Work It Out, and Happy New Year!

Better late then never! I did manage a lot of workout time over Christmas. It was awesome, and it allowed me to enjoy a few more treats. Hope everyone has a safe fun, New Years Eve! See you in 2010.

My weekly workout report for the week of December 21st-27th:

Monday:
treadmill intervals
5 min warm up @5.5
5 x 2 min @ 8.0, 3 min in between @ 5.5
10 min cool down @ 5.5
5 min walk

Tuesday:
Front Squat:

6 x 75
6 x 85
6 x 85
5 x 95
5 x 95

Hang clean to push press:
6 x 5 x 65

cable row:
4 x 8 x 60

push up feet on step:
4 x 8 x BW

Paloff press:
3 x 8 x 60 (ouch)

side planks
2 x 30 sec each side

-2 mile jog

Wednesday:
none

Thursday:
3 mile run

Friday:
3 mile run

Saturday:
3.5 mile run

Sunday:
hour of shoveling 10+" of icy, crusty, wet heavy snow...this counts!

I got a chance to run with my brother over the break, also. It was fun having a running buddy, although he isn't a runner by trade and had a little trouble keeping a steady pace. But, it meant we went faster then I normally would and it helped push me, so some of our runs were pretty tough! Coupled with crazy ice and snow, I was beat at the end.

Holiday Happenings

Greetings blog world! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday...whatever you celebrate. My husband and I were fortunate enough to spend Christmas with my family. It was cozy and relaxing mostly because it snowed a LOT and we couldn't really go anywhere. That was also a bad thing, because we weren't able to make it to see my in-laws. The roads were really bad and the main interstate we take to get there was closed because of the epic blizzard. We definitely missed them.

Here are some miscellaneous photos of my holiday week so far...


The dinner table awaits our Christmas Eve feast at my parents house.





My sister is the official present hander-outer.





Boys and their toys. My Dad got to make use of his new 4-wheeler with all the snow that needed moving.







Presents! Just a few of the wonderful gifts I received this year. I can't WAIT to start cooking and baking with them! In the top photo: Martha Stewart enameled cast iron pot (still in the plastic because I am weird like that), a new J.A. Henkels knife, oatmeal bowls (or whatever else I want to put in them), and immersion blender, Female Body Breakthrough by Rachel Cosgrove (more to come on that!), and a subscription to Real Simple that came with this dandy cookbook. In the second photo, two yummy cookbooks. I have only paged through the cupcakes, but they are adorable. And I already make so many Pioneer Woman recipes, why not just have a pretty book to go along with them?




My nephew Blake turned 1 this week, too. As you can see, there is quite the divide in the family when it comes to football. Blake is sporting his Bears onesie, while older brother Carter shows his Vikings pride. Poor Carter was "strong armed" into changing into his Bears jersey later in the evening by his Bears loving uncle, my husband seen below.





Blake and G were happy about the outcome of Monday's game. Aren't they just adorable? I think so anyway :)

I am so excited for New Years Eve tomorrow...we will be spending it with the mega cute little boys pictured above. Oh and their parents are pretty cool, too.

Work It Out

My weekly workout report for the week of December 14th-20th:

Monday:
-treadmill intervals (had thought about trying to run a steady 4 on the treadmill, but started and was full of energy so I did the intervals)

5 min warm up
6x 2 min @ 8.2, 3 min @ 5.5
8 min cool down jog
some walking, 2 min I think

Tuesday:
warm up stuff...
hang cleans to push press
3 x 5 x 65

front squat
6 x 65
6 x 75
6 x 75
6 x 75
5 x 85

lunge
4 x 6 x 75

Overhead squat(snatch grip)
2 x 45

bench press
4 x 6 x 65

cable row
8 x 60

standing/squating cable row
3 x 8 x 60

swiss ball crunch
3 x 10 x 25# plate

-2 mile jog

Wednesday:
treadmill intervals...again

5 min warm up
2 min @ 8.0, 8.0, 8.2, 8.2, 8.2, 8.2, 3 min in between at 5.5
5 min cool down
2-3 min walk

Thursday:
warm up stuff

deadlift
6 x 135
6 x 145
6 x 145
6 x 145* (*this is a PR for set/rep scheme)

Romanian deadlift
8 x 95
8 x 95
8 x 95
6 x 105

overhead squat(snatch grip)
3 x 45

inverted row
4 x 5 x BW

shoulder press
4 x 6 x 45 (bar)

reverse chin up
3 x 10sec x BW

Paloff press
3 x 8 x 60

-2 mile jog

Friday:
4 mile run outside, 36:00 or so.

Saturday:
35 minute walk outside

Sunday:
none

Southwestern Butternut Squash Soup with Chicken and Black Beans

I have been on a huge soup kick lately. It is so comforting in the cold weather, not to mention economical, easy, and tasty. One of my favorite food blogs is Cara's Cravings. Cara creates delicious, healthy recipes and includes nutrition facts and measurements in weights. I think if we met in real life, Cara and I would get along great.

Since I always have a butternut squash on hand either canned or fresh, it was easy to pull this together. I was also happy to find a healthy way to add thickness and creaminess to a soup without creamed soups or heavy cheeses. My husband approved - I think he liked this one better then the Tortilla soup from a few weeks ago.




Southwestern Butternut Squash Soup with Chicken and Black Beans
from Cara's Cravings

1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp minced chipotle peppers (I used more like 2 tbsp)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp cumin
4 cups light fat free chicken broth
6 cups cooked, mashed butternut squash or pumpkin (I used all squash, but next time I might do 2 cups pumpkin, 4 cups squash)
2 cups salsa
1 cup frozen corn
1lb (~2.5 cups) cooked roasted chicken, chopped (I shredded mine)
southwest seasoning, salt, pepper

In a large nonstick pot or dutch oven coated with cooking spray, saute onion for about 5 minutes or until soft. Add garlic and chipotle, and cook for one more minute. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for about 20-30 minutes to blend flavors. Garnish with fresh cilantro if desired.


As you can see, mine turned out a little darker in color then Cara's. I think its because I forgot to rinse the black beans.

Nutrition Facts for whole recipe:
Calories: 1419
Fat: 13g
Carbs: 182.5g
Protein: 133.5

Work It Out

My weekly workout report for the week of December 7th-13th:

Monday:

4 mile run, 36:00ish. The last day the temperature/wind combo was reasonable for outdoor running. Sigh.

Tuesday:

Home workout (the roads were horrible and I didn't feel like spending more time in my car...thank goodness for all the equipment I have at home)

warm up stuff with my 15# barbell....cleans, OH squats (ouch!), front squats, lunges

Front squats:
4 x 8 x 65

Push ups feet on step
4 x 8 x BW

Step Ups
4 x 8 x 20's

b/o db row
4 x 8 x 20's

side planks
2 x 30 sec each side

Wednesday:

t-mill intervals

5 min. warm up
1 min. @ 8.4, 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8, 8.9, 9.0 2 min. @ 5.5 in between
9 ish min. cool down
6 min. walk

Thursday:

warm up stuff with Oly bar...

Hang cleans
2 x 5 x 65

Deadlift
6 x 135
6 x 136
4 x 145
4 x 145
4 x 145

BSS
6 x 65
6 x 65
6 x 75
5 x 75

push press
5 x 65
5 x 65
5 x 65
5 x 65

Shoulder press s.setted with inverted row
5 x 45 (oly bar)
5 x 45
5 x 45
5 x 45

u/h grip Inverted row (yay smith machine)
5 x BW
5 x Bw
4 x BW
4 x BW

swiss ball crunch
3 x 10 x 25# plate

20 minute/2 mile jog

Friday:

t-mill intervals, 2 min/3min style
5 min warm up
5x 2min @ 8.0, 3min @ 5.5
5 min cool down
8 min walk

I did some random things in the weight room again...

OH squats - various weights
standing paloff press - 3 x 8 x 50

Saturday:

45 minute walk (brrr!)

Sunday:

30 minute walk (double brrr!)

Tempeh Curry

This recipe popped into my reader from 101 Cookbooks at just the right moment. It was chosen for a part of my vegan for a day challenge. First, this was a delicious recipe! Second, it was really healthy, and finally I am happy to say that I loved the tempeh. I was leary at first, since I have had my fair share of bad tofu and other soy products. The brand I used was Lightlife Organic Three Grain tempeh from Whole Foods. From what I have learned, tempeh when cooked right will take up the flavors it is cooked in.

Here is what the tempeh looks like right out of the package.



I slightly adapted the original recipe to make it vegan, including substituting Smart Balance spread for the butter and almond milk for the cream or creme fraiche. I had almond milk on hand, so I used that but Silk makes a soymilk cream that would have worked great here too. Another change was that I used green onion instead of clinatro. I also did not blend where it directs to use a hand blender since I don't have one (I hope to soon!). I will definitely be making this one again.



Link to original:Tempeh Curry
from 101 Cookbooks, (originally adapted from I am Almost Always Hungry by Lora Zarubin)

Here is what mine looked like:



Approx. Nutrition Facts for whole recipe:(using Smart Balance instead of butter, 1.25 lbs. russet potatoes, and unsweetened Almond Breeze almond milk instead of cream)

Calories: 1104
Fat: 65.5 grams
Carbs: 166 grams
Protein: 58 grams

Vegan for a day (almost)

After seeing some bloggers recently going vegan for a day, I thought it would be a fun challenge for myself, as well as earning some points in the Nestie Health and Fitness Holiday Challenge. One of the categories is eat vegan for a day. Well, I guess I can't give myself all the points, hence the almost.

I picked up some Silk brand yogurts, tapped into my stock of Larabars, had apples and almond butter on hand, and choose a great recipe to try for dinner. I was all set! And then, the snow came. Why would the snow affect me eating vegan? Well, let me tel you friends. It turns out a certain husband of mine got a snow day. It is rare and elusive...like a chupacabra. While he slept snuggly in bed, I trudged off to work (breakfast and lunches in hand) in the long, slow cold commute. When I FINALLY got home, I expected him to be playing video games. Nope! He was in the middle of baking chocolate chip cookies, wrapping presents, and doing laundry. (I heart him).

Now I have willpower most times, but after spending 45 minutes in the car, being freezing cold, and walking in to the most wonderful smell ever, I gave in and had a delicious still warm cookie. It was amazing. As I was about to finish my last bite....DOH! There are animal products in this thing! Eggs and semi sweet morsels. The morsels have milkfat. (Yes, these cookies used shortening instead of butter...I don't make a practice out of eating or using it, but a little will be okay. That is a discussion for another day!).

My lesson learned from this is just how hard it is to eat vegan. I commend those that do for so many reasons. I have learned a lot from a co-worker who is vegetarian just how hard that can be some days, and how some foods you would never imagine to have animal products. Of course, there are many different definitions of vegetarianism, and each person who chooses to eat vegan or veg has to decide that for themselves. It's a very personal thing!

Overall, I realized it was a challenge, but also realized how with careful planning and attention to the foods you eat, it can be done and can be a rewarding experience. I was happy to learn that there are a lot of great resources for substituting common cooking and baking ingredients out there. I was happy to learn I had quite a few on hand already.

So without further ado...some of the food I ate that day:


The Silk yogurts were pretty good. Of course, not anything like the food love of my life, Fage. It was really comparable to any regular dairy yogurt consistency wise. Maybe a little too sweet for my tastes?



And of course, you can't go wrong with Larabars. I found these mini-bars at Whole Foods. They are the perfect snack.

And on to dinner! (separate recipe post to follow)


Tempeh Curry. I loved the tempeh!

Then my sweet tooth called, and I had a favorite treat of mine:


Mix 2 servings of Chocolate PB2, 1/2 serving of Agave, and add water to desired texture. Tastes like PB cup pudding :)

Where's the beef?

A local site, Secrets of the City, had a post up Monday about a lawsuit by a Minnesota woman against local food/energy/crop/everything giant Cargill, for $100 million for becoming severely ill and now paralyzed after eating an E.Coli tainted burger traced back the the parent company. Back in October, the New York Times ran a story about her and what happened after eating a simple hamburger at her mother's home.

Andrew Zimmern calls the New York Times article "The Most Important Food Article in Years." I suggest you read it, too.

After watching Food Inc, and constantly reading about these sort of stories in the news, one can't help but be frustrated. Ground beef should be a simple product made of....yep beef that is ground up. Instead, large companies find more and more ways to cut corners by mixing all sorts of cheaper beef parts into the mix, leading to further contamination.

According to the article: "The frozen hamburgers that the Smiths ate, which were made by the food giant Cargill, were labeled “American Chef’s Selection Angus Beef Patties.” Yet confidential grinding logs and other Cargill records show that the hamburgers were made from a mix of slaughterhouse trimmings and a mash-like product derived from scraps that were ground together at a plant in Wisconsin. The ingredients came from slaughterhouses in Nebraska, Texas and Uruguay, and from a South Dakota company that processes fatty trimmings and treats them with ammonia to kill bacteria.

Using a combination of sources — a practice followed by most large producers of fresh and packaged hamburger — allowed Cargill to spend about 25 percent less than it would have for cuts of whole meat."

Awesome.

We can't live in fear constantly, but to advise being simply cautious of your food is an understatement. Always cook your meats and poultry to the proper temperature and assume everything that can be contaminated, is. If you can, get your beef ground for you at a local butcher shop. Wash your fruits and veggies before eating. Using ground turkey in place of beef may also be a decent alternative, but again cooking thoroughly is key.

Just another commentary on the sad state of the food industry. Hopefully, as more and more comes out about these practices and movies like Food Inc. are made, some legislation will start to change. It's hard to say when only a few companies in the U.S. control a majority of our food supply.

Have you changed the way you eat or prepare food as more and more recalls and stories of people becoming ill or dying come to light?

Other stuff I do...

I think I mentioned ages ago that we redid our one and only not-so-large bathroom. I can't say its 100% complete. A little touch up and some work on the ceiling are still on the docket, but for the most part I call it a success.

We were really lucky that our house didn't need a lot of work when we moved in. I was even really happy with a lot of the paint colors. Besides some cosmetic changes here and there, we haven't done a whole lot. I shouldn't sell myself too short because removing multiple layers of wall paper isn't nothing.

Case in point: the bathroom. The previous owners, and maybe even those before them decided to paint over textured wallpaper. The color was pleasant enough, but the texture bothered me, as well as the 1980's style cabinetry and glamorous vanity bulb light fixture.

But enough with the talking...it's easier just to show you.


Above is the bathroom from the real estate listing before we moved in.





We had already started to do some work here. At one point we had thought about just painting over the wallpaper again...I am so glad we decided not to.




Tools all lined up and ready to tear stuff down.


I should pause here and say that we are so thankful to our families - mostly our fathers who helped us with this whole project. My father in law built the cabinetry for us over the summer that I designed. My father helped us install a new toilet back in July, as well as helping us with the plumbing of the new sink, the faucet, the sink itself, the base cabinet for the sink, and some other fun unforeseen challenges that came up whenever a project like this gets started. He is the best at improvising!

After we decided to pull off the wall paper and many layers of paint that covered it, we needed some work done on the walls to get them ready for painting. While we were in Las Vegas, my father in law also came over to the house to do some sanding and mudding for us.

Dads....they are so great.

Here is the finished product:







Here is a rundown of where we got everything:

Paint - Behr color Cool Dusk

Cabinetry - drawn by me, built by my father in law, primed by my in-laws, and painted and installed by us

Cabinet hardware - Lowe's

Sink - Lowe's

Faucet - Price Pfister from Home Depot

Toilet - Kohler from Home Depot

Light Fixture - Hunter Douglas from Menards (I know it's hard to see in the picture)

Towel bar and toilet paper holder - Ikea

Shower Curtain - Target

Rug and Towels - CB2

Work It Out

Once again, I was thoroughly spoiled by the weather last week and was able to run outside. Alas, it has come to an end as the temps the past few days were in the 20's, and a winter storm warning is in effect tomorrow. Sigh.

In other workout news, I completed the November 30 day Kettlebell (dumbbells in my case) challenge at JP's. And I joined the December challenge, which is simply getting in 20 minutes of activity a day for the month. Sounds easy right? We shall see! So far I am doing great and it has already forced me outside to get my 20 minutes in.

I am also still participating in the Health and Fitness Nestie Holiday challenge. I am doing okay, but it's called a challenge for a reason.

November 30th - December 6th:

Monday:

4 mile run, 35:30 - this run felt really good.

200 swings, 4 x 25ea x 20#, single handed

Tuesday:

4 mile run, 34:10 - pretty sure this is a PR for 4 miles this year

200 swings, 4 x 25ea x 20#, single handed

Wednesday:

5 min warm up
intervals 1 min @ 8.4, 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8, 8.9, 9.0 mph, 2 min jog @5.5 in between
12 min cool down
6 minute walk

200 swings
4 x 25ea x 20#, single arm

Thursday:

hang clean to push press (not a jerk)
3 x 5 x 65

hang clean
2 x 6 x 65

deadlift
4 x 6 x 135

Bulgarian split squat
4 x 6 x 65

superset of next two
one arm db shoulder press
4 x 8 x 20s - BOO I am so weak on these

w/g lat pulldown
4 x 8 x 85

standing pallof press
2 x 10 x 40

planks
2 x 50 sec. - weak!

-2 mile jog

later...
200 swings, 4 x 25ea x 20#, single handed

Friday:

Treadmill intervals, 2 min. style on the 5's

5 min warm up
5x 2 min @ 8.0mph, 3 min @ 5.5mph
6ish min cool down
5ish min walk

-mobility stuff with the oly bar...working on ankles and proper form and all that jazz.

db swings:
4 x 25 x 25#, two handed

cable woodchop:
2 x 15 x 50

back extensions
2 x 15 x 20#

and the remaining swings...
4 x 25 x 20# single handed

Saturday:

-e-z 3 mile run

Sunday:

30 minute walk
200 swings, 4 x 25ea x 20#, single handed

Chicken Tortilla Soup

It seems that winter has finally arrived here in great North. Current temp: 16. All this cold has got me craving warm foods, so I decided on a simple soup recipe the other day. This made a TON of soup. My husband, G and I had this for many meals this week. You could definitely freeze it, too. I didn't follow one recipe to a T, but this was adapted from Josie at Pink Parsley, as well as wanting to create a healthy soup that tastes good. A few weeks ago G made his old standby recipe for tortilla soup that is just a little too creamy (Velveeta and creamed soups) and salty (multiple high sodium canned items) for my tastes, which have changed dramatically over the past 2 years. Oh yeah, this is really easy too!

Chicken Tortilla Soup
adapted from Pink Parsley, which was adapted from The Pastry Queen, by Rebecca Rather


Ingredients:

1.25 pounds (20 oz.) of boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded
4 cups low sodium chicken broth (I get Pacific organic from Costco)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium red onion, diced
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 Serrano peppers (or one large jalapeno, seeded and diced
1 15 oz. can of low sodium black beans, drained (rinse if you prefer)
1 15.25 oz. can of whole kernel corn (frozen will work, too)
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 14.5 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes
1-2 tsp. Cumin
1 tbsp. chili powder (adjust to your own tastes)

Directions:

In a dutch oven, heat oil on medium-high. When oil is hot, add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Next, add onion and pepper. Cook until softened, then add in cumin and chili powder.

After a minute or two, add chicken stock. Bring to a simmer then add Serrano peppers, continue to simmer for a few minutes, then add in tomato paste. Combine well. In a separate bowl, mash the whole peeled tomatoes to a smooth consistency with a potato masher, or if you prefer them to be really smooth, place tomatoes in a food processor. Add in mashed tomatoes to soup mixture.

Next, add in black beans, corn and chicken. Continue to summer for 10-20 minutes, and adjust seasonings to taste.

Top with shredded cheese and/or crushed tortilla chips, or toppings of your choice.

This made about 16 cups of soup.

Nutrition Facts (does not include optional toppings)
for whole recipe
Calories: 1634.5
Fat: 26.54 grams
Carbs: 180.5 grams
Protein: 174 grams

For about 1 cup, or 1/16th of recipe:
Calories: 102.15
Fat: 1.65 grams
Carbs: 11.28 grams
Protein: 10.87 grams

Work It Out

A day late...again! I completely forgot to post this yesterday.

A little less to report because of the Thanksgiving holiday. Although I got two great runs in while at home around my old stompin' grounds and old running routes. I always enjoy running in new territory, even though this was new "old" territory...or something like that.

Monday:

t-mill intervals (decided to switch it up and do 2 minute work intervals instead of 1 minute)

5 min warm up @ 5.5mph
2 min @ 8.2 5X, 3 min @ 5.5 in between
5 min cool down
5 min walk

200 swings, 4 x 50 single handed

Tuesday:

Hang cleans to Push Press (not really a jerk since i didn't pause, there is probably a better name for what I was doing)

3 x 5 x 65

Hang Cleans
3 x 5 x 65

Front Squats
6 x 65
3 x 6 x 75

neutral grip lat pulldown supersetted with db swings
4 x 6 x 95

db swings
4 x 25 x 25# two handed

cable woodchop
2 x 12 x 50
kneeling paloff (palloff?)press
2 x 12 x 30

-2 mile jog

Wednesday: none
Thursday:

My very own Turkey Trot! 4.6 mile run, roughly 45 minutes
200 swings, 4 x 50 x 20#, two handed

Friday:

3.84 mile run, roughly 35 minutes
200 swings, 4 x 25ea x 20#, single handed

Saturday: none

Sunday:

200 swings, 4 x 25ea x 20#, single handed