Dare I say the workouts are getting easier? I guess easier isn't the right word, but I'm making it through with fewer breaks. The breaks I do take are much later into the workout, usually during the exercises done from plank position (ski abs - oh how I hate you while I love you). My shoulders and arms just can't hold up to last to the end. But, I'll take any progress as good progress. I noticed my husband is much further into his stretches than he was when we started too (which wasn't very far at all). And no more back pain for me - guess I improved my form.
My view so far: The workouts are intense and effective. I think my belly went down a little already and my butt is firmer. I do wish there were more muscle building exercises incorporated, but Insanity was not meant to be that kind of workout - although I did pick up the upper body weight training DVD via eBay that apparently came with the deluxe Insanity package. Guess I just miss the weight training from my P90X run and I have gone back to them on my rest days so far. The ideal program would combine Insanity's cardio and P90X's weight training - that would be awesome! I'm also getting bored with the warm up already. It's the same thing for the same 9 minutes most of the week. A little more variety would have been nice. But, I like it. I feel so good and energized when I'm done. The ultimate endorphin rush! My husband has thanked me about a dozen times so far for getting him to do this. Now that's something! We will keep pushing play and digging deeper until we get to the end.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Kid Friendly - Honey Mustard, etc Chicken Strips
Did you ever have one of those days where you know you have chicken breasts sitting in the fridge but you are just so tired of the usual grilling or sauteing or frying... That's how I was today. I knew the 2 packages were in there and had to be used but I just wanted to order a pizza! Then, like a ray of sunshine (there is a pun on the way here) the mailman delivered my Rachel Ray magazine. Half way through the mag I saw her honey mustard sesame chicken strips. OMG, I can do that! And I can do a healthier version to boot!! Dinner was in the bag - or mag. Yeah I know, try the veal, I'm here all week! dah dum dum :)
Honey Mustard Oven "Fried" Chicken Strips
1/2 cup good mustard
1/2 cup honey
2 tbsp hot sauce (or more)
2 eggs
chicken breasts cut into tenders
1/2 cup almonds (ground in food processor)
1 cup whole wheat panko
1/4 cup sesame seeds
olive oil for cooking sheet
Heat oven to 400. Oil up your cooking sheet.
In a bowl, combine the mustard, honey and hot sauce. Add eggs and beat with a fork to combine. In a separate bowl, combine your ground almonds, panko and sesame seeds. We only had black on hand, but it made for nice color.
Dip your chicken strips into the honey mustard mixture and then dredge in the panko mixture. Place on baking sheet.
Cook to desired doneness and serve with some good hot sauce. We used a green jalapeno sauce. Mmmmm. I promise that someday I'll work on making my food pictures all pretty and appetizing, but for now, take my word for it. These were delicious!
I am happy to report that both kids cleaned their plates! My daughter too - which is a real feat. I'm always so tempted to say nanny nanny poo poo you guys just ate almonds and mustard and hot sauce and on and on. But, I kept my mouth shut and will store this recipe for frequent use.
Honey Mustard Oven "Fried" Chicken Strips
1/2 cup good mustard
1/2 cup honey
2 tbsp hot sauce (or more)
2 eggs
chicken breasts cut into tenders
1/2 cup almonds (ground in food processor)
1 cup whole wheat panko
1/4 cup sesame seeds
olive oil for cooking sheet
Heat oven to 400. Oil up your cooking sheet.
In a bowl, combine the mustard, honey and hot sauce. Add eggs and beat with a fork to combine. In a separate bowl, combine your ground almonds, panko and sesame seeds. We only had black on hand, but it made for nice color.
Cook to desired doneness and serve with some good hot sauce. We used a green jalapeno sauce. Mmmmm. I promise that someday I'll work on making my food pictures all pretty and appetizing, but for now, take my word for it. These were delicious!
I am happy to report that both kids cleaned their plates! My daughter too - which is a real feat. I'm always so tempted to say nanny nanny poo poo you guys just ate almonds and mustard and hot sauce and on and on. But, I kept my mouth shut and will store this recipe for frequent use.
Weekend Eats in Pictures
Two large freelance projects kind of derailed my food logging for the weekend, but I did make it to the farmer's market and did NOT resort to convenience foods. Also found time to hit the mall early on Monday for the Labor Day sales, and oh yes, four pairs of pants were purchased in a smaller size! Hello Shaun T, goodbye muffin top!
Here's a little photo show of some of the various (and yummy) things I ingested. LOL Not so bad for a holiday weekend - probably because most of it was spent at my desk.
Skebbies with garlic bread and hot chicken sausage:
Farmer's Market Finds - black Russian onion bread with heirloom tomatoes and fresh mozz (pronounced "mootz" of course):
Pork and beans:
Pina colada protein pancakes (add ins: coconut, macadamia nuts, vanilla and crushed pineapple) cooked in coconut oil:
Lower fat mac & cheese:
BBQ a la the Mr.:
A few sips of:
Random "hanging in the backyard" cuteness:
I hope everybody thoroughly enjoyed their holiday weekend and that is was full of good food, relaxation and family!
Here's a little photo show of some of the various (and yummy) things I ingested. LOL Not so bad for a holiday weekend - probably because most of it was spent at my desk.
Skebbies with garlic bread and hot chicken sausage:
Friday, September 3, 2010
Menu - Sept 3 & Insanity Day 6
Late, late, late. This is how today is going so far. Woke up - late. Husband woke up - even later. Ok, let's go work out. Nope. Someone needed coffee first. Barf! Work out - late. Shower - late. Work - yeah, I was late for that too. Ah well. Let's hope the rest of the day brings me back on schedule. TGIF!
On the bright side, today was the last day of our first week of Insanity with Plyo Cardio Circuit. Woohoo, we made it. We also did on this on Monday which really effected my lower back. But today we found out why. My form during the power squats was way off. I am leaning forward too much. As soon as I did one today, there was the pain. Had my husband watch my form and help me correct it. That's one of the nice things about working out with a partner. Hoping next week I'll do better with those. All in all though, now that we are done learning the moves, I can say that this is one killer workout. My goodness, there was sweat flinging everywhere. So gross yet so good! Note to self - obtain heart rate monitor so I can see exactly how many calories we are burning during these grueling circuits.
Breakfast:
Of course, after that killer workout I was starving with a capital S. I knew I needed something hearty. Irish oatmeal! Yummy. Today I fortified it with some pumpkin, honey and walnuts. Recipe: 1 cup 2% milk, 1/2 cup oats, 1 tbsp pumpkin, a dash of vanilla and cinnamon, handful of crushed walnuts - cook. Drizzled on some honey and added a pinch of brown sugar when it was done. Twas good!
Someone recently asked about my supplements. I only take one kind, two pills in the morning. The Super Vita-CoQ10 Formula by BlueBonnet pictured below. These are kind of expensive ($29 for 60), but I do feel differently since using them and they contain a ton of vitamins and antioxidants which I unfortunately lack in my diet. They are supposed to be energizing, and I feel they help get me going in the morning. The first few days I used them though, I had trouble sleeping and just didn't feel tired. Thankfully, that wore off after a few days.
Lunch:
10am pb&j (I was a half hour early today - trying to counteract all the lateness from this morning). Packed a slice of the Indian pizza from last night and ate it cold. OMG, so good that way too. Side of red grapes. Yeah, nothing green has entered my body yet today. Sigh...
Mid-Day:
I had a bit of a drive this afternoon to pick up my kids from their dad's so 1/2 a pecan pie Lara bar it was. Carefully eaten while driving. Was hoping to ward off any cravings for NYC pizza during the trip - so hard to say no though.
Dinner:
Green!! I had a healthy portion of broccoli with my oven "fried" chicken strips (recipe to post shortly) and brown rice. It's not enough, but at least it's something.
On the bright side, today was the last day of our first week of Insanity with Plyo Cardio Circuit. Woohoo, we made it. We also did on this on Monday which really effected my lower back. But today we found out why. My form during the power squats was way off. I am leaning forward too much. As soon as I did one today, there was the pain. Had my husband watch my form and help me correct it. That's one of the nice things about working out with a partner. Hoping next week I'll do better with those. All in all though, now that we are done learning the moves, I can say that this is one killer workout. My goodness, there was sweat flinging everywhere. So gross yet so good! Note to self - obtain heart rate monitor so I can see exactly how many calories we are burning during these grueling circuits.
Breakfast:
Of course, after that killer workout I was starving with a capital S. I knew I needed something hearty. Irish oatmeal! Yummy. Today I fortified it with some pumpkin, honey and walnuts. Recipe: 1 cup 2% milk, 1/2 cup oats, 1 tbsp pumpkin, a dash of vanilla and cinnamon, handful of crushed walnuts - cook. Drizzled on some honey and added a pinch of brown sugar when it was done. Twas good!
Someone recently asked about my supplements. I only take one kind, two pills in the morning. The Super Vita-CoQ10 Formula by BlueBonnet pictured below. These are kind of expensive ($29 for 60), but I do feel differently since using them and they contain a ton of vitamins and antioxidants which I unfortunately lack in my diet. They are supposed to be energizing, and I feel they help get me going in the morning. The first few days I used them though, I had trouble sleeping and just didn't feel tired. Thankfully, that wore off after a few days.
Lunch:
10am pb&j (I was a half hour early today - trying to counteract all the lateness from this morning). Packed a slice of the Indian pizza from last night and ate it cold. OMG, so good that way too. Side of red grapes. Yeah, nothing green has entered my body yet today. Sigh...
Mid-Day:
I had a bit of a drive this afternoon to pick up my kids from their dad's so 1/2 a pecan pie Lara bar it was. Carefully eaten while driving. Was hoping to ward off any cravings for NYC pizza during the trip - so hard to say no though.
Dinner:
Green!! I had a healthy portion of broccoli with my oven "fried" chicken strips (recipe to post shortly) and brown rice. It's not enough, but at least it's something.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Pizza with an Indian Flair
I have a guilty pleasure. Food Network television! If the kids aren't otherwise occupying the tv, food network it is. My husband and I got into Next Food Network Star again this season even though early on in the show I am so uncomfortable watching these poor contestants try to work in front of the camera. I was Team Herb (hello, he's cute, personable, cute, buff and did I mention cute), but I knew Aarti would win as her theme was so interesting and very unique from other shows already on the network.
On the episode where the finalists had to film their pilot, I was so taken by Aarti's pizza recipe that I had to give it a go. I don't care for prosciutto though, so mine uses shrimp.
The pizza tasted so incredibly good. The spice is not a hot spicy, but a very subtle warm kind of heated flavor (if that makes any sense) which lingers a while after you've eaten, and I cannot begin to tell you how good the paneer tastes with the chutney sauce. I highly recommend bringing these flavors together. We will be using this again.
What was so exciting too about this pizza was working with new ingredients!! I love picking up new stuff at the store to "play" with. Here's what we have today:
I know, I know, homemade chutney is easy to make. BUT, I've worked with mangoes before and have vowed never to do it again. They are a total pain in the butt! The paneer (which took trips to two supermarkets to find - I totally should've known to go straight to Whole Foods) freaked me out a bit as it does not melt so it resembled tofu. But it browned nicely and had a wonderful flavor and texture.
Shrimp Pizza with Spicy Mango Chutney Sauce
whole wheat pizza dough
6 tbsp spicy mango chutney (I didn't make this myself)
2 cups tomato sauce (this I did make myself)
1 lb shrimp, cleaned and deveined and sauteed
1/2 block paneer, in pieces
1/4 tsp cumin
red pepper flakes, to taste
grated Parmesan cheese, optional
cornmeal for stone or baking sheet
Heat oven to 450. Sprinkle cornmeal on your stone or baking sheet and spread the dough. Let it rest and come to room temp.
To make your sauce, heat the chutney and tomato sauce over medium heat and stir to combine. Top dough with your prepared chutney sauce and the sauteed shrimp. As per a comment on my previous shrimp pizza post by Stephen C, I left them a tad undercooked so they will finish while the pizza cooks without getting rubbery. Thanks Stephen! Sprinkle on the paneer pieces and top with red pepper flake, cumin and parm (if desired).
Cook and eat! Unfortunately my dough decided to stick to the stone today. Badly. In all my years of pizza making, this is a first. I think I went too heavy on the sauce and it soaked through and stuck. So please, heavily cornmeal your stones people and be careful with the sauce so you don't end up eating shrimp chutney pizza mash like we did. Thankfully, it tasted good and I did manage to get two nearly perfect slices.
It's an adults only night so when I passed this wine at Whole Foods, I couldn't resist. The name explains my life! :) Since I know nothing of explaining wine flavors, notes, etc., I'll just tell you I liked it. And it was on sale. Woohoo!
Also decided to try out a new chocolate. The chocolate bar display at Whole Foods is so interesting. So many neat flavors to try (similar to their immense wall o' nutrition bars). This one is coconut curry in milk chocolate. It was different. Seriously, it tasted like the chicken tikka I had for lunch but yet there was a desserty quality to it. Not sure I like it but I don't hate it. I could still feel the curry on the back of my throat several minutes after I had a bite.
And there we have it. I lovely, romantic dinner for two. Only, the Mr. got stuck at work so I ate alone (and enjoyed every minute of it).
I'm anxious to see what the new Aarti Party has in store. It is a great idea for a show - a little flavor of India in your everyday dishes and this recipe certainly didn't disappoint. Guilty tv pleasures anyone?
On the episode where the finalists had to film their pilot, I was so taken by Aarti's pizza recipe that I had to give it a go. I don't care for prosciutto though, so mine uses shrimp.
The pizza tasted so incredibly good. The spice is not a hot spicy, but a very subtle warm kind of heated flavor (if that makes any sense) which lingers a while after you've eaten, and I cannot begin to tell you how good the paneer tastes with the chutney sauce. I highly recommend bringing these flavors together. We will be using this again.
What was so exciting too about this pizza was working with new ingredients!! I love picking up new stuff at the store to "play" with. Here's what we have today:
I know, I know, homemade chutney is easy to make. BUT, I've worked with mangoes before and have vowed never to do it again. They are a total pain in the butt! The paneer (which took trips to two supermarkets to find - I totally should've known to go straight to Whole Foods) freaked me out a bit as it does not melt so it resembled tofu. But it browned nicely and had a wonderful flavor and texture.
Shrimp Pizza with Spicy Mango Chutney Sauce
whole wheat pizza dough
6 tbsp spicy mango chutney (I didn't make this myself)
2 cups tomato sauce (this I did make myself)
1 lb shrimp, cleaned and deveined and sauteed
1/2 block paneer, in pieces
1/4 tsp cumin
red pepper flakes, to taste
grated Parmesan cheese, optional
cornmeal for stone or baking sheet
Heat oven to 450. Sprinkle cornmeal on your stone or baking sheet and spread the dough. Let it rest and come to room temp.
To make your sauce, heat the chutney and tomato sauce over medium heat and stir to combine. Top dough with your prepared chutney sauce and the sauteed shrimp. As per a comment on my previous shrimp pizza post by Stephen C, I left them a tad undercooked so they will finish while the pizza cooks without getting rubbery. Thanks Stephen! Sprinkle on the paneer pieces and top with red pepper flake, cumin and parm (if desired).
Cook and eat! Unfortunately my dough decided to stick to the stone today. Badly. In all my years of pizza making, this is a first. I think I went too heavy on the sauce and it soaked through and stuck. So please, heavily cornmeal your stones people and be careful with the sauce so you don't end up eating shrimp chutney pizza mash like we did. Thankfully, it tasted good and I did manage to get two nearly perfect slices.
It's an adults only night so when I passed this wine at Whole Foods, I couldn't resist. The name explains my life! :) Since I know nothing of explaining wine flavors, notes, etc., I'll just tell you I liked it. And it was on sale. Woohoo!
Also decided to try out a new chocolate. The chocolate bar display at Whole Foods is so interesting. So many neat flavors to try (similar to their immense wall o' nutrition bars). This one is coconut curry in milk chocolate. It was different. Seriously, it tasted like the chicken tikka I had for lunch but yet there was a desserty quality to it. Not sure I like it but I don't hate it. I could still feel the curry on the back of my throat several minutes after I had a bite.
And there we have it. I lovely, romantic dinner for two. Only, the Mr. got stuck at work so I ate alone (and enjoyed every minute of it).
I'm anxious to see what the new Aarti Party has in store. It is a great idea for a show - a little flavor of India in your everyday dishes and this recipe certainly didn't disappoint. Guilty tv pleasures anyone?
Menu - Sept 2 & Insanity Day 5
Pure Cardio this morning. Pure? Hmmm....what could that mean? Well, lemme tell ya - they should call it Pure Hell on Earth. This is an intense cardio workout without intervals. In other words, there is not even the usual 30 second rest between sets. It is about 17 minutes of constant movement - intense movement. Each new move is continued for one minute. For those of you who think you can do anything for just a minute, think again my friends! I held on pretty good, but I don't think I did more than 3 reps of the last two exercises. Having those plank position moves at the end of the routine is just nuts. I have no strength left to hold my body up. So, I watched the last 15 seconds count down on the clock on my knees gasping for air. But, I feel pretty darn good right now.
Breakfast:
After that workout, a girl needs a good (big) breakfast. Enter three hard boiled egg whites, spelt toast with a teeny smidge of butter and two chicken sausage links (could only stuff down one, so Rico was a happy pup this morning between his usual egg yolks and sausage too).
Lunch:
10:30 pb&j. Should I even enter this anymore? It's so predictable. I packed up the leftover chicken tikka and lentil salad with brown rice for work. I so love this dish and my Indian spice kit just arrived so I'm hoping to make a healthier version of this soon!
Mid-Day Nosh:
Yeah, it's hot here again. 2 chocolate lace cookies in the belly. :(
Dinner:
A little Indian inspired shrimp pizza with a spicy mango chutney tomato sauce. Recipe forthcoming in next post. Paired with the leftover salad from last night that I picked at.
A glass of wine and a little taste of coconut curry chocolate rounded out the evening.
Breakfast:
After that workout, a girl needs a good (big) breakfast. Enter three hard boiled egg whites, spelt toast with a teeny smidge of butter and two chicken sausage links (could only stuff down one, so Rico was a happy pup this morning between his usual egg yolks and sausage too).
Lunch:
10:30 pb&j. Should I even enter this anymore? It's so predictable. I packed up the leftover chicken tikka and lentil salad with brown rice for work. I so love this dish and my Indian spice kit just arrived so I'm hoping to make a healthier version of this soon!
Mid-Day Nosh:
Yeah, it's hot here again. 2 chocolate lace cookies in the belly. :(
Dinner:
A little Indian inspired shrimp pizza with a spicy mango chutney tomato sauce. Recipe forthcoming in next post. Paired with the leftover salad from last night that I picked at.
A glass of wine and a little taste of coconut curry chocolate rounded out the evening.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Menu - Sept 1 & Insanity Day 4
Well, we did it again. The Mr. and I hopped out of bed and did our Insanity routine. I think it helped that it was Cardio Recovery day. We were foolish enough to think it was going to be an easy stretch and relax type workout. While there was some stretching then we moved into slow, deep squats which then led to holding deep squat position for 30 seconds, then to pulse squats for another 30. Talk about a sore butt!! We also did the same with lunges and some exercises in plank position. I have to say, every single move in the workouts I've done so far have felt effective. I can't wait to see/feel the results!
Breakfast:
I woke up absolutely ravenous today. Must be due to my cutting the late night snacks. I decided to finish up my pumpkin protein pancakes. Topped them with the usual maple syrup and walnuts. Did a chicken sausage link, some grapes and half a pecan pie Lara bar. Ate every bit and felt quite satisfied when all was done.
From here the day just went downhill. I ate my pb&j and then really didn't have an appetite for anything else. It's way too hot and humid and I'm feeling pretty cranky. So, no pics today. I had a few bites of salad at dinner and about 1/8th of a chicken parm sandwich. Of course though, there was room for 2 chocolate lace cookies.
Ah well, tomorrow is another day to do it right.
Breakfast:
I woke up absolutely ravenous today. Must be due to my cutting the late night snacks. I decided to finish up my pumpkin protein pancakes. Topped them with the usual maple syrup and walnuts. Did a chicken sausage link, some grapes and half a pecan pie Lara bar. Ate every bit and felt quite satisfied when all was done.
From here the day just went downhill. I ate my pb&j and then really didn't have an appetite for anything else. It's way too hot and humid and I'm feeling pretty cranky. So, no pics today. I had a few bites of salad at dinner and about 1/8th of a chicken parm sandwich. Of course though, there was room for 2 chocolate lace cookies.
Ah well, tomorrow is another day to do it right.
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