Unexpected Exercise and BLT Pasta Recipe

With the rain yesterday morning raining on my fitness parade I had mentioned hitting the gym and seeing what I could accomplish. I really need to have the something is better than nothing attitude right now. Well, I did not make it to the gym. But, I did get a walk in. It kind of happened due to an unexpected circumstance. Here is the story….

Yesterday was Emma’s first day back to school so we decided to take her back and forth instead of having her take the bus. I wanted to help her find her classroom, she was pretty nervous about getting lost in the first grade wing. So, off we went, I got her to her class and I went home and got some things done that I needed to do, had lunch with a girlfriend and then Pat and I ran back out to the school to pick her up. They have an area that the First Graders are released to after school is dismissed and I waited and waited and did not see my kid anywhere (Pat was in the car). So I went to the cross-guard and the attendant outside and she told me to continue to wait because she thought there were more kids that have not come out. So I did, I waited and waited. I didn’t see any kids coming out, the parking lot was almost empty so I was freaking out and pissed off. I marched my ass into the office and of course I had to wait in line even though I was freaking out trying to tell them my kid was MISSING! I called pat and told him to go home in case she was on a bus or left with a neighbor or something. I was able to track down her teacher and found out that she was put on a bus (without my consent)! I don’t think that there is a word to describe the amount of stress, worry and anger I was feeling. Being at the school and having sent Pat home I decided I did not feel like waiting for Emma to get off the bus, him load her in the car and come get me so I decided to start walking. Probably not the best idea seeing I was wearing flip-flops, it was hot as heck out and I was wearing jeans. Oh well, I needed to blow off steam and I had no desire to sit at the school any longer. It was not the teacher’s fault or even the office but the bus attendants and transportation department. None the less I was mad. After I got close to a mile and a half in Pat and Emma met up with me and scooped me up. I felt like crap from the heat but ended up just fine. The good thing was I got some exercise in. It’s about time!

Today we were supposed to go to the Kiss/Motley Crue Concert with another couple so it was postponed until tomorrow. So I decided I would give the kitchen a go. The original dinner plan was fast-food on the way down to the concert. Oh the shame in having to admit that! HA! I have not done much in the kitchen lately. The smell of raw and/or cooking meat does not sit well with this baby. The October issue of Family Circle Magazine came in the mail today and i saw the recipe for BLT Pasta in it. The picture looked delish and it is pretty healthy (compared to how I have been eating) and light. There are very simple ways to make it quite healthy, swap out bacon for turkey or chicken bacon, cut out the bacon fat, use whole grain pasta, up the amount of veggies, all in all simple to adjust to healthier.

It is sooooo good!

Ingredients

• 8 ounces center-cut bacon (12 or 13 slices), diced
• 1 1 pound box penne pasta
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1 pound bunch spinach, trimmed, roughly chopped
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 bunch red chard, well cleaned, tough stems discarded, sliced
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/3 cup fresh basil, torn
• 3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boiling.

2. Cook bacon in a large skillet for 10 minutes over medium heat until just crispy. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve 2 tbsp of the drippings in skillet.

3. Meanwhile, cook penne in boiling water for 11 minutes. Drain.

4. Add 2 tbsp of the olive oil to skillet with bacon drippings. Return to medium heat. Add onion and cook 5 minutes. Add spinach and chard and cook 4 minutes until wilted. Stir in cherry tomatoes; cook 2 minutes.

5. In a large bowl, toss penne, bacon, spinach mixture, basil, remaining 2 tbsp olive oil, the vinegar, salt and pepper.

Apple Chips

Well I made the apple chips and my house still smalls amazing. I think making these is worth doing daily just to have the smell of baking apples and cinnamon in the house. Emma did not care for them, but I love them. So worth a try. Once again I got the recipe at Delighted Mama’s blog.

What you will need:

• 2 apples
• Cinnamon

Directions:

1. Remove apple core.
2. Thinly slice the entire apple.
3. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place apple slices on it.
4. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
5. Bake at 275 degrees for two hours. At the end of hour one flip them over so they bake evenly.

I used green apples for mine and mine did not come out as pretty as her’s did. I would recommend them though Super easy, two ingredients, healthy and they  make your house smell heavenly. what is not to like about this?!

My apple chips

Rainy Days are for…

It a thunderstorm and drizzle day here in Saginaw, MI. While most people complain about the weather I am enjoying. The day had a great start and it has been relaxing so far. Emma was sick all night and still has a bit of a fever, she is no longer acting sick though. how can a child have a fever and want to run amuck? I’d rather be in bed while sick. I intend on taking advantage of this rainy day. This is my to-do list.

1. Watch as the fire truck birdhouse is painted
2. Read
3. Make apple chips (we have an abundance of apples) via a recipe I found on Pinterest
4. Start getting things reorganized and clean up stairs
5. Grill some short ribs (yes, I BBQ in the rain)
6. Do dishes
7. Maybe start my post for tomorrow (tutu tutorial)
8. Les Mills Pump

I have two days left of my 30 day challenge. I am not happy with the lack of results over this 30 days. Darn plateau. I know it happened to everyone at some point. I just figured it would have been later than sooner. I did not gain in inches or pounds so I will still take that as a win. No point in beating myself up over it.

I hope my apple chips turn out as good as hers did. You can get the recipe here.. Apple Chips

I hope you all have a fab Monday!

I may eat this everyday…

for breakfast! so today I tried something new for breakfast so I figured I would share while these kids are happy, quiet and occupied. They were pretty wound up for the funeral showing and dinner after this afternoon and evening. Boredom affects a 5 and 6 year old like 20 Redbulls would a full grown adult. So I brought mine plus one other back to my house for part of the late showing for board games to wind them down before we head back.

So for breakfast I made Quinoa with berries and pecans. It was amazing and I think I may eat it daily.

Here is the recipe:

• 1/4 cup FF milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup quinoa
• 1 cup mixed berries I used a mix of blackberries, raspberries and blueberries
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
• 1 teaspoons agave nectar
• 2 tbs FF Greek yogurt

In a saucepan combine quinoa, milk and water, bring to a boil then cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. While quinoa is cooking toast pecans in a dry skillet for 2 to 5 minutes, set aside. Put berries in a microwave safe dish and microwave for 2 to 3 minutes until the berries start to soften and break down a little, set aside. When quinoa is done fluff and put in bowl, top with cinnamon, then fruit, then yogurt then pecans and last drizzle the agave on top and enjoy.

I found a similar recipe here and adapted it to my own tastes and needs as I listed above.

Bon Appetit!

Food! Nom, Nom, Nom!

We had a very productive trip to the grocery store(s) yesterday. Have everything we need minus one thing, just have to make a trip to the butcher shop this week for some chicken breast. Got some great stuff, and trying some new things.

A weeks worth of produce for a family of 3 humans and one bearded dragon.

Totally new to me food: Gnocchi. Found some whole wheat gnocchi and figured why not give it a go. I loved the texture of it.

Gnocchi with mushroom, onion, zucchini ribbons in a homemade tomato sauce. Lastnight's dinner.

This is not a new to me food. I have had horseradish before but this is the first time I did not buy it in a jar. This morning I made my own ground prepared horseradish. It was super simple. Watch out though it is harder on the eyes than onions!

Horseradish from the root to a jar

and last but not least I also bought the stuff to make Chocolate Chip Quinoa Trail Mix Balls. I found the recipe on Pinterest. Here is a link to the recipe - http://www.eatliverun.com/chocolate-chip-quinoa-trail-mix-balls/. BTW they are soooooo freaking good!

Yum! Yum!

Now onto finishing up dinner and then Zumba time!

Week 7 Check in and Bonus Recipes.

First of all thanks for the shout outs maranack http://marianck.wordpress.com/ and lose it bighttp://loseitbig.wordpress.com/ . My wordpress/blogger support group is the best! Check out their pages when you get a change. Good reads ya’ll.

Oh joy, it is once again Tuesday so I once again am required by some law in my own head that I should babble on about random topics and then tell the world what I weigh and how many inches I measure. But I don’t mind. It has now become more of a habit than a chore for the most part.

So what shall I babble on about today? I think I will start with the status of The Color Run (my first 5k) I went on at the assigned time to register to find out they moved the registry two more weeks away. Meh, I was slightly peeved for a second then realized it was a silly thing to be bothered by. Then later I found that they moved the date and there is a HUGE difference. That would cut off 5 plus weeks for me to get used to the running distances thing. So I better get on it. And given the date half of my team has to drop out. That gives me a huge sad face.  With it being in the midst of wedding season I have a wedding to attend as well as a Bridal shower to which I am the Matron of Honor both the day before the 5k. Still figuring out how I am going to pull off doing both then running. But I am sure I can figure it out.  I always do. It’s one of those things us moms are good at. Spreading ourselves super thin and needed to be two places at once and end the day basking in the awesomeness of success! I am still doing the 5k; it may be more inconvenient, but hell. I said I was going to do it so there is no turning back. I can’t fathom being a quitter before I even start. That kind of attitude will put me back in those size 20’s I wore last year.

I thought that I started Pump Extreme yesterday but it was actually a walking day so I did 35 minutes of step aerobics, walked for 10 and did about 10 minutes worth of abs on the stability ball. I love that thing!  So today is Pump Extreme for real. I am excited to see how it is. Every time I move up to a harder workout I really have to push to make it through but I always make it. Sometimes i cry while working out because it is hard, and it hurts and I am in terrible shape (but working on it). I say those tears are just me shedding extra water weight so bring it on. I am so glad Les Mills Pump is now available for the home. It was just what I needed to get started on sculpting the new and improved me.

Ooo Look, something shiny!

Last nights Dinner

You like that? I so distracted you so you wouldn’t notice I was going to change subjects on a whim. Now let’s move onto one of the most important things in the world. Food!  I have a habit of cooking food and then posting pictures of it on my facebook.  Last night I made Mock Chicken wings, Cheesy Quinoa Bites, Avocado Ranch and Crudités or people who don’t want to sound all fancy schmancy, cut up vegetables.  I was asked for the recipes so I was thinking what better place is there to put them other than my blog?

Mock Chicken Wings:

Ingredients:

2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cut into nugget size pieces

2 Tbsp whole wheat flour or rice flour

1/4 c milled flax

2 Tsp garlic powder

1 Tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tsp

1/4 – 1/3 c Franks Red Hot

3/4 c panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 400 F. Mix all dry ingredients minus Panko in a bag. Coat chicken strips in mixture. Put Franks in a bowl and coat floured chicken. Put Panko bread crumbs in a bag and coat chicken. Bake for 25 minutes.

Cheesy Quinoa Bites (I pinned this but ended up making changes to make it work in a 400 degree oven and to my personal tastes and make them a bit lower in calories):

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked quinoa

3 egg whites

1 cup shredded carrot

3 stalks green onion, diced

1 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 c sharp cheddar

2 Tbsp whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix everything together and put into greased mini muffin tin, it took about a tbsp each. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes.

Avocado Ranch Dip/Dressing:

Ingredients:

1 Avocado pitted and removed from skin

1/4 c olive oil mayo (I am sure you could use FF Miracle Whip, but I can’t stand the stuff)

2 Tbsp parsley

1 Tbsp dried dill

1 clove garlic

3 green onion stalks chopped up

1 Tsp dried basil

1 Tsp pepper

2 Tbsp skim or rice milk

1/2 Tsp sea salt

1 juice of 1 small lime

Put everything into a food processor and run until smooth, if dip is too thick add more milk until it is the right texture for you.

And if you cannot figure out how to make Crudités you take some veggies and cut them with a knife into pieces and serve raw.

So that was my dinner last night. And, if I must say so myself it was pretty darn tasty! It really helped squash my chicken wing craving. I reheated leftovers and we ate the mock wings and quinoa bites for lunch, both reheated wonderfully. I think I will make a huge batch of both and wrap up small portion for a quick “frozen’ snack to reheat when I don’t feel much like cooking.

Now onto what you all come here for on Tuesdays… the results are in!

• Chest: 36 inches  (- 0 inches)
• R Arm: 12 inches  (- 0 inches)
• L  Arm: 12 inches (- 0 inches)
• Waist: 34.5 inches (- 1.0 inches)
• Hips: 42.5 inches (- 0.5 inches)
• R Thigh: 25 inches (- 0 inches)
• L Thigh: 25.5 inches (- 0.5 inches)
• Weight: 173 pounds (- 1 pounds)
• Pant Size: 12
• BMI: 33.4

So I am down a total of 2 inches and 1 pound this week, now I am getting closer and closer to my 90 days. I am excited to see what the overall totals will be! On to week 9! Now I better get moving my cat has been staring a hole through my head for the past half hour. I think she is ready for some kibble. I did hear once before that you should feed your pets. Guess I will give it a go.