I’ve Been Kirsched

Hello! I hope Monday wasn’t too rough for all of you. I was dragging a bit, but I survived. I was also crazy hungry. I think part of that is because I started a new workout today. I found this workout on FitSugar’s site, and I’ve did it once about a year ago. You can’t take more than two weeks of it (boredom due to high reps 3 times per week), but it’ll kick your booty!

David Kirsch created the circuit workout, and as many of you may know, he is a renowned celebrity trainer. He has worked with Heidi Klum for years and wrote The Butt Book. Seriously, the guy knows how to tone a tush.

Source: Heidi Klum on AOL

Before my wedding, I did a similar workout that David Kirsch created a long time ago. I got great results, so I totally recommend you check out this one. I started my workout with 12 minutes on an elliptical/stair climber hybrid machine, and boy am I sore today!

David Kirsch’s Boot Camp Circuit Workout

Source: David Kirsch

Oh, and I *might* have cheated on the plyometric push ups. I totally did those on my knees.

For dinner, I tried something new. I’ve made a few Southwestern stuffed peppers, but I made Greek stuffed peppers last night. Kevin got his with a twice microwaved potato stuffed with spinach and feta.

I stuffed the bell peppers with spinach, red quinoa, tomato, kalamata olives, and feta. As I always say, feta makes everything betta’.

You might be wondering why I have an arsenal of utensils. Keep scrolling…

It gets even less attractive…

The spoon, fork, and knife all came in handy. Maybe next time I’ll just grab a shovel…

Oh, and I also followed up with a 100-calorie bag of popcorn. Salty Goodness.

Are you a fan of celebrity trainers? If so, who’s your favorite?

What’s Up Doc?

Here’s a little post about the general things going on in life.  It’s the little positives that make us happy, and hopefully it’s the little negatives that we learn to ignore.  Well, I am in a good mood, and that is really helping me focus on all those little positives.

I’ve been hitting the gym regularly this week, and I even went for a walk with Kevin Monday after work.  It was incredibly hot and humid outside, but I’m not generally one to turn down a good stroll.  Today, my running buddy and I enjoyed another Three-mile Thursday, which I mention in my June workout post. 

That covers fitness, but what about nutrition?  This week has been all over the place.  I’ve been munching like crazy!  Does anyone else go through phases like that?  I just seem hungry all the time, and trust me, it’s super frustrating!

My three-part breakfasts have included a pre-gym rice cake, a post-workout egg (organic and hardboiled for easy transportation), and an at-work parfait.  The parfaits are great!

Beautiful!

Non-fat, plain Greek yogurt with peaches and toasted maple oats make for a winning combination.  Heaven in a bowl… or a Rubbermaid container.

Miss Mix-A-Lot

Lunch hasn’t been as pretty, but it works.  It’s 1/2 a can of tuna on an English muffin or in a wrap with dressing or kalamata olive hummus.  I couple that with a little side salad.  The dressing is Annie’s Light Gingerly, which is a new fav of mine.  I’m on a never-ending quest to find the same ginger dressing used by Japanese restaurants, so if you know the brand, please share!

Plain, Boring, Yet Healthy

 Snacks have been all over the place this week.  Granola bars, apples, and/or hummus with broccoli or summer squash have all made one or more appearances.  Hopefully I’ll get all this snacking under control soon.  I think I’ve been eating a little more than necessary due to stress and boredom.  I  know, who is stressed and bored?  This girl.  Work’s a drain, I tell ya!

Dinner last night was pretty awesome though.  I’m American, but I swear my tummy’s German.  Chicken brats with Brussels sprouts are an amazing combo.  Deeeelish!

Dinner is a Winner

Sadly, because my hunger is as controlled and predictable as a tornado, I wanted a little something extra in about an hour.  Whole wheat bread with peeb (peanut butter) to the rescue!  I think there needs to be a peeb super hero.

Lastly, another small positive that made my day…

Action Shot – Sense the Excitement

My Amazon order finally arrived!  Woohoo!  I’m such an Amazon nerd, it’s not even funny.  Well… that picture’s kinda funny, but that’s not the point.  I got 4 packages of organic red quinoa and a new armband for my iPhone.  Now I can finally run with tunes! 

Presents from yourself are still presents!

Now that I can jam out while jogging, I need some jams.  What are some of your favorite running/workout tunes? 

 

PS – I’m featured on Fitblogger today, so check it out!

Asparagus Veggie Bowl with Basil

I have good news, bad news, and a recipe for you today.  The good news is that I gained zero pounds on vacation last week.  Of course, if you read posts like this one you might have guessed that I lost weight.  However, if you checked out other posts, such as this one, you might have assumed I put on a couple.  Muahaha… calorie credits and debits at work!

The bad news is that I already failed on my Real Food June challenge.  Ummm… I think I made it one day because I started May 31.  I found this to be more comical than discouraging.  The guys left one lonely portion of meatloaf last night, so I ate it.  Since it was my mommy’s recipe (ultimate comfort food), was made with lean beef, included fresh basil and real Wisconsin white cheddar, I’m pleased with my decision.  The only downfall was the overly processed and totally unnatural breadcrumbs.  Ooops!

As promised, here’s the recipe for this week’s lunch bowl.  I must admit, it isn’t quite as yummy as my last lunch bowl, but it’s very filling and vegalicious.  I might like it more if I actually enjoyed eating asparagus.  It’s not that I don’t like the stuff, but it’s one of my least favorite veggies.

At least it's pretty!

Kevin’s an asparagus fan, so I made lunch for him too.  Hurray for 8 pre-made lunches!  He can consume loads more calories than I can (by loads, I mean approximately 1,100 per day), so I told him to bring an extra snack and top his veggie bowls with cheese.  I recommended parmesan or asiago, but he requested mozzarella.  Whatever.  For my readers, I still recommend parmesan if you feel like adding more to your lunch.

Ingredients:

• 6 servings of quinoa
• 1 TBS olive oil and 3 more TBS olive oil
• 1 medium-large onion, diced (white or red)
• ½ red bell pepper, diced (optional)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• Dash of salt and pepper
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 2 oz fresh basil (not so sure dried would work this time)
• 2 cans cannellini beans (rinsed and drained)
• 2 12-oz packages of frozen asparagus (cut into bite-size pieces)
• 1 16-oz package of frozen spinach

*Note: 2 10-oz packages of asparagus and 2 10-oz packages of spinach would also be great, but it all depends on your grocery store’s offerings.

Directions:

• Heat 1 TBS olive oil in frying pan.  Fry/sauté onion and bell pepper in pan until soft.  Add garlic powder, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Continue cooking until super soft.  (Is “super soft” a Martha Stewart approved cooking description?)  Meanwhile, cook quinoa according to package directions.
  

  So Colorful!

• Allow onion and pepper mix to cool while you tear basil in smaller pieces.  While cooling, you can also defrost spinach and asparagus in your microwave according to package directions.
• Place basil in food processor.  Place onion and pepper over basil.  Add the three extra TBS of oil as you process this into a sauce-like paste.  This is similar to a pesto, but it lacks the hard Italian cheese and pine nuts.  (Pine nuts don’t fit into my calorie or money budget.)
  

  A Work in Process

• When quinoa is finished cooking, add the “sauce” from the food processor.  It won’t cover much, but the onion and basil contribute strong flavor.  Gently stir in the beans, asparagus, and spinach.
• Stir, divide, and re-heat before serving.  Kevin added cheese daily before microwaving it.
  

  The Great Divide

I’d like to add a note about the red bell pepper.  Quinoa and spinach are great sources of iron, but the body absorbs iron better when it is served with a little vitamin C.  I doubt half a red bell pepper (a vitamin-C powerhouse) really added enough to matter over the course of 8 lunches, but I do what I can.  Next time, I might be inclined to omit the red bell pepper and have a little Clementine orange as a side or dessert.  The orange gives you the C, but it would also freshen your breath.  Garlic + Onion = Watch Out!

One last thing to watch out for… asparagus is a natural diuretic.  This is helping me feel less like a whale after vacation.  You may want to drink an extra glass of water every day that you have this for lunch.  Necessary?  Probably not.  Good for you anyway?  Sure.

The recipe is easily halved, but as-posted: serves 8, approx 325 calories per serving