I’m Really Bad at Coming Up With Names for Workouts…

How do you fellow bloggers always seem to come up with a cute name for the new workout you are sharing? I am the worst at this! If you look at my Workouts page you will see that I don’t have many creative names for the workouts I have made up. Maybe I will get better at this, or maybe my workouts will just have boring, corny names. Most likely it will be the latter. 🙂

I did some strength training as part of my marathon training yesterday and made up a new workout I wanted to share. Because it’s a strength workout and  you are working your muscles, I gave this workout the clever name, “Work All of Those Muscles.” I know, I know, I don’t know how I am so creative. 😉

I did 15 reps of all of the exercises except for the lunge pulses into a bicep curl and the wall sit, and you can read in the picture what I did for those. (Note: for the lunge pulses into bicep curl, I did 20 total, 10 each leg). I went through this for a total of three times, and could feel the burn! Make sure you use weight that is challenging enough for you!

Here are a few links to some moves that you might not be so familiar with.

3 Lunge pulses into bicep curl

Push-ups on medicine ball

Hamstring curls on ball

And before I go get ready for bed I want to share a picture of my dinner because it was sooooo delicious! And yes, all of those o’s were necessary in “so” because it was that good.

Now that I am posting this picture, I see that this actually isn’t a very good picture and it doesn’t look that appetizing. Please trust me though; this was delicious. Ryan put it under the “phenomenal” category! This was taco chili with nacho cheese sauce from Angela at Oh She Glows. This is also where I got the recipe for the amazing whole wheat pizza crust we made on Sunday. None of her recipes have disappointed us yet! If you have never checked out her blog or recipes, you should!

I ate my chili on a bed of spinach, which you can see from the picture above, so that I could get in some extra veggies, but this chili is perfectly fine by itself. Ryan ate it in a bowl with some shredded cheese on top and some tortilla chips. I also think it would be amazing on a bed of quinoa. So many options!

Lastly, I also made some homemade almond butter for the first time last night in our food processor.

Oh my gosh, I’m so happy I decided to do this! It was so easy and absolutely scrumptious! All I did was put one cup of almonds in the food processor and put it on high for a few minutes. Anyone can do that! I will probably use more almonds next time so that it will make more almond butter! This is a much more affordable option since almond butter can be a little pricey.

Now, off to bed!

Questions:

1. What is a good strength workout I should try?

2. Tell me something good about your life right now. 🙂

3. Have you ever made any type of homemade nut butter? I really want to make more now! I am thinking cashew butter next!

I’m a Huge Baby

Do any of y’all watch Blacklist?

Source

Ryan and I watch this, and it’s really good! It’s suspenseful, exciting, thrilling, except there is only one problem. I’m a huge baby! Shows like this always make me so scared! When the show was over I made Ryan come sit by me on the couch and hug me until I felt better. Luckily it didn’t take long until I felt safe and happy again, but let’s just say I would never watch this show by myself. But I do really like this show, so don’t let me freak you out, you should check it out. 🙂

Anyways, on to more exciting things…like dinner!

I tried a new recipe last night: eggplant parmesan from Ashlee. This was seriously so good!! Even Ryan loved it! I wish I would have taken a picture of the whole dish that I cooked, but I was obviously in way too big of a hurry to dig into my plate, so the picture of my plate will have to do.

I ate mine on a bed of quinoa, and then had a salad full of some spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, mushrooms, and avocado with some light balsamic dressing drizzled over it. Ryan had his with some whole wheat noodles and some garlic toast.

Ryan and I have been trying to branch out from our normal meals, and this was a new one for us. I can safely say this is a recipe I will make again!

Workout

Yesterday for cross-training I did a HIIT workout at home and then did some abs. I have really enjoyed doing HIIT workouts at home lately, but I need some good workouts. Anyone have some they like they want to share with me? 🙂

Also, I feel like I haven’t shared a workout here in a while, although I think it’s only been a week…Anyways, I plan on posting a workout later this week so be on the lookout!

I hope you all have a great day, and no matter what, make it a good one! Smile and find the best in every moment. 🙂

Questions:

1. Are you a baby with certain shows like The Blacklist like I am?

2. Do you try to branch out from your normal meals often?

3. Favorite type of workout to do at home?

Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Oh man guys, I have a yummy and veggie filled recipe to share with y’all! But first things first, let’s get to this morning’s workout.

I have been running (combined with strength workouts) all week and tomorrow is my long run for the week, so I decided to do strength with a bike ride today. I completed this arm workout, and I felt the burn!

Amazing Arms!

• 15 push-ups 
• 12 bicep curls into shoulder press
• 12 tricep extension
• 12 arm raises
• 12 hammer curls
• 15 dips
• 12 rows
• 12 wide arm flys
• 15 diamond pushups
• 30 second punches

I completed three sets of all of the exercises, and did them as a superset, meaning I would do three sets of the first two exercises and then move on to the next two and so on.

Also, to all of my blogging friends who are so much better at this whole blogging thing than me, how do you make a cute picture or something for your workouts? I know I always just post mine in bullets which is SO BORING and not cute at all. This girl could use some help. 🙂

After I did this arm circuit I went out for a six mile bike ride, which was glorious! The weather was perfect, and it put me in such a good mood!

Breakfast

After my workout I was ready to refuel. Eggs and veggies sounded delicious, but I scrambled eggs with vegetables yesterday so I decided two eggs over easy on top of a bed with spinach, bell pepper, onion, tomato, and avocado sounded amazing

I love making this because once I break the egg up the yolk spreads out over everything and becomes my dressing!

This is seriously so good! I actually have this same meal a lot for lunch or dinner too. That’s why I love eggs; they are so versatile. 🙂

Afterwards I wanted some fruit and some peanut butter, so a banana with some natural peanut butter hit the spot!

Dinner

Okay, now onto dinner. So in case you don’t know, my amazing husband hasn’t always been a veggie lover. I am trying to find new vegetables that he will eat and enjoy because I love him so I obviously care about his health. Last night’s dinner was a huge success in finding some vegetables that he liked, so I was super excited!

For the spaghetti squash casserole I first cut the huge spaghetti squash in half (try not to cut off any fingers or body parts, cutting those things are hard!) and take out all of the seeds. Well, when I say “take out all of the seeds”, I mean try to take out as many as you can. It never fails that every time I cook a spaghetti squash I always find a few seeds I missed after I cook it.

After you have cut the spaghetti squash, put it on a cookie sheet with the cut side facing up. Drizzle some olive oil on the inside and then season it with salt and pepper. I also used some garlic powder. Feel free to use whatever seasonings you like. FYI, I have actually read that you can cook it with the cut side down or up, and I have done it both ways, but last night I put the cut side facing up. Then bake it at 375 for about 45 minutes. When it is done let it cool, and once you can handle it use a fork to get all of the “spaghetti strands” out of it.

It yields a lot of spaghetti, trust me! This is how much I ended up with last night.

I put it all in a huge mixing bowl, so it really is more than it looks like in this picture. (Also, I forgot to take pictures last night until this most recent ones, so the first ones of me cutting the squash are from earlier in the summer at my parent’s house 🙂 )

Next mix in two cups of cooked chicken, one shredded zucchini, and about half a bag of frozen spinach. I only used half of the bag of spinach because I had a big family sized bag. Finally, don’t forget (like I did at first) to add in your favorite jar of marinara sauce! Sorry I forgot to take a picture of everything once I mixed it together!

Once you mix all of this yummy goodness together put it in an 8×8 pan and top it with mozzarella cheese. Finally bake the casserole at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes.

Once it’s done let it cool, cut, and enjoy!

I was so hungry when it got out of the oven, and it smelled and looked so good that I forgot to take a picture until I had already served Ryan and I some.

I enjoyed a pretty big serving, with a spinach salad on the side.

This seriously tasted so good, and it is extremely healthy since it is filled with nothing but vegetables, chicken, marinara sauce, and a little mozzarella cheese. That’s my kind of meal! And ladies, the best part is, this meal was husband approved! He liked it so much he is even letting me pack it for his lunch today! (Yes, I pack my husband’s lunch every day. It is healthier and much cheaper than him eating out!)

Now I will not try to claim this masterpiece as my own! The only thing I added was the chicken for extra protein. I found this recipe on Pinterest, which led me to the blog, twobrokegals. But I am super sad because I can’t find the link on Pinterest or their blog! If this is your original recipe, please let me know and I will put in your link! 🙂

But just so you know here are the ingredients you will need:

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 2 cups cooked chicken
• 1 zucchini (shredded)
• 1 bag of frozen spinach
• Jar of favorite marinara sauce
• Mozzarella cheese for topping

There you go! An easy recipe with not too many ingredients! That’s exactly what I like! If any of you try it please let me know what you think! 🙂

Questions:

What is your favorite veggie filled meal?

Does your man like vegetables? If not, have you found a certain healthy meal he really enjoys? 

Do you like to eat vegetables with your eggs too in the morning? 🙂

A Few Challenges and Recap of Easter

Well guys, we made it through Monday, the hardest part of the week is over! That’s how I always think of it at least. Because I mean, honestly, after the weekend who wants to go back to school or work?

Before talking about the two challenges I am taking part in, I want to do a quick recap of my Easter weekend with Ryan and his parents.

Ryan and I had a blast, and it was so good to see his parents. Saturday I went out shopping with Debbie, Ryan’s mom, and we got some wedding stuff done and she bought a few shirts for Ryan. My wedding purchase of the weekend was this unity candle and stand.

I seriously love the candle Debbie helped me pick out. This picture doesn’t do it justice on how beautiful it is. I bought it from Hobby Lobby, and it was on sale for 1/2 price so I was super excited!! When I get a good deal while shopping this is how I feel.

Except hopefully I don’t look like a little girl. 😉 Debbie also bought Ryan 4 new polos, and I must say, Ryan looked pretty handsome in them all!

I loved this orange polo on Ryan, and he also got a white, blue, and green one!

For dinner Saturday night Ryan’s parents grilled out burgers and boy were they good! Check out this totally delicious, yet totally unhealthy, plate!

This burger has cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and guacamole. Then I have a small piece of sausage, baked beans, strawberries and blueberries, and some baked chips and guacamole. And yes, I ate this whole plate. Let’s just say I was a little full. 😉

For Easter Sunday we went to church and then out to eat to a little restaurant close by the church. The restaurant offered brunch and then some lunch/dinner food. We had been eating a ton of food this whole weekend so I decided to order from the kid’s menu. Plus, there is an unlimited salad and fruit bar, so I knew a kid’s plate would do. I got two scrambled eggs with a side of ham, and it came with hashbrowns as well. The hashbrowns were good, but I didn’t eat most of them because after my salad, fruit, eggs, and ham I was full. After lunch Ryan and I went back to his parents’ house to quickly pack and then hit the road. We got back to our houses late, and I still had to go to the grocery store for some food to make my lunch for today, so I went to bed wayyyy too late. But we had a great weekend with Ryan’s parents, and it was totally worth it!

Day 1 of Sugar Detox Challenge

Today was the first day of the Sugar Detox Challenge that Laura from Mommyrunfast is hosting. I am especially excited for this challenge after this past Easter weekend. You know, after my huge burger dinner Saturday night, pancakes that morning, and brownies throughout the weekend, a sugar detox is just what my body needs! I started out my morning with a yummy, healthy breakfast!

I had two scrambled eggs with some sauteed spinach, tomatoes, and onion. Here are all of the veggies that I ended up scrambling with my eggs.

Yes, I know, that is a ton of spinach! But the eggs still tasted so good! I also added 1/4 of an avocado to the eggs for some healthy fat. Usually when I have eggs I have a piece of toast with some sugar free jelly on it, but since I am giving up all artificial sweeteners and bread for the week, I decided just to add more fruit than usual. So I had two strawberries, the little bit of pineapple I had leftover from last week, and a banana. This breakfast hit the spot and gave me the energy I needed to face Monday!

After school I ran 5 miles for a quick workout. This run was so nice because the weather was seriously perfect today! I hope it stays this way! As soon as I finished I started cooking for Ryan and I. We had grilled chicken, sauteed onions and peppers, roasted sweet potatoes, and I had a spinach salad with tomatoes and bell pepper.

Yummy! And perfect for the Sugar Detox! I seasoned my chicken a little differently this time, and I really liked it! I was wanting a kind of Mexican chicken (which is why I also sauteed some onions and peppers, reminded me of fajitas!), so I seasoned the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin. It ended up being really good!

I sauteed the onions and bell pepper in about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and put them on top of my chicken once it was cooked. This dinner hit the spot! Ryan put his chicken in a tortilla, so there are different options you could do with this meal. 🙂

I absolutely love roasted sweet potatoes, and the way I make them is super easy so I thought I would share. First I cut up two sweet potatoes (or however many you want) in cubes and put them on a sprayed cookie sheet. Then I  pour about 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the potatoes and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.

I always use this Lite Salt when I cook because it is way less sodium!

Then I bake them in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, turn them and let them cook for another 15 minutes, and then they are done!

You should try them, they are super good! They are man approved too; Ryan loves them!

Organization Challenge

So I am also taking part of Melissa’s organizational challenge that she is hosting for the month of April over on her blog, FreeingImperfections. Go to her page to read more details about the challenge, but I am really excited for this challenge. My goal is to become more organized with my blog. I want to figure out how to use the WordPress Editorial Calendar Plugin that Melissa has talked about on her blog before here. I want to become better at planning a time to blog and not just hoping it will happen, and I would like to have an idea about what I will blog on throughout the week. I really love blogging, and I know I would enjoy it more and be better at it if I was more organized. I love taking part in challenges!

Surprise Gift

Lastly, my night was totally made when my wonderful best friend, Marlee, surprised me with this awesome overnight bag!

She has a bag just like this, and I seriously always compliment her and talk about how much I want one. Well, tonight she surprised me and gave me this! She said she had two and just found this one and wanted to give it to me! Totally sweet right?? 🙂 I love her!

When was the last time your friend surprised you and made you super happy?

Are you taking part in the Sugar Detox Challenge or the April Organization Challenge?

Any good recipes you would like to share that I could use during this week for the Sugar Detox?

Mavericks Game Date Night & A Man Pleasing Meal!

Ryan and I had a blast at the Mavericks basketball game tonight!

This was a late Valentines date I planned for the two of us. For Valentines Day, I gave him a poster with 100 memories of us written on it (On the 14 days leading up to Valentines Day I left him notes, and every day’s note had a different favorite memory I had of the two of us). I also made him a Dallas Mavericks blanket, which I was very proud of because I am not crafty at all but I am trying to become more crafty! I also went to StubHub and found us some pretty cheap tickets. So tonight, we finally got to use those tickets ands see Mavericks play the Brooklyn Nets. Ryan is a HUGE Mavs fan, and I’m a big fan too, but Ryan is a much bigger fan than I am. Unfortunately, our team lost. 😦 But we both agreed we still had a blast! Their basketball games are always so fun, and they put on a show for all of the fans during any breaks.

I took this picture during warm-ups, which explains the incredible amount of people on the court!

Before the game we stopped for dinner at a delicious burger place Ryan’s brother’s family got us hooked on called Smash Burger. I forgot to take a picture of my burger, but I ordered a burger on a multi-grain bun with lettuce, grilled onions, tomato, spinach, avocado, and goat cheese. And I had some Sweet Potato Smash Fries on the side. They call their fries Smash Fries and add some type of seasoning that make the fries super yummy!! So tonight’s dinner wasn’t healthy, but it sure was tasty! I really enjoyed it, and I even told Ryan as I was eating it that I don’t order burgers often when we go out, so when I do I want a good one that tastes fresh like this one did. Ryan ordered a vanilla milkshake, and I had a few drinks of it, but it was honestly too sweet for me to have too much of it.

Now I haven’t shared a recipe in a while, and I didn’t cook today since we went out on a fun date, so I thought I would share what I made last night. I also thought now would be a good time to share this meal because it is really a man loving meal, and since we went on a date for my man tonight, this meal seemed proper to write about. 🙂

Once again I forgot to take a picture of my food as I was cooking and when I finished, so here is a picture of the leftovers in tubber ware.

This dinner is super easy to make, but oh so scrumptious! And you can definitely make it healthy without your man ever knowing the difference. 😉

Here is what I used: (Serves about 4-6 people, but this was good for us because we love leftovers, and Ryan can eat a lot of this 🙂 )

• 2 turkey sausage links
• 6 small red potatoes
• 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 bell pepper
• 1/2 of an onion
• 2 chicken breasts
• About 10 pieces of asparagus (or however many you would like to cook)
• Salt, pepper, garlic powder, seasoning salt (enough for your personal taste, I didn’t measure how much I used.)

So first, I cut up the turkey sausage into links, and then cut the potatoes into cubes. I placed these into a sprayed glass cooking dish and then placed the asparagus on top. Then I sprinkled about 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil on top and seasoned it with all of the seasonings. I put the dish in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. I let it cook for 15 minutes, flipped it, and then let it cook for another 15 minutes. The potatoes still weren’t done after that, and I was getting more and more impatient as I became hungrier and hungrier. So I turned up my oven to about 400 degrees or 415 degrees Fahrenheit and after about 10 minutes it was finally done cooking.

While that was baking I chopped up my onion and bell pepper and let it saute in about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Then I chopped up the two chicken breasts into small pieces, seasoned it with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and seasoning salt, and let it saute with the onions and peppers. I let this cook until the sausage and potatoes were done cooking in the oven. As soon as I took the sausage and potato mixture out of the oven, I combined everything together. Now besides the asparagus this meal was just meat and potatoes. So I also cooked some green beans and made myself a spinach salad to enjoy with it. I wish I would have taken a picture of my plate because not only did it look delicious, but it tasted delicious too! The best part was Ryan loved it!

What are some of your favorite healthy, man pleasing meals to eat?

What was your last date night? What did y’all do?