Two Things

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Hey there. Just a couple things to share today. There should be a lot more on the blog later this week as I have a couple of different hikes planned…which I’m totally excited about.

First up, COOKIES. I’m a huge fan of them and whenever I want something sweet around the house, a big batch of chocolate chip cookies is usually my go-to. Partially because I can eat the dough and cookies don’t take that long to bake. Well, lately, I have been using this recipe. Except I have never included the corn starch since I never had any in the house and none of my previous recipes included it in the list of ingredients, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to skip. And trust me, it didn’t. Tyler and I managed to force feed ourselves about 2 dozen different batches without the corn starch and we’re still alive and kicking.

But yesterday I went to the store and mindfully purchased a canister of corn starch to see just how different the batch would turn out. And yup….they’re chewy motherfluffers. Like SOOOO good.

Please go make them.

Second: My daily workouts have consisted of Hot Yoga and either an outdoor run or intervals on the treadmill. It’s been working wonders for my body and I totally love it. It has been over a week since I did any strength training- which is totally weird for me- but I will probably incorporate it back into the old routine sooner or later. I find that my muscles are getting a pretty good workout in yoga. Especially with all those chaturangas!

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Anyhoo..I did a pretty decent set of HIIT intervals yesterday that I thought I’d share with you. It was pretty easy and went by FAST. (I didn’t want to totally overdo it before yoga, but I also wanted to break a sweat and make sure I was torching some serious calories, which HIIT totally does.)

The left columns are the time and the right columns are the treadmill speed. You can obviously change the speeds to tailor your specific needs, but you get the idea how the intervals get progressively faster, then slower, then faster again. I loved it, and I felt nice and limber heading into yoga later in the evening.

If anyone gives this a go, let me know!

What’s your go-to dessert?

Favorite way to pass time on the treadmill?

All Aboard the Random Train

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

I actually jotted down everything as it came to me so that I could have a nice, authentic, random post.

-“Build a house up on that ass, that’s as ass-tate”- quite possibly the funniest lyric I’ve heard in a long (ass) time.

-Lately, I have gotten into the habit of brushing my teeth before I workout. Not sure why.

-Here are the recent adds to my iTunes library:

Layla and I took another walk to the pet store for a cookie

She was happy

-I went to the gym with the intention of a treadmill-only workout. Instead, I did 30 minutes on the running machine, then 22 on the spin bike. Yeah, and I was that a-hole at the gym that accidentally unscrewed the seat when I was adjusting it, making it crash all over the place. And people stared. Whatever. I did HIIT on the bike: 90 seconds moderate work with 30 seconds high intensity (and I cranked the resistance). Pretty good calorie burn.

– This is a hilarious thing I found on the internets today. Seriously, people do weird things to make money.

-I Skyped with my parents yesterday while they were in Vegas. And by Skype, I mean, my mom video called me and we could see each other, but my parents couldn’t hear me. It was hilarious and I couldn’t stop laughing, but they couldn’t hear it.

– I have been watching the US Olympic swimming trials the past few days. My favorite part is when they get ready to swim and they do that silly arm flapping/swinging/hugging stretch. I seriously cannot get enough of it. As a matter of fact, AS I’M TYPING THIS, I just witnessed it again!

Dinner time. Ciao.

4 Workout Options

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Alright alright alright.

Here are today’s workout(s)

Numero Uno: This week’s TMT workout from nhershoes.

The workout included:

1 min jump rope
25 squats
15 jacks
10 pushups
30 sec mountain climbers
10 pushups
25 crunches
1 min butt kicks
1 min bicep curls w/lunge
15 jacks
1 min plank
1 min plank ups
30 sec jog
1 min military press with front kick
30 seconds front shoulder raise
30 seconds side shoulder raise
25 squats
30 seconds burpees
15 chair dips
30 sec bicycle crunch
1 min plank

My time:

Yeah buddy.

Number 2: Walk with Layla. The hills are killer!!

#3: The Kill To Look Good Workout

10 minute warmup (unless you just did the #1 workout above)

3 sets of 12-15 reps of: (these you can hold weights. make sure to do 3 sets on each leg!)

front split squat
uneven squat
reverse split squat

Cardio (3 sets of 30 seconds of each)

plank jacks
heel taps
jacks

3 sets of 12-15 reps of:

overhead press
standing fly
tricep kickback

Cardio (3 sets of 10 each)

burpees
double hops
180 degree jump squats

3 sets of 12-15 reps of:

V-ups
Side plank dips
Pushups

Workout FOUR: HIIT. 20 minutes of cardio of choice with 90 seconds moderate intensity then 30 seconds of HARDEST intensity, repeated. (Fun on the elliptical and spin bike. I have found the treadmills here don’t have that automatic speed reset. Makes intervals hard)

Are you tired yet?

I made balls…and other topics

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

As promised, here is the recipe from last night’s dinner (from Eights and Weights)

Healthy Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground turkey
1/4 c breadcrumbs
1 tsp grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
2 tbsp soy milk (I used almond)
1/2 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp thyme
2 gloves garlic (I used minced garlic)
Grated veggies (I used carrots)
1 pack of whole wheat spaghetti
1 28 oz can tomato sauce
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1 onion (I used 1/2)
Cooking spray
1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degress and spray baking sheet with the cooking spray

2. In a large bowl, combine the turkey, breadcrumbs, parmesan, milk, egg, black pepper, thyme, 1/2 clove garlic, grated veggies, and half the salt

3. Once combined, form into balls (I did 12 medium sized)

4. Baked for about 15 minutes, until balls are browned.

5. For the sauce, heat the oil in a saucepan. Add in the onion and rest of the garlic. Right as it browns, add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, and the rest of the salt. (I threw in a little chili powder as well)

6. Let the sauce simmer. When the meatballs are done, carefully add them to the sauce and allow at least an additional 15 minutes of simmering before serving (I had them simmer about 45 minutes. The longer, the better)

7. Cook the spaghetti per the directions on the box. Top readied spaghetti with balls and sauce and dinner is served.

******

Ok now that we’re done with that, I’d like to give a shout out to Athena for the workout she posted from her Tuesday night class (Oh how I miss Two a Day Tuesdays. Not only for the workouts, but for the peeeeeeople!)

I started with 10 minutes of HIIT on the spin bike, then got right to it.

There were 2 rounds of tabatas. Then cardio after each round. I chose to do a minute of cardio between each tabata for a little extra punch.

Round 1

On the bosu: Pushups/Burpees
With a medicine ball: Woodchops/Pulses
Bands: Bicep curls (In and out)

Round 2

On the bosu: Planks/Mountain Climbers
With a medicine ball: Front lunges w/twist
Bands: Tricep extensions

Then I did all the ab work she posted. (Seriously, just check out her post-linked above- for a more complete description).

Last, I hopped on the elliptical for another 10 minutes of HIIT.

It was a GREAT workout. I swallowed so much salty sweat. (Gross. Cringe. Barf. TMI- I know)

Only difference in my workout from Athena’s was the music selection. She chose to go with a Cinco de Mayo theme. Me: not so much. I have been hearing way too much techno-y/pop-y music lately, that I needed me some rap, hop-hop and otherwise ‘thuggy-thug’ music. (This is no offense to anyone by referring to it as ‘thuggy-thug.’ I just think it’s an amusing way to get the vibe across.) Little Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z, Kayne, Snoop and Notorious all made appearances on my playlist this am. I gotta tell ya, that music really revs my engine.

On the way to the gym I heard this song and I got really amped to work out. It really just makes me wanna dance and twist and shake and shimmy. Please tell me that you clicked on the link. And that as soon as the music played, you started bobbing your head or rocking your shoulders back and forth. Admit it. Because that’s what I’m doing. RIGHT NOW. Of course I’m playing it on repeat until I finish this post.

Then, on the way back, I heard this song. It was my very first favorite song that wasn’t and oldie or a Disney tune. Total throwback. Not gonna lie, I have used it quite a few times in playlists for classes I ran in Boston. Best part was when someone in the class would be like “Aww man, great tune” They scored 50 points in my book.

Ok, on to address the notes I left for myself in the last post.

1) Lululemon Swimsuits.

(Source)

I’m pretty sure I am going to buy all of them. I went to the mall yesterday just to “visit” them and I fell in love. Tyler, are you reading? Your lady wants a swimsuit. The gal who freaked out at the Hot Springs 2 weeks ago because of the dreaded bathing suit wearing…WANTS A NEW SUIT. I suggest you take that as a hint.

2) Calgary Beerfest

(Source)

I got tickets for Tyler and I for Friday night. Very excited. VERY. There are so many new-to-me beers that are going to be there. I know, it’s a tough job trying all of them, but I feel I am up to the challenge. A lot of these Canadian beers have rivaled my favorites from the states, and some of them have been just awful. I checked out the list of who will be there, and some of my new faves are..so I’ll at least have some backup.

3) Copycat blogging. I’m actually in a good mood today, so I don’t want to bring myself down if I really get into this topic. Next!

4) At home workouts. I used to hate doing at home workouts because I either didn’t have the space or didn’t have the equipment. But now, I totally love them. I have my own room that I can sweat to my heart’s content. I’ve got my mat, my stability ball and my new weights. So many options.

5) How much I hate washing dishes. The end. I just hate it.

6) Positives and negatives of being a lefty. Positives: I got on a lot of sports teams growing up. I got the lefty desk in school. Negatives: Coaches had a hard time teaching me the ‘opposite’ way. I smudge over pretty much everything I write.

I know there are more, but I can’t think of them right now. I think I just wrote that on my list last night because I had completely smudged up some important paperwork. #fail

7) Sleeping positions. On my belly or on my side. If I am drunk, I sleep on my back with my arms over my head. Totally weird.

8) Favorite chapsticks/lip glosses/what-have-yous. Chapstick: Carmex. But only in the classic stick and only in the original and cherry flavors. Strawberry? Blughk. Lip gloss: Benefit Ultra Shines. I have had just about every color and love every single one of them. What have yous: Exude Lipstick. I have the lip cream in Nude- I got it from my Birchbox a few months ago (which I had to cancel when I moved because they don’t deliver to Canada! Tears, people. Tears.)

This should be sufficient reading for you all for now..There’s a lot more to get done today!

Anyone want to rant/rave on anything? I’m all ears!

Busy bee.. And a great workout!

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Unlike Garfield, I am loving this Monday

source

I made a To Do list for myself (and one for Tyler, haha) and the first thing on my list was a workout. Here’s what it looked like:

10 minute HIIT elliptical warm up

10 left leg front lunges
10 right leg front lunges
10 squats
10 plié squats
(these ate all done holding 10 pound weights. Do this 4x through)

2 minute jump rope

10 bicep curls
10 tricep extensions
10 hammer curls
10 tricep extensions
(again, 10 pound weights and done 4x through)

2 minute jump rope

Donkey kick series left leg
(10 kickbacks, 10 top taps, 10 crossover kickbacks, 10 wide toe taps)
10 froggers
Donkey kick series right leg
10 froggers

2 minute jumping jacks

10 leg lifts
10 crunches
(4x through)

10 skiers
10 mountain climbers
(4x through)

Plank series
(30 seconds each side and 60 in the middle)

20 minute cycle HIIT

Done!

Breakfast was a chocolate strawberry protein bowl. I mixed chocolate protein powder, fresh strawberries, almond milk and ice in the blender and topped with a cup of Honey Nut Cheerios

Now onto that pot of coffee….

Lots more to do today! I was going to cross ‘walk with Layla’ off my list next, but she seems to be oh-so-comfortably sleeping. And by comfortable I mean holy crap that looks painful.