The day was hectic. By the time I sat down for lunch, I had only 5 minutes to eat. (thanks for the tortellini, Mom!!) I took 8 minutes anyway, then dashed off to my next meeting. The rest of the afternoon flew by until it was time to clock out and head to training.
I met with Jody. We started with resistance bands and really targeted the scapular muscles. I was collapsing my frame by the end of the sets and didn’t realize it, so I’m glad she was there.We also used the bands to do a rotating like motion to target the muscles between my shoulders.
We moved into the studio, and did some floor exercises. Trunk twists, guided crunches, pelvic rotations, pelvic rotations with marching motion, bridge, calf raises/flex and point, adductor and abductor exercises with a resistance bands, and kick backs.
I felt the burn, but I feel good, now. Jody said that I’ve got a better foundation than I give myself credit for, and a greater range of motion than she was expecting. I credit iaido for that.
Is it just me, or does eating clean really not jive with Weight Watchers Points Plus?
Most of the recommendations and recipes that I’ve come across call for low fat, reduced fat, low calorie…. chemically processed crap. Their “cheese slices” melt in the refrigerator. Or maybe I got a bad batch, I dunno, but I like to eat real food, in lesser quantities.
In other news… I’m still addicted to high fat, high sugar foods.
Confession: I went to Arby’s the other day… the speaker to take the order was completely pummeled. That was flag 1 that I didn’t need to be there, but I ordered Mozzarella sticks anyway. I pulled up to the window and it was 3x more expensive than anticipated–flag 2. He passed me the cheese sticks and they fell all over… onto the floor boards of my car and everything….
The reason I use ‘addicted’ is because that didn’t stop me… I figured I had recently cleaned my car and so the five second rule applied.
the five second rule applied.
Lowest of the low. So, I’m staying on Weight Watchers just to make sure that I stay aware of my choices. Eat real food, just eat less of it.
We bought groceries at the Co-op again today. The are a few of the convenience items that we can’t buy there (like Campbell’s soups and frozen dinners) but over all, I think we’re adjusting well!!
Jeff made crock pot enchiladas today and the end result was absolutely fabulous. Seriously, whoever thought of this idea is a genius. The consistency of the tortillas was chewy in a good way, except for on the back of the crock pot where they got a little scorched. Fun Fact: I can never remember how to spell scorched. I always add extra frivolous letters and end up spelling it skortched or schortched or skorched… Maybe it’s because scorched just doesn’t look like the letters are strong enough to make the sounds when we say it outloud… hm…
Moving on–much like lasagna or brownies, I liked the scorched bits. I think that the next time we make this (if I make it, that is), I will add more veggies and I will omit the ground beef. The beef was good, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t think it added much to the dish aside from being an expected part of the meal. Jeff slathered this stuff with cheese. At first, I raised my eyebrows at him (trying to eat healthier, no?) but seriously? Extra cheese was extra good. And a girl needs her calcium, right???
I give this dish two thumbs up, a clean plate, and a recommendation that you go put this on your menu asap!
NOTE: This made 16 enchiladas. Unless you have company, you *will* have left-overs. Plan accordingly.
So, instead of skipping my workout and going home to make dinner tonight, I stayed at work and did a Zumba DVD. Before I went, though, I e-mailed the recipe for tonight’s dinner to Rah-rah and asked if he could make it happen. Mr. Roomie got home before Rah-rah did though, so Mr. Roomie made it instead. It was pretty tasty and really filling! One problem, though: he didn’t cook any of the filling =P he just kind of mixed, stuffed and baked and cut out the first few steps. Lucky enough it was alright in the end 😀 45 minutes at 350 still cooks it alright. Next time will be EVEN Better!
New Orleans Style Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients:
1 package sausage, diced2+ cups brown rice
3 jalepenos, diced
1 medium onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, diced
1-2 Table Spoons EVOO
Directions:
Move the oven rack to the middle of the oven and preheat to 350.
1) Prepare brown rice per directions on the box (make at least 2 cups.. can make extra as a side-dish if desired)
2) while rice is cooking, dice sausages, garlic, onion and jalepenos and heat in a skillet with a little bit of EVOO
NOTE: use the food-processor to dice to save time and teary eyes while dicing ingredients. Remember to remove seeds from jalepeno unless you want us to be mad at you for making it too hot =P (food processor is in the cupboard above the fridge. Good luck.)
3) Once rice is done, mix 2 cups rice with diced ingredients.
4) Cut the tops off of the bell peppers, de-seed and de-vein.
5) Stuff the peppers with the mixture and bake in a cake-pan or appropriate container at 350 for 30-45 minutes or until the bell pepper is done.
I have a lotto update on. When last I wrote I was talking about not having a plan. It has really hit me in the wallet and in the GI tract to not have a plan this week. Even Rah-rah noticed it! Tonight on the way home, I asked what he wanted for dinner and he replied “I dunno… We really haven’t had any good food this week..” and he sounded so sad! I guess that this means I need to keep up on that menu-making 😉
After I post this entry, I’m going to make 2 more pages for my blog–a “new foods” page and a “Favorite Links” one. I think it would be a good way to keep things in order and to share some resources with you.
Spaghetti Squash
Earlier this week, I was gifted with a Spaghetti Squash from one of my co-workers. I had never tried it before so he brought me one from his very own garden. His suggestion was to cut it in half (which I almost needed a hatchet to do…) and then microwave it. Mrs. Roomie ended up doing the rest of the cooking after I cut it up because I simply had too much to do on my list.
She browned some lean ground beef and added a jar of Classico Tomato Basil sauce, then served the meat sauce over the stringed squash instead of over pasta. The review that I received from Mr. and Mrs. Roomie and Rah-rah said that it was cold and kinda chewy. When I re-heated it when I got home, I thought it was pretty tasty. Maybe it just needed to cook longer? Rah-rah rated it a 6 out of 10, so we’ll probably try it again. Mr. Roomie said it was pretty tasty with just some olive oil and some garlic powder. Who knows? The flavor is so mild that the possibilities are practically endless.
The rest of the nights, we pretty much had a gas-station diet–frozen pizza, sandwiches, etc. It was really expensive and I’m going to have to be careful with my cash over the next week. I’ve got my dry-erase markers ready, though! The menu shall be made!
Warrior Dash is a mud-crawlng | fire leaping | extreme run from hell | Are you a warrior?
Mr. Trainer has asked me to join the 2012 Warrior Dash
. Now, on SparkPeople, I joined a great group of girls called the Weight Loss Warriors. I haven’t been much of a warrior lately. I have lost touch with a few of the girls and I have been avoiding spark like the plague for various reasons. Be that as it may, however, the Weight Loss Warriors are some of the best, most supportive, consistent people that I have met. Most of them have already met their weight loss goals, and if they haven’t, they’re still plugging away and making good choices. I feel like doing the Warrior Dash will not only “make me a warrior” to them, but it will also provide some validation for myself. If I can get through that race, hell, I can do anything.
Warrior Dash Participant (from Warrior Dash on Facebook)
Since it’s more of an obstacle course than a race, I’ve made a serious commitment to fitness. On Monday I start Phase I with Mr. Trainer to begin preparations for the event. It is about 9 months away and so every 4 weeks until July 2012, I have committed to meet with Mr. Trainer so that I can be ready. Right now, I love sweets and carbs and cuddles–and I have been avoiding the gym. With something like this on the horizon there will be no choice except to shape up. It will be either get ready, or get hurt–one of the two. I’m going to aim for the former, not the latter.
1 – 24 oz Jar Classico Roasted Garlic Pasta Sauce
1 – 24 oz Jar Classico Tomato & Basil Pasta Sauce
1 – 24 oz Jar Classico Italian Sausage with Peppers and Onion Pasta Sauce
1 lb box Lasagna Noodles
3 lb Supreme Lean Ground Beef (97/3)
1/2 to 1 cup Parmesan Cheese*
1/2 to 1 cup Romano Cheese*
1/4 to 1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese*
Mozzarella Cheese
Brown the beef in a large skillet. You may need to cook 1 lb at a time if you’re limited on space or burners.
Mix beef and all 3 sauces together and set aside.
While the beef is cooking, get the water boiling for the noodles. I recommend putting a little oil in the water to prevent the noodles from sticking–especially if your pan isn’t large enough to let the noodles swim around on their own. Drain the noodles and rinse with cold water–time to start the assembly party!
Start with a layer of meat sauce, then noodles, sprinkle ricotta, then parmesan, then romano (sparingly, each), then mozzarella (generously). Layer noodles, sauce, cheeses until you’re almost to the top.
Cover with foil and bake for 1 hr at 350° F.
Remove from the oven and let sit for about 10 minutes–bake your garlic bread in the mean time. When the bread is done, serve the lasagna and enjoy!**
*These cheeses have a very strong flavor profile and can easily be over-used. Especially Ricotta. If you’re leery of using Ricotta, it’s okay to sub cottage cheese for a milder flavor (but I don’t like it =P)
**This meal is quite dense in the way of carbs and fat. I would recommend serving it as a SIDE DISH to a nice full house salad. It freezes well and reheats even better so it’s fabulous to have left-overs.
MegsFitness 