Rocked it today!

Yes, at the gym, but also at the grocery store:)  Before my coupons/other savings my total was $180.55...after?  $123.50.  31% savings.  Woot woot!

I ran incline sprints for 20 minutes today after a banging chest workout.  I felt stronger today than I have in months.  Not sure why, maybe all of the push ups I've been doing? John pointed out the striations that were showing while I was doing decline cable press.  Yes!  I'm moving up in weight next week....105 lbs maybe?!

Afterwards I headed to the fitness studio for more sprint work/conditioning and finally finished up with an hardcore oblique workout.

I am one hungry girl this evening, so it's a good thing I just finished cooking up some whole wheat egg noodles to go with my turkey burger, zucchini, and squash sauce.  Yep, straight from the garden to my plate.  Delish!

Look at the chunky goodness!

Change it up!

This week I've changed up some exercises and tried to incorporate more circuit type routines.  Tuesday I did 100 pull ups and 100 push ups by doing 10 sets of 10 of as a superset.  I couldn't do all my pull ups unassisted, (boy would that have been a feat in itself)!  One day, maybe.  I was able to get my heart rate up, work on endurance, and still get in my bicep/tricep workout when I was finished.

Yesterday I didn't do any circuits because my back was nagging me, but I did do a 3 mile run/walk all at an incline of 7.0.  I sprinted for 1 minute at 7.5 speed and then walked for 1 min at 3.0 speed.  Keep that up for 3 miles/30 minutes and you will be pooped!

Today was supposed to be a heavy leg day, but I quickly ran out of time at the gym once I started making up some circuits in the fitness class room.  I am hoping that not only did I burn a lot of calories, but that I also worked my legs quite well.  I was able to get in a giant drop set on the leg press as well as extensions and deadliest before I called it quits.

Today's circuits:

I completed this circuit 4 times before moving on....

• 25 Side to side jumps
• 25 body weight squats
• 25 mountain climbers
• grapevine run length of fitness studio (down and back) x4
• kick butts (down and back) x2
• high knees (down and back) x 2

Next I set up four stations in the corners of the room and completed two circuits of theses exercises:

• 15 push ups (sprint to next station)
• 15 hip thrusts (grapevine to next station)
• 15 burpees (sprint to next station)
• 30 crunches (grapevine to next station)

Our beast of a zucchini

This morning Hailey and I checked out the garden to see if we would be having fresh veggies for dinner.  And, what did we find?  Several squash, zucchini, bush beans, onions, carrots, and lettuce!  While we were busy picking the produce Hailey yelled out, "Look at that gianormous one!!"  To my surprise we found a HUGE zucchini that was waiting for us to discover it.  We are going to make light work of this monster for dinner tonight:)

Stacking up our loot

John Deer or urban farmer? 

The beast

Washed up and ready to eat!  Onions and lettuce are ready too!

I'm still not sure when you are supposed to pick carrots or for that fact when you are supposed to know that they are the right size, so I randomly pull a few out every week to see where we stand.

After spending the morning outside we decided to cool down in the movie theater by watching Brave!

Saturday workout

Hailey and I made a trip to the gym yesterday while Rich worked on our cars, changing the oil, etc. 

I couldn't make up mind of what I wanted to do since I had already worked all muscle groups earlier in the week.  After a little debate I started with a HIIT session on the treadmill.  I ended up doing more than my usual 20 minutes to see how my foot would react.  The first two miles were done with 1 minute at 6.5 speed, 1 minute at 8.0 speed and so on.  I think these intervals will really help me pick up my long distance pace in the future. During the third mile I decided to do some hill work.  I put the incline on 6.0 and walked at 3.0 pace for 1 minute and then ran at 7.0 pace for 1 minute and so on.  I finished up all three miles in 28 minutes and was one big sweaty mess.  

Afterwards I opted for a short circuit workout before focusing on back.  I did 5 sets to failure of wide grip pull-ups and then push ups.  I took 45 seconds rest in between sets.  Going straight from pull-ups to push ups got the heart pumping!  

The back workout that ensued has my lats and traps torn up this morning!  Talk about soreness....

Get out there and do something that makes you sweat today! No excuses. 

Not your average can of tuna...

Last night Hailey and I met my parents for dinner at The Green Leaf Grill.  I opted to splurge and go for the special which was yellowfin tuna topped with asian slaw and wasabi aioli on a bed of fried rice.  The tuna steak was enormous!  It was by far the largest serving of fish I have been served at a restaurant.  My dad got the same thing and we both stuffed ourselves and cleaned our plates.  I wasn't hurting in the protein department last night after that meal!

yum, yum 

Hot Dogs

The past week was smoking hot...upper 90's and humid.  So disgusting!  The good news is that Maddie is starting to feel better.  I haven't given her any additional pain meds the last two days.  She still has the fentanyl patch, but it should wear off on Monday.  She has been moving around without pain and is getting some of her spunk back!  Yay!

Here's what these crazy dogs did when I let them out on one of those 90 degree days!  What in the world were they thinking?  Granted they stayed out less than 5 minutes, but still...Roonie is on his belly on that hot walkway and Maddie's poor little back legs are on it too! Ouch.

Today is the day

As you already know, I've had to wean myself off of one night time snack and then another.  Three years ago it was the need to have a chocolate milkshake right before bed.  That turned into a coke float, which then turned into eggos with chocolate chips and a glass of milk.  The most recent nighttime habit is a bowl of oatmeal and sleepy time tea.  Common denominator?  CARBS.

So, today is the day that I give up this habit.  I ordered some Optimum Nutrition chocolate creme casein protein and I've been trying it out over the last week or so.  Casein protein is great to have at night because it feeds your muscles throughout the night since it takes longer to digest.

Tonight I'm going to whip up a bowl of casein pudding before bed and call it quits with the oatmeal habit.

Casein Pudding

• Add one scoop of casein to a bowl
• Add 1/3 cup of almond milk 
• Mix thoroughly until you get a pudding-like substance...add more milk, if needed
• Put in freezer for 20 minutes if you want something closer to ice cream
• Enjoy!  

I can do it. I can do it....

Over Easy Eggs and Broccoli?!?

My lunch the last two days....a bowl of steamed broccoli topped with two over easy eggs!   Sounds weird, but it was so dang yummy.  The runny eggs create a sauce for the broccoli that is much healthier for you than topping it with cheese!  Easy way to get in some protein and veggies without a lot of carbs.

After hitting the gym twice today (once for chest and a body weight leg circuit and then for cardio and abs) I was feeling HUNGRY.  After I ate my broccoli and eggs, I had a little dessert.  I put 1/2 an avocado, 2 tbsp casein protein, 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa, 1 tsp honey in a coffee mug and whipped it all up together until I got a chocolate pudding like substance.  It was just what I needed!

TODAY'S WORKOUTS

Warm up - 2 miles on bike, resistance 7....easy.

Chest 
Flat bench 5 x 5 (95 lbs)
Decline with cables 3 x 12 (45-50 lbs each arm)
Incline bench with dumbbells 3 x 10 (30 lb dumbbells)
Push-ups 3x15

Bodyweight Leg Circuit (complete 2 times through with 1 minute of rest)
Walking lunges - 50
Single legged deadlift - 40 each leg
Curtsy lunge - 25 each leg
Plie squats with leg lift - 30

I had to come back home after this portion because Rich had to get ready for work, but I went back at lunch time to do some cardio and abs.

Ran 1 mile

Bicycle abs 3 x 50
Crunches 3 x 25
Decline crunches with 20 lb barbell 3 x 12
Oblique side bends with 25 lb dumbbell 3 x 25
Stability ball plank with circles 3 x 10 (each side)
Plank 2 x 1 min
Side plank with 20 reps raises

Biked 2 miles with intervals:
-1 minute at 6 resistance
-1 minute at 10 resistance, as fast as possible.

So fresh and so green, green...

I'll have to take some more garden progress pics, but until then feast your eyes on these yummy scrummy bush beans that I picked this morning!

I steamed them and then topped them with a little extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, and pepper.  They were perfect with leftover turkey sweet potato and black bean chili and a little brown rice.

I foresee picking some strawberries from the garden for an after dinner treat!

Once things calm down with Maddie I plan on posting some of my new workouts.  I just don't have the time or energy right now, but I'm still working hard in the gym during the wee hours even though I am officially on summer break!

Maddie Update

It has been a rough couple of days with Miss Maddie Moosie.  I feel like all I have done is go back and forth to the vet and the pharmacy and wash dog beds.  Since she is unable to stand on her own and she is so drugged up, she does not know when she has to go outside and is instead going in her bed.  It is one of the most terrible things that I have had to witness.  Sure it is stinky and gross and horrible to clean up, but what is worse is seeing her in that condition and so pitiful.

We've been through 5 dog beds, 3 loads of laundry, and several wee wee pads just today.  I am utterly exhausted from being up all night with her and the constant cleaning.  I did take her in to the vet today to get her rear legs and back shaved so that it would be easier to keep her clean.  They also gave her fluids to keep her hydrated and cleaned her up!  I think everyone who knows me knows that I am not a crier.  I can count on one hand the number of times I cry in a given year, so you can imagine my surprise when the vet came in to talk to me and I lost it.  I didn't think I was going to be able to get myself together, but after a few minutes I got my nice and clean sick little puppy back and regained my composure. Woof.  I hate feeling like that!

The plan is to get her patch replaced either Saturday or Sunday and to keep a close eye on her over the weekend.  If she is not better by next weekend then surgery is the only option.  I am keeping my fingers  crossed that all of this rest will do the trick.  I'm so thankful to be off from work so that I can take care of her.  Keep the prayers coming!

Pray for Maddie...

My Miss Maddie Moosie turned 13 on June 6th!  After all of her issues with inflammatory bowel disease and then CUPS disease (which caused her to have all of her teeth removed) this girl has had a tough life.  However, the last year has been great!  Once her teeth were out, she started acting like a puppy again and she was still hanging in there for two long walks each day.

Unfortunately, just as she hit this milestone her back started acting up again.  In March we did some x-rays which showed compressed discs in the middle of her back.  This problem has been going on for a few years, but it mainly showed up on long walks or if she jumped down from the furniture.  That's the the case as of the last two weeks.  She really slowed down at first, but then started showing signs of acute pain in her back.  The pain killers that she received last Saturday did not touch the pain that she was in, so I took her back in on Tuesday and got loaded up with more meds.  Dr. L said that he could wait on x-rays if we could get her to stay immobilized for the next two weeks to see if she had any improvement.

Well, we didn't even get that far.  Last night she was up the entire night either crying or barking and jerking in pain.  The disc issues were causing her severe nerve pain so she flipped about biting at her tail and crying out in pain.  I couldn't even take her outside to pee because she was in too much pain.  The only time she was okay was when she wasn't moving at all.  I had to hand feed her boiled chicken and sweet potato as well as bring the water bowl to her face to drink.  Poor thing!

So, I took her back in first thing this morning with a FULL PAGE of handwritten notes from the last 24 hours.  I monitored her food/water/med intake and symptoms.  This was quite helpful when I dropped her off for x-rays and a pain injection.  After monitoring her further and checking the x-rays Dr. L had me pick up an Rx for a fentanyl patch, drop it at the pharmacy, and then return the patch to him.  He shaved her side and applied the patch for further pain relief.  She got another injection of morphine before we left and I got some additional sedatives for her.  The good news is that there wasn't an obvious fracture or tumor in the x-rays, but there were several areas of compression that could be causing her discomfort.

Before the patch...poor thing! 

The plan is to keep her from moving at all.  I have to carry her outside in her bed and let her pee before caring her back inside in her bed.  We are going to keep her drugged up so that she doesn't stand or move her back for the next two weeks.  This is hard when we have 3 other dogs who are interested in what is going on!  Jack has to stay outside or in his kennel if I am not in the room with him because one little bump could do serious damage.  I'm thinking about posting a do not disturb sign on the front door because one knock or ring of the doorbell causes a huge commotion and she'll be tempted to stand or run over to the door.

After the patch and a long day at the vet. 

If the pain meds do not allow for relief the only other option is to see a specialist for surgery.  Dr. L said that this is something that would work for her even with her age, but it would be very costly ($1500-$3000).  Please pray for Miss Maddie Moosie so that she is not in any pain and that we are not faced with a decision like this!

Choco-Oat-Chip Protein Cookies

I think everyone had a sweet tooth tonight after eating chili, so we decided to check the back of the Nestle Toll House semi-sweet chocolate chip bag for a recipe.  We cleaned up the recipe and got baking!  We used stevia instead of sugar, xylitol brown sugar instead of regular brown sugar, unsweetened applesauce for butter, oat flour instead of all-purpose flour, and then we added in milled flax seed and egg protein.

Get you some!

The approval of a 4-year old!

Choco-Oat-Chip Protein Cookies
Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 c oat flour
• 2 1/2 c old-fashioned oats
• 2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips (Nestle Toll House)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 c xylitol brown sugar
• 1 c unsweetened apple sauce
• 1/2 c stevia
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp almond milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp milled flax seed
• 2 scoops Vitol vanilla egg protein

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Combine all ingredients.  I'm lazy and don't like to combine the dry and then the wet and then mix together, but I'm sure this works better.  Oh well!
• Bake for 9-10 minutes for chewy cookies or 12-13 minutes for crispy cookies.  
• Cool for 1 minute and then enjoy!

Clean Crockpot Turkey Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili

Even though it hasn't been cold out, it has been nasty and rainy the last two days.  After searching for some easy slow cooker recipes I ended up combining a few ideas and came up with something a little different.  I saw the sweet potato and black bean combination in a couple of recipes and thought it was an odd combination, but it turned out to be hearty and delicious!

I ate and cleaned up so fast that I forgot to take a picture, but it's chili, not that exciting anyhow!

Clean Crockpot Turkey Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili


Ingredients:

• 1.25 lb lean ground turkey breast
• 2 sweet potatoes peeled and cubed
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cans black beans, rinsed
• 1 large can petite diced tomatoes
• 1 can raw pumpkin
• 1.5 c water
• 2 tsp roasted garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions:

• Put sweet potatoes, onions, and beans in the bottom of the crockpot. 
• Add lean ground turkey breast, pumpkin, spices/seasonings and water to the pot. 
• Cook on low for 8 hours.
• Stir and adjust any seasonings. 
• Serve with brown rice! 

Shut eye?

What can a girl do to buy a little shut eye around here?

Don't you know that is my side, McSchmackal?! (Saturday night)

My magic potion...that and 1/2 cup of oatmeal! 

If it isn't one, it's the other!  (Sunday night)

Spanish-Style Sweet Potato Tortilla

I finally got around to trying a recipe that I had my eye on in my Clean Eating Quick and Easy Meals book.  It was in the 20 minutes or less section, but with the tweaking that I did to the cooking and amount of ingredients it took more like 35 minutes.  It was darn worth the wait though!

I love meals that you can throw together and then sit down and eat without prepping lots of side dishes.  I'm already imagining all kinds of variations of this one!

Before the oven

After the oven

My fancy schmancy plate

Spanish-Style Sweet Potato Tortilla
Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs of sweet potatoes (2 large) peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick
• 4 cups of spinach
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 5 whole eggs
• 6 egg whites
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 360 degrees. 
• Steam sweet potatoes for 10-12 minutes (I wrapped them in a wet paper towel and microwaved them for 9 minutes...then cut into slices and peeled skin off.)  
• Meanwhile, add olive oil to skillet and sauté onions over medium heat.  Once they get soft add in the spinach until it wilts. 
• In a large bowl, scramble eggs, egg whites, and salt and pepper. 
• Add the sweet potatoes and egg mixture to the skillet and slowly mix. 
• Heat on medium-high for 2 minutes. Then transfer skillet to the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until firm. 

And....just for good measure I decided to make my chocolate avocado mousse with strawberries and almonds for dessert! You can find the recipe here. 

Delish! 

Random Weekend Pics

We had a fairly relaxing weekend...got my hair did and picked up the new shoes on Saturday and then attended a very special 7 year old's bday party!

The squash are starting to grow! 

What a hottie! ;)

The theme was orange, can you tell? :)

Turkey Burger Bowl

If you would have asked me two years ago what my favorite food was I probably would have said bread....warm and toasty with butter on top!  Things have certainly changed around here and I feel so much better when I stay away from bread period.  While everyone else enjoyed turkey burgers on sandwich thins tonight, I changed it up and made myself a turkey burger bowl.  It was delicious!

We eat lean ground turkey several times a week, so tonight we made the burgers with a little low-sodium soy sauce, a few oats, and some shreds of kale.  Since we were short on time and starving we didn't make our own sweet potato fries, but used some frozen ones. 

New Kicks!

I spent an hour and a half in Ragged Mountain Running Shop (LOVE this place!) looking for a new pair of running kicks.  My last pair were Saucony Guide 4's, but I was ready for something different.  After the evaluation it looked like I had very little pronation, so we went with a more middle of the road shoe.  I left with a nice loud pair of Adidas Supernova Glide 4.  Nothing beats a pair of bright new shoes!

 I tested them out in the today and so far, so good. You can't miss these kicks when I'm pounding the pavement!

Geez, I look wide on top! Need to work on those legs!

Adidas Glide 4

Nice look at the old compartment syndrome scar.