Day: March 16, 2013

“Sunday” Things on a Saturday (Including a recipe!)

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Since I plan on participating in St. Patrick’s Day fun tomorrow (for anyone who knows me, day drinking on a Sunday is pretty much the biggest rarity around!), I wanted to make sure I had my “Sunday” things out of the way today.

This morning was my first weekend to teach Cardio Kickboxing at the Oak Square YMCA and boy was it fun! I had 39 people in class and it was awesome because the vast majority of the class was already super familiar with kickboxing. I think my format/style was a little new to them, but when we finished class and started to stretch, I asked what they thought and they gave me a round of applause. I don’t generally blush or get embarrassed, but that was the best thing they could have done and I totally blushed!

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Ashley was right… it was one heck of a sweaty class today. I went in with straight hair and left with curly hair. The mirror in front of me was speckled with sweat. You get the idea…

Post workout and shower (definitely necessary), my friend Jess and I met up at Flour for a business lunch. We have some fun plans in the works for Lovage and Burpees To Bubbly, so be on the lookout in the near future (especially to all the new moms who are reading!). I was a bad blogger and didn’t take pictures of us or our lunch, but I did take a picture of my post lunch treat

005Yup. You’re seeing that correctly. I LOVE the Shamrock Shakes at Mc Donalds. Granted, I only had a few bites/sips of this before I was all set with the minty flavor, but what I did have was delicious!

My sister and I spent the rest of the day running some errands and grocery shopping… woohoo for a super exciting Saturday afternoon (nothing like the type of fun our mom is having. She is currently out dancing in North Conway and we are home watching a movie. I can only hope to be as cool as she is when I grow up!).

My sister has recently introduced me to a fantastic blog, especially if you are really into cooking. Iowa Girl Eats– any of you heard of it? Apparently she posts recipes literally every day! I am so impressed.

Anyway, we were looking through her Spring-Ready Recipes prior to grocery shopping so we could figure out what we wanted to cook. I was pretty much drooling as I read through the recipes she had listed. EVERYTHING looked and sounded amazing, but as soon as I saw her recipe for BBQ Chicken Quinoa, I knew that’s what I was in the mood for eating.

I followed her recipe pretty much to a T, but I did 1/2 the recipe since my sister was making her Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Casserole and I knew I’d want to try some of that, so head on over to her blog for the recipe. Her photo’s are way better than mine, but here are some to keep you entertained for now 😉

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(You can’t beat these rotisserie chickens at Market Basket!)

 007After shredding the chicken, add BBQ sauce and mix together.

008The grocery store didn’t have any corn on the cob, but the canned corn ended up working out juuuust fine.

009Mix together Plain Greek Yogurt and BBQ sauce- this mixture was delicious, btw.

012Place some quinoa on a plate, add some corn and black beans, chicken & BBQ sauce mixture and the BBQ sauce and Greek Yogurt sauce. The flavors in this were on spot! I think next time I would add some type of green veggie, but other than that, I wouldn’t change anything. Definitely a very quick and easy meal to throw together… I can’t wait to use these ingredients in left over’s all week!

Questions for you: Do you do “Sunday” things? What’s your favorite recipe blog or website? I’m always looking for new ones!

Tips to Stay [Relatively] Healthy on St. Patrick’s Day

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Hey there! Can you believe that tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day? After seeing this delicious treat on my friend Meredith’s blog, I was immediately jealous that I hadn’t thought ahead to do anything creative! Oh well… Maybe I’ll add some green food coloring to my wine or something! For anyone who lives in the Boston area, I am guessing that 80% of you are planning on heading to Southie for the parade. I am embarrassed to say, that in my 5 years of living in the Boston area, I have YET to make it to Southie for their annual parade. Shame on me!

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I announced in class last night that we had to work extra hard since most of us would be partaking in some type of celebrations this weekend. At the end of class, I had a member come up to me and ask if I had any tips or suggestions for what to drink in order to be a little on the healthier side. It got me to thinking that some of you might find it helpful for me to post a couple of tips/suggestions to keep in mind when going into whatever festivity(ies) you may have lined up.

  • Stay Hydrated

We all know that we tend to get dehydrated when drinking alcohol, especially when we are drinking in excess (we forget to drink water when we are drinking since the alcohol makes us think we are not thirsty).  If you hydrate well BEFORE you drink, it will help keep you in better control that day and help lessen the hangover you might have the next day. Also, try to have a glass of water in between every drink… every little helps! I usually try to carry a water bottle with me as a helpful reminder.

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  • Pace Yourself

If you’re going to be drinking all day, you don’t need to pound 4 beers or a couple of glasses of wine in the first half hour you’re there! Try to space out your drinks to 1 drink an hour for the heavier stuff (hard liquor and wine) and maybe 1 beer every 30 mins or so. I have totally been guilty of getting to a party and drinking way too quickly to “catch up” and let me tell you, things never end as well as I want them to when that happens.

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  • Bring Snacks

I generally don’t “forget” to eat, but I’ll admit that when alcohol is involved, sometimes it does slip my mind for a bit (until I sober up a little and want to binge eat on late-night pizza). It’s a good idea to bring a couple of snacks with you to make sure you’re staying fueled and to try to soak up some of the alcohol;) My favorites are Luna bars, goldfish, animal crackers, etc.

gold fish Luna

 

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  • Avoid Sugary Drinks

As good as a big margarita or pina colada or other fruity mixed drink may taste, they are PACKED with calories.  Alcohol has enough calories as it is, so I try to avoid those drinks (I’ll always have a margarita at a Mexican restaurant, but limit it to just 1).  I usually stick to wine (I am a total wine-o and order wine even at the bar) or Sangria (you can make it so it’s not too sugary), Champagne or Prosecco (duhhh) or vodka and soda water with a lemon or lime.  These are the best ways I have found to drink, but leave out some of the calories. Personally, beer makes me full and feel gross, so I would rather drink more slowly and drink something that I enjoy. If you like a different type of booze, just make sure your mixers are low or zero calorie because drinking those calories is just silly!

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Have fun!

Even though I try to always be mindful of what I am putting into my body in terms of food and drinks, we all have to let loose and have fun every once in a while without beating ourselves up too much. I always tell myself that if I have an “off” day or get a little heavy-handed with my late night snacks, the next day will be a new day and after a workout and some clean eating, I will be all back to normal.  Afterall, the best hangover cure is a workout!! You may think I am crazy, but trust me on this one, it works! I do feel badly for others around me as I am sure they can probably smell the Chardonnay seeping out of my pores. Sorry;)

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Questions for you: What do you do to try to stay “healthy” when enjoying drinks and partying? What’s your best hangover cure?