Run Through Cambridge, Lunch w/Mom & Dad, Gardening, Chicken Parm Burgers

Hey everyone! Happy Sunday. I woke up thinking that the weather looked so nice, but when I checked my weather.com app (first thing I do every morning!), I was rudely awakened (haha no pun intended, but I’ll take it!). 40 degrees?! It’s MAY. Our thermostat in the apartment read 61 degrees. I’m sorry, but it’s MAY and I am not turning on the heat anymore! Where is the warm weather?!

Anyway, I posted a lot of photo’s yesterday and wanted to fill you in on them today!

Wednesday

I got to Central Square about an hour earlier than I needed to be there, so I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and go for a jog through Cambridge. I say jog, because that’s really all it was for me. I wasn’t in the mood to push myself and track my pace, but rather I was more in the mood to be in the sun and clear my mind. Running with this view certainly helped that!

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001Class was awesome- I incorporated one of the moves that Jen’s posted in her most recent Monday Moves post and everyone loved it! I’ll post the workout later this week- promise!

Friday

My sister had a “live” in Western Mass, so my parents went and stayed with her for the night (yes, this may seem odd, but if you knew my parents you would understand. They love any sort of little adventure, especially when they can be around us.).  Since I had to teach my double on Thursday night, I couldn’t make it to join them, but persuaded them to drive out of their way and come visit me for lunch on Friday!

Mom can’t visit us or we can’t go home without her giving us a little present, and today was no different. They went to the Johnny Appleseed Visitor Center in Lancaster on their way to see me (I know, seems silly, but I love how cute they are when they do stuff like that!) and picked up this cute little plate!

lady bug plateDid you know that the Lady Bug is the Massachusetts state insect? I had no idea, but apparently the little lady running the visitors center shared this info with my parents.

We had a great time catching up, laughing and eating lunch- the BEST work lunch ever! (sorry, JP!)

011Friday night, I went to Olives in Charlestown with my friend Jessi. It was a long overdue, greatly needed girl sesh catch up night. I had never been to Olives before, but I totally loved it. The atmosphere was awesome, the people watching was superb and the food/wine was delicious! We shared a bottle of Cono Sur Sauvignon Blanc and the sweet potato appetizer. Hit.The.Spot.

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014Saturday

I woke up and was SO excited that it was my day to teach. I hadn’t been there for 2 weeks and I was really itching to get back.

excited to teachSign of a good class? When a member (yes, you, Macall) asks me what I smoked prior to teaching. haha I love it! Obviously, I didn’t smoke anything, but I love teaching kickboxing and getting super sweaty so when you combine those, it equals a pretty intense class- perfect for a Saturday morning, if you ask me!

After teaching, I picked up my sister and we went to Home Depot to get all of the necessary supplies to get my garden going.

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020All of that shopping really worked up an appetite. Chipotle to the rescue! The burrito bowls there are so big, that it works out great when Danielle and I go together because we can share one (with a side of chips and guac, duhhh).

019For the most part, I think of Chipotle as a relatively healthy “fast food” place to grab lunch. Ok, maybe that was really only backed because I saw so many cross-fitters there and other people who looked like they came straight from the gym. You tell me- healthy or not?

The rest of the day was spent outside in my garden. I am not naturally blessed with a “green thumb,” but I sure do try! My dad, on the other hand, is amazing. He has a super hi-tech green house (temperature sensored so when it gets too hot, the vents open and a fan turns on and if it gets too cold, the vents shut and a space heater turns on. Classical music is played for the plants. yeah, THAT type of green house) and has always started all my veggies and flowers for me, but this year, I decided to do it all on my own. Who knows how it will turn out, but I am hoping for the best!

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026Chicken Parm Burgers

For dinner, we made one of our go-to favorite meals: Healthy Chicken Parmesan Burgers from Sweet Tooth, Sweet Life. Every time we make them, I am reminded of how good they are! here is the recipe from her site:

Chicken Parmesan Burgers

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

  • 1lb. ground chicken
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
  • 1/4 cup marinara sauce
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 tablespoons dried parsley
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • Mozzarella cheese
  • Extra marinara sauce
  • Hamburger buns

Directions:

Combine first nine ingredients (through dried basil) and mix well. Form into four patties, creating a slight dent in the center of the patty; refrigerate about 30 minutes. Grill over medium-high heat, 6-8 minutes on each side. Top cooked chicken burgers with mozzarella cheese.

If desired, coat insides of hamburger buns with a little spray butter and a sprinkle of garlic powder or Italian seasoning and place on the grill 1-2 minutes, until lightly toasted. Spread marinara sauce on toasted buns and top with cooked chicken burgers. Enjoy!

Ours didn’t look as good as hers, but I can bet that they tasted just as good! We tried them 2 different ways: in a wrap and on an english muffin (we didn’t have any buns so we got creative).  Both were good, but I liked eating it as a sandwich better.

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Yum. Definitely a fun thing to eat on a Saturday night. I made the roasted broccoli by coating the florets with a little bit of EVOO, Sea Salt and Pepper, Garlic Seasoning and Mrs. Dash- we baked them for about 15-20 minutes. Delish!

As for the rest of my Sunday, who  knows! We might head over to the SOWA Open Market, clean the apartment, cook a fun Mexican meal and make margs for Cinco de Mayo!

Questions for you: Chipotle- do you think this is a healthy “fast food” option? Have you ever been to the SOWA Open Market? What are your Cinco de Mayo plans?

Scenes from Saturday

Happy Weekending, everyone!

Ok, these were from Thursday, but I’m still counting them as “Scenes from Saturday” because I wanted to share them…

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{Beautiful run along Memorial Drive in Cambrige before teaching. Teaching class. Sweet Charlie snuggles. Flour granola- yum! My beautiful “M” necklace from my sister.}

Scenes from Friday…

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{Mom and dad came for lunch! Drinks and apps with Jessi at Olives in Charlestown.}

Finally scenes from Saturday!

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{Teaching a killer kickboxing class. Burpee seeds! A match made in heaven. Garden shopping at Home Depot. Lunch at Chipotle with Danielle. Seeds and other gardening supplies. Charlie on a leash- don’t ask. Final product of my potted plants! Before & after of the area beside our apt. My garden. Grocery goods & a delicious Sam Summer. Dinner- Chicken parm burgers & roasted broccoli.}

Questions for you: What was your Thursday, Friday or Saturday like? Do anything worth sharing?

Weekly Workouts

Another week begins! I cannot believe how fast April is flying by. I am not ready for birthday month April to be over yet.

Any readers running the marathon? If so, congrats!!! I am so proud of everyone who is running it- what an incredible accomplishment!

Anyway… let’s get to the workouts! This week is going to be different than usual so it won’t be so boring for you to read about:)

Last week’s workouts

  • Monday- Ran an awesome 4 miles and then taught Dynamax

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  • Tuesday- Triceps Tuesday for the April Arms Challenge and walked in the city!
  • Wednesday- Ran 3.25 miles on the treadmill before teaching UXF

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  • Thursday- Taught TBC and Kickboxing

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  • Friday- Jumped rope and did a big arm workout

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  • Saturday- Taught kickboxing
  • Sunday-Nothing. I wanted to do something, but I didn’t want to get sweaty and ruin my nice, straight hair. Plus, my body was tired so a rest day was smart.

This week’s workouts

  • Monday- Cardio and/or weights before teaching Dynamax
  • Tuesday- I have most of the day off since my parents are coming down for lunch in the city with me, so I’ll definitely do lots of walking, but I might end up working out in the morning and taking a rest day later in the week
  • Wednesday- Cardio and teaching UXF
  • Thursday- Teaching TBC & UXF
  • Friday- Probably heading to the Wellington BSC to “play” with all their cool equipment
  • Saturday- heading to NYC for the night! I want to run in Central Park, but I’m not going to force a workout. I want to enjoy my time there and push my workouts to the back burner for once.
  • Sunday- probably nothing:)

Obviously I will be doing my April Arms Challenge workouts in addition to what I have listed here. Does anyone know of any good classes anywhere on Fridays or Tuesdays?  I’d love suggestions!

Questions for you:What do your workouts look like this week? What is your favorite class to go to?

Weekly Workouts

Happy Monday, April Fool’s Day AND the start of Birthday month for all my birthday month buddies (Jess, Rachel, Meredith and Ashley… just to name a very few!).

Let’s check in on last week’s workouts…

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  • Thursday- Taught TBC and Kickboxing. #sweatybeastmode

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  • Friday- Deck of Cards workout and taught UXF Burn

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  • Saturday- Taught Kickboxing (so much fun!!)
  • Sunday- rest day

This Week:

  • Monday- I’m battling a cold, but it’s so nice out that I want to try to get in a long walk or light jog before teaching Dynamax. I also have day one of Athena’s April Arm Challenge. I won’t always mention those as part of my workout, but just know that I will be diligently doing them:)
  • Tuesday- Rest day (except for walking in the city for my normal commute)
  • Wednesday- Cardio and teaching UXF Burn
  • Thursday- Teaching TBC and Kickboxing
  • Friday- teaching my LAST Friday night UXF Burn class:(
  • Saturday- teaching Kickboxing at the YMCA
  • Sunday- active rest? We will see how I am feeling

Also, pending on how I am feeling, these workouts could all change:( Hoping to kick this cold FAST!

Questions for you: How did you do with your workouts last week? What do your workouts look like this week? Are you participating the April Arm Challenge?

Weekly Workouts and a WFH Workout

Can you believe another week has already passed? Luckily, since most of my coworkers are in San Diego for a conference, I have the luxury of WFH (working from home) for a good part of the week.  And, to make this week even better, we have Friday off!! I do have to teach at night and on Saturday, so I can’t head up to Maine as early as I’d like, but still… having a week day totally “off” from my real job is awesome.

How did all of you do with your workouts last week? Here’s how I did:

  • Monday- 4.5 Mile Treadmill Run & taught Dynamax
  • Tuesday- “Mommy’s Moves” filming with Jess and walked about 2.5 miles for my commute
  • Wednesday- 22 minutes on the elliptical and then taught this workout.
  • Thursday- did some upper body strength training (drop sets) and then taught Cardio Kickboxing
  • Friday- ran 2 miles on the treadmill before teaching another stations workout. I didn’t do the same moves as I did in the workout I linked, but I’ll post what we did soon!
  • Saturday- Cleaned the apartment (sweeping and vacuuming is hard when you have multiple floors!) and then went to a Barre class at C2 Pilates (that post will be up soon!)
  • Sunday- Went for a long walk, which was JUST what I needed.

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Workouts for this week:

  • Monday (today)- I have extra free time today since I am not commuting to and from work, so I am doing my “WFH” Workout:

WFH workoutAnd I’ll do some cardio and maybe some weights before I teach Dynamax.

  • Tuesday-Jess and I have to film again since the first video was blurry:(
  • Wednesday- Cardio & teaching UXF Burn
  • Thursday- NEW schedule for Thursdays: Teaching TBC at 5:30 at Central Square which is immediately followed by teaching my kickboxing class… a great double session (Athena it’s kind of like your Tuesday Two-A-Day at the Y! I hope I can get a good following like you and Liz!)
  • Friday- Since I have the day off, I am going to try to get to a class at one of the BSC’s. I’m teaching UXF Burn at 5:30 in Allston (I am not supposed to do these workouts, so don’t worry- I’m not doing back-to-back two-a-days!)
  • Saturday- Teaching Cardio Kickboxing at the YMCA!!
  • Sunday- Probably a walk with mom after Easter Brunch!

Questions for you: What do your workouts look like this week? Do you get to have Friday off for Good Friday?