The Countdown

Here's your workout for Friday. Let me know how your workouts have been going, so I know whether we need to make any modifications.

Do your 10 min. active warm-up. 

50,40,30,20,10

Squats, push-ups, tuck jumps or jump rope

5 rounds of 1 minute plank down, down up,up and 1 minute swimmers kick

Cool down- jog for 5minutes and stretch

Southwestern Black Bean Salad

Here's a recipe a good friend of mine shared with me.  I'm anxious to try it! Thanks Alli.

Ingredients:
1 15 oz. can black beans rinsed and drained
9 oz. cooked corn, fresh or frozen (thaw if frozen)
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/3 cup red onion, chopped
1 scallion, chopped
juice of 1 1/2-2 limes
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. fresh minced cilantro (or more to taste)
salt and pepper
1 med. avocado, diced
1 jalapeno, diced

In a large bowl combine beans, corn, tomato, onion, scallion, cilantro, salt and pepper, and jalapeno.  Squeeze fresh lime juice over and stir in olive oil. Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.  Add avocado just before serving.

Makes about 6 1/2 cups.


We made this salad for lunch on Saturday and it was yummy.  I did modify it slightly.  I added cumin and cinnamon and instead of one can of black beans I added 2 cans.

Lemony Lentil Salad

We made this dish for dinner tonight and it was delicious. We used chives and we didn't have lemons but used lemon juice instead.   Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 Cup dried lentils
1 Bay leaf
2 cloves of garlic
2 lemons
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Capers
1/4 cup minced chives, shallot or red onion
Salt and Pepper to taste

Put the lentils in a medium pot and cover with water by 1 inch. Add the bay leaf and garlic and bring to a boil.  cover and lower the heat so the lentils bubble gently.  Cook until just tender but not burst, 20 -30 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure there is always enough water at the bottom of the pan to keep the lentils from burning.
Meanwhile squeeze the juice from one of the lemons into a large bowl.  Peel the other lemon and chop the segments roughly into small pieces, taking care to remove the seeds.  Add the segments to the bowl along with the olive oil, capers, and chives.  Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and stir.
Drain whatever water remains from the lentils and stir them into the dressing while still hot.  Let rest, stirring occasionally to distribute the dressing, until they cool slightly. Serve warm or can be refrigerated for up to several days.

Tough Mudder Circuits

Active Warm-Up (refer back to earlier post)

Circuit 1:
2 minute run
1 min. Push ups
2 min. jumping jacks
1 min. thrusters
2 min. slippery mt. climbers
1 min. walk outs

1 min. rest

Circuit 2:
2 min. Burpees
1 min. Bicycles
2 min. Speed Skaters
1 min. High Knee Sprints
2 min. Plank
1 min. Dips (use a chair or curb if you're outside)

1 min. rest

Circuit 3:
2 min. Swing lunges/ switch legs at 1 min.
1 min. R side plank
2 min. Supermans
1 min. L side plank
1 min. tuck jumps
2 min. run

Exercise Demonstration Video

Dips Demonstration

Cool Down- easy jog and stretch!

Mexican Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:
3/4 Cup Quinoa
1 1/2 Cups water or Vegetable Broth
Dash of garlic powder and cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup frozen sweet white corn or 1 15 oz can corn
1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
Handful of chopped cilantro
Toppings: salsa, avocado

Recipe Courtesy of http://brittlebyscorner.com

Thanks Sara for finding this recipe!

Here are her alterations:
Instead of garlic powder, cumin, salt, and pepper (which probably would have been fine) we just added regular taco seasoning.  I also didn't have frozen corn, but did have a can of Mexicorn so I used it instead.  And instead of eating it as a salad we decided to make tacos.  So we topped it with lettuce, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, and guacamole.  It was yummy!
~Sara

Quinoa

Quinoa (keen-wah)  is a whole grain with a mild nutty flavor.  It's a complete protein containing all eight amino acids and can be used as a great substitute for rice, couscous or oatmeal.  It's easy to cook and has become a staple in my home, often used as the main course to our meals.  About a year ago I found that Sam's club and Costco sold a 4 lb. bag of quinoa for roughly $8. Unfortunately I went to Costco this past weekend only to find that they didn't have any in the store.  So today I've been on the hunt for quinoa.  After searching online I found that most places sell the same 4 lb bag for $29.99.  I called Costco and sadly found out that they no longer carry Nature's Earthly Choice Quinoa.   I then called Sam's club and found that none of the stores within 200 miles of my home carry it in their stores.  They did however put in a request for my local Sam's Club to get the item back in their store, and i'm hoping and praying they do!

Zesty Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 limes, juiced
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
5 green onions, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Bring quinoa and water to boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to med.-low, cover and simmer until quinoa is tender and water is absorbed, 10 to 15 min. Set aside to cool.

Whisk olive oil, lime juice, cumin, 1 tsp salt, and red pepper flakes together in a bowl.

Combine quinoa, tomatoes, black beans, and green onions together in a bowl. Pour dressing over quinoa mixture, toss to coat. Stir in cilantro and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator.

   

Recipe Compliments of All Recipes

Black Bean Burritos

Black Bean Paste (makes 4-6 burritos):

1 15oz. can of black beans drained and rinsed or 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans
1 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 bunch of cilantro (leaves and stalks)
juice of 1 lime
1/4 tsp salt

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

To make the burritos spread black bean paste on whole grain tortillas, top with your favorite toppings, wrap up and then place on hot griddle pan and cook for 2-3 min on each side until the inside is warm.

Toppings: Salsa, Pico de Gallo, Guacamole

Active Warm-Up

10 minute active warm-up

Do 1 minute of each exercise:
Jumping Jacks
Squats
Alternating lunges
High Knees/ Butt Kicks
Grape Vine or Karaoke

 run or easy jog for last 4 minutes

Deck of Cards Workout

This short but intense workout is one of my CrossFit favorites.  It's an easy one to do at home and with little to no equipment.  Here's how it works.   You assign each suit a specific exercise.  For example burpees, pushups, dips, etc. Cards 2-10 are worth their face value.  Ace is 1, Jack is 11, Queen is 12, King is 13.  Shuffle the deck and set them face down.  Pull one card at a time and do the exercise that corresponds to the suit you drew. The amount you do is determined by which card you draw. So for example lets say Hearts are burpees and you draw a Jack of hearts.  You would then do 11 burpees and then turn over the next card.  The workout is over when you've gone through the entire deck of cards.

For today's workout we are going to do the following exercises for each suit.  Feel free to repeat this workout any time you want and switch out different exercises.  If you need exercise suggestions let me know.

Spades- Burpees
Hearts- Sit-ups
Clubs- Squats
Diamonds- Push-ups

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog where i'm sharing healthy recipes and weekly boot-camp workouts. If you come across any great recipes please email them to me so I can share them with everyone.