Apparently, I conveniently forgot to post that I lost to my husband on our race to see who could get the most miles in 2 weeks. He beat me by 6 miles (completing 10 of those miles on the last day!) Blah! I was very happy for him for beating his own personal goal, especially since he's not really a runner, but admittedly...I was burned that I lost to him!
After my short pity party, I offered a second challenge to him: we are racing to see who can get to 100 miles first. This challenge began on Feb. 1st and will go until one of us reaches 100. Game on!
I ran 7 miles this morning, so I'm getting stronger and my endurance is building. I WILL NOT LOSE THIS TIME :)
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Clean Cooking Fun
Last night I hosted a "Clean Cooking Workshop" Four ladies came over, each bringing various ingredients for several recipes, and we gathered to prepare some of my favorite "tried and true" recipes! We had so much fun!
Three hours later, we had 5 amazingly delicious healthy meals and everyone got to leave with leftovers. I think having this evening together showed the ladies that you can eat GOOD good food. I think "diet" food gets a bad wrap. I didn't use any funky ingredients; I used fresh, lean and highly nutritious ingredients and made beautiful meals that sastify the eye and the palette!
We made:
Chili Garlic Shrimp
Ingredients:
2 lb Shrimp (peeled/no tail)
2 cups fresh green beans
3 Tbsp Tamari Sauce or Low Sodium Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
2 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
2 Tbsp Garlic Chili Sauce ( I use Lee Kum Kee)
2 Large cloves garlic minced
1 knob off fresh ginger, peeled and minced (i think its around 2 Tbsp)
1 Tbsp corn starch
2 Tbsp cold water
Toasted Sesame seeds
Instructions:
Place shrimp and beans in steamer and cook until shrimp is pink and beans are tender. Don't add anything to them, just steam them.
While the shrimp and beans are steaming, in a small sauce pan add the soy sauce or tamari sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, chili sauce, garlic and ginger. Bring to a simmer. In a separate small cup, mix corn starch and water until sort of a milky consistency without clumps. Add to sauce, remove from heat and mix until thick.
Place steamed shrimp and beans in a dish and then coat with sauce. Top with sesame seeds and serve!
*I eat this alone as a meal, but you can add a 1/2 cup of jasmine or brown rice.
Pumpkin Cottage Cheese Pancakes
Ingredients:
4 Large Eggs
2 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 lb (1/2 tub) of NO SALT ADDED cottage cheese
1/2 cup of pureed pumpkin
just a little water
Instructions:
Place all ingredients in a blender (I use a ninja) until the consistency of pancake batter, add water if too dry. I also add a scoop of protein powder, but you don't have to.
Heat griddle or nonstick pan to 450 and scoop about 3 Tbsp for each pancake (should be about the size of the lid to the old fashioned oats) and cook as you would a normal pancake. This should make about 8 pancakes.
1 serving is 2 pancakes. Top with Natural peanut butter and enjoy!
Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients:
1lb Ground Chicken
1 med onion
3 Tbsp fresh minced ginger
2.5 Tbsp of soy sauce or tamari sauce (tamari is gluten free)
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
2 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
1 Tbsp Peanut Butter
1/2 Tbsp Honey
1 Tbsp Chili Sauce
1/2 cup chopped green onions
6 oz. chopped water chestnuts
Lettuce (either romaine or iceberg)
Instructions:
Place chicken and onion in wok or skillet and begin to brown, when mostly brown, add ginger. In a separate bowl, mix soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, peanut butter, honey and chili sauce. When chicken is cooked thoroughly add sauce and coat chicken. Once the chicken is fully coated, add green onions and water chestnuts. Heat the water chestnuts all the way through. Scoop chicken into lettuce cups and enjoy! So simple!
Mini Egg Bake
Ingredients:
5 Eggs
1 small carton of egg whites
Any Mrs. Dash seasoning
any lean protein (i use about 1/2 lb of roasted turkey breast sliced)
2 cups blanched broccoli
1 cup chopped mushrooms
Shredded cheese
1/2 a med onion sauteed in olive oil
1 jalepeno pepper chopped
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350. I use silicone muffin cups because they are easier to get the bakes out of. Spray muffin cups with olive oil Pam. Start with lean protein and fill each of the cups (about 1.5 Tsp) add chopped broccoli, mushrooms. The muffin cups should look pretty full!
In a separate bowl or pitcher, add eggs and egg whites and season with Mrs. Dash. I don't measure the seasoning, just add what you want. :) Mix well and then pour into muffin cups. Mine are usually filled to the brim or just below. Top with shredded cheese, onions and a little bit of jalepeno pepper. Bake for 35 minutes.
Let cool for 20 minutes, then transfer to ziploc bags, 2 per bag is 1 serving. To reheat, just place opened bag in microwave for 20-30 secods.
Detox Salad
Ingredients:
Large bunch of broccoli
Head of Cauliflower
4 large carrots
1 c currants
1 c raisins
1 bunch parsley
Kale granules
1 c sunflower seeds
maple syrup
Instructions:
In a food processor, chopp broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. Mix in large bowl. Add currants and raisins, chopped parsely and kale granuales. Mix throughouly. Mix in Sunflower seeds. Drizzle with Maple Syrup. Voila! Too easy!
Here are a few pictures...
I hope to host another workshop soon and I'm looking for some great recipes! Can't wait to see what I find!
Three hours later, we had 5 amazingly delicious healthy meals and everyone got to leave with leftovers. I think having this evening together showed the ladies that you can eat GOOD good food. I think "diet" food gets a bad wrap. I didn't use any funky ingredients; I used fresh, lean and highly nutritious ingredients and made beautiful meals that sastify the eye and the palette!
We made:
Chili Garlic Shrimp
Ingredients:
2 lb Shrimp (peeled/no tail)
2 cups fresh green beans
3 Tbsp Tamari Sauce or Low Sodium Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
2 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
2 Tbsp Garlic Chili Sauce ( I use Lee Kum Kee)
2 Large cloves garlic minced
1 knob off fresh ginger, peeled and minced (i think its around 2 Tbsp)
1 Tbsp corn starch
2 Tbsp cold water
Toasted Sesame seeds
Instructions:
Place shrimp and beans in steamer and cook until shrimp is pink and beans are tender. Don't add anything to them, just steam them.
While the shrimp and beans are steaming, in a small sauce pan add the soy sauce or tamari sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, chili sauce, garlic and ginger. Bring to a simmer. In a separate small cup, mix corn starch and water until sort of a milky consistency without clumps. Add to sauce, remove from heat and mix until thick.
Place steamed shrimp and beans in a dish and then coat with sauce. Top with sesame seeds and serve!
*I eat this alone as a meal, but you can add a 1/2 cup of jasmine or brown rice.
Pumpkin Cottage Cheese Pancakes
Ingredients:
4 Large Eggs
2 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 lb (1/2 tub) of NO SALT ADDED cottage cheese
1/2 cup of pureed pumpkin
just a little water
Instructions:
Place all ingredients in a blender (I use a ninja) until the consistency of pancake batter, add water if too dry. I also add a scoop of protein powder, but you don't have to.
Heat griddle or nonstick pan to 450 and scoop about 3 Tbsp for each pancake (should be about the size of the lid to the old fashioned oats) and cook as you would a normal pancake. This should make about 8 pancakes.
1 serving is 2 pancakes. Top with Natural peanut butter and enjoy!
Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients:
1lb Ground Chicken
1 med onion
3 Tbsp fresh minced ginger
2.5 Tbsp of soy sauce or tamari sauce (tamari is gluten free)
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
2 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
1 Tbsp Peanut Butter
1/2 Tbsp Honey
1 Tbsp Chili Sauce
1/2 cup chopped green onions
6 oz. chopped water chestnuts
Lettuce (either romaine or iceberg)
Instructions:
Place chicken and onion in wok or skillet and begin to brown, when mostly brown, add ginger. In a separate bowl, mix soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, peanut butter, honey and chili sauce. When chicken is cooked thoroughly add sauce and coat chicken. Once the chicken is fully coated, add green onions and water chestnuts. Heat the water chestnuts all the way through. Scoop chicken into lettuce cups and enjoy! So simple!
Mini Egg Bake
Ingredients:
5 Eggs
1 small carton of egg whites
Any Mrs. Dash seasoning
any lean protein (i use about 1/2 lb of roasted turkey breast sliced)
2 cups blanched broccoli
1 cup chopped mushrooms
Shredded cheese
1/2 a med onion sauteed in olive oil
1 jalepeno pepper chopped
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350. I use silicone muffin cups because they are easier to get the bakes out of. Spray muffin cups with olive oil Pam. Start with lean protein and fill each of the cups (about 1.5 Tsp) add chopped broccoli, mushrooms. The muffin cups should look pretty full!
In a separate bowl or pitcher, add eggs and egg whites and season with Mrs. Dash. I don't measure the seasoning, just add what you want. :) Mix well and then pour into muffin cups. Mine are usually filled to the brim or just below. Top with shredded cheese, onions and a little bit of jalepeno pepper. Bake for 35 minutes.
Let cool for 20 minutes, then transfer to ziploc bags, 2 per bag is 1 serving. To reheat, just place opened bag in microwave for 20-30 secods.
Detox Salad
Ingredients:
Large bunch of broccoli
Head of Cauliflower
4 large carrots
1 c currants
1 c raisins
1 bunch parsley
Kale granules
1 c sunflower seeds
maple syrup
Instructions:
In a food processor, chopp broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. Mix in large bowl. Add currants and raisins, chopped parsely and kale granuales. Mix throughouly. Mix in Sunflower seeds. Drizzle with Maple Syrup. Voila! Too easy!
Here are a few pictures...
I hope to host another workshop soon and I'm looking for some great recipes! Can't wait to see what I find!
Biggest Losers Week 5
Our group is into the fifth week of our twelve week LOSERS challenge. As a total, we've lost over 300lbs! Isn't that wild? Last week's challenge, I divided the group into five groups of eight people and they were all competing to see which team could get the highest average miles completed for the week. Team 1 won, with an average of 28 miles! WAY TO GO!
So far in the challenge, I have several people that lost over 10lbs in the first month. I think that's pretty impressive...if they stay at that pace, they could lose 30lbs in this challenge (however, there are a few that don't really need to lose much more!) This has probably been my best challenge yet; the people are extremely motivated, they are supportive to one another and it seems to be a great community. I'm thankful, because I know I've been lacking motivation and this has really helped get me back on track too!
I can't wait to see what February brings. I'm hoping to see some big losers and I'm excited to see people reach their goals!
So far in the challenge, I have several people that lost over 10lbs in the first month. I think that's pretty impressive...if they stay at that pace, they could lose 30lbs in this challenge (however, there are a few that don't really need to lose much more!) This has probably been my best challenge yet; the people are extremely motivated, they are supportive to one another and it seems to be a great community. I'm thankful, because I know I've been lacking motivation and this has really helped get me back on track too!
I can't wait to see what February brings. I'm hoping to see some big losers and I'm excited to see people reach their goals!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Setting New Goals
They say an effective way of reaching your goal is to tell someone about it. So I'm telling the blogging world. My goal is to run 1000 miles in the year 2012. Kind of a lofty goal for a girl that can't truly run 3.2 miles without walking some. Ha ha ha! For the past two years, I have not done steady running. I do intervals, I do HIIT, I do running, walking, jogging, elliptical, rowing, etc. I hate stagnant cardio. Well, I HATED it. It has certainly grown on me and I've learned that running is a huge stress reliever for me.
It started with this Nike Challenge I have going on with my husband. I started doing more and more miles at a time to keep up with Mr. I think I'm Going to Run a 10k Today, yeah...he just popped out 6 miles without any training or building up to it...he just DID it. Blah!
So I found myself adding more and more miles to keep up. We're just 3 days shy of the end of our challenge and we are neck to neck! This is going to be a close one! Last week I did almost 20 miles! Now, I have this crazy idea that I can do 20 miles every week from here on out and get my 1000 miles in before the New Year 2013. Of course, I'm starting a few weeks late, so I'll need to add a few miles to several weeks to catch up.
Here I go...
It started with this Nike Challenge I have going on with my husband. I started doing more and more miles at a time to keep up with Mr. I think I'm Going to Run a 10k Today, yeah...he just popped out 6 miles without any training or building up to it...he just DID it. Blah!
So I found myself adding more and more miles to keep up. We're just 3 days shy of the end of our challenge and we are neck to neck! This is going to be a close one! Last week I did almost 20 miles! Now, I have this crazy idea that I can do 20 miles every week from here on out and get my 1000 miles in before the New Year 2013. Of course, I'm starting a few weeks late, so I'll need to add a few miles to several weeks to catch up.
Here I go...
Monday, January 23, 2012
Week 3 of the Challenge
We are in week 3 of the challenge and it all seems to be going really well. I am personally down a few lbs since the start of the challenge, and I can already feel a difference in my clothing! Wahoo! I've run over 25 miles in the last week and my goal is to hit 1000 in the year 2012! I can do it!
Yesterday, I ran for a solid hour with a friend of mine. We did roughly a little over 6 miles. It was 28 degrees outside, snowing, and the ground was icy in some spots. We ran from the city dock down to Spa Rd. I must confess, I never felt better after a run. She had me run/walk 3/1 intervals. It really made a difference to be able to take a break every 3 minutes and just walk fast. I certainly felt less tired and I got to go a lot longer than I can normally go. Running outside, time also goes by much faster. The run was over much sooner than I had thought it would be!
As for my fellow challengers, everyone seems to be doing really well. For the most part, everyone (with the exception of 2-3) has lost weight. I'm really excited to see how this goes for 9 more weeks and to see if we have anyone that really loses a lot! What is inspiring is to see the people that have lost a lot and have kept it OFF! You know that this isn't easy...so seeing them make the lifestyle change is just really exciting and motivating!
For this week's challenge, I have the group doing interval training either through walking/jogging or on the treadmill at varying speeds/inclines. I think everyone will admit that it is really hard! For me, I think we have to jumpstart our bodies and really force a change. Also, just getting in the habit of getting things done will get them one step closer to getting active!
So we'll see how weigh-in goes on Friday! I am feeling pretty optimistic!
Yesterday, I ran for a solid hour with a friend of mine. We did roughly a little over 6 miles. It was 28 degrees outside, snowing, and the ground was icy in some spots. We ran from the city dock down to Spa Rd. I must confess, I never felt better after a run. She had me run/walk 3/1 intervals. It really made a difference to be able to take a break every 3 minutes and just walk fast. I certainly felt less tired and I got to go a lot longer than I can normally go. Running outside, time also goes by much faster. The run was over much sooner than I had thought it would be!
As for my fellow challengers, everyone seems to be doing really well. For the most part, everyone (with the exception of 2-3) has lost weight. I'm really excited to see how this goes for 9 more weeks and to see if we have anyone that really loses a lot! What is inspiring is to see the people that have lost a lot and have kept it OFF! You know that this isn't easy...so seeing them make the lifestyle change is just really exciting and motivating!
For this week's challenge, I have the group doing interval training either through walking/jogging or on the treadmill at varying speeds/inclines. I think everyone will admit that it is really hard! For me, I think we have to jumpstart our bodies and really force a change. Also, just getting in the habit of getting things done will get them one step closer to getting active!
So we'll see how weigh-in goes on Friday! I am feeling pretty optimistic!
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Nike+
I LOVE THIS APP on my Iphone! My husband and I just started using this app and tracking our runs and we even have a challenge with each other to see who can run the most miles in the next 15 days. It is INTENSE! I never knew how competitive I could be...when it comes to him though I'M TOUGH! Ha ha ha!
I've done 7 miles in the last 3 days, and I know that's not much to serious runners, but that's a HUGE victory for me. There's no way this girl is losing to a boy, so wish me luck!
I've done 7 miles in the last 3 days, and I know that's not much to serious runners, but that's a HUGE victory for me. There's no way this girl is losing to a boy, so wish me luck!
Friday, January 13, 2012
Biggest Losers
I recently started the 4th Biggest Losers Challenge, I've been organizing these challenges for the past year. This is our largest challenge yet! We have 43 members, over 7900lbs and over $1100 in the cash pot for the prize. To say that this challenge is intense is an understatement. Today was our first weigh in and as a group, we lost a little over 150lbs, about 2% of our total body weight.
Our biggest losers lost 5% their body weight! I was so proud of our group and really impressed with the fact that just about everyone had lost weight in the first week. I think something that's made this challenge really motivating is that we have weekly "mini-challenges". I've been trying really hard to come up with both fun challenges as well as things that really push everyone to be stronger and work harder. So far for week #1 we had a 100 Push-Ups a Day; it didn't matter how you did the push-ups, 10 sets of ten or however they needed to be broken down, bent knees, wall presses, incline, staggered, etc. Everyone just had to get their 100 in. The challenge was AWESOME! I think everyone really worked hard and could feel the burn.
For week #2, I paired them up in partners based on their similarities, weight range and also based in that I thought they could inspire each other or give support when needed. At the end of the week, the team of partners with the highest % lost will win a special prize! Everyone seemed to respond so well to this challenge! I think that the partner support and need for accountability is really going to take the group far!
I've also encouraged everyone to keep up with their 100 push-ups and I've added a daily Ab routine. I can't wait to see what our next weigh in brings! I'm really hoping that everyone sees the results they want and that we can all continue this challenge motivated!
Our biggest losers lost 5% their body weight! I was so proud of our group and really impressed with the fact that just about everyone had lost weight in the first week. I think something that's made this challenge really motivating is that we have weekly "mini-challenges". I've been trying really hard to come up with both fun challenges as well as things that really push everyone to be stronger and work harder. So far for week #1 we had a 100 Push-Ups a Day; it didn't matter how you did the push-ups, 10 sets of ten or however they needed to be broken down, bent knees, wall presses, incline, staggered, etc. Everyone just had to get their 100 in. The challenge was AWESOME! I think everyone really worked hard and could feel the burn.
For week #2, I paired them up in partners based on their similarities, weight range and also based in that I thought they could inspire each other or give support when needed. At the end of the week, the team of partners with the highest % lost will win a special prize! Everyone seemed to respond so well to this challenge! I think that the partner support and need for accountability is really going to take the group far!
I've also encouraged everyone to keep up with their 100 push-ups and I've added a daily Ab routine. I can't wait to see what our next weigh in brings! I'm really hoping that everyone sees the results they want and that we can all continue this challenge motivated!
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