Asiago Cheese Pasta Bowl

Sep 112012

Hello there! I cannot tell you all how I am excited I am to be back on my regular blogging schedule. Writing those Rome recaps was fun but man, they were exhausting! Each one included so many pictures and descriptions that they were all really long which, of course, meant they took forever to write. Thank you all for bearing with me on those and for sharing your wonderful comments

In case you missed any of the recaps, I have linked to them all below:

Rome Recaps

So now that my trip to Rome is 100% over, let’s switch topics and get back to what this blog is really about…living a healthy lifestyle!

Workout

I have noticed that since I came back from vacation I have felt a bit more…pudgy than I was before I left. Nothing serious, but my shorts felt a little snugger and there was a number on the scale that was 3-4 pounds higher than it was before I left. Not good. Because of this, I’ve decided I need to really step up my workouts.

Before I left, I was following Tina’s Best Body Bootcamp program. While I like the program a lot, I feel like it may not be exactly perfect for me with my goals right now. I understand the importance of combining cardio with strength training in order to boost your metabolism, however I really like circuit workouts that can combine the two in one, instead of having them be separated in a workout.

For example, Tina’s workouts would often suggest some type of cardio (which for me would usually be running although sometimes I used the elliptical or bike) followed by a strength training circuit. However, my favorite workouts keep my heart rate pounding the entire time and when I leave I feel sweaty and exhausted and know that I got a great workout. Sometimes at the end of Tina’s workouts my heart rate would have come back down from the cardio and I felt sort of disappointed that I wasn’t breaking a sweat throughout the whole workout. I think this just has to do with me and the type of workouts I like best right now.

So, with all that said, I think I will be moving back to my Insanity DVD workouts.

[Source]

They are great HIIT circuits that combine strength with cardio in the same circuit, so that in between your pushups and tricep dips you will be doing burpees and jumping jacks, for example. I did also buy a new Inanity DVD which only lasts 20 minutes (called Fast and Furious and will probably kill me) which will be perfect for the mornings where I still want to run a mile or two with Jack and then do a short burst of Insanity after.

[Source]

So that’s where I am with my fitness right now and I plan to really kick up my workouts. It’s kind of a change for me so I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions!

Recipe

In addition to talking about my exercise goals I am so excited to share a recipe with you guys! I feel like it has been forever since I made anything new and I was so happy to come up with this yummy creation last night.

I was inspired by three main ingredients which I brought back with me from Italy.

First I have a small bottle of olive oil that was given to my mom and me (yes that’s proper English) when we ate lunch at La Posta Vecchia. The olive oil there was like nothing I ever tasted and had so much flavor. It made our American olive oil seem like a joke. They were so kind to give us two small bottles after we couldn’t stop raving about it at the restaurant, and clearly I couldn’t wait to give it a try.

Next was two large chunks (sorry Megan) of cheese- asiago and parmesan. Obviously I’ve had parmesan cheese before in plenty of dishes but I have only ever had asiago cheese in a bagel from Panera Bread, which doesn’t exactly showcase its delicious flavors lol. So for dinner last night I decided to whip up something delicious that would incorporate all three ingredients. I came up with an Asiago Cheese Pasta Bowl!

Made with whole wheat pasta, tomatoes, spinach, garlic, parmesan, and asiago cheese, this dish is pretty healthy and delicious! Plus, as they say, what grows together goes together (and by they, I mean Dani Spies! haha love her).

Anyway, here’s how the dish came together.

First I set a large pot of water to boil over high heat. I added a good pinch of Kosher salt and then added my pasta. I used whole wheat penne, but you can use whatever you have around.

While the pasta was cooking, I grilled a boneless skinless chicken breast (straight from the freezer!) on the George Foreman grill. I didn’t have any chicken in my pasta bowl, but I knew Fabio, being the meat-chomping carnivore that he is, would want some meat in his dish.

I seasoned the chicken breast with salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of basil and garlic spices.

While the chicken and the pasta were cooking, I got the rest of the ingredients together.

First I sliced a bunch of cherry tomatoes in half, until I had about 1 cup of tomatoes.

Next I minced 2 large cloves of garlic until they were super tiny. I could have used my jar of minced garlic, but I find that the actual cloves give off a lot more flavor and are great in simple dishes like this one.

Once the garlic was minced, I set a large skillet to medium heat and drizzled about 2 tablespoons of the good olive oil into the pan. I added the minced garlic and let it cook until fragrant, about one minute.

Then I added the tomatoes and shredded about 1/4 cup each of parmesan and asiago cheese over the pan. At this point, things were starting to look and smell really good!

Once the cheese started to melt, I added two very large handfuls of spinach to the pan. The spinach wilts down a lot, so I made sure to put in even more than I thought I would need.

By this time my whole wheat pasta was cooked (but still al dente) so I drained it and added it to the pan.

Wheeeeeeeeeee!

Sorry, haha.

Then I tossed everything together and added a pinch of salt, pepper, and, my favorite, red pepper flakes. This gives the dish a nice little kick but you can omit if you’d like.

Then it was time to serve! I spooned everything into two large bowls and topped Fabio’s with the chicken, which I had sliced into bite-size pieces.

It was delicious!

Having never tried asiago cheese before (well practically never) I was blown away by how much flavor this dish had. I thought the cheese would tie everything together but I didn’t realize how tangy and delicious it would be. Every time I got a little bite of asiago my taste buds went crazy. It was phenomenal! I highly recommend this easy, relatively healthy, weeknight meal

Asiago Cheese Pasta Bowl

Recipe type: Entree

Author: Chelsea Eats Treats

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 2

This easy weeknight meal is made with whole wheat pasta and fresh Italian ingredients like asiago and parmesan cheese, tomatoes, spinach, garlic, and olive oil.

Ingredients

Whole wheat penne pasta (enough for two people- I eyeball it)
1 boneless skinless chicken breast (optional)
Salt
Pepper
Basil and Garlic Seasoning
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 cup asiago cheese (or more- eyeball it)
2 large handfuls spinach
1 pinch red pepper flakes

Instructions

Salt a large pot of water and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain when pasta is al dente.
Grill chicken and season with salt, pepper, and basil/garlic seasoning.
Set a large pan to medium high heat and drizzle in olive oil.
Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add tomatoes and cheese.
Add spinach and pasta, toss to combine.
Top with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
Serve in a large bowl and top with cooked and sliced chicken.

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So, do you guys ever make spontaneous meals that turn out great? I thought this dish would be delicious but when I was eating it I couldn’t believe how yummy it actually was. Plus it was so easy! I would totally make the same thing again tonight…or maybe for the rest of my life?

That must be the nostalgia from Rome talking

Greek-Marinated Chicken

Recipes 4 Responses »

Jun 052012

In case you missed it yesterday, be sure to check out my guest post on a tasty ice cream recipe over at Virginia is for Bloggers!

Hello everyone! I hope your Tuesday is going well. I remember when I was little I used to love Tuesdays because that was usually my day for dance class, gymnastics, or whatever other activity I was enrolled in at the time. Now Tuesdays are a heck of a lot less exciting and just mean Monday is over. Oh well, at least it’s one day closer to the weekend!

Workout

Yesterday I got back into the swing of things by waking up early and going for my one mile run with Jack and completing half of an Insanity DVD before work. Last week I was in a post-Memorial Day slump and just didn’t feel motivated to do Insanity in the morning. This meant my afternoons were a lot crazier because I tried to squeeze in a few extra runs to the dog park, which is fine when I want to run and have plenty of time, but I hate feeling like I have to run because I skipped out on my morning workout. No bueno.

Even after taking one week off from Insanity I started to feel the difference in my muscles and realized the moves were a lot more difficult than they were before I took my little hiatus. I am coming to realize that while breaks from routine might seem nice at the time, I sure do regret it later! I was really happy that I was able to tackle my workout yesterday and I will make sure to stick to my routines from now on. Now more lazy bones!

Recipe

Ok, now that that’s out of the way, let’s get to today’s recipe! Last night for dinner I had a delicious chicken gyro with tzatziki sauce. It was so flavorful, tasty, and filling! Last time Fabio came home from New York, he brought a huge tub of tzatziki sauce home with him from his favorite Greek place. In case you are unfamiliar with tzatziki, it is a creamy yogurt-based cucumber sauce usually flavored with oregano and lemon juice. This one is always a big hit and I was so happy Fabio brought some home! But then the question arose…what should we do with it? We didn’t have any ground lamb (obviously it’s not something I keep in my fridge) and I wasn’t about to buy a rotisserie, so I decided to marinade some chicken with Greek flavors and use it in a wrap; gyro style! It worked out extremely well and we were both licking our ~~lips~~ fingers during dinner. It was a really simple marinade and would work well with a bunch of different dishes (I’m totally going to make a Greek salad with this chicken next). Here’s how it came together.

First I defrosted two boneless, skinless chicken breasts and put them in a large Ziploc bag along with the marinade. The marinade was made up of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, dried oregano, salt, and pepper.

I added everything to the bag with the chicken and mixed it around so the chicken was evenly coated in the marinade. Then I popped the bag into the fridge for about an hour while I took Jack to the dog park and met up with my friends Britt and Jess.

When I got home, I set the oven to broil and waited for it to heat up. Then I took out the marinated chicken and placed it on a rack on top of a foil-lined cookie sheet. This chicken would have been really great cooked on the grill as well, but unfortunately with our little apartment we would have to get our grill out of storage and wait for the charcoal to get hot. I was not about to wait around and do all that on a weeknight! The broiler worked out well anyway Then I placed the chicken in the oven and let it broil for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, I cut up some small tomatoes and red onion for the gyros!

When the chicken was done cooking, I let it rest for a few minutes before slicing it into bite-size pieces.

Then it was assembly time! First I warmed up two whole-wheat 100-calorie tortillas in the oven (pita would work better probably but I had to use what I had!) and spread them with a thin layer of tzatziki sauce all the way to the ends. Then I topped them with chicken.

Next came the tomatoes.

Then red onion.

And finally, the lettuce and spinach.

By this time, the wraps were huge and I could barely roll them up. It was worth it though for all that spinach! Yum!

Greek-Marinated Chicken

Recipe type: Entree

Author: Chelsea @ Chelsea Eats Treats

Prep time: 1 hour 5 mins

Cook time: 5 mins

Total time: 1 hour 10 mins

Serves: 2

This Greek-marinated chicken is perfect for a gyro or Greek salad!

Ingredients

2 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
2 whole wheat pita or tortilla wraps
3 small tomatoes, sliced
1/4 red onion, sliced
Generous handful of lettuce/spinach mixture
2 tbsp. tzatziki sauce (store-bought or home-made)

Instructions

Add chicken to a Ziploc bag with next seven ingredients (through black pepper) and mix around to distribute evenly. Store in refrigerator for at least one hour.
Set oven to broil. Remove chicken from bag and place onto grill rack on top of foil-lined cookie sheet. Broil in the oven for about five minutes or until juices run clear.
When chicken is cooked, allow to cool for a few minutes and then slice into bite-size pieces.
Warm tortilla/pita in the oven for a few minutes and then top each with 1 tbsp. tzatziki sauce, chicken, tomatoes, red onion, and lettuce/spinach mixture.
Roll up wraps and enjoy!

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And, that’s it! Pretty simple right? Plus it was definitely delicious and made good use of that tzatziki sauce.

Anyone else have good recipes for tzatziki sauce? I was thinking of trying out a healthier falafel recipe but I’m not sure how it will work out. Let me know if you think of anything creative!

Chicken Orzo Summer Salad

Recipes 2 Responses »

May 292012

Ah, my favorite time of the day is right now. Dinner is done, the kitchen is clean, and I can relax on the couch and blog. This evening is especially welcome after the tough day I had at work. Coming back from vacation is always difficult, but today my to-do list was never-ending and I had a ton of assignments that needed to be finished by the end of the day. It was super stressful so coming home and enjoying an easy and fresh dinner was exactly what I needed! Before I share the recipe with you though, let’s talk about my workout.

Workout

Last night Fabio didn’t get home from New York until after midnight. To make things worse, he needed help bringing in all his bags and, since it was late, he had to park far away. This meant I had to stay up waiting for him and didn’t get to bed until way past my bedtime. So, when the alarm rang at 6 am for my morning workout, I opted to snooze for an extra 30 minutes and only ran a mile with Jack. I felt a little guilty for skipping the other half of my workout, but my body was so drained from Memorial Day Weekend and I knew it made more sense to sleep in. I will just have to vamp up my workout tomorrow!

Recipe

I was feeling pretty uninspired today when I was thinking about dinner (must have been that lack of sleep/busy workday bringing me down) so I turned to Cooking Light for some inspiration. I saw this beautiful Chicken Orzo Salad with Goat Cheese which looked bright, colorful, fresh, and easy. I was immediately hooked! Although I had most of the ingredients on hand, I didn’t have any orzo or arugula so I picked some up from Trader Joe’s after work. I couldn’t wait even one day to make this delicious recipe!

Luckily, it lived up to its expectations! It was so flavorful and I loved all the different elements. I actually wound up omitting completely forgetting to add the goat cheese, but it honestly wasn’t missing a thing! I loved this light summer salad and was happy I could incorporate so many veggies into one dish. Here’s how it came together.

First I cooked the orzo according to the package directions. If you’ve never had orzo before, it’s a rice-shaped pasta that makes a great base for salads. I used Trader Joe’s brand (shocking, I know).

While it was cooking, I got all the veggies together. I first chopped up some spinach and arugula. Then I plucked a few leaves (about 3 tbsp.) from my basil plant, julienned them (remember when I talked about that?), and mixed them with the other greens.

Then I moved the greens to the side and got started chopping some red onion, grape tomatoes, asparagus (not pictured- woops), and bell peppers.

The bell peppers I used were frozen (I always buy them in bulk, chop them, and freeze them) so I tossed them in a skillet with the asparagus for a few minutes until both were tender. I used my handy Misto olive oil sprayer to keep the oil to a minimum. I bought it for just a few bucks from TJ Maxx/Ross/Home Goods/one of those stores ages ago and it’s one of my favorite kitchen gadgets!

Once all the veggies were ready, I got the chicken going. I cooked two frozen chicken breasts on the George Foreman grill and seasoned with them with salt and pepper. I love my George Foreman because you just have to plop the frozen chicken down and walk away Smile What could be easier?

Then it was time to make the vinaigrette. It took me literally three seconds to bring together and included some olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper. So, so easy.

By this time the orzo was finished cooking so I drained it and allowed it to cool for a minute or two. Then I combined everything (the arugula, spinach, basil, asparagus, bell peppers, red onion, tomatoes, chopped chicken, and vinaigrette) together in a large bowl until everything was mixed thoroughly.

Then it was time to serve!

All the flavors came together beautifully. Plus the recipe made enough for us to have leftovers for lunch! Woohoo!

Chicken Orzo Summer Salad (Adapted from Cooking Light)

Serves three

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
3 cups chopped grilled chicken breast strips
1 cup trimmed arugula
1 cup trimmed spinach
3 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper (I used a mix of red and yellow)
1/2 cup chopped asparagus
1/4 cup red onion, diced
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper

Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain well.
Chop the next 6 ingredients (through red onion) and add to a large bowl; toss well.
Combine vinegar, oil, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.
Drizzle vinegar mixture over pasta mixture; toss well to coat.

This salad made me so excited for summer because of all the great produce that’s available. I loved the crunch of the asparagus, the soft tomatoes, and the buttery pasta. Yum!!

What are your favorite seasonal foods? As much as I love fresh tomatoes and asparagus in summer, there’s something to be said for apples in the fall and butternut squash in winter!

Fish Tacos

Recipes 10 Responses »

May 152012

Remember yesterday when I said we are trying to leave Jack out of his cage during the day? Well things have been going pretty well, but he still loves taking our clothes out of the hamper and putting them by the front door. It’s like he thinks we will magically reappear if he places them there. This is the sight Fabio saw when he got home:

“You’re home? Finally??”

Haha silly dog. Other than the clothes, he chewed up a decorative apple that I keep in a fruit bowl on the kitchen table, but there are still like 6 more so I didn’t mind. Too much. He seems to be doing ok out of his cage during the day but not great…not sure if we should revert back to the cage or not!

Workout

Today’s workout was another good one. This morning I woke up slightly earlier than usual so I was able to fit in my run with Jack and the entire Insanity workout (usually in the morning I only have time for about half). The only bad part was it was pouring rain out, so even though I was huddled in my raincoat, I was thoroughly drenched after our run. By the time I was done Insanity I was sopping wet with rain and sweat. Gross!! Good thing I was able to hop in the shower immediately after because it was not a good look for me. At all. But the workout was great!

Recipe

The other day I was telling my friend Catrina (Hi Treen!) about some of my favorite recipes. This caused me to browse through the list of recipes I keep on my phone, and I came across one that I totally forgot about- fish tacos!! I love, love, love fish tacos! I’m not a huge fan of fish by itself, but when the fish is wrapped up in a yummy tortilla and topped yummy accoutrements like avocado, onions, and tomatoes, I am in fishy heaven! The other day I picked up some halibut from the grocery store and tonight I enjoyed these delectable tacos. Here’s how I made them.

First I set the oven to broil and allowed it to get nice and hot. Then I made a rub from cumin, paprika, chili powder, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and salt. Cinnamon seems like an odd addition to this mix but it has a familiar spicy flavor that I love! I mixed these up in a small bowl and set the rub aside.

Next I lined a cookie sheet with tin foil and placed a grill rack on top. If I had an outdoor grill I would have used that, but apartment life does not allow for a grill. Sadly. Once the rack was ready I put the fish on top and rubbed the spices onto both sides.

Then I broiled the fish in the oven for about 5 minutes until it was flaky and no longer translucent.

While the fish was cooking, I got to work chopping some cherry tomatoes, onions, avocado, and lettuce. When the fish was done it was assembly time! Fish, then onions, then tomatoes, then avocados, and finally, the lettuce.

I served these on corn tortillas (I like corn tortillas better than wheat ones for fish tacos) and served it with some Mexican veggie quinoa (recipe to come soon!).

The rub on the fish was flavorful and smoky without being too spicy, and the creamy avocado gave it all a great texture. I just love the combination of all of those flavors!! Even if you don’t like fish, you really should try this recipe!

Fish Tacos

Serves two

Ingredients

1 lb. white fish (I’ve used both Halibut and Tilapia, both are delicious)
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 avocado, sliced
1/4 small onion, diced
6 cherry tomatoes, chopped
1 large lettuce leaf, chopped
4 corn tortillas

Instructions

Set oven to broil and allow it to get really hot.
Combine spices in a small bowl. Line a cookie sheet with foil (for easy clean up, but you can omit) and place a grill rack on top. Place fish on top of grill rack and rub spices all over.
Place fish in the oven and allow to cook for about 5 minutes, or until fish is flaky and white instead of translucent.
Heat corn tortillas in microwave with a damp paper towel for 30 seconds, if desired. Begin topping tortillas with fish, onions, tomatoes, avocados, and lettuce.
Roll up tortillas, and eat!

I just realized one of the reasons I made this dish is because I wanted to use up some of cilantro. Too bad I just remembered this now and totally omitted the cilantro from this dish. Ugh! So annoying! Does this ever happen to anyone else? #DinnerFailure.

Chicken Burrito Bowl

Recipes 2 Responses »

May 082012

Hello everyone! Happy Tuesday I hope your day is going well…mine has been very busy and productive! Even though I’m busy at work, I promised I would share my recipe from last night’s dinner and a promise is a promise! So, without further ado, I give you….Chicken Burrito Bowls!

Recipe

I don’t know about you, but Chipotle is one of my favorite “fast food” restaurants. I love that you can choose exactly which ingredients you want and switch up the flavors each time you go. While I generally try to get the healthiest options available (which is made easier by Chipotle’s recent addition of brown rice! Thank you Chipotle!), I knew I could make an even healthier version of my favorite chicken burrito bowl at home. So, whether it’s the spicy chicken or the sweet corn that tickles your taste buds, try this at-home version of Chipotle’s burrito bowl and get your Mexican fix without all the calories! Yay!

To make this dish I first combined brown rice with water and brought it to a boil over high heat. Once it was boiling, I turned the heat down to low, covered the rice, and let it cook for about 25 minutes.

While the rice cooked I started bringing together all the rest of the ingredients that would go into my burrito bowl. First I chopped a small onion, a medium-sized tomato, and some cilantro and combined it with lemon juice in a small bowl. Lime juice probably would have been better, but I didn’t have any on hand and the lemon tasted fine.

I set this mixture aside and let the flavors come together as I prepared the rest of my ingredients.

Next I opened a can of sweet corn and black beans. I made sure to get the low sodium kind because canned veggies are usually loaded with salt. Bleh. No thank you! I’ll add my own salt thankyouverymuch.

I poured these into separate bowls and gave them a quick nuke in the microwave. Once they were hot, I set them aside with my tomato mixture so they’d be all in one place when I was ready to add them to the rice.

Then I got started on the chicken. I made a quick rub from cumin, paprika, Mexican chili powder, and a little bit of cayenne pepper. I rubbed this on three small boneless, skinless, chicken tenders and cooked them up on the George Foreman.

They cooked up really quickly and once they were done I chopped them up and set them aside. Then I just had to wait for the rice to finish cooking!

As soon as it was done I dumped in the tomatoes, corn, and beans and mixed everything together.

Then I scooped the rice mixture into two bowls and topped it with the chicken! I added some extra cilantro for garnish (mostly because my cilantro plant is growing like crazy and I wanted to use more).

These were so good and really mimicked the flavor of Chipotle! The spicy chicken gave the dish a nice kick and the sweet corn balanced it out. Fabio couldn’t stop raving about how good it was and went back for seconds! He also topped his with shredded cheese but I omitted this to save calories. This really is an easy and tasty dish so you should try it out!

Chicken Burrito Bowls (inspired by Chipotle)

Serves ~~three~~ one hungry boy and his girlfriend

Ingredients

1 cup brown rice
2 cups water
1 small onion, diced
1 medium-sized tomato, diced
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp. lemon/lime juice
1/2 can sweet corn
1/2 can black beans
3 boneless, skinless chicken tenders (or other type of chicken breast)
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. Mexican chili powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Instructions

Combine brown rice with water in a pot. Bring the water to a boil and then cover the rice and reduce heat to low. Cook for about 25 minutes or until water is absorbed and rice is tender.
Combine chopped onion, tomato, and cilantro in a bowl. Mix well and add in lemon/lime juice. Set aside.
Pour 1/2 can sweet corn into a separate bowl and heat in microwave for 1 minute. Repeat with 1/2 can of black beans. Set bowls aside.
In another small dish, combine cumin, paprika, Mexican chili powder, and cayenne pepper. Rub spice mixture on both sides of chicken breasts and grill until chicken is no longer pink in the middle. Remove chicken from grill and slice into bite-size pieces.
When rice is done, add in tomato mixture, corn, and beans. Stir to combine.
Serve rice in small bowls and top with chicken. Garnish with extra cilantro, if desired.

That’s it! Super easy, huh?

So now let me hear from you. Do you like Chipotle? What’s your favorite fast-food option? Do you ever try recreating your favorites at home?

Quinoa Mac and Cheese Cakes

Recipes No Responses »

Apr 182012

Do you ever have those days where you just feel exhausted? When the thought of working out makes you cringe and you’d much rather curl up in your bed and call it a day? Well today was one of those days for me. I had a rough day at work and didn’t leave until late, so by the time I got home I did not want to work out. However, I have a few tips and tricks that I usually use to motivate myself and get my butt in gear. So I sucked it up, tied up my sneakers, and headed out the door. Today reminded me how hard it can be sometimes to just work out and I want to share my tips with you about how to move past it and, as Nike says, just do it.

Workout

Today’s workout was identical to yesterday’s; it began with a 1-mile jog in the morning and then in the afternoon included a jog to and from the dark park (1 mile each way) and an Insanity warm-up.

The morning run was a breeze, mostly because the weather has been gorgeous! When the sun shines through the window and the weather report promises warm temperatures, I am way happier getting out from under the covers. We saw a few bunnies on our run as usual, and of course Jack went nuts trying to chase them. He also had fun rolling around with another dog for about five minutes. It got him nice and tired and I was not complaining! The run was just enough to wake me up and get me ready for the day. Good thing too; it was a tough day!

The trouble started when I got home from work. I was cranky and tired and just wanted to relax. However after a few minutes of talking to Fabio and playing with Jack, I knew I had to just suck it up and work out. Here are some things I kept in mind to help motivate me:

Summer is coming and I’ll need to be bikini-ready
I always feel great once I actually start exercising
I would feel guilty eating peanut butter banana bread for dessert if I didn’t work out
Biggest Loser was coming on at 8:00 and those contestants always motivate me to work out
I could take it as easy or as slow as I wanted to; as long as I exercised I didn’t care about the speed
If I didn’t work out I’d be letting myself down and would feel horrible about it all night

That last bullet is the one that really got me moving. All I had to do was think of how disappointed I’d be in myself all night and and soon I was on my feet. It just wasn’t worth it to me to enjoy an extra 30 minutes of relaxing when I could be working towards my health and fitness goals. I was out the door and on my way to the dog park in no time.

Today I remembered to wear my heart rate monitor during my entire afternoon workout. This shows my heart rate during my jogs and the warm-up for Insanity (these don’t show my morning jog). Burning 311 calories in half an hour wasn’t too bad; neither was reaching a maximum heart rate of 186 or an average heart rate of 155. I’d say those numbers are pretty good for me. After today, I was just happy I could get myself to do something.

Recipe

Dinner today came together in just a few minutes! We had broiled chicken, brussels sprouts, a small tomato salad, and quinoa mac and cheese cakes!

First I’ll explain the chicken, brussels sprouts, and salad quickly.

For the chicken I set the oven to broil and let it get nice and hot. Then I defrosted some boneless skinless breasts that we keep in the freezer (and eat all the time) and seasoned them with salt and pepper. I placed them on a rack on top of a cookie sheet lined with foil (for easy clean up). Then the chicken went into the hot oven. I cooked the chicken for about 4 minutes on each side.

Meanwhile, I mixed up about some honey mustard, white-wine vinegar, and paprika in a separate bowl. I used Honey Cup brand honey mustard because it is SO good. Like seriously. You must try this honey mustard. I want to dive into it like a pool. Anyway, I digress! When the chicken was almost done, I brushed both sides with the honey mustard mixture and let it cook for about 1 more minute in the oven. The honey mustard turned into a glaze and gave the chicken tons of good flavor. It was delicious.

For the brussels sprouts I cut the sprouts in half length-wise and tossed them in some olive oil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Then I heated up a pan on the stovetop and transferred the seasoned sprouts to the pan. I cooked the sprouts for about 10 minutes, tossing now and then so they didn’t burn. They are so simple and so tasty, definitely one of my favorite side dishes.

While I was cooking the chicken and brussels sprouts, Fabio decided to whip up his own side dish! I believe his words were something like, “I want to make the blog too!” Ok Fabs, thanks for your help. Your salad was delicious! He sliced up some tomatoes, basil and mozzarella cheese and piled them into a nice small salad to accompany our meal. He topped with salt and pepper. It really was delicious.

Lastly I made quinoa mac and cheese cakes! YUM!! These were so delicious you wouldn’t believe that they are good for you. Last week I made some Quinoa Mac and Cheese adapted from Around the Table. I will definitely have to repeat this recipe and share it with you guys! It involves the incredibly healthy grain quinoa (pronounced KEEN-WAH) and other decadent comfort food ingredients like cheddar cheese and garlic. It was so good and luckily made enough for leftovers. Yay! I decided instead of reheating the mac and cheese in the microwave, I wanted to do something a little different with it. This how I invented the Quinoa Mac and Cheese Cakes!

First I started out with my leftover quinoa mac and cheese. I stirred it all up so it was combined evenly.

Meanwhile, I heated a hot griddle pan on the stovetop. I sprayed the pan with my Misto olive oil sprayer. If you don’t have one of these I highly recommend investing in one. They only cost a couple dollars and allow you to control how much oil you put on your food. I bought mine at TJ Maxx for like $3. Definitely a great investment.

Then I formed the mac and cheese mixture into “cakes” and cooked them on the hot pan. They didn’t stick together as well as I would have liked so next time I may add an egg into the mixture. However, they did crisp up nicely and retained all of their cheesy delicious flavor from the first time we ate them. These cakes were awesome and I will definitely make them again!

Here’s a picture of my whole dinner:

Yummmmm!! Now it’s time to go relax from this looong day. Thank God!

Questions

The link I provided above explaining the health benefits of quinoa is from WedMD. Personally I love getting my health information from that site. They have so many helpful resources. What cool things have you learned from WedMD? Have any good quinoa recipes? I’d love to try some!

Tomato Basil Pizza on a Whole Wheat Crust

Recipes 1 Response »

Apr 172012

Good morning people! Are there any people reading this blog yet? Probably not. Oh well…these things take time!

Workout

Yesterday’s workout was a good one! It began with a morning jog with Jack and Fabio. Each morning (at least on weekdays) we run 1 mile to get Jack nice and tired for the rest of the day. Someone was super excited yesterday morning.

The sun was barely up and this pup was ready to go.

“Come on mom let’s go!!”

The run itself was great! Sometimes our morning runs can be really painful but yesterday I felt well-rested and it came easily. Even the monster hill that we run up felt ok. Phew!

Part II of my workout comes later on in the day after work. We jogged with Jack up to the dog park, let him hang out for a while, then jogged home. That’s another two miles!

When I came home from the dog park I jumped right into a warm-up circuit from one of my favorite Insanity DVDs. I must tell you that Insanity is my favorite way to work out. Those DVDs will have me drenched in sweat in no time. They are quick and incredibly effective (month 1 DVDs are about 45 minutes long and month 2 DVDs are about an hour long; yesterday I just did the warm-up for 13 minutes). Since my heart rate was already high from our jog, the warm-up circuit had me sweating!

I wore my heart rate monitor during my Insanity workout (I forgot to wear it during our jog) and my maximum heart rate was 187! That’s pretty high for me. I was happy. Smile

Plus I wasn’t complaining about burning 143 calories in only 13 minutes. I’d say that’s pretty good!

The warm-up circuit includes 8 moves and you repeat the circuit 3 times. You are supposed to start out slowly and then build up your speed so that by the third repetition you are sprinting. Some of the moves in the circuit include:

Jogging in place
Jumping jacks
Jump rope
Switch Kicks
High knees, arms out

Some of the other moves are made up by the trainer, Sean T, such as the “1-2-3 Heisman” and “Hit the Floor.” I’m just guessing those are probably not commonly used workout names, right? Winking smile Anyway, Insanity is a great workout and since I had already run 3 miles throughout the day I decided the warm-up was good enough for me!

Recipe

For dinner yesterday I needed to use up a few items we had laying around. First, we had these beautiful tomatoes from Trader Joes.

So many tomatoes!

I also bought a basil plant from the Farmer’s Market near us last week. I absolutely loooove fresh basil so when I saw this plant for only $3 I had to get it.

Ok, so maybe the photo makes it look slightly bigger than it is in real life, but it is still a pretty big plant for only costing three buckaroos!

We also had some whole wheat pizza dough in the freezer and some mozzarella and pizza sauce in the fridge! Hellooooooo homemade pizza!

Ok, so this isn’t exactly a recipe, but it’s what I ate for dinner so just go with it!

First I preheated my oven to 450 degrees. Then I put a cookie sheet (or pizza stone if you have one) upside down on the top rack while the oven was preheating like so:

(Don’t mind the messy oven; I need to clean it I know!)

I let the cookie sheet get nice and hot while I prepped the pizza. To get the pizza started, a first pulled out a large wooden cutting board (just to have a big flat surface) and topped it with a piece of parchment paper. Then I sprinkled some flour onto the parchment paper and placed the whole wheat pizza dough on the floured surface. You can probably skip putting flour on your parchment paper but I’ve had issues with pizza crusts sticking before so I wasn’t taking any chances. Then I began stretching out my dough into a pizza shape.

Then I tossed the pizza in the air and spun it around on my finger to make the dough the same thickness throughout.

Ok come on, you didn’t really think I could twirl a pizza in the air did you? I didn’t think so.

Next comes the toppings! We used store-bought pizza sauce (Fabio actually prefers this to homemade- crazy I know!), mozzarella cheese, and sliced tomatoes that were all from Trader Joes (as was the whole wheat crust…I’m realizing I might have a TJ addiction).

Then I popped my pizza in the oven and let it bake for about five minutes. Once the pizza started to look ready, I pulled off some leaves from my basil plant and placed them on top of my almost-cooked pizza. I’m not a huge fan of crispy cooked basil so I chose to put it on near the end, but you can add the basil whenever you want. Once I put the basil on the pizza I put it back in the oven for a minute or two. Soon the pizza was ready to eat!

I let Fabio do the cutting while I snapped this final photo and then we dug in. I had two slices and Fabio had four! That left two more for me to take to work for lunch! Woohoooo!!

Tomato Basil Pizza with Whole Wheat Crust

(Ok so this is hardly a recipe but…)

Ingredients

Whole wheat pizza dough (you can make your own or use store-bought)
Pizza sauce
Mozzarella cheese
Fresh tomatoes
Fresh Basil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees and place a cookie sheet or pizza stone upside down on the top rack while oven heats up.

2. Sprinkle flour onto parchment paper and place your dough on top. Begin stretching out your dough.

3. Spread a liberal amount of tomato sauce on the dough and distribute evenly.

4. Top pizza with shredded cheese and sliced tomatoes. We also sprinkled some Italian blend spice on top of our pizza, but this is optional.

5. Place parchment paper with pizza on top onto hot cookie sheet and bake for about 5 minutes. Keep a close eye on the pizza so it doesn’t burn.

6. When the pizza is almost done, remove from oven and top with basil. Place pizza back in the oven for about a minute.

7. Remove pizza from the oven, slice and enjoy!

By the way, I try to follow Meatless Monday whenever I can and this recipe is a great one if you are trying to limit the amount of meat you eat. Look for more Meatless Monday recipes to come!

Question of the day

How do you make homemade pizza? Do you buy pre-made pizza crust? What about pizza sauce? Whenever I make homemade sauce Fabio complains that I should have just used the stuff in the jar! I compromise by buying it from Trader Joes which I feel is somehow fresher than the jarred stuff at other stores.

Soon I want to use my whole grain flours that I won to experiment with a healthy home-made dough. Let me know if you have any recipe suggestions!