My Kind of “Boxed” Wine…

January 23, 2014January 22, 201410 Comments

I don’t think I’m surprising anyone when I say I love wine, right? Nope. Definitely not. Well, with that said, it’s safe to say that giving me a present that includes wine is never a bad idea. And when it involves multiple- 6, to be exact- bottles it’s a very good idea! Imagine my face when I opened the box and saw these beauties!

I don’t know where this was bought, but what I love about it is that there was a sheet of paper with each type of wine’s flavors and good food pairings.

Although I drink a lot of wine and have been to a number of wine seminars, I really don’t know that much about different varietals, food pairings, aging, etc. My fellow blogger “friend” (is it appropriate to call someone a friend if you’ve only corresponded via social media? I’m going to make it appropriate.) blogs over at The Slant where he talks about the perfect pairing of wine and running… Burpees to Bubbly, Running and Wine… I couldn’t agree more with his outlook on the two! Anyway! He writes hilariously witty posts and I’ve learned so much about wine from his blog. I’m hoping to get him to guest post for me when I’m in Dallas in a few months (hint, hint…).

So, what I’m trying to say, is I can’t provide any in depth analysis of the wines, but I can tell you that if they all taste as good as the Rafale French Merlot, I’m in for a treat!

I like heavier/thicker red wines and this one was definitely that. It was very flavorful and was perfect for a casual Friday night.

The box came with 4 reds and 2 whites and I think I’ll try one of the whites next.

I feel like I’ve heard of Terranoble and since I’m a Chardonnay lover (and love Chilean wines), I’m sure it will pass my taste-test approval (but, let’s be honest, what doesn’t? Well, Franzia boxed wine. Sorry mom- I just can’t do it!).

The red that I’m most looking forward to try is the Pallas, simply because I think the label is really cool (yes, I judge wine by the label).

So, pour yourself a glass of wine and let’s chat!

Red or white? It depends for me! I really enjoy both, but tend to order white when I’m out at a bar since it doesn’t do as much damage if I get bumped and spill. Weather also plays a huge role in terms of whether I’ll drink white or red. Hot, summer day/night? Definitely an ice cold class of white wine, please. Snowy, cold, winter evening? Big ol’ glass of red always does the trick!

What type of red or white do you enjoy the most? Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc for whites and Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot for red. Lately, though, I’ve really been enjoying a good Malbec!

What’s your “go-to” wine when you’re at a busy bar and need to just order something quickly? Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc

Do you judge a wine by the label? Yes! How can you not? Unless I’m craving something in particular (usually J. Lohr or La Crema), I’ll pick something out with a neat label.

Your turn! Let me know your favorites 🙂

Caramelized Onions, Mushrooms, Kale & Ground Turkey Lasagna

January 22, 2014January 21, 20146 Comments

Well, well, well. I have quite the recipe for you today! I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m not a big fan of Italian food. It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just that there are so many other things I’d rather eat instead of a big ol’ bowl of pasta. It’s just not something that fills me up and keeps me satisfied.

But, last weekend I got a craving for lasagna. My dad had given me a big container of his homemade sauce and I had been keeping it in the freezer for a time when I knew I’d use it all up. Lasagna was the perfect dish to do that!

Although this lasagna has real noodles instead of vegetable noodles (and, ps, my Zucchini and Summer Squash Lasagna post is probably one of the most popular posts I’ve done. It amazes me to see how many people have repinned it on Pinterest. Seriously. It’s crazy!), I think it’s still relatively healthy since I used whole wheat noodles, part skim ricotta and kale. That makes it healthy, right? 😉

Caramelized Onions, Mushrooms, Kale & Ground Turkey Lasagna

Ingredients

1/2 – 3/4 lb of lean ground turkey. You can use beef if you’d prefer, or leave the meat out entirely if you want to make it vegetarian!
1 small onion
2 cups of chopped mushrooms
2 big handfuls of kale, rinsed chopped
1/2-3/4 of a container of part skim ricotta (or whatever type you want)
2-4 cups of sauce
whole wheat lasagna noodles (I think I used 6 in mine)
1/4-1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
seasonings to taste (I used sea salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash, Pampered Chef & oregano)

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350*. Brown the ground turkey. I added seasonings as well. I also got to use my new meat utensil that I got from my Pampered Chef party… loved it! If your lasagna noodles need to be cooked before you bake the lasagna, do that now as well.

2. While the meat is cooking, chop your veggies. When the meat has finished cooking, remove it from the pan and add in your onions. I “caramelized” my onions by adding about a tablespoon of honey and a tablespoon of brown sugar, BUT, Elle, who blogs over at Nutritionella recently posted an amazing looking breakfast skillet recipe in which she caramelized onions and if you want REAL caramelized onions, follow her instructions 😉 Once the onions are mostly caramelized, add in the mushrooms. Lastly, add in the kale when the mushrooms have softened.

3. When the kale is finished cooking, you’re ready to start assembling the lasagna!

4. I baked mine at 350* for about 30 minutes. Once it looked bubbly, I broiled it for about 5 minutes to get that pretty browned top.

This was the perfect meal for a Sunday night and as I’ve re-heated it a number of other nights this week, I can say that it only gets better! Casseroles are my favorite “Sunday Night Meal” to make because they are so easy to heat up when I get home from the gym and am starving AND they continuously taste good throughout the week. Some leftovers don’t re-heat well, but casseroles, soups, etc. re-heat so well.

I hope you enjoy this- let me know if you try it!

Questions for you: What’s your favorite type of lasagna? Do you make your own sauce? Kale- yay or nay?

Wednesday Workout: Across the Floor Workout

January 22, 2014January 19, 20148 Comments

Last week, I taught a SHRED workout that required a lot of movement. Well, duh, you’re probably saying. Don’t all workouts require movement? Yes, I guess they do. But in Thursday’s class, the movement was moving from one side of the room to the other. I used to do these types of workouts at the Allston BSC since the group ex space was on a basket ball court and therefore there was so much room and it worked out great, but I hadn’t done one in a long time so I figured it was time to bring it back! The Central Square studio isn’t as big, but if you go there and back twice, it’s basically the same thing 😉

It’s funny, because as I was making up my workout, I realized a lot of the exercises/moves I wanted to do were “animal” moves: crab walk, alligator crawl, inch-worm push-ups, bunny hops… you get the idea. My friend Athena and I had a convo a while ago about all the different animal moves she could do in her class (Train Like an Animal is the workout she came up with) and while I didn’t do all of the same moves, I did include a lot of them because they work perfect for across the floor workouts.

So, what you do in this workout is you start with the weighted lunge and lift going across the room and back, then do you do the cardio. Then you do that set once again before moving on to the inch worms. Here are some notes/comments on the moves and how they were performed:

Walking Lunge & Lift– add weights for a more advanced version!
Inch Worm Push-Up– do 2 push-ups at the end instead of just 1 like shown in the video.
Squat & Bicep Curl- If you’re starting on the left side of the room, you’ll step your right foot out, squat, step your left foot over to meet the right. Then do a bicep curl. So it’s step, squat, step, curl. Moving from the left side of the room to the right, and then back
Alligator Crawl- If your on a wood floor, put your feet on a towel or Gliders (if you have them) and get into a plank position. From there, walk your hands forward so that you are pulling your legs behind you. This is KILLER for your upper body/lats/shoulders. Wowzers we were all dying.
Bunny hops- these are just little jump squats that you do in a forward direction. Want to make it harder? Hold a weight overhead.
Plank w/weight push- Get into a plank position with a weight between your hands on the floor. Use one hand to push the weight forward and then walk in that plank position to the weight. Repeat. On the way back, you’re going to walk backwards in the plank position and this time you’ll push the weight under your body towards your feet. Try to keep your butt down during this- it has a tendency to want to lift up 😉
Frogger Burpees– instead of turning around to jump back to your spot, keep moving in one direction until you get to the other side of the room.

Phew! I think that’s it! If I didn’t explain something clearly, don’t hesitate to ask me for a better explanation. I should’ve taken a video of myself doing these, but it’s hard since I don’t have a lot of room in my apartment.

This workout left me really sore- I hope it does the same for you!

Questions for you: What’s your favorite workout format? Stations? Across the floor? Circular circuits? Any of these moves new to you?

Weekending: Margarita’s, Birthdays, Puttering…

January 21, 2014January 19, 20144 Comments

Last weekend was so much fun! It was a good mix of social events, fitness and relaxation. I was able to hang out with a number of different groups of people, which was a nice treat.

Friday

Friday night, I got together with some of my gym friends (Athena, Ashley, Jen and Stephanie) at The Painted Burro in Davis Square. I didn’t get a picture of us, but I got a picture of the food and margarita’s, which is just as good, right? 😉

Have you been to the Painted Burro? Holy crap do they have amazing margaritas AND tacos. I got the zucchini one and the Mahi Mahi one.

Unfortunately, I ended up being double booked on Friday, so I had to leave the girls after dinner to make it into the city by 10 for my friend Keefe’s birthday at The Brahmin. I hadn’t been there since my birthday and was quickly reminded of how much I like it there! It was great to see so many friends from home and I’m happy to report that I only had 1 wine while I was there because I didn’t want to be hung over for kickboxing.

Saturday

After a sweaty and packed kickboxing class (love having my A team in the front row 🙂 ), I treated myself to a Skinny Chai Tea Latte and shopped around Target, of course buying impulsive treats…

Since I had absolutely NO food in my apartment and wasn’t about to go grocery shopping on an empty stomach (worst idea ever), I swung by Panera Bread for some soup to warm me up!

‘Twas a nice little Saturday afternoon 🙂

I was tempted to stay in on Saturday night, but my upstairs neighbor, Lisa, invited me to join her and some friends at the Back Bay Social Club and since I didn’t have any reason not to go (I’m trying to be better about going with the flow and being spontaneous), I took her up on her offer. I quickly made a pizza and got ready. I’ve been doing straight hair a lot lately, but since I didn’t have time, I opted for an up-do. With curly hair, I don’t even have to use a sock or bun maker to make a nice looking bun- I love it!

Sunday

My first thoughts on Sunday morning: Holy hamstrings! I couldn’t believe how sore they were from kickboxing. Good thing yoga was on the agenda!

I love Exhale spa SO MUCH. Seriously. The locker room alone is worth the cost of the classes- gorgeous showers, sandals, robes, razors, combs, lotion/gel/hair spray, etc. It’s such a nice treat since I’m so used to crappy gym locker rooms at the Y and the BSC.

The rest of my Sunday flew by, which is always a little disappointing. I changed the sheets on my bed, cleaned, prepped my lunches/salads/snacks for the week, blogged… and next thing I knew it was time to start cooking!

Yes, that’s the most delicious lasagna- I’ve got to share the recipe with you!

And that’s about it. I finally got to get caught up with writing a bunch of posts that I’ve had drafted for a while, so be on the lookout for some good recipes, workouts and a few other things this week!

Questions for you: Where is your favorite place to do yoga? Where is the best margarita in Boston? Where is your favorite place to go out in Boston?

This Week: Workouts, What I’m Looking Forward To & January Challenge {Week 2} Check-In

January 20, 2014January 19, 20145 Comments

Hi there! Happy Monday 🙂 Anyone have today off? I wish I did, but, alas, I am working and teaching. I hope your weekend was a good mix of everything you needed/wanted. Mine certainly was! I don’t know what I did differently with my workouts last week, but holy moly did they leave me sore! I ended up resting on Tuesday and Friday, yet I felt more sore than I did on weeks where I would have maybe worked out 6 or 7 days. I guess that just goes to show you that quality generally trumps quantity. While I like to sweat or do something active most days (mentally, I really need/like it… it’s my “me” time), I would take quality workouts on fewer days during the week than a week full of “meh” workouts every day. Anyone else feel this way?

Last Week’s Workouts

Monday- I went to the East Boston YMCA for spin. It was a sub, but it was a nice change and I liked the different things we did. I had time before the class so I did some biceps, shoulder and back strength training and did some core after class. I had decided I was going to rest on Tuesday, so I wanted to get a good workout in on Monday.
Tuesday- Rest day. I was still feeling sick on Monday and knew that if I wanted to workout on Tuesday, it would have to be in the morning, so I decided that sleep was more important than a workout. Guess what? I woke up feeling much, much better. Funny thing about that….
Wednesday- Because of my rest day on Tuesday, I was AMPED to workout and to teach. Seriously. I was looking forward to it all day. I ran a 5K and then taught UXF Burn. I joked that I hadn’t done squats in so long… and by the way my glutes and legs felt on Thursday, I wasn’t joking!

Thursday- I taught a really fun SHRED class where we did all sorts of exercises across the floor. It was so fun and left my legs and upper body feeling like jello after class and incredibly sore on Friday. I also taught kickboxing, which was a good challenge for me because out of a class of 16, 12 of them had never done kickboxing or really worked out before. This was a great practice for my patience and my teaching/instructing skills. Since my “regulars” are so used to my teaching, I feel like I get off pretty easy because I don’t have to verbally instruct/coach/cue as much, so it was good for me to be taken out of my comfort/”cruise control” teaching zone and bring it back to the basics.
Friday- Rest! To try and loosen up my muscles I did about 25 minutes of yoga in my apartment, which ended up leaving my shoulders and triceps sore on Saturday… haha whoops!
Saturday- Taught another sweaty class at the Oak Square YMCA! There were almost 50 people in there again and we worked hard… I was so sore on Sunday!
Sunday- I went to a Power Yoga class at Exhale Spa. I got a Guilt deal so I was excited to go to yoga to stretch after a week of intense workouts. The class made me, again, realize how badly I need more yoga in my life. My hamstrings and hips are so tight!

This Week’s Workouts

Monday- Subbing the 6:30 kickboxing class at the Watertown BSC! If you’re around, come sweat with me!
Tuesday- I am not sure… I usually seem to have after work plans on Tuesdays, but I don’t have anything planned as of yet so I may head to the gym for a weight session after work.
Wednesday- Probably running and then teaching UXF Burn.
Thursday- SHRED and then kickboxing. Any suggestions for formats/exercises you’d like to do??
Friday- Rest day! Maybe some at-home yoga since I think that’s a nice way to stretch on an off day.
Saturday- I’m taking a class at Recycle Studio with my friend, Lindsay, who is a new instructor there. I am SO excited, but kind of nervous to take a class at a “fancy” type of spin studio.
Sunday- Maybe yoga again? I liked that last week!

Things I’m Looking Forward To

I think one of the things I’m most looking forward to is going to Lindsay’s class. I feel like it’s going to make me finally cross over into the “I love spinning/cycling” world. I might be getting dinner with my friend Meaghan, which would be great since we haven’t seen each other in so long. Lastly, I’m excited to see my sister this weekend. She was in NYC last weekend and it was weird to not hang out!

January Burpee & Push-Up Challenge: Week 2 Recap

Time for week 2 check in!! How did everyone do this week? I know that Jen Ryder absolutely rocked and beat her time from week 1 by over 4 minutes!! I am so impressed! Dana also sent her time to me (I love seeing all of your posts on Facebook– it’s a great motivator!), which is so impressive because she can do push-ups like a champ. Seriously. I wish I had that type of upper body strength!

I wasn’t sure if I was going to get mine in, to be honest. I planned for it on Friday, but I was so sore from Thursday’s classes, that I skipped it. Then, I was going to do it on Saturday after teaching kickboxing, but clearly that was a silly idea since I’m always beat after that class. That left Sunday… but after yoga and showering and puttering, it’s the last thing I wanted to do. But… I did it! And, somehow, I beat my time by 30 seconds. The secret? I think it’s because I opted to do more reps in each set: 40, 40, 20. By doing this, it eliminated the transition time from 4 transitions to 3, so that has to have been it? I don’t know, but I’ll take it. Maybe next week I’ll shoot for 50 and 50! The push-ups still sucked more than the burpees, oddly enough.

I want to hear from you! Did you do week 2 of the challenge? How did your time compare this week to last week? What’s the last exercise/workout that left you really sore? What are you looking forward to this week?

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