Track Time!

Today's HIIT workout was done on the track.  However, it can be done on the treadmill or outdoors.  The track I ran on was 16 laps to a mile.

Warm Up: 5 minute jog (or I ran a whole mile)

Workout: About 20 minutes

Repeat 4X or until you've ran the track/treadmill for a whole mile

Jog 1 lap (1/16 mile)
Sprint 1 lap (1/16 mile)
Jog 1 lap (1/16 mile)
Sprint 1 lap (1/16 mile)
*After Every 1/4 mile)
30 sec Mt. Climbers
30 sec Plank Push Ups
Walk 1 lap

After you complete your mile:

Repeat 2X
45 sec Plank Jacks
45 sec Toe Taps on Bench
Walk a Lap

Cool Down: Walk 5 minutes

Chicken Fajitas and Parmesan Parsley Brown Rice

Ingredients: (2 servings)
-Chicken Breasts
-Peppers (1 1/2)
-Onion (1/2)
-Brown Rice (1/2 C)
-Fresh Shredded Parm (Handful)
-Light Sour Cream (Spoonful)
-Seasonings: Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, Chili Powder, Parsley and Lime Juice
-Olive Oil
-High Fiber Tortilla







While I rarely eat processed foods and flour products, I do believe that you need to find your balance with what you choose to eat.  I rarely have flour products (regular bread, pasta etc... I eat Ezekiel brand bread which is flourless), however I will have them on occasion.  I was really in the mood for a dinner with peppers and onions so I knew fajitas would be perfect! If you are going to eat flour products such as breads, pastas, wraps or tortillas, make sure they have at least 5 grams of fiber.


Marinade chicken breasts in lime juice and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and chili powder. While the chicken marinades, heat a large skillet with a tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat.  Slice pepper and onion into long strips.

Cook brown rice according to directions.  Add pepper and onion to large skillet and cook until tender.  Cook chicken on stove until cooked.  Once everything is cooked, chop chicken and add chicken, peppers, and onion to tortilla. Top with small spoonful of sour cream if desired.  When rice is cooked, add a handful of fresh parm and stir well.  Add parsley to rice as well and stir and enjoy!

Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

                                                                                              A healthy twist to a classic!

Ingredients:
-1lb Lean Ground Turkey
-3-4 Small-Medium Sweet Potatoes
-Garlic (4 cloves)
-2 Carrots (chopped)
-1 Celery Stalk (chopped)
-1/2 Onion (diced)
-Milk (I used 1%) (1/2 Cup)
-Low Sodium Chicken Broth (About 1 1/4 Cup)
-Frozen Corn (1/2 Cup)
-Other Veggies of choice (peas, green beans etc...)
-Tomato Paste
-Paprika, Salt, Pepper & Onion Powder


Directions:
-Preheat oven to 400*

Mashed Sweet Potatoes:

-Peel and cube sweet potatoes
-Finely chop 2 cloves of garlic
-Boil sweet potatoes and garlic until cooked and soft
*Drain and add in 1/2 cup of milk and a dash of chicken broth, salt and pepper and mash with a potato masher.  Set aside.

Filling:

Brown your meat in a large saute pan and season as desired.  Once cooked, set aside on a plate.  While turkey is cooking, chop up carrots, celery, onion and 2 more cloves of garlic.  Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and on medium heat cook carrots, celery and onion until tender.  Add garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes.  Add corn, 1 cup of chicken broth, 2 tsps of tomato paste, cooked turkey and season with salt, pepper and onion powder.  Simmer for 5-10 more minutes.

In a deep baking dish, layer the bottom with the filling.  Layer your mashed sweet potatoes on top and sprinkle with paprika.  Bake 20-30 minutes, serve and enjoy!

"Quick" Lunches

I was recently asked for some healthy "quick" lunch ideas.  A client had come to me asking this question because when she's in a rush out the door in the morning, grabbing a frozen option like Lean Cuisine was her solution.  Knowing it wasn't the best option; she wanted to know some other options instead.  When it comes to frozen meals, a lot tend to be high in sodium and have a bunch of stuff in them that we don't need to be eating.

If you are going to go the frozen route, choose a bag of frozen veggies in a steamer bag.  Veggies are great for us, so having a frozen veggie bag over a frozen lunch would be a better option.  However, they are low in calories, so pack simple grab and go items such as fruit and yogurt as well.

My other suggestion was to just plan ahead and buy simple grab and go items each week at the store.  If you know you are going to have a busy week ahead and might run into the issue of having to run out the door in the morning, then make sure to buy some simple staples at the grocery store for the week.  One idea would be to buy a bag of salad, fruit that is easy to grab and eat such as bananas, apples or grapes, a couple snack size veggie packs and a few single serving yogurts.  In the morning just throw your items in your lunchbox and head out the door.  Each item is simple enough to just grab and take with you and is a more nutritious option then frozen lunches.

Also, make extra when cooking dinner so you have leftovers for lunch.  It's a quick and easy option.  Just start to think of items that are healthy but can be thrown into your lunch when your in a rush.  Keep it simple!

Stairway to Strong Workout

My love/hate relationship with the Stair Master inspired me to take my stair workout to an actual staircase!  Do this at home or find some stairs at a local park or school that have a good amount of steps! Depending on the amount of stairs you use will depend upon how easy/hard you make your workout.  If you choose a place with a lot of stairs, you can modify the workout by only going halfway up instead of the whole way.






Warm Up: About 5 minutes
Walk up and back down the stairs
Jog up and walk back down

At the bottom of the stairs:
3X Through

Dips (12-15 reps)
Windmill Push Ups (12-15 reps)
Mt. Climbers with hands on first step (45 seconds)
Rest 30 seconds then repeat 2 more times

Jog up steps/walk back down

3X
Plank step ups (30-45 seconds) (Start in plank position on hands in front of bottom step.  Walk yourself up one hand at a time to first step, then back down)
Hop Ups (45 secs to a minute) (Start on ground in front of first bottom step, hop up onto first or second step and back down)
Plank Tuck In's (In plank position on hands with feet on bottom or 2nd step, tuck right knee in toward your left elbow and alternate)

Cross over lunges up the steps/walk back down (alternate legs, skipping every 2 or 3 steps)
Tip Toes/walk back down (walk up the steps on your tip toes...calves!)
Rest

3X
Step Ups onto 2nd or 3rd step ( 30-45 seconds-one leg at a time)
Incline Push Ups (on second or third step)
Hip Bridges (Feet on bottom step or 2nd highest step)

Walk or jog up steps and back down
Stretch

Homemade Tomato Bisque

Cooler weather is here, which means time for lots of soups and croc pot meals!  I had attempted homemade tomato soup a couple years ago, but did not like how it turned out (although the boyfriend LOVED it.)  Now, I hate tomatoes! I love ketchup, sauce and tomato soup, but when I had made it the first time it was too tomatoey for my liking.  Since we had fresh tomatoes that needed to be used up, I decided to give it another try and it turned out delicious!

Ingredients:

2 large containers of grape or cherry tomatoes

2 cups of chicken broth

4 large fresh tomatoes (peeled,diced)

1/2 onion diced
2 Carrots

2 cloves of garlic minced

salt & pepper

onion powder, garlic salt & garlic powder and pepper

olive oil

1 cup of milk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  On a baking sheet, spread out the tomatoes and sprinkle with a tablespoon of olive oil.  Once the oven is ready, bake/roast in the oven for about 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, put in another 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil and put on medium high heat.  Throw your onion, carrots and garlic into the pan and saute for 5-6 minutes.  Then, add your roasted tomatoes from the oven, chicken broth, fresh tomatoes and spices.  (Add spices to your liking).  Then add in your cup of milk.  If you like your soup creamier, you can always add a little more milk.  Bring soup to a boil.  Once it starts boiling, bring it down to a low simmer.  Cover pot halfway and let simmer for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes, let soup cool and then blend it with an immersion blender (or if you don't have one, you can blend in a regular blender and return to pot).  

After blending the soup together, serve and enjoy!  I enjoyed the soup with some grilled cheese on Ezekiel bread.

Chicken with Veggies and Potatoes

Last nights dinner!  Chicken with red and yellow peppers, onion, zucchini, red potatoes and sweet potatoes.

Ingredients: (To serve 2)
Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breasts (Cubed into smaller chunks) (2 pieces)
Red Pepper (1/2)
Yellow Pepper (1/2)
Zucchini (I used about 3/4 of a large one)
Red Onion (1/3)
2-3 Medium Red Potatoes
1 Medium Sweet Potato
Olive Oil
Onion Powder, Paprika, Salt & Pepper for seasoning

*Chop chicken and potatoes into cubes, slice peppers and onions and chop zucchini slices in half.

Heat a little olive oil in a large deep pan.  Add in potatoes and sweet potatoes.  Stir to cover and season with onion powder, salt, pepper and paprika.  Cover with lid and cook for about 20-25 minutes until potatoes are tender and cooked.  (Make sure to stir occasionally).  Cook chicken cubes in separate pan and season with salt and pepper.  Once chicken and potatoes are cooked, set aside onto a plate.  Add a little olive oil to the pan again and add in your peppers and onions.  Cook on medium heat until they turn a little brown, then add in zucchini.  Season veggies with all the spices listed above, and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until zucchini is tender.  Add your chicken and potatoes back in and warm it all up and serve!!