Time to recap the exercise schedule for this past week...
Mon. 2/8
Dee did about an hour of her elliptical/treadmill combo. I was consumed with producerial duties for the upcoming community theatre production. :)
Wed. 2/10
Dee & I both took the 45 minute Basic Step class at the fitness center.
Thu. 2/11
I did 30 minutes on the treadmill, then gave it up so Dee could finish her set of about 45 minutes between the elliptical and treadmill, as there were no other machines free.
Woo hoo!
--Jay :)
Friday, February 12, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Recipe: Crab & Corn Chowder
Our first experiment with soup, using imitation crab meat, which Dee grew up on. Remember, you can click this keyword "recipes" to see all our recipe posts at once.
Crab & Corn Chowder
~ Makes 6 nice, large servings
Ingredients:
6 cups fat-free chicken broth
2 cans (15.5 oz each) Great Northern beans, or other white bean
24 oz. imitation crab meat
16 oz. frozen corn
2 green onions
1 Tbsp. Old Bay seasoning (we used Old Bay Blackened seasoning)
1) Chop crab meat and green onions.
2) Combine all ingredients in large pot.
3) Simmer on medium-high for about 30 minutes, to a consistency you like. I also tried smashing some of the beans to thicken the broth. (Ah, if only I had a stick blender...)
Chow time! This recipe would lend well to shrimp, and other vegetation of course, so we'll be having some fun with this bad boy. :) If the portions are too large, divide into 8 servings (or cut the entire recipe in half, and divide into 4 servings, same difference).
Nutrition Facts (per serving):
Calories: 370
Fat: 2 grams
Fiber: 8 grams
Protein: 21 grams
Sodium: 1570 mg (this is a little high for my tastes... the chicken broth was already lower sodium, but I'm sure using fresh beans or frozen beans could make a difference, and using a fresh seafood like real crab meat would help as well)
Rock!
--Jay
Crab & Corn Chowder
~ Makes 6 nice, large servings
Ingredients:
6 cups fat-free chicken broth
2 cans (15.5 oz each) Great Northern beans, or other white bean
24 oz. imitation crab meat
16 oz. frozen corn
2 green onions
1 Tbsp. Old Bay seasoning (we used Old Bay Blackened seasoning)
1) Chop crab meat and green onions.
2) Combine all ingredients in large pot.
3) Simmer on medium-high for about 30 minutes, to a consistency you like. I also tried smashing some of the beans to thicken the broth. (Ah, if only I had a stick blender...)
Chow time! This recipe would lend well to shrimp, and other vegetation of course, so we'll be having some fun with this bad boy. :) If the portions are too large, divide into 8 servings (or cut the entire recipe in half, and divide into 4 servings, same difference).
Nutrition Facts (per serving):
Calories: 370
Fat: 2 grams
Fiber: 8 grams
Protein: 21 grams
Sodium: 1570 mg (this is a little high for my tastes... the chicken broth was already lower sodium, but I'm sure using fresh beans or frozen beans could make a difference, and using a fresh seafood like real crab meat would help as well)
Rock!
--Jay
Weigh In Week 5
Well, we think Dee has started building some muscle, and due to some other extenuating circumstances, the scale numbers are iffy for the week. However, we're both having great luck with the better fit of our clothing, which is awesome! Anyway, here it be:
Weigh-In Week Five:
Jay: 360.0 (-1.5 for the week [-11.5 overall])
Dee: 227.0 (+0.5 for the week [-4.5 overall])
We've already done about 20 minutes of Core Rhythms to kick off our day! Time for some soup experimentation and the big game this evening.
Woo!
--Jay
Weigh-In Week Five:
Jay: 360.0 (-1.5 for the week [-11.5 overall])
Dee: 227.0 (+0.5 for the week [-4.5 overall])
We've already done about 20 minutes of Core Rhythms to kick off our day! Time for some soup experimentation and the big game this evening.
Woo!
--Jay
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Hard-Core Rhythms
Dee has been a dancing fool today! :) She did about 30 minutes of her Core Rhythms latin dance exercise DVD program, which is a great aerobic way to have some fun. We've also done well at spacing out our eating lately, trying to work back into several smaller meals, rather than just three normal meals. We're both definitely noticing that our clothes are fitting much better than they did a mere month ago, and even though the scales may not always show it, we are making good progress. :)
Tomorrow, after weigh in of course, I'm going to be experimenting with making a healthy seafood stew for us to enjoy during the big game.
Should be fun!
--Jay
Tomorrow, after weigh in of course, I'm going to be experimenting with making a healthy seafood stew for us to enjoy during the big game.
Should be fun!
--Jay
Recipe: Sweet Potato Fries
All right, so I think we've perfected this one about as much as we're going to... Time to make the first official "recipe" post of the blog. :) I'm planning to have all the recipes linked from the main page, and searchable for keyword "recipes" so they're easy to find all at once.
Sweet Potato Fries
~ Serves 2 people
Ingredients:
2 medium sweet potatoes, washed with skin left on
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. oil (we use canola)
1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2) Cut sweet potatoes into 1/4 inch rounds, discarding the ends of the potatoes. Cut the rounds in half to make semi-circles.
3) Toss sweet potatoes in a bowl with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and oil, coating all pieces evenly.
4) Spray a sheet pan with cooking spray or oil, and place sweet potatoes in a single layer, leaving a little room between pieces.
5) Bake 25 minutes on the first side, flip all fries, and bake 10-15 more minutes on second side to a dark golden brown on both sides. I've also found it helps to move the fries around the edge into the middle and vice versa, as the outside of the pan seems to cook faster than the center.
Time to eat! These times work perfectly for our oven, but you may want to play with the timing the first time to make sure nothing's getting OVERdone... Also, we use a lower sodium salt, so play with that to your tastes as well. And of course, this recipe lends itself SO well to trying out different spice combinations, so... have fun and explore!
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
Calories: 250 (for about a 9 oz. sweet potato, plus oil)
Fat: 6 grams (less than 1/2 gram of that is saturated)
Fiber: 7.5 grams
Protein: 4 grams
Enjoy!
--Jay :)
Sweet Potato Fries
~ Serves 2 people
Ingredients:
2 medium sweet potatoes, washed with skin left on
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. oil (we use canola)
1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2) Cut sweet potatoes into 1/4 inch rounds, discarding the ends of the potatoes. Cut the rounds in half to make semi-circles.
3) Toss sweet potatoes in a bowl with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and oil, coating all pieces evenly.
4) Spray a sheet pan with cooking spray or oil, and place sweet potatoes in a single layer, leaving a little room between pieces.
5) Bake 25 minutes on the first side, flip all fries, and bake 10-15 more minutes on second side to a dark golden brown on both sides. I've also found it helps to move the fries around the edge into the middle and vice versa, as the outside of the pan seems to cook faster than the center.
Time to eat! These times work perfectly for our oven, but you may want to play with the timing the first time to make sure nothing's getting OVERdone... Also, we use a lower sodium salt, so play with that to your tastes as well. And of course, this recipe lends itself SO well to trying out different spice combinations, so... have fun and explore!
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
Calories: 250 (for about a 9 oz. sweet potato, plus oil)
Fat: 6 grams (less than 1/2 gram of that is saturated)
Fiber: 7.5 grams
Protein: 4 grams
Enjoy!
--Jay :)
Friday, February 5, 2010
Get Up, Come On, Get Down With The Swiftness...
Gazelle moved. Dee worked it. Woo hoo! She did 39 minutes on the Gazelle while I danced around and played some Guitar Hero, ha ha. (And I know the title of this blog post was a bad joke combining a song (which is actually on Rock Band 2 rather than Guitar Hero, I believe) with a gazelle characteristic... get it... gazelle... swift... all righty then...)
Food for the day has been pretty standard, but we are going to rock some air-popped popcorn tonight while watching a flick. I've been digging into the more interesting flavors of frozen healthy meals the last couple of nights, leaning toward the spicy Asian flavors, and that's been a really nice change of pace.
Get down!
--Jay
Food for the day has been pretty standard, but we are going to rock some air-popped popcorn tonight while watching a flick. I've been digging into the more interesting flavors of frozen healthy meals the last couple of nights, leaning toward the spicy Asian flavors, and that's been a really nice change of pace.
Get down!
--Jay
Step By Step Aerobics
The exercise train rolls on... Dee and I hit up another exercise class at the fitness center yesterday afternoon, this time a step aerobics class with some light weight training. The class was about 45 minutes, and although I thought I might die at the beginning, it got better and we both felt invigorated after.
Of course, for dinner, we had the awesome sweet potato fries again, along with our healthy frozen meals and some "California blend" broccoli, cauliflower and carrot mix.
Today, we plan on moving the Gazelle exercise machine back into the den. That way, we can actually exercise while watching TV and whatnot.
Sweetness!
--Jay
Of course, for dinner, we had the awesome sweet potato fries again, along with our healthy frozen meals and some "California blend" broccoli, cauliflower and carrot mix.
Today, we plan on moving the Gazelle exercise machine back into the den. That way, we can actually exercise while watching TV and whatnot.
Sweetness!
--Jay
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Welcome to the Sweet Potato Fry Blog... :)
How do I love Sweet Potato Fries; let me count the ways...
Okay, so we're totally not burnt out on the awesomeness of Sweet Potato Fries, and tonight's batch was the best yet! (Okay, so I think I've only made them four times, but still...) I left them in the oven longer on the second side, and got them nice and toasty... tender inside... mmmm...
Here they sit, next to one of my favorite vegetables of all time...
Why are so many people Brussels-sprouts-haters? I guess I can see they've got a unique taste... a little cabbage-y. If they're not cooked enough, their raw taste isn't very pleasant. But I love these things, AND they're great for you, so... bonus! :)
We hit the gym again today... Dee did 35 minutes on the elliptical, and about 20 on the treadmill, burning approximately 590 calories, according to the electronic brains. I... sat. :) I decided to be there for moral support, but I had a little too much work to do for our theatre group, so I rocked the laptop across the room while Dee worked out. :)
I'll try to limit the number of Sweet Potato Fry photos from now on... Once we clear off some of these leftover Nutrisystem lunches and frozen entrees, we'll start cooking more and have more to show off. :)
Sweetness!
--Jay
Okay, so we're totally not burnt out on the awesomeness of Sweet Potato Fries, and tonight's batch was the best yet! (Okay, so I think I've only made them four times, but still...) I left them in the oven longer on the second side, and got them nice and toasty... tender inside... mmmm...
Here they sit, next to one of my favorite vegetables of all time...
Why are so many people Brussels-sprouts-haters? I guess I can see they've got a unique taste... a little cabbage-y. If they're not cooked enough, their raw taste isn't very pleasant. But I love these things, AND they're great for you, so... bonus! :)
We hit the gym again today... Dee did 35 minutes on the elliptical, and about 20 on the treadmill, burning approximately 590 calories, according to the electronic brains. I... sat. :) I decided to be there for moral support, but I had a little too much work to do for our theatre group, so I rocked the laptop across the room while Dee worked out. :)
I'll try to limit the number of Sweet Potato Fry photos from now on... Once we clear off some of these leftover Nutrisystem lunches and frozen entrees, we'll start cooking more and have more to show off. :)
Sweetness!
--Jay
Monday, February 1, 2010
Enter: Exercise?!?
Yes, the punishment phase has begun... Actually... it wasn't that bad. :)
Dee and I had begun going to the fitness center to use the elliptical & treadmill a couple of times a week for a few weeks back at the end of last year. But that didn't last.
Today, we decided to partake in an organized exercise class... aerobics with light weight training. The class was about 50 minutes, and it was actually really fun. We both felt really good afterward! We're shooting to incorporate exercise at least three times a week now... probably twice at the fitness center, and one time at home. We have a Gazelle (thank you Tony Little... "you can DO it!!!") and a Core Rhythms dance fitness DVD system.
Dinner was a nice creation from our eDiets days called Tuna Pasta Salad. Normally done with rotini, we had to sub angel hair, as it was the only pasta in our cabinet. :) Throw on a can of tuna drained of its water, some fat-free Italian dressing, some spices, little spinach on the side... yum!
So... exercise count for the day: 50 minutes, aerobics & light weights.
Woo!
--Jay
Dee and I had begun going to the fitness center to use the elliptical & treadmill a couple of times a week for a few weeks back at the end of last year. But that didn't last.
Today, we decided to partake in an organized exercise class... aerobics with light weight training. The class was about 50 minutes, and it was actually really fun. We both felt really good afterward! We're shooting to incorporate exercise at least three times a week now... probably twice at the fitness center, and one time at home. We have a Gazelle (thank you Tony Little... "you can DO it!!!") and a Core Rhythms dance fitness DVD system.
Dinner was a nice creation from our eDiets days called Tuna Pasta Salad. Normally done with rotini, we had to sub angel hair, as it was the only pasta in our cabinet. :) Throw on a can of tuna drained of its water, some fat-free Italian dressing, some spices, little spinach on the side... yum!
So... exercise count for the day: 50 minutes, aerobics & light weights.
Woo!
--Jay
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