Great finds!

I always get excited when I find a deal! I was making my "power balls" and the recipe called for Almond Butter, of which I  had none left.  So I went to Le Super Store (trying to make it sounds fancy) and I noticed their Blue menu brand "Just Peanuts" it was a bigger jar than "Adams Natural" and the Almond butter brand as well. So I flipped to see the label and nutritional values, I  was actually surprised that everything was the same except for the peanut butter had 120mg (maybe a bit less) more sodium per serving than the almond butter.  I know almonds are a healthier choice but for cooking/baking and using large amounts, I will go for the better deal.

Here is the Almond milk I use for everything...it's the PC brand Organics, vanilla and unsweetened.  One cup has 45cal. and 440mg of Potassium! Your muscles love that, especially after a hard work out, helps to repair them.  Only 3 g of fat and no sugar.

And the PC brand Greek yogurt, I love this! 0% milk fat.  In 3/4 cup serving which I find a bit much, because the yogurt is so thick and a bit "tart".  It has 120cal. no fat, 2g sugar and 18g protein!  That is awesomER!

So check these out and let me know what you think, if you have any "great finds" pass it on to me!

Now, for the big news, going Paleo in April, will post my food diary, belly picture, ect...follow me on my journey!

WW Spaghetti w.Creamy Spinach Sauce

 OK got this recipe from my Mom, she made it and said it was awesome...now that I just had my second plate, I'd have to agree! So here it is, Weight Watchers Spaghetti w. Creamy Spinach Sauce.  I did add a couple extra things, like shrimp to up the protein value and at the end some sun dried tomatoes.

 A couple of simple ingredients...8 cups fresh spinach, 8oz. uncooked spaghetti (1/2 box), 1 small onion, 2 1/2 tsp minced garlic and 1 1/4 cup fat-free ricotta cheese. 

 Get water boiling with a pinch of salt for the pasta.  Use a large skillet on med-high heat, add fresh spinach w.1/4 cup water to help steam the spinach down.  So when you measure out the spinach it seems like allot, but within minutes it shrinks down...I could of added more! Be sure to toss it often...this is not the time to go multi-task, like vacuum the house or fold laundry! 

See, not much left!  Remove and drain spinach, let cool.

   

Use a little olive oil, sauté onions and 2 1/2 tsp garlic for about 6-8mins...IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO GARLIC, skip it or use very little...now that I  have eaten, I'm VERY AWARE I just had garlic...just took one of my ant-acid pills...let ya know in an hour...

 Just before onions are done, I added some cooked shrimp for extra protein!  By this time your pasta should be done, drain and cool.

Add fat-free ricotta cheese, cooked spinach and mix together and then in a really big bowl, toss all of it together.  Last minute, I decided to add some sun-dried tomatoes, about 2 tblsp...don't go too crazy here, taste as you go!

Voilà! YUMMY!!  This has a WW value of 4 points, they say your serving size is 1 3/4 cups...that seems like allot.  I'd do half of that and a big salad.  The great thing about this recipe is, that you could add more vegetables or to really cut calories and not taste, roast or sauté your favourite veggie mix and add this as the sauce.  I don't have the calorie break down yet...I will get it and add later, enjoy!

Quench your thirst!

So I was having one of my regular "pow-wow" chit chats, with my sister-law Lara, about food and working out.  We like to bounce recipe and exercise ideas off one another.  We were talking about drinking enough water and how some days you drink allot and some days you forget, or just consume large amounts of Tim Horton's coffee.  Lara was very excited when Timmy's announced their new X-XLarge coffee cup size.  She is a fan of a jug of water in the fridge with lemons, I as of late need something more.  So tonight as I was making my tea, so that I wouldn't raid the cupboards in an hour.  I thought, "what about iced tea" I have the Liptons brand Island Mango and Peach.  Brewed the hot water, poured in the jug with one tea bag, and added some orange slices.  Will let it sit over night and see how it tastes in the morning.  I only added one tea bag as I only want a bit of flavour.

One other idea, Walmart has mangos on sale right now, going to go there today, load up, and freeze some.  A low calorie late night snack would be the iced tea blended up with a couple chuncks of frozen mango, mmmmm, can't wait!  Note: I left the tea bag in over night, thinking that the tea wouldn't be that strong in such a big jug, wrong.  I just wanted a hint of flavour, so next time, maybe just let it steep for 5 mins. and that's it.  Going to try the Black Berry Vanilla tea next!

Outdoor work outs!

I love it when the sun shines, makes me want to get outside and enjoy the fresh air for a work out...these 2 on the other hand, were not so excited. They had some "choice words" that I will save for THEIR future "shirts" and cannot be repeated!

 Nothing like running 73 stairs with your trainer on your tail to get the old heart rate up!

 Then to awaken your senses and quads, I like to add 15 JUMP SQUATS!

 Now to give you a bit of a rest, 20 walking DEEP lunges!

And the cherry on top or as Jaimie likes it, on her 6 layer icing cake, with chocolate shavings on top... a SPRINT run to the end and back.  Sunny recommends to be cautious when you take off for your run.  Your mind may be somewhat willing, but your legs will feel like wet noodles and a face plant is real possibility!

Here's the work out:

All you need is a set of stairs, at least 50 or more steps and a flat area at the top.  For this work out we are at Look Out Lake Park in Colwood.

1) Sprint up stairs

2) 15 jump squats, deep squats so that finger tips hit the ground and jump up with hands over head...yes I said JUMP.

3) 20 walking lunges or 10 per side.  DEEP lunges, knee almost taps ground.

4) 100m sprint or more.  I said RUN, not jog!

5) 1 minute rest in between sets. Walk down stairs for safety, your noodle legs will thank you.

6) 4 rounds...5 if your at rock star! 

NOTE: do a 10min. warm up, we did a 10min. jog up to the park, then did some lunges, squats and push ups for ROM.  DO THE WARM UP, decreases muscle soreness at the end.  We walked home and stretched for a cool down. ENJOY!

Rock'n the Box Jump!

 It was a beautiful day in the neighbourhood to be outside doing Box Jumps!

 Angela and Alison rocked out for 1 minute rounds!

 Then it started looking too easy for them...

 So I added a Burpee in there...just because!

After 3 rounds, Alison is DONE!  Angela sneaks one more in!

For their last round in between exercises, I added a run.  We are now going to start adding runs into the work outs after some of the exercises.  This will push your endurance and get the legs and your mind, use to working under fatigue.  For your first round with the run added, the legs feel like spaghetti, but the body adapts quickly, and you will see your over all strength improve.  Try not to fall on your face, other than that, let's have some fun!

Pasta sauce, cream cheese please!

OK so I'm cruising the pasta sauce aisle at SuperStore, same old same jars of sauce and no matter how much spice I add to it, it just seems bland to me.  I give up and head over to the dairy section and see the Philadelphia Cream Cheese pasta sauce, hmmm, I thought "the commercial looked good and everyone was smiling in it!" lol lol So I grab the "herb and garlic" tub and I decide to make Mel's pasta surprise.  I have to say I did pretty good, considering I made a whole pan and there was 1 bowl left over...or everyone was just being polite and really hungry, either way here it is!

I baked some lean/skin removed chicken thighs(Blue Menu@Superstore) with some spices and onions for 35mins.  Boiled the pasta and cut up the veggies, broccoli and peppers.  Mix the whole tub of Philly crm cheese, with the whole box of pasta noodles, drained and added canned mushrooms, tomatoes(diced, seasoned w.onion & celery already), fresh spinach and peppers.  Mixed it all up, poured into large baking pan.  Added cooked-cut up chicken, and fresh broccoli on top, covered with foil and baked for 30mins.(to soften brocoli).

This rocked...why, because the Philly tub cost $3.80 or less, it was enough sauce for an entire box of pasta, which is what I need to feed my family, it has only 110 calories per 1/4 cup and considering I used a box of pasta, the calories are spread out!  And it actually tasted great...you could taste the herbs!  One request by the kids was to add the Red Barn, double smoke Hickory bacon!...that bacon deserves one whole page to itself, not even going to go in that super, yummy, best bacon ever, direction!

Adventures with the Donut!

 Well were about to start a new chapter called Mel s Boot Camp!  Last night was the first class, we had 10 people here, 5 Newbees.  It was great to see the energy and effort everyone put into their work out last night!  I unleashed the "Donut" for the official tire flipping...anything to make a class fun!  Here's the transformation...

 

 First, you need an imagination, so if you don't have one, stop reading now! Here I prepare the tire into the donut...

 Then what would a Donut be without pink sprinkles and white icing!

There you have, a Donut is born!  

I'm excited for April, hopefully the sun will come out a little more, the snow will go away til next year and we can do more "field trips" like the beach with the class!

Winners are?

         Congratulations to everyone, YOU ROCK!

A little "wrap up" party to celebrate and commiserate our war stories!

The winnners were, on the left, Bev in 2nd place lost 8.4lbs, Sally, middle,lost 17.2lbs and Trellia, on the right, lost 7.4lbs.  And me with my "Master Chief" shirt!

 We got some pampering done from the ladies at Loose N'z Hair Salon!  Sherry did our nails, Trellia above getting a fancy polish and my finger below has the "cracked" look.  Sherry is offering a $5 discount to all the contestants!

 Vicki was there to take the stress out of our day and last work out! with a foot massage.  As you can see Sunny was digging it, looking pretty cosy there!

 And I think Tammy was there for the night!

Cindy was there with her Arbonne products for hand scrubs and making us glamorous with all the make up.

And as you can see, barely enough energy from the last work out of the contest, to strike a pose!

Everyone was amazing!  I'm so lucky to have had such a great group of woman willing to push themselves and follow through right to the end!  Enjoy the weekend get some rest, come do some drop in classes during Spring Break, bring a friend, it's free for them.  If your friends sign up for April, you get your pass for half price!  I'm so excited for April because I have so many awesome ideas and fun things to do with Mel s Boot Camp classes.  Hope to see you all there!

Day 58...Discipline=Results

I love this,why... cause DISCIPLINE=RESULTS.  What you put into it, is EXACTLY what you get out of it!  This goes the same for our Resolution Contest.  There SHOULD be no surprises when each of you step on that scale tomorrow.  If you were on it and eating clean and doing your work outs, then you will get results.  If you were "not so clean" with your eating, well don't expect much from the numbers on the scale.  You can't just eat clean for a week here and there, you have to be CONSISTENT.  It's the only way to shift your bad habits to good ones.  Don't save the weekends for over indulgence.  A small cheat MEAL here and there is OK, I did say meal, not an entire day.  I always preach this, be organize with your meals and work out schedules.  Put as much importance on it as you would your work or kids schedules.  If you set it as a priority, it will become a priority...you just have to make that choice!

Day 57...Snack time!

Chocolate Drizzled Popcorn Recipe

(serves 2)

1/4 cup popcorn kernels
1 ounce dark chocolate
coarse salt (optional)

Using a microwave or air popper - make your popcorn without using any oil. Spread popcorn on rimmed baking sheet. Heat chocolate in microwave for 10 second intervals until melted. Be careful because chocolate burns easily.

Drizzle chocolate over popcorn and shake some salt on it. If you are in a hurry put it in the fridge for 5 minutes and the chocolate will harden. Enjoy!

For one serving = 122 calories, 4.7 g fat, 17.8 g carbohydrates, 2.5 g protein, 2.3 g fiber, 12 mg sodium, 3 PointsPlus

OK so I got this recipe from www.snackgirl.com, check her out, she has allot of great recipes on her site, with the busy Mom in mind.  I think I will have to make some of this yumminess for the wrap party!

We have 3 days left, so stay strong, eat clean, get yourself organized with snacks and meals, and get your work outs in!

Day 54...Tire Flipping Fun!

OK so I realize that less than 1% of the population would get excited to see a picture like this!  Myself, on the other hand...when I saw this picture, I thought, WOW look at all those used tires, wouldn't it be great to just be able to go get whatever size/weight you wanted...like a grocery store for tires!!! (I know your thinking, uh ya Mel, it's called a tire shop...don't kill my dream!)  As you can see there are many different sizes and weights to tires, were using one that is about 200lbs give or take.  The above picture, the tire being flipped is probably over 300+lbs. at least!

And for this tire, we need at least another week of training to flip that sucker, lol, lol!

 

I love this quote...might have to put in on a shirt!  I also, would love to have this chick's butt and arms.  So, if tire flipping can get my butt to look like this, "let's do it!" I think this quote sums up what my workouts are all about.  Each work out pushes you physically, mentally and the toughest of them all, emotionally.  But at the end, when all is said and done, you can't deny how amazing you feel!  So when you tell people the type of work out you do and they look at you strange, shrug it off, cause until they try it, they can keep their opinion to them self! Have a great weekend!

Day 50...I don't want to hear YOUR excuses!

I will not give into YOUR excuses.  My job as YOUR trainer is to help you get through the tough times and not let you fall off your path.  Don't look to me for sympathy, your talking to the wrong person, if you think that I would entertain the idea of you slacking off, and say, "Oh that's OK", your soooo wrong...look at my shirt above!  What I expect from you is, ideas on how you CAN make time for work out so that you can de stress, get re-energized and feel amazing! That's all I have to say about THAT!

Day 46...Pop chips!

OK Barb, is over for some of you, the other half take her on today!  I don't know about you, but after Barb kicked my butt, and I had a nap, all I wanted to do yesterday, is eat!  My metabolism was racing.  I had to do a coffee run last night cause we were out and it took all my will power NOT to throw crap into my cart.  This is how hungry I was...I walked up to the frozen food ales and started to drew al over the "Hungry Man" rib and mashed potato dinner!  Well the picture looked good, I grab the box which was surprisingly light and thin...I thought how could this feed a "Hungry Mel" it's soooo small.  Then I read the label, smacked myself in the head and put it back.  I grabbed the "Pop chips" instead, heard allot about these.   So the first one was tasty, and the 2nd, but the third, I became aware of the texture, it was kind of weird.  Not like a potato chip at all.  And then you got that after taste on the roof of your mouth...oh ya, that's all the chemicals and preservatives that make it taste like sour cream and onion!  So save yourself the $3 bucks and pass.  If you want a real potato chip, have one, if your like me, who can't just eat one or two, don't even bother then.  Just have a glass of water instead!! lol lol