Can I haz...

I can haz a pikl jar pleeze?

Friday's Food:

Meal 1 - 1/2 C eggs, 1 chicken sausage, 1 slice of cinnamon raisin Ezekiel toast

Meal 2 - Vita-Mixed: 1/2 orange, 1/2 handful strawberries, 1 handful celery, 1 date, 1 serving vanilla protein powder, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 TB wheat germ, 1 TB flax, 1 TB bee pollen, 1 C water, 1/2 C ice

Meal 3 - Vita-Mixed: 1/2 orange, 1 banana, 1/2 handful celery, 1/2 C almond milk, 1/2 serving protein powder, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/2 C ice

Meal 4 - 2 small Blueberry Cottage Cheese pancakes (I always have a few extra ones in the freezer), topped with 1/2 C apple sauce

Meal 5 - It was my husband's birthday and we went out to Axel's bonfire with my in-laws to celebrate. I ordered the salmon, simply grilled, with a wild rice pilaf and a lychee martini. The lychee martini was nothing like I expected it would be, but very good. For Allan's birthday dessert, he ordered a brownie with vanilla ice cream and I had a few bites. It was delicious!

This is a photo of a lychee berry on a the tree:

Workouts

I workout at my home gym that I share with my husband. I am following the workouts described in The New Rules of Lifting for Women and am currently on Stage 3. The workouts are challenging and I only stay on a stage for a few weeks, which decreases the chances of boredom. Although, I am getting to the place in my weight traning that I need to get some heavier dumbbells because I could lift more weight in some of the exercises. I have been thinking about purchasing two of the adjustable dumbbells (5 - 25 lbs) that they sell at Target. Does anyone have them?

The following is my training log for this week:

Workout A

One-Armed Dumbbell Snatch - 3 sets of 10 lbs, 10 reps each set

Alternating Exercises:

Dumbbell Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift - 3 sets of 10 lbs, 6 reps each leg per set

Barbell Bent-Over Row - 3 sets of 70 lbs, 6 reps each set (today I did 7 reps on the 2nd set)

Alternating Exercises:

Dumbbell Single-Arm Overhead Squat - 3 sets of 10 lbs in one hand & 2.5 lbs in the other hand, 6 reps each leg per set

Incline Bench Press - 3 set of 65 lbs, 6 reps per set

Alternating Exercises:

45 degree plank - 2 sets of 45 seconds, rest, 45 seconds, 1 set of 60 seconds, 45 seconds

Dumbbell Reverse Wood Chop - 3 sets of 10 lbs, 10 reps each side per set

Workout B:

Barbell Romanian Deadlift - 3 sets of 70 lbs, 1st set 8 reps, 2nd and 3rd set 7 reps per set

Alternating Exercises:

Partial Single-Leg Squat - 3 sets, 6 reps per set

Pullover (at home version of Lat Pull-Down) - 3 sets of 10 lbs dumbbell, 1st set 6 very slow reps, 2nd and 3rd 10 very slow reps

Alternating Exercises:

YTWL - 3 sets of 2.5 lbs dumbbells, 6 reps each exercise

Long-arm Swiss Ball Crunch - 3 sets, 1st and 3rd sets 10 reps, 2nd set 12 reps

Alternating Exercises:

Reverse Crunch - 3 sets, 6 reps per set

Hanna Side Flexion 2 - 3 sets, 6 reps per set

LOL Cat Week

Unfortunately for you, I think that LOL Cats are some of the funniest things on Earth. Fortunately for me, my Aunt sent me an email full of them and for the next week I will feature the funniest ones from that email.

Meals 2, 3 and 4

Meals 2 and 3 were the Vita-Mix concoction that I make on a daily basis:

1 orange
1/2 hand full of nsa frozen strawberries
1/2 hand full of nsa frozen mango
1 serving vanilla protein powder (muscle milk light)
1 tsp pure vanilla
1 TB wheat germ
1 TB flax seed
1 TB bee pollen
1 C water
1/2 C ice
2 cupped hand fulls of spinach

Today I ran out of spinach and had to use half spinach and half romaine lettuce. The spinach is MUCH better than the spinach/romaine mix. I should have used celery instead of the romaine lettuce - it would have tasted better.

Before:
After:


The second helping that I intended to have for Meal 3 had gotten a little funky in the fridge - the romaine lettuce flavor has intensified, so I added 2 TB peanut butter, a little drizzle of agave, some strained whey from my Yogurt Cheese, and a tiny bit of almond milk to make it taste better... it worked!

Meal 4 was half a large Ezekiel wrap toasted with garlic hummus on it.

I am waiting to see when Allan will be home from work and then plan on making turkey burgers from the Eat-Clean Diet Family and Kids book with Ezekiel Hamburger buns, hummus, lettuce, organic ketchup, organic pickles and Dijon mustard. Should be yummy!

Cardio

Today was my weigh-in day and I am down .5 lbs this week! It is really exciting because I did not do well at eating clean last weekend... I ate too much, had a few drinks, and we ate out a few times and I missed a workout this week. In an attempt to turn things around, since Monday I have been on a very strict Cooler 2 and it has paid off!!!

My winter cardio routine usually consists of running intervals on my treadmill while watching DVR'd shows. I have grown a bit tired of this routine and have decided to start looking for alternate forms of winter cardio. Yesterday I picked up the following fitness DVD's and VHS tapes at my local library to take on a test drive before committing to any purchases.

This morning I did the TaeBo Instructional VHS - I know.... who uses VCR's anymore? - and then did the TaeBo 8-minute workout. For a total of 52 minutes of TaeBo today. It was fun and boy does Billy Blanks have a personality. I have memories of doing TaeBo every Friday in the Self-Defense gym class that I took as a Junior in High School and for some reason didn't quite remember how quirky Mr. Blanks really is. :)

Does anyone have suggestions of other fitness DVD's that I should look into? I am trying to find something that inspires and motivates me to do my cardio!!!

Meal 1: Breakfast

Today I am going to post pictures of all of my eats for the day...

Here are some of my Supplies for Meal One
- Steel Cut Oats
- Unsweetened Dried Cranberries
- Cage-Free Brown Eggs

Pictures of my completed Breakfast....

1/3 C Egg Whites, 1 Chicken Sausage and 2 TB Red Pepper


1 C cooked Steel Cut Oats, 2 TB unsweetened dried Cranberries, 1/4 c Almond Milk, Cinnamon, Vanilla, Agave Nectar

High-Fructose Corn Syrup

Check out this article from the Washington Post about a Study that found Mercury in High-Fructose Corn Syrup.... maybe we have been right all along and it's not exactly the same as table sugar...

Seventh Generation

Seventh Generation has changed their packaging. Look at how cute it is! I cant wait to see it in store.

Clean and Bright (Vita-Mix Marinara Sauce)

• "Better keep yourself clean and bright. You are the window through which you must see the world." - George Bernard Shaw
  

I receive daily inspirational quotes from Real Simple and this was today's. I thought that it was fitting.

Yesterday's meals were very clean. This week I am making sure to follow a strict Cooler 2 plan from Tosca Reno's Eat-Clean Diet. I made myself a check list that I use every night when planning the next day's meals. It helps me to make sure that I am getting enough of the right food. I am bummed that I did not have time for a workout last night - I didn't get home from my color/cut until 7 PM and then after making dinner and eating with my husband, it was already 8 PM.

Here are my eats for yesterday:

Meal 1 - 1/2 C Egg Whites, 1 Organic Chicken Sausage, 1 Slice of Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Meal 2 - 1/2 of a Vita-Mix Protein Shake: 1 Orange, 1 palm full of strawberries and mango, 2 palms full of spinach, 1 date,1 Serving Vanilla Protein Powder, 1 TB wheat germ, 1 TB ground flax, 1 TB bee pollen, 1 tsp vanilla extract

Meal 3 - 1 1/2 cups of Lentil Stew (from the Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook) with turkey breast and 1/2 of the Vita-Mix Protein Shake from Meal 2

Meal 4 - 1 C Organic Low-Fat Plain Yogurt and 4 egg whites

Meal 5 - Baked Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Vita-Mix Marinara Sauce and ground Turkey Breast and Skim Mozzarella Cheese melted on top (1/2 C noodles and 1 1/2 C Marinara Sauce)

I also made Lara Bars last night while the Spaghetti baked. I found a recipe on Enlightened Cooking. I used almonds and unsweetened cranberries and added some vanilla protein powder to the final mixture. I have yet to try them, but will let you know what I think. 

Here is the recipe for the Marinara Sauce that I made:

Vita-Mix Marinara Sauce with Ground Turkey Breast

Extra Virgin Olive Oil spray

1 1/2 pounds of ground turkey breast

1/2 small onion

Salt and Pepper, to taste

1 medium carrot, washed and cut in half 1 stalk of celery, washed and cut in half

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 medium cloves garlic, peeled

2 small onions, peeled and quartered

2 pounds roma tomatoes, quartered

1 teaspoon dried crushed oregano

1 teaspoon dried crushed basil

1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 bay leaf Whole Wheat Noodles 1/4 C Skim Mozzarella Cheese

Spray a dutch over with extra virgin olive oil spray and pre-heat to Medium heat. Place turkey breast and 1/2 onion in skillet and brown until turkey breast is cooked through and no longer pink. Drain fat from pan. Place all vegetables, olive oil, and spices - except bay leaf - in a Vita-Mix container (or a Food Processor) in the order listed. Secure the lid. Select Variable, speed #1. Turn on machine and quickly increase speed to #5 or #6. Run for 30 seconds, until all items have been chopped and the mixture is as chunky/smoothe as you would like. Pour into the dutch oven with the turkey breast mixture. Add the bay leaf and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Preheat oven to 350° F. While the sauce simmers, prepare your favorite variety of Whole Wheat Noodles according to the package directions.  Combine Sauce and Al Dente Noodles in an oven proof casserole dish and top with Mozzarella cheese. Bake covered until mixture becomes bubbly. Uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes. Cooler 1 Substitution: Make without the carrot, olive oil, and mozzarella cheese Substitute Spaghetti Squash for the Whole Wheat Noodles Portion: 2 Vegetables (Marinara + Spaghetti Squash) and 1 Lean Meat

Welcome!

Last September I was introduced to Clean Eating by my dear friend, Melissa. Since then, my new hobbies have become Clean Eating, Nutrition, and Fitness. 

So far, I have lost 23.5 pounds from Clean Eating, weightlifting and cardio training. I am following New Rules of Lifting for Women for weightlifting and am in the middle of Stage 3. My weightlifting progress has slowed because I have been trying to focus my exercising efforts on cardio to loose the unwanted fat that is covering my strong muscles!

I plan on posting recipes, my planned food intake, and exercise logs every day along with fitness and nutrition tips that I happen upon.

Check back soon for more posts!