Happy Thursday!
As a human being, I like to start things off by saying that I make mistakes and I am by no means perfect. I was up this week, and have been for the past couple. For the past year, I go up a little, go down a little, stay the same a little..but during all of that, I was able to shed most of my size 16 clothing in favor of size 14 clothing. I am okay though…a mere pit stop along the journey!
Speaking of pit stops…here is a good one. When I got back into the office on the after my procedure a couple of weeks back, I was told that I am no longer going to be working in Richardson. Our department is going to be relocating to Hidden Ridge in Irving, effective October 14 (at least that’s the date as of today…). The news hit me like a ton of bricks. The first thing I thought was “OMG…what am I going to do about my training and my meetings.” How selfish of me is that? Not once did I think of the work end of it. I thought of how it affected me personally. The first thing I did, after the shock wore off, was to look for another meeting that may be closer to where I will be. I also found out that there is a fitness center in the new facility as well. I still have a great deal of work to do, and I can’t let this little speed bump derail my efforts. I do have to admit, though, I am not very happy with this. At least I am still employed!!! More news on this as the story develops. Oy vey!!!
I did survive the Heroes for Children 5K on the 25th. It was held at The Shops at Legacy in Plano. This is the second year that we did the walk, and the second year that it rained. It actually felt good though. The way I see it—I’d rather be wet and cool at the end of the race, rather than hot and stinky! I wasn’t really out to improve times this time around –as I was still a tad sore from last week’s torture sessions. I did come in under an hour though…around 54 minutes and change. Not terrible though. I jogged a slight bit of the course, and walked the rest of the way. I have two more races that I scheduled. I am doing the Arbor Day Run in November and on the 16th of this month, some of us are doing Las Chupacabras de Noche D/FW…which is a night time trail run in Flower Mound. It’s a 10K, so it should be interesting. Wish me luck there! LOL…
This week, Coach Dwayne was on an abs rampage. This was the workout for Wednesday…
Full body circuit:
Lateral lunges with curl press alternating with leg raises with in/outs
Medicine ball squat and catch
Alternating bent over rows
Standing chest presses
Cable bicep curls.
The ab circuit was one set of 30 seconds EACH (except for the situps) of:
Toe touches (while lying on back w/ feet in the air)
Single leg bicycle crunches
Reverse crunches
Oblique twists
Plank hold
Situps (6 FULL sit ups…not crunches…)
In other news…I am so proud of Morgan (the 10-year old)…she really knocked the grades out of the park this semester. Straight A’s…and high A’s at that. See the fantastic-ness below. Needless to say, there was a trip to Yogurt Story for her last night. Soooo proud of the 10 yearo-old. As for the feisty 3 ½ year old, he is officially enrolled in Cranium-Kids, which is a computer class geared at preschool-aged children. He showed an interest during a sample class, so we decided to enroll him. I am one happy mommy right now. Maybe the gene is becoming active??? We’ll see next semester…don’t want that other shoe to drop!!!!
My last bit of excitement arrived in yesterday’s mail. For a birthday present to myself (a bit belated…), I got myself a pair of Skechers Shape-Ups. You know what these are…they are the weird curved-soled fitness shoes… ANYHOOO, I have been asked by a few people to give a review on these. I am actually wearing them today, so look for my two-cents worth next week!
This week’s meeting focused on shopping smart at the grocery store.
Some tips that you can use are things like:
- Make a list and organize by section/aisle so you don’t get tempted
- Don’t shop when you’re hungry
- Shop the perimeter of the store
What we learned from the meeting:
- Shop the perimeter. The outside aisles are where you’ll find fresh, whole Filling Foods – produce, dairy, meat and fish.
- Harvest fresh picks. Stock up on fruit for snacks. For meals, target flavorful greens such as spinach or arugula, which are chock-full of vitamins.
- Go Lean. Buy skinless white meat chicken or turkey, which has a lot of protein bank for your POINTS® buck. Scale back on red meat; and when you do purchase, look for leaner couts. Check labels for ‘round, chuck, sirloin, tenderloin, and strip steak’ which are at least 80% lean.
- Get dairy that delivers. For low POINTS® and high nutrients, choose fat-free milk, low fat cheese and cream cheese, reduced-fat spreads instead of full-fat butter. Fat Free Greek yogurt is another great pick. This treat has 20 grams of protein per 8-oz cup compared to regular yogurt’s 13 grams.
- Check the box. When you buy packaged foods, read nutrition labels to ensure that amounts of fat (including saturated) and sodium are low. Also look for higher fiber products, since they tend to be more filling. Also, choose whole grains for bread, pasta and crackers.
“Obstacles are what you seen when you take your eyes off the goal”
~ Vince Lombardi
RECIPES
Puttanesca Salad
Tuesday night was our Sisterhood's annual Dinner in the Sukkah. This event is a pot-luck style dinner, and I wanted a dish that would be delicious, yet easy to prepare. I work full time, and it's hard to do things last-minute. I stumbled across this gem when I realized that I would never have time to make a pasta puttanesca for this event. You get the same delicious flavors--only in a salad. Enjoy!
Just as an aside....to turn this into a lovely panzanella salad, simply cube some country bread, toast lightly and add to the salad! Food for thought, if you will...
Yield: 4 GENEROUS servings at a POINTS® Value of 1 per serving. You can easily halve the serving size and still get a wonderful portion of this tasty side dish.
Ingredients:
* 4 vine ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
* 1/2 red onion, chopped
* 3 tablespoons capers
* 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
* 6 anchovies (1 tin of flat filets), chopped
* 1 garlic clove, chopped
* 1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley, a couple of handfuls, coarsely chopped
* Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
* 12 to 15 fresh basil leaves: pile leaves, roll into a log and shred or tear
* Salt and black pepper
Instructions:
Combine tomatoes, onions, capers, olives, anchovies, garlic and parsley in a medium bowl. Dress with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, just enough to lightly coat the salad, 1 to 2 tablespoons. Sprinkle in basil, salt and pepper, toss again and adjust seasonings, to your taste.
Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Bolognese Sauce
Sauteed ground beef is flavored with fennel, garlic, pepper and fire-roasted tomatoes. Tossed with broccoli rabe and pasta, it makes a terrific, hearty main meal. This recipe works great with lean ground turkey instead of beef. Also, if you aren’t a big broccoli rabe fan (my hubby isn’t…), feel free to substitute regular broccoli or broccolini instead!
POINTS® Value: 7 per 1 ½ cup serving
Servings: 6
Preparation Time: 20 min
Cooking Time: 20 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients:
1/8 tsp table salt, for cooking pasta
2 tsp olive oil
1 cup(s) onion(s), chopped
1 Tbsp minced garlic
3/4 pound(s) uncooked lean ground beef (with 7% fat)
2 1/2 tsp fennel seed
28 oz canned crushed tomatoes, fire-roasted recommended
1/4 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp dried oregano
12 oz uncooked whole-wheat pasta, penne rigate suggested
1 pound(s) broccoli rabe, ends trimmed, cut crosswise into 1 1/2-inch pieces
Instructions:
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
Meanwhile, to make sauce, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent, about 6 minutes. Add beef and fennel seeds to skillet; cook until browned, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, about 3 to 4 minutes.
Stir in tomatoes, salt, red pepper flakes and oregano; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
While sauce simmers, add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package instructions, adding broccoli rabe to pasta water 5 minutes before pasta will be done; cook until pasta and broccoli rabe are tender.
Drain pasta and broccoli rabe; return to pot. Add sauce; toss to mix and coat. Yields about 1 1/2 cups per serving.
Crispy Onion Rings
These super-crispy, baked onion rings are a dead ringer (pun intended) for the deep-fried variety. A touch of cayenne adds nice heat.
POINTS® Value: 3 per serving (8 onion rings per servings)
Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 12 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients:
3 spray(s) cooking spray
1 cup(s) cornflake crumbs
1 large egg white(s)
1/3 cup(s) 1% low-fat milk
1/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 large onion(s), yellow, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds, separated into rings
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a large, rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.
Spread cornflake crumbs on a large plate. In a shallow bowl or pie plate, whisk together egg white, milk, flour, onion powder, salt and cayenne pepper until blended.
In batches, dip onion rings in egg mixture (letting excess drip off) and then dredge in cornflake crumbs, turning to coat both sides; place in a single layer on prepared pan.
Coat onion rings with cooking spray and bake, turning once, until onion rings are golden brown, about 12 minutes; sprinkle with additional salt and pepper before serving, if desired. Yields about 8 onion rings per serving.
Notes:
If you don't have a baking pan large enough to hold the onion rings in a single layer, simply use 2 pans and switch their positions in the oven after you turn the onions rings.
