Recipes, Training, and Weight loss

When I began this blog not so long ago I was very excited at the idea of posting at least 3 times a week.  Apparently my life just doesn't allow that.  Sure, there are times when I could have sat and thrown together a few sentences but sometimes you just need to sit and be a vegetable in your down time.  I think I am most likely to be a once or twice a week blogger.  Some weeks in my life just aren't interesting.

Now on to the good stuff.......

I am now a member of the Cassie Campbell Community Centre and have been pretty consistent about getting to the gym to work out.  I had a couple lazy days this week but less than last week and I think that is an improvement.  I do have my standard program at the gym but have managed to throw in a couple things to keep it interesting.  I make sure to do a cardio warm up of at least 15 min, usually this is a run on the treadmill, then either arms or legs get worked out, then on to abs, because I am determined to have a least a four pack, and then back to cardio, again usually running but I am going to try and mix it up a bit.  Krysta and I made it to swimming on Friday morning before 7:00am.  I don't think laps are for me but it isn't terrible to get into a bathing suit at least once a week to remind me that the summer isn't too far away.

I am training for two events right now, the Mississauga Half Marathon on May 15th and the Weekend to End Women's Cancers on September 10th and 11th.  I can't wait for the Weekend Walk (60km) and I am thrilled to be part of such an amazing event and help make an impact in the fight against cancer.   But first, the Half Marathon.  I am nervous.  Plain and simple.  I am going to work as hard as I can to complete it I am going to set myself a goal time and hopefully beat it, but if I don't I will still have made myself a healthier and more active person and that is my real goal.  I have found a training program for the Half Marathon and I started it a month ago or so and then fell off the wagon.  I will get back on it and keep you all up to date on how it goes.

I would like to take a moment and address an issue that is usually very closely related to health and fitness and that is weight.  I debated with myself whether or not to touch on this subject in such an open and public area, to lay it out for the world to see and quite frankly I think I need to.   My goal is to lose at least 40 lbs.  When I started this blog I had stepped on the scale that morning and weighed in at 200 lbs.  I wasn't as freaked out as you may have thought.  At my thinnest I weighed in at 175 lbs and that was just over a year ago.  I am a strong believer that weight is just a number, that the way you feel about your health and your self confidence should really be the most important things.  I think my weight is a good guide for me, little milestones that I can track and record but fitting into my skinny jeans is a pretty good feeling as well and that isn't always reflected on my scale.   This morning I weighed in at 192.4 lbs.  At the bottom of future blogs you will see my weight loss to date and my current weight.  I don't promise it was always be lower than the week before, but I do promise to not obsess over that.  Weight comes and goes, I will fluctuate a couple pounds here and there and I will get my butt back to the gym and kick it twice as hard.

I mentioned a recipe for Chicken and Chickpea Casserole on my last blog.  I haven't had a chance to try it out yet, but perhaps I can throw that challenge to you.  I will probably try it when I am only cooking for 1 and Craig is back on afternoons as it leaves me to things like beans, green vegetables and tofu.  He has been really great about adopting our new healthier meal plan but there are still some things he's just not so into and chickpeas are one of them.  I can accept that.  So friends, give it a try and let me know if there are things that you would suggest to make it better.

Chicken and Chickpea Casserole

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

3 medium sized chicken breasts

1 medium red onion

1 large/2 small carrots

½ of a 15oz/400g can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

1¼ cups/200g sweetcorn

1¼ cups/300g passata (sieved tomatoes)  or 14oz/400g can of tomatoes

½ tablespoon bouillon or other stock

5 dashes of tabasco sauce

1 teaspoon lemon juice

pepper 1.  Pre-heat oven to 150°C/300°F. 2. Chop the onion into 8 sections and break the layers appart as you put them into an ovenproof casserol dish. Peal and cut the carrots into round slices about a quarter of an inch thick.  3.  Cut the chicken breast into small cubes and put into the dish with the carrot and all the other ingredients. 4.  Mix the ingredients together in the dish and then cover with a lid (or foil if you have no lid).    5.  Cook for 55 minutes then serve with yogurt. Nutritional Information (per serving) Calories: 248 Protein: 26g Fat: 2g - Saturated: 0g - Cholesterol: 51mg Carbohydrate: 33g - Sugars: 8g Fiber: 6g Sodium: 418mg

Look forward to:  An update on "Work" Outs and Vegan Chili

Now to watch the Oscars!

Cheers to health,
Jocelyn