Someone take the clock off fast forward!

Whew!  What a day!  I am exhausted, but if I don't power through this, all of it will stay jumbled in my head, bouncing around and driving me crazy while I try to sleep.  Yes, I am neurotic enough for that to happen.

I started the day nicely with my run, came home and made breakfast and school lunches.  Helped Kate get ready for picture day, then off to school we went, and I went to intervals class. After that I came home and got my work out written up for the senior class, and was off the the Y. On my way home from there I called the college and confirmed that my English text books were finally in.  Mind you they were supposed to be here Monday, and the instructor has given me til today to get the 3 weeks worth of work in that I haven't been able to do without my book. (back story :  I was added to the class at the beginning of week 2 off the waitlist, and the books were solo out on both campuses.  It's a special edition for this instructor, so unable to purchase it online, had to order copies, and wait).  After picking up the books, and the kids I came home to face a grueling 4 hours of English class catch up.  I still have one assignment to go, but it's due Sunday, I got everything else done, barely.  My brain is fried.  But, too bad!  More classes to write.  I am covering Senior Strength training, and Low impact aerobics tomorrow at the Y.  Strength training, no problem, banged that class out in 5 minutes.  Aerobics? Huh?  I have no rhythm... I sure as hell can't choreograph and aerobics routine overnight! At this point I am beginning to wonder what I got myself into!  A few deep breaths later I decided I will just modify the class to Low impact Cardio, sans dance moves.  So I finally got the routine all written up about 5 minutes ago, and that brings us to here.

Todays lunch:

Leftover chicken and pasta from dinner last night, cottage cheese, pinapple, and veggie chips.  And because I was feeling silly....

\

This is what Andrew saw when he opened his lunch bag this afternoon :)

For dinner I sauteed a bunch of fresh veggies, added some sausage, and served it over brown rice. I was flying by the seat of my pants on this one, but I think it came out ok!  Let's call it Sausage Stir Fry:

3 large sausage links

2 broccoli heads

2 cups chopped carrots

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1/4 cup diced green onion

2 tablespoons garlic

2 tablespoons minced onion

Soy sauce to taste

Saute all veggies in large pan, add sausage

Serve over Brown Rice. 

Viola!

Ok, that's all I got.  This exhausted mom is going to bed!  Wish me luck tomorrow!

Hollow Day.

This has been in my queue, half finished, practically all day.  Between bussing kids back and forth across town, dentist appointments, math homework, political science quizzes, nutrition assignments, making meals, prepping for my class at the Y tonight, I never thought I would get to finish it! Phew, anyway....

Hungry!  That is what I have been ALL day long!  Another Hollow Day, I have mentioned them before... (READ The Hunger Games!) I had a hard boiled egg after my run this morning, and an Americano. Around 9:30 I had a string cheese,  around 11:00 I had a spoon full of peanut butter and a few cups of popcorn.  At lunch I had a Flat out wrap with lettuce, cheese, relish, mustard and a turkey burger patty.  This afternoon I had an atkins bar, another spoon of peanut butter, and two corn thins with a laughing cow cheese wedge.  For dinner I had about a cup and a half of whole wheat pasta with pesto sauce, olives, green beans and diced chicken.  I feel like I have been eating non stop all day and just can't get full!  I hate days like that!  At least I have kept the eating to approved foods!  And I have almost 3 hours of exercise under my belt for the day, so I think that should balance it all out.

Yesterday I mentioned that I made a big batch of waffles to put in the freezer.  Well I did just that, put them in a freezer bag, and stuck them in the freezer.  This morning I had a nice solid brick of waffles.  Fail.  So here is my advice, lay them out on a cookie sheet and freeze them first, THEN gather them up and put them in a freezer bag and return them to the freezer.  Live and learn!

Here is today's lunch.  Whole wheat quesadilla with cheese and leftover taco meat, salsa, dried apricots, carrots, laughing cow cheese wedge, and a kudos bar.

As I said above, dinner was whole wheat rotini with pesto sauce, some diced chicken left over from last night's meal, sliced olives, and green beans.  All thrown in a bowl and mixed together.  Yum!

I have no idea what I am making for dinner tomorrow night, I haven't had the time to think about it!  So that will be a surprise, even to me! :)  I do believe it is back to school night though, so quick and easy will be the key.   I completely slacked on writing a meal plan for this week, and I'm really noticing how much help it is to have that done!  

Well, after 2 hours of classes, I am ready for a shower and some down time. How hard did you work out today?  Until tomorrow.....

Lunch #4, and Kid Approved Chicken!

Healthy lunch #4. Today I made PB banana bites. Sliced banana's stuck together with natural peanut butter. In the paper cup is Archer Farms All Natural Blueberry Granola with flax seed, Cottage cheese with frozen strawberries, and yellow corn.  A little tip about the berries, I buy frozen for a few reasons, 1 being cost, it's cheaper to buy them frozen, 2- I can get them off season, and 3, they help keep things cold until lunchtime.  I also put a cold pack in the lunch bags though, so everything stays chilled.  

This is the granola that I used in today's lunch:

Unfortunately this is not something that fits into my eating plan, but I do think it's fine for the Kids, it's all natural, and there is only a handful of Ingredients, and sugar is NOT the main one, or even the second or third one.  So this will do for us until I attempt to make my own!

Speaking of making, today I am making a jumbo batch of Whole Wheat Waffles.  I am going to freeze them, so that I have them on hand for breakfasts and lunches.  All I will have to do is take them out of the freezer and pop them in the toaster oven!  The kids will be thrilled, they love having a variety of breakfast options.  Here is the post that has my original recipe for the waffles. I have 2 over ripe bananas on the counter that I need to use or lose, so I think I will add them to the waffle batter :

• Whole Wheat Banana Waffles
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 3/4 cups almond milk
• 1/2 cup apple sauce
• 1 tablespoon Splenda
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 mashed bananas

All done, coming soon to a lunchbox near you!

For dinner I am making Best Foods Parmesan Crusted Chicken.  The nutrition info says that it only comes out to 2 carbs per serving, even with using the 4 tsp of bread crumbs.  I am going to do a slight modification, and hopefully cut that carb count in half.

My version:

1 cup mayo

3/4 cup parm cheese

7-8 boneless skinless chicken breast

4 tsp Italian bread crumbs

4 tsp flax seed meal

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp cayenne

1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 425

Combine mayo with cheese in medium bowl.

Combine bread crumbs, flax seed meal, garlic, cayenne, and salt in separate bowl

Coat chicken with mayo mixture, then sprinkle with dry mixture

 Arrange chicken on baking sheet.  Bake 20 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

My Notes:  I used a pastry brush to brush the mayo/cheese mixture on the chicken. 

I used an old spice container I had laying around to sprinkle the dry mixture over the chicken breasts.

I cooked 9 small breasts for 25 minutes.

After his first bite Andrew piped up with "wow, the Chicken is Excellent!".  Kate told him he sounded like a food critic... Fine by me, as long as the critiques remain positive ;)

I was so excited to get back to morning stadiums this morning, and then I over slept!  Dang it!  So that didn't work out how I hoped.  I did make it to class, and Danielle was able to join me for that, so that was fun! I am going to head out to the High School this evening in an attempt to make up for this morning, hopefully it cools down a bit before then! 

So, what have you done today to get closer to your goals? :)

The "Almost" Biggest Loser

Today ended my second round of the Virtual Biggest Loser Competition.  Between the two rounds, I have lost 33 lbs over a total of 16 weeks.  I was down a little over 1 pound this week,  leaving me with 9 pounds to reach my goal. 11.05% was my total lost this round, just shy of claiming 3rd place like I did last round.  No worries though, I'm still pretty proud of my accomplishments!  I have to say I am kind of glad it's over though, I find myself too consumed with it, and with being so close to my goal and not having a huge amount to lose, I don't want to spend my time stressing about loosing more weight than a stranger on Facebook next week!  LoL

We ran out to Sacramento for a tool sale Friday evening when my hubby got home from work (I know, we really DO know how to party on a Friday night around here!).  It was almost 7:00 when we got back to town, so I was trying to think of something I could throw together quickly for dinner.  Here is what I came up with

 Flat Out Breakfast Pizza!

1 Flat Out

Shredded Cheese

Bacon

Turkey Sausage

2 eggs

-Pre Heat oven to 350

-Lightly spray Flat Out with EVOO, and place directly on oven rack for 7 minute

-Remove from oven, top with cheese meat, and eggs.

(I made little "wells" in the cheese to hold the eggs in their place)

-Return to oven and bake for another 7 minutes.

These were a hot, even more so that the regular pizzas we made using flat out.  I will definitely be adding this meal to my menu rotation! Someday, when I make a menu rotation.  Right now my strategy is writing out a list on Monday mornings off the top of my head.

Saturday morning I went to class with Danielle, and then we did a quick run on the treadmill.  No stadiums again, boo. Today is my off day.  Danielle and I mentioned going to the High school this morning, but due to the fate of the coin toss, we took a pass. :)  I am looking forward to getting back to my routine tomorrow morning now that my early morning buddy is back!

I have been thinking about getting a new tattoo for awhile now.  Something to kind of signify the changes I have made/am making and all it took to make them happen.  I decided I want a white tiger to be the focus of  it.  I want it to be big, like from my waist to my shoulder.  I see it looking feminine, mysterious, almost a sexy look to it maybe, not viscous.  I want it to have my eyes, and over stated lashes.... and I want it to have black and pink stripes.  I want it's paws on my shoulder,  "clawing" me, revealing a matching tiger striped patter under my skin,   representing the change or transformation.  Now I just need to properly convey it all to an artist and hope that the drawing turns out how I see it in my head.  Maybe I can plant a seed in the hubby's mind that it would be a great Christmas present.... of big 3-0 gift!

Blueberry Whole Wheat Oatmeal Muffins

Blueberry and White Chocolate Whole Wheat Oatmeal MuffinsMakes 12 medium muffins

• 1 cup milk*

• 1 teaspoon white vinegar

• 1 cup oats

• 1 large egg, at room temperature

• ¼ cup dark brown sugar

• ½ cup butter, melted and cooled slightly

• 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons whole wheat flour

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 cup white chocolate chips

• 1 cup Blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a twelve-cup muffin tin and line with cupcake papers.
Combine milk, vinegar and oats in a large bowl
Crack the egg into the oat and milk mixture; add brown sugar and mix to combine. Stir in melted butter.
Sift remaining ingredients into the bowl: flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, & spices. Gently fold into batter, taking care not to over mix.
Add blueberries and white chocolate and combine muffin batter gently.
Use a large ice cream scoop or 1/3 cup measuring cup to scoop batter into muffin tins. Bake until light brown and tops spring back when gently touched, about 10-12 minutes. Note: Muffins will take slightly longer to bake if you are adding fresh fruit such as blueberries or rhubarb.
I doubled this recipe and I got 12 regular sized muffins and 18 mini muffins.

And, here are those mini muffins in today's school Lunch!

I did breakfast for lunch, so they have 3 mini muffins, blueberry applesauce, hard boiled egg, and ham.

There were 5 of us in class last night, woo hoo!  Better, than 3! One of them was back from Tuesday, that's a good sign!  Another person that was there told me after that he had a great work out and will definitely be back.  Yay!  Today I have senior fit, they are a fun bunch!  

My morning buddy Kayle is out of town, so I have yet to work out today, I didn't want to go to the high school at 5:30 am alone, so I thought I would go after I dropped the kids at school.  But as I thought that it registered that the high school students would also be in school, so I don't think I can go use the track.  So now I am kind of lost, nothing planned, ugh.  I think I'll just go to the gym and figure something out.  There is a boot camp class at the Y tonight, I was thinking about checking that out too. 

Hope everyone has a great weekend! Remember, don't let it ruin the progress you made this week, stay on track and keep focused on your goals!

Banana Wraps and Other Yumminess

Today's school Lunch:  Banana with natural peanut butter and local honey wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla, apple slices, carrots with laughing cow cheese wedge, and Trader Joe's all natural organic oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.  For breakfast we had protein pancakes, I switched it up a little bit and used whipped cream cheese instead of cottage cheese.  I liked the consistency much better.  If you haven't tried these, you should!  They are good, and very very filling.  My kids can usually down 3 fluffy pancakes no problem, but they can barely finish 2 of these before they are full, and they keep them full through out the morning.  Here is the recipe.

I went to the high school this morning and did 3 miles.  I ran 2, then did stadiums for the equivalent of a mile (according to my Map My Run app.).  Tonight I have my class at the Y, hoping for a better turn out!  Here is what I have planned for that:

Warm Up

Walk a lap

Jog a lap

Jumping Jacks

Jog a lap

Squats

Jog a lap

Set 1

Burpees - 1 min

Speed skaters- 1 min

Standing side crunch - 30

Squat hop twist - 1 min

Break- 1 min

repeat 3 times

Tabata

Exploding Jacks- 20 sec

Break- 10 sec

Butt Kickers - 20 Sec

Break- 10 sec

Repeat 4 times

Set 2 (using a step)

Side to side lunge with forward punch- 30 sec

Side to side lunge with punch towards knees- 30 sec

Side to side lunge with hook- 30 sec

over the top with rows - 30 sec

repeat

Break-1min

repeat 3 times

Tabata (using step)
Box Jump - 20 sec

break - 20 sec

run up/down- 20 sec

break- 10 sec

repeat 4 times

Since I'll be gone for class from 5:15-6:30 I planned a quick easy dinner, Cobb salad.  Or, my variation of it anyway. We are going to do ham, hard boiled eggs, avocado, bacon bits, and shredded cheese.

Lastly, I am getting ready to bake "One Bowl Oatmeal Muffins" with Blueberries and white chocolate chips for the kiddo's, so be on the lookout for a review tomorrow!

School Lunches and Breakfast...for Dinner!

My school year resolution is healthier lunches for the kids. So I have googled, and pinterested, and brainstormed, and I think I have come up with a good variety of healthier options, that the kids will enjoy.  (here are a few places I got some ideas http://easylunchboxes.smugmug.com/The-Best-Lunchbox-System/Yummy-Lunch-Ideas/10136835_YSuyb#!i=696914291&k=YxmUd, http://www.flickr.com/photos/mslil65/1637854803/in/set-72157601755804789/ - on this one scroll through the album, hover of the picture for names of food items) Now, keep in mind, I am new at this.  I do have some not so healthy stuff still in the cupboards, and I plan to use it up and phase it out.  So for the first few weeks there might be a questionable treat lurking among the otherwise healthy lunch (who am I kidding, even after the first few weeks I fully intend to give them the occasional treat).  The picture above was today's lunch.  Ham slices rolled with cream cheese in the middle, baby dill pickles, all natural veggie chips, mandarin oranges in juice, and 2 Snackwell's cookies. The kids love the new system, and both enjoyed their lunch.  My goal is to train them on how to assemble a healthy balanced lunch at some point so that I can relinquish my lunch making duties!

While we are on the topic of the lunches, I did a store run today to finish my shopping list for them.  Some of the things I have gathered as options are: 100 % whole wheat tortillas (for wraps, quesadillas, etc), ham, turkey, laughing cow cheeses, cottage cheese, berries, veggie chips (all natural organic from trader joes), oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (all natural organic from trader joes), triscuts, baby carrots, apples, pinapple chunks in juice no added sugar, mandarin oranges in juice no added sugar, pickles, Whole wheat organic pretzel rods, boiled eggs, bananas, and some other things that I am sure I am forgetting, but will show up in pictures later!

I tried a new addition to my yogurt this morning.  I took 4 strawberries and pureed them, added 1 tablespoon of spelnda, and mixed it with 1/3 cup of yogurt.  I think I might be able to actually enjoy it this way.  I'm sure it's easier to just cut them up and throw them in, but I have never liked chunky fruit yogurt...!  I think I might try mixing some up and letting it sit in the freezer for a bit to make some sort of a sorbet. That'll have to be another post.

Tonight for dinner we made Baked Egg Baskets, Whole Wheat toast (100% Whole wheat double fiber bread from Oroweat), and cottage cheese with frozen berries (organic, no sugar added).

Egg Baskets!

12 Eggs (or however many you wish to make!)

12 thin slices of ham (round) 

1/2 Cup of  cheese (I used shredded cheddar)

1/2 Cup diced scallions

Fresh cracked Sea Salt and Pepper

Preheat the oven to 400.  Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.  Lay a piece of ham in each hole creating a little ham cup.  Crack one egg into each hole and sprinkle with salt and pepper. (I found it easiest to lay the ham flat across the hole, and while cracking the egg kind of pushing the ham down, hard to explain...)

Bake the egg for about 12 minutes, until the whites are firm.

Carefully remove each egg from the tray and top with cheese and scallions

I have already been brainstorming ways to tweak and evolve this recipe. I was thinking little personal sized quiche would be fun.  Instead of just cracking the egg into the cup, you could whisk the eggs, add some veggies and pour them in.  I might do some experimenting next week with that, so stay tuned!

Oh!  And since I am here typing, I guess you know I survived teaching my class last night!  Unfortunately only 2 people showed up to take it... I am hoping it has a lot to do with the fact that it was the night before the first day back to school... Hopefully I will get a better turn out tomorrow.  After that I ran over to Oasis and took Muscle Conditioning.  I added up all my time and came up with just shy of 4 hours of exercise yesterday, phew!  This morning I did stadiums and went to Intervals class, it was a combination of weights and cardio.  I am sore, and tired, and think I am done for the day!  We'll see though, I say that, and then feel lazy and end up doing something, so you never know!

Pizza Meatloaf

Last night for Dinner I made Pizza meatloaf.  I kind of flew by the seat of my pants on this one, so the recipe is a little estimated...

Pizza Meat Loaf

1lb ground beef

1lb ground turkey

1/2 cup flax seed meal

1/2 cup grated parm cheese

2 eggs

4 roma tomatoes

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1/4 minced onion

1 tablespoon oregano

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 cups shredded mozz cheese

1 cup chopped pepperoni

3/4 cup sliced olives

Preheat oven to 350

Puree tomatoes 

Combine all ingredients in bowl, and mix

Form Loaf

Bake at 350 for 1.5 hours, or until cooked all the way through.

It was a hit with the kids and even the husband.  I think next time I would use 3 roma tomatoes instead of 4, but other than that I would say it was a success!

Speaking of food, I found a yogurt (finally!!) that I can eat on my eating plan!  Fage Greek total 0% (or 2%). It has 9 carbs for 1 cup of yogurt, I eat about 1/3 cup, so that is 3 carbs.  Not bad.  Unfortunately, I can't say I love it, it's VERY tart, I need to do some internet searching for some ideas of low carb options to add to it.  This morning I added 2 tablespoons of coolwhip and a packet of splenda, that was pretty tasty. :)

I taught my first Class yesterday at the Y!  Senior Fit.  I'd say it went rather well!  I had 10 people show up, and everything went smoothly.  I need to broaden my ideas for routines for them, so no one gets bored, so that'll be my homework tomorrow morning.  Tonight I have my first regular Class.  I am doing a cardio intervals class.  It's a 50 minute window, so here is what I came up with

Warm Up

march/jog-30 secs

jumping jacks-30 secs

side squats -12, then hold and pulse

Jump rope-30 secs

Jog one lap around room

Set 1 (done back and forth across room)

Jog - 1 min

Sprint- 1 min

Suicides - 1 min

Walking Lunges- 1 min

Break - 1 min

repeat 3 times

Set 2(done staning in place)

Jump Squats- 1 min

Standing mountain climbers - 1 min

Wood chop squat - 1 min

But Kickers- 1 min

Break- 1 min

repeat 3 times

Set 3

football run/fast feet- 1min

Burpees - 1 min

plank- 1 min

Pendulum abs - 1 min

break- 1 min

repeat 3 times

Stretch

Aside from that, I ran/did stadiums this morning, hit the gym for a quick eliptical work out, and I have weight conditioning after my class this evening!  

I weighed in Sunday and was down 2 lbs. 10.6 pounds to go.... However, I did AWFUL from Saturday night to Sunday night.  I had Papusas, a few bites of funnel cake, and part of a corn dog Saturday night.... Sunday I had 2 fair tacos, and some doritos while I worked the fair parking for my Dad.  then Sunday night we went out for dinner and I had chips and salsa, and half of a carnitas burrito. Oh, and a few fun sized 3 musketeers and fun sized butterfingers found their way to my mouth as well.  Ack!  When I weighed myself yesterday morning those 2 lbs I had lost had found their way back, so it's back to business hard core now!

Family Fitness

I swear Kate had a few choice words running through her head this morning when I told them I was going for a run, and they were coming with me!  It was a nice cool sunny 70 degrees out, and I don't think they've seen the daylight all week.  It was some much needed exercise and sunshine.  And guess what, she lived!  I told her I would be happy if she would just walk for 25-30 minutes, and a quick pace, no running needed.  So that's what she did, and she actually enjoyed herself.  Andrew ran with me for the first half, but he tuckered out and joined his sister on her walk.  I on the other hand got my best time so far, 3.1 miles in 30 mins 52 secs.  Woo hoo.  Still nothing to brag about, but I am getting better!

I have no clue what that red diagonal line is, I didn't walk across the field at any point!

When we got home I made a quick batch of chocolate protein pancakes. The picture is of the kids' plate (Kel/Pam, the cottage cheese and mandarin oranges will forever remind me of Nana), the kids loved them.  In fact Andrew said "next year, I want this for my birthday breakfast!".  I don't think I will be requesting them  for special occasions, but they are a quick easy meal with lots of protein, and they don't taste half bad.  Next time I make them I might try cream cheese in place of cottage cheese.

Chocolate Protein Pancakes

1/4 cup cottage cheese

1/2 cup egg whites

3 scoops chocolate protein powder

2 tbs all natural peanut butter

This amount made 8 pancakes the size shown above.

While I am talking food, last nights Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken Breast.  It was VERY good.  Full of flavor, and best of all, the kids love it.  "It's a keeper" is what I was told during dinner last night.  So I highly suggest you try it!  Tonight I am making Carne Asada,

 it's been marinating since this morning, I have fresh corn on the cob, whole beans and fresh avocados to go with it, yum!

Aside from this morning's run, I am doing some strength training tonight with Katie.  Here is the routine I wrote up

Warm up

5 mins

Set 1

Good Mornings - 15

Weighted crunch - 30

Clean and Press - 15

Upright Row - 15

Repeat 3 times

Set 2

Weighted Front Lunge - 15 each leg

Plank - 1 min/45 sec/30 sec

Prison Squat - 50/40/30

Alternating heel reach - 30

Repeat 3 times

Set 3

Leg Pull In- 30

Shrugs - 15

Military Press - 15

Vertical Leg Lifts - 30

Medicine Ball Full Twists - 15

Repeat 3 times

Tomorrow I plan to do stadiums/run and a good weight work out with Kayle.  Stay tuned!

Back among the working! And Chicken :)

Well, the working that get paid, that is.  I'd like to think I have been "working".  Let me tell you, it has definitely not been any sitting around eating bon bons, and I haven't watched a single soap opera!

It has been a busy few days!  I have an 11 year old now, who enjoyed his birthday imensly!  I started my classes for the semester, and I got a job!

Starting Monday I will be a Group Fitness Instructor at the YMCA fitness center here in town.   I am taking over the Senior Fit class on MWF, and the Cardio Class on Tues and Thurs evenings.  I am really excited about Tuesday and Thursday, it's an open canvas for me, I can do whatever kind of class I would like, I just need it to be mostly cardio, because they have strength training classes Monday and Wednesday evening.  So I am going to write up so Cardio intervals this weekend, and test them out for time and make sure they flow ok.  Now hopefully people show up for my class! :)

So, aside from that news, it has been business as usual around here.  Yesterday I got out to the high school later than normal.  But since it was light, I wasn't nervous to go alone, and since I was alone, I figured I would try a new work out!

Warm Up

Walk 1 lap

Walk up and down one flight of steps twice

Work Out

Jog 8 laps

Run one side of the stadium in a "S" patter, two times through

Jog 1 lap

Run other side of stadium in a "S" pattern, two times through

Jog 1 lap

Repeat first side (2 times through)

Jog 1 Lap

Repeat 2nd side (2 times through)

Jog 2 laps

Cool Down!

So it was nice and simple, but it was something different, and it allowed me to get my run in at the same time.  Including the stadium running it was a little over 4 miles in 50 minutes, not a great time, but not bad since the stadium running slows down my time.  I did a shorter version of that this morning when I went as well.  Then I went to Intervals class, it was half cardio, half weights.  Luckily none of it was the same muscles we worked in Muscle conditioning last night, so it wasn't agonizing!

Tonight's dinner is Jalapeno Popper stuffed chicken Breasts.   The picture doesn't do it justice, you can slightly see the bacon and pepper filling peaking out of the chicken. 

Here is the original  recipe:

Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken
Source: adapted from Allrecipes

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
4 strips of bacon, diced
4 (6 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs (I used regular bread crumbs and seasoned them with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder)
1/4 cup vegetable oil

1. Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crispy. Drain on paper towels.

2. Stir together the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, bacon, and jalapenos in a small bowl.

3. Cut a pocket horizontally through the thickest side of each chicken breast, and fill with 1/4 of the cheese mixture. Secure with toothpicks.

4. Roll the chicken breasts in bread crumbs to coat. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, and cook chicken breasts until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 8 minutes per side. If your chicken breasts are thick, like mine were, they can be finished in a 350-degree oven.

Here are my changes:

- Butterfly breasts, and flatten

- No breading, I just seasoned the chicken breasts with dry ranch mix (who doesn't like a jalapeno popper with a little ranch dressing??), pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.

- I seared the chicken breasts, then set them in the oven to cook, 350 for 30 minutes, or until no longer pink.

They are in the oven as I am typing this, so I can't give you a review quite yet.  But I can tell you this.... the filling...?  AMAZING.  Oh my.  I could eat an entire batch of it with a spoon!  I think it would make a GREAT party dip!

Tomorrow we are revisiting carne asada. Yum.

Neglect!

Oops!  I guess I fell off the blog wagon there for a few days.  What can I say, life got in the way!

I did manage to stay on the health wagon though.  Until Yesterday anyway!  Fried foods.  That about sums it up.  I spent a nice day shopping with my husband, and ended it with a Salad, accompanied with fried Zucchini and french fries.  Ugh!  Pure guilt is all I felt afterwards!  Believe me, I had it in my mind all through my work outs this morning!  I powered through an extra set of bleachers, and an extra lap around the track at the end, and I busted my but in class after that.  So hopefully I have balanced out whatever damage I did last night.

At weigh in time Saturday I was down 2.4lbs from the week before.  Yay!  122.4 lbs total. 12.6 to go to my original goal.  I say original because unless I lose all 12.6 from my lower mid section, I am going to have to keep dropping! But I don't know, once I get to my goal, maybe I will focus more on a waist measurement as a goal instead, we'll see.

This morning was my first day back to school.  Woo hoo!  It's going to be a challenge balancing it, but I hope that after a few weeks I can fall into a nice groove.  I am so excited about the nutrition class, I can't wait to share things that I learn.

Speaking of nutrition, lets talk recipes.  I haven't made my meal plan yet for this week.  I need to do that, and get to the grocery store.  It was a busy birthday filled weekend, so I am a little behind.  I promise to have recipes to share this week, but today all I have is a breakfast recipe that I am going to try tomorrow.  I bought Protein Powder last week for a few reasons; 1 being that I spend a fortune on protein shakes, and 2 because I have seen a lot of recipes that call for it that I thought would be fun to try. So tomorrow I will be making chocolate protein pancakes.


http://www.pbfingers.com/2010/03/17/kiss-me-im-not-irish/

I challenge you to push yourself this week,  Take that as you wish, push your work out, push your eating habits, you chose, just stick to it!  Cheers to a week of accomplishments!

Reviews and weights

Whew!  My kitchen was busy yesterday!  We made the Peanut butter oatmeal bars, Stuffed Bell Peppers, Caprese Salad with pesto, and some totally unhealthy buttermilk blueberry muffins for the husband.

Let's start with the peanut butter bars, http://gingerbreadbagels.com/2011/03/22/peanut-butter-banana-oatmeal-squares/:

Since they were for the kids, I thought I'd let Andrew help me make them.  He gets an A+ in the helping department, and a D in the Cleanliness department..... two words - Flour Everywhere! I doubled the recipe and got 8 good sized bars out of it. They came out good, the kids enjoy them with a little peanut butter on top.  They were easy to make, and are a nice quick breakfast for the next few days, I think it's a keeper.

Next, Buttermilk Blueberry muffins.  Sugar, sugar, flour, sugar.... more flour.  Enough said.  I have to stay 2 miles away from them.  Moving on.

Caprese Salad with Pesto.  YUM!  I had some left over pesto, so I picked up some cherry tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.  I cubed the cheese, mixed it in a bowl with the tomatoes, added the pesto, a little EVOO and some minced garlic, and voila!  Delicious, I wish I had made it sooner, and more of it!

Lastly, Kate and I made the stuffed bell peppers (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Stuffed-Peppers-4/Detail.aspx).  Very quick easy recipe.  Don't know that  I will make it again though due to the lack of Bell Pepper appreciation.  Somewhere between the last couple months and last night it appears Andrew no longer likes bell peppers, and Kate and I never really have.  Ari is the only one who actually ate a stuffed bell pepper.  The rest of us at meat and sauce.   If you enjoy a good bell pepper, then I advise you try this, if not, just brown some meat and call it a day :)

I ended up with quite a bit of meat left over (I used a 2.5 lb package) so tonight we are having taco salads for dinner.  

For Breakfast I had a Protein Shake, mid morning I had an atkins oatmeal bar, and for lunch I plan to eat my weight in Caprese Salad :)

Now, for the work out portion of my day.... I started with Stadiums.  Stepped it up a little, and instead of running up one flight, down the next, I ran up AND down every flight before moving to the next.  Burned my legs out a little faster, kept my heart rate up a little longer.  Then I went to the gym and did 40 minutes on the elliptical. If you love to read as much as I do, here is a little tip I use on myself, I only let myself read on the elliptical.  So if I am sitting here and home and want to turn the eReader on and get lost, nope, can't do it.  If I have time for that, I have time to go to the gym and read.  

Tonight Katie and I are going to do some strength training. We worked our shoulders and chest pretty heavy last night in class, so I wrote a workout that will focus on our biceps, backs/lats, abs, and legs. 

Set 1

Bicep Curls - 15 Reps

One Armed Row - 15 reps each arm

Dumbbell Pullovers- 15 reps

Pendulum Abs- 30 reps

Step Run - 1 min

Repeat 3 times

Set 2

Wide bent over row - 15 reps

Hammer curls- 15 reps

Dumbbell side bend - 15 reps each side

Weighted Squats - 40 reps (30 second time, 20 3rd time)

Jumping Jacks - 30 seconds

Jump Rope - 30 second

Repeat 3 times

Set 3

Concentration curls - 15 reps each arm

Leg press - 15 reps

Standing crossover crunch - 15 each side

Plank - 1 minute

Basketball hops- 1 minute

Repeat 3 times

Katie, don't read this and change your mind! ;)  See you tonight!