Living a life fueled by good eats and extreme fitness.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Yummy NEW Dinner Idea!!!

As you can tell from the new abundance of posts I have been able to commit to, life without a job is a lonely and dull one at that. I know one will come eventually, hopefully my dream job that I have been anxiously awaiting, but in the meantime, I've been racking my brain for some new, creative dinner ideas.  I want Mike to come home to something warm from the oven, (or at least be able to reheat in the toaster oven :).

My new favorite thing right now, are the Sweet Potato Puffs from the Alexia Frozen Food line. They are absolutely awesome! Just like real tater tots but better because they are SWEET POTATO, and you can bake them right from the freezer in only 15 minutes. Crunchy, sweet, slightly salty...okay I'll stop writing a TV advertisement for them and just explain the recipe I came up with.
Sometimes they are hard to find, but keep looking...they are out there.
When Mike and I first starting scoping out the grocery stores in Dallas, we had a very hard time finding a place that carried the sweet puffs, but luckily, (phew) we found some.

My first thought was to make some sort of casserole, incorporating veggies and the rotisserie chicken I recently bought. However, I was also in the mood for some sort of eggy frittata, so why not incorporate both? 
All the ingredients for this awesome dish, plus my gummy vita-bears in the background.

Sweet Potato Puff Casserole

  • 9x9 non stick pan
  • 30-35 Alexia Sweet Potato Puffs (slice them in half while frozen)
  • 1 1/2 cups Egg Whites 
  • 1 Plain Chobani Greek yogurt
  • 4 slices Oscar Meyer Turkey Bacon (nuke it for 3 minutes to crisp up)
  • Handful of Matchstick Carrots (just throw em in there, can't hurt and they are veggies :)
  • 1/4 cup skim shredded Mozzarella Cheese
  • However much Rotisserie Chicken you want to eat
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Grab a medium bowl, combine egg whites, and Chobani and whisk together till frothy. Add the carrots, chicken, and any blend of seasonings you want. Tonight I used dried mustard, cumin, seasoning salt, chili powder, and ginger. About a teaspoon of each, give or take. Pour egg mixture into pan, sprinkle cheese on top of the egg mixture. Crumble turkey bacon to you liking and arrange on top of cheese. Lay the Puff halves with the flat side down until you cover the entire dish and spray the top with a couple mists of olive oil spray. Pop in the over for about 35-40 min and enjoy!!!
Holy YUUUMM!

I was super stoked it came out, and tasted great!
I know I'm happy!
So is Monkey because he snuck a piece of chicken when I wasn't looking :( rotten kitty. Now I'm off to catch up on some intellectually, thought provoking, reality TV that is BRAVO! Oh, and you know I have some fro-yo waiting for me later :)




Monday, July 18, 2011

I will learn this dance and it will be awesome...


I already do my own version in my car, but it mainly involves flailing my arms around like an insane person. That's okay though, this by far is my favorite song to work out to right now. GOAL: find lots of willing people in Dallas, learn this dance, perform huge flash mob at mall... :) Off to "Shake that"

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Texas Love


Well, we have done it. Mike and I have successfully moved ourselves, our lives, and our kitty Monkey from Tallahassee, Florida, all the way to the wonderful Dallas, Texas...Farmer's Branch that is! Monkey has taken to the move especially well, could be from all the Prozac we have him on, but I like to think on the optimistic side and say it's him liking his new change of scenery and state instead.
Super Kitty!!!! Checking out the poolside crowd.
Since we have been here, I feel like a whirlwind of things have happened. Mike has started his new job, which he loves; we have taken in a Ranger Baseball game, (since the last time we were supposed to go, I got sick and wound up in the hospital instead); and we have found ourselves a gym, ladies and gentlemen!!! 

Rangers VS Marlins (I'm going to lie and say the Rangers won, makes me happier :)
So far, finding a suitable gym for Mike and I to work out at, had been our biggest obstacle to overcome. Dallas has many Mega gyms such as Bally's, 24 Hour Fitness's, and Gold's; however, that's not what we are into. Creativity is the key people!!! We thought we had stumbled upon a great little find within the first week, but when we saw the monthly fee was not including any of the group classes we were going to want and take, we nixed it. If I am going to join a gym, group classes are half the reason I want to join in the first place, you meet the best people there. 

After a full week of sweating our butts off in the Dallas heat, (which is unlike any heat you have felt before, even living in Florida) we were getting a little tired of our outside multiple mile runs. Luckily, I had seen an Equinox Gym from the road one day, when we were driving to Mike's work and have heard nothing but wonderful things about this gym in the past. I begged Mike to consider trying this place out. 

The next day, we showed up and were given a wonderful tour of the awesome facilities, and types of classes they offered. Within an hour, both of us signed up and were eager to start training with this thing called a Viper. It is a hollow tube that weighs a good amount, and has handles to do all sorts of shifts, pushes, pulls, and exercises with. Our first class we took with it was great and super intense. 

So far, I have nothing but great things to say about Equinox. Nice people, clean facility, and interesting classes that challenge all fitness levels. I even met a wonderful trainer Kim, who I instantly clicked with, and we have become fast friends. She is an ambassador for my favorite company Lululemon Athletica, and you can definitely tell from her go hard, rock out, awesome personality why. She represents the lifestyle well!
Me, Uti, and Kim!! After an awesome Cardio Explosion class. 
Dallas has been wonderful and exciting, full of new adventures and decisions to be made every day. It is weird to think I have started what is, "the rest of my life," but I am taking everything day by day, piece by piece, and I know things are meant to happen for a reason, like opting for a Tread & Shed class, rather than a Barre Burn class the other day so I could meet Kim :) I'm just here to enjoy the ride...