Monthly Archives: October 2012

October 24, 2012 · 10:20 PM

Chicken Scarpiello with Fusilli

Did you know that this month is National Pasta Month? I certainly didn’t and I almost felt ashamed because I am Italian and I do LOVE me some pasta! I can thank the lovely @ComplicatedMama, @PastaFits and the #PastaFits hashtag over on Twitter, for pointing this out to me. In celebration and to get in the spirit of the #PastaFits Twitter party, I whipped up one of my favorite recipes for dinner:

Chicken Scarpiello with Fusilli

Chicken Scarpiello with Fusilli

Ingredients:

  • 1 Large Jar of Roasted Red Peppers
  • 1 Chicken cut into parts (I actually cheat and use chicken tenders cut into chunks)
  • 1 Pound of Sweet Sausage, cut into pieces
  • 3 cups of white or cremini mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 Tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons of flour
  • 2 Tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar
  • 3 cups of Chicken Broth
  • 1 cup of homemade tomato sauce or good quality store bought sauce
  • 2 Tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley or (1 tablespoon of dried)
  • Fusilli Pasta (or similiar shaped pasta)
  • Olive Oil
  • Kosher Salt & Fresh Cracked Pepper, to taste

Directions:

  1. Cut the peppers into 1/4 inch strips and set aside.
  2. Heat some olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate and reserve.
  3. Add the sausage to the skillet and cook until browned, about 2 minutes. (Reduce the heat as needed to keep the skillet from burning). Toss in the mushrooms and cook along with the sausage, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes.
  4. Add the peppers and stir in the flour. Cook for 1 minute. Stir in the vinegar, broth and tomato sauce and bring to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Season with salt and pepper.
  5. Return the chicken to the skillet along with any juices. Cover and simmer, gently, until the chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes (a little less if using the chicken tenders method like I tend to).
  6. While everything simmers, prepare the pasta according to the package directions for Al Dente. Strain and toss with the chicken, sausage and sauce.
  7. Garnish with parsley and parmagiano cheese.

It sounds like a lot of work, but it comes together really quick and easy. I love that this dish makes a lot of left overs for my family and I love most pasta dishes even better the next day.

Do you have a favorite pasta dish? Worried about enjoying pasta while trying to reach your fitness goals? Don’t be! It’s all about portion control and making some simple substitutions to lighten up some of the heavier, more calorie dense recipes out there.

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October 24, 2012 · 3:00 PM

Nothing Says Fall Like Apple Crisp

The title of this blog is very true to me. Some people embrace everything pumpkin when the fall rolls around, but for me, it’s apples. You can keep your pumpkin muffins, pumpkin lattes and pumpkin pie. Give me crisp, delicious apples! I love the variety of apples that you can find (not to mention the cheaper prices) in the grocery stores and come on, who doesn’t love apple cider or a fresh caramel apple?!

The one thing I am not a fan of is pie. I don’t know why, but I just don’t like them. It makes Thanksgiving dessert a little tricky since most people associate pie with the holiday (I wonder why that is exactly…hmmm.) Anyway, since I don’t like pie I end up making apple crisp in the fall and right now, my kitchen is full of autumn scents as the brown sugar, cinnamon, apple goodness bakes away in my oven!

Apple Crisp

Warm apple crisp served with slow churned, french vanilla ice-cream.

  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup regular oats
  • 1/4 cup butter or stick margarine, cut into small pieces
  • 4  sliced peeled Rome/Granny Smith/Gala or Macintosh apples
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • a pinch of nutmeg

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375°.
  2. Spray 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray (I use one meant for baking with flour added)
  3. Combine flour, sugar, oats, and cinnamon in a medium bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture is crumbly.
  4. Arrange apples in the baking dish and sprinkle with crumb mixture. Bake at 375° for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Now I know this is a fitness blog and it’s about being healthier, but I like to treat myself every now and then, and when I have apple crisp, I serve it with ice-cream. There are a lot of good, slow churned ice-creams on the market today, as well as varieties made with almond or coconut milk. I also like the Haagen Das Five line which isn’t full of ingredients you can’t pronounce. To me, as long as you don’t indulge in stuff like this everyday, it’s okay to enjoy!

Remember, it’s all about portion control and moderation!

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October 22, 2012 · 9:15 AM

Sunday Funday

Normally in this house, Sundays are as lazy as it gets. There is usually a late start to us getting out of bed, breakfast, looking through the Sunday paper and then we watch the NFL RedZone channel all day while yelling at the TV and checking our Fantasy Football scores. Yesterday, however, I didn’t feel like sitting home. I don’t know if it is because the Broncos had a bye week or if it was just the nice weather calling to me, but I wanted to be outside.

To start the day off, the hubs and I got dressed and headed over to the Englishtown Auction. At first I was thinking we should go for a run, but I’m happy we decided to just walk around there. We were able to have some alone time, talk and just enjoy being together. Neither of us had been there in quite some time so we just walked, soaked up some sunshine  and checked out what the vendors were offering.  I always forget that they have great local farm stands there. They are not organically grown, but sometimes my budget doesn’t allow me to stick with all organic stuff, and to be quite honest, I’m okay with that these days. I scored some beautiful strawberries and amazingly large sweet potatoes while there. I really should have picked up some more stuff, like eggplant, peppers and cauliflower but to be honest, I didn’t feel like carrying them around with me and the sweet potatoes were heavy enough to be considered a workout.

A sample of the farm stands at the flea market. Most items were between $1 – $3 per basket. You can’t beat those prices!

After walking around the market, we headed home, and my son decided it would be fun to go bowling. It was nice to go out as a family, especially since my daughter has reached that age were she is too cool to hang with us and is usually running around with her friends instead. It was also nice to get my son away from the video games and have both kids being active without the aid of an electronic device.  I’m not going to say this excursion was all laughs and giggles, but it was nice to be out as a family and enjoy some time together.

Our afternoon of bowling. Top left: Matt who was happy he got to choose want we did today. Top Right: Maddie bowling, Bottom Left: Me hoping for a strike, Bottom Right: Maddie & Mike Instagraming or checking FB. lol.

These days, we all tend to be so busy. Between work, workouts, school and chores, there just never seems to be enough time for everything. Yesterday I realized that there are certain things you just HAVE to make time for and family time is one of them.

What kind of activities do you like to do as a family?

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October 16, 2012 · 9:13 AM

Baked Ranch Chicken Fingers

Football season means finger foods, chips, salsa and beer! It also means a lazy day in my house, but I don’t like to toss out all of the hard work I’ve accomplished all week, nor do I like to give up all of the foods that I enjoy. I’ve been avoiding the beer and trying to keep the finger foods on the healthier side, which can be tricky, but I was pleasantly surprised by this recipe. It’s not picture perfect, but when compared to the deep-fried ones you might normally pull from your freezer and heat up, or order at your local sports bar, they are a gift from heaven. Plus, you can feel like you are cheating without all of the guilt!

Baked Ranch Chicken Fingers
(Makes 6 Servings)

Baked Ranch Chicken Fingers – served with baked sweet potato fries and bbq sauce.

Ingredients:
8 boneless skinless chicken breasts (sliced into strips) – or a package of chicken tenderloins
1 cup corn flakes (crushed)
¾ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 (1 ounce) packet Hidden Valley dry ranch dressing mix
1 cup milk (I use 1%)
1 egg

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with non stick cooking spray.

In a shallow dish combine crushed corn flakes, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, black pepper, and dry ranch dressing mix.  In a small bowl beat together eggs and milk.

Dip each chicken strip into the egg/milk mixture and then roll in the crushed corn flakes/ranch dressing mixture. Repeat until all of your chicken strips are well coated.

Place chicken onto your coated baking sheet and bake, uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through ( internal temperature 165 degrees).

This recipes is really quick and simple, plus it goes great with some baked sweet potato fries. I have made it a few times already and even my son, who is a VERY picky eater LOVES them!

What are your healthy football snacks?

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October 9, 2012 · 9:20 AM

Do It Daily Workout

This morning I decided to take my own advice from yesterdays post “Progress and Change”. I haven’t had to leave for work as early the past few shifts and I was either reading in the morning or wasting time on Pinterest. (Neither is an awful thing, but I have recently set some fitness goals for myself and neither was really helping me reach that goal, know what I mean?).

While on Pinterest, I tend to look for healthy recipes and new workouts to try, so it’s not a total waste of time, but I could be doing the workouts I already pinned and haven’t tried before looking for new ones, right?

This morning I tried this one:

It’s a perfect before-you-take-your-morning-shower-workout. I felt a great burn in my core from it, and since I had extra time, I held the plank till I couldn’t anymore, which resulted in 5 minutes 10 seconds of plank. (Not too shabby)

I’m in my rest week for P90X right now, so I’ll be doing Core Synergystics later tonight. Phase 3 starts on Monday….I can’t believe how fast this round is going by!

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October 8, 2012 · 8:40 PM

Progress and Change

You have to change the way you think if you want to see results.

Stop telling yourself you can’t run, do circuit training or even attempt yoga. You might not be able to run a 5k right away, complete the circuit or hold all of the yoga poses without toppling over, but with practice and persistence, you will begin making great strides in less time than you think.

Stop telling yourself that eating fast food is your only option or that it’s cheaper to do so. With proper planning, eating healthy doesn’t have to cost a fortune and it can be even easier! Your body will thank you for doing it, too!

It’s up to you to change your mindset and believe that you can do these things. Once you do, anything is possible and change will be inevitable.

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October 5, 2012 · 7:40 PM

{Fitness Friday}

It’s Fitness Friday again! I know I missed last week and kinda dropped off the grid for awhile (I do that…I know. I try not to but life just kinda happens..sorry) but I’m still doing P90X and as a matter of fact, just completed the 3rd week of Phase 2, which means next week is my rest week!

The hubs and my schedule got a little wonky this week, so we ended up doing Back and Biceps last night instead of Wednesday. As a result, I can’t do Legs and Back tonight because my back needs the day of rest. The hubs birthday is tomorrow so pushing Legs and Back back a day won’t work either. To remedy this, I decided to do a lower body workout I found on the web to see how I liked it. Here is the workout I followed:

Move 1:  Squats (15 – 25 reps depending on fitness level. Add weights if you would like for extra resistance)

Stand with feet hip-width apart, feet facing forward, arms by your sides. Sit back and lower down slowly, as if you were sitting into a chair. Keep your back straight and lower yourself as far as you can. Keep your eyes looking ahead. Immediately rise out of the squat and return to standing.

Move 2:  Forward Lunges (10 – 20 reps on each side, depending on fitness level. Add weights if you would like for extra resistance)

Stand with feet hip-width apart. Step a wide step forward with your right foot, and bend both knees as far as you can without losing your balance until your right thigh is parallel to the floor and your left thigh is straight up and down. Your back foot will be flexed. Press off your front foot and step back into starting position. If you can’t go all the way to parallel, start by going partway down. If you need to, stabilize yourself with your hands on your hips, or a stable object.

Move 3:  Plie Jumps (15 – 25 reps, depending on fitness level)

Stand with feet wide apart, with your feet turned out, and hands on hips. Stand tall with abs in. As you squat, press knees wide over your feet. You should feel a stretch along your inner thighs. In one explosive movement, push from your feet to straighten your legs and hop into the jump off the floor. As your feet come back to the floor, try to land softly, absorbing the landing from toes through heels.

Move 4: Fire Hydrants (10 – 20 reps on each side, depending on fitness level)

Start on all fours, knees directly under your hips, and hands directly below your shoulders. Keep your back and neck straight and look forward. Keeping your knee bent, raise your right leg out to the side, until your thigh is parallel to the floor. Keep your pelvis stable. Slowly lower your leg back to starting position. (You’ll feel this in your shoulders and core, too.)

Move 5: Quadruped (10 – 20 reps on each side, depending on fitness level)

Start on all fours, knees directly under your hips, and hands directly below your shoulders. Keeping your right knee bent to 90 degrees, lift right leg until thigh is parallel to floor. Your foot should be flexed. Pump the sole of your foot toward ceiling in a small movement. (You’ll feel this in your shoulders and core, too.)

Move 6: Bridge Lift (10 – 20 reps, depending on fitness level)

Lie on your back on a mat, knees bent, feet flat on the floor near your buttocks. Place your arms along your sides with palms flat on floor. Contract your abdominal muscles and slowly lift your hips off floor so that your body forms a straight line from knees to shoulders. Squeeze your glutes tight, as you press your hips toward the ceiling. Hold for a second, then lower slowly back down to the floor.

Move 7: Clams(10 -20 reps on each side, depending on fitness level)

Lie on your side on mat with your hips and shoulders in a straight line, head lying on your outstretched arm. Bend your knees so that your thighs are at a 90-degree angle to your body. Stack your hips, shoulders, and knees directly on top of each other. Use your core muscles to hold this alignment as you do the exercise.

Keeping your big toes touching, open your top leg up like a clam shell opening. Press your knee open only as far as it can go without disturbing the alignment of your hips. Slowly return your knee back down. Repeat. You should begin to feel a burn in your upper hip muscle.

I repeated the circuit 3 times and was very happy with the muscle burn I felt. I achieved a nice jello feeling in my legs from this and I will definitely keep this in the rotation. As many of you know, I become bored quickly with workouts and often look for the quickest, yet effective ones to do.

Nutrition has been going pretty well for me too. I had a few slip ups here and there but that’s life and I no longer beat myself up over stuff like that the way I used to. I have a few recipes that I tried and plan on sharing soon!

What have you been doing to get fit and healthy? Do you have any workouts or recipes to share? I’d love to hear about them if you do.

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October 3, 2012 · 7:25 AM

Love The Journey

Three years ago, I had a goal to lose weight. That was it. I set up small goals to reach, always thinking that one day, I would reach my goal and finish. Little did I know back then, that this becomes a way of life.

No wonder I had failed so many times before.

There is no finish line when you truly embrace a healthy lifestyle. The key is to enjoy what you are doing to become healthy. If you don’t enjoy it, you won’t do it.

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