Category Archives: foods

Thursday Things

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Hey there.

I don’t have much to share today. I have been feeling like crap, so a lot of moping and napping and complaining to the dog.

I DO have a recipe to share, though. Yesterday, I made crock pot turkey pumpkin chili. It was pretty good, but maybe a little on the bland side. I’ll share the recipe anyways.

Turkey Pumpkin Chili

What you’ll need:

  • 1 lb ground turkey
  • 1/2 diced red pepper
  • 1/2 diced green pepper
  • 1/2 diced onion
  • 2 cups pumpkin puree
  • 1 can (16 oz or so) beans- I used a 6 bean blend, but you can choose black, kidney, navy, etc….
  • 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes with chilis
  • 1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
  • 2 tsp cayenne
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 cup stock (I had chicken on hand. I used this because it was a little thick)
  • salt
  • pepper

What to do:

1. Brown the ground turkey in a skillet.

2. Throw everything in the crock pot.

3. Eat.

Honest to God, I don’t think it could get any easier. I topped my bowl with a bit of shredded cheddar- it was a nice compliment once it was stirred into the chili.

 

Since I was feeling super crappy, I decided not to head to the gym. But, being the fitness junkie that I am, I couldn’t NOT do anything (especially since it wasn’t my designated day off- I know, I know “listen to your body” and all that crap, but I wasn’t dying, I just wasn’t feeling like the normal stellar Jen.) I decided to get in some strength at home. In my pajamas. This is what I managed to get done:

  • 2 sets of 12 squat presses
  • 100 pushups
  • 50 leg lifts
  • 3 rounds of an arm series (12 reps of each move: bicep curl, hammer curl, overhead press)
  • 3 rounds of gliding lunge series (10 reverse lunges and 10 side lunges- each side)
  • 3 sets of 10 overhead reach presses on each side (holding weight in right hand , right foot crossed over left, perform an overhead press, reaching the weight directly up and over your head to the left. You’ll feel this in your obliques)
  • 3 sets of 10 deadlifts on each leg
  • 3 mile walk with the dog
  • 100 stability ball sit ups
  • 100 crunches

I actually broke a sweat getting this done because I limited my rest periods (felt that was necessary since I was not doing any cardio)

Ramblings:

-I reintroduced carrots back into my life. Totally forgot about those suckers. They’re pretty good.

-I thought people in the states were rude, but boy, the people here are way worse (at least the ones I have come across). I have been shoved out of the way. People have cut me in line. They do not say ‘excuse me’ to anything. Ever. It sound like an irrational complaint, but dude.

– Except for the cashier at Wal-Mart yesterday (of all places). He was super nice.

– I saw another celebrity look-a-like at the gym Tuesday. This time it was Guiliana Rancic. I have also seen every Canadian twin of my Boston gym friends at the gym here. I think I am just having withdrawals. Haha ok, so my Boston gym friends will get a kick out of this: You know how I don’t go to group ex classes here? Well, a prime example: I walked past the studio on my way to the equipment the other day, and the girl was leading them in heel taps on the 4-count. It was NOT a senior class. Ugh, so sad.

-The lock on your garage door is backwards. I feel like an idiot every time I try to use it.

– I have a recurring dream of going back to the all-girls high school I went to in CA for my freshman and sophomore year. I often wonder how different my life would be if we never moved to NY. My first thought is always about how much fatter I’d probably be.

– Mint M&Ms. Buy them.

– I always dance to the intro music of The Mindy Project. It’s my favorite. Plus, I think Mindy and I would be really good friends.

-Ah, friends. I miss them. And home. And Target.

 

BBB update, cookies, and christmas!

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It’s a new week, people. Not a fun new week, however. Sure, it’s cyber Monday, but it’s also back to school for me. 2 more weeks of this nonsense and I am DONE!

The last few days have been pretty fun though:

There were 2 good workouts- Saturday was a combination of strength circuits and short cardio bursts (all done at home) and Sunday was a nice long spin at the gym. On Friday, I got my new armband in the mail, so I was finally able to use my iPod touch yesterday. I loved it! It’s super minimal, has awesome no-slip fabric(?) and has a small pocket for a key!..or money!..or both!

 

Wait, let’s go back to my at-home workout on Saturday. 3 words: Single. Leg. Burpees. I have officially added that to my list of all-time favorite exercises. We were meant to do a lot of burpees in this phase of BBB, but after doing Workout A last week, I just wasn’t feeling the layout, so I rearranged it for my Saturday workout. Lots of single leg burpees mixed in with other compound exercises. By the end of my workout, I was walking around like I just got off a horse. FANTASTIC!

 

I haven’t really been in the mood to follow the Best Body Bootcamp workouts lately, but I am thinking of vaguely following them (at least the strength portion) this week and getting in a LOT of my own cardio through running, spin, and kickboxing. Hey, since I’m on the topic of cardio AND it’s that time of the year where getting to the gym can be hard, I thought I’d share THIS post with you. It’s a lot of cardio exercises you can do to get your heart rate up up up! And you can do them from the comfort of your own home. You are so welcome.

On Saturday evening, I headed over to Leigh’s for a Calgary blogger meet-up. It was super fun! There were about 10 of us, and it was really nice to put faces to names of bloggers I have been checking out lately. Plus, it felt REALLY nice to be able to socialize. You have no idea.

I ended up bringing a batch of my favorite crack no-bake cookies. Alison asked me to post the recipe (you may regret this, Alison!) Here it is:

What you’ll need:

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 4 tbsp cocoa
  • 1 stick butter (that’s in American butter. For you Canadians, it’s 1/2 cup butter)
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 cup peanut butter (don’t substitute with other nut butters, it really doesn’t come out right)
  • 1 tbsp vanilla
  • 3 cups quick oats (you can use cook and serve, but it really changes the consistency)

What you do:

1. Put the sugar, milk, butter and cocoa in a large saucepan and bring to a boil (stirring constantly). Allow it to boil for 1 minute.

2. Remove from heat, stir in peanut butter, vanilla and oats until fully incorporated.

3. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture on foil or waxed paper and allow to set and cool completely.

4. Eat all of them and then make another batch to share.

At the meet-up, we also did a white elephant gift exchange. I lucked out (ALL the gifts were awesome) and went home with a few goodies:

Some locally made toffee- which I ate half of last night and it was deliciously yummy and fantastic

 

Some lemony soap shaped like a wedge of pie

 

And some handmade Christmas cards. Love the glitter!

 

This AM, a couple of packages arrived from my parents. Yippee!!!!!!!! I love getting stuff in the mail 🙂

 

Ok, ok. One is for me, and the LARGER one is for Tyler. Mom said we could open them right away, so I tore mine open. [Do you have any idea how difficult it is for me to leave Tyler’s unopened until he gets home from work?! Ugh, the agony]

I already knew of one thing that was in my package- so I really did have to open it right away. My mom made us a beautiful tree-skirt!

 

She’s a really awesome quilter, so I have no reservations in pimping her skills on the blog. If anyone wants her to make something for you, I could totally hook you up. (With a commission of course)

Then, some other really sweet goodies:

 

Soap in a coat! The bar of soap was wrapped in wool felt that acts as an exfoliator. It smells of delicious lavender.

 

A cute little snowman! He’s already up on the mantle 😉

 

A luxuriously soft infinity scarf and headwrap. Now I have an excuse to get dressed and leave the house today to shop.

And, without further ado, I would like to wish my parents a HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY 46th anniversary today!!!!! (SHIT, that’s a long ass time)

And good luck to my dad who is having surgery today- a wonderful gift to give your wife on your anniversary. Let’s just hope mom doesn’t make nice with the wine before having to drive him home! (kidding, mom. Sort of. Not really.)

My First Umba Box

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Black Friday in Canada……just not the same. I don’t care what you say.

What have I been up to lately, you ask? Thanksgiving consumed me over the past two days. Here’s what we had:

It was pretty delicious. And I didn’t take a single picture. And Tyler and I went to bed last night moaning and groaning in pain. For the record, it’s not that I ate a LOT, it’s more the fact that I ate creamy and indulgent foods that my stomach isn’t used to. There aren’t enough Tums in the world to fix that problem.

HOWEVER. (it’s in all caps because it’s important) I managed to squeeze in a nice gym session yesterday afternoon once most of the food prep was completed

 

A 5k run on the treadmill and a serious set of weighted lunges (front, bulgarian split squat, reverse, curtsy), and hamstring curls with overhead presses.

My legs felt tired (which means they felt GREAT) so I was pretty pleased with the workout. To be honest, I think that’s the first time in my life that I’ve worked out on Thanksgiving day. Usually, I hit the bars pretty hard the night before (aka: the best night of the year to go out) and I pretty much stay in my ‘jams all day for Turkey.

The night before, I prepped my Thanksgiving nails:

 

Oh, and I got my first Umba Box in the mail! I think this thing is a great idea- it’s a monthly subscription box that has unique handmade products. This month, I got some cool stuff!

 

 

 

 

Now that my belly is filled with protein pancakes, I gotta get ready for the day and head down to the Christmas Market! Have a great weekend

PS: Only two more days to sign up for a holiday cookie swap. Let me know if you’re interested by sending me an email at jtougas77(at)gmail(dot)com

There’s a really bad T-Pain joke in this post

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Well I woke up sore today. But I guess I can’t say ‘woke up’ if I never really slept! I tossed and turned all night because of all my aches and pains. And because the dog was rolling all over me.

Must’ve been those stinkin’ (but awesome) burpees from Monday night.

All I did yesterday was run! (40 minutes..woooo!)

I still haven’t changed the time since daylight savings on my Garmin.

I finally ordered an armband online yesterday for my iPod touch! I can’t wait for it to get here because I’ve been using this thing since 2007.

Tyler brought me home a flower that’s hard to kill! How thoughtful. No seriously, I squealed with excitement. And Layla sniffed like crazy.

For dinner, we had kabobs. Steak, zucchini, red peppers and mushrooms. I didn’t do anything to the veggies, but I marinated the steak for a couple hours in 1 part whiskey and 1 part balsamic vinegar. Super tasty!

And some macaroons for dessert:

I was crafting for a bit (still not done) in the afternoon, and Layla took it upon herself to wear my scarf. I think she rocked it.

Now, onto random ramblings. Because I do those best.

1. I have to change which post office I go to now because the girl at my usual stop knows that I sent out wedding stuff, so now every time she sees me (which is OFTEN) she asks me about it. And then relays stamp and package information to me. Like I give a hoot.

2. Ahh, speaking of giving a hoot. I found a great gift for a Christmas swap yesterday, but didn’t buy it. I’m writing it here as i reminder because I always walk around with my blog posts on my phone (it’s a means of PR people)

Totally jk-ing. Or am I? I have been known to shout out my blog name to strangers..

3. I posted a video on my personal facebook page last week about dance moves. Here are further instructions on how to get jiggy with it:

4. I have 3 holiday recipes starred in my google reader that I CANNOT wait to make. Of course, they all have 32059720957209 calories, so that should be interesting.

5. But if I get this spoon (or someone wants to get it for me) then I guess I’ll be ok.

(Source)

6. No class next week because of Thanksgiving. Feel free to come up to me and be all T-Pain like and Buy Me A Drink (get it? hahaha the song?! I crack myself UP)

7. Pretend you didn’t read #6. That was just terrible.

8. Does anyone watch Ben&Kate? In lasts night’s episode she told Will she’ll see him later. With her looking balls. I just about died with laughter. Totally using that one.

Tell me something random. Or something funny. If it’s a random funny thing, then you’re multitasking. So talented.

******UPDATE: If you’re in Canada and interested in signing up for a cookie swap, please e-mail me at jtougas77 (at) gmail (dot) com by Friday, November 16th!******

Thursday Things

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1. Check out this little craft I did yesterday that cost only $5 and took about 5 minutes to complete:

Each of those 81/2×11″ frames were 25 cents and the scrapbook paper was 99cents a sheet!

I have two other christmas craft projects that I might wait to complete over the weekend (it includes paint and candles and glitter and glue and all that jazz)

2. Last night’s dinner was FANTASTIC. I took the recipe from SkinnyTaste, and only tweaked it a bit. <—because I am terrible at converting ounces to grams and then usually halving the recipe for just the two of us. Yes, pretty much everything here is in grams which drives me freaking batty.

Chicken and Broccoli Noodle Casserole

Here’s what you need:

  • 2 large boneless chicken breasts
  • 3 cups no yolk noodles
  • 1 3/4 cup chicken broth
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large crown of broccoli
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1/8 cup minced onion
  • 3 tbsp flour
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar
  • 3 tbsp parmesan cheese
  • 2 tbsp bread crumbs

Here’s what you do:

1. Put the chicken in the crock pot on high for roughly 4 hours and shred with two forks when it’s done. (submerge the chicken in chicken broth, enough to cover the meat- this is not included in the list of ingredients0

2. Cook the noodles until they are almost al dente. Strain and set aside.

3. Preheat oven to 375, spray 8×8 with cooking spray.

4. Put the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and allow it to simmer for about a minute. Then add the broccoli florets. Turn the heat to low and cover the skillet to allow the broccoli to steam.

5. In a large pot, add the butter. Once it’s melted, throw in the onion and allow the onion to soften for a few minutes. Add the flour until incorporated. Then add the chicken broth and whisk thoroughly. Add the milk and bring the mixture to a boil (stirring occasionally). Once brought to a boil, turn it back down to medium heat and allow 6-7 minutes for mixture to thicken. Remove from heat, and add the cheddar cheese and 1 tbsp parmesan. Mix well.

6. Add shredded chicken, noodles, and broccoli to the cream mixture in pot.

7. Pour the mixture into the 8×8 dish. Top with remaining 2 tbsp parmesan cheese and bread crumbs.

8. Bake for 20 minutes, then allow it to sit under the broil for a couple minutes to allow the top to brown.

9. Eat! (We added some sriracha to our portions. yum!)

 

(I always use the smaller plates for my meals, and leave the big plates for Tyler. Perception of having the plate full can really deceive your eating habits!)

3. I worked out at home yesterday and did the strength workout B from Best Body Bootcamp. It was an interesting workout, and I adjusted a few moves to accommodate the equipment I have. The toughest one was what I substituted for hamstring curls- I actually used my gliding discs for these. Yikes, my hammies were screaming after that set. There were cardio intervals within the supersets and I finished it off with some kickboxing. Check out this super flattering picture.

(Notice that my HEAD is wider than my entire body. Oy)

4. It was during my workout (in ‘my’ room) that I noticed it’s been a while since I updated my calendar.

Just a few months off. No biggie. But July is my favorite. 4th of July, my birthday, summer= all happy things.

5. A lot of people do throwback thursday pics. Since I am now 3000 miles from home, I couldn’t really bring any of my stuff with me, so I don’t really have any of my childhood pictures. But I do have this gem that my mom somehow brought this summer.

It was my understanding that in 5th grade, prescription sunglasses were HOT. Looking at it now: NO THEY’RE NOT.

6. I got shout outs on both Leigh AND Alison’s blogs today (ladies, I am totally stealing that post soon!) Woo hoo!

7. It’s not a new song, but it’s been a huge player this week in my workouts. Love me some hip hop/electro mixes (mostly the hip hop part though). The best part:

Ugly girls be quiet, quiet, pretty girls clap, clap like this
Ugly girls be quiet, quiet, pretty girls clap, clap like this

(I obviously clap)

Pretty Girls (Benny Benassi remix)

What song (new or old) do you have on heavy rotation lately?