Some P90X, Clean Crispy Chicken Bites, and a new job!

It has been a pretty good week so far….it is only Wednesday, so I am hoping a positive attitude will make the weekend get here faster (pretty please?).  Missed the gym last night due to some stuff that popped up, but I got my arse on that treadmill, busted out 30 minutes of sweaty hill intervals, then an ab workout, and some yoga stretching!  Today I am hitting up a P90X workout (shoulders and arms), some more hill intervals (Doctor said no running for at least 2 weeks, grr) and then some hoping that Gavin will stop screaming 24/7!

 

I am adding in some P90X in order to switch things up a bit, I was on the same workouts for almost a month and that means my body was getting used to them.  I wanted to use this for a sub-in so I can get some more weights in my workouts, not for bulking- just for toning.  With these football shoulders, the last thing I need is any form of bulk going on…I am top heavy enough as it is!  I am going to do the the chest/back, legs/back (on alternating weeks), and arms/shoulders then add in some biking, treadmill (H.I.I.T training) and plyometric drills.  The goal is to buy a bike this month, I already bought a child seat for the back…now I just need the actual bike!

Other news is that I should be starting a new role as an on-line English Teacher soon…oh, how technology is taking over!  I will be able to do it for 4 hours a day and make a pretty decent amount of money in order to save towards a home and so on.  We are hoping it all goes smoothly and that our schedules will work in order to make sure I am not always teaching with Gavin on my lap (I would not actually teach with him on my lap).  So that is something exciting…I know I really don’t need much else added to my plate, but at least it is something for ‘me’ that I really enjoy doing!

So now for some eats!  I planned this whole weeks’ meals out and I used the Eat Clean Cookbook that is for family and kids.  I was able to get 4 great new recipes out of there for us to try out.  James learned a hard lesson while I was doing this- eat or go without!  I was really getting irritated with making three different meals each night, so I figured if I can eat clean- so can everyone else!  The great news….they are (for the most part)!

So far the Crispy Chicken Bites have been a favorite!  I like eating the left overs cold in a WW wrap with spinach, tomato and a tiny bit of mustard.  So here we go with the recipe:

Clean Eating Crispy Chicken Bites

Ingredients:

3 Boneless Skinless Breasts

1/4c oat bran

1/4 c wheat germ

1Tb Ground Flax Seed

1/4c coarsely ground almonds

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Pinch of Garlic powder

1/2 cup low-sodium broth

1 beaten egg white

Clean Cooking Spray

 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degree, line a baking sheet with parchment paper
2. Cut chicken breasts into nugget sized pieces, set aside
3. Combine all dry ingredients in a large container, mix well.
4. Combine water and egg in a separate bowl, dip each piece of chicken in this mixture, then place in the ‘coating’ mixture
5. Make sure each piece is well coated before placing on the baking sheet, and then bake for 10-15 minutes.

Serve with some Cajun sweet potatoes, veggies, and your choice of clean dipping sauce!  These were a hit, I plan to make these often for the whole family!  Give them a try and let me know how they turn out for you!!

What new recipe have you tried out lately?  Have you changed up your exercise routines?  Any new exciting news?

Single Chocolate Berry Cake in a Cup!

Today is all about some yummy eats and a new goal that I achieved!!  I ran my first 4 miles today!!!  I took last week off to just strength train my legs…everyday!  No cardio, only strength training!  It paid off, and I decided to come up with a lovely healthy treat to celebrate my great start to my last Monday in Okinawa!

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I was so eager to get to the gym this morning for my first run after the goal of NOT running last week.  I was determined to rest the shin and really get some more strength to my legs!  I could feel a difference and wanted to see how that worked into my run.  I took it to the treadmill and was constantly shocked and excited about how great my legs felt!  No dead legs, shin pain, foot pain…nothing!  PLUS, it was my first run with the new Nike Free Run+…LOVE THEM!!!  They were great, and the feet felt light and airy…not heavy and hot!  When I got to mile 3, I was literally giggling because I could not believe how great I still felt.  I pushed it hard and plan to go for another 4 miles on Wednesday!!  Now for breakfast:

My new cereal mix-up, scrambled eggbeaters/egg whites, fresh fruit in a cup!

I made a protein filled cereal bowl!  I wanted to get extra protein in where ever I could fit it!  For my new cereal mix-up (AKA: healthy Cocoa Puffs) I mixed:

• 1/2c Kix
• 1/4c Flax Grain Cereal
• 1/3c Go Lean
• 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa

I shook them up in a baggie (and even made 5 more bags so they are ready to go for this hectic week) and then I added 1/3c unsweetened almond milk, plus some of my fruit. 

SOOOOO Good! I am now addicted to these since I have to lay off the oats a bit!

The fruit had kiwi, blueberries, banana, raspberries, apple and 1Tbsp walnuts that I chopped up!  This was YUM!!  For an extra tangy taste mix up 1tsp of honey and 1Tbsp lime juice plus a sprinkle of stevia…pour over top!

Fruit in a glass

Okay, now time for my treat!  I love reading about different single portion cakes, cupcakes, breads, and so on!  Finally I decided to go for one other than the brownie I always resort to!  I wanted chocolate, of course, so I whipped out some goods:

The ingredients

 Single Chocolate Berry Cake in a Cup:

• 1/3 cup egg beaters
• 1 Tbsp plus 2 tsp Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• 1/8 tsp Vanilla
• 1 tsp Stevia (not shown, sorry)
• 1.5 tsp unsweetened cocoa
• 1 Hershey dark chocolate kiss or a few dark chocolate chips

Mix all items and put in a glass sprayed with cooking spray.  Put half of the Hershey Kiss (all chopped up) or a few chocolate chips on top. 

Ready for the microwave

Microwave in 30 second intervals, being sure it doesn’t ‘overflow’ (mine did, damn loaner glasses that are too small).  Microwave for a total of 1:30 or more if you need to.   Let sit for about a minute and then tip into a bowl.  I cut mine up a bit to let the steam out.  Add some semi-frozen greek yogurt sweetened with stevia, the remaining chocolate bits (or chips) and some berries (mine were frozen strawberries that I thawed out with stevia).  The result: a totally yummy alternative to fatty/sugary/empty calorie cake that you would get at the store. 

Tastes great, AND you can name all of the ingredients 🙂

Hope you all had a great Monday like this girl!!  Tomorrow is  the day of pure non-stop preparation for our move.  We officially move out of our house tomorrow, into billeting and that means emptying out the pantry and fridge…sigh!  It should be an eventful, exhausting and jam-packed Tuesday…all steps toward our new adventures, gotta love every second 🙂

How did you spend your Monday?  How do you plan to spend your Tuesday?  Any cereal mix-ups that you love to create?

My First 5K!!!!

Today was the day!!  It is the reason I started this blog and the reason I made so many changes in my life!!  I was doubtful in the beginning of this plan, but I really just shut all of those negative tapes off FOR GOOD!!!

Ate my yummy toast, took my IBS meds, drank a l’il water and I am ready to get the gear on 🙂

Getting ready to go!!!

I was excited to have my Hub buy me two new running shirts and jacket last night, so I sported the green top (it is a St.Patty’s Day Run, after all)!  Chucked on the jacket (it was pretty chilly), my motivational Bondi Band, and the ‘ol I-Touch for my tunes…good to go!!!

And off I go!!!

I was happy to see Amy from WOOT with her Youth Sports Running Group, and I got to see Gavin’s teacher, Ana, who has been very motivating during this journey!!!  Tricia came out with her Hub, Darryl and their gorgeous daughter, Ruby!!!  It was Ruby’s first 5k run, too!!!

This family is just TOO gorgeous!!!

Of course, I wanted a photo-op with my running partner, so Darryl obliged and snapped a quickie!!

I don't even care that I look like a dork with my Bondi Band on, it kept me warm 🙂

We all went to the starting station, I synced my Nike+, got the music going…I started off with Sean Paul’s “Get Busy”, it may be 8 years old but that song always gets me moving!!  The run went really well.  I felt good, I was keeping a 9:40 pace the whole time, which was very good for me!!!  As soon as we hit the huge hill I just focused on looking straight ahead, making smaller strides but maintaining pace as best as I could.  I think it slowed me down a bit, but I did NOT stop!!!  When I got to the straight away I took about 30 seconds to go a bit slower so I could get some deep breaths and then I increased my speed!!  When I got to the entrance right before the finish mark there were my boys waiting proudly for me!!!  LOVED IT.  I slowed down a bit so James could run to the end with me!!!  He was so excited and I felt completely elated that I DID IT!!!!!  It was 5.18KM @ 31:52 = 9:54/mi 🙂

Tricia, Me and Ana!!

Me and my number one fans!!

It felt so great to have them there supporting me and giving me a good pat on the back!!!  James even said “running is my favorite sport” and that he wanted to run with us.  We figured, well why not??  We got a new pair of running shoes last night and  we signed up for the “Family Fun Run” on March 26th.  We are going to do the 1 miler with James (I am going to do the 5K), we got t-shirts for it and everything.  He is SOOOOO excited, he was practicing running on the track today and is really proud that we will all be wearing the same thing ~ like a team!!  I could never ask for a better team 🙂

The next event 🙂

So, I have to say I am super proud of myself for setting a goal and sticking to it even when there were really tough days and times that I felt like I was getting no where!!  I cannot wait to set more goals and reach new distances (literally).  I am going to do 3 miles as my regular runs and up my long runs.  I am going to soon start a 10K program and hope for the best since it will be during our travelling and moving to Germany!  Anything is possible- and I will make sure it gets done!!

Hooray for meeting ALL of my goals AND my distance goal!!

This was a great Sunday!!  I am excited about meeting my goals and seeing how far I have come in my quest to a happier and healthier lifestyle!!

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I am a list maker, a goal setter, and I really do live by my lists.  I would be lying if I said I did not have little panic attacks when these lists are not completed!  Blame it on being raised by a man who made lists for everything and always had a carbon copy back-up…just in case!  Setting these weekly goals, helps me keep my eye on the overall goal of what I am aiming for: to be happy, healthy, and confident.  Is there an end to this journey where all of a sudden I just stop and say, “Okay, that is done…now what?”  NO, this will always be my journey and it will always be my end goal…the rest is just the little bits of changes I can make to be the best version of ‘me’ possible!  Everything we do, say, don’t do, or don’t say is a step either toward our goal or away from it.  I am must trying to be sure I am on the path that is going TOWARD my goal!

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Today was a day that I really kept that in mind and set that focus into high gear!!  It started with my early run with my partner in crime, Tricia!  We couldn’t meet yesterday with WOOT, so we set up to go on our own to tackle the seawall instead of the trails!  It made me smile when the first question we asked before starting was “What are your goals for today?”  I said that I just simply wanted to go without stopping until I hit my 3 miles.  (Also, I did not want to pass out so I made sure to have that Camel Pak attached to me).  It was cloudy, but nice out and I was happy to be wearing my Nike Frees since the Asics are literally tiring me out (they are making my feet/legs go completely numb). 

The seawall!

We chit chatted and talked about our passing out experiences while running, exercising or doing some sort of training around others.  Good stories, now that they are in the past 😉

Despite the expression, I am not irritated! I am super happy because I just ran for the longest time/distance yet...no stopping!!!! Just shy of 3 miles when we opted for a quick photo!

I was super stoked and  was happy to keep going to get to the 3.2 mile point.  I ran a whole mile longer than I have ever been able to run (straight) before!!!  I am serious when I say I was focused, there was no reason on earth I could not do that if I just kept my mind on that ‘goal ladder”!

A little bit windy, a whole lot sweaty, and a whole lot more HAPPY! Taking a victory chug from the camel pak!

We talked sneaks some more, and I got to meet Tricia’s husband and amazingly beautiful daughter!!  I saw the picture of them finishing the NYC 2010 marathon hand in hand 5 months after their daughter was born…seriously, AMAZING!!!  As soon as I got home my Hub had to go to work, so it was time to clean, do some laundry, chill with my baby boys and catch some UFC.  I did not do pancakes because it is not the same when I am sitting here by myself…so I had an apple with PB2…good enough 🙂  I then ventured out to the grocery store to grab a few essentials for the week and a huge stash of goodies for the PTO, and then came home for some cooking time.  I had Tofu Pudding, veggies, quinoa, chicken and dinner for Jamsie to prepare.  I loved how Eric cooked up the chicken and carrots this past week so I copied because I am a copy cat and a creature of habit.  If something tastes good, I will eat it over and over again until I tire of it….so in went the carrots!

A l'il garlic and a l'il buttah spray...

Add the tenderized chicken rubbed down with citrus basil seasoning...and simmer

Next, I grabbed my new food item of the week…quinoa 🙂

Not sure if it is always 'whole grain' but that is what I got!

I did not add anything to it because I wanted to taste it as is first to see if I like it.  I did a little taste test and I do like it 🙂  Now I am going to look for fun ways to spice it up and add it to recipes!!!  So glad I decided to try something new this week!!  After all of this excitement I decided to do my Yoga Meltdown workout!  Whew!!  That brought my daily calorie burn to 1218!!!!  Not too shabby for a Sunday 😉  That meant I met all of my goals this week, and it made me feel really proud.  When I was debating whether or not to do the yoga, I thought of my goal list, and knew that I would rather say I did it (plus have the awesome stretched out feeling that comes with it) than to say I didn’t bother…for no reason and with no valid excuse!  Yay, me!! 

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So now, after getting lunch packed, cleaning house, feeding the boys and getting the Youngin’ to bed, I am going to relax 😉  Time to get James off to bed and then lay on the sofa to watch Gladiator while I wait for the Hub to get home from work.  I plan on being in bed by 9pm because I have another plan that includes waking up at 4:45am to go run before the rest of the house wakes up 🙂  Happy Sunday!!!

How do you remind yourself to stay on track with your goals?  How do you celebrate your achievements?

Weekly Goals Jan 31st- Feb 6th

So how did I do over the past week??  GREAT!!!!

The Goals were:

1. Two strength training/core work: 1 Yoga, 1 Pilates at least 30 minutes each! – switched this up a bit by doing one pilates for 30 minutes and then two 30 day shred workouts! (So I added an extra core/strength!!)
2. Running 3 days- complete Week 4 of C25K program and track distance/times…complete each program-no stopping! DONE and with flying colors.  Significantly cut out walking times and upped the speed!!
3. Track all food and do not use activity/extra points DONE and even blogged about how I had left over points+ on my ‘treat day’ I ended up with the following point totals left over for the week (my daily value is 29) Weekly Extras– 49 (none used) Activity Points -20 (non used) Extra Daily Points- 43 (never carried over anyways).
4. Journal/Blog everydayDONE- made sure to address any issues I had, write about them, and try to find a good balance!!

So now for the new goals!!!

1. Read my daily teachings everyday to help keep me calm and more relaxed
2. Complete C25K week 5- even though the last day seems  a little hard
3. Enjoy a FULL day for my family, having fun and enjoying each other’s company
4. Do 2 Shred workouts, 1 yoga workout
5. Practice my moderation eating, don’t police myself too harshly!

What kind of goals do you set for yourself?  Are you able to stick to goals you set, or are they too hard to attain?  What is one weakness you would like to overcome?

New Goals for Jan 24-30

Happy Monday!!

A new week begins, so I will set some new goals.  I cannot figure out how to make  a post go directly into my “Weekly Goals’ page, so if anyone can assist, I would appreciate it 🙂

The Goals

1. Two strength training/core work: 1 Yoga, 1 Pilates at least 30 minutes each!
2. Running 3 days- complete Week 4 of C25K program and track distance/times…complete each program-no stopping!
3. Track all food and do not use activity/extra points
4. Journal/Blog everyday

I think these are attainable.  It ups my cardio a bit and the mixture of yoga and pilates will help keep me stretched out and strengthen my core~lots of planks and side planks!!

Twisted Crane- great for arms, shoulders and abs!!

Here’s to a great week ahead!!!  What are your goals??