Jumping on the SHRED Wagon!

Well, my dears....after reading much about Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred workout, I traveled over to amazon.ca to buy myself a copy!
I ordered it on last Thursday and got it yesterday! How's that for FAST?! You can expect me to be starting this tomorrow night....the Biggest Loser is on tonight after all and I can't be missing out on that! :)

I had something special in my oats this morning--homemade applesauce! Now, I've made applesauce before, but this way lickity split easy to do! I had 2 apples that really needed some attention so I chopped them up and put them in my Magic Bullet with lots of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg and a splash of water. I let them whiz around for a minute and voila!
How gorgeous is that??? Once my oats were pretty much done cooking, I added 1/2 a cup of this tasty concoction.
-1 cup water
-1/2 cup Old Wessex 5 Grain cereal
-raisins
-homemade applesauce
-drizzle of agave
To. Die. For!

Actually, I was quite busy in the kitchen last night preparing lunches, peeling and dicing ripe juicy pears for me and DD, peeling oranges for me and DS, pulling chicken meat of the bone....yada, yada, yada! I love getting busy in the kitchen and oddly enough, while I'm working with food I have no desire to eat it! I'm a weird-o, for sure!!

While rummaging through the fridge freezer last night I came across a Ziploc bag with about 8 frozen mystery muffins inside! I packed one up for my pre gym snack and kept my fingers crossed!
Well, it turned out to be a batch of zucchini banana muffins I made way back in the fall!! I'm happy to report that they still taste fine and worked like a charm for my morning fuel!

The OSG BBCC called for a cardio mix up so I did just that in the gym today! Instead of running I did 40 sweaty minutes on the elliptical and 5 on the stair climber. Stat time!

Time: 50 minutes
Avg Hr:164
Max Hr: 176
Calories Burned: 446

One thing I am noticing is that the calorie burn between running fast as H-E-double L and doing cardio at a different intensity is not much different. Definitely a note to self next time I try to tell myself that I didn't get a good workout because it wasn't 5 miles long!

Lunch was a big fresh salad! There's some mixed greens, iceberg, leftover mixed veggies and 3oz of the pineapple curry chicken breast from the other night all topped off with some lovely strawberry pomegranate dressing.
Then there was a random cookie consumed. For the record, it wasn't very good! I thought it was chocolate chip but it was raisin. Now, I have nothing against raisins, but they ain't chocolate!
**BAKE SALE UPDATE!!** A note came home from school yesterday letting us know that the bake sale raised $871.46!!! Holy smokes! This took $15.00 off of each student for the cost of the trip to the Medieval Times which means we pay only $16.00. Everyone did such and awesome job!

Just before leaving work I ate my pear....
I love the taste of ripe fruit but I hate the juices running all over the place so I tend to chop anything really ripe up and eat it with a fork.

The kids decided they wanted come cheesy chicken for supper so I got busy at that after changing out of my work clothes. I decided to use some of the spicy curry tapenade on my piece and it was fabulous! As side of steamed vegetables sealed the meal! :)
My sweet end was a Cadbury mint chip bar and a coffee. Boy, was I needing a coffee!
I'm fresh out of spinach and kale and groceries won't be done until Thursday so I set aside the orange that I had packed in my lunch today for a snack later.
Also while watching the Biggest Loser I will be completing part 2 of my OSG BBCC.....2 ab work outs from Wigg's. I picked the classic crunch and the pike to coerce my abs into shape!

I'm shutting down a bit earlier than usual tonight because DD has some serious studying to do for her math test on Thursday and needs help. Hope everyone has fun at whatever they're at tonight!

Bye for now!

A Chilly Start to the Week

I woke up to an icky, wet, snow dusted morning! EEK! It’s hard enough to get out of bed on Monday mornings! I knew that as soon as I was out of the shower I wanted some hefty, creamy oats!

-1.25 cup water
-1/2 cup Quaker oats
-cinnamon
-1 Tbsp PB2
-a small banana, mashed
-carob chips
This turned out to be a really big bowl! I definitely used more banana this time and the result was excellent! This is quickly becoming my favourite combination of ingredients for my oats!

The morning went by pretty smoothly at work. I nibbled on my standard Parnoosh dates at tea time and before the gym I ate the other half of my Maple Nut Clif Bar from last week.
The OSG BBCC required me to “break a bad cardio habit” today as well as completing 3 sets of tricep dips. What is my bad habit, you may be wondering? Well, I tend to compete with myself every day on how fast I can run and how many miles I can squeeze into my lunch hour. I’ve been finding that by the end of the week I’m burnt out and my joints are achy. So today instead of running full out for 45-50 minutes, I picked a course called “smooth strolling” and off I went. This required me to pick a top speed which I set to 6.2 mph (I normally run at 6.5-6.7) and goes through a series of inclines ranging from 0% to 2%. The speed started out at 4.5 and gradually made its way to 6.2 then back down again. Here’s my stats;

Time: 45 minutes
Avg Hr: 159
Max Hr: 178
Calories Burned: 411
Distance: 4.16 miles
Avg Speed: 5.5 mph

I’d be lying if I said the mileage didn’t sting a little but it’s still respectable and I guess that is part of the challenge. I really need to get out of the “go fast and far” mind set and start enjoying my runs again! Keep on reading for my tricep dips!

My lunch was the last of the pork tenderloin chili I made last week. Funny thing was; there was no more pork in it!!! My hubby left just veggies. :) That’s okay by me….I don’t need the meat! I did add a big ole handful of spinach, though!!
No long after I was hungry again so I dug into my orange!
I was really craving some chocolate so thankfully there was none in sight!

My after work/pre Pilates snack was a muffin. This did a really good job of holding me over until I was able to eat supper.
Tonight was my last regular Pilates class of this session! 12 weeks has gone by already! I have a class that I'm taking Wednesday and then the new series starts next Friday. The new class is called "Precision Pilates" and I'm pretty excited to try it out! After that, I'll move on to core.

We finally made it home by 6:45 and I warmed up a serving of vegan chili from the freezer to which I added a dollop of plain yogurt. This is my favourite way to eat this stuff!!
Dessert was a blueberry Cravings cheesecake...
It's pushing 8pm now and I still have a few things to do before I can settle in to watch Dancing With the Stars. I use to follow it every season but I'm having trouble getting into this one. I still have one Pineapple Curry chicken breast in the fridge so I'll probably transform that into some kind of lunch for tomorrow and the kids already picked out what they would like. DS has to get his reading done and DD is currently working on some math that will need checking. I plan on a green monster later and I have a few apples that need some love so I'm thinking they're going the applesauce way! OH! And I still have to do my tricep dips. I can manage that while Dancing is on.... Hope everyone has a fantastic evening!!

Bye for now!!

And the Sun Shone Through

I woke up to the sound of rain and the birds chirping this morning. Very relaxing indeed! I always enjoy the birds chirping for the first week. After that, I want to kill them! :) They get up SO damn early...hence the saying "early bird gets the worm" I suppose! I had made a pot of tiramisu coffee yesterday and saved a cup of it to use in my oats this morning. Here what all went in the pot;
-1 cup decaf tiramisu coffee
-1/2 cup kamut flakes
-raisins
-splash of French Vanilla International Delight coffee creamer
I loved the coffee flavour and I love the chewiness of the kamut flakes! Too bad they're all gone now!

After breakfast I came up to do my favourite thing...blog reading! The Internet was so slow, though, that I ended up giving up after a 1/2 hour! One can only be booted offline so many times before calling it quits! I should really stop being cheap and get some high speed going on! Anyways, I decided to get ready so that we could head out to the farm. I ate 3 unpictured Peek Frean Blueberry Flax cookies with my coffee. Thank goodness that was the end of the box cuz those cookies rock!

By 1pm I still wasn't hungry for lunch but I had some errands to run so I knew I had to eat something or I'd impulse buy big time. I decided to eat a Coco-Nutty Banana muffin with some homemade almond butter and pear ginger jam. I cut the muffin cross ways into 3 pieces and warmed it in the microwave...
Then I spread one piece with AB, one with jam and one with both;
This is the pear ginger jam that I used. It's from my favourite country store, Knapp's
After that was done DD and I headed out to Walmart because she was in dire need of new running shoes. While there I bought a few items I've never seen before...
Praeventia Digestive Health 70% dark chocolate chip cookies (there are 7 pouches in the box which makes them handy for lunches)
And some Spicy Curry Tapenade. Read on to see how I used this at dinner! And a few non food related things...I know! Non food related??? :)


These 2 tops and one workout shirt were reduced to $4.00 each which is why they came home with me! SCORE!

We got home by 3pm and I was feeling a little munchy so I made a smaller than normal green monster to tide me over until dinner time.

This was a blend of 1/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond breeze, 2 big handfuls of baby spinach, and a small very ripe naner. This one tasted just like a milkshake! YUM!

By this time the clouds had cleared up and the rest of the day was bright and sunny, although very wet! You can really see that everything is starting to turn green! I'm so excited for the ground to firm up so I can start doing some yard clean up and planting my veggie garden and flowers!

I was still a little snacky before dinner so I ate a few cheesy mini rice cakes;

DD went to dinner with a classmate and my hubby had hockey at 5:30 so it was just DS and I for dinner. I made turkey burgers and oven baked zucchini. DS also had a noodle side dish. I used an English muffin instead of a bun and topped the burger off with a LC cheese wedge, lettuce and a scoop of the spicy curry tapenade.
So delish! all together now...
After DD returned we hightailed it to my parents for a quick visit. I ate my obligatory 3 chocolate chip cookies with my tea. One Sunday I will photograph them, I promise!!! Before you sign off for the night go on over and visit http://simplyfabulousnow.wordpress.com/2009/03/29/fit-from-within/ for a great prize pack!!! I'm in a mad dash now to get lunches ready, beds made and some laundry folded before the Amazing Race begins! I'll "see" you all tomorrow!!!

Bye for now!!

Three Kitchen Stories & The Dempsters Winners

I had a late night last night which is pretty typical for me on a Friday! The result was a lazy 9am wake up time. That's one thing that I love about the weekend...no alarm! I promised some funny kitchen stories today so I'll start with one right away!

Kitchen Flubs #1

When my hubby and I met, he was a coffee drinker while I enjoyed tea. Shortly after we moved in together he bought a coffee pot and I decided one morning that I would get his coffee brewing for him while he was in the shower. I was SO proud having just made my very first pot of perk so I was a little offended when he started laughing hysterically after he poured a cup. When he calmed down a bit he informed me that instant coffee was not for the coffee maker, I had to use the grounds in the can that he stored in the freezer! Yes, I put instant coffee in the filter to make a pot of perk! :)

I warmed up a bowl of my pumpkin pie crock pot oats for breakfast and topped them with some chopped pecans.

Mucho buonos!! After eating I spent some time on the computer to allow my food to digest. Then I hopped on my treadmill for 30 minutes of cardio as per the OSG BBCC !

Time: 30 mins
Avg Hr: 152
Max Hr: 172
Calories Burned: 253
Distance: 3 miles

I really wasn't planning on any cardio today but I want to stay true to the challenge and as always ended up being glad that I did! I still have to do my 2 set of lunges and squats as soon as I'm done posting. As soon as I got off the treadmill I started on chores. I left the HRM on and was pleasantly surprised to see that I burned another 200 calories in the hour of cleaning that I did!

By the time I was done and showered it was 1pm and I was ready for lunch. I made a 1/3 cup of egg whites which I spread with Sabra jalapeno hummus. Then I rolled some asparagus stalks inside. A big green salad with strawberry pomegranate dressing finished off the plate.
I made some delicious Coco Nutty Banana muffins last night after posting and enjoyed one as my lunch "dessert". After i took the picture I spread some homemade almond butter on top.
I did take some liberties with this recipe, the first being that I made muffins instead of 2 loaves which is what the original recipe said. I also subbed in a 1/3 cup of agave for the sugar, 3/4 cup egg beaters for the 3 eggs and I cut the coconut and almonds back from 1 cup to a half. The texture of this recipe was fabulous but the next time I make them I will add in lots of cinnamon and maybe some nutmeg.

Kitchen Flubs #2

Shortly after moving into our first house we bought a BBQ. Like most men, my hubby rules the grill, but I wanted some BBQ action, too! I called my Dad and he said I needed to go buy some brickets to line the bottom with before I could start cooking. Off I went to the store, bought what I needed, came home and spread said brickets on the bottom of the BBQ. Then I got to work doing some serious grilling. My hubby was very impressed when he came home from work (I was off on mat leave with DD at the time) to find a BBQ'd chicken dinner! My parents came for a visit later on that night and my dad noticed a pile of dust under the BBQ. After some inspecting, the boys informed me that I had bought coals that would be used in a camp fire, not the brickets for the BBQ. The coals had disintegrated into a neat little mound ready to be swept up! :)

After lunch we made our way down to the arena for DS's last "hooray" hockey game where they played on the "big" ice and received awards afterwards. The kids had a really good time and it was awesome to watch! Here's DS with his medal;
I did some yard inspection when we got home to see if anything green is making an appearance. I was delighted to find some little white flowers growing under a tree that separates our yard from the neighbours!
These are a sure fire sign of spring!

Dinner was very easy tonight as it was all store bought!! We went down to Market Fresh where the kids picked out a cheese pizza, my hubby picked out some pasta with meatballs and bruscetta and I grabbed some pineapple curry chicken breasts.
I also steamed up some frozen veggies for a side. My plate had chicken, veggies and a small piece of bruscetta with a bowl of mango along side.
I have to admit that I was a little disappointed with the chicken because it was on the dry side. Also, once I pulled the skin off (which I've always detested) I lost all the pineapple curry flavour. :( Boo! Oh, well...c'est la vie! I finished the meal off with a Cabdury Mint Chip 100 cal bar.

Kitchen Flubs #3

This one goes back again to when we first moved out together. I decided to make a roasted chicken dinner which I had made before so I was quite confident that all would go well. Along with the chicken onions, carrots, potatoes and sweet potatoes all went into the roasting pan. I only used a bit of sweet potato because my hubby doesn't like them so I made enough for myself. We settled sown to eat and all was well until we tasted the chicken. It tasted like someone had injected it with sugar! Neither of us could figure out what the heck was going on and finally just made the assumption that it was the "brand" of chicken that I had bought. We tossed it out and moved on to something else. I relayed our misfortune to my Mom later on that night as I was still perplexed and she told me that it was my sweet potato that had infused itself throughout the chicken making it sweet. Duh! I've never cooked sweet potato in the same pan as the chicken again!!

So there you have my 3 funny kitchen stories! I hope they at least made you giggle! And now to move on to the 2 winner's of my Dempster's contest! I had only 8 Canadians enter so the odds were pretty good! I used the random generator site and got numbers 1 and 6. The winning names are Sharon and Martha!!! Congrats ladies...you have won 2 coupons to try Dempsters new Pro Cardio line of breads and Fresh Squares! Please email me you mailing addresses at kristaskravings@gmail.com so I can get them to you ASAP!

We folks, I hope you have an amazing Saturday night! I'm off to do my squats and lunges and then we're watching Journey to the Center of the Earth! Catch you all tomorrow!

Bye for now!

Can You Believe I Forgot My Camera?

TGIF!!! And it was a beautiful day in my neighbourhood! Hard to believe that only a week ago I was at Ikea and Whole Foods! I went a little blend crazy this morning while getting breakfast and lunch ready! My poor cats couldn't figure out where all the noise was coming from! First up was my immersion blender breakfast;

-cup water
-1/3 cup oat bran
-cinnamon
-1/2 cup silken tofu
-banana
-blueberries
-carob chips
I cooked the first 5 ingredients, then sent them for a whirl in the pot. Stirred in the berries and topped it off with a sprinkle of carob chips! Thick, creamy, smooth....if any of these words appeal to your senses where food is concerned, you must try blended oats!

So, in our haste to get down to the bake sale last night, I FORGOT my camera! Un-freakin-believable!!! I was all set to take a few shots of DD doing her thing when I realized that it wasn't with me. *sigh* I did have it with me but set it down on DD's dresser when I went to get some cash out of her piggy bank for her and there it stayed. Boo! The good news, though is that all of our baking sold! By the time we got there, the Mars Bar Squares were already gone! I bought a few goodies....a butter tart for my hubby, a baggie of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, a few assorted rice crispy treats, chocolate chip cookies and a sugar cookie dipped in chocolate. I ate 3 of the cookies. That's pretty good for me! Actually, considering the mass amounts there was to choose from, not much of it tempted me. Not long ago I would've wanted at least one of everything....especially the chocolate stuff! I guess I'm finally becoming more in tune with myself!

I ate my usual snack of Parnoosh dates this morning. I forgot to pack them but knew my hubby was coming to the gym so I called and asked him to bring me a few...
....his idea of "few" and my idea of "few" differ somewhat! I wouldn't have packed this many but I wasn't about to complain!

I ate another blood orange before hitting up the gym;
I really, REALLY wasn't feeling the gym today, but I bargained with myself and went anyways. The deal was that I would run 40 minutes at a slower pace than normal and finish the last 10 minutes with my OSG Bikini Challenge exercises which included 3 sets of 15 push ups, toe touches, and side to side abs. Like always, I'm glad I went.

Time: 50 minutes
Avg Hr: 128
Max Hr: 182
Calories Burned: 421
Distance: 4.12 miles

My second blended creation of the day was a green monster! I made it at 8am this morning and when I took it out of the fridge at 1:30pm it was still a perfect consistency! I was so afraid it would be a goopy mess! This drink had 4 big strawberries, mango, flax seed, 1/2 soy milk, kale and spinach it it..
So good! I'm finding these to be a perfect fit for lunch! They fill me up without making me all bloated. This was paired with half of a Maple Nut Clif Bar...
Before leaving work, I ate my "found" fruit from yesterday. Sweet and juicy and reminded me of a hot summer's day!!
Speaking of "found" food, I found supper for the kids at work today!!! There were 2 trays of sandwiches put out for us vultures and I snagged 2, 1 ham, 1 turkey, for the kids along with 2 chocolate cookies for dessert.
Needless to say, they were thrilled! If there's one thing those 2 agree on, it's that sub's rock their world! My hubby had made a pizza for his lunch and there were 2 pieces leftover. They each had one as well as some Caesar salad. I defrosted myself a serving of peanut lentil soup and sprinkled it with some sunflower seeds. On the side I had a toasted English muffin with some Sabra hummus.
This was a great, hassle free Friday night dinner! I ended it with a mint chip Cadbury thin;
I think some baking is on my agenda for tonight. I want to use up some of the bananas. Judging by the fight the kids just had I think I'll be doing some refereeing, too. Fun times. Anyone doing anything more fun than that tonight? I really hope so!! Be sure to come back tomorrow to find out the winner's of the Dempsters contest AND I will be revealing a few embarrassing cooking stories that still make my family giggle! I wasn't always so adept in the kitchen! :)

Bye For now!!