Fitness, Week 4

I am keeping up with my exercise!  4 whole weeks!  I think I'm eating marginally better than before, but could probably still cut some carbs and sugar out.  I'm participating in an accountability group and my goals are to exercise at least 20 minutes 4x a week and no more than 3 sweet treats per week.  I did great on my exercise last week but not so great on sweets.  I'm doing much better this week, but the real test will be when I make cupcakes for Luke's birthday tomorrow.  :-)

Today I did about 20 minutes of this workout until she had us doing stuff in plank position again and I quit.  Don't have much strength in my arms and my core definitely needs work.  I wanted to do some ab stuff too so I did this workout.  It was much harder for me than it looked.  I'm not kidding myself into thinking I can get back up to 55-60 sit-ups/minute like in high school, but maybe 20??  We'll see.

Anyone have some great online workout suggestions?  Send me the link in the comments!

What's Cookin'

Mon~Baked ziti, garlic bread, green beans, roasted carrots (my new favorite roasted veggie!)
Tues~Pea soup, rolls
Wed~Chicken alfredo with broccoli, applesauce
Thurs~Luke's birthday!  I think we'll have pancakes for breakfast and have his birthday dinner on Fri.   Barbecue chicken and baked potatoes, cold veggies
Fri~Pizza, cold veggies
Sat~Reubens on sourdough or rye or grilled cheese, chips, fruit
Sun~Chicken noodle soup, bread

Lukie Theodore

This is Luke.
Luke says it's too hard to eat his eggs (the eggs that he requested).
Don't be like Luke.




This is also Luke.
Luke lacks impulse control when it comes to tp.
Luke's cute so you can be like Luke.  :-)

Day Something

Not sure what day of exercise it is, but I've exercised at least 4x each week for 2 weeks.  Today I tried Popsugar Fitness on youtube.  I really liked this workout because it was only 20 min and it was not boring.  Lots of different exercises, mostly ab workouts.  I do like a little more cardio.  And warning, I saw a few workout titles that were not appropriate.

Joel said I looked like a giant chicken with a bright red face while I was doing the sumo squats.  Haha!

What's Cookin'

Mon-Chili, cornbread
Tues~Garbage casserole (from freezer), carrots.  We're going skiing today!
Wed~Spaghetti, broccoli, garlic bread
Thurs~Homemade pizza, cold veggies and dip
Fri~Church potluck, I think I'll bring barbecue chicken and buns and some kind of chips and dip.
Sat~Friends are coming so we'll do a chicken taco bar with all the fixings, chips and salsa, and cold veggies and dip.
Sun~Veggie beef soup (I use leftover beef, Knorr vegetable soup mix, and whatever leftover veggies I have.), and bread

Day 4 (barely)

Thought I was up for a challenge.  Did this one.  Kicked my butt.  Baby steps.

Day 3

Woohoo, made it to day 3!

Here's what I did today:

 I attempted a workout that was just strength but it was kind of boring.  Could've been because I only had 3 lb weights.  This one was better.  We'll see how sore I am tomorrow.

Werk it, y'all!

The time has definitely come.  In fact, I'm way behind the ball.  Need. to. work. out.

It's way easier to type that than to actually do it.

But...I'm on day 2 (Hey, baby steps.  Don't knock it.)

You know, I sweat so much and get so red in the face while I'm exercising, you'd really think all that exertion is really worth at least 500 calories.

Nope, not at all.  I think I burned about 150 calories.  Certainly not equal to the calories in the oatmeal fudge bar I ate.  So yeah, watching what I eat should come into play too.  But, baby steps.

 Anyway, Chris showed me this website and so far, I'm pretty impressed.  There are TONS of free exercise videos.  I just did this warm -up video:

Then, since that one is just a warm -up, I did this one:

I was keeping up pretty well until they got to exercise 6 or 7 (out of 8).  You would think that since each exercise is only 45 seconds, you could do anything for 45 seconds.  No, no you cannot do anything for 45 seconds if you are as out of shape and flabby as I am.  But, baby steps.

So what I liked about this video was:

1.  It's short.  8 minutes long, if you include a warm-up, about 15 minutes long.  If you can't fit 15 minutes into your day, it's time to think about what you're doing all day long (speaking to myself also).

2.  The woman does modified exercises while the man does a little bit harder exercises.  They do it side by side so you can see the difference.  Also, on the side there is a running counter of how many calories you are burning.

3.  It's free!  And you don't need fancy equipment.  And it's free!

My only complaints are that it hurts me (haha!) and I'm kind of a klutz so it takes me a bit to get my legs and arms in the right order.  But otherwise, it's great!  I'm hoping I can work up to a bit longer workouts!

Note:  You can see all the videos on fitnessblender.com, but for some reason, you can only see them fullscreen if you are on youtube.

My take on Mexican chicken lasagna

I've been trying to use up some things I have lurking in my freezer and this week I pulled out some southwest flavored chicken and the hugest tortillas I've ever seen.  And since I'm all about easy meals, here's what I did to make some pretty yummy Mexican Lasagna.

Mexican Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 lb of taco/southwestern seasoned chicken
8 oz tomato sauce
3 big tortillas (burrito size)  or just overlap smaller tortillas
about 2 cups of cheddar/colby jack cheese
1 can black beans
1/2 cup of green enchilada sauce

Cook the chicken and shred it.  I dumped 8 oz of tomato sauce on it while it was cooking.  I used the crockpot with a liner to make it super simple.
Using a square pan, place a tortilla in the bottom and then layer half the chicken, half the beans, and a sprinkling of cheese.   Repeat 1 more time and then put a tortilla on top, spread the enchilada sauce on top of the tortilla, and sprinkle with a bit more cheese.
Bake for about 35 minutes at 350.  I let it cool for a few minutes before we ate.

What's Cookin'

Wed~Veg beef soup (bubbling in the crockpot right now), wheat bread (rising right now)
Thurs~Chicken/bean/tortilla something, cold veggies
Fri~Pizza, cold veggies
Sat~Pork tenderloin, baked potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, rolls (we have company)
Sun~Chicken noodle soup, the third loaf of wheat bread I maded on Wed (from the freezer)
Mon~Meatball subs, salad
Tues~Chicken pot pie, applesauce


My goal:  To have a blog post besides a menu plan by next week.  :-)

What's Cookin'

Mon~Pork tenderloin done 2 ways, baked potatoes, mixed veggies
Tues~Bean and ham bone soup, bread
Wed~Roast beef, mashed potatoes, red cabbage, green beans
Thurs~Chili, cornbread
Fri~Meatball subs, cold veg
Sat~some kind of Mexican chicken/beans/cheese tortilla stack, cold veggies
Sun~Beef and tomato macaroni soup, bread

A new year

Thanksgiving

We're having Thanksgiving dinner with Chris's family this year.  I think the whole family is going to be there.  Not sure on the exact number of people coming, but its a lot!  I'm helping Chris's mom brine the turkey with Alton's recipe and my sis-in-law is brining AND smoking another turkey.  I'm also making cauliflower gratin and pecan cake.  My family is coming here for a nice dinner of pork roast on Friday.  I am more and more thankful each year for the family that we have and enjoy.

Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 5:19b-20

What's Cookin'

Mon we had crockpot marinara sauce.  Was able to freeze 2 quart bags.
Tues~Chicken soup using up leftovers, bread, applesauce
Wed~Barbecue Chicken quesadillas, cold veggies, salad
Thurs~Crockpot Chicken and stuffing, green beans
Fri~Engelsma potluck-Probably going to bring loaded mashed potatoes and either chocolate cake or veggie pizza
Sat~Pizza, cold veg
Sun~Pork roast, mashed potatoes, corn, carrots
Mon~Taco soup, cornbread
Tues~Meatloaf, baked potatoes, green beans
Wed~Leftovers/scrambled eggs
Thurs~Thanksgiving
Fri~Lasagna, garlic bread, cauliflower, carrots
Sat~Leftovers or frozen pizza

What's Coookin'

Mon~Italian Chicken, brown rice, parmesan bread, carrots
Tues~Beef roast, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn
Wed~Sicilian Chicken soup, bread
Thurs~Out-using a gc from my folks while they bbsit
Fri~Bbcue Chicken, baked potatoes, cold veggies
Sat~Pizza if our friends can't come, hotdogs/brats, salad, and chips if they can come
Sun~Dutch soup, bread

What's Cookin'

Mon~Cowboy casserole, carrots
Tues~Out
Wed~Chicken tortellini casserole, green beans
Thurs~Crockpot ranch chicken, salad
Fri~ Tacos, salad, chips n salsa
Sat~Pizza, cold veg
Sun~Spaghetti, garlic bread, broccoli

What's Cookin'

Mon~ Barbecue Chicken on buns, roasted yellow potatoes, veggies and dip.  This barbecue chicken is one of my favorite meals.  I like to eat the leftovers on a quesadilla or pizza.  It also freezes really well.
Tues~Turkey Rice soup, bread
Wed~Spaghetti, broc, garlic bread
Thurs~Mexican chicken with black beans, crockpot brown rice, corn
Fri~Leftovers, scrambled eggs
Sat~Pizza
Sun~Crockpot Ranch chicken with potatoes and carrots

Fall Orchard Trip

The best Michigan field trip is hands down a fall trip to an apple orchard.  We went to Sietsma Orchard this morning with some homeschool friends.  I took all 6 kids and it actually went pretty well!  Good thing it was only an hour tour that included donuts.  :-)

Here's the whole crew:

After a hay ride through the orchard and a short tour of their apple storage and cider making, we all had delicious, fresh donuts and cider.


Aaron and Luke were pretty happy about this part of the field trip.


After cider and donuts, we went back into the orchard and each of the kids got to pick an apple.  Luke was able to eat about half of his, seeds and all!

 
It was a beautiful fall day!


J liked the donuts, apples, and seeing his friends!

 
Ok, let's watch Mabel closely in this picture and the next two.  This one turned out pretty well, all heads are turned toward the camera.


Mabel hears a clucking sound behind her and turns to see what it is...


a dreaded chicken!  Shrieks of terror ensued.  Another animal that Mabel does not like.

Sweetie pie

 

Chris had the two littles last night while I took the 4 oldest to soccer pics and practices.  Isn't she the cutest little girl??  :-)

My girl is 11 months old!

 

 Mabel Anne is 11 months old!  She started crawling at about 10 months and now she is all over the place and pulling herself up on everything.

 

  

Still pictures are almost impossible.  Especially when mommy is holding something that she wants to play with!  Notice the hair?  Very reminiscent of Joel.

 

Selfie with mom!