Thursday Things: Workouts, Snacks, and Lent

Posted on February 23, 2012 by kissmybroccoli

Hey guys!

I hope you are all having a fantastic week! Only one more day until the weekend!

I’m only hoping (praying) that the weather continues on like it was today:

Do I live in Tennessee or California? But believe me…I’m not complaining ONE bit!

So if there’s only one more day left in the workweek, you know what that means:

It’s time for KMB’s “Thursday Things”!

1. WORKOUTS

Yep, seems like I’ve jumped on the LiveFit bandwagon with the rest of blogland…

I was getting a little bored with my workout routines and decided last week to see what all the hype was about with the LiveFit Trainer. I watched Jamie Eason’s video explaining the details behind the workouts, meal plans, and supplements and decided to give it a go…

There was only ONE thing that bothered me about the program:

CARDIO

Jamie actually suggests not to do ANY kind of cardio during phase one. The runner in me heard this and was like, “Heck no! You can’t stop me from running!”

Well, that was last week…

I did an interval workout on the treadmill last Tuesday…only a little over 3.5 miles, but it was a nice sweaty run. Since then, the most cardio I’ve done is some warm up/cool down on the elliptical.

I’ve come to this conclusion:
It’s not, “No, you don’t HAVE to do cardio!”

It’s more like, “No, you WON’T BE ABLE TO DO CARDIO!”

I am sooooo tired! Lol

The majority of my workout experience in the past has been with Crossfit style workouts and other, high-intensity, cardio-infused workouts. This is actually the first time I’ve made a commitment to weight lifting…and you know what?

I may be tired…I may be sore (which I secretly like), but…

I FREAKIN’ LOVE IT!!

Do I look as badass as I feel? I hope so! 😉

Not only am I breaking out of my element with the weight lifting, but I FINALLY overcame my fear of entering the weight room at the gym by myself!

It was a slow progression:

Maybe I was sneakily reading the direction sticker on the side of the equipment while I tried to look like I was just finding the appropriate weight…

Maybe I was also stalking some of the other gym patrons waiting for them to use said equipment so I knew what to do…

Maybe I wasn’t paying attention last week and took weight off some guy’s machine WHILE he was sitting on it to use for myself…

Oops!

Yeah, my face turned about 293864 shades of red! :-/

But now, I am excited to get to the gym, even during the busier hours, and squeeze in between the meat heads to get MY sweat on!

2. NEW SNACK ALERT:

I found these on sale the other day at my local grocery store and decided to pick one up.

HOLY MOTHER OF DELICIOUSNESS!

Has anyone tried these? After professing my love on Instagram, I found out that they also make a peanut butter and a vanilla that is to die for!

And speaking of peanut butter…

3. LENT:

So, I asked you guys the other day if you were giving up anything for Lent. Like I said the other day, I’m not Catholic, but I’m always up for a challenge and I think an occasional test of willpower is good for the soul. That being said, I finally decided what I was giving up yesterday morning…

Go ahead…call me crazy!

That’s right,

I’m giving up ALL nut butters! 

No loop holes for legumes or soy-nut or cookie-based spreads. If it LOOKS like nut butter, it’s off limits…for FORTY DAYS!

I can do this…I can do this…I can do this!

Posted in Thursday Things, Workouts | Tagged , , , | 35 Comments

WIAW: Around the World in a Weekend

Posted on February 22, 2012 by kissmybroccoli

Hey guys!

I’m so glad to hear that so many of you were celebrating Pancake Day with me yesterday…and if you missed it…I allow you a free make up day! 😉

Well, it’s that time of week again:

Happy What I Ate Wednesday!
Be sure to head on over to Peas & Crayons and give Jenn a little comment love for being our gracious host each and every week!

Thanks to having Friday off as scheduled and asking off for President’s Day on Monday, I had a bit of a mini-vacation this past weekend, and after looking over the pics I accrued over the last few days, it seems I went on a little foodie trip around the world!

FRIDAY

It all started Friday night when BB came over and we both realized we were
STARVING…he suggested a little hole-in-the-wall place called Brunie’s that he claimed serves “the best bratwurst sandwiches”

And boy was he right on the money!

Served on a hot and toasty bun with warm German potato salad and a side of red cabbage…I thought I had surely died and gone to heaven Germany!

SATURDAY

When we woke up Saturday morning, it was cold and dreary outside…the perfect weather for a nice big bowl of oats:

Pumpkin peanut flour oats topped with dried cranberries and crack nuts

Later in the day after running some errands, all I was craving was a big plate of veggies and eggs so I broke out my latest TJ Maxx find and got to work:

Is this not the cutest thing ever?!

Ok, ok…so obviously it’s not cute enough to do the work for you…guess I need a little practice 😉

After lunch, I got a craving for something sweet, so broke out the Godiva and plucked out this little guy:

Eat a plate of green and get rewarded with chocolate…that’s how it works, right?

Saturday night, BB and I met some friends for dinner at a new-t0-me Japanese hibachi place called Sakura across town:

And let me just say, we had the best cook in the building…so entertaining!

BB ordered the fried calamari and soft shell crab for our starters. This was my first time trying the crab…not bad, but the calamari was ahhhhmazing…I swear I think they used the same breading/spices that is used for mozzarella cheese sticks…and I’m not sure what was in the sauce but it tasted of sweet jammy goodness!

I chose the Korean short ribs for my entree and along with it came fried rice, noodles, and stir fry veggies…yeah, I ate about 5 bites of this and the rest went home in a box!

SUNDAY

Sunday morning was pancakes…of course…

But you’ve already seen those 🙂

Or if you haven’t…go take a look…I’ll wait!

Sunday night, we met up with our friends again for dinner at our new Buffalo Wild Wings. This was only my second time there, but I knew before I even sat down, what I wanted:

Fried Pickles!…aka my kryptonite in the form of an appetizer 😉

I wasn’t really in the mood for wings, so I decided to go with the 1/2 rack of ribs seasoned to a saucy perfection and a side of french fries drowning drizzled in ketchup.

Let me just say this was my first time having french fries in I don’t even know how long!

MONDAY

Monday morning, I stirred up this bowl of yum:

Cold leftover pumpkin peanut flour oats with plain Greek yogurt and cranberry syrup

Mmmm, I forgot how much I love “yoats” 🙂

Monday afternoon, BB and I headed to the gym. I love having him as a workout partner…he helps motivate me to push harder AND I’m always learning new techniques or moves from him!

When we got done at the gym, we were both famished!

While he snacked on some salmon straight out of the can (yes I know, we were meant for each other, right?), I fried up some eggs for egg and avocado sandwiches:

I also threw in some steamed spinach and black beans mixed with salsa…and that plate satisfied every craving I had!

For dinner, we finally made it to that new Greek restaurant I was telling you guys about. It’s actually a hookah bar too and even more of a dive than the German place we went to on Friday, but I have to say the food was pretty decent.

My side salad with falafel and our shared basket of warm pita bread.

Then came our entrees!

His:

Khafta kabob with yellow rice, tabouli, and hummus

Hers:

Hummus platter with lamb gyro

And yes, that hummus WAS as creamy as it looks!

For some reason, every time I think about trying new restaurants, I always think I have to drive to Nashville. I forget how many places there are in my little town that I have yet to discover. I had so much fun this weekend “exploring the world” with BB…who knows, maybe one day we’ll get to do it in real life! 🙂

What is your favorite international cuisine?

What’s the best thing you ate this past weekend?

Posted in Breakfast, Entree, Restaurant Review, What I Ate Wednesday | Tagged , , , , , | 22 Comments

Happy Pancake Day!

Posted on February 21, 2012 by kissmybroccoli

To all my American peeps out there who may not have heard yet…

It’s Pancake Day over in the UK!
*pause to acknowledge my clever use of rhyming before 7am*

Also known as Shrove Tuesday…or the day before Lent.
(for more info, click here)

Now, I’m fully aware that I don’t live in the UK, I’m not Catholic, and I JUST celebrated Pancake Sunday two days ago, but c’mon…you can’t expect me (The Pancake Queen) to turn down a chance to wake up early and make pancakes instead of going to the gym!

I may have beat off the crowds at the gym tonight when I get off work, but believe me…

It was worth it!

Pumpkin Peanut Flour Pancakes topped with leftover Cashew Cream Icing and thawed frozen raspberries!

And the “recipe” couldn’t be simpler:

1 serving just-add-water pancake mix…this one is my favorite!

1/4 cup peanut flour

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice

Did you/are you celebrating Pancake Day today?

Are you giving up anything for Lent?
Like I said, I’m not Catholic or anything, but I have given up things for Lent in the past just as kind of a test of my willpower. One year I gave up chocolate…that’s the year I found out cocoa is in red velvet cake! Lol

I’ll have to do some thinking today and decide if I’ll be doing it this year.

Hope you all have a fantastic FAT Tuesday!

Now go make some pancakes!

Posted in Breakfast, Food Holidays | Tagged , , | 17 Comments