Things From The Week

Happy Friday the 13th!

What a crazy week. I dubbed this week “Bodypump Central,” as I taught four days in a row and was present for two different launches at the two clubs I teach at (teaching one and participating in the other- for a total of 5 Bodypump classes for the week). There were also four Spinning classes thrown in there, as well as an abs class.  I’m not complaining though- I know how lucky I am to get paid to teach these classes that I am so passionate about!

My quads might be complaining a bit though…

Normally I wouldn’t teach BP multiple days in a row, but some other instructors were on vacation, and I always like to help out when I can. Plus, I’m about to leave for a week of vacation, so I’ll miss out on the seven classes that I regularly teach each week.

I also played around in the kitchen a lot this week, and whipped up a few new recipes. One favorite that is new (to me) was inspired by the Paleo oatmeal recipe I saw on Laura’s blog last week. When I read the ingredients, I was immediately intrigued! I’m a big fan of anything where eggs are the main ingredient. The wheels started turning… there were so many different variations I could make on this! I first made the recipe on Sunday morning, figuring it would be a great protein source after teaching Spinning class. I followed her recipe for this first batch- the only addition was chia (of course) to give it a little bulk.

Delicious!

On Wednesday, I made a variation of the Paleo oats, subbing out the protein powder for 2 T unsweetened cocoa powder and 2 T peanut flour.

WOW. This was SO delicious! And if you don’t load it up with toppings, it’s pretty low-calorie too (under 200 for sure). It filled me up quickly- but unfortunately, it didn’t have much staying power. Two hours later, I was hungry again. “Real” oatmeal generally keeps me full for a good 3-4 hours. Regardless, I’ll still make this again and again, as I have at least 10 different variations that I want to try!

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I’ve also been drinking a lot of iced coffee- but in a different way, thanks to my friend Katie (who, by the way, has the best blog name ever). When I read her post about cinnamon coffee cubes the other day, I immediately ground up some beans and put my French press to work! I made the coffee super strong and added a little bit of stevia and cinnamon, and filled up an ice cube tray. The next morning, I popped a few of the cubes into a glass full of almond milk and let it melt for a bit.

I’ve also started using my DSLR again, which I’ve neglected it big time since getting my iPhone. It’s nice to actually make manual adjustments – and change the aperture and shutter speed!

Hello, extremely shallow depth-of-field

I also want to make some variations on this idea- like tea cubes and Dandy Blend cubes…

Hear those wheels turnin’ again?

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Back to my aching quads…

Yesterday I woke up with an idea: I was going to go for a run!

Here’s a little back story first… You may not know this but I used to be quite the running enthusiast back in the day. Granted, I was never very fast (you can check out my race PR times on the right side of this page to figure that out!), but I went through a phase where I wanted to run in at least one race every month. And then one day (about two years ago) I just stopped loving it. I didn’t have the desire to pay to run anymore.

With my busy exercise-teaching schedule and fitmixer bootcamp, I really don’t have any extra time (or energy) to do many workouts beyond that. And really, I wouldn’t want to. I push my body way too much sometimes as it is. So, running has just not been happening in my life.

I tried to remember the last time I went for a run (on the road anyway)… and I’m stumped. It’s been a long time- a few months at least.

ANYWAY. I decided to sign up for this 5k a few weeks ago- and it’s in Denver (you know, the city that’s 1 mile high above sea level!?). I’m not really sure why I registered for it, but at the time it sounded like a really good idea! A bunch of my Colorado friends are doing it too, and it should be fun. However, the combination of me not running in forever and running at a high altitude may just be enough to kick my ass. (Hey Blend friends- remember that little 2-lap running warm-up we did for the Saturday morning boot camp? And that was only 1/2 mile, tops.) I decided that before I attempt to run this little race in Colorado, I better run at least the same distance here in Maryland. At sea level.

Back to my original story (man, can I ramble!)- I woke up this morning and went for a run. I put on my watch and promised myself that I would do 30 minutes of solid running- hills and all. I started out feeling food- for the first minute anyway. And then came the first hill… and another… and the sun. I quickly remembered how tough road running can be- and I mean mentally tough more than physically. I literally talked myself into not stopping to walk the entire time- and I didn’t! (And believe me- I wanted to stop and walk SO bad!) I kept going, because I knew I could- and that I’d be mad at myself if I stopped and walked (I’ve run entire half marathons before after all!). I ran for 31 minutes and covered about 3.5 miles. Good enough!

And as you can see- I was a hot, red, sweaty mess afterwards.

Just one road run under my belt before Colorado is fine with me.

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ONE MORE THING.

This:

That is what I made for dinner last night. It was good. Really good. Want to know what it is?

It’s a potato bacon frittata! I’m at the point where I’m trying to use up any perishables I have before we leave on Monday, and we had an abundance of new potatoes and eggs. I love a frittata with potatoes, so it seemed like the logical choice! It’s also a good way to use up any vegetables you may have left in the fridge.

Potato Bacon Frittata

4 new potatoes, sliced thinly (or one small Yukon Gold or Red potato)

1 tsp olive oil

2 tsp fresh rosemary

salt + pepper to taste

1/2 small zucchini, sliced thinly

1/4 c chopped red onion

2 large mushrooms, chopped

3 eggs

1/4 cup liquid egg whites

2 T milk

2 slices turkey bacon, pre-cooked and chopped into small pieces

4 fresh sage leaves, chopped

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Pre-heat oven to 400˚. Toss the potatoes, olive oil, rosemary, salt + pepper in a bowl until potatoes are well coated. Spread onto a baking sheet and place in the oven. Cook for 10 minutes, then flip the potatoes over (to brown on the other side) and add the chopped zucchini, onion and mushroom to the tray and place back into the oven. Cook for an additional 10 minutes. Meanwhile, crack the eggs into a medium sized bowl and whisk well. Add the egg whites and milk and whisk together again. Add in the rest of the ingredients (including everything that had been roasting in the oven) and stir together well. Pour into a medium-sized skillet and place in the oven to cook for 10-12 minutes. When the frittata is cooked through completely in the center- it’s done!

This was absolutely delicious and incredibly flavorful! Greg and I each had about 1/3 of it. He had some additional roasted potatoes and kale with his- and I just had a huge side of kale. I’m definitely excited to still have some leftover, as it will probably be even better today (or tomorrow)- you know how that goes.

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That’s it for my random thoughts for today- have a fantastic weekend!