I’ve gotten a bunch of emails asking about my homemade “obstacle course”, so I thought I’d explain what I’m talking about. I do most of my exercising in the basement, unless I am outside walking. I have all of my equipment down there (elliptical, recumbent bike, weight bench, etc.). So, over the winter when I couldn’t walk outside, I set up a a mini obstacle course in the basement with my Reebok step board and thigh stepper in an attempt to emulate the natural terrain changes of the outdoors. I just walk around in a big circle with the step board and thigh stepper in the course. I change things up often, so while I’m walking around, going over the step board and stuff, I sometimes carry light weights, do random jumping jacks, dance, or challenge myself with random goals (e.g., go up and down on the step board 20 times as fast as possible). It’s not my main cardio, I consider it my “fun” activity for the day, although I do work up a really big sweat doing it. Sometimes I incorporate my elliptical and recumbent bike into the mix. I’ll walk, jump on the elliptical for a minute, then go back to the circle, etc. I mostly walk around in a large circle with the step board and thigh stepper on opposite sides of the circle, so that they are halfway through each turn.

I drew a picture of it in Photoshop to give you a better idea of what I mean LOL

I should probably stick to cooking, obviously drawing isn’t my niche! hahaha Anyway, when we buy a house, I want to make an outdoor obstacle course. I got the idea from military-style boot camp obstacle courses and I thought it sounded like fun and it is! There’s infinite possibilities. You can make them inside or outside and it doesn’t have to cost anything. I got my Reebok step board for Christmas, but you could probably build something similar. I want to buy a few more boards to make it even more interesting. I like a lot of variety in my workouts and being walking is my favorite activity of all, it’s fun to spice that up, too! And like I said, it’s not like a casual walk that doesn’t even get your heart rate up. I get super sweaty and my heart rate is raised the first few laps. As I get in better physical shape, I’ll do more and more challenging things, like: walk, stop and do push-ups, etc. There’s so many different things you can do to workout, so don’t think you need money for a gym membership or to buy expensive equipment. If you take a few minutes to sketch out a fun little obstacle course of your own, I’m sure you can come up with lots of fun ideas! You might actually look forward to doing it, plus you can save lots of $$$ doing it all at home or rigging things up from things you have laying around or can get for free, like used tires, a piece of rope for a jump rope, etc. I’m going to publish an article in the near future that talks about some things you can make at home to use for a workout. Hope this gives you some inspiration. Let me know if you make an obstacle course, I’d love to hear new ideas, too!!

I wanted to go outside to do a driveway walk yesterday, but of course, it started to rain just as I was heading out. So, I rerouted to the basement for a romp in my obstacle course. But first, I had something to eat. An almond butter and strawberry fruit spread sandwich with 1 cup Calorie Countdown fat free milk (45 cal):

1 TBSP MaraNatha creamy almond butter (95 cal) with 1 TBSP strawberry Polaner All Fruit (40 cal) on 1 slice 9 grain and seed bread (160 cal). OMG, creamy almond butter is SOOOOOOOO good!! I dipped into the jar a few times during the day. It’s so creamy and yummy! Mmmm! This sandwich and milk combo was a great pre-workout snack for about 350 calories. YUMMMMMMM! Only thing is, it’s not very much food for so many calories. I could seriously eat like 4 of these sandwiches — all at once! lol

My workout consisted of:

• 60 minutes obstacle course
• Upper body strength training
• 20 mins HIIT on recumbent bike

When I came upstairs, I drank a bottle of Vitaminwater 10 and ate a Kashi Dark Chocolate Coconut Fruit & Nut granola bar (120 cal)

I was soaked with sweat, so I took a shower because I can’t stand sitting down to eat when I feel sticky and gross. After my shower, I made my post-workout meal. I was SO hungry! So I didn’t skimp on the grub!

• A poached chicken breast wrap with avocado, blue cheese crumbles, lettuce, tomato and hummus
• 14g Snyder’s unsalted mini pretzels (55 cal) with 8g MaraNatha creamy almond butter (45 cal)
• A chocolate “Shakers” milkshake (190 cal) made with 8oz Calorie Countdown fat free “milk” (45 cal)

First I made the wrap by spreading 1 TBSP Sabra hummus over 1 La Tortilla Factory low carb wrap (80 cal):

Then topped it with: 2oz poached chicken breast (70 cal), 50g Haas avocado, mixed lettuce leaves, tomato slices, and 7g blue cheese crumbles (25 cal)

And wrapped it all up…

We found these milkshakes in Shop Rite. If you know what Dippin’ Dots are, that’s pretty much what’s inside. Then you add in milk and shake it like you mean it!! (That’s what the bottle actually says ) lol It was like a mini workout shaking up the milkshake! haha The taste was pretty good, but I think it would have been better with skim or 1% milk. Calorie Countdown milk has a bit of an artificial taste being it contains Splenda. But for just 235 calories, it’s a yummy post-workout milkshake. You could add some protein powder to it to make it even more ideal for post-workout recovery.

MMMMM! Almond butter on the pretzels = heavenly!

I was pretty worn out the rest of the day, so this was the last “meal” that I ate. Hubby and I had a bedtime snack and then called it a day. It’s raining again today, so I guess a driveway walk is out once again. Boooooo! Ah well, obstacle course will be fun, too! I better go get started, I’m hungryyyyyy.

Good afternoon, peeps! We just woke up a little while ago, I was much too tired to do Sunday’s update before going to sleep. Soooo… here it is!

I mentioned yesterday that we were about to watch The Jacksons: An American Dream on TVLand and we did! All 5 hours of it. It was a lazy Sunday, so we hung out on the couch watching TV for most of the afternoon, but we started to get hungry. So, during commercials I whipped up a typical Italian-American Sunday LINNER. When I was growing up, my family would make some kind of pasta or baked Italian dish almost every Sunday that we’d eat as a late lunch/early dinner. Today I decided to make cavatelli that’s been in the freezer for awhile.

Cavatelli (plural) are a type of pasta, typically about 3 cm (1¼ inch) long, with a rolled edge. It is similar in shape to casarecci, but shorter in length. While they are often available frozen in Italian specialty grocers, they are typically homemade in Italian and Italian-American households. In Italy, cavatelli are especially popular in the Avellino province.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavatelli

The texture and flavor reminds me a lot of gnocchi, but slightly different. They are chewy and delicious! I don’t think my parents and grandmother made these very often. The only times I had them was at my great aunt’s house but I was always fond of them.

1 serving (151g) cavatelli (240 cal) with 1/2 cup Bove’s organic no sugar added tomato sauce (40 cal) = 280 calories

I wanted a piece of garlic bread but we didn’t have the right bread for it, so I had 1 slice Ezekiel 4:9 low sodium sprouted grain bread (80 cal) with 3g butter (25 cal).

With the slice of B+B, this was a YUMMY Sunday linner for just 385 calories. I sprinkled ~TBSP grated pecorino romano cheese on it before I ate it which makes it around 405 calories.

After the miniseries, we headed out to Shop Rite to pick up a few things. When we came home, I started on our official dinner with the grass-fed beef tenderloin that I defrosted earlier in the day. Shop Rite had it on sale for just $2.99/lb the week before! I finally got the blue cheese crumbles that I have been wanting all week, so I decided to make a BEAUTIFUL salad with a bed of mixed baby greens that I tossed in 1 teaspoon EVOO (40 cal), a splash of balsamic vinegar and red wine vinegar and topped with: sliced beef tenderloin that I grilled on the indoor grill, white onion, grape tomatoes, 14g blue cheese crumbles (50 cal), cucmber slices and 1 TBSP Bolthouse Farms blue cheese yogurt dressing (35 cal)

On the side: a slice of grilled 9 grain and seed bread that I picked up from Shop Rite. It’s 160 cals for a 57g piece. I weighed my slice just out of curiosity and it was 42g. Sure would be easy to eat 300 or 400 calories worth of this bread in a sandwich if you didn’t realize how calorie dense it is and assumed it was about the same calories as most other breads. REALLY good though! Soft and has lots of fun seeds and grains to chew on.

WOW!! This was the salad of the year!! It was AWESOME! I estimate using about 3.5 oz of the filet mignon after it was grilled. When you slice it thinly, it goes a lot farther. Mmmm! SO so SO good!

Gorgeous! *toots her own horn*

If I had to give my best guesstimate, I’d say this salad runs around 500 calories, but don’t hold me to that because I didn’t measure everything.

Other than ice cream for dessert, a piece of bread with sauce and nibbling on cucumber slices while preparing the salad, I opted for just 2 large meals and a few snacks for the day. I took the day off from exercising yesterday, so I’m well-rested and ready to take the day on now! But first, Dustin and I are going to watch Glenn Beck. Then I’m going for a driveway walk. YAY! It looks like it’s getting cloudy though. I hope it rains while we’re watching TV so I can walk in some fresh air! *crosses fingers*

By the time I was done with breakfast, I pretty much filled my fiber quota for the day. I woke up hungry, but not wanting to eat too much being I didn’t plan to workout immediately. So, I had a small snack of 1 slice Ezekiel 4:9 low sodium sprouted grain bread (80 cal) with 1 TBSP Naturally More peanut butter (85 cal):

Then right before I got ready to go on a walk in the driveway, I had a great big bowl of Simply Fiber cereal 1.5 servings, 150 cal) with 1 cup Calorie Countdown fat free milk (45 cal) and about half a pint of fresh blueberries:

Oh, and I sprinkled 1 packet Truvia 0 cal sweeteners over the berries and cereal. Simply Fiber cereal doesn’t have any added sugar, so it could use a little flavoring.

This held me nicely through my workout for around 250 calories.

Then I headed outside to walk in the driveway. I intended to do 60 minutes of walking, but exactly 30 minutes into my driveway trot, it started to rain. So, I went inside and did another 30 minutes of walking/step board in my obstacle course, followed by upper body strength training and 20 mins/5.5 miles on my recumbent bike.

When I came upstairs, I drank a bottle of Vitaminwater 10, then finished helping mom make my post-workout meal, which was also lunch for everyone else. She husked and steamed the corn while I steamed a bag of frozen string beans and grilled salmon burgers inside. I picked up a package of freshly made salmon burgers from the seafood department at Shop Rite, thinking there was 4 patties, but when I opened it, I discovered that there was only 2 HUGE patties. So, I remade them into 3 smaller ones and ate mine on 2 slices Ezekiel 4:9 low sodium sprouted grain bread (160 cal) with lots of red onion, fresh spinach leaves and a big blob of Sabra hummus:

The whole bag of steamed string beans were tossed in 1 TBSP EVOO and red wine vinegar with chopped red onion. I also rubbed REAL butter on the corn. Yummmmmm! I used about 1 TBSP of butter on all 3 ears of corn, so a little went a long way and it tasted soooo good!!

EXCELLENT post-workout meal for around 700 calories, give or take. This actually kept me FULL for over 5 hours!! Later on in the day, I was up to around 1200-1300 calories and starting to feel very hungry, but couldn’t decide what to make. So many choices, but I was also getting sleepy, so I decided on a great big salad with hard boiled eggs. Easy peasy!

In the bowl:

• ~3 cups mixed baby greens coated with 1 teaspoon EVOO (40 cal), red wine vinegar and 1 TBSP Bolthouse Farms blue cheese dressing (35 cal)
• ~1/4 cup peas
• ~1/4 cup grape tomatoes
• A little white onion
• ~1/4 cucumber
• 2 large cage free hard boiled eggs (150 cal)
• 28g Sabra hummus (70 cal)
• 14g goat cheese crumbles
• On the side: 1 Joseph’s pita bread (60 cal), toasted

OMG! SOOOO GOOD! And so pretty, isn’t it? Loved it! Then I ended the day on a sweet note:

85g Stonyfield Farms vanilla frozen yogurt (100 cal) with 10g Gefen raspberry syrup (20 cal) and 7g Nestle mini chocolate chips (35 cal):

Deeeeeelicious! For only 155 calories, this is a yummy summer night treat. Though, I’d eat it in the winter, too! LOL

Off to watch The Jacksons: An American Dream on TVLand with hubby now! It’s a 5 hour miniseries. I’ve seen it several times already, but it’s worth seeing again and again.

Dustin and I decided to play hooky and go on a picnic, then to look at houses in Ulster and Orange counties. So, I made us lunches to pack into our lunchboxes…

I had turkey on olive ciabatta bread with fresh spinach, red onion and hummus spread on both sides of the bread:

On the side: 1/2 cup Friendship 1% cottage cheese (90 cal) with half serving Del Monte 100% juice cling peaches (30 cal)

For dessert I had a miniature black & white cookie. And yes, that one is miniature compared to the full-sized ones, if you know what I am talking about lol.

All packed up and ready to go! Dustin was excited to get to use his “Gir” lunchbox that I got him for his birthday.

We went to the park down the road from our house to eat…

But we decided to eat in the car; we’re not fond of swatting bugs while we eat.

Yum! Totally loved the sandwich. The hummus was a nice change and it actually almost tasted as if it were a tangy mayo because it was sooo creamy. Definitely going to have this on my sandwiches more often. Not sure why it always slips my mind, it’s delicious!

After we ate, we headed to Ulster county around 4:00PM to stalk some houses and properties for sale. We ended up at the same house that we fell in love with a few weeks back during its “open house.” It’s still our #1 choice, but who knows, maybe we’ll find one that we love even more! If not, we’d be very happy with this one.

We got home around 9:00PM, then found out about the passing of Michael Jackson and was devastated. I cried all night. I’ve been a fan all of my life and I feel like a piece of my childhood has died. What’s even more upsetting is the speculation surrounding the cause of his death being related to prescription drugs. That hits home with me; my father and my aunt both died from cardiac arrhythmia due to being over-medicated. My father went into the hospital in 1990 for a slipped disk in his back and died at the age of 41, less than 2 years later, from heart failure. At the time of his death, only 13% of his heart was working. It all stemmed from negligent doctors and nurses pumping him full of pain killers and steroids that didn’t help and ultimately killed him. The medication enlarged his liver, he became diabetic, and one by one, all of his vital organs shut down, including his bladder. He suffered terribly and yet, the day that he died, he was moved from ICU to PCU (progressive care) and scheduled to be released to go home. At the time, we trusted doctors and the care he was receiving. We didn’t know any better. Then the hospital “lost” his medical records when they were requested for review. Right.

My aunt, my mom’s sister, died 5 years ago, at the age of 49 from accidentally overdosing on a lethal cocktail of antidepressants and pain killers that were prescribed by her doctors. The autopsy couldn’t explain why she died, until the toxicology report came back as having the wrong combination of prescription drugs in her system at the same time. In a country where we are obsessed with diet and exercise; gaining and losing weight; street drugs and guns, we often ignore the wolf in sheep’s clothing when it comes to prescription drugs. I implore everyone to know what your doctor is prescribing for you or your loved ones. Most doctors in this country are not in the business of healing people, they are in the business of medicating. Take charge of your health and don’t rely on anyone to do it for you.

We just woke up a little while ago. We’re not sure what’s on our agenda for today or the weekend yet. It’s beautiful out right now, I’d love to go for a walk to the park. We’ll see what the day brings.

High fructose corn syrup has graduated to a new level of wickedness in our house; when I was getting the cottage cheese from the fridge, I accidentally knocked over a can of Pepsi, it exploded and covered me in soda. Thankfully it was before I took a shower, but it felt soooo gross!!!!! I was making a pre-workout snack, so I changed my clothes and wiped down my legs down before I worked out. EVIL !

At least the snack was worth it. 1/2 cup Friendship 1% cottage cheese (90 cal) and 1 medium banana (110 cal) cut in half with 1 TBSP Naturally More peanut butter (85 cal) spread in between to make a banana sandwich:

Yummy pre-WO snack for just 285 calories.

When I first woke up, I was really hungry and craving tuna or salmon in a wrap. I decided on 3oz Trader Joe’s no salt added wild Alaskan (90 cal) mixed with 17g Hellmann’s olive oil mayo and 1 TBSP Bolthouse Farms blue cheese dressing (35 cal) on 1 La Tortilla Factory low carb wrap (80 cal) with green leaf lettuce and tomato:

On the side I had 1 vanilla Chobani yogurt (120 cal) with fresh blueberries and 7g Uncle Sam’s original cereal

SO good! Exactly the taste/texture I was going for. I estimate the wrap + yogurt to be around 500 cals.

My workout today consisted of:

• 30 minutes of homemade obstacle course as a warm-up
• Lower body strength training (my legs are sore now!!)
• 20 minutes recumbent bike (5.5 miles)
• Another 30 minutes of obstacle course

Before I went downstairs, I made a bowl of 49g Cracklin’ Oat Bran (200 cal) with 4oz skim milk (45 cal) to sit in the fridge for when I got done working out. I know this might seem yucky to some people, but I swear it’s delish! I like crunchy cereal, but I also like it mushy, when it soaks up the milk. By the time I got done working out, it was just the way I wanted it; mushy and creamy:

It’s like eating sweet, cold oats. Next time I’ll add some fruit to kick it up a notch, but for 245 calories, this tided me over until I made a real meal after my shower.

After I was fresh and clean and smelling nice once again, I went to work on dinner/post-workout meal #2.

Grilled chicken tenders with grilled yellow squash, a smallish boiled red potato topped with Fage Total 0% yogurt and Trader Joe’s no salt added salsa and 1oz olive ciabatta bread

It was after midnight when I started making all of this, so I opted for the indoor grill instead of the outdoor one. No need to have our neighbors know think we’re crazy. Before I took a shower, I put the potatoes on the stove in a pot of water and by the time I got done, they were done too! Perfect timing. The chicken and squash were super simple, too. I sliced the squash, then put them in a bowl and tossed them in 1 TBSP EVOO (120 cal). The chicken fingers I put in between 2 pieces of saran wrap and pounded them out to make them a little thinner. Then I added them to a bowl and coated them in 1 TBSP EVOO, also. I grilled the squash first, then the chicken, which only took a few minutes — always a plus when you are HUNGRY and getting tired.

I sprinkled a little bit of Cabot 50% reduced fat cheddar cheese over the potato and chicken, too. Mmmmmmmm!

Wow, this was an EXCELLENT meal! I am STUFFED!! I don’t know the exact calories, but I’d estimate all of this to be around 500-550 calories at the most. Deeeeeeeeelightful!

Aunt Flo kicked my butt all weekend. I didn’t cook much of anything for a few days and mainly tried to eat whatever we had leftover and/or in the freezer being we are moving soon. I did get a few things from the store though. Gotta have that fresh produce! And blueberries were on sale @ Shop Rite for just $1.49 a pint! I got 3 pints, so expect to see a lot of blue stuff on the blog this week LOL.

I’m exhausted! Time to go teepies. ZzzzZzzZZZzzzzzzzz~~~