Thursday, May 6, 2010

Chicken with Spring Vegetables and Grains

May 6, 2010

3 workouts in 24 hours! I am exhausted. I met my friend Kim for a Latin Fusion class, this is a mixture of zumba and cardio and I was pretty darn tired after all the chacha, mambo, shaking and pumping!Comparing the two classes I liked the dancing in zumba more but felt like I got a better workout in the Latin Fusion class.

 

I was really hungry by the time I got home around 7 and thankfully Mike had started chopping and prepping dinner. We caught up on the rest of our days and talked about learned business skills versus inherent knowledge.

 

Chicken with Spring Vegetables and Grains

 

Ingredients

3 Tbsp Unsalted Butter

4 Scallions Chopped

2 Strips of Lemon Zest and a few tbsp of juice

Salt and Pepper

1 lb Asparagus Cut into 1 inch Pieces

1 cup Frozen Peas

About 2 Cups of Meat from a Rotisserie Chicken

2 Tbsp Flat Leaf Parsley

1-2 cups of Grains- Harvest Grains, Quinoa, Couscous (I used Trader Joe’s Harvest Grains)

 

Directions

Bring water to a boil and add grains, cook for about 10 minutes.

In a medium saucepan melt better and add scallion whites, stirring constantly about 3 minutes. Add lemon zest, salt, pepper, asparagus, frozen peas and cook until veggies are heated through. Add chicken, lemon juice and cook for a few minutes.

 

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This is a great weeknight dinner and a nice use of a rotisserie chicken. It only makes a few dishes and you get a nice big bowl of comfort food :) The lemon juice adds a nice flavor and the harvest grains stand up well to the crispness of the vegetables.

 

Wine was sounding very tasty tonight and Mike choose a William Knuttel 2007 Meritage which is a blend from Sonoma County Red Wine. Even with a spilled on label it is such a unique design and has a great smooth flavor.

 

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Off to watch a few shows and shower before bed! Enjoy your Thursday evening.

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Shopping and Sushi

May 6, 2010

We were good this morning and got up and went to the gym, the alarm went off at 5:30 and I made myself get out of bed. It was worth it! I always have so much more energy the mornings that I workout. Today was 30 minutes of cardio on the Arc Trainer while listening to some podcasts and it was leg day:

Leg Extension, 1 leg at a time (2×12)

Front Squat (2×10)

Lunges (2×12)

Leg Curl (2×10)

Seated Calf Raise, 1 leg at a time (2×10)

Standing Calf Raise (2×12)

I know I will be feeling this later, especially in the hamstrings. While getting ready in the locker room the following statement was heard “I have lost 35 pounds already and I get to go off my blood pressure medication”. Yeah!! That is the first positive thing I have heard in the locker room in quite some time or maybe even ever. It put a smile on my face.

Hunger was very apparent by the time I got to work and I made breakfast as quickly as possible, 2 pieces of whole wheat toast (that I only ended up eating 1 of) and a Blueberry Chobani with flax and chia seeds. With the addition of the seeds and sitting for a few minutes while I ate my toast I noticed that it got VERY thick. So tasty!

And in a nice surprise for lunch I went and met Mike for  some shopping and sushi, we went to Tiger Sushi and shared the dynamite roll and the sashimi platter. The quality of the sushi was really good, the fish was fresh and great tasting.

I ran to Nordstrom Rack and picked up 2 dresses, 2 shirts, 2 sportsbras and 3 workout tops for $124 dollars! I love good deals :) Workout clothes are so expensive and I refuse to pay full price for them, the Rack usually has pretty good deals on them. Instead of paying $50 dollars for 1 top I end up paying $20.

Now I am off to tackle my very long to do list!

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Move Those Hips

May 6, 2010

Last night I checked out the BodyBlast studio for my first ever Zumba class. I had a Groupon that gave me a month of unlimited classes for $30, it sounded like a pretty good deal considering the classes are normally $10 per class. I just need to go 3 times in the 30 days to make it worth it. After checking the calendar I decided Zumba would be my first class to try and it was a blast! The studio is combined with a MMA gym which seems strange to have a bunch of ladies walking into a decked out MMA gym but it seems to work. BodyBlast offers Zumba, Pole fitness, Step, GroupTRX, Cardio Kickboxing, Hip-Hop, Yoga and Kettlebells.

I was a bit apprehensive when I walked in and saw it was a group of senior citizen ladies and then the instructor walked in and I immediately knew why. He is a rather handsome Latin man and the ladies were there for the workout and the eye candy ;) They situated themselves right up front and were ready to Zumba away. As it got closer to the start of class time a group of ladies closer to my age came in and I was no longer the youngest in the room.

Dance was a part of my life when I was younger but I have never been able to achieve moving my hips like that. The class was a lot of fun and by the time it was over it felt like I got a pretty great workout in. Sweat was pouring and I was tired! I liked the music selection and it seemed like I was picking up the steps. I may use this to replace a cardio session but it would never be all that I do. The upcoming classes that I am really excited to try a kettlebell class and the TRX system. Look for those reviews as soon as I can fit those classes into the calendar.

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