Fitness Friday/Sad Day

I've mentioned this before, but our "home gym" is nothing to brag about. It's literally a treadmill, TRX straps, four sets of hand weights, a yoga mat, and a 15 year old TV, living in harmony among cinderblock walls and old paint cans and roofing shingles.

This relic of a Toshiba TV- note the built in VHS AND DVD players- has been a champ for me. I got this bad boy sophomore year of college. It's seen everything from the first season of "24" to "Laguna Beach" (yah I know) to...Jackie Warner!

This is my all-time favorite workout DVD. I know it's pretty old school to do workout DVDs, but I will allllllways do better with someone else telling me what to do, rather than me making up my own stuff...as seen here...

Too bad the build in DVD player died this week. Whaaaah. Now we are on the hunt for a free, or cheap at least, DVD player that we can externally plug in. First world problems.

Why am I into workout DVDs? Like I mentioned- someone else leading is a major way that I can stay focused. It's time consuming (ok like maybe 2-3 minutes) to write down my own workout. When I do my own thing, I always end up cheating myself out of finishing reps, or not doing enough reps at all. It's also more motivating to watch someone! Having an instructor- whether in real life or on the screen- count you down helps me push myself to finish a certain exercise.

Another big perk of having an instructor is that form tends to stay better. If I am watching someone exercise, I can better check myself- how low am I really going on my push ups? Am I pushing my knee too far forward during lunges? A good instructor will remind you to check your form.

DVDs are fairly cheap. I'm always one to buy used off Amazon. There are tons of options on YouTube as well, and if you have Comcast fancy cable stuff (I can't keep track of what it's called now- I for sure don't pay for that) there are entire channels devoted to workout programs.

Now that I'm not following a half marathon training plan, my goal is to run 3 times a week at least 3 miles each run, and do 1-2 days of strength training. That's when I do the DVD, or for now, my own thing.

So...anyone have a DVD player they don't need? Clearly I don't discriminate against age!

Growing Pains

Holy heat wave! It's been in the upper 80s the past few days, which is a bit unusual for early June. We've been breaking out the sprinkler and kiddie pool daily, along with making some new friends.

Sidenote- the friendship was VERY one sided.

My gardens have been coming up pretty nicely now. I'm always tinkering around with trying new kinds of vegetables. Of course I devote nearly an hour every day to weeding the gardens and the landscaping!

Tiny corn stalks! Or as my 3 year old says, TINY CONE!

Tiny sunflowers! So the neighbor lady behind us is a "collector" and while we save up for a privacy fence, a few rows of sunflowers will hopefully give us some colorful coverage this summer and fall.

Raspberries gone wild! This huge patch started out with a dozen transplants from my friend. It only takes two years for them to triple in amount.

Even the playhouse gets some gardening love.

I am beyond happy that our cherry tree, which we just planted last summer, will have a few hundred cherries already!

I pack as much as gardenly possible in this 10x10 space. I have green pole beans and purple pole beans. I have cut-and-grow mixed green lettuce. I have Italian parsley. I have green basil. Purple basil. Sugar snap peas. Roma tomatoes. Black cherry tomatoes. Yellow tomatoes. Roma tomatoes. Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes.

In the past I've made my own stringers with two wooden stakes and twine. Inevitably the climbing peas end up being too heavy and it sags way down. I invested in this expandable pea trellis from Gardener's Supply Company. Even with a slight accordion fold, it fits the garden perfectly. I also ordered their bean towers, as they advertise you can grow 2,400 beans in the 18 inch footprint. Coming soon: The Everyday Dietitian Eats Nothing But Beans.

I hope that you are able to have some sort of flowers, veggies, or fruits growing. Whether it be in a deck planter or a huge space, it is so fun to see things grow!

Chicken Parm Burgers

So I made a recipe that I am DYING to share because hoooooooly buckets it's GOOD. And EASY. And filled with protein and veggies. Can I get you to commit to making it now? Do it do it do it do it.

Chicken Parm Burgers -2 lbs ground chicken -1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning -1 tablespoon dried parsley -1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese -1/4 teaspoon salt -1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper -1 24 ounce jar marinara sauce -8 slices mozzarella cheese -1 cup fresh baby spinach (optional) -8 whole grain/whole wheat sandwich thins #chickenparmburger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a large griddle to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine chicken and seasonings. Form into 8 patties. Spray griddle with nonstick cooking spray. Cook burgers about 5 minutes, then flip. They should be nice and golden brown on both sides.

Pour 1/4 of the marinara sauce in a large oven proof skillet (or you could also use a 9x13ish baking dish). Arrange the patties, then pour over remaining marinara sauce. Bake for 30 minutes, or until internal temperature reads at least 165 degrees. Place a slice of cheese over each marinara-covered patty. Crank oven up to broil. Put the burgers under the broiler and watch closely- the cheese will start melting and bubbling in just a few minutes. Remove from oven.

Serve on a sandwich thin along with some fresh spinach.

Holy wow. Sloppy and juicy and all the flavors of chicken parm, minus the calorie bomb factor of all the breading and gobloads of cheese.

Per burger: 430 calories, 33 grams carbs, 9 grams fiber, 21 grams fat, 34 grams protein Are these on your not-technically-officially-summer to-make list yet? I sure hope so!