What We Ate Wednesday 8/29

Cooking ahead for lunches and post workout meals. Four shades of chicken. (if you eat chicken, pastured organic birds are best. These are conventional, because I'm broke. Progress, not perfection, that's my motto)

Top to bottom:

• Curry powder and garam masala 
• Cumin, cayanne, onion powder, sea sat
• Caribbean jerk seasoning, cayanne powder
• Italian seasoning, basil, garlic, onion powder

Tonight's dinner was jerk chicken over a bed of salad greens with a side of broccoli and onions. Nom. 

Moving Mondays 8/27

Warm up: 10 minutes jump rope

5 rounds for time:

5 dead lifts (90lbs)

10 burpees

10 ball pikes

My time: 24:03

Post Workout Dinner 8/20/12

• Spicy Shredded Beef in a Zucchni Boat with Guacamole
• Cajun Shrimp and Butternut Squash Kabobs
• Lemon Cucumber Slices with Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Baked Sweet Potato Medallions

Shredded Beef Boat: 
You can find lots of fancy recipes online (George over at Civilized Caveman Cooking has a great one that inspired me), but I was in a rush and improvised yesterday. I simply threw a roast in the crock pot with a medium onion diced, a couple tablespoons garlic, salt, pepper, and about a cup of  Trader Joe's chili sauce. Left it on high for about 8 hours then shredded it up and left it in the juices overnight in the fridge. So simple but I liked this better than other recipes I've tried.

Today, I halved a GIANT zucchini from my garden (you could use smaller ones too), and hollowed out the seeds to for a boat. I drizzled it in coconut oil and baked on 450F for about 30 minutes until soft. Once it was soft, I sprinkled it with salt and pepper and the filled it with beef. Back into the oven under the broiler for about 10 minutes until the meat was warm, and topped it with guacamole.

Shrimp Kabobs:
I used Trader Joe's pre-cut butternut squash bites, and alternated shrimp. Drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with salt, pepper, onion salt, and cajun seasoning, and popped them under the broiler about 10 minutes until the squash was soft.

So there you go.... simple easy meal, and I worked out while it baked! Enjoy!

Moving Monday 8/20/12: Multitasking Madness!

I've been feeling all kinds of productive today and I couldn't wait to get home and workout while I still had the energy. I've been switching up my workouts lately, so I picked today's workout especially for the kitchen, so I could bust out a quick session while dinner was baking. I love Zuzana Light's workouts because they require little or no equipment, can be scaled up or down to your fitness level, and are NEVER boring. If you aren't familiar, check her out! She's the smoking hot host who founded the BodyRock series. All her workouts are FREE on Facebook (Zuzana Light) or Youtube (ZuzkaLight). I did today's "Beat Your Best" workout with a few modifications: 

3 rounds for time with a set of 5 burpees after each exercise:

10 Dive Bombers (my arms are weak so mine looked more like inchworms)
40 Alternating Squats with Leg Lifts
10 Side Plank Lifts (each side)
10 Lunges (each side)

Final time: 21:03 (I didn't record my time the first time I did this one so I can't compare, but I felt pretty good about my pace. I only rested for a few seconds between rounds, and I only swore a few times!) 

Here's the YouTube link to the video

Then I ate this: 

...And life was good! Happy Monday! 

What We Ate Wednesday 8/15/12: Ladies Night!

Tonight was my bi-weekly ladies night dinner. My besties came over and we grilled garlic and curry chicken, and grubbed on a giant salad, shrimp cocktails, berries, handmade dark chocolate, and some coconut rum. Life is good!

Dark Chocolate Squares:

2 squares Baker's 100% chocolate

3 tbs coconut oil

2 tbs honey (to taste)

1 tsp vanilla

A pinch of sea salt

In a double boiler (or a soup can in a pot with boiling water), melt 2-3 large squares of Baker's 100% chocolate, unsweetened.

Add other ingredients and mix together as the chocolate melts. Pour into foil molds (or ice cube trays) and freeze until solid. 

Coconut Curry Marinade and Sauce:

In a small soup pot, combine 1 1/2 coconut milk, 1/2 cup or so almond butter, curry power, and chili pepper to taste. Add arrowroot powder to thicken, stir slowly and simmer 10 minutes. 

Moving Monday 8/13/12

7 minutes of burpees and 100 kettlebell swings. Ouch.

What We Ate Wednesday

I know, it's corny and every foodie blogger does it...but operation: feed-the-man-cub-healthy-foods is underway, and I could use some motivation to post regularly. I'm going to post our meals every Wednesday, and keep you updated on my mission to clean up his diet before schools starts, then I'll be packing fun and healthy lunches as well.

Frankenstein Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

• 1 lb beef (grassfed if possible)
• 2 green bell peppers
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 large tomato
• 1/2 avocado
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1/4 cup cheese (optional...and use local raw dairy if possible). Cheddar makes more sense, but dairy is a rare treat around here and mozzarella is what I had on hand.
• Spices (maybe 1 tsp each? I just sprinkle till it tastes right) salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, cumin

In a skillet, brown beef, then add onions and spices. Simmer about 5 minutes for flavors to meld and onion to soften.

Cut the tops off of the peppers and clean out any remaining seeds. Cut faces with a small paring knife to make little ones smile.

Fill with meat mixture and bake about 15 minutes at medium heat, until peppers are soft. (350F)

Top with tomatoes, avocado and cheese, then broil five minutes or until cheese melts. Top with salsa.

I served these with salad and apple slices.

Enjoy! What are your kid's favorite healthy meals?

Moving Monday 8/6/12

It's beautiful here in the Pacific Northwest, so I moved my workout outside.

I jumped rope for about 5 minutes to warm up, then did two rounds of Tabata movements. Tabata is a protocol where you do 8 rounds of four different exercises, as fast as you can for 20 seconds, with 10 seconds to rest in between each round. It only takes about 4 minutes but it kicks your ass like an hour workout. Today I did 20 second rounds of jumping rope, kettle bell swings, situps and pushups.

Then I finished with 5 sets of 5 push presses (50lbs) and deadlifts (90lbs).

I love my barbell and kettlebell, but you don't need any equipment to get a great workout at home. Try Tabatas with body weight exercises like pushups, squats, lunges, burpees, and situps. Play tag, go for a walk, or clean the house! Enjoy! I'll be posting my workouts every Monday!