Lemon Chive Broiled Tilapia with a Greek Yogurt, Lemon & Chive Sauce

May 15, 2013May 14, 201312 Comments

Hi there! Two posts in one day- you lucky ducks! I also realized it’s a little ironic that I posted a workout for you first, and then a healthy meal idea. Maybe you should try both, in that order 😉

Since I am not teaching Dynamax this session ( 😦 ), I now have Monday AND Tuesday nights off from teaching. I almost don’t know what to do with myself now that I have all this extra time! Luckily, I am very good at filling up an open schedule, so I certainly haven’t been bored yet. I had to work from home on Monday since we had plumbers coming (came back to the apartment on Sunday and realized we had no hot water- lovely), which was actually a really nice way to start the week. Saving the 1-1.5 hours in commuting is such a wonderful thing.

After I finished working, I went for a 40 minute run (4.62 miles- nothing too fast, but it felt good!) and then did about 30 minutes of strength and core when I got back to my apartment. I had gone to the grocery store during my lunch break to pick up 3 essentials for the dinner I had planned to make: fish, chives, Greek plain yogurt, so once I finished my workout and took a shower, I got right to work! This meal came together really quickly, so it is a perfect weeknight meal to make!

Lemon Chive Broiled Tilapia w/a Greek Yogurt, Lemon & Chive Sauce

Ingredients

Fresh Tilapia (or any fish of your choosing)- I got a small filet since it was just for me and I didn’t want a lot of leftovers- it was about .3 lbs.
1 lemon
Chives (side note: all weekend my dad kept reminding me to take some fresh chives from his garden, yet what was the one thing all 3 of us forgot to pack up for me? The stupid chives. It seriously pained me to have to pay $2 for a package of chives when I knew my dad had SO many for me!)
2% Greek Plain Yogurt (they didn’t have 0%, but the thickness of the 2% was actually great)- I used 1/4 cup
1/4-1/2 large onion
1 small summer squash (this was REALLY small, but perfect for my meal!)
1 box of Near East Quinoa Blend (mine was the Rosemary and Olive Oil)
Sea Salt
Pepper

Directions

1. Cook the quinoa according to the back of the package. While that is cooking, cut up your onions and summer squash and saute those in a pan. I used a little bit of EVOO, salt and pepper (no wine since I didn’t have any- the horrors!).

2. Prepare your fish: I rubbed a small amount of EVOO on the fish, sprinkled some sea salt and pepper, topped it with 3 lemon slices & a few squirts of lemon juice that I had in the fridge, and finally, about 1-1.5 tsp chopped chives. I placed it in the oven and broiled it until it was white and flakey (about 5-7 mins).

3. While the quinoa, veggies and fish are cooking, prepare your sauce. I used about 1/4 cup 2% Greek plain yogurt, juice from the remainder of the lemon that I took slices from for the fish, few shakes of salt & pepper, and about 1- 1.5 tsp chopped chives. I mixed it up well and let it sit.

4. When the fish is done, remove from the oven. Your veggies and quinoa should also be done, so add the veggies right into the quinoa and mix well.

5. Serve up some of both, top with sauce and enjoy! I also made a small side salad to go with this meal and it was perfect!

Mind you, this was my FIRST time cooking a fish meal other than something simple like shrimp, so I was pretty nervous about how it would turn out. No worries, though, I was pleasantly surprised with the flavor of the fish and how easy it is to cook! Normally, I get carried away in the kitchen and end up spending so much time on what I am making, but not on Monday night- I was finished before I knew it (maybe that is in part to not drinking wine while I was cooking… maybe that’s what drags out the process 😉 ). I can’t wait to use the leftover quinoa and veggie mixture to top my salads with… and maybe even use the “sauce” as my dressing?!

Don’t like fish? I think you could do the same thing, but use chicken instead! Obviously you’d have to bake the chicken and not broil it, but I think it would still be delicious!

Questions for you: Do you like fish? What is your favorite kind?

Wednesday Workout Time! Full Body Circuit Workout

May 15, 2013May 13, 20133 Comments

Hi! Wednesday’s are wonderful because once they are over, you know you are so much closer to the weekend!

Remember how I said how I taught some pretty tough workouts last week? I thought it would only be fair for me to share one with you, right?!

I taught this in my UXF class on Wednesday and it.was.awesome!

I liked this workout because it never got boring and even though there were some things I really dreaded (weighted burpees and weighted jump squats), there were lots of things I really liked (Lunge w/oblique twist and monkey sit with biceps curls), which made it go by really quickly! We got through 3 rounds, including a warm up and a few extra abs at the end. For the 3rd round, I did drop it down to 45 seconds instead of 60 to save some time.

For the weighted burpees, refer to the top two pictures above. Crab walk is bottom left and monkey sit with biceps curls is bottom right.

Couple of notes:

Weighted jump squats- you can either hold the weights by your sides and do small jumps, or you can just hold one weight with both hands and squat, touch it to the ground and when you jump up, push the weight up over your head to get that extra big reach. If jumping is too much, just squat with the weights!
Double Knee Strikes- this is a Dynamax move:) This YouTube video shows the first part, but instead of throwing the ball after the 2 single knee strikes, bring both knees into your chest, then start over!
Wide leg lifts- instead of holding your legs/feet/heels together when you lift and lower your legs, bring them into a wide V. This works your obliques more!

I think that about covers it! As always, let me know if you have more questions:)

Questions for you: Ever done any of these moves before? Do you prefer to lift heavier weights for a small amount of reps? Or light weights for lots of reps?

Maine & Family- The best way to re-charge the batteries!

May 14, 2013May 13, 201311 Comments

Hey there! How are you doing today? I wanted to pop in and recap my extended weekend in Maine!

Friday

After working from home all day, I had my dad drive me into town to meet up with my mom and her friends at the Back Street Grill. My mom and her friends have been going there on Friday’s after work for as long as I can remember, and I always love when I have a chance to join everyone! I mean, $3 wines… you cannot go wrong with that.

(and getting to snuggle sweet little Emma is one of my favorite things!! Look at those cheeks!)

After a couple of wines, lots of gabbing and lots of laughs, mom drove us home to have dinner with dad (and, more wine!).

Friday night=fish night for my dad (mom doesn’t eat fish, but I do so I was pumped about fish night!) and lucky for me, he let me share it with him:) I forget what kind we had (some type of trout?), but it was SO good. Paired up with a side of baked potato and broccoli and I was a happy camper!

Saturday

Since I was in bed embarrassingly early on Friday night, I was up and ready to head to the Y for a 9AM class. Although it wasn’t the instructor I was hoping it would be, it was still a great class and I really liked a lot of the moves that we did- especially this cool “skier” squat. Our heels were up on weights, toes pointed towards each other and we squeezed one of those small weighted balls between our knees. With our arms, we held very light weights and did a lat raise combo. Love!

Mom met me for the 10:15 Zumba class! I haven’t taken a Zumba class in MONTHS and MONTHS, but I was surprised with how I was still able to pick up very quickly on the steps and dances… must be that former dancer in me? Regardless, we had a blast!

After a well-deserved shower, mom and I went to get pedicures (as part of her mother’s day gift). Wow, was I was overdue for a pedi! Getting to sit there and relax for about an hour was really quite nice:)

Lunch at the Springvale Publick House with a beer tasting post pedi was even nicer 😉

I went to elementary school and high school with one of the co-owners of this restaurant and I have to say, he has got quite an impressive business going. The food is outstanding (and everything is made in house- salsa, dressings, fries, chili, etc.), the beer and wine selection is quite large and the prices are amazing! Every time I drive past and both times I have been there, it’s been really busy and that makes me so happy for them!

After lunch, mom and I did a little shopping and then I went to visit my old boss from my summer job of 7 years at Shaw’s Ridge Farm. The summers I worked there were some of my most favorite summers. By the end of my time there, I was running the place with the help of some very dear friends (Meredith recently moved to Australia and has her own blog- check it out!). To this day, the ice cream Mr. Shaw makes is still the best I have ever had!

All I wanted for dinner on Saturday night was BBQ on the grill. Thankfully, my dad is a grill master and loaded up the grill with all sorts of goodies!

Not long after dinner, I retreated up to my room for some quality time with my iPad to catch up on shows I missed last week (Nashville and Grey’s Anatomy). Mom came up to check on me and thought I looked “too cute” and that it would be a “great pic for the blog”. Someone offering to take my picture?! You don’t have to ask me twice!

(I was really comfy!)

I realize now that this post is getting quite lengthy, so I will save my Mother’s Day recap for later this week!

This past weekend was exactly what the Doctor ordered. I was in bed early every night, fed delicious food and drinks, able to get some workouts in and, most importantly, I was able to spend time with my parents! Any one else feel like you just need to “get out of dodge” sometimes? Meaning, escape the crazy, fast paced city life? Let me tell you, hearing the “peepers” and birds and seeing the stars was so refreshing! But now, it’s back to the grind. I was ready for it, though!

Questions for you: What was the best part of your weekend? Favorite thing you drank or ate? How often do you treat yourself to pedicures?

Weekly Workouts

May 13, 2013May 12, 20132 Comments

Good morning, Burpees to Bubbly readers! I had the most wonderful weekend at home up in Maine with my mom and dad (Danielle was on vacation in Atlanta, Savanna and Charleston, so we definitely missed her!) and cannot believe it’s the start of a new week already! I will recap all of the fun things I did in Maine later, but for now, let’s talk about workouts, as that is always my favorite way to get “back on track” after a long weekend away from home.

Last Week’s Workouts

Monday- I did 35 minutes on the elliptical and about 15 minutes of abs/upper body strength before teaching my last Dynamax class (tears. I loved that class so much, but it didn’t hit the minimum number of participants so they had to cancel it this session).

Tuesday- I Went To A Class! and it was wonderful!

Wednesday- I ran a 5K on the treadmill before teaching a pretty intense UXF class.

Thursday- I had to get a sub for my SHRED class, but was able to make it to kickboxing. All the extra energy I had from not teaching a class beforehand caused me to teach a really hard class. I loved it!
Friday- This was my first COMPLETE (read: no abs, no arms, no yoga, no walking) rest day in far, far too long. I’ll admit, sometimes I forget to take rest days, especially when I don’t teach as much, so this is something I need to be mindful of in the next coming weeks as I will be teaching less classes.
Saturday- Two a day Saturday! I went to the Sanford/Springvale YMCA for their 9AM Cardio Cross Training class and 10:15AM Zumba class. Mom joined me for zumba and we had a blast! It was really fun being at a “new” (even though this was my gym for so long) gym for the morning. So many fun toys!

Sunday- I picked an April Arms Challenge Sunday circuit to do and did a couple of Ab Challenge workouts, too. No cardio, though- Saturday was LOTS of cardio!

This Week’s Workouts

Monday- First Monday since September that I am NOT teaching Dynamax (more tears). I’m not sure what I will do tonight, but I am guessing I will probably go running and do some abs/arms.
Tuesday- I might go to kickboxing again, might go to another class, might do my own thing using the UXF “play ground” at the Wellington BSC.
Wednesday- Cardio and teaching UXF Burn.
Thursday- teaching my two-a-day Thursday at the Central Square BSC! SHRED followed by Kickboxing. Can’t wait!
Friday- Likely a rest day, with the exception of some abs and arms (bathing suit season is coming!).
Saturday- Teaching Kickboxing at the Oak Square YMCA- woohoo!! get ready… I may do what I taught last Thursday and you probably won’t like it 😉
Sunday- I will be spending the day at the Wellness by the Water Retreat with Athena and Ashley and I cannot wait! A full day of health, fitness and nutrition information and networking and blogging? yeah, pretty perfect day in my eyes!

Questions for you: What was your favorite workout last week? What are you looking forward to this week?

Happy Mother’s Day: A Tribute to My Mom

May 12, 2013May 11, 201314 Comments

Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful mom’s reading my blog! I am so happy that I have been able to spend some extended (lately, anything more than 24 hours at home is “extended” for me) time at home and with my mom; she is just the absolute cutest, sweetest little lady around, so it seems only natural for me to dedicate this post to her!

As most of you know, my mom reads and comments religiously (literally… mom is a really good Catholic!) on Burpees to Bubbly. It always makes me smile when I hear from other readers how cute my mom is, but I mean, how could you not say that?! Look at her!

Mom retired a year ago, but she is still actively subbing in the school on a daily basis, volunteering at the church, and being the little social butterfly she always is. Seriously, this lady has more of a social life than I do! If you thought my birthday celebrations were a bit much, I think mom celebrated her 60th for the whole summer. She may be 60, but she is still a ball of fun and energy… always looking for the next party and social event!

Mom is also quite the little dancing queen. I cannot even begin to count how many “dance parties” we have had in the kitchen at our house- thank goodness for her “dance” cd; I don’t know where we’d be without that. From Zumba to Party Boot Camp to weddings to bars, Sue Gags knows how to have a good time and to have a circle of guys around her. After all, she is a “guy magnet”.

Mom can be serious, too. And she is a terrific reader. Every Christmas Eve, we I make her read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas and she has got that story down pat!

My mom is one of my biggest supporters and is always there to listen when I have issues, provide feedback when I need it, “practice” my workouts with me and tell me what type of modifications I should offer, and then, when all of that “business” is out of the way, offer me wine, because as she always says “wine isn’t going to make you feel worse”. Well said, Suzie Q, well said!

Holidays are always the best in the Gagnon household. There is nothing in the world that’s better than being surrounded by family, laughs, good food and lots of wine… and I mean LOTS of wine.

As you can see, my mom is a pretty amazing woman with so many wonderful qualities. No wonder why she is so popular! As I get older, I have started to appreciate her more and more. We have so much fun and she always knows what to say to make me feel better and for that, I thank you, mom. Thank you for your unconditional love and support- none of that ever goes un-noticed or unappreciated. I hope you have the most wonderful day because you deserve nothing less! XOXO