Third Times A Charm

I have not had my usual energy the last couple of days since returning from New York and though I've had the best of intentions I've struggled to get out of my nice, cozy bed at 5:00 a.m. to make it to Spin Class.  I've set the alarm, had coffee ready to brew, but when the alarm has gone off, I've managed to justify why I deserved the extra sleep rather than the exercise.  Michael knows how to motivate me though and threw down the gauntlet, betting me I'd let a third morning go by without getting back into my routine.

Ahhh, a challenge.  So, third time was a charm.  I won't say that I exactly sprang out of bed this morning but I did manage to get up without hitting snooze, grab a thermos of hot coffee and a quick breakfast of Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Cereal, 1/2 cup of nonfat milk, handful of blueberries, and a tablespoon of peanut butter. 

 

And, if you remember, I'm making my way through SuperFoods Rx, and this morning's pre-workout breakfast hit the mark with both the blueberries and the whole grain cereal.

I made it into the gym and completed the class and left feeling very accomplished and thankful to have my workout done for the day.  I was starving though and pretty grateful I had grabbed a Greens + Protein Bar to eat on my way to work after the class.  I only eat bars like this on big workout days as the calorie content can be high for an everyday meal replacement.

Yesterday

Sometimes I feel like I blink and the week is gone.  This is certainly one of those weeks.  Between all of our new projects at Fast Forward Events and exciting new opportunities for Fitness & The Foodie, time is literally flying by.  I've always been one of those people who thrives on pressure, deadlines and a full schedule so I love this time in my life but I also know that the hectic days and nights are also potential food traps.  Lack of time = Lack of planning = Poor food choices.

Since I'm aware of this, AND since we are now entering our third and final week of this Game On round, planning and preparation is key to staying focused on what I eat and budgeting time for workouts.

Yesterday started with my standby breakfast of Fage, Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Cereal, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, Agave Syrup and Almonds.

This breakfast was packed full of super foods!  I knew I loved this breakfast and that the ingredients were all good for me but I did not know I was covering so many of the super food bases.

About mid day, I had a major snack attack and reached for my stash of Doctor Kracker Cherry Semolina Culinary Crisps.

Snacking is not something we do often on the Game On program since we are eating five solid meals a day.  The clever writers of Game On built in 100 calories free each day.  Kind of like mad money that you stash in safe spot for a splurge later on.  The Cherry Semolina crisps are 110 calories for 8 crackers, so I had 7 to munch on while I finished up some work.  The Crisps are a little bit sweet and a little bit savory which makes them a perfect afternoon snack.  And they contain organic flaxseed, whole wheat flour, and sesame seeds - super foods!

I've been trying to master the advanced step class with Paco which is every Tuesday night but feel so lost!  Standing at the front of the class he always yells, "Watch me, watch me," then spins, steps, leaps, repeats, does it backwards, and glancing at us says, "Got it?"  To which I always yell, "Uhhh, no!"  Which never seems to matter as he, and the rest of the class, plunge in to the manic movements. 

I'm determined to get it!  So last night, I made sure I had enough fuel in me to get through the torture and to also take a 30 minute ab class that followed.  I grabbed a banana and one of the many varieties of KIND bars the company sent me to try.

I tried the Fruit & Nut Delight KIND Bar and talk about super foods!  I feel like I really hit a home run yesterday.  The KIND Fruit & Nut Delight Bar is packed full of nut super foods:  Almonds, Brazil nuts, peanuts and walnuts and also includes, magnesium, copper, folic acid, vegetable protein, potassium, and vitamin E, dates, raisins and apricots.  I love the texture of these bars, they are chewy with a ton of crunch from the nuts and with my banana made me feel fueled up for my hour and a half workout.

Having just completed an Angel Flight with Michael, whose company donates his time and cost to fly critical care patients to and from treatment, I am inspired by companies that adopt a corporate mission give back to others.

"Being KIND to the World" is part of KIND's mission and the company is dedicated to giving back 5% of its profits in what they call The KIND Movement.  How can you not love that?

Thanks to a lot of energy and good luck I made it through the step class, and the ab class, and headed home to make dinner.

What I'm Reading

Since wake boarding was out of the question, I had plenty of time to read.  Right now, I'm reading Super Foods RX, The Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life.  I truly believe in foods ability to help aid us in our health.  As I read through the chapters, I'm going to make sure to give you a few highlights on what I learn and I'll be bolding super foods as I add them to my meals.

So as I read and enjoyed the view, Shirley and Raz's dog Chase took advantage to get in some lounge time too.

I don't know how it was possible after our breakfast but around 2:00 the guys were hungry and craving hamburgers.  Shirley and I split a turkey burger on whole wheat buns and ate some of the strawberries we picked up from the Farmer's Market.  (Side note, we also picked up about two pounds of cherries that we devoured throughout the day.  I definitely got in my servings of fruit!)

I was really looking forward to a couple of glasses of good wine with dinner.  We picked up a bottle of Cabernet from Justin, a winery out of Paso Robles that I've come to know from producing our San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival.  Their wines are pretty consistent and reasonably priced.  This bottle was $20 at the Safeway in Byron.

We barbecued tri tip, chicken, Indian spiced veggies and served with salad and corn.  I had a little of everything but saved my room for dessert.

Dessert consisted of our Farmer's Market finds of fresh, organic strawberries and lemon shortcake with hand whipped whip cream.  Or, should I say, hand whipped by me.  My arm was so tired but this was absolutely worth the effort!