Confession

Sunday Funday! Hope your morning is going well thus far. I had a wonderful weekend spent watching Christmas movies, eating eggnog ice cream, and seeing The Nutcracker ballet! I'd call that a pretty festive weekend. BUT next Saturday I will be HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS! If you couldn't tell I've been looking forward to this trip for quite some time now. Looking forward to seeing everyone I have missed and celebrating with the ones I love. Awww, they should make an abc family movie on my life now...

In the meantime I have been kicking some major boo-tay in the kitchen and in the gym (gym being my room). I have a killer lower body workout for you that left my legs screaming. Hopefully they won't wuss out on my during my run today!

Last night I made a delicious dinner for thyself. Parmesan Tilapia from Rachael Ray, and mashed potatoes with (gasp!) gravy. This is where the title comes in to play. From a carniverous perspective this isn't a biggie, but from a 5 year vegetarian it's quite the scandal. Yes, I used a can of chicken broth for the potatoes and gravy. Oh the horror! BUT to my defense it is as possible to find a can of vegetable broth in the grocery store as it is to have Miley Cyrus ringing me through the check-out line. Okay, maybe Miley Cyrus was a bad example but my point is veggie broth is no where. Nada. Zilch.

I probably won't be buying broth after my craving for gravy is filled this week. It was pretty dang salty to me so not really worth veggie sinning over. I will recommend using broth for mashed potatoes though, an idea from Ellie Krieger. It adds more flavor without the need for butter. I just added broth, milk, salt, and pepper. Plus if smothered in gravy I'm sure you'll hardly notice the absence of butter.

Now that I got that off my conscious here's a workout for your Sunday afternoon! Just a set of hand weights and a timer is all you need.

Lower 'Booty' Circuit ~34 minutes

Perform each exercise for 1 minute, for a total of 3 rounds. Try to rest minimally, but take breaks of you need them.

Single leg Bridge (30 sec. each leg)
Squat Kicks (1 min. each leg, 3rd exercise in link)
Squat Jumps
Inner Leg Lifts
Plie Squat with weight
Split Jumps
Wall Squat
Boot Squat
Jumping Jacks

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Deck the Halls and Arms of Jello.

Holly Jolly Wednesday to all!

Half way to the weekend already! That means just over a week until I'm home for the holidays and I couldn't be happier!

That doesn't mean I'm not having my fair share of Christmas festivities here in the nippy 70 degree weather of Montgomery! The weekend was spent making salt dough and cinnamon ornaments with the roomie gang. It was quite the adventure with a spill full of cinnamon, peanut butter blossoms and a riveting game of clue! These artsy shots are curitsy of the lovely Ms. Herring.

 

 Peanut Butter Blossoms!

 

To get in the spirit, I decided to make a (of course) pinterest inspired craft to decorate me bedroom wall. With an abundance of yarn at my hands, I decided on crafting my own Christmas tree decked out in cards and homemade paper ornaments. Despite the fact that it is some string hung on a wall with paint swatch ornaments I think it's rather cute!

Crafty Christmas Tree (and no, those aren't nips on the floor!)

This weekend includes more festivities with "A Very Roomie Christmas" including the Polar Express, pizza, s'mores, and cocoa! Hooray for Holidays!

Now I know much like everyone else, the holidays can be a bit taxing on the waistline. But who can really pass up a glass of 'nog and gingerbread?!...Anyone?...Bueller?

In preparation, I've been trying to be good with the PA (physical activity) department, and sticking to my morning runs (first one this week tomorrow. Tuesday was a brutal 40 degrees out! = D ). I'm also doing upper, lower, and ab workouts Monday, Wednesday, and Friday respectively. Well let me tell you, today's upper body workout was killer. I took Monday off to go to a holiday dinner so I'm making it up of course! If you're ready to sweat and get a killer upper body take this one for a spin. All you need is a set of 5 # dumbbells, or if you don't have any use some heavy cans, or anything that is roughly five pounds. Like maybe a newborn, or a Yorkshire terrier. Can't say what may come of using these items, but to each his own...

Arms of Jello Upper Body Circuit.
perform each exercise for 1 minute, resting minimally between each one. Complete the entire circuit 3x through, resting 30 seconds between sets. for a total of 27 minutes of brutal arm work!

Wall Squat Bicep Curls
Side Push-up (30 sec. each arm)
Burpees
V Y's *
Shoulder Press
Mountain Climbers
Front Raises
Wide Rows
Plank Jacks

*I couldn't find a good video on this, so I will work on making one, but in the mean time you can perform Lateral Raises

I used an online interval timer to make it easy to know when to switch exercises, and added 2 minutes of jumping jacks and 1 minute of pushups for a total of 30 minutes since I'm an even number freak.
Let me tell you I had to rest multiple times throughout this workout which tells me it's effective! The addition of the cardio exercises get your heart rate pumping while working in strength at the same time. Double whammy!

Have a great rest of the week!





What's your favorite holiday splurge?
 

The Birth of a Morning Runner

Salutations and Good Vibrations Everyone! It's Fr-Fr-Friday!

It's been a little while since my last post, but haven't made anything ah-mazing that I wanted to share with you. I tried lentil meatballs which were tasty when i put them in spaghetti sauce, but didn't hold their shape. So it just ended up being tomato saucy lentil meat. Without the sauce they were pretty much high-protein sawdust balls. YUM.

I did make a yummy stir-fry which I will share with you, so don't you worry. There IS a point to my babbling.

The past two weeks I have been a clinical dietitian working at Jackson hospital here in Montgomery. It is not as scary or as dreadful as anticipated and all the dietitians are so sweet. There is a thread of hope for clinical work. A thread. In a giant blanket of foodservice management. Thread.

Since we don't have to be in until 9, I actually have time in the morning to think, eat, and wake up and (drumroll please) RUN. I know, I know. Morning running + me = No bueno. I always lack motivation to do anything except some exhausting games of tetris and facebook stalking in the morning, but glory halleluah I am starting to run in the morn'. I'm trying to be good and exercise just about everyday so I can indulge in the holiday season! And that fact that it's good for you, and makes you feel good! By the time I get home for the day I'm ready for dinner, and after that is too dark for a run so I made myself do it and run in the morning. It's actually been quite nice. My pace is pretty slow, but by golly I'm still running! Sounds like my southern is coming out....

If you too want to make the transition to working out in the morning, here's some tips:

1.) Plan ahead. Set everything out the night before. Clothes. Watch. Ipod. Sneakers. The works. This will leave you with more time for exercise and less time fumbling for your headphones in the dark.

2.) Just do it. Don't think about it, just get up. Trust me. If I think about it, I give myself time to come up with all the reasons I shouldn't go running. When the alarm goes off, I'm up and ready. Pretty sure I wouldn't be able to do it otherwise.

3.) Enjoy it. Don't make your morning routine something you dread. Don't feel bad you didn't run the WHOLE time. I am finding I can run longer with short breaks now and then. When it comes down to it, you're still running the same time, and that's all that matters. Push yourself, but don't beat yourself down. What's the point of all the endorphins from exercise if you make yourself feel bad?! As Elle Woods would say....

"Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands"

Save your husbands and take a walk : )

If you need another motivator, as if my Tony Robbins speech didn't win you over already, here's my playlist for this weekend. A totally random but motivational mix of tunes!

Send Me On My Way - Rusted Root
Die Young - Ke$ha (yes, I even took the effort to do the dollar sign)
Show Me Love - Robin S
Good Feeling - Flo Rida
Pound the Alarm - Nicki Minaj
Only Girl (In the World) - Rihanna
Take Your Time (Do It Right) - SoS Band
La La La - LMFAO
Borderline - Madonna
Jump Off - Lil' Kim
Now That We Found Love - Heavy D & The Boys
Be Gentle With Me - The Boy Least Likely To

I bet you're already out the door!

Here's a quick and simple stir-fry you can make for dinner after your anti-husband killing workout.

Stir Fried Veggies & Tofu
serves 2
1 pkg tofu, drained, and cubed (or 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed)
1/4 cup soy-sauce
1 green onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T cornstarch
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup water
1 tsp ground ginger
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
3 cups chopped collard greens (or any other vegetable you want)


Start by combining the soy sauce, water, cornstarch, garlic, ginger, and green onion in a closeable container.

Add the tofu (or chicken), close and marinate in the fridge at least 3 hours, or overnight.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and coat with cooking spray. If using chicken remove from the marinated, add to pan, and cook until no longer pink inside, reserving the marinade.  If using tofu, add the vegetables first and cook until tender, about 7 minutes.

Add the tofu and marinate and cook until mixture is thickened.

Serve over a bed of rice, or like me in a giant collard green "wrap". Look at the size of that leaf?!

Enjoy the weekend and look for another post soon!

How Low Can You Go??

Hola me blogger amigos! Pretty sure that's all the spanish i know unless taco counts. We're over the hump of the work week, but I have to say I'm enjoying myself. Working with the kiddos of Dalraida Elementary as a foodservice worker (a.k.a "lunch lady"). The people there are so fun and I get a free lunch! Yes, please!

I've successfully completed another Emily Original Circuit Workout, which is so official it needs to be all capitalized. This one is for the lower body, and if your legs aren't giving out underneath you at the end of it, I believe it's safe to say your legs are actually titanium. Just sayin', it's a good leg whoopin.

I've made another stopwatch online, which really help for fast transitioning. That is the key. Non-stop leg burnin' action. I also linked up each exercise to help. These circuits only take about 20 minutes to complete which is a great motivator. I always tell myself, "in the length of time I spend thinking of an excuse not to do this, I could be finished." I always end up doing it. 20 minutes! Again, you will only need 5-10 lb. hand weights and some motivation!

Lower Body Circuit 1

30 seconds each of:

Wall Squat (just squat against a wall like you're sitting in a chair and hold).
Alternating Lunges
Single leg Squats (switch legs on each round)
Bridges
Single Leg Deadlift  (switch legs on each round)
Plie Squats

30 seconds each of:
Squat Jumps
Side Jumps
repeat a total of 2 times

30 seconds each of:
Elevated Crunch (just a simple crunch, but lift your feet 1-2 inches off the ground)
Russian Twists  (keep feet on the ground if this is too difficult)

repeat entire circuit for a total of 3 rounds. Then proceed to feel the burn!

Your thighs will thank me later : )

You can access the online stopwatch here

Here's your pretty picture of the day:

Another pinterest project made from toilet paper rolls!

Happy Thursday!

Good Day, Tonight.

It just so happens that my itunes decided to play "Section 18" by The Polyphonic Spree, which starts out with the title of today's post just as I was deciding on an title. Thank you, itunes!

Despite the overwhelming feedback (aka no one), I've decided to change the format of my blog. Primarily because like many other bloggers, I'd like to add my fitness and exercise into a category, and feel like it would get a bit lost amongst all the food and recipe categories. You had your chance to voice your opinion on the matter, but Vote or Die!

I've really been trying to be good about keeping a regular exercise routine going, which for the most part has been successful. I do strength training about 3X a week with at least a 30 minute walk with the roomie around the neighborhood. I've recently started running every other day to get back on track with  my running routine, and trying to get back to the long distances in the Spring. I've started at 3 miles on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 4 miles on Saturday or Sunday, and increasing by 1/2 mile every week. I have to get back on interval running to get my speed back too! So much running to catch up on!

After reading many other bloggers posting their own home workouts, and getting my butt kicked by Jillian Michaels in Shredded in 30, I decided I can make my own strength circuits! And this I did, and got my butt kicked by this gal here.

I've made them based on Jillian's 3-2-1 routines of 3 minutes strength, 2 minutes cardio, 1 minute abs, for a total of about 20 minutes of non-stop action. Something not even your bed sheets have seen. ; ) Yes, I went there.

Here's the my first circuit for upper body, with links to videos for all the exercises . You will only need a set of 5-10 lb. weights. I used 10 lbs, but feel free to use what is comfortable for you.

Upper Body Circuit 1

30 seconds each of:
Bicep curls
Outer curls 
Tricep Extension
Tricep Kickbacks
Arnold Press (I did these standing up)
Military Press

30 seconds each of:
Burpees
Jumping Jacks ( I'm assume you know these from gym class)
 repeat once more

30 seconds each of :
Bicycle crunches
In's & Out's

Repeat circuit for a total of 3 times. 

The key to making this a good workout is minimal rest. Try to perform the entire workout without resting, especially in between the different types of exercise. You can rest for about 30 seconds in between repeating the circuit, but in order to "feel the burn" I suggest giving it all you got. I was nice and sweaty after I finished, and it goes by much faster if you keep on truckin'. I mean it IS only 20 minutes. That's less than an episode of Jershey Shore. And if you can make it through that, this should be a breeze...

I've also posted a link to the online stopwatch I used to make it easy to transition between exercises. I set each interval for an extra 10 seconds for you to get situated, and take 1/2 a breath if you can. I also labeled each interval with the corresponding exercise to make it easier to follow along. It is however set for repeat infinitely, so you can go eternally, squeeze out another round, or just keep track of when three rounds are up. I'm sure you won't forget when to stop! You can access this here.

Since I didn't feel so inclined to take a picture of my sweaty self after this.. and everyone likes pictures, here's one from this day 2 years ago. I fun apple picking day with the besties in college. I wish I was apple picking now!

Michelle, Hillary, Me, and Karen (and Becky who's taking the picture)

Happy Monday!