Kick Like a Girl

Mar 15, 2012

Green Monster

I've been a blog slacker. I've been busy with my training schedule and the weather is beautiful these days so I pretty much forgot that I have a blog.

For those that don't know...I am running my first marathon in June. 26.2 miles of pure craziness. I love running- and I feel the most fit when I run, plus it's a great time to unwind. The training has been good so far, but this week I'm starting to feel the fatigue of increasing mileage. And my weekly mileage is only going to keep getting higher. Right now I'm running 4 days a week, cross training 2 times a week and my beloved rest day (Sundays). My mileage is around 25-30 miles per week right now, and it will be increasing up to 40 miles a week. Here's what this upcoming week's schedule looks like--starting with today:

Thursday- Strength Training + Turbo Kick
Friday- 4 miles + yoga
Saturday- 14 miles
Sunday- REST!
Monday- 4 mile run
Tuesday - Strength Training + Turbo Kick
Wednesday- 6 miles tempo (aka-- hard, fast run)

The hard part is that while I'm training, I'm also trying to get fit and hopefully tone up/lose weight. I'm not a girl who's totally focused on the scale, but I want my body to look toned and tight. Why would this be hard? Marathon training requires a lot of fuel. To run 26 miles, you need to be properly fueled, otherwise your body could completely give up on you. So, I'm eating more calories and food--but I'm trying SO SO hard to eat good, clean foods. So far, so good. I'm feeilng more fit and looking more toned (at least to me, and that's all that matters really). My biggest hurdle is my eating at night. For a while I ended up feeling starved at 8-9pm, and then I end up eating too much and feel gross afterwards. So, what I've done to eliminate this is to eat more calories throughout the day (healthy snacks & smaller meals), eat more fiber in my diet, and have a healthy shake after dinner to satisfy my "sweet tooth" and to get me some healthy nutrients. My friend gave me this recipe, and I love it. I'm sure there are many variations out there, but I'm in love with the creamy-not-too-sweet taste.

Any shake that looks green and has lots of nutrients I call a Green Monster. So, here's my Green Monster...

My husband thinks the color is disgusting, so he won't eat it. And that is OK by me....it's yummy, cool looking and I LOVE IT!

Green Monster:

1 frozen banana

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

2 cups spinach-raw
1 TBSP peanut butter

Use blender and blend banana, milk & spinach until creamy. Add peanut butter & blend well. Wa-lah. Yummyness.

Nutrient Facts:
220 calories

30g carbs

8g protein

9g fat

210mg sodium

14g sugar

811mg potassium

7g fiber

16% iron

147% Vitamin A

50% Vitamin C

Feb 23, 2012

Dine and dash

It's not what you're thinking. Here's the thing...I'm a woman on the go. I constantly have things going on in my life- between being the primary provider, to fitness instructor, to runner, to housewife, to mom-in-training. Sometimes I feel this pressure to put an amazing meal on the table all the time. And it doesn't always happen. Life is busy! So, I decided that some of the best meals are ones you can type up without looking at a recipe card. Although....I'm not very good at that. But, here are some fool-proof recipes:

By the way--- I'm a huge fan of tin foil. If I'm baking vegetables or chicken or salmon...I line it with tin foil. Easy clean up and a lot of times I wrap the meat in tin foil so it stays moist.

Italian chicken & veggies (makes 4 servings-- perfect for leftovers the next day!)
     Chicken breasts (4- 4oz breasts)
     4 Red potatoes, diced
     1 head broccoli
      Any other veggies you desire
     Italian Dressing - 1/4 cup
     Parmesan cheese

Wrap your chicken in tin foil and drizzle some light italian dressing on top (my favorite is Ken's Lite Northern Italian Dressing). Then cut up some fresh vegetables- potatoes, zucchini, broccoli, green/red peppers, tomatoes, snow peas, green beans...whatever you'd like. Line a pan with tin foil, place veggies in tin foil and drizzle italian dressing on top & sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top. Place in oven at 350 degrees until veggies are soft & chicken is cooked all the way through.   Typically takes 20-30 minutes.

Fiesta Lime Chicken (Applebees copycat, with much less fat & sodium & calories)
     Chicken Breasts (4-4oz breasts)
       1 cup salsa or pico
       2 TBSP Ranch dressing
       1/4 cup shredded cheese
       optional: 1/4 lime for juice

Place chicken breasts on baking sheet. Cook chicken until almost cooked through at 350 degrees for roughly 13 minutes. Before chicken is completely cooked, top chicken breasts salsa and top each breast with 1/2 TBSP of Ranch dressing. Put shredded cheese on the very top. Cook chicken for another 13 minutes until chicken is cooked through.   Before serving drizzle a small amount of lime on top. Serve with a side of baked potato (which suprisingly also tastes GREAT with salsa and lite sour cream) and salad. Or broccoli and salad.

Lean Turkey Chili (several servings-- I believe it makes 8 to 10 1-cup servings)
       1 lb ground turkey (93/7 lean)
       4 cans diced or stewed tomatoes
       1 can black beans
       1 can kidney or pinto beans
       1 can diced green chilies
       2 TBSP tomato paste
       1 can corn (I love corn, so I always double the corn)
       1 packet of McCormick chili seasoning (I always only use 3/4 of the seasoning packet to reduce sodium)

Brown ground turkey. Then add all ingredients to a large pot (or we've done the crockpot on low before) and let simmer on low for 30 minutes. Stir occassionally.



Swiss Chicken **This one is my husband's favorite!
        Chicken Breasts (4-4oz breasts)
        1 can cream of chicken soup or cream of celery soup
        2 TBSP dried minced onions
        1 tsp garlic powder
        1/4 plain greek yogurt (or light sour cream)
        1/4 low fat skim milk (or unsweetened almond milk)
        Swiss Cheese (mozzarella, pepperjack, or monterary jack work just fine!)
        1/4- 1/2 cup bread crumbs (or you could use crushed up corn flakes, or saltines even!)
         salt and pepper to taste
Lay chicken breasts on tin foil. In a mixing bowl mix cream of chicken soup, greek yogurt, milk, garlic powder, and salt & pepper. Sprinkle minced onions on top of chicken breasts, add once slice of cheese to each chicken breast. Spread chicken soup mixture on top of cheese. Add more minced onions, if you desire with breadcrumbs lightly sprinkled on top. Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees, or until chicken is cooked through.

.........................
And...I'm not sure if I've ever shared this alfredo recipe before...but it's awesome and really low-fat compared to most alfredo recipes. Plus, my husband thinks it's better than Olive Garden. He just likes the flavors! Best part? I usually always have the ingredients on hand. So after a long Saturday or Sunday at church I make this because I know I have everything already. Enjoy!
Chicken Alfredo (makes 2 servings)
      1 chicken breast, baked in oven
       4 oz whole wheat pasta

       2 TBSP whipped Land O Lakes Butter (this kind has less calories/fat)
       2 TBSP flour
       1 cup skim milk
       2 TBSP grated parmesan cheese
       1/4 tsp garlic powder
       1/4 tsp salt
        1-2 TBSP parsley flakes

Cook chicken. Cook noodles. In a separate pot on stove, melt butter until liquid (not until boiling). Add flour and mix quickly into a thick paste. Slowly (very slowly) add milk, while constantly stirring....making a rue. Basically it will keep getting thicker and thicker. Use a whisk so that the mixture stays smooth. Once really thick, add garlic powder & salt. Remove from heat and add parmesan cheese. Add parsley flakes. Mix in chicken and top over pasta.

Windy

I've been busy, I promise! Mid-January I started my marathon training. 18 weeks, baby! I'm pretty excited about it, but nervous at the same time. I gave myself A LOT more time to train for my first Half Marathon. Like at least 25 weeks. So, I feel like I have no wiggle room with this training schedule. My fault. The year is going by so fast, and I didn't realize how soon this marathon thing is coming up.

I'm running Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturdays. Tuesday & Thursdays I'm doing strength training and teaching my Turbo Kick class. My biggest goal with training is to focus more on clean eating and not worry so much about the calories as I am filling my body with healthy food: vegetables, fruit, whole grains, lean meats, nuts. And eat proper portion sizes. I'm hoping that I can get some extra fat off my body in the process. And keep myself properly fueled for long runs.

Last night was Wednesday and I was supposed to run 3.5 fast miles outside. Ha. Well, with 55mph winds and gusts up to 70mph...my run was not going to be happening outdoors. But, lucky for me I decided that if I timed it right...I could do my fast run on the treadmill while watching the Republican Presidential Debate. And, so was my evening. We had breakfast for dinner because after coming back from Boise I didn't really have time to plan out my meals for the rest of the week. Scrambled egg whites with ham & sweet potatoes. It was so delicious. I love breakfast for dinner!

Copied this picture from the local news station. This is a picture of a semi truck on it's side from yesterday's gusty winds. Insane!!!

Jan 27, 2012

when ya have a bad day...

Yesterday I was having a rotten day. The day where you just want to go back home, put your pajamas on and get back into bed. My boss was cranky, but that's ususal. It's just some days are easier to handle than others. I could go on and on about why I dislike my job, but I'll spare you the boring details. I will admit that part of my animosity towards my job happens to be because I just want to be a mom, plain and simple. And the other part is frustration with poor leadership. Ok-rant over. Haha!

So... in order to combat my stress I can deal with it in two ways.

1) I could sit on the couch at home and stuff myself with chips & cheese, or ice cream. Telling myself I deserve it because I've had such a bad day. In the moment the food will taste so good. I'll eat it so fast that I won't even be able to tell when I've had enough. Shortly afterwards I will probably feel even worse than I started and I will want to cry.

OR

2) I could do Turbo Kick (my favorite anger-releasing workout) and get out all my frustrations with punches & kicks...and lots of cardio. And when the Turbo section comes along...I could push so hard that by the end I won't remember why I was so mad in the first place. And after my workout I would feel on top of the world.

I chose #2! And it was fabulous. I had an amazing Turbo Kick class last night and by the end of class I completely forgot about why I had been so frustrated with my job in the first place. My class had such high energy, everyone was working hard, having a good time---and I think we all burned off a little stress together. I love it!!!

TURBO SECTION!!!!
**Not from last night's class...but you get the idea....

The first 5-10 minutes when I'm stressed or "not feelin it" are the hardest to WANT to workout. But, I always tell myself---just do 10 minutes and then decide whether you want to continue or not. Usually once I get to 10 minutes I feel so much better and want to keep going. So....if you are having a bad day and don't think a workout will cure it.... just tell yourself "only 10 minutes"...and then see where that takes you!!

Jan 26, 2012

How I Avoided Weight Gain on Vacation

Whenever I go on vacation, I am always fearful that I will come back feeling lethargic because of the extra weight gain. But, this time I was determined. And I did it! I was so happy with my determination to have fun, yet be good while on vacation. There were fried food and treats everywhere, but I tried to limit myself to one "treat" per day--and that was typically the beloved churro. I love those things! Here are some of the things I did to help me!

1. Buy healthy breakfast food & lots of water at the grocery store. ---- Not only was buying healthy breakfast food & water at the grocery store much cheaper, but it was a healthy way to start the day. Fruits, hard boiled eggs, & toast for breakfast. And I ALWAYS had a water bottle in hand. I even brought empty bottles into the parks so that we could refill them.

2. Get a fun workout in early in the morning to give your day a jump start. -- Now I will admit, I'm not usually good at this one, but the gorgeous views and the weather motivated me to get up early. Plus, I didn't put too much pressure on myself. I didn't want to set goals like "run 5 miles" or "run for 60 minutes" because I didn't want to fail. Instead I made it fun, and brought my camera and decided that we'd give ourselves an hour and we'd just have fun taking pictures until we were ready to go back. Usually we used up the whole hour because we loved seeing the sites. I brought my husband on every run with me...for safety's sake. Can't ever be too careful. Plus, it was fun to take pictures of us on the beach.

3. Order healthy meals -- One of the hardest things to do on vacation is to eat healthy at meal time. 100% of our lunch/dinner meals on this trip were restaurant food. Luckily my family has great taste in food and there were usually healthy options for me. Here's what I did on my meals out:

Friday lunch - Mexican Salad
Friday dinner- 2 slices Cheese Pizza (my treat for the day)
Saturday lunch - Grilled Salmon & Veggies (Sea World)
Saturday dinner- Brown rice, veggies & orange chicken
Sunday lunch - Mexican Salad (Disneyland)
Sunday dinner- Grilled Chicken BBQ skewers & smoothie (Disneyland)
Monday lunch- Turkey, Tomato, Spinach Wrap w/ Cheddar popped chips (San Diego Zoo)
Monday dinner- Grilled Cod, veggies, potato
Tuesday lunch- Subway turkey sub (Airport)
Tuesday dinner- Toasted Sesame Salad & Tortilla Soup

4. Walk Around-- You know how sometimes you go on vacation and you dread that you have to walk around all day at an amusement park? Don't dread it...embrace it! I was thrilled! Usually I sit at my desk job all day long, so to be up and moving around during the day was great! Not to mention it burned some extra calories.

5. Read a Book-- I tend to get the most snacky when I'm not busy or when I'm bored. So, to keep myself busy on the flight, drives, and at night when everyone else was showering/watching TV I read a book. Reading a book keeps the hands occupied so it's not as easy to mindlessly snack. Plus, nobody likes having cheeto fingerprints in their book.

5. Bring Snacks-- I'm the type of person who typically eats 5-6 small meals each day. If I don't have a healthy snack inbetween meals I tend to overeat. So, in order to keep myself energetic and avoid overeating, I brought small snack-sized zip lock bags with almonds or a granola bar. I was very happy to see that each amusement park had a "healthy snacks" stand, they've come a long way. At Disneyworld they had a California Trail Mix, grapes, fruit bowl, apples, oranges, craisins, etc. They weren't cheap, but well priced, considering. I never ever buy soda on vacation, I always buy water. Water seemed to be just as expensive as the soda, and so much better for you. And, like I said, keep your water bottle so you can refill it at water stations.

And those are just a few of the ways I avoided the dreaded vacation weight gain! I felt really good coming back from vacation. I was energized and I didn't feel like "I let myself go". I also didn't feel any regrets. When you make vacations about the memories and the things you do, rather than the food you eat, you tend to enjoy yourself so much more!!

Jan 24, 2012

I miss a girl...her name is Sandy Ego Part 5

Unfortunately there was a time when we had to say Good Bye to San Diego....it was such a great trip and we enjoyed every minute!! It's so fun to make memories with the ones you love. And it was great to get out of the cold weather.

Good bye beautiful beach running!

Good Bye beautiful house!

Good Bye Hot Tub hang out!

Good Bye Hot tub! Good Bye Patio! Good Bye Sunbathing Roof! We will miss you!

Good Bye beautiful condo!

I miss a girl....her name is Sandy Ego -Part 4

Day 4 of San Diego we spent at The San Diego Zoo! It was a little bit of a chilly day...but not as chilly as Idaho. We're talking like 55 degrees cold. Not bad at all! We had so much fun seeing the animals, and the zoo is so amazing! Our favorite sites were the giraffes, monkeys, jaguar, cheeta & dog in the same pen, elephants, hippos, polar bear, panda bear...and so many more!!

SO happy to be on the beach!! I love running and taking in all the beauty of God's creations!

Beautiful beach run...little chilly...but still gorgeous!

Stop staring at my woman, you beady-eyed bird.

Happy Feet in 4D! It was so fun! If you don't know what 4D is...its where you watch the movie in 3D and then during certain parts of the movie special effects happen...snow is literally falling from the ceiling, wind is blowing through your hair, you get poked in the back by a fish hook (pretend, of course), and there was rumbling on the ground when the penguins danced. It was so fun! Don't ask me what my facial expression is here....we were being silly. Unfortunately after many days of trying to duplicate that face...I cannot do it. It must be a face that only San Diego can produce. I guess I just need to go back!! :)

Polar Bear...he was wanting to mate, but it wasn't mating season...so he was burning off a bunch of energy by climbing up the rock, and falling back into the water, and he kept repeating the motion.