Don't bother me….

Today was Plyometric Cardio Circuit.  I did not work out last night as I wanted to due to exhaustion.  I’m still pretty tired from the birthday festivities, and the work I did beforehand, but was able to make it through the workout at a modified pace this morning.  I still can’t do Level 1 drills, which are going down, doing four push-ups, running your feet up to your abs while in the pushup position, jumping up, and doing it over again.  Plus there were a lot of people in my living room, so trying to do the exercises that require more room is a bit challenging.  I AM, however, able to do more pushups than I was a week ago.  And I’m down to 133 lbs.

Tomorrow is Cardio Recovery, so I’m hoping to make up one of the workouts I missed on Saturday (Plyo), Monday (Power and Resistance) and Tuesday (Pure Cardio).  Two in one day is usually not a good idea, but I have catching up to do and it’s Recovery, so a much lighter workout.

This recipe is for Greek Quinoa Salad, or My Big Fat Greek Salad as Rebekah named it, and which stuck because well, it’s just more fun to say….

Cal:400, Fat:18g, Sod:225mg, Fiber:6g, Sugar:3g, Protein:13g

INGREDIENTS:3c water or vegetable broth, 1 1/2 c quinoa, 1/2c kalamata olives, 1/3 c each fresh chopped parsley and cilantro, 1/2 red onion, chopped, 1c cherry tomatoes sliced in half, 1/2c chopped artichoke hearts, 1/2c feta cheese cubed (if you use crumbled, top the salad with it at the end rather than mixing it in), salt and pepper to taste.

DIRECTIONS: Cook quinoa according to pkg directions, allow to cool. Toss all ingredients with quinoa.  Top with dressing (you can make a simple vinaigrette with olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, a little lemon and dijon mustard).

NOTES: I doubled this recipe to make sure there was enough and to have some left over. I use red quinoa because it packs a bigger nutritional punch overall than brown quinoa.  I tried making a dressing, but it just didn’t taste right (I think there’s something wrong with the vinegar, so I threw it out) so I used some of the artichoke marinade which worked fine.  Use fresh herbs whenever you can, it makes a HUGE difference.  I didn’t add salt because there was already enough between the cheese, olives and artichoke hearts.  I used salt-free garlic and herb seasoning for more flavor without adding salt or fat.  I’m a pine-nut nut, so I really wanted them for this, but since Trader Joe’s is STILL out of them I settled for pepitas.  They worked in a pinch when I didn’t have time to go all over Fremont looking for pine nuts.  All in all, my older kids, my husband and I LOVED it, my younger kids will need more time.

Let me just start off by saying that when doing Insanity or any intense workout program, it’s not recommended to do two workouts within twelve hours.  I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night, which I knew was coming.  Cardio Power and Resistance already being the toughest workout for me is even tougher when you worked out the night before and have had very little rest.

I do know, that day 3, like day 2, was better than last time.  I’m down to 135 lbs. from 136 on Monday (remember I had GAINED from Monday to Tuesday, but really watched my eating and drank more water), I was able to push harder, my form was better, my speed was faster.  Till I got to the last three minutes.  By this time my clothes were drenched with sweat, but my heart rate got too high and I was dizzy.  It’s dangerous to just stop without cooling down, so I skipped through the last couple of sets and went to the stretches.  During the cooldown, my heart rate began to decrease remarkably faster than when I did it the last time, so I know I’m in better condition.  I just tried push too hard today, but I don’t plan on working out again till tomorrow morning when it’s Cardio Recovery time.

A note about my motivation:  I’m happy to be paying attention again and committing to getting healthier.  My motivation is my family.  My husband is a huge inspiration.  He was prediabetic and about to go on blood pressure meds a year ago.  Now his numbers are normal.  My family has a tendency towards heart disease and diabetes.  Sometimes genetics play into heart disease, but type 2 diabetes is completely a lifestyle disease and can be reversed through diet and exercise before the damaging effects of it take hold.  I don’t even want there to be a hint of those diseases in my life.  I want to set a good example for my kids.  I want to be around for them and future generations as long as I can and have the energy to keep up with them. But mostly I want to be a good-looking, energy-filled babe for my husband.

Here’s what we had for dinner last night (recipe courtesy of Cooking Light):

Lemony Orzo-Veggie Salad with Chicken

yield 4 servings, serving size is 1 1/4 c.  cal:275, fat 9.7 (3.8 sat), protein 18g, carb 28g, fiber 2g, chol 41mg, sod 338mg

*NOTES:  I added more veggies than this called for.  If you’re vegetarian, you can omit the chicken and replace with beans of some type.  This would be good with some toasted pine nuts (I always get mine from Trader Joe’s, but there’s some kind of federal inspection problem so I had to do without them. ).  Goat cheese, in my opinion, is an acquired taste and kids may not like it.  Feta, even though it’s higher in salt, would work in its place.  I may try, instead of orzo next time, red quinoa which is much better nutritionally.

INGREDIENTS:3/4 c. uncooked orzo, 1/4 tsp lemon zest, 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 tsp kosher salt (I omitted this, as we’re watching sodium), 1/2 tsp minced garlic,1/4 tsp honey (agave is a good low-glycemic alternative), 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper, 1 c. shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast (loaded with salt, so I used our own plain chicken breast), 1/2 c. diced cucumber, 1/2 c. chopped red bellpepper, 1/3 c. sliced green onions, 1 Tbsp fresh dill, 1/2 c. crumbled goat cheese

DIRECTIONS:Cook orzo (no salt or fat in the water), drain and rinse with cold water, place in large bowl to cool completely.  While orzo is cooking, combine lemon zest and juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and honey, whisk well and pour over orzo.  Add chicken, veggies and dill, toss to combine, sprinkle with goat cheese.