11 miles & "Nachos"

Hey ladies & gentlemen! You’ve got some rocking workouts planned for this week! I hope you enjoy them. Since I was working from home today, I got up extra early to fuel and start working. I took a break mid morning to do my long run-11 miles!!! The run went pretty well. It is 80 degrees and humid in SC today (and almost November ;))….so that made it a little tougher! I did refuel at mile 8 with 1 shot blok (I wanted to start slow and not upset my tummy).


It gave me tons of energy and I will definitely be using these in the future. For some reason my HRM was slipping off during the last 4 miles so my calorie count is way out of whack (I looked down several times and noticed my HR was recording at 64 haha). Oh well- the time is correct and that’s the stat that matters ;):


After work today, there was lots of cleaning, a few errands, and then dinner. Josh ended up having a dinner meeting last night, so he ate the Peanut Noodles I prepped last night, tonight.

For me, I made a plate of “nachos”. I cut up a jicama into chip like pieces and cooked them up. Then I topped them with beans, salsa, bell peppers, tomatoes and part skim cheese and put them back in the oven for a few more minutes to heat up. When they came out, I put a little sour cream on top. The result:


Ohhhh yah. I also (of course!) had a big ole plate of fruit on the side. Now its World Series time!! Do you plan to watch any of the games?

Peanut, Peanut butter

Thank you all so much for the vacation suggestions! Your lovely lists includes:

Napali Cliffs- Hawaii
San Francisco
Chicago
Colorado Springs
Wine Country
Monument Valley
San Diego
Laguna Beach
Waikiki
Southern Utah- Zions National Park or Moab
Rockies in CO
Berkshires in MA
AZ- Phoenix, Tucson, or Sedona
Cabo San Lucas
Grand Canyon
Palm Springs
Florida Keys
NYC

Decisions, decisions! Today went well. Work seemed to fly right on by. I came home and took care of Franky and prepped dinner. Peanut Noodles with chicken and broccoli slaw for Josh:


And then for me, I cooked up the remainder of my acorn squash and mixed it with tomato, broccoli slaw and green pepper and topped it all with marinutta sauce:


On the side I had a delicious apple:

and pumpkin mixed with honey (no picture). Once I was finished with my prep, I finished up some laundry and headed out the door to WFs to pick up a few things and then taught Body Attack.

I'm excited that my teaching schedule is lighter this week so I can focus on running a bit more. My plan looks as follows:

Monday: 2 mile run, 1 mile walk, 45 minute spin (done!)
Tuesday: Teach Body Attack (done!)
Wednesday: 11 mile long run (if it stops raining- fingers crossed!!)
Thursday: Body Pump
Friday: 6 mile comfortable run or off
Saturday: Teach Body Step
Sunday: 6 mile comfortable run or off (depends what I do on Friday)

Do you have any fun planned workouts this week?

Twice Cooked Acorn Squash

And here we are, at Monday again! I really enjoyed reading all of your comments on my post yesterday about the best parts of your weekend. Sounds like you all had lots of good stuff going on!

After the usual work, I ran home to let out Frank and then went to the gym. I did a two mile run and 1 mile walk on the treadmill and then took my friend Jennifer's 45 minute spin class. I also ran some errands (dry cleaners & kohl's to return a pair of Josh's pants). When I got home, I cleaned up our wood floors (VERY exciting...I know!)

Since Josh had a dinner meeting tonight, I made myself up some twice cooked acorn squash. Method as follows:

• Bake up squash (cut in half and bake at 450 degrees for 1 hour or microwave for 13 minutes)
• Scoop out some of the cooked squash (but not ALL of it, otherwise the "bowl" will not maintain its form)
• In a bowl, mix your favorite toppings into the squash (I used salsa, green bell peppers and beans), top with cheese (shredded probably would have looked prettier but I used grated Parmesan
• Place mixture back in "bowl"
• Place under broiler for a few minutes (keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn)
  

I served mine with an apple and a little un-pictured nut butter


TOTALLY delicious.

Since you guys provided so many great yoga video ideas (thank you thank you), I have another question for you. Josh and I are trying to plan a trip. Initially, we were thinking of going to a couples resort in Jamaica but are now contemplating staying in the US. Potential ideas thrown around were Arizona, San Francisco, somewhere else in California, New Mexico. We would love to stay somewhere that either has a great fitness facility, hiking, or access to some other kind of healthy activity. We'd also prefer it to be warm-ish (or hot!) in the March/April time frame. Any suggestions?

Weekend & Pizza

The rest of my weekend has been very nice. I figured I'd post about the rest of it via mainly pictures, hope you enjoy!

Monster Dinner Salad from last night (romaine, cucumbers, red pepper, tomato, beans, apple, salsa):


Violet's birthday in Charleston (the birthday girl is on the far right):


We got these awesome koozies at the party:


After the party, Josh and I walked around Charleston and got him some Pita Pit and both of us some Fresh Berry Frozen Yogurt. We probably covered 2-3 miles, which I did in these beauties haha:

But it was totally worth it for the frozen yogurt! Josh got fresh berry tart with raspberries, pineapple and kiwi (left). I got vanilla with mango, pineapple and kiwi:


We got home late and totally crashed. I slept in until about 8:30 this morning and then went for a four miler:

The rest of the day was spent doing things around the house and running errands with Josh (Target, Lowes). I also watched the Patriots win (hooray!)

Josh has to run out to pickup a friend from the airport so I made his dinner a little early. He requested pizza using some of the dough I made up yesterday. The pizza is topped with marinara, mozzarella, a little Parmesan, and salami:

I'm thinking about marinutta veggies in a bit.

How was your weekend? What was your favorite part? Hmmm....I think mine was fresh berry ;) and spending time with Josh.

Baking Up a Storm

Happy weekend! Hope you're enjoying it. Last night, Josh and I ran out and picked up some food from a local deli. Josh got a pulled pork sammy and I made a monster salad from the salad bar. Unfortunately, I dropped half of it on the ground while getting out of the car when we got home (yikes!)...so hence no post last night. Two of our friends also came over and we had a relaxing night of movie watching.

Early this AM, I was at the gym for our Fitness Challenge day. The group fitness instructors put on the the beep test, 45 minutes of Body Step, 45 minutes of Body Pump, 30 minutes of Body Combat, Body Jam, and Body Flow! I coached and completed the beep test, taught part of Body Step, took Body Pump, and stayed for half of Combat. It was a fabulous workout but TOTALLY exhausting ;). Then I went food shopping and came home for some baking.

A fellow instructors 40th birthday party is tonight and I decided to make her up some home baked goodness including pumpkin muffins (getting sick of seeing these yet ;)):
And Big Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies:
I also prepped up some of my favorite 101 cookbooks pizza dough:
For the rest of the afternoon/evening, I plan to watch football (LETS GO PENN STATE!), relax, make dinner, and then we're headed into Charleston for the birthday party. Have a nice one!!

Double Digits & Savory Oats Brinner

Are you as excited as I am that its Thursday already? I have had a wonderful day thus far which has included:

• A busy day at work
• Laundry
• My first ever double digit run- just over 10 miles:
  

• A little shopping
• Reading the newspaper outside in the beautiful summer like weather
  
• A walk with Frank
• Brinner- Savory Oats with beans, broccoli, cauliflower, green pepper, hot sauce, and Parmesan cheese:
  

and an apple with cinnamon on the side:

Josh is still at work but will probably have the same dinner plus some cheesy eggs. I foresee some more pumpkin with honey in my future! What are you doing on this fine Thursday night?

Edited to Add: Julie is having an awesome Nature's Path Giveaway- check it out!

Random Eats, Body Attack Launch

Thank you for all of the compliments on the Body Step launch picture- you all are so sweet (love it!). I apologize for not blogging yesterday. My Tuesday went well, it was just busy! I had the usual work then ran home to take care of the Frankster and did a few things around the house (dusting/ironing). Next, I ran out the door for the cowboy themed Body Attack launch (I'm the mini one on the right haha):

The launch was another good one- high energy! It is a very tough release. I came home and finished up some more cleaning, showered, and then made a semi lame excuse for a dinner. First, a veggie & bean plate with salsa:

Butternut squash with a little maple syrup:

I also had a tortilla with lots of nut butter on the side.

Today, I taught Body Step in the morning. It was really fun to teach to a different crowd (hot mamas!). Today was also my first time teaching the full new release by myself and I think I did well. The rest of my day was spent working, getting a flu shot, and hanging out with this guy:

My dinner tonight was kind of random (again!). BBQ cabbage, veggies & beans:

Tomato:
A tortilla I toasted under the broiler and then broke into pieces:

Pumpkin topped with honey and cinnamon (I had this x's 2):
All randomly together now:

I also had a monster apple. Do you have nights like this where you want a little bit of a bunch of different things?

Hope your Wednesday treated you well! Quick question for all ya'll yoga fans out there: Josh and I want to find a yoga video we can do together each day. We want something with a bunch of smaller segments so we can do mini sessions (maybe like 15 minutes)? Any recommendations??

Body Step Launch & Slaw Salad

Today was a super sleepy Monday! I seemed to fly through my morning and coffee and had to run out around lunch to pickup a nonfat misto from Starbucks to help me push through my day. Anyone else feel groggy today?

Once work was through, I went home to take care of the Frankster and then ran some errands. Tonight we had our Body Step launch and we all wore pink in celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness Month:

The launch went really well. I think the class liked the new routine and the banging music (nothing like a little Gaga, Britt and Beyonce to get you going). I came home, showered, and got started on dinner. I had been tossing around several ideas in my head all day and finally settled on a nutty coleslaw salad based on this 101 Cookbooks recipe:

Ingredients:
Chopped cabbage
Broccoli Slaw
Any other veggies you have on hand (I used broccoli, cauliflower, green pepper, jalapeno)
Walnuts (or peanuts or almonds)- toasted or raw (I went raw)
Chopped Apple
Dressing: Olive Oil, lime juice, S&P

Directions:
Mix together dressing and toss with veggies/fruit. Add nuts before serving:

On the side I had a toast Arnold's thin:

And a pear with a little nut butter.

How is your week looking? I am teaching quite a bit this week and sneaking in my longer run. I am excited/nervous to hit double digits. My workout plan looks as follows:

M: Body Step Launch
T: Body Attack Launch
W: Teach Body Step
R: 10 mile run
F: Teach Body Attack
S: Fitness Day at the gym (I will be coaching the Beep Test, Teaching part of Body Step (abbreviated), Taking Body Pump (abbreviated), and taking Body Combat (abbreviated)). A bundle of the instructors will be teaching and I think its going to be tons of fun

On a side note, did you all see this very scary article about the three half marathoners who died this weekend?

French Toast, Pumpkin Muffins, Dinner

I slept in this morning guys- so wonderful! Josh and I didn’t roll out of bed until after 10 AM! It was such a treat. Once FINALLY out of bed, I got to work on another batch of Tina’s Vegan Pumpkin Carob Chip muffins that I am going to give to all the instructors at the Body Step launch tomorrow night.


Meanwhile, Josh used the leftover Wheat Bread I made yesterday to put together a plate of French Toast for himself. He calls this blackberry USA toast, the Steelers suck (haha...Eagles fan ;)). The french toast is topped with brown sugar, cool whip, blackberries, and a little bit of maple syrup:

The rest of the day was pretty relaxing too. I ran some errands, went to Starbucks with a friend (Hi Jill!!), learned the rest of my choreography, and watched football. I didn't workout today. It was the first day in forever ever and felt GREAT. My body was in massive need of a break, especially with my teaching schedule this week.

For dinner tonight, Josh grilled up a steak and I made him a side of brussels and pineapple (which he ate before the picture was taken).

I had brussels, a pear and the other half of my acorn squash from last night stuffed with beans, salsa and green pepper.

Tonight, more football and we're watching the Proposal. I'm excited! Are you ready for the week? I feel semi ready after my relaxing day.

Chili Party

Hello! Happy Saturday! The day has been awesome thus far. I got up early and got my apple’s prepped and in the crock pot for Maria’s Crockpot Applesauce.

I then ran out and taught a slammin Body Step class and went food shopping for the week. I started to get things setup for our chili party today and decided we needed a bit of sweets, so I rocked up a half batch of my Big Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies (using Whole Wheat flour only because it was all I had):

I did some light cleaning, got showered up, and settled in to learn some choreography for next weeks Body Step and Body Attack launches (can’t wait!). I then got started on Emeril’s Chili and I made some of Mark Bittman's Whole Wheat Bread (I made it with honey instead of molasses). It was a huge hit!

While I got the food ready, Josh and his friend enjoyed some Irish Setters (half IPA, half Guinness):

And then it was partyyyy time! I served the chili with a bunch of topping options including sour cream, cheese, bell peppers, onion, hot sauce and jalapenos:

Completed applesauce:

Completed chili (note: I only used 4 cups of beef stock vs. the 8 called for in Emeril's recipe. I also added corn, peas, and put in three cans of beans (pinto, black, kidney)):

So what did the vegetarian have you ask? I made myself an acorn squash with salsa, green peppers and onions. I also had a big ole bowl of applesauce (which was INCREDIBLE):

The chili party went well and Penn State won (hoooooooray!). Here is a picture of my Aunt, myself, and my Mama:

Hope you're having a great one.

Little Friday Action

Awww weekend! I didn’t think you’d ever get here!

First things first…the winners of the CSN Stores Cory Everson Yoga Mats are…

Sarah at the Foodie Diaries and….
Jenn of Eating Bender

Congrats Ladies!!! And thank you to everyone who entered. Today was an easy day. I had a bundle of work I had to get through, but it all seemed to go pretty smoothly. After work, I tossed the puppers in the tub for a bath, threw in a load of laundry and headed out the door to teach Body Attack.

When I got home, I was a Starvin Marvin and really wanted some carbs. I cooked up a ginormous white potato for the husband and some Rutabaga for me. On top of Josh’s potato he got some fresh mozzarella, buffalo chicken lunch meat and hot sauce. Unfortunately, it was gone before I could get a picture ;)

My rutabaga got mixed with tomatoes, salsa, beans and I had a little fresh mozzarella on the side.

I also had a big ole apple with cinnamon on the side:

Not sure what the rest of tonight will hold? How is your weekend looking? I’m very excited about mine:

Saturday: Up early to prep Maria’s amazing looking Crock pot Applesauce, teach Body Step, Food Shop, Make Emeril’s Chili and get the house ready for chili/penn state party! My parents, Aunt and Uncle, and possibly a friend or two are coming over.

Sunday: Sleep…sleep….relax