Saturday stay home work out

One of my favorite at home work outs are the ZuzkaLight ZWOW series on YouTube.  Zuzka is a hot Russian fireball who will absolutely kill you.  Her work outs are super short and super intense.  

Today, I challenged myself by doing the following 3 work outs.  I love these work outs in particular because they are real time.  I don't have to worry about setting a timer, and it makes it go by so much faster when I feel like she is doing them with me.  I was drenched in sweat by the time it was over.  You better believe I feasted tonight after this craziness!  Embarrassing, but as I look down while typing this, I see that chocolate has fallen into my Ergo carrier and my little girl is wearing the evidence of the chocolatey goodness I had for dessert.  I'd blame her but she is really only into milk.... Guilty.

ZWOW 68

ZWOW 67

ZWOW 60

Easy dinners and microwaved eggs

Happy Friday!!  Today's link up is with one of my favorite blogs: Housewife Glamour.

I am loving easy meals!  Last night, I whipped up everything below in about 30 minutes... with a baby... in the ergo.... Everything was courtesy of HEB and seasoned to perfection.  For the husband, I sauteed spicy chicken fajita thighs and decided to make chicken sausage meatballs.  The chicken sausage was pre-prepared with sun dried tomatoes and Parmesan cheese.  I simply made them into balls, seared them off on the stove top and then finished them in the oven.  It's great that my husband happens to be a low-maintenance, nocturnal carnivore because he polished all of this off overnight like a champ.  For myself, and my new bland breastfeeding diet, I grilled two Tilapia fillets, served on top of greens, one avocado, croutons, and honey mustard dressing.  I also had a side of these delicious frozen veggies: squash, bell peppers, and potatoes... so delicious.  It also allowed the perfect amount of room to be saved for dessert.  I blended a So Delicious ice cream sandwich, chocolate almond milk, and allergy free chocolate chips.  The mix did not disappoint!

Here is breakfast!  Have you ever microwaved your eggs?  Ever since I learned how to do this it makes making a high protein breakfast a breeze!  It really is so simple:  spray your bowl with cooking spray, add in your eggs, stir, add a splash of water or milk and salt/pepper.  Zap in the microwave for a minute.  Stir, and repeat until they are cooked.  Usually takes about 2 1/2 minutes.  Today, I had another avocado with my eggs, jelly, and a few pieces of beef sausage in a tortilla.  Love the sweet and savory.

I am also loving my little family.  Justin is actually off for the next two days, and I can't wait to spend some R&R time with him.

 We are loving (working on loving) tummy time!

I am also loving my new treadmill!  It really is the best way to get in a work out in between nap times.  Today, I knocked out 9 miles!  Currently, I am trying to get in 2 moderately long runs a week and doing strength training, spinning, or sprints on the other days.  Can't wait for my new running shoes to come in on Monday.  Will definitely leave a review ASAP.

Have a great weekend!

Curse of the cruciferous

What a day!  I think the Blairmonster and I finally had a breakthrough.... I'm thinking my diet is to blame for her absolute tirade the past couple of days.  It all started with that delicious Broccoli crust pizza.  While I highly recommend this to the masses, I would avoid at all cost if you are breastfeeding.  Broccoli may not be your "breast" friend.  I OD'd the poor little miss on all things cruciferous considering I followed up the broccoli with the cauliflower fried rice the very next day.  I will not be making that mistake again.  So, going forward, I am really going to start paying attention to the cause and effect of everything I put in my mouth.  One may think this is a simple task; however, I had a brief lapse in judgement while perusing the bulk bins at HEB and grabbing a handful of wasabi peas.... oops.

Everything I read states that dairy is the most likely colic culprit.  Also, on the list of things to avoid: anything spicy, some cruciferous vegetables containing high amounts of chlorophyll, citrus foods, and wheat products.

Given that these foods make up 90% of my diet, I need to make a few changes, to say the least, until I figure out her triggers.  I'm fairly certain that the broccoli/cauliflower combo was what sent her over the edge, and I'm certain the garlic chips I picked up the other day didn't help out either.

Since I am 100% addicted to frozen yogurt, and pretty much any other cold dairy product I had to pick up a few substitutions today.

These two fell into my cart.  So Delicious is one of my favorite brands that I recommend to all of my patients that avoid dairy.  My plan is to make a deconstructed ice cream sandwich mixed in with chocolate chips.  I may even get crazy and blend up a delicious smoothie/milkshake.

This is another product I picked up that was approved by my doctor (all of the pictures had the top cut off!) The brand is Kids Relief.  It states it is fast acting, free of side effects, drug interaction, dye and sugar.  It is just a couple of herbs.  My plan is to pop them into the Memorial Sloan Kettering Herbal database and double check their efficacy before giving to Blair, but at first glance it seems pretty benign.  I'll give this a shot the next time the Blairmonster rears her ugly (actually adorable) head.

My work out today consisted of a 45 minute spin class at Gold's.  I sort of phoned it in today.  My laundry list of excuses include: my favorite instructor was MIA, it was icy outside, and I was just kind or sluggish.  Anyway, I'm glad that I went.  No matter how uninspired I am to work out, I always feel a million times better when it's over.  After I came home and rested a bit, I completed another Nike Fit Club 30 minute workout.  This one was the Razor Sharp work out and consisted of a lot of short, high intensity explosive exercises-- tuck jumps, squat jumps, wood shops, ect.  I love it.

Breakfast bowl, work out and smoothies

A miracle happened last night.  My little girl only woke up once, and then she slept until 8:30am! I am still in shock.  I guess Fuss Fest 2014 yesterday really wore her out!

Today is my very first What I Ate Wednesday (or half-day).  I have been a fan of Jenn's blog for some time now, and one of the reasons I decided to start my own.

Today, started out with a breakfast bowl of this:

I mixed together ~1/2 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt, 1 cup Fiber One Honey Cinnamon cereal, a sprinkle of PB2 and almond milk.  Yum!  Cereal is one of my most favorite foods in the world, and I always overeat it.... always... until today.  It dawned on me that if I added the Greek yogurt it may actually fill me up.  It worked!  I did grab a few handfuls of green bean chips... but that doesn't count.  :o)

My work out today looked like this on the treadmill:

Run 1 mile at 6.3mph

.25 miles at 7mph
.25 miles at 6.8mph
Repeat

Run 1 mile at 6.5mph

.25 miles at 8mph
.25 miles at 6.8mph
Repeat

Run 1 mile at 6.3mph

.25 miles at 7mph
.25 miles at 6.8
Repeat

It was a good one to break up the treadmill monotony.

Post work out shake:

It may not look too pretty, but it was tasty!

1/2 avocado
2 handfuls greens
1 orange
1/2 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 cup rhubarb
a few drops stevia or honey to sweeten
1 cup water

The avocado made it so nice and creamy.  It was a new smoothie addition for me, but one that I plan on using a lot more of.

Lunch today followed almost immediately after, and was way too ugly to take a picture.  I made a big salad with 2 pouches of StarKist Tuna Creations, lots of blue cheese yogurt dressing, green bean chips and croutons.  it was yum.

I love this dressing so much.  I go through a bottle a week.  It is so great.  Highly recommend all Bolthouse Farms products.

Time to shower and get going!  Dinner tonight will probably be out.  I'm getting some serious cabin fever... I need to start finding places conducive to bringing a 2 month old....

The Blairmonster

Good grief is all I have to say.  Welcome to fuss-fest 2014 featuring Miss. Blair Ryan.  She is something else.  The good news is that my apartment is nicely vacuumed.  Vacuuming miraculously lulled her to sleep for a grand total of 10 minutes.  Another temporary fix was letting her play on the activity mat near my treadmill while I ran.  Again, I think she likes the sound and probably the vibrations it made on the floor.  This only lasted for a mile in a half, but still it was something.  My work out today was extremely fragmented; however, I still managed to work in a total of 8 miles which met my goal for the day and left me absolutely famished.  I'll tell you working out plus breast feeding will make you one hungry mungry!

I don't know if the Blairmonster fits the exact definition of colic:  3 hrs of crying, 3 days in a row, and 3 weeks in a row, but she is definitely blazing a path there.

I came across this lactobacillus probiotic article and I think I'm going to try it out:  http://www.jfponline.com/index.php?id=22143&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=178184  The only problem is that the company it recommends no longer exists.  I'm on a mission to find some sort of reputable brand in a liquid dropper form.  Will call her doctor's office tomorrow.

Two products that have been a godsend:

This paci is the only one that she will take, and definitely helps to sooth her during the day.  This was a free one given to us at the doctor's office.  I plan on picking up at least 10 more of these (preferably in more girly colors) the next time I go to Target.

This is the other miracle worker.  When the little woman is in a fit, she refuses to sit down.  The second I sit, she screams.  So what I've been doing is bouncing/walking around with her in here while popping that paci in her mouth.

The jury is still out to decide if this fussiness is colic or a growth spurt.  I have no idea.  Probably because I can't hear myself think....

Finally...

I made it to the grocery store!  We were way overdue.... as in I ate 4 cheese quesadillas for dinner the night before because that's all we had left in the house.  While there, I stumbled upon these gems:  Dried green beans and okra are some of my favorite snack foods.  They give that perfect salty crunch that you actually still have some nutritional value that you can feel good about.  Yesterday, these caught my eye... garlic chips!  I'm aware that most  would think this is the most absolutely disgusting dried creation ever to enter HEB, but if you love garlic... yum!  Definitely worth trying them out.

Once I got home and situated, I couldn't wait to try out one of my favorite recipes that I haven't created since this summer.  Cauliflower chicken fried rice.  It's super easy, and is the perfect meal when craving anything Asian.

It's super easy, too.

- 1 bag frozen cauliflower
- 1/3 bag frozen mixed veggies (peas, carrots, corn)
- 2 eggs
- soy sauce
- grilled chicken (or shrimp would be good, too)

Heat cauliflower in the microwave for ~5 minutes.  Pop in the food processor and finely chop.  Throw into a greased saute pan.  Add frozen veggies, eggs, chicken, and soy sauce to taste.  Stir fry together and serve.

Fit pregnancy post

9 months is a long time!

Justin and I found out we were pregnant when we were 4 days into our New Zealand adventure.  Justin was able to spend 2 months completing residency at a hospital in Napier, NZ.... and I got to tag along.  It was the trip of a lifetime.

While in NZ my eyes were open to several things health and nutrition related.  First, nearly everything is organic and free range.  The egg yolks were a bright orange color, just the way true free range eggs should be.  This is because nearly all foods consumed in New Zealand are grown or farmed in NZ.  The cost to import is far too much.  Also, I learned that OBGYN's are virtually non-existent.  Women almost exclusively rely on midwives to deliver their children sans epidural.  Only in a true emergency will an OBGYN be flown in.  This fascinated me, and so I began to learn as much as possible about having a natural child birth.  I learned that the United States has one of the highest C-section rates in the world as well as the highest usage of epidurals.  From this point on I was determined to deliver my baby naturally as well as try to live the most active and healthy lifestyle possible while pregnant.

I am able to say that I did both!  Below is the documentation of my growing bump and concluding with a pic prior to delivery (and prior to contractions).  I'll document my birth story at a later time.  Until then... here is the growing bump.

Go time!

MIMM #1

Marvelous is reinventing the Quest bar each morning for a quick and delicious breakfast.

This morning I zapped an Apple Pie flavored one in the microwave for about 10 seconds, diced it into small pieces, threw it into my remaining tub of yogurt,  topped it off with flavored coffee creamer, and enough almond milk to get things moving. Delicious!  18g fiber and 20g protein has never tasted so good.  I'm a huge fan of anything that reminds me of frozen yogurt! 

Marvelous is my mother in law who comes over every Monday and Thursday to watch the little so I can make it to spin class. She is the best. I also will finally get to go to the grocery store to share more creative eats with you!!

As for now, the little finally settled in for a morning nap. Marvelous is actually squeezing in a quick morning walk with this one:

(Poor guy has been acting a little downtrodden and neglected since lil Miss came to town).

Pumping, and at least 3 miles on the treadmill before the little wakes up and before spin!!!  

Wish me luck! We will see how this goes.....

Broccoli pizza crust

Surely by now everyone has heard of the cauliflower pizza crust.  With today being the super bowl, I was wanting pizza but only had a few ingredients in the house... one of which was broccoli.

Here is what I came up with...

- 1 bag frozen broccoli
- 2 big handfuls of Parmesan cheese
- Egg beaters (or real eggs or egg whites) Use the equivalent of 2 eggs
- Garlic powder
- Salt
- Dump in ~ 1/2 cup flax seed
- Whatever sauce and toppings you want

Heat broccoli in microwave for 5 minutes.  Pop it into the food processor and blend until fine.  Pour into a medium size bowl.  Firmly press paper towel on top of broccoli to absorb all excess fluid-- very important step.  Add parm cheese, eggs, garlic powder, and salt to taste.  I tend to go heavy handed on the garlic powder and salt.... why?  Because I love salt, and this is a lot of broccoli!  Dump in the flax seed and mix it all together.  Poor mixture onto a greased baking sheet and pat into a circular pizza shape.  Try to get this as thinned out as possible without any cracks in the crust.  It's important to really thin out the middle as this portion takes the longest to cook.

Pop it into an oven at 415 degrees.  Let it cook for about 10-12 minutes and then cool.  You will know it is done when the edges are slightly browned.

Now for the fun part-- toppings!!!!  The above recipe is for 1 pizza.  Tonight I made two of these, one for me, and one for Justin.  I kept my pizza simple by adding diced grilled chicken and mozzarella cheese.  Since Justin had leftovers from the enchiladas I made him last night, I am re-purposing the shredded beef   and adding grilled chicken and Mexican cheese.  I am going to use ranch for the sauce component of his pizza and top with Greek yogurt in lieu of sour cream to make a Tex-Mex Pizza.

After this cools, I'll pop it in the fridge for him to reheat when he gets home.

Enjoy!

Worlds greatest app

Nike Training Club

Yes!  Download it now.  This is the best free app around for a kick butt home work out.  I work these into my work out regimen about twice a week and each time they pack a great punch.  Today, I completed Pioneer.

This was a 45 minute cardio/strength work out that really got my heart rate up fast!  Some of the things I love about the app: each work out is timed, contains an explanation and video of how to complete each move, and has several options to keep it entertaining.  It is perfect for days when I have to literally stop and start a work out every 10 minutes to tend to a newborn.

The app has work outs for beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels and are divided into the categories of: Get lean, get toned, get strong or get focused.

Highly recommend!

This is how we do it

 Justin and I were married December 2011 and in December 2013 we welcomed our first child.

Life up to this point has been a dream for a fast paced, multi-tasking person like myself.  This year, Justin finished up residency in Dallas, worked for 2 months in New Zealand, and we moved to our Alma mater in College Station, TX.  I try to maximize each day in hope of being the best wife, mommy, and person that I can be.  Squeezing in a work out and whipping up easy nutritious meals for the fam can be quite a daunting task, but my hope is to provide a glimpse into my unconventional way of doing things that somehow work for us.

My husband, works random hours, and I always like to send him off with some sort of nutrient dense snack to sustain him.  Justin is really passionate about following a low carb diet- so most of our meals and snacks follow suit.

These peanut butter cookies were whipped up today with what I had laying around the house (I rarely get to the store these days with a one month old) and they just happen to be moist and delicious.  As you can see, I rarely follow recipes.... just go with it.

- Big blob of natural PB (I used chunky and about 1/4-1/3 of the jar)
- Enough all natural, no sugar added apple sauce to thin out the PB
- 1 cap full of vanilla extract
- Sprinkle of baking soda
- Dash of salt
- Flax seed to thicken to a cookie dough consistency

Mix all ingredients together, spoon onto a non greased baking pan, and pop into the oven at 350 degrees, and bake until you smell the cookies.  This is usually 5-8 minutes depending on the oven. Let cool.  They will be the perfect consistency once they cool and thicken up a bit.

Makes 5 medium size cookies.

Your husband will love you.