3.1 mile run

This morning I did what I thought was near impossible, I ran a 5k. It wasn't in a race or anything, but I woke up this morning at 5:30am and decided I wanted to do something different from kickboxing. My whole life I have made fun of the people who wake up at the ass crack of dawn to go running. I've always thought, what the hell is wrong with you?

But this morning I decided to challenge myself and see what I could do. I grabbed my Driod, which has an awesome program called Cardio Tracker! It's completely free for the phone and it tracks how many miles you ran/walk/biked, the amount of calories you burned, your average speed, and the time! Also, you can choose to save all of your workouts so you can see how you have been improving over the last few months.

I ran whenever I am in the mood. If my body doesn't want to go for a run then I won't. This is a good attitude to have if you aren't a trained runner. If you force your body to workout when it doesn't want to then working out becomes a choir more than fun! These are the results I got from the last few times I ran and tracked it!

This morning I decided to run and take my dog Lola with me! We ran together 3.1 miles in 40 minutes!! Seems like a long time, but I took my time and didn't force myself to die trying to run as fast as I could. I didn't even listen to music on my Driod!

What is great about running with my dog Lola is that she is small and can't run extremely fast for long periods of time. She forces me to keep a steady pace while running which I LOVE! After the run I felt awesome, not physically, but it was amazing to realize how far I have come!!

Lola was super excited to! You would think she would get tired after running that long??? NOPE. She was ready to play some more!

Isn't she adorable!

Turkey Bean Chili

Chili is one of my favorite things to make! It's super easy and cooks all day when I am at work. I usually prep it the night before, let it sit overnight in the fridge, and then throw it in a crockpot. Here is the recipe for the chili I made!

Turkey Bean Chili

1 pound lean ground turkey

1 (28oz) can organic diced tomatoes

1 small can organic tomato sauce

1/2 onion diced

1 bell pepper diced

1 can organic garbanzo beans

2 cans organic black beans

1 can organic kidney beans

1 bag frozen corn

1 jalapeño diced

2 tbsp chili powder

fresh cilantro

I take all of the ingredients and mix them together. Make sure to drain and rinse off all of your beans before placing them in the pot!! Then I give them a good stir!

The next morning I pull it out of the fridge and place it in the crockpot and turn it on low. DO NOT preheat the crockpot and place the ceramic dish in there cold, it will break!! Leave the crockpot on low for eight hours stirring occasionally.

ALL DONE!

Garnish a bowl with some reduced fat shredded Mexican cheese and more fresh cilantro

Looks great doesn't it? It is super simple! It was also great coming home and knowing I didn't have to cook and that dinner was at home waiting for me! This chili is packed with protein (all of the beans) and lots of vegetables. Plus, it made so much I have plenty left over for lunch tomorrow, I froze some for a later date, and even brought some into work for a friend!

Chicken Alfredo with Vegetables

If there is anything in this world I love with all my heart is Italian food. However, Italian food isn't the lightest or healthiest. One of my favorite dishes and probably the WORST for you is Chicken Alfredo! I found a great recipe in cooking light for a fettuccine alfredo that was only 399 calories for 1 cup!!! One of my favorite things to do is take a recipe I found in a cookbook, magazine, internet and jazz it up a bit or try and make it as healthy as possible.

The Cooking Light recipe is just pasta, sauce, and bacon. I love vegetables so I decided to add lots of vegetables, take out the bacon, and add chicken instead. First, I started off by boiling a pot of water for the pasta. While the water boiled I preheated a pan with about 2 tbsp of olive oil in it. While it was heating, I chopped spinach, bell peppers, onions, and garlic. Once the olive oil was ready (you can tell because it has a rippling effect, or you can test it out by sprinkling a little water into the pan if the olive oil crackles its ready) I threw all the vegetables in the pan and let them wilt down (about 10 minutes)

Once they were wilted take them out of the pan and set them aside.

Add a little bit more olive oil to the pan and sauté the garlic. Make sure not to burn the garlic or it will become very bitter and not tasty whatsoever. Once the garlic is sautéed add 1 tbsp flour and stir. Basically what you are doing is creating a rue to help thicken the sauce. You want to cook the flour so that it will act as a thickening agent and you won't taste it.

Once the flour is cooked (about 4 minutes) gradually add 1 cup of fat free milk. Make sure to whisk the garlic and flour as you add the sauce so that it will declump.

Let the sauce sit for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally. While the sauce is heating through add some whole wheat pasta to the boiling water.

Gradually add 2/3 cup of Parmesan cheese to the sauce mixture. Make sure the sauce in on low heat and whisk the cheese and sauce together.

Next, combine all of the ingredients into the sauce pan. My chicken was precooked so I just tossed it in at the end to get warmed through!

Let them pasta and sauce sit for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Once the sauce has thickened and coated the food it is time to serve! Add any salt, pepper, seasonings, you would like!

A little more Parmesan for a garnish along with some fresh basil!

TAHHH DAHH!

This recipe is definitely a healthy twist on an old favorite!

PIZZA PIZZA!

It's pizza time!!!!! First we start off with a store bought crust.

Some store bought sauce.

Added some left over chicken, spinach, goat cheese, provolone, and a little Parmesan cheese. Added some dried oregano to the top!

Cook on 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the cheese start bubbling.

Garnish with some fresh basil!

The next pizza is a margarita pizza. I got the receipe from Cooking Light. First I used a store bough whole wheat crust. Next, I made a basic tomato sauce which consists of:

1 28 oz can of Whole Tomatoes

5 Cloves Garlic

1/2 tbsp Oregano

2 tbsp Olive Oil

Place all the ingredients in a sauce pan and cook until it begins to boil. Then turn the heat down and let simmer for 30 minutes so that all the flavors combine!!!

After the sauce is complete place it on the pizza. Next take some fresh mozzarella and slice about five thin pieces. Stick the pizza in the oven at 400 degrees for 20- minutes.

Garnish with whole basil leaves!!!

DELICIOUS!

Make sure not to over kill the pizza with cheese. With a margarita pizza it is more about the sauce flavor not the cheese!

ENJOY!

Five Minute Lunch!

Another five minute lunch!!!

Celery and Peanut butter

I combined sundried tomatoes, pesto, and chicken for a nice wrap!

I had some strawberries so I made a nice mixed berry bowl

Some almonds for a snackTrail mix
TAH-DAH

Spicy Pasta

I got this recipe from my sister and absolutely love it! First you start off by boiling some water and preheating a pan for some turkey sausage.

Then you need to chop up some broccoli rabe. If you've never used broccoli rabe before I would definitely try it. It is a bit more bitter than regular broccoli but provides a great flavor!

Some sundried tomatoes. The recipe calls for sundried tomatoes packed in oil, but I found these great ones without oil at Whole Foods.

You will need 3 cloves of garlic, minced finely

The last two things you will need are crushed red pepper and some Parmesan cheese.

Once the water bowls drop in some pasta. Try and use whole wheat, but I had none on hand so I used regular.

Once the sausage is browned and almost completely cooked take it out of the pan and cut it into smaller pieces. Then toss it back into the pan and add Olive Oil, Sundried Tomatoes, Crushed Red Pepper, and Garlic

Let the flavors simmer together for about 5 minutes or until the sausage is cooked completely through

When the pasta is almost done (about 5 minutes left to cook) throw the broccoli rabe right into the water with the pasta

Before

After

Once the pasta is cooked drain and toss it along with the broccoli rabe into the pan with the sausage.

Mix together and let cook about five minutes

All done!

Then add a little Parmesan cheese on top of the pasta for some added flavor!

Then ENJOY!


This dish is super fast and super healthy!!! Don't be afraid to experiment with different vegetables such as broccoli rabe. You'd be surprised by how much people won't try foods just because they have never cooked with them before. Experimenting with food is a great way to find new flavors and favorites.