make restaurant worthy...they never are as to why I try and eat salads at restaurants more. — Random salad I attempted to make restaurant worthy…they never are as to why I try and eat salads at restaurants more.

Snack: 200-300 calories

Baked apples are good (especially in the cold)

I also eat bars on the go...snickers marathon bars are really good — I also eat bars on the go…snickers marathon bars are really good

I normally have a snack sometime in the middle of the day. I’ve been enjoying apples and peanut butter lately but that is only because apples have been so cheap at stores. I also have left overs if they are in the fridge.

Dinner: 800-1200

As if anything else is planned, my dinner is the least planned and changes daily. I am such a meat and potatoes kind of person. I’ll have a serving of meat (steak and fish being my favorite), some sort of vegetables (cooked kale, brussel sprouts and spaghetti squash are my current favorites) and some sort of grain. I’ve been better about eating a carbohydrate such as bread or race. I’m actually not a big pasta fan (I don’t like the consistency) so I tend to eat more rice and bread.

Sweet Potato+Salmon+mushrooms (I'm so different) — Sweet Potato+Salmon+mushrooms (I’m so different)

I normally like to make a smoothie at night with a cup of milk and protein powder. I have a big sweet tooth so often times I’ll just have ice cream. I don’t really schedule a treat at night but if I’m craving something I’ll have something. Whatever I’m craving I generally have at night. I go to bed around 9-10 personally.

—–

I know this is very vague but it’s how I eat. I don’t worry or stress about food or getting my vegetables daily. As much as I say I want to meal plan, I don’t. If I eat too many vegetables then I don’t feel good running. I don’t know how people eat so many vegetables (honestly). I do strive to get vegetables but not overboard. I try and get enough protein, carbohydrates and fat but I don’t track it and it doesn’t ruin my day. I found the less I stress about food the easier it is. I’ve never had a problem getting enough food and have never lost weight during a training cycle.

I will say I’m hoping to do a carbohydrate deplete and then carb load during my final week of taper.

Questions for you:

What does a typical day for you look like?

Do you plan your food weekly or eat when you are hungry?

Tres Leches Waffle

There was one series of classes in high school that I struggled with. No it was AP nor honors courses but foreign language. I was terrible at Spanish and got straight C’s every semester. I thought since I had passed the courses I would never have to take foreign language in college but that ended up not being the case. I had to take Spanish in college too and I failed Spanish 103. I then struggled through it again senior year of college.

So how does Spanish even relate to today’s waffle?

In high school we would have the option to bake something and bring it in for 10 extra credit points on our test. It was foolish for me to not take that option even though my Spanish might have been a little better then my cooking. Luckily my mom always helped me make the Tres Leches (3 milk) dessert cake and it was always a hit with my teachers. I think it was honestly why I got a C and not a D but I didn’t ask questions.

Tres Leches Waffle

Tres leches literally means 3 milk and the cake itself has three different types of milk and is very sweet somewhat similar to the hummingbird cake. The cake is known for being very moist from adding the topping.

Ingredients (cake):

2/3 cup flour

1 tablespoon oil

¼ cup sweetener

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup milk

Glaze:

7 ounces evaporated milk

7 ounces sweetened condensed milk

¼ cup heavy cream

¼ cup syrup

Topping:

1/2 cup heavy cream

¼ cup sweetener

1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix the wet ingredients to dry. Cook in waffle maker.

For the glaze, mix in a separate bowl and pour while still hot. The glaze should go right through the waffle and keep it very moist.

Finally mix and add the topping which should have more of a frosting appeal.

Obviously this is a little more complex then 99.9% of my other waffle and pancake recipes (and also a tad more unhealthy) but what can I say, a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do to pass her classes. By me, I mean my mom really did most of this work back in high school but I helped.

Question for you: What classes have you (or did you) struggle with most in school?

Tuna Fish Waffle

I posted a very very long time ago about smoked salmon waffles. They will always be one of my favorite savory waffles. I’ve also posted about canned crab waffles and it only makes sense for another fishy waffle.

IE: The Tuna fish waffle

Though I won’t deny I probably have more tuna fish then the average person because it’s really all I eat at work..it’s easy, it’s portable and it doesn’t take a lot of time to prepare. Oh and there is also the fact that I really enjoy tuna fish right now so that could always play a role…

As far as waffle recipes go though this is probably one of the most balanced recipes I have created. It has carbs from flour, fat from eggs, oil and cheese and protein from the fish. Random tidbit and yet another reason of why this is good. This isn’t a waffle that you are like…hmmm should probably only pull it out for impressive cooking purposes. Well you should because it is pretty “foodie” (in my awkward opinion…moving on).

Tuna Fish Waffle:

2/3 cup flour

1 egg

1 tsp oil

1 can of tuna fish

¼ cup feta cheese

1 can of tuna fish

½ cup water

Seasonings I used: Italian, some sort of seafood medley and a hint of red pepper for a kick. I add more red pepper then a lot of people so that’s that.

Directions:

Add all wet ingredients: (water, egg, oil)

Then mix in flour and baking powder followed by cheese and about half the can of funa fish.

Cook in waffle maker and top with other half of tuna fish.

And there you have it. A delicious, nutritious, suspicious (that’s fictious) waffle.

Questions for you:

Do you eat tuna fish? What is your favorite canned meat? (that doesn’t sound weird).

Most interesting food ever had for breakfast?

Black Bean Waffle

Let’s see here, I’m currently trying to waste as much time as possible by writing up another waffle recipe. I have been wanting to try a black bean/chocolate waffle for a while now but it wasn’t until I see that Alex had posted a black bean recipe that I finally gave in.

I had heard from countless sources that black beans enriched the cocoa in brownies and I assumed that was going to work well for waffles. Which is certainly worked well.

Since I recently got a new magic bullet for my birthday (the black edition…the only big advantage for me is they have bigger cups LOL), I thought it would be easiest to try it this way.

chocolatewaffle1

Ingredients:

2/3 cup flour

¼ cup dark cocoa (I used Hershey’s cocoa personally)

½ cup pureed black beans (done in my magic bullet)

½ cup milk

1 egg

1 tablespoon oil

1 tsp baking powder

*I did not add sweetener

Directions:

Add the wet ingredients together (egg, milk, oil and beans…)

Then add the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa) followed by baking powder.

Add more milk if want a lighter, fluffier waffle but I recommend a dense.

I actually really enjoyed how dense these were and the fact that I didn’t use sweetener. They tasted more like a big dark piece of fudge then anything. I couldn’t taste the beans at all but maybe that was because they were pureed right into there. It’s nicer healthier version that you could use a waffle staple in the mornings.

I thought about not puring the black beans and just having them as little surprises when biting into the waffle then realized that might be a bit borderline weird.

Question for you: Have you ever used black beans in a recipe?

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