Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Another weekend has come and gone…

This one was full of lots of activity, laughter and of course… wine 🙂

Saturday morning started with a nice 4 mile run on a blue bird sky day.

We are now entering my favorite season to go on runs and I can’t wait to get back into race mode with a few I have scheduled these next couple of months.

After I dropped Bailey off at home (oh yes, she came with me!), I headed out to the grocery store to stock up on some items for the weekend.  Specifically, items to make chili and cornbread for football Sunday!  When I got back home, I realized I forgot to pick up items to bring to the Carrie Underwood concert I was headed to that evening.  I frantically pulled whatever was in my fridge/pantry and came up with this awesome pasta salad:

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

• 1 lb. cavatappi pasta
• 1/2 cucumber, diced
• 1/4 cup kalamata olives, diced
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
• 1 cup fresh baby spinach
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. First, start by making your dressing for the salad.  Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper and set aside.
2. Place a large pot of water over medium high heat and bring to a boil.  Cook your pasta according to package instructions or until just al dente.  It should be noted here, that you can use what ever fun pasta shape you have in your pantry.  However, I would not use a long linguine or spaghetti type noodle for this dish as it wouldn’t hold the dressing quite as well.
3. Once your pasta is cooked, set aside to cool.
4. Dice the cucumber, olives, sun dried tomatoes and place in a large mixing bowl.  Add the cooled pasta to the bowl and the vinaigrette.  Add the spinach and toss to coat.  I find it easier to toss the spinach once the vinaigrette has already been added.
5. Top with crumbled feta cheese and enjoy!

We enjoyed this and so many other great items at our Ravinia picnic – shout out to Kristin’s veggie “deep dish” pizza!

The concert itself was just okay.  I love Carrie Underwood, but she didn’t have an opener and only played for an hour and half so we all left a little disappointed.

Sunday morning, Brian and I headed over to Kendell College for an extravagant brunch to celebrate the graduation of our family/friend, Diane.  Diane took a year-long culinary class through the college and we were able to see all of her hard work come together as the brunch was completely hosted by the students!

We dined on so many great dishes…. (and sipped on lots and lots of prosecco!).

The favorites among our table were the grits and leek gratin.

Our weekend ended on the couch watching endless amounts of football and enjoying homemade chili and jalapeno cornbread for dinner.

Pretty successful weekend if I do say so myself!  Hope you all enjoyed yours 🙂

 

Strength Moves I’m Loving Lately

Lately, I have really been loving the workouts the Spartan Race series sends it’s participants every morning.  They are always a combination of strength and cardio and a lot of the moves are ones that I would never have incorporated into my regular routine.  These same moves have also been introduced to me through my work’s kFit wellness program.  Our trainer, Sam, gives us personal attention to make sure we are performing at our best and to make sure our technique is correct.  The great news for people like you who might not get daily emails or daily training is that a lot of the moves they use can be found online! (slash, you should totally sign up for a spartan sprint.  It will challenge you in a new way and your body will thank you for it).

Here are some workout moves I have been LOVING lately:

Split Squat ISO Holds

This is a great move for beginners in strength training… don’t be timid if you find yourself having a hard time balancing at first.  Start on the ground and elevate yourself a couple inches until you can get to the full position.  This move workouts your glutes, hamstrings, quads and engages your core.  A full body win.

Hindu Squats

Another great squat variation that helps build lower back strength, endurance and speed.

Hindu Push-Ups

These push ups are so much more than a shoulder workout.  They increase mobility and work on your arms, back, chest and legs.

Bird Dog

This stability exercise engages your glutes and entire core.

Burpees

I love to hate them, but notice a major difference in my body when I incorporate these daily.  I feel stronger on my runs and actually feel like I could go for longer.

You can use these workouts to build your own circuit at the gym, outside or in your home!

Yesterday morning I was up bright and early to catch the bus and make it downtown to our 6AM kFit Bootcamp class.  It’s been a little stormy here lately, but we were fortunate enough to be able to attend the class outside!

I always initially come to this class tired and crabby.  It takes everything in my power to get me out of bed at 4:45 a.m. and I have never been a ‘natural’ morning person.  Within 10 minutes of our workout, I was feeling great and in the zone.  Funny how that happens, right?  Yesterday’s circuit focused a lot on Push-Ups – killer – and Squat Cleans with medicine balls.  By the end of the workout we had done close to 100 pushups and 80 squat cleans and I was feeeellinng it.  In a good way!  After the class, my coworker and I DIVVY over to our local gym a couple blocks away so we can shower and get ready for work.  I could barely lift my arms to shampoo my hair I was so tired, haha.

Work went by quickly which was great and even more great because I knew my workout for the day was over and I could do WHATEVER I wanted when I got home.  My extra time was spent taking Bailey on a nice long walk around the neighborhood and stopping to smell the flowers.

True story: she ate a flower just before I took this picture.  Silly.

Our dinners have been spot on lately.  Fully embracing the summer produce.  My favorite thus far has been the local pan seared trout:

We picked up these beauties from Whole Foods on Monday and boy were they delicious.

Nothing better.

Ta Ta for now!

 

Zucchini Noodle Lasanga

Good morning!

There are a couple things that made me really happy this morning:

1. Blooming flowers in my apartment.

1. My upcoming trip to West Virginia over Labor Day weekend.  I will be visiting/staying with my relatives and they are treating Brian and I to a white water rafting trip on the New River Gorge and zip lining through the canopy.  Needless to say, B and I are super pumped.  I need to figure out what I will be wearing on all these outdoor adventures… ie: I should probably buy some shoes that are suitable for rafting.  Hopefully I can find something inexpensive and not have to splurge on a pair of Chaco’s.

2. FOOTBALL SEASON!  I just marked all the Bears games down in my calendar last night and got super nerdy excited about it.  Football season means chili and cornbread season which is one of the best seasons of all!

Last night after work, I met Brian at Whole Foods so we could do our grocery shopping/meal planning for the week.  Here’s what’s on deck:

Monday: Zucchini Noodle Lasagna

Tuesday: Local Trout & Salad

Wednesday: Chicken Fajitas

Thursday: LH dinner with a friend; BS leftovers

Friday: Garlic Mustard Drumettes with Quinoa

Saturday: Takeout

Sunday: Dinner at my parents house

Produce

• 3 medium zucchini
• garlic
• cucumber
• bell peppers (2)
• broccoli
• avocado
• jalapeno (3)
• Lemons (2)
• Blueberries

Meat

• trout (2 portions about .8 or .9 lb)
• ground turkey
• chicken drumettes

Dairy

• shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 small container of ricotta (15 oz)
• Greek yogurt (4)

We had a lot of staples in our freezer/pantry for our meal plan this week, so our overall price was under $70.  Win!

Once we got home and unloaded everything, I got straight to work on making the lasagna.  There is something so comforting to me about lasagna, but I always feel a little too full when I order it at restaurants.  I stumbled across Skinnytaste’s Zucchini Lasagna and knew it would be a crowd pleaser in my house.  Plus, this is a wonderful recipe for the summer when everyone’s gardens are bursting with fresh zucchini!

The only real modification we made to her recipe was that we used ground turkey instead of ground beef and we used my mother’s homemade family marinara sauce instead of canned tomatoes.

Although the recipe is a little labor intensive…

 

The end result is SO worth it.

Oh and don’t be like me and forget to take a picture of the lasagna and gooey, hot and delicious… right out of the oven.  Fail.  Use your imagination, people 🙂

Be sure to check out her recipe here and give it a try!

Cooking, Cleaning & Running Fools

Hello, hello!

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend.

My weekend kicked off right after work on Friday with my birthday present from Brian… a cooking class!  I’ve been talking about us going for a while now and was thrilled when I saw what he got me!

The class we took was called ‘Street Food’ and was themed around various snacks and bites that you may find sold on the street in different countries.

Here was our menu:

Beer battered fish tacos

Beef kefta kabobs

Lemongrass chicken banh mi

Cheese and bean pupusas

The class was held at the Merchandise Mart Chopping Block location, so it was super simple to get there directly after work.  Brian brought a bottle of pinot noir, we tied on our aprons and got to work.  In most classes, you work with another couple or group to prepare your various dishes.  Our class was completely full, so we were able to partner up with two other people and boy did we have so much fun!

I love cooking, I cook almost every night, but all of these items are ones I never would have just come up with on my own.

Our favorites were definitely the Beer battered fish tacos which we made with Two Brother’s Cane and Abel.  The second runner up was the Lemongrass chicken banh mi’s.  So juicy and tender, plus the crusty french bread really makes the entire sandwich.  We left completely full and happy!

I was up bright and early Saturday morning to meet my workout buddy, Lindsay at our gym.  We warmed up on the treadmill for 25 minutes alternating between a steady jog, uphill walk and sprinting.  Once we were nice in warm we completed the following workout:

Loved it!  It was so nice being at the gym so early because we didn’t have to fight for space to complete this circuit.

Saturday was such a busy day.  Immediately after our workout, I showered, grabbed a few things from Whole Foods across the street, my two of my best friends for brunch at Toast, came home and cleaned for 4 hours and then hosted a group of my closest friends for cocktails and appetizers!

Phew.  The whole day was awesome.  Even though it was jam packed, I had so much fun seeing all my different groups of friends and my workout really carried my energy level throughout the entire day.  Win!

Sunday was no less chaotic.  My parents and our family friends were over at my apartment at 10:00 a.m. ready to watch the Air and Water show (thank god my apartment was already clean).

We grabbed some sandwiches and salads from Pastoral and headed over to the lake around noon.  Unfortunately, Chicago decided to be cool and cloudy yesterday so the Air and Water show didn’t really happen, but our fun little picnic did!

I was a great way to round out the weekend… and let me tell you I slept like a BABY last night.  Fun times.

Sprint Your Heart Out

These past two days have been full of non-stop fun and excitement!!!!

Kidding.

The workouts and cooking have been fun, but if you are one of those people who thinks that cleaning and doing laundry is fun… I am just not there with you.

Tuesday after work, I had a few major errands to run before heading to the gym at night.  I have recently received feedback from our personal trainer at work that I should start incorporating more sprinting in my workouts so I decided to come up with something fun to do on the treadmill.  Although I really hate the treadmill during the winter months, I have really enjoyed going back in a couple times per week.  I missed seeing my usual suspects after work 🙂

I tell you this workout is a major sweat inducer and really gets your heart rate up.  As always, you can modify the speed based on your fitness level, but always make sure you are pushing yourself and breaking outside of your comfort zone.

Side note… I totally wore gray capris that day and needless to say with all the sweat that was dripping off my body, I looked like I peed my pants.  Funny.

After my workout, I had a quick protein shake at the gym and then headed back home to cook dinner.

On the menu:  Skirt Steak and Steamed Broccoli

Brian and I didn’t stay up real late that evening because I had a strength-focused kFit workout downtown in the loop at 6:00 a.m.  We used a lot of medicine balls to perform squats, overhead presses, lunges, etc.

Although it’s a pain in the ass to wake up at 4:30 a.m., in order to make a bus at 5:00 a.m., so that I can be downtown in time for this class… it is always worth it.  The trainer can whoop my ass like no one else can and I’m much more motivated throughout the day to eat healthy/make good choices when he gives me advice first thing in the morning.

Speaking of making good choices, each week my company commissions this start-up company, Fooda, to bring local restaurants onsite for us to buy lunch.  Yesterday’s choice was Farmer’s Fridge and all of their choices were amazing!  Have you heard of them?  They have a couple kiosks around the loop which have fun salads in a jar type options as well as wraps and little snacks.

I went with the Chicken Kale Cesar Wrap which had a whole wheat tortilla, sweet potato, pomegranate seeds, pumpkin seeds, Parmesan, kale, chia seeds, and a vegan Caesar dressing all wrapped together.

It was so fresh and filling, plus it was only $7.00 which for a loop lunch spot is very affordable.  It’s really hard to find a lot of healthy and fresh lunch options in the Chicago loop.  My usual repertoire is a mixture of the local cafeteria salad bar, Pret A Manger, Protein Bar and basically packing my own lunch.  It’s nice to have a new option added… I highly recommend you check them out.

WOD & Whitefish

I finally did something I was always a little apprehensive to do… I signed up for a Spartan race!

Thanks to Brian, I am now a participant in the 2014 Spartan Sprint at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI.  Yes!  This is the same venue Brian ran last year in which I watched him climb high ropes, lift heavy weights, do countless box jumps and climb tall walls.  I remember as a spectator thinking, “I don’t know if I could ever do that”, but as I watched all the participants go by I noticed that they were from all different fitness levels.  And if they could do it I could too.

My biggest challenge will be to improve my upper body strength.  While the obstacles are the not the same every year, I know that this is one of my weakness that could definitely make the course more challenging if I don’t train properly.

With that being said, I LOVE LOVE LOVE that the Spartan Series sends you WOD’s as a part of your registration fee.

With 11 weeks to go until the race, I wasted no time and started my training yesterday.

Since it was supposed to rain last night, I decided to take my workout indoors and complete this series at the gym:

 

(Note: don’t repeat the 3 miles 3x, only the strength circuit)

It was an adapted version of what they sent us because I am also training for a 10k and need to make sure I get enough distance running in.  I felt really great after completing this workout and knew that I was going to be sore the next day which is always a good thing 🙂

After my workout, I headed over to Whole Foods to stock up on some groceries for the week.  I saw in the seafood section that they had a local Whitefish on sale and decided to give it a try.  I seriously love seafood… I’m fairly certain I could eat it every single day.

I seasoned the Whitefish with some herb & lime seasoning salt I have from Frontera Grill, a Rick Bayless restaurant.  That and a little black pepper was all the seasoning it needed.

Depending on the thickness of the fish, Whitefish does tend to cook a lot faster than Salmon does.  I seared these babies on medium high heat in a couple tablespoons of olive oil until done and flaky – about 3 minutes per side.

We squeezed a little fresh lemon juice on top and whipped up a side salad and that was that!

A delicious, fresh and light dinner.

Bon Appetit!

 

Weekend Update and a Rockstar Recipe

Good morning, rockstars!

Hope you are all mentally prepared for this work week to begin.  Brian and I were in complete denial that the weekend was over so instead of going to bed at a reasonable hour last night, we stayed up until 1:00 a.m. watching random movies.  Good life choices.

This weekend flew by in part because I had something going on every.single.day.  I love/hate those types of weekend, because truth be told I much prefer being a hermit.  I suppose I’ll save my hermitness for the winter when the polar vortex returns.

Friday after work I headed out to Wheaton, Illinois to visit one of my best college girlfriends and have a wine night.  We enjoyed many… MANY glasses of wine on her balcony and enjoyed a gorgeous sunset to end out the week.  I love visiting the suburbs because it always feels like a mini vacation – away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Saturday morning, we visited the local farmers market by her house before catching a train back into the city.  And this is where I saw the most giant tree of rosemary I have ever seen:

Think of all the dishes you could create with that!

Once I was back in the city, there was no time for rest as Brian and I were headed out to a Cubs rooftop game to celebrate my friends 30th birthday.

It was a GORGEOUS day for a ballgame and birthday celebrations are always so much fun 🙂

Sunday morning was a little more laid back.  We slept in a little bit and enjoyed a Midwest brunch filled with eggs, turkey bacon and mimosas.  Around 1:00 p.m., I headed out to meet my mom in Willmette to go kayaking on the lake!  The kayaking was fun, however, the lake was a bit choppy which caused me to get a little nauseous the last half hour of ourtrip.  I’ve always been one to easily get motion-sickness and should have probably taken something before going out on the water.

It was still a good workout, though!

To top off the awesome weekend, I tried out a new-to-me recipe from PaleOMG and it was a MAJOR hit.

Artichoke Lemon Pesto Chicken Pasta

Serves 4-5

(The only modifications to this recipe were the addition of red pepper flakes, because I like things SPICY and the fact that we used whole wheat orecchiette instead of spaghetti squash)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
• 1/2 lb. whole wheat orecchiette
• 12 artichoke hearts, cut in half (the jarred variety)
• 1/3 cup walnuts
• 4 tbs. olive oil
• 4 tbs. vegetable broth
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup fresh basil
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbs. red pepper flakes
• 2 cups spinach
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Place a large pot of water on the stove, season with salt and cover to boil

2. In a large saute pan, add 1 tbs. olive oil, 1 clove minced garlic and halved artichoke and cook over medium high heat until the artichokes are slightly browned.  Season with salt and pepper.

3. Once the artichokes are brown, add them to a food processor along with the walnuts, 2 tbs. olive oil, vegetable broth, second minced garlic clove, parsley, basil, lemon, salt and pepper.  Puree until smooth.

 

4. Add diced chicken to saute pan along with 1 tbs. olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.  Cook the chicken over medium- high heat until browned and cooked through.

5.  Once your pot of water is boiling, add the orecchiette and cook until al dente.

6.  Add 1/2 cup of the pesto to the chicken pan and mix to well coat.  Add the spinach and cook until just wilted.

7. Drain the pasta and add to the pan directly, mixing until everything is incorporated and adding more pesto if needed.

8. Serve with a little Parmesan cheese on top and enjoy!

Italian Turkey Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

It’s been a loonnnngggg two days.  Between recovering from Lolla and catching up on a bunch of work stuff, I have been craving a good, hearty and homemade meal.  Since my heating habits were not exactly perfect this past weekend, I wanted to make something relatively clean and nutrient-filled.  I browsed a couple recipes online and landed on PaleOMG’s recipe for Turkey and Spinach Stuffed Sweet Potatoes.  The meal looked excellent, however, I was also really craving Italian so I improvised a little from the original recipe.

Italian Turkey Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Adapted from PaleOMG’s recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sweet potatoes
• 2 tbs. olive oil
• 2 fresh garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1 tbs. fresh basil, minced
• 1/2 tbs. red pepper flakes
• 1 lb. organic ground turkey
• 1 cup canned plum tomatoes, diced with juice
• 2-3 cups fresh spinach
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Crumbled goat cheese, for a garnish
• Aluminum foil

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

2.  Poke holes in the sweet potatoes with a sharp knife and wrap in aluminum foil separately.  Bake in oven for 50 minutes to 1 hr, depending on size and width.

3.  Prep your ‘Mise en place’, a French phrase which means putting in place or prepping for your meal.  Dice your yellow onion, mince your garlic cloves, mince the fresh basil, pull out your spices and spinach and separate everything so they are all ready to go when needed.

4.  With 15 minutes left for the sweet potatoes to cook, drizzle the olive oil into a large saute pan and add the onion.  Cook the onions over medium high heat for 5-6 minutes or until they are translucent.

5.  Add the ground turkey, garlic, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.  Cook until turkey is browned.

6.  Once browned, add the plum tomatoes and fresh basil and simmer until turkey is cooked through, about 3-4 more minutes.

7.  Turn off the heat from the saute pan and add the spinach.  Stir until spinach is wilted.

8.  Pull the sweet potatoes from the oven when done and cut open down the middle.

9.  Add turkey stuffing to potato and garnish with a sprinkle of goat cheese.

10.  Enjoy!

 

Garlic & Herb Shrimp Skewers

It’s weekends like these that have me convinced I live in the most beautiful city.

Brian, Bailey and I took full advantage of the gorgeous weather and spent 90% of our weekend outside. I did all sorts if great outdoors activities from playing tennis with my dad and sister…

To swimming in my parents pool.

Early morning runs and a great strength workout with my buddy, Lindsay.

Long walks along the lakeshore path, taking in all the views.

And refreshing cocktails on the back porch (yes, this counts as an outdoor activity!).

What truly wrapped up the entire weekend was a fresh Sunday Dinner. I’m sure I’ve said it before, but cooking Sunday Dinner is one of my favorite traditions. Growing up, this often included homemade meatballs, homemade pasta sauce and fresh spaghetti. Today, it’s heavily revolved around what’s seasonal and fresh. Thus, Garlic and Herbed Shrimp Skewers was born.

Garlic & Herb Shrimp Skewers

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/4 cup minced fresh basil
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 tbs. Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup good olive oil, I used a herb-infused olive oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Soak your skewers in water for 1 hour before beginning to prep your meal.

2.  Mince the garlic

3. … And the Basil

4. Combine all of the ingredients above with the shrimp and let them marinate for 1 hour.

5. Skewer the shrimp.

5. Grill the shrimp for only 1 – 2 minutes on each side.

Enjoy!

Flank Steak and Caprese Salad: Meal Planning Win

Good Morning!

I’ve seem to develop some sort of summertime cold.  Don’t you just hate those?  Is it allergies?  An actual cold?  A sinus infection?  Who knows?!  I seem to always make it through the winter without getting a cold, but come summertime it always hits me.

I was fortunate enough to be able to work from home yesterday as Bailey’s battle wound (hornet, read yesterday’s post) had not really shown improvement and I wanted to be able to monitor it and talk to the vet about what to do.  Brian calls me the ‘helicopter mom’, which is fine.  When a giant – liquid-filled mass forms on my babygirl, I’m going to be worried!  Plus, this is the first time this has happened and I just want to make sure we were doing the right thing.  FYI, if your dog ever has an allergic reaction to a bee or hornet sting, benedryl and ice will do the trick.

Speaking of Bailey… this weekend Brian and I received something truly awesome from my sister’s boyfriend.

A gorgeous painting!  A while back, I asked if he would consider painting a picture of her and when he agreed he made sure to keep it a surprise the whole time.

Well, we couldn’t be happier with the picture he chose and wasted no time hanging it in our living room.  Love that face.

Last night, among a bunch of different errands, I managed to find my way to the grocery store to stock up for this week.

Meal Plan

Monday: Flank Steak and Caprese Salad

Tuesday: Sweet Potato Hash with Friend Eggs

Wednesday: Turkey Wraps with Salad

Thursday:  Bourbon Glazed Chicken and Quinoa

Friday: Wing It

Saturday: Company Picnic/Leftovers

Sunday: Spaghetti Arrabiata

Into my shopping cart went:

• Tomatoes (3)
• Sweet Potatoes (2 medium)
• Bell Pepper
• Lettuce
• Avocado
• Thyme
• Basil
• Jalapenos (3)
• Corn (2)
• Peaches (2)
• Chicken Breast (1 lb.)
• Flank Steak (1 lb.)
• Turkey Deli Meant (1/2 lb.)
• Greek Yogurt (4 individual sized)
• Fresh Mozzarella
• Organic Eggs
• Chicken Stock
• Frozen Pizza
• Hibiscus Lemonade
• Chicken Noodle Soup (Boxed variety)
• Frozen Fruit

Grand Total: $80.49 – Anything under $100 is a win in our household!  Meal planning is the best.

The rest of the evening was spent cooking this delicious summer meal.

(If you’ve never cooked flank steak before: Season your steak with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.  Set your grill to medium high and grill each side for 5 minutes for medium rare.  LET THE MEAT REST for 10 minutes before slicing up portions against the grain and voila!)

Playing ‘Heads Up’!  Note to self: Brian does not get song references.

And watching cute dog videos.

It was an awesome night!