Insanity Week 3!!

WOW!

Do I feel accomplished people!

Three weeks with Shaun T. whoopin' my butt and I am doing it!

Week 3 got a little bit repetitive for me to be honest, by now I have the

workouts memorized, so luckily only 1 more week until

Insanity changes up the pace (and then I know I will be eating those words)!

I watch Glee episodes while I work out to keep myself motivated.

I know, lame, but what can I say, it is a good distraction from the pain

and musical theatre is my favorite, so sue me! 

As I went on a mini-vacay I had to make sure to push myself to get ALL

of my workouts in.  So I did my friday workout before we left, and literally

did my saturday workout at 8 p.m. this evening after having a very

delicious mexican feast.  As you can imagine, my body was hating that decision.

But I felt proud that I got the workouts in even when it was

the last thing I wanted to do on a weekend!

I think Logan was a little happy to have me quite for 40 minutes so

he could watch football uninterrupted! GO BUCKS!

WHOOPS, should have taken off my eye make-up before the workout.  So hott.

I am taking weekly photos of the change in my body so I don't focus

so much on the scale and more on my tone. 

Temple Trip To Orlando

Logan and I took off friday night after work

and drove the little over 3 hours to Orlando, Florida.

We didn't think we were going to be able to make the trip while we were here

but my awesome parents got us a hotel room so

we could go to The LDS Temple in Orlando.

The Temple really is a special place for both of us.

We go there to feel peace, feel closer to God, and feel closer to each other.

You just can't have a bad day at the temple.

Can you believe these pics were taken on our iphones?! Seriously, such a gorgeous day.

84 and partly cloudy, life doesn't get much better!

Thanks again Heid Dogg and Gmoney! 

<3

Insanity Week 2

So I did it folks, I made it through week 2 of Insanity.

I have worked out 6 days a week for 2 weeks according to the

Insanity schedule and I have to say I am feeling great!

I have one more workout to do today and I am excited

because this day Shaun is adding in the Insanity Abs Workout

on top of the scheduled "Pure Cardio" workout.

I might die, but I'm excited.

Again not so much difference in the scale (maybe a pound or two,

but I just chalk that up to normal fluctuations), however I

feel and look good!

My husband has even commented on how good my

stomach looks, saying it looks flatter, yipee!

I am seeing more cuts in my abs

that were not there before, and my arms are getting stronger too!

More than anything I feel confident!

There is such a feeling of accomplishment upon completing

an Insanity workout.  

I am seeing this thing through and can't wait to see my body

by the end of the program!

On top of Insanity I am using an app called

"my fitness app" just to track my eating habits.

I try not to be to obsessive about that

but it is interesting to see what I am putting into my body.

According to the Insanity Program's guidelines

someone of my height and weight and BMI should be

consuming 1800-1900 calories a day while

doing the first month of the insanity workout.

So basically I am far from starving.

Definitely an Insanity believer so far! 

word of caution: I started to feel some pain in my left knee this week.  I have had issues with this knee

in the past, but it is feeling good again, had to modify a couple of the moves so I wouldn't

make it any worse.

Wouldn't suggest this program to people with joint problems.

Another flattering after workout shot of me! 

Chicken Piccata

I was really craving some chicken piccata this week 

which I usually only eat at restaurants so I decided

to make it at home.

I was doing my research for which recipe I was going to use

and so many of the recipes were VASTLY different.

I thought this dish was pretty straight forward, boy was I wrong.

I've said before that this blog is a place for my honest thoughts

so I am certainly going to tell you when my

cooking adventures don't go as planned, this was one such day.

Don't worry, it ended in a yummy dish but it took a while to get there.

First when I was researching I was finding a bunch of recipes that

didn't use white wine, but instead only chicken broth.

Now I don't drink alcohol, but I certainly cook with it and I can

 understand people who are afraid to cook with wine simply because they haven't before.

BUT GUESS WHAT, It cooks out people! Leaving no alcohol and simply a yummy

yummy taste that simply isn't attainable any other way. So no need to be afraid!

Simple rule of thumb? Pinot Grigio for white wine recipes,

and Pinot Noir for red ones. Stay between $8-10 when buying a bottle

of wine and you will ensure buying a quality bottle. If you are uncomfortable

buying drinking wine, you can buy cooking wine, but honestly

it DOES affect some recipes, go with the real stuff.  

I eventually went with a Martha Stewart recipe.

I don't want to bash on Martha because I think she is brilliant,

but boy was this recipe off!

I followed it as written and when I went to do a little QC (quality control, IE: taste test) and

it was so lemony it was almost in-edible.

The proportions of lemon juice to wine were not right and I spent a while

adding in more butter and wine to calm down the lemon.

luckily it turned out great in the end but it was definitely an experiment in the kitchen

last night!

Here is my improved Chicken Piccata recipe! 

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

2 Chicken Cutlets (or chicken breasts pounded thin)

Flour

Italian bread crumbs

Milk

The juice of 1/2 lemon (needs to be fresh)

1/2 cup White Wine (for those of you none-alcohol drinkers a Pinot Grigio works fine, or just some cooking wine you can find in the vinegar section of your grocery store)

1 TBSP. Capers drained and rinsed throrougly (you can find capers by the olives at the grocery store)

3 TBSP. Butter

2 TBSP. EVOO

1 TBSP. Fresh Parsley

Directions:

1. Many classic Chicken Piccata recipes have you dredge the cutlets in flour only, however I like a little bit more crust on mine, so set up your stations! Flour on one plate, milk in a bowl next to the flour, and italian breadcrumbs on the last plate.  Go down the line coating the chicken first in flour then in the milk and finally in the bread crumbs.  

***ALWAYS salt and pepper your flour and breadcrumbs first.  Otherwise your chicken will be bland

2. Now you are ready to cook your cutlets.  On medium-high heat add 2 TBSP. of EVOO to a frying pan.  and when hot add your cutlets.  Cook until golden brown and then flip.  When cooked through transfer to a pan with a cooling rack on top of it and keep in the oven on warm until ready to serve.

(keeps your chicken warm and cripsy!)

3. Once you take your cutlets out of your frying pan turn down the heat to low and add the capers followed by your wine, butter, and lemon.  Cook for a few minutes until the wine cooks down

to about half.  Scrape the bottom of the pan to get the brown bits incorporated

into the sauce.

4.  If you need to thicken up the sauce add about a teaspoon of flour and whisk so there are no clumps.

5. Add parsley

6.  Now you are ready to plate your chicken.  Put your chicken on a plate 

and pour sauce over the top for a nice presentation.  Traditionally this dish

is served with angel hair pasta, but you can really do anything! Veggies, 

mashed potatoes, you name it!

Insanity Week 1

Starting on the Insanity Work-out Program kind of started on a whim for me.

Last week I was home in Ohio and was visiting with my brother in-law Parker.

He recently lost some weight due to a few things: health complications, eating better, and working out.

I asked him what he did to work out and he told me about Insanity.

I was super curious because Insanity doesn't use weights.  Hallelujah! And is all interval

training using your own body.  

My mother-in-law Paige was there and said "Oh I have an extra set", that's what

living in China will do to you, so long story short

Insanity fell in to my lap for free before heading home.

Tomorrow will mark my one week mark on a nine week program

and I am digging it so far. 

No weight loss so far (but then again that wasn't really my goal in starting this)

but I can already see differences in my arms, legs, and core especially.

I have always been a secure and confident person when it comes to my body.

No two girls have the same body and I am proud of mine (on most days).

Pretty much since I became a woman I have been a size 6, C cup, in shape woman.

And I want to keep it that way.

I don't aspire to be some double zero photoshopped girl that I

see on my beloved pages of Vogue and quite frankly never have. 

I have never understood my friends who are obsessed

with being "skinny" and loosing weight, and analyze

every little thing they eat, where is the joy in that?

I like having boobs, and a butt, there I said it, I'm just being real.

However, I do believe it is important to be in the best

physical shape I can because that is what affects everything else.

The PHYSICAL affects mental, spiritual, and emotional. 

Recently, I attended a forum at my church where

a family therapist talked about depression and anxiety.

He asked us what we thought was the number one thing we could do

when experiencing anxious or depressed feelings.

People gave answers like, prayer, and reading scriptures.

But the therapist said the number one thing you can do

is EXERCISE. 

So here is to doing something for my body.

Insanity earns its name leaving you dripping in sweat

and wanting to quit every single day.  But I am finishing this program.

 A little accountability never hurt anyone,

so blogging world. Here is my INSANE journey.

Yes thats me after one of the Insanity work-outs. OW! 

One More...

Sorry for so many food posts right in a row but I couldn't help but

share the recipe from The Bear and I's dinner last night.

It can be found HERE, simply the yummiest enchiladas around.

Remember these are a sweet enchilada not the savory red

enchiladas you might be use to.

Now i left out the cilantro on mine because cilantro tastes

like soap to me.  I did some research recently

and it turns out that some people have a gene

that makes cilantro have this taste, and none other than

the genius Julia Child had this gene and therefore

refused to cook with the herb.

So here is to finding a commonality between

myself and a cooking great!

This recipe is possibly the easiest one I have made in a long time and will

become one of your household favorites I'm sure! 

Deliciousness!

My good friend, and fantastic cook Becca Anderson threw me the most

darling bridal shower a few months back and ever since then I have been day dreaming

about the delicious ham and cheese sliders she made for the party! 

Here are some pictures of the darling shower.  Seriously Becca is the Queen of throwing parties

and the best hostess I know!

She also introduced me to the yummiest party drink around,

Trader Joe's sparkling pink lemonade. 

I finally got around to making those delicious sliders for Logan last week

and they did not disappoint.

SO, if you are stumped on an idea for dinner,

or need a delicious idea for for your next party, try these bomb sliders.

You can find them HERE! This lady's blog is fantastic too for all other kinds of recipes.