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!

 

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!

A Perfect Summer Night

Last night was an awesome night.  I headed home after work to meet my dad at the tennis court complex by the lake.  It was an absolutely beautiful night – no clouds in the sky, a perfect 75 degrees.

My dad is the whole reason I started playing tennis as a young toddler to begin with.  Growing up, I knew it was always summer break when dad would have Wimbledon on every t.v. throughout the household so if I was doing chores, I could watch the match as I moved around.  It’s one of those sports I will always be grateful I got into at a very young age.  Tennis, like snowboarding to me, is a life-long sport that I will be able to play until I am old and gray living in Hilton Head Island.

We got to the courts with about 30 minutes to spare before the next round of play began.  If you’re not familiar with how to “reserve” public tennis courts, let me give you a crash course.

Play begins every hour on the hour.

If you want to reserve a court, place your racquet on the court-specific peg board.  If your reserving it for an ‘odd hour’, ie: 7:00 p.m., place it on the left.  Even hour, ie: 8:00 p.m., the right.

If for some reason the people you are waiting for on court 4 get off at 6:40 p.m., don’t you dare remove your racquet and go to that court.  Wait until 7:00 p.m., so you secure the full hour of play.

I hope that was helpful 😉

Dad and I got to play a whole hour between 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. which was the perfect time before the sun went down.

After tennis, we headed over to the local pub Wilde to grab a couple beers and grilled salmon sandwiches on their patio.

It was a perfect summer night.

Well folks, I’m off to Lolla Land starting tomorrow aka Lollapalooza! Being the type of person I am, I have already mapped out the bands I want to swing by and already packed my backpack.

Bailey is interested to know what’s in my Lolla backpack, so I’ll share with the class:

1. Cash money – I opted out of the ‘Cashless’ wrist band option because that feels dangerous to me.  I’m on a money diet, so I want to know how much I’m spending!
2. ID, credit card, medical insurance card – My mother taught me to never go anywhere without it
3. Sunscreen & chapstick – FYI you’re not allowed to bring spray-on sunscreen into the venue
4. A poncho – This is just for Friday… 40% chance of rain, so who knows what will happen
5. Portable phone charger – CLUTCH
6. Refillable water bottle – I have like 10 of these, so if it doesn’t make it home with me I won’t cry about it
7. Ziploc bag – If it rains, I’ll put my phone/charger in it
8. Sunglasses – Obvi.
9. Granola Bar – pretty sure this isn’t allowed, but I need snacks!
10. Mini deodorant – no body likes to stand next to stinky people.

… and obviously my 3 day pass will be on my wrist.

See you next week!

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!

Summer Fun

Hello!  Hello!

What a crazy/fun summer weekend we just had.

There were birthday celebrations with tacos and STRONG margaritas.

Family before picture:

Family after picture:

🙂

There were picnics by the lake:

and hornet stung faces (my baby!)

There was lots of walking, and running, and skipping, and hopping.

Brial shower attending.

and of course… lots of eating.

That’s what summer weekends are made of.

Watermelon Gin Fizz

Another great summer weekend has passed.

Friday after work, Brian and I headed over to our friend Pete’s house for dinner prepared by the lovely Diane. Pete recently moved into a new condo, so we were very eager to check the place out and spend the evening relaxing on his new outdoor patio. Upon arrival, we were greeted with the most delicious drinks… Watermelon Gin Fizz’s.

These babies were dangerous! Perfectly refreshing on a warm summer night, but not too sweet where I would wake up the next morning with a hefty hangover.

The whole evening itself was wonderful. There where homemade cheese nips, grilled tequila lime shrimp, avocado and arugula salad, marinated flank steak, southwest quinoa and key lime pie!

Amazing.

We took our time nibbling our way through the courses and enjoying each other’s company. The next morning I decide that I MUST try and recreate the drink and turns out I was pretty successful in doing so!

Watermelon Gin Fizz

Ingredients:

• 1/2 seedless watermelon, cubed (about 4-5 cups)
• 8 oz gin
• 8 tbs. lime juice
• 1 cup club soda. tonic or ginger ale
• Lime wedges for garnish

Directions:

1. Puree the cubed watermelon.

I was able to do so using my brand new Ninja Blender!  I have been loving this thing and will be posting more recipes while I experiment with it.

2. Pour juice in an ice filled serving glass and top with 1 1/2 ounces gin, 1 tablespoons lime juice and a splash of club soda, tonic or ginger ale

3. Garnish with a lime wedge and enjoy!

I’m telling you this is the drink of the summer.  When Diane served this to us, she was fancy and froze about a cup of cubed watermelon to serve as the ‘ice cubes’ instead of using real ice.  How clever!

Refinery29 Zesty Broccoli Salad

It’s official!  I can share the exciting news I teased you with last week!

My Zesty Broccoli Salad was featured in an article collaboration with Refinery29!  Here is the link to the article.

I am a part of the Chicago Blogger Network and was contacted by one of the chairs about contributing to an article on ‘Delicious Sides For Your Next Barbecue’.  This network is amazing and I am so glad that I am a part of it as they have not only given me opportunities to contribute to online articles, but also provide great review opportunities and networking events.

Check out the recipe below!

 

Zesty Broccoli Salad 

“This salad is the perfect recipe to make for any barbecue. The light lemony flavor, crunchy texture, and hint of creaminess makes this the ultimate summer recipe.” 

Dressing: 
2 tsp Dijon mustard 
Zest of 1 lemon 
1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice 
1 tbsp white wine vinegar 
Salt and pepper to taste 
1/4 cup olive oil 

Salad: 
1 lb broccoli, trimmed and thinly sliced 
1 small container of cherry tomatoes, halved 
1 tbsp green onion, chopped 
1/2 cup toasted pecans 
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped 
1/2 cup feta cheese 

1. In a small sauté pan, toast your pecans until they are golden brown and fragrant. Set aside to cool. 
2. Prep your vinaigrette for the salad. Whisk together the Dijon mustard, lemon juice, vinegar, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl. 
3. While whisking, slowly add the olive oil to the vinaigrette. 
4. Add the broccoli, green onion, and cherry tomatoes to the bowl and toss to coat. 
5. Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator to chill for one hour or overnight. 
6. Before serving (or packing up for a barbecue!), stir in the parsley, pecans, and feta cheese.

 

ENJOY!!

My Health – Mind, Body & Spirit

When people generally proclaim they want to become healthier, most automatically think of fitness and nutrition.  There are so many factors that go into being ‘healthy’ that it is interesting to sit down and review day-by-day what you do to achieve this goal.  For me, nutrition and fitness are major factor in my healthiness, but so is my mental well being, my relationships and my spirit.  Now i’m not about to get all spiritual with you, but I would like to share some of the things that I do daily to try and improve my health as well as things I need to work on.

Things I already do… (sans fitness and nutrition)

Treat myself to massages

This can definitely become an expensive habit, but I only schedule them two or three times a year.  Some of the nicer gyms in my area have spa’s that are actually really affordable and have excellent service.  At my company, we try to schedule free 15 minute massages for our employees during stressful times of the year like our software regression testing.

Read

Books, blogs, magazine articles, you name it.  I love making a french press early on a Saturday morning, chilling with Bailey on the couch and reading.  Growing up, the t.v. was never on before noon on the weekends, not because it was forbidden, but because my parents really loved enjoying the mornings.

Turn off the lights and listen to music

I found this especially relaxing when I had roommates.  Just make sure to set an alarm or something because you may or may not fall asleep 🙂

Take long hot showers

I won’t post a picture of this one 😉

This is not necessarily good for the environment, but it is good for the soul from time to time.  I’m not really a bath person, but if you are I’m sure the same would work here.

Take Bailey for walks

This goes along the lines of exercise, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE the location of my apartment right next to the lake.  It’s something that would be really hard for me to give up.  Taking Bailey on walks on early summer mornings when the sun is just rising over the lake with light pink touches – love.  You will never find me living in the Wicker Park/Bucktown area for this sole reason.  What path would I run on?! 😉

Uncork a bottle of “whine” with my friends

Does this need an explanation?  Not only is wine delicious, but the feeling of venting to your closest friends is exhilarating.

Things I need to work on…

Disconnecting

I would guess about 99% of us are guilty of this.  Checking phones during dinner, WHILE watching t.v., or while we lay in bed.  I used to sleep with my phone in my bed.  Now I leave it in another room so I am not tempted to check it before I go to bed or right when I wake up.  I’m leaving for Hilton Head Island tomorrow and am going to try and ‘disconnect’ as much as possible – especially from work.  But you will still see a few blog posts from me!

Meditation

Sitting in a room for an extended period of time totally quiet and focused is really hard for me, but definitely something I want to get better at.

Focusing on one thing

I tend to have brain A.D.D. sometimes.  I’ll start cleaning the kitchen and then I’ll remember that I have to to a laundry and then I’ll remember that I need to email my mom.  The list can go on, but this would definitely become a lot easier if I could also master the whole meditation thing.

Getting up earlier so I don’t rush out the door for work

Waiting until the last minute to get into the shower is my forte.  Unless, I workout in the morning.  Which will become a lot easier when it is above 30 degrees outside and not so dark and scary!

Volunteering

Although I do participate in my BvB: Tackling Alzheimer’s Fundraiser each year, I really want to make a commitment to reach out to my community more in 2014.  Helping other people is a great sense of self-worth and self-esteem.

The point of this is a lot of us, especially women, forget to prioritize our ‘self care’ – whatever that may be.  We either put work, or our kids, or our busy schedules first and don’t take time to stop and enjoy ourselves.  It is so very important to do this not only to feel good on the inside, but to radiate a sense of confidence.  I encourage each and every one of your to make a list like mine and see what you can do to improve your mental, physical and spiritual health.

Happy Friday, everyone 🙂

Three Aces

Blah.

I’ve been feeling a bit ‘sickly’ since Wednesday afternoon.  It started with my throat being scratchy and head feeling a little bit stuffy, but other than that I was okay – I took a break from the running schedule.  Thursday I woke up feeling the same way, but by no means any worse – I figured maybe it was just from the change in the weather.  Against my better judgement, I decided I was okay enough to go out to dinner with friends that had been planned for over a month.

Some of my friends and I are in what we have dubbed the ‘Dining Club’, where we try a new cool restaurant every month.  This month’s pick was Three Aces in Little Italy.  I had been looking forward to this dinner all month, and there was no way I was going to miss it!

Personally, I do not go out a lot over in the UIC area and I love exploring new places away from the ‘North Side.’  It was the PERFECT night to dine alfresco, so my friends and I grabbed a table outside on their giant patio.

I would have been happy just sitting on that patio all evening sipping delicious brews, but lets be honest – we were there for the food 😉

We came during their ‘Tomato Fest’ menu, which meant a lot of the dishes featured fresh, local tomatoes.  Brian and I decided to split two of the items that really stood out to us.  The heirloom tomato margherita pizza…

and the Beef Tenderloin with green beans and polenta.

Both were delicious!  The pizza was super thin with almost a cracker like crust and the tomato sauce on the pizza was divine.  The beef tenderloin was also very good, however, it was a little over cooked for our liking – We like it medium-rare and sometimes rare and the cut came out medium.  The flavors of the dish were spot on though!

We dined and enjoyed a few cocktails and surprisingly my throat was not bothering me too bad!

Smile, Brian!

We headed home after dinner and were so happy that we had found another go-to dining spot.

This morning… I woke up with my throat on fireeeeeee and serious head congestion, the cocktail I had last night was probably not the smartest decision.  There has been a flu-like bug going around the office and I really hope it’s not what I have.  It’s not exactly how I wanted to kick off my Labor Day weekend 😦  Oh well, lots of rest and fluids today for this girl.  Fingers crossed this doesn’t last for more than a few days!

Trail Run Sunday

Hello, All – Happy Monday!

I hope you enjoyed your weekend – we had a beautiful two days here in Chicago and we stayed quite active.

Saturday morning, I woke up early and headed over to the local farmers market to pick up a few things: Fresh peaches, Pretzel Rolls and Jalapenos.  Weird combo, right?

The market was bustling – great energy to start the day!  Plus, a few of the vendors were giving out free breakfast item samples – score.   After the market, I made a quick pit stop at the local coffee shop for some beverages that would help Brian and I wake up and start the day.  This past weekend was the Chicago Air and Water show and if you live right by the lake, your wake up call is pretty the planes constantly flying over head – coffee is needed to help keep your sanity.

I took Bailey on a long walk along the lake after I returned home, but the crowds had  not formed yet so there was not much to see.  Bailey, however, loved being outside so early and met quite a few doggies along the path including 3 other adorable pit bulls.

Around 2:30 p.m., Brian and I headed to the Metra station to catch a train up to Ravinia!  We had tickets to see George Thorwood and Buddy Guy and had my parents early pass so we could get up there before the crowds set up.  It was seriously the perfect night to be outside, listening to music.

Our spread included, chips, salsa, guacamole, fresh veggies and fixin’s for turkey sandwiches.

Plus copious amounts of wine.  Seriously.  I mean we got there at 4:30 p.m. ish and our train did not leave until 10 p.m.  It was very easy to finish a bottle of wine to myself with all that time 🙂

Whoops!

Surprisingly, I was not the slightest bit hungover the next day!  It was Brian’s turn to get coffee and once he got home, we whipped up a delicious breakfast of fresh turkey bacon and eggs.

This protein packed breakfast was eaten to help fuel us for a run we had planned in the suburbs.  A TRAIL RUN as a part of Brian’s training for the Spartan Race.  Once we got to the burbs, my dad hopped in the car and drove us to his favorite forest preserve.  My dad brought his bike, so he lead us into the trails for about two miles and then went off on our own to fend for ourselves 🙂

The scenery was breathtaking – so peaceful.

Brian and I were able to knock out about 4 miles which flew by very quickly.  I like running in the woods as opposed to a paved path because you constantly are looking at your surroundings which takes your mind off the fact that you are getting tired!  Also, there is LOTS OF SHADE.  Part of the trail we were on briefly ran next to a paved trail that was in the prairie.  I saw a couple of runners on that trail and kept thinking to myself that you could not make me switch places.  The paved path was directly in the sun with no shade in sight – not my cup of tea!

My legs felt good the whole way and right as we finished our run, my dad magically appeared out of the woods on his bike.

Perfect timing!

We headed back to my parents house where my mother had an impressive lunch spread waiting for us.  Fresh watermelon, cheese, crackers, veggies and dip.

Before I dug into the food, I immediately put my bathing suit on and jumped in their pool.  Jumping into a pool after a sweaty run has to be one of the best feelings ever.  I just floated for 5 minutes letting my muscles relax and recover.

The rest of the evening was spent relaxing outside, watching Bailey play in the plants and catch up on life.  My mother and I broke away from the men for a few minutes to go on a mini shopping spree at the LOFT in downtown Arlington Heights.  Everything in the store was 40% off!  I got 5 tops and a pair of new colored jeans for $113!  It was such a good deal I practically felt like I was stealing.

When we got home, Brian and my dad had grilled up some BBQ chicken, so we sat down for dinner shortly after.  The delicious, succulent chicken was accompanied by some zucchini and tomatoes, sweet potato slices and green beans.

It was a end the weekend 🙂