Today I am feeling overwhelmed. Do you ever have days when you think "will I ever get this right?" That is how I feel right now. Just when I think I am on track with my eating and my workouts something comes along and messes it all up. For me it was winning a giveaway on Instagram! I know you are probably thinking "How is that bad?" and it isn't all bad. I would say this scenario is bittersweet! You see I am a huge Instagram junkie in fact I follow over 100 people (Insert gasp here!) but I just find that it is motivating for me. I know right now there is a lot of argument over whether seeing half naked girls flexing is fat shaming or not but I don't think it is. For me it is inspiring and uplifting. Now I know everyone is built differently and I will never look just like the woman I am about to talk about but it still makes me want to get up and move, get up and lift something! ha...Anyway, I won a giveaway from a woman on Instagram who's body is RIDICULOUS (in a good way)! She goes by marysfitbody on Instagram and she is one fit mothatrucker! I was so excited to win a 90 day diet/fitness regimen and coaching package from her, I can't even tell you. She set me up with my own program and went over everything I needed to know. Well it wasn't until today that I realized that my method I had been doing was totally opposite...le sigh!
It is never a bad thing to be active and I was doing myself good by just getting up and getting moving but now I have to kind of start over and retrain myself. I never knew that I should lift before my cardio, I always did it the opposite. I am extremely grateful for being able to work with her it's just stressful getting it all down right now!
Rant Over!
Recent Eats:
Zach and I have been on a roll with learning how to make healthier versions of meals we really like that are not very good for you. Monday he said he really wanted chicken pot pie so we set off to find a healthier version. I ended up deciding on
this recipe from Cooking Light. I didn't follow it exactly but it was pretty close.
Do you like the cute little baking cups that I found this week at TJ Maxx for $10?
Mmmm yummy veggie, chicken, and gravy filled heaven. So this was before I had to dump the filling into a pan and start all over. Zach pointed out to me that the dough should be inside the cup. Apparently I forgot that Chicken Pot Pie was a PIE!
Ah-ha that's better!
I decided to cook in my gym clothes since I had just gotten home from the gym! No I am not the type of person that matches everything together at the gym. I am going to sweat and throw it in the laundry so I don't care what I look like as long as it is comfortable. Notice the flour on my lady parts?
So this is the end product. Zach and I decided to make our own and he totally won! His looks like a real pie and mine looks like someone threw up a pie ha! They both tasted good though.
I have really been craving a good sandwich lately. After a nice hike with a friend we decided to make turkey clubs with turkey bacon. Here is our nice fresh toppings! Look at that beautiful avocado.
I have really been digging smoothies for breakfast this week and as a post workout refuel. This particular morning was a smoothie with plain greek yogurt, banana, strawberries, vanilla unsweetened almond milk, and chia seeds.
I don't know why I have never thought about putting avocado in my tuna before but man am I glad I decided too because it is delicious. The other day I wanted a tuna sandwich but I wanted to find a way to jazz it up so that I wouldn't be so sad about nixing the mayonnaise in it. I mean before I started eating better tuna fish sandwiches with globs of mayo were a staple in my diet. I concocted this combo on a whim. Tuna, plain greek yogurt, avocado, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper. It was pretty awesome. Next time I might add some pickles or celery for a little crunch.
Mmmm tuna salad!
I also have been really into putting bananas in my cereal lately. I have cut down on eating cereal in the morning and have tried to pick breakfast with more protein, less sugar, and better complex carbs but every now and then I just want cereal....with bananas. Like when I was a kid. Some of my more recent breakfasts include (Egg whites with turkey ham, tomato, and spinach! Steel cut oats with Truvia and fresh strawberries or organic pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice! Whole grain toast with almond butter and chocolate almond milk!)...see what I mean.
The was the pre-workout fuel I needed earlier this week. Lately my sleep schedule has been all off due to having some time off work and some other stresses in life. By the time I get to the gym I am pretty exhausted but I found eating a snack an hour before or so really helps. I only eat one piece before the gym the picture above was actually my breakfast one morning. Anyway, It's whole grain toast, banana, Planters Nutrition Peanut Butter with Granola, and chia seeds.
A month or so I was having a busy day and forgot my lunch so I decided to pop in to Tops to grab something quick for lunch. I ended up deciding on these chicken spring rolls which looked fresh and delicious...they were! Well since that day I have been on the lookout for them again but they are always out of them. The other night I popped in after the gym and they were in stock but they were $6 for 4 spring rolls which I thought was a little crazy. That is when I got this idea to MAKE MY OWN! Crazy concept I know :)! I couldn't find spring roll wraps so instead I decided to pick up some wonton papers and make a sort of healthy chicken wonton recipe! So the next night that is what I did.
Wonton wrappers are actually a pretty smart alternative for pasta. This brand was only 150 calories for 8 wraps not to mention they have a good amount of protein, low sugar, and almost no fat. they also are only $3 for a lot of them.
I tried to put as many veggies in there as I had on hand. I settled on green onions, celery, and carrots..
Part of the cooking process. So I cooked the chicken and shredded it. (I made a separate batch for Zach which were Buffalo chicken). I also shredded the carrots, chopped the celery, and chopped the onions. I then added them all back together in the pan with some olive oil and fresh chopped garlic. I let it saute a bit until the pan was sizzling. I then added ginger, onion powder, low sodium soy sauce, and some lime juice. I let it cook for another couple of minutes. I then removed it from heat. Set my wonton wrappers out along with a small bowl and pastry brush. I filled the wontons with the chicken filling, sealed them, and then put them in the pan to cook on each side till golden brown. Served em up with a bit of sweet Thai chili sauce and BAM! The end! They were pretty awesome. I really want to try other variations of wontons. In Zachary's I put shredded chicken, buffalo wing sauce, and the Skinny Cow Jalapeno Cheese.
Fitness:
I haven't been doing anything too exciting lately. A lot of cardio on the arc trainer at the gym. I devote a day to upper body using a mixture of body weight, free weight, and cable machine exercises. I also have a leg day which involves a lot of weighted squat variations, walking lunches, step ups, leg press, wall sits, and kettlebell swings...seriously I got crazy on leg day because it's my favorite. I also have a back and ab day! I did throw in a good hike this week though to switch things up!
I have to admit I love the scenery up here in New York. Even though it is starting to get cold there are still such beautiful sights to be seen. This hiking spot is one of my favorites by far. I love that it 1)has a really steep uphill in the beginning with a lot of stairs. You really feel a workout on this hike and your legs get a lot of action. 2)There are some of the best natural rock formations and the erosion makes some awesome designs. 3)The last part is pretty flat and good for running. 4)Um look at the cool underwater rock circles that someone built.
Well I think that is all the ramblings I have for today! What are you guys eating this week? Anything new that you love?
I love this brand of oatmeal a lot. There are so many varieties and I own about 5 different ones right now. One of my favorites in the raisin cookie one. It is the perfect mixture of sweet and hearty plus it has real raisins in it. What I like about Better Oats is that they add extra little things into the oatmeal so it is more than just oats. This flavor has flax but there is other ones that have Chia seeds, Quinoa, and real fruit chunks.
