Finally!! I got to workout!

I woke up this morning feeling much much better than I did when I went to bed last night. I took some Azo and it seemed to help, but I think I completely flushed my system with the amount of water I consumed. I was peeing like a camel all night. I'm sure I still need an antibiotic, but we'll see how I'm feeling tomorrow.
So, I got up with Dallas this morning, even though I'm on my week long vacation, and started my day. I turned on the today show upstairs and downstairs so that I could hear it wherever I was and headed to the kitchen for some breakfast.

Goal number 1 today- make a delicious Green Monster Spinach Smoothie! I know, it sounds dreadfully awful, but to my surprise it was quite appetizing. (recipe at bottom)
I promise that it looks far worse that it tastes. The other ingredients completely mask the spinach taste!

I headed back upstairs with my breakfast and Dallas looked my way and made a terrible, painful, disgusted face. "What is that?!?!"
haha... then he took a sip and I think he was pleasantly surprised! It's not so bad!


I got dressed, sucked down my smoothie and headed to the gym. I took Body Pump this morning at 8:30 and it was so awesome to be back in there. I haven't taken that class in almost 2 years and it felt great! And by great I mean every single muscle in my body was worked and my arms were literally shaking by the end of it all... Not many things feel as good as pushing yourself to your limits.


If you don't know what body pump is, here's the description from our gym's website.

"BODYPUMP is the original barbell class that strengthens your entire body. This 60-minute workout challenges all your major muscle groups by using the best weight-room exercises like squats, presses, lifts and curls. Great music, awesome instructors and your choice of weight inspire you to get the results you came for - and fast!" 
Yep- that just about sums it up. My arms were jell-o by the time I walked to my car. Safe to operate a moving vehicle? Probably not, but I'm a rebel and did it anyways! ;)

Lunch was left-over Beef Tataki from last night (recipe on yesterday's blog).
and it's a healthy version of Chicken Gumbo for dinner tonight. 

It is so so SO delicious!

Here's the recipe:

Healthy Chicken Gumbo

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup flour
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 lb. chicken breast, skinless, boneless, cut into 1-inch strips
1 cup (1/2 lb.) white potatoes, cubed
1 cup onions, chopped
1 cup (1/2 lb.) carrots, coarsely chopped
1/2 medium carrot, grated
1/4 cup celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 stalks scallion, chopped
1 whole bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, ground
2 teaspoons hot (or jalapeño) pepper
1 cup (1/2 lb.) okra, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces

1. Add oil to large pot and heat over medium flame.

2. Stir in flour. Cook, stirring constantly, until flour begins to turn golden brown.

3. Slowly stir in all broth using wire whisk. Cook for 2 minutes. Broth mixture should not be lumpy.

4. Add rest of ingredients except okra. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 20–30 minutes.

5. Add okra and let cook for 15–20 more minutes.

Serve this up over a bowl of brown rice!

Also, please take a gander at what I bought for $10... After we trimmed the tenders off of the breasts we ended up with 4 dinners and 4 lunches. Yes, that's correct. 8 meals for $10! Gosh I love saving money!

 
And here's what I consumed today: 
(5 small meals is hard to do, but Bria insists it's necessary...and I love her and trust her, so I did it)

-Green Monster Spinach Smoothie for breakfast
-1/4 cup oatmeal (measured before it was cooked), 1 tsp. brown sugar, 1 tablespoon raisins for snack

-Beef Tataki for lunch

-slice of bread with peanut butter for snack

-Healthy Chicken Gumbo over brown rice for dinner
-glass of peach green tea with 3/4 tbs. of sugar (best drink ever!)

and again- TONS OF WATER!

Here's the recipe for that yummy green stuff I wrote about earlier... It kind of reminds me of Oscar the Grouch for some reason. Maybe I'll just begin referring to this drink as an Oscar...

Green Monster Spinach Smoothie AKA an Oscar:

1 frozen sliced banana

1 Tablespoon peanut butter

1/2 cup fat free plain yogurt

dash of vanilla

1 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze (or other kind of milk)

4 cups baby spinach (or more, or less)

Blend it up in a blender and enjoy! And possibly gross out anyone in close proximity to you...