Q&A | strength training, banana ice cream, pan sauce, and Lisey baking

Miscellany posts are random because they are collections of unrelated things from my own brain.
But Q&A posts are random because they are collections of unrelated things you guys ask about!

Something I’m trying is to work on strength training. I am 53 and feel it is more necessary than ever. I’ve been making some strides in the gym but am largely winging it. I’ve been so impressed with your consistency in going to the gym and I’d love to know what your workout routine looks like. I get that we’re all different, but it would help to know what kinds of exercises you do there, number of sets/reps, etc. This is only if you’re comfortable sharing, of course.

-Beth

My answer is not going to be super-duper helpful because…I mainly stick with the routines that Ben Palocko set up for me when I worked with him for a few months last year! 

He’s an exercise physiologist with a bachelor’s and master’s degree, and he provides customized nutrition and training plans to help you meet whatever goals you want. 

I wrote a whole post about my experience of working with him, so click here if you want to check that out. 

It’s been a little over a year since, and I’m still using the routines he programmed for me; I’ve just been slowly* increasing the weights when they feel a little too easy.

*slowly because…I’m 47, I have some hypermobility issues, and my joints do best if I go slow and steady. I’m playing the long game!

I really appreciate not having to just wing it at the gym. I can walk in the gym, pick one of the routines (I often base my choice on which equipment/area is less busy), and roll right through it.

This lets me consistently hit all of my main muscle groups, and I don’t have to use brain power for it. Ha. 

You can find free workout plans all over the internet, of course, but I really think it’s helpful to have someone help you get started if you are new to lifting weights. You don’t have to keep working with a trainer forever, but a month or two would be enough to get a collection of routines that are specific for you. 

Your gym probably has a personal trainer you could hire for a month or two. And of course, Ben can work with anyone from anywhere, and he can design workouts for you to do at home. 

(I got two months of complimentary training with Ben last year, but I don’t get a payment of any sort if you sign up with him, and I’m not writing this in collaboration with him.)

Do you have a recipe for the shrimp sauce and banana “ice cream” somewhere? I’ll go look, but if you don’t have one, could you please write one up, soon? Thanks!

-Kayla

My pan sauce method

The shrimp sauce from that photo:

…is actually just the same as most of the pan sauces that I make, and it’s a method vs. a recipe.

My basic routine is to heat up a stainless steel pan until it’s hot enough for water to bead up on the surface.

Then I add a little fat and I cook my seasoned protein. I usually take the protein out, and then saute some veggies in the same pan. Once those are done, I add some half and half or a broth/half and half combo to the pan to deglaze it (get all the nice browned bits off the bottom).

I really dig the flavor that sauteed tomatoes and onions add, so those are my go-tos if I have them on hand. 

Since the protein and the veggies are already seasoned, I usually don’t need to add any other seasoning to the sauce; it just picks up the seasoning that was left in the pan.

But you could certainly add more salt/pepper/other seasonings if you need to. 

Banana “ice cream”

I do have a post about strawberry banana ice cream made in my food processor; click here for the recipe. It has no added sugar and no artificial sugar either! 

For the chocolate variety, I just left out the strawberries, threw in about a tablespoon of cocoa powder, and used half and half.

I also didn’t add any vanilla; it seemed fine with just the cocoa powder for flavoring. 

I don’t usually measure when I make this; I just kinda eyeball how it’s going and add more half and half as necessary. 

A note of caution: when you start to blend up the frozen bananas, you will be tempted to add more and more liquid to make them blend better. But if you do that, your end product will be more soupy than ice-cream-y. Trust the process and go easy on the liquid.

I always make this in my food processor, but I think it could be done in a blender as well. I just think it’s a little easier to scrape it all out of the food processor. 

This kind of dessert does not typically keep well; it’s gonna get rather icy if you just stick it in the freezer. So, I just make whatever amount I can eat right away. 

I have been searching for Lisey’s peanut butter oat bar recipe but can’t find it online anymore. Would you happen to have it?

-S

I’m 99.99% sure that this one from Taste of Home is the one we used! 

For those of you that are new here, Lisey and I used to co-author a baking blog many years ago, but it got accidentally deleted and I can’t even remember the details of how that happened.

Quite obviously, my airplane mechanic girl has moved on to other phases of life.

However, she does still have a bit of a baking bug as evidenced by the Pooh Bear focaccia she made a few days ago. 😉 

Got workout suggestions for Beth? Got a pan sauce method you love? Do share!