who knew clean eating could taste this good?

hey friends!  how was your monday?

before i get started.. if you have not yet sent in your mini-guest post for me to post while i am in jamaica.. there is still plenty of time!  i leave february 5th but i would like to get all the guest posts typed up and scheduled by the end of january.  please send your mini-guest post in ASAP!  i really want everyone to participate.. the more the merrier.  in case you missed it, here are the guidelines!

special thanks to everyone for the sweet comments regarding my cereal binnnnge.  haha, i don’t feel bad at all and all of your comments reconfirmed the fact that a little cereal is nothing to lose sleep over.  just gotta keep it in check ;)

wow, even though i blogged yesterday morning i have so much to show you.. i think i am going to just jump right in!

prepare for a MONSTER post ;)

sunday.

after posting on sunday, i headed to the gym for  my scheduled total body workout+HIIT.  i ended up having a stellar workout and am already suffering from DOMS today!  here are the deets:

10 minutes facing forward on stairmill:

minutes	speed
0-2	6
2-4	7
4-6	8
6-8	9
8-10	10

circuit #1 (three times through):

move	weight	reps
barbell deadlift to bent over row	30#	15
bridge with dumbbell chest press	12# ea	15
step up+knee up w/ dumbbell hammer curl	10# ea	30 (15 each leg

 

circuit #2 (three times through):

move	weight	reps
elbow-to-knee crunches on bosu	bodyweight	30 (15 each side)
jump-over-lunges on bosu	bodyweight	30 (15 each side)
weighted stability ball wall squat-and-hold	20# db	15 w/ 3 second hold when in “down” position

 

circuit #3 (three times through):

move	weight	reps
squat to biceps curl to shoulder press (all while standing on bosu ball)	7.5# ea	15
barbell skull crushers to chest press	20#	15
burpees (inspired by HEAB.. ugh kill me)	bodyweight	15

 

circuit #4 (three times through):

move	weight	reps
hyperextension w/  alternating twist	10# plate	30 (15 each side)
reverse dumbbell flyes	8# ea	15
dumbbell pullover to crunch	8# db	15

 

10 minutes on elliptical:

minutes	resistance
0-2	5
2-4	7
4-6	9
6-8	11
8-10	13

 

THE END!

it felt really good to work up a sweat and i always stay entertained when doing total body moves.  good times at the gym!  plus, since it was sunday, the gym was super empty and i really like that.

for the record.. burpees SUCK. heather, you’re my hero.

i went home and recharged with my post workout drink:

EAS muscle armor+syntrax lemonade whey protein powder

ths recovery drink is very low in carbs and i needed to get some into my system so i took a cue from one of the blogosphere’s favorite mamas and had some fruit cereal..

this was simply a handful of blueberries+3 strawberries+almond milk.

you guys.. the eats from here on out just get better.  i am not even going to be modest.. i will just toot my own horn right now when it comes to the two meals i have made up in the past 24 hours. toot, toot. :D

i went to my mom’s to make dinner.

sun dried tomato basil hummus and cheese stuffed chicken served over a bed of zucchini with laughing cow and steamed broccoli. and salad.

 

whew, that was a mouthful! (TWSS)

to make the chicken, i cut four breasts in almost all the way in half (butterfly-style) and stuffed each one first with a layer of lauging cow light+fresh chopped basil~

and then a layer of the sun dried tomato & basil hummus i made on friday night~

the hummus was made with a can of garbanzos, a generous amount of sun dried tomatoes, pine nuts, fresh basil, a dollup of greek yogurt, garlic and vegetable stock.  super simple!

i coated the chicken with italian seasoned panko bread crumbs~

and baked them at 400 degrees [f] for about 35 minutes.

these breasts were HUGE so i ate half of one.  check out the cross section:

mmm. yum.  for the bed of “pasta” i simply grated some zucchini, microwaved it for 5 minutes and then coated it with a sauce made from melted laughing cow+skim milk.  waaaay better than alfredo sauce!  i LOVE laughing cow.

after this glorious meal i went to marshall’s house where he was nearly in tears.. green bay lost and he was the saddest panda on the block :(

penny was consoling him.  in case you were curious, yes that lime green thing is a ninja turtle snuggie.  it’s okay to be jealous.

before bed, i had some greek yogurt+pear+banana+PB2 to satisfy my sweet tooth!

i finished off my evening with a movie (sunshine cleaning.. kinda weird?) and the latest episode of worst cooks in america.. my latest guilty pleasure!

monday.

this morning it was COLD and i was REALLY craving oatmeal.  every monday i have to go to the original pancake house for a sales meeting breakfast.  unfortunately, they don’t offer protein oats.  i compromised and went with a bowl of oatmeal to satisfy my craving and then a side of eggbeaters+chicken+feta to get my protein in!

ha. those photos are not proportionate at all. the eggs were actually on a very small plate and the bowl of oats is in an average sized soup bowl.  sorry if that looks misleading!  i think next week i will take my own protein powder with me and stir it into their oatmeal because their oatmeal is super delicious.

lunch was some leftover chicken from sunday’s yummy dinner along with a “salad” made with cottage cheese, cucumbers, peppers & avocado..

just as good the second time around!!

my snack AKA “meal 3” was a little bit of greek yogurt and a nuts & cranberry luna bar which you have all seen 10 million times so i won’t bore you with the photos.

today was a cardio+abs day!  i was cleaning my car yesterday and came across one of april’s cardio workouts that i had printed out but then lost.. and found again.. so i decided to give it a shot!

i ended up modifying it about halfway through.  you can see the original workout here. here is what i did:

minutes	speed
0-5	5.5 mph
5-6	6.5 mph
6-8	6.0 mph
8-9	6.7 mph
9-11	5.8 mph
11-12	6.5 mph
12-14	6.0 mph
14-15	6.7 mph
15-17	5.8 mph
17-18	6.5 mph
18-20	6.0 mph
20-21	6.7 mph
21-23	5.8 mph
23-24	6.5 mph
24-26	6.0 mph
26-27	7.0 mph
27-29	6.1 mph
29-30	6.8 mph
30-32	6.3 mph
32-33	6.8 mph
33-35	6.1 mph
35-36	7.0 mph
36-38	6.1 mph
38-39	8.0 mph
39-41	6.3 mph
41-46	3.5 mph
total time: 46 minutes	total distance: 4.41 miles

whew! it was stellar.  thanks april!

i originally had 15 minutes of abs planned but i was itching to read my new oxygen magazine so i finished the workout off with 15 minutes on the bike while i read my mag!  i will do some abs tomorrow or later tonight to make up for it ;) plus.. the new magazine has a PLETHORA of new ab moves for me to try!

i came home and whipped up a healthy, delicious and fantastic meal.

turkey meatloaf muffins + roasted balsamic parmesan broccoli

for the meatloaf, i used 1.25 lbs ground turkey, 1 cup habanero salsa, 1/3 cup oats, 4 egg whites, 1/2 diced onion, 1/3 cup corn chile salsa, salt, pepper, thyme, garlic and oregano.  i placed the mixture into my silicone muffin tins and baked for an hour at 350 degrees [f]…

mmmm! bubbly goodness!  one serving was two muffins :)

for the broccoli, i tossed the florets in balsamic vinegar and a touch of olive oil, grated a bit of fresh parmesan over the top and roasted them in the oven for about 15 minutes.

so.. i am dead serious when i say these taste better than french fries.  i LOVE roasted broccoli!  the balsamic and parmesan were fabulous accents to the already yummy roasted flavor.

i am now sipping on some iced green tea and working on my challenge page.. i have to get this week’s meal plan posted as well as the progress i have made since i updated last.  things are going good!

i am going to finish up with this and then have a chai protein shake before bed.. which i forgot to show you guys last time! not to worry, i will make sure to show you tomorrow :)

in other news..

i got some fun mail! the lovely jenny of closet 365 sent me this stellar package because i won her blog debut giveaway!

please go check out her blog.. she is wearing a different outfit every day this year and posting about each one! so fun. thanks jenny! you are a babe!

sheesh.. i was originally going to post a few bloggie awards at the end of this post but i am fairly certain this is more than long enough. if you have made it this far, props to you!  hope i didn’t put you to sleep!

i will be back tomorrow with more good stuff :)

Qs~

1. what is your favorite “clean eating” meal? i have so many favorites so it is hard to pick.. but one of my favorites is a healthy version of a burger+fries, using my turkey burger recipe, a whole wheat bun and roasted cheeeetahs instead of deep fried fries. so good!

2. do you like your veggies best raw, roasted, steamed or sauteed? i *may* have asked this in the past. but as of right now.. i have to say roasted! YUM!

xo. janetha b.

Tagged as: cardio, chicken, clean eating, eggbeaters, fruit cereal, giveaway, greek yogurt, hummus, luna bar, mail, meatloaf, oatmeal, oxygen, recipes, total body workout