POM goodness

About a week ago I received a wonderful surprise from the good folks at POM Wonderful...a case of POM juice! I have always loved the taste of pomegranate juice and all the great health benefits of this antioxidant superstar. Usually I like to drink it plain or with mixed with a little fizz from a Sprite or Sierra mist soda.

I was inspired by the cute KaPOM! tag on the bottle to come up with a way to use the juice in a sauce, preferably one with heat. We are big fans of hot and spicy foods at the BNL household. I took inspiration from a few recipes for orange chicken - you know the kind found at your local food court or Trader Joe's freezer case - and added some POM goodness to the mix. Now, this sauce is hot, so if you are sensitive to heat, tone down the chili paste. I don't think it would be as good without the heat, but try it out and see what you think.

I used this sauce and tossed it with cooked boneless chicken breast strips served over brown rice. It would lend itself well to a stir fry type dish, and I will most likely make it again in place of a bottled sauce next time we make a veggie stir fry.




My dish - chicken breast, POM sweet and hot sauce, and brown rice.



POM Sweet and Hot Sauce

Ingredients
8 oz (1 cup) POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate juice
1/4 cup orange juice
3T Raw agave sweetener (you can also use honey)
1/4 dry sherry
1T cornstarch
2T chili paste such as Sambal Oelek (again, use 1T or less for less heat)
1/2 cup (3 stalks) green onion, chopped

Directions
Combine POM juice, orange juice, sherry, agave, and chili paste in a pot over medium heat. Bring to a low boil. Reduce heat and continue to simmer until sauce begins to thicken slightly. Add green onion. In a small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in water, stir, and add slowly to sauce. Continue cooking in med-low heat until sauce begins to thicken and form a glaze like texture. Reduce heat. Add to your stir fry mix or cooked chicken (or whatever you are making!), toss to coat. Serve over rice or noodles.

Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken

I have been wanting to use the slow cooker/crock pot for a while now, and have saved a few recipes for pulled beef and pork, but when I saw this recipe on Apple A Day, I thought it looked perfect. I used all boneless skinless chicken breasts, and it still turned out perfectly tender without the added fat. This makes a lot of chicken, but it freezes well. My husband and I have been enjoying it all week! I have used it in a tortilla shell with cheese for a burrito, on a pita with veggies and baked for a quick pizza, and even for nachos.


My slow cooker pulled chicken pita pizza, awaiting veggies and cheese.


Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken
from Apple A Day, adapted from EatingWell.com

Ingredients:
1 (14 oz.) can tomato sauce
2-3 chipotle chiles in adobo, finely minced
1/4 c. cider vinegar
3 TBSP honey
1 TBSP plus 2 tsp. sweet or smoked paprika
2 TBSP tomato paste (I used almost half the can, only because I didn't want to save the little extra!)
2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
3 tsp. dry mustard
1 TBSP chili powder
1 tsp. salt
3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs and breasts, trimmed of fat (I used all boneless, skinless breasts)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:
1. Stir tomato sauce, chiles, vinegar, honey, paprika, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, chili powder and salt in a 6-quart slow cooker until smooth. Add chicken, onion and garlic; stir to combine.

2. Put the lid on and cook on low until the chicken can be pulled apart, about 5-6 hours.*

3. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and shred with a fork. Return the chicken to the sauce, stir well and serve. Serves 8-10.


*My chicken wasn't completely thawed when I started this, so I cooked it on high for 2 hours, then switched it back to low for another 4 hours.

Nutrition Facts for total recipe:
Calories: 1974
Fat: 12g
Carbs: 107g
Protein: 328g

Per serving, makes 10 generous servings:
Calories: 197.4
Fat: 1.2g
Carbs: 10.7g
Protein: 32.8g

A few things...

First, my little brother recently celebrated his 23rd birthday. Him and I are very similar, but very different at the same time. We love music, working out, the movie Anchorman, and Dunkin Donuts coffee. He is my fitness/athletic hero, having always been an awesome athlete, and he continues to be awesome by playing college hockey and kicking butt and taking names in the weight room. I envy his math skills, as well as his general carefree outlook on life, but not his ability to break/destroy cell phones. We have had a lot of great memories over the years and I know there will be a lot more to come. Here are some vintage beesknees and bro photos to celebrate:


Love the bow tie! And my 80's girlmullet hair cut. You know you had one too! No? You didn't? Oh man.



He has always had sweet hair...something of a conversation piece these days although it's pretty typical hockey hair.


Seen here more recently with his back up cell phone for when he destroys or breaks the current one. It comes with its own leather carrying case.



Second, I created a new header for the blog. If you are seeing this in reader, go check it out and let me know what you think. I hope to keep updating the look and format of the blog as I stumble my way through learning more about html and css.

Lastly, I received a fun surprise on my doorstep last week! Stay tuned.

Work It Out, extended edition

Epic fail by me...I missed last week's report! So here is the last two weeks of workouts, from Jan. 11th - 24th!

Monday, January 11:

Back squats: (haven't done these in months!)

8 x 95
6 x 115
6 x 115
6 x 115

Barbell Lunge:

6 x 75
6 x 75
6 x 75

single leg squat (on bench)
3 x 5 x BW

next two superset
db bench press:
10 x 30's
8 x 30's
8 x 30's
8 x 30's

db one arm row
4 x 8 x 25

side planks
2 x 30sec each side

2 mile jog

Tuesday, January 12:
4 mile run outdoors

Wednesday, January 13:
3.5+ mile run outdoors

Thursday, January 14:
deadlift
8 x 135
5 x 155
4 x 155
4 x 155

next two supersetted
RDL
4 x 8 x 95
reverse chin up
4 x 2 x BW (about 15 sec each)

next two supersetted
Paloff press
3 x 8 x 60
u/h grip lat pulldown
3 x 8 x 85

2 mile jog

Friday, January 15:
4 mile run outdoors

Saturday, January 16:
30 min. walk

Sunday January 17:
3 mile run outdoors

Monday, January 18:
30 min. walk

Tuesday, January 19:
back squat
8 x 95
6 x 115
6 x 115
6 x 115

lunge
6 x 65
6 x 65
6 x 75
6 x 75

bench press
8 x 65
8 x 65
6 x 65
10 x 65

seated cable row
8 x 60
8 x 60
8 x 60
6 x 75

planks
2 x 1 min ea

-2 mile jog

Wednesday, January 20:
t-mill intervals
5 min warm up @ 5.5
5x 2 min @ 8.0, 3 min @ 5.5
8 min cool down
some walking

Thursday, January 21:
3 mile run outdoors

Friday, January 22:
deadlift
8 x 95
8 x 135
4 x 155
4 x 155
4 x 155

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

next two supersetted
reverse hanging chin up
4 x 2 x BW, about 15 sec each

inverted row
4 x 6 x BW

next two supersetted
Paloff press
3 x 8 x 60

u/h grip lat pulldown
3 x 8 x 85

-2 mile jog

Saturday, January 23:
none, rest day!

Sunday, January 24:
3.5 ish mile run outdoors

Baby Brussels

There are quite a few foods I haven't yet eaten. Mostly exotic things that I consider once in a lifetime things, but some are rather accessible. Some foods I choose not to eat, but others I either haven't had a chance or just haven't made them at home. A few things I don't eat: celery, canned tuna, canned chicken (they smell funny), and ice berg lettuce (I will eat it, but will avoid it if possible). Sure there are other things I am not crazy about, but I will eat them if need be.

I have made it almost 28 years without eating Brussels sprouts. Why? I have no idea. I think they are one of those things that people talk about being bad, but don't really know any better. Or, maybe they had them prepared badly. I decided to play it safe the first time and but frozen baby Brussels sprouts and steam them. Then I added them to one of my random skillet creations, this time of Amylu apple and gouda chicken sausage and a honeycrisp apple. Success! I loved them. They are a cute little lettuce like package in a perfect bite size. I am excited to explore more ways to eat my Brussels.

Below is a picture of said skillet creation. I love throwing apples into otherwise savory dishes.

Amazingly Creamy Pumpkin Penne....err Rotini

This is simply another great recipe from Cara's Cravings! As the title alludes, I used rotini pasta instead of penne. I don’t eat a lot of pasta, so I don’t keep up with our stock and apparently we were all out of penne. No problem, rotini worked just fine. My husband doesn’t get overly excited about much, and usually has to be prompted for comments about food, so I was a little nervous on this one mostly because he doesn’t really like pumpkin. I tried to have it made by the time he got home so he wouldn’t notice the empty can of pumpkin or the title on the recipe. So after a few bites when he said (without me asking) “This is really good,” I was excited. And even when I asked him what he thought of the pumpkin, he said he couldn’t taste it much. I could because I am somewhat of a pumpkin fan, but it was not nearly as noticeable as I thought it would be for all those who have any preconceived notions of what you think pumpkin tastes like.

One small change I made was the addition of more chicken sausage. I had an opened package that needed to be used before it went bad, so I added two more links to my recipe. Just like Cara, my chicken sausages have 110 calories a piece, so it was easy to do the math. I have been buying Amylu Apple and Gouda chicken sausages from Costco. They are all natural, have a great taste, and end up being about the same or less in price compared to Trader Joe’s chicken sausages which I really like.

Amazingly Creamy Pumpkin Penne/Rotini
From Cara’s Cravings

Ingredients
4 oz penne pasta
2 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced (about 75gm)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
about 2T chopped fresh sage
2 links cooked chicken sausage, sliced I used 4 Amylu Apple Gouda
1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese (1% milk fat)
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup nonfat milk
pinch of nutmeg
5oz torn spinach, thick stems removed
grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese, optional

Directions
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook gently for about 10-15minutes, until softened and beginning to caramelize. Add garlic, sage, and chicken sausage; continue to saute.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions.

In a blender, combine pumpkin, cottage cheese, and milk. Blend until no lumps are present. (I did this step in a medium bowl with my immersion blender because I am lazy and like to use my new toys). Add to sausage mixture in skillet and continue to cook over low heat. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg.

Drain pasta and return to pot over low heat. Add sausage mixture and baby spinach, and toss together. Cover for a few minutes to let the spinach wilt. Serve with parmesan cheese, if desired.

For nutrition facts, see here.

Work It Out and an update

Lots of big change in my life as of late...more on that to come, but for now I am busy in a different sort of way. I have lots of posts waiting to be written! More recipes and general bloggy goodness. Look for more starting next week!

For now, here is my weekly workout report for the week of January 4th - 10th:

Monday:
treadmill intervals
5 min warm up @ 5.5mph
5x 2 min @ 8.0, 3 min @ 5.5
7 min cool down
5 min walk

Tuesday:

Front Squat
6 x 65
6 x 85
6 x 85
5 x 95
3 x 95

Hang clean
3 x 5 x 65

step up
4 x 6 x 25's (wow - hadn't done these in a while)

seated cable row
4 x 8 x 60

push up w/feet on step
4 x 8 x BW

Paloff press
3 x 8 x 60

2 mile jog

Wednesday:
4 mile run outdoors, it was cold! (didn't really keep time)

Thursday:
deadlift
6 x 135
5 x 155
3 x 155
8 x 135 (trying to build back up on these)

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

next two supersetted
negative chins
4 x 2 x BW, about 15 seconds ea

inverted row on the smith machine (about mid stomach height)
4 x 5 x BW

next two supersetted
swiss ball crunch
4 x 10 x 25#

u/h grip lat pulldown
4 x 6 x 90

2 mile jog

And then snow shoveling! It was light and fluffy this time thankfully, still took me 45 minutes and I wore my HR monitor - burned 230 cals.

Friday:
4 mile run on the treadmill

Saturday:
none
Sunday:
none

Whoohoo!

Check this out...



WARMTH! Which also means sloppy wet roads and trails, but I will gladly bust out the old running shoes for those temps.

Work It Out, New Years week edition

I hope the first 4 days of 2010 are treating everyone well!

My weekly workout report for the week of Dec. 28th - Jan. 3rd:

Monday:
4 mile run...about 38:00. Temp was around 15, windchill 5 ish.

I realized quickly last night that trying to keep the same times and pace as I do when its warmer and the running surface isn't icy/bumpy/snowy/slippery is just not going to happen.

Tuesday:
t-mill 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

Wednesday:
I got to work out with one of my bestest friends and be her "personal trainer" of sorts :) It was so fun! Basically we ran through all of the exercises on Stage 1 of NROL4W and then some...

-squat
-deadlift
-lunge
-bench press/push up
-shoulder press
-BSS
-lat pulldown
-cable seated row
-prone jackknife
-swiss ball crunch
-cable woodchop

Then I did a 2 mile jog on the treadmill and a few sets of hang cleans for good measure.

Thursday:
barbell complex - 6 rounds of 6 reps each, 1 min rest between rounds

-bent over row
-hang clean
-front squat to push press
-lunge
-good morning

I did the first 5 rounds with just the bar, then I did 55 for the last round just to step it up a notch.

-dumbbell swings, 2x15x25
-cable woodchop, 2x12x50

-2 mile jog

Friday:
none!

Saturday:
200 db swings, 20#

Sunday:
4.25 mile run on the treadmill. Unfortunately, it's treadmill season. Boo.

A new decade

I sat and reflected on all the things that have happened in my life in the last decade. Graduating high school, getting through a tough program in college, meeting my future husband, graduating college, getting my first real job in the real world, getting married, buying a house, and most recently gaining the knowledge and putting into action my fitness and weight loss goals...to name a few. I hope the "10's" will be just as good to me!

I have a long standing resolution not to make resolutions. I have never been really good at setting goals in general. The first time I actually wrote out any goals was after reading the book The Body Fat Solution by Tom Venuto. It really helped me realize how important goal setting is - in all aspects of life. I think I have always had general goals, you know stuff like graduate college, get married, buy a house...but never anything really specific like monthly or even weekly goals. So instead of calling them resolutions, I will call these goals for 2010 and work on monthly goals as the year goes on to make them happen. Here are some of the things I want to accomplish next year, in no particular order:

Quantifiable:
-Run a 5k race
-Deadlift 200 pounds
-Do 10 chin ups

Not quantifiable:
-Improve my healthy cooking skills
-Continue to expand my fitness and nutrition knowledge through this blog and all of the wonderful resources I have discovered over the past 2 years
-Continue working towards a cleaner, more earth friendly, and responsible diet while still meeting my goals performance wise

One of the most powerful tools in goal achievement is accountability. So now that they are out there, I have accountability to get them done.