Badass Fitness

Badass Workout Music, Then and Now

It's the end of another year, and that's when we reflect -- on decisions made, on lives lived, on the people we love, and most important...on music played!

Well, OK, maybe music isn't the MOST important. But it's what moves us. It's what makes exercise easier to swallow, enjoyable even. So every year around this time, I make two mixes: One compiling my favorite songs of the year for workouts; and another compiling some of the best songs of decades past, starting way back when and moving forward to the present.

This is completely subjective, and worth sharing. So here they are. Take what you like and add it to your iPod. Use it to Move. That. Badass!

Best of 2010 Music Jamz

• Gimmie Dat: Ciara 
• California Gurls (feat. Snoop Dogg): Katy Perry
• Love Left to Lose: Sons of Sylvia
• Love the Way You Lie (feat. Rihanna): Eminem
• Do It Again (feat. Cheeky Blakk): Galactic
• Break Your Heart (feat. Ludacris): Taio Cruz
• Not Afraid: Eminem
• Bottoms Up (feat. Nicki Minaj): Trey Songz
• Like a G6: Far East Movement
• Gettin' Over You: David Guetta & Chris Willis
• How You Like Me Now (Single Edit): The Heavy
• Raise Your Glass: P!nk
• The End: Kings of Leon 


Decades Mix, 2010 Edition

• Requiem (The Fifth): Trans-Siberian Orchestra
• ABC: Jackson 5 
• Devil With the Blue Dress On / Good Golly Miss Molly: Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels 
• Love Her Madly: The Doors 
• Start Me Up: The Rolling Stones
• Could You Be Loved: Bob Marley
• Eye of the Tiger: Survivor 
• Footloose: Kenny Loggins 
• It's Tricky: Run-DMC 
• Like A Prayer: Madonna 
• U Can't Touch This: MC Hammer   
• Free Your Mind: En Vogue
• Block Rockin' Beats: The Chemical Brothers
• Lose Yourself: Eminem
• You Know I'm No Good: Amy Winehouse 
• Hot N Cold: Katy Perry 
• Empire State of Mind (feat. Alicia Keys): Jay-Z
• Raise Your Glass: P!nk 
• Like a G6: Far East Movement 


Coming in 2011 (That's next week!): Don't be a Three-Day Priest, and other resolution-keeping Japanese wisdom; Lessons from 'Fatty'; and Bad form equals not-so-Badass muscles...

 

Holiday Calorie Torcher: Lunges, Pushups, Burpees, Repeat

I dunno about you Badasses, but over the next 48 hours I plan to eat a lot.

Not fruit and veggies, mind you. Nope, I'm headed this Christmas Eve to a traditional Cuban feast of roasted pork, frijoles negros, plantains and other deliciousness. This will be followed by tomorrow's Christmas dinner of steaks, sweet potato casserole, macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole, and my homemade Italian Creme Cake.

Not exactly eating light. So penance will follow. It must. Because that's how Badasses do. We enjoy life and its awesome feasts, but we also work hard and sweat it out.

The best calorie torchers involve intensity intervals and using the biggest muscle groups. That would be the legs. And if you swap circuits back and forth between the legs and upper body with something like pushups, your heart will have to work harder as the blood pumps from one extremity to the other. THIS burns lots of calories. THIS is penance for the FEAST.

So try this workout to ease yourself out of the Christmas Food Fog. No weights or equipment required, so you can even do this while visiting friends and family away from home. It might hurt a little, but it will help a lot...

Post-Holiday Feast Penance Workout 

Warmup:

• Jumping jacks, 30 seconds
• Running in place, high knees, 30 seconds
• Shuffles from side to side (while in a low squat), 30 seconds
• Mountain climbers, 30 seconds (pictured below)
• Repeat all four

Circuit One

• Regular lunges, 15 forward
• 15 burpees
• Regular lunges, 15 back to where you started
• 15 burpees
• Repeat

Circuit Two

• Crossover (curtsy) lunges, 15 forward
• 15 burpees
• Crossover lunges, 15 back to where you started
• 15 burpees
• Repeat

Circuit Three

• 15 diagonal lunges (stepping forward at 45 degrees with the lunging leg)
• 15 regular pushups
• 30 seconds of mountain climbers
• 15 diagonal lunges (stepping forward at 45 degrees with the lunging leg)
• 15 regular pushups
• 30 seconds of mountain climbers

Circuit Four

• Regular lunges, 20 forward
• Traveling pushups, 5 sets: Get into a pushup position. Do one pushup, then shift your arms to the right and do another pushup. Shift to the right again and pushup. Now travel back to the left, three pushups total, until you end up in the center. That's one set.
• Regular lunges, 20 back to where you started
• Close-grip pushups, 20: On your knees or on your toes, place your hands closer together than a regular pushup, so that your elbows are rights at your sides. You should feel this in the triceps as you lower down and come up.
• 10 burpees
• Frog pushups, 20: Place your hands in a regular pushup position. Bend both knees, bringing the feet up under your torso like a frog. Now slowly go down and push up, feeling this in your arms and shoulders.
• 10 burpees 

 Cardio Finale

• Jumping jacks, 30 seconds
• Running in place, high knees, 30 seconds
• 15 burpees
• Shuffles from side to side (while in a low squat), 30 seconds
• 15 burpees
• Mountain climbers, 30 seconds


Coming next week: The Badass CEO's Best of 2010 playlist; the (Badass) gifts you should get yourself if noone else did; and a resolution-worthy workout

Highly indulgent, hardly caloric

Think about the foods we ban first from our kitchens when we embark on a new day of "healthy eating." We say good-bye to chocolate, cheese, alcohol, bread and bread-like products such as pretzels. That's a lot of good stuff to put on the DO NOT EAT list.

Little wonder, then, that we end up bingeing on said foods after a few weeks of post-holidays dietary piety (aka torture). The key to wholesome eating in this Badass Journey is balance. That means finding foods that seem indulgent - yet don't have the calorie and fat profile to support such a label.

My colleague Emily has one of the best eating profiles of anyone I know, and she recently shared with me a few of her food-treat favorites. Two of them contain chocolate, and one of them is all cheese. Yet they come in at less than 150 calories. Cha-ching!

So check out these not-so-indulgent indulgences next time you have a craving but need to keep calories in check....

• Laughing Cow Light Queso Fresco with Chipotle cheese wedges: 35 calories each. Pair a couple with celery or a few whole grain crackers for a mid-afternoon snack.
• Emily's Homemade Mexican Hot Chocolate: It's chocolatey rich, meaning a little goes a long way. (See recipe below) 
• Pretzel Crisps Indulgents Chocolate-Covered Pretzels:  Sold in the deli section of grocers including Publix, five of these have only 130 calories and 5 grams of fat.  Pair 2-3 with the hot chocolate, and you have (as Emily put it) "a majorly delicious, 150 calorie holiday treat!" They come in chocolate, peanut butter and (seasonally) white chocolate & peppermint.
• Godiva Chocolate Vodka: Um, hello!?!? Low-calorie, low-carb alcohol that tastes like chocolate! This is a no-brainer. And so yummy, you can pour a shot or two over ice for an after-dinner liquid "dessert" that is less than 150 calories (for two shots' worth).

Emily's Mexican Hot Chocolate

Note: Makes a very small portion, but it’s so rich, you can’t drink more than this!

• 1 tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp. sugar (or 1 tsp. sweetener equivalent)
• Dash of salt
• ½ cup skim milk

Mix the dry ingredients and add the milk slowly, stirring with a whisk.  Cook on medium-low until heated through. Toss in a cinnamon stick or a few shakes of cinnamon at some point during the heating process.

Badass Foodie: A Soup Worthy of Winter

With winter’s cool breezes, wool clothing and incessant holiday music, the season also brings an entirely new palate of delicious flavors and aromas. It also bears new challenges for those of us wanting to protect our Badass bodies from the ‘hibernation fare’ that often accompanies cooler temperatures.

Have you ever noticed how hearty, warm and often fattening meals seem to become a bit more prevalent when the temperatures drop? As the weather gets cooler and the days shorter, we gravitate toward comfort foods such as macaroni and cheese and chicken pot pie. 

And colder, darker weather tends to zap energy out of normally adventurous chefs – this Badass Foodie included! With less energy to chop, dice and cook, it often makes cooking for the Badass lifestyle more challenging. Who wants to try new, healthful recipes when it is dark, cold and inhospitable outside?

One of my solutions to Badass cooking during the winter months: I make soup! Since I started experimenting with various soup recipes, I’ve discovered what a versatile, healthy and soul-warming food soup can be.

Almost any protein, vegetable and flavor combination can be turned into a delicious soup. It is also a great way to ‘sneak’ nutritious foods into a delicious broth without the pickiest palates at your dinner table discerning the difference.

Today's soup is a great example, as it goes from stove to table in just 35 minutes and is loaded with heart-healthy kale (just try it!), smoked turkey sausage, onion, garlic and sweet potatoes in chicken broth.

Stay warm, and happy eating! 

Badass Foodie's Sausage and Kale Winter Soup

Ingredients

• 8 oz (one package) turkey sausage, sliced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• Bunch of fresh kale, stems removed and leaves chopped (8 cups)
• Can of cannelloni beans, drained (any white bean will work great)
• Spices: salt, pepper, red pepper flakes
• Optional spices: (I added because I can’t resist…) Thyme, sage, pinch of nutmeg and cinnamon

Directions

1.    In a large soup pot heat olive oil over medium-high heat.

2.    Add chopped onions and sliced sausage.  Sauté, stirring, until onion is just tender.

3.    Reduce heat to medium-low. Add kale and garlic; cover and continue cooking for 2 minutes.

4.    Add remaining ingredients; cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Taste and adjust salt, as needed.

Coming this week:  Holiday gifts for the Badass in your life...

...'And those who might scorn it are invited to kiss it'

This. Is. Awesome.

Love yourselves, Badasses. In every shape and size. Happy Friday!

A city grows more Badass, and less processed

Earth Fare, you had me at "No high fructose corn syrup."

Add in "No trans fats" and "No artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners and preservatives," and this Badass is head-over-healthy-eating-heels.

Earth Fare is the newest grocery addition to this little city I call home, having opened Wednesday amid some mixed emotions among locals. There is both excitement at new clean-eating options -- but also uncertainty over Earth Fare's impact on the long-running local co-op grocery store down the street. I love New Leaf Market, so I want both to do well and sincerely hope this city can support them both.

Earth Fare has until now had 19 stores in five states in the Southeast. Tallahassee makes 20, and the first in Florida. I am admittedly surprised that little Tallahassee snagged the first Florida Earth Fare, but totally excited. This place is heaven for anyone who, like me, loves to eat and cook yet is conscientious about health, nutrition and the importance of eating 'real' unprocessed foods.

In fact, Earth Fare's self-described "Food Philosophy" is to sell "foods that are as close to the ground as it gets." That means Eight Golden Rules:

1     NO hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated oils (added trans-fats)
2     NO high fructose corn syrup
3     NO artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners & preservatives
4     NO antibiotics, synthetic growth hormones or animal by-products in the feed (fresh meats & milk)
5     NO bleached or bromated flour
6     NO irradiated single source spices, produce or meat (Badass Foodie is happy, as you can see!)
7     NO animal by-products in pet foods
8     NO inhumane treatment of the animals providing us with dairy, meat and egg

Earth Fare is so serious about these rules, they will give patrons a $50 gift card if they find anything sold in Earth Fare that contains any ingredients on the so-called "Boot List" of banned ingredients. Awesome. They'll also give you a healthier Earth Fare version of opened or unopened items (peanut butter, cereal, etc) from your pantry that contain these banned ingredients. Double Awesome.

And don't even get me started on the bountiful deli cases filled with seafood, hormone-free meats and prepared foods like grilled salmon and balsamic-roasted vegetables.

So why I am writing all this about Earth Fare? Well, besides the fact that I simply LOVE this place, the important thing is WHY I love it. Earth Fare is a bright, produce-filled reminder that the Badass Journey does NOT have to be paved with rice cakes.

It does not mean depriving ourselves of flavorful foods and desserts (If it means an extra few miles, run them - straight to the Earth Fare bakery section....). It does not mean eating frozen processed "diet" meals.

The Badass Journey is about living fully, and enjoying the ride. Earth Fare is the kind of grocery store where food seems more alive. It is more real. More adventurous. More fun. It is the kind of grocery store that every city in America - especially the ones where obesity and heart disease is so prevalent - should have.

America is a long way from that goal, but I am proud to know that Earth Fare believes enough in the Badass potential of my city to plant its Florida roots here first.

Now excuse me while I nibble on some of these roasted Brussels sprouts with caramelized onions...

Coming next week: Your 2010 Badass Holiday Gift Guide, and a soup worthy of winter from Badass Foodie! Plus another workout....

Plan a little, save a lot (of fat and calories)

Think about the days when your lunch and other midday eating has been the unhealthiest. If you're like most of us Badasses, poor eating is the unfortunate result of poor planning - as in, you didn't make lunch ahead of time or plan a healthy takeout option.

I know, I know. Right about now you're thinking, Who has time to plan and shop and chop and cook?

The answer is: YOU have time, because it takes less time and effort than you think. The Badass Foodie, who is now also my co-worker and unofficial second-in-command of Moore Consulting Group's Corporate Wellness Program, proved it this week when she hosted a healthy luncheon for the staff.

The menu featured turkey chili, an Asian-inspired coleslaw, a lentil and chickpea salad, and a broccoli salad. Each dish is one that can be made on Sunday and eaten throughout the week. These dishes are the kind that get better the second, third and fourth day as the flavors meld and marinate together. They're also cheap as far as ingredients, and for the most part are instant-prep-and-enjoy.

The Asian slaw, for example, takes all of 10 minutes and features zero mayonnaise. The turkey chili requires ingredients prep and cooking, but even the onions and peppers can be bought pre-chopped in the product section to cut down on chop time. Plus you can make a huge batch and freeze half for the cold weeks ahead, maximizing the value of the time you spend in the kitchen making it.

The staff loved these dishes, all of which are high in protein, fiber and other nutrients but low in calories and fat. So give these a try - maybe one recipe each week. What better way than this to kick 2011 off with a Badass Bang?!?

 

Asian Ginger Coleslaw

Ingredients:

• 1 head of green cabbage, chopped thinly (Lazy Kirsten’s alternative: purchase a bag of “coleslaw cabbage lettuce” at Publix)
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• ¼ cup sesame seeds
• 3 green onions, chopped – green and white parts
• ½ cup white vinegar
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon ground ginger
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 Tablespoon agave nectar
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
   

Directions:

1. Combine all wet ingredients together in a bowl, taste and adjust salt and sweetener accordingly.
2. Pour over dry ingredients, enjoy!

 

Kirsten’s Kickin’ Broccoli Slaw

 

Ingredients:

• About 2 pounds of broccoli, florets removed and diced
• ½ red onion, diced
• 1 cup of dried cranberries, sweetened naturally
• ½ - ¾ cup of nonfat Greek yogurt
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil mayonnaise
• ½ cup apple cider vinegar
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 cup chopped cashews
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Salt and pepper
• 2 teaspoon Stevia or Agave Nectar (or some sugar substitute)

Directions:

1. Combine dry ingredients - broccoli, onion, and craisins into large bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice to keep fresh while you prepare dressing.
2. In a small bowl, mix wet ingredients together. Taste the dressing and adjust salt, pepper and sweetener appropriately.
3. Pour dressing over coleslaw, toss together and enjoy!

Mediterranean Lentil and Chickpea Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked green or brown lentils
• 1 cup cooked garbanzo beans
• 1 cup chopped red or yellow peppers
• ½ red onion, chopped
• 3 oz feta cheese, crumbled
• ½ cucumber, seeded and chopped
• 1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
• Fresh basil (if you have on hand, definitely use – takes this dish to a whole new level!)
• Dried herbs: basil, rosemary and oregano
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar (I used agave nectar, and recommend using a sugar substitute if you prefer.)
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, careful to fold in feta gently.
2. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow flavors to marinate.

Kirsten’s Choc-Full-‘O-Veggie Turkey Chili

Ingredients

• 1 lb Ground Turkey, Lean
• 2 cans of kidney beans, drained and sorted
• 2 cans of low sodium diced tomatoes
• 1 can of tomato paste, preferably low sodium
• ¼ cup canned pumpkin (optional)
• 1 can low sodium chicken broth

Vegetables:

• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 – 2 red and yellow peppers, chopped
• 3 stalks of celery, large dice
• 2 large carrots, large dice
• 1 cup of yellow corn (fresh or frozen)
• 2 -3 large summer squash, large dice

Other seasonings:

• 1 Tbs garlic
• 1 Tbs Olive Oil
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tbs Ketchup
• 1 Tbs Agave Nectar
• 2 heaping Tablespoons Chili Powder
• Spices, to taste:  Cayenne pepper, cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon, seasoning salt, Tabasco, black pepper
• Chopped fresh cilantro, optional

Directions:

1. Brown turkey over medium heat with 1 Tbs olive oil, salt and pepper.
2. In large soup pot, begin by sautéing chopped onion and garlic in 1 Tbs Olive oil over low heat until onions are translucent.
3. Add other chopped vegetables to sauté – celery, peppers and carrots. Sautee for 5 – 10 minutes, until aroma begins to change and vegetables become soft.
4. Add summer squash and yellow corn, continue to cook.
5. As the pieces of vegetables start to stick to the pan, turn up the heat and add half the can of chicken broth. Simmer for 2 -3 minutes.
6. Add tomatoes and tomato sauce and continue to simmer while you assemble and add your spices.
7. Note – add spices in increments and layers – tasting the whole time!
8. Add all spices, starting with chili powder and then adding pepper, cumin, nutmeg, salt, Tabasco and pepper.
9. Add cider vinegar, ketchup and agave to taste.
10. Simmer on low for at least 1 hour.
11. Stores up to a week in the fridge – Enjoy!


Coming Friday: A Badass field trip unveils a food philosophy to live by...

Morrison Music Monday: Pardon me

Late last week, I witnessed a little bit of "ain't Florida politics crazy" history. The Florida Cabinet (governor, attorney general, agriculture commissioner and chief financial officer) - sitting as the state clemency board - pardoned The Doors lead Jim Morrison for an indecent exposure arrest that happened decades ago in Miami.

One of the Miami police officers was there for the hearing, and I had to pick my jaw up off the floor after he stood before all of those elected officials and talked about Morrison "pulling out his junk."

O.M.G.

Somewhere, Morrison rolled over in his grave and Missy Elliott cheered the now-historic use of her favorite word. And me? I thought, "Well, this calls for a music mix dedicated to Morrison," who attended Florida State University here in Tallahassee.

I used it for my RealRyder cycling classes Friday morning and afternoon, and it rocked. So I'm sharing it, along with the cycling profile, should you be so inclined to pedal. If not, turn it on at the office and let it fuel you through this week. Break on through Monday, because Friday is never too far behind...

Morrison's Forgiven Mix

• Friday I'm in Love - The Cure --- Warmup, seated
• It's OK- Cee Lo Green --- Warmup, optional standing to warm up glutes and hamstrings
• Start Me Up - The Rolling Stones  --- Moderate climb
• Love Her Madly - The Doors --- Steeper climb, adding small amounts of tension every 30 seconds
• Five to One - The Doors --- Steep climb, adding tension for 30 seconds and taking it off for 30 seconds throughout the song
  
• Hello, I Love You (Adam Freeland Fabric Remix) - The Very Best of The Doors --- Endurance speed (find 60% of maximum pace and hold it ...for 7:30 minutes)
  
• Liquor Store Blues - Bruno Mars --- Moderate climb
  
• Give it to Me Baby - Rick James --- Heavier climb, in and out of the saddle if desired
  
• L.A. Woman (Paul Oakenfold Remix) - The Very Best of The Doors --- Endurance speed, 60 percent of maximum pace
  
• Roadhouse Blues (Live in Detroit) - The Doors: Set the Night on Fire --- Final climb. Add tension 10 times, in small paced increments
  
• Break on Through (To the Other Side) - The Very Best of The Doors --- Sprint to the finish
  

Coming this week: A Badass field trip to Earth Fare, and a lesson in healthy make-ahead lunches ...

Want a faster race pace? Do more jumps and sprints

In the race to finish the race, we can't all be first over the line. But noone likes being last, either.

So if you're a runner and regularly entering races - 5Ks, marathons or in between - you train regularly to keep your pace on pace. And yet...sometimes we get so bent on "training harder" that we lose sight of the best strategy: Training smarter.

Sure, you can do all of those early morning distance runs at your standard steady pace. But to really make those legs work faster, the most effective training involves bursts of forward speed (aka, sprints) - and vertical bursts of power (aka plyometrics).

Plyometrics are used for multiple sports requiring agility and speed, from soccer and rugby to basketball. The fast, explosive moves of plyometrics are just as helpful in cutting down the avid runner's personal best.

Rapid-fire moves like box jumps, burpees, and alternating jump lunges force the leg muscles to use not just speed and not just strength but speed AND power. Knees and joints willing, it's the best challenge to your fast-twitch muscles.

Combine plyometrics with a regular track session involving 100-m sprints and race-pace 400s, and you might just find your next race is the fastest yet.

So here's a track workout, followed by my favorite plyometric moves...

 

Sprint Intervals Workout

• Warm up: Jog around a 400-m track twice. Then do running with a skip, high knees, for 100 meters. Jog backwards for 100 meters. Shuffle 100 meters one way and 100 meters back.
• Two 400s at a fast, 5k speed: The goal is to finish within 90 seconds. Your heart will, guaranteed, be pumping as you round that last curve
• One minute "rest" walking the track
• Four to six 100s at sprint pace, with 30-second "rests" walking the track in between each 100
  

Plyometrics workout

5 to 10 box jumps (use a step bench plus 2 to 5 risers on each side, up to 20 inches high depending on your fitness and strength level): These are just like they sound. Jump up onto a box, or bench. Land softly, with most of the weight in your heels not your toes. Jump back down.

20 Squat jumps: Go down into a squat and use your leg strength to jump up out of the squat. Land as softly onto your heels as you can as you squat and then jump back up.

20 Burpees: Crouch down, hands apart at pushup-position width. Jump the legs back, leaving you in a plank position. Jump them back forward. Now, explode up into a jump, body lengthened as your arms reach up. That's one. These are a bitch. No two ways about it. Push through.

20 Jumping lunges:  Start in a lunge position, right foot lunging forward. Jump up, and in the air switch your legs so that you land with the left foot lunging forward. Keep the chest up, jumping with control. Go for 30 seconds.

20 Cardio jumps: Put a resistance ball between your legs, gripping it with the inner part of your lower legs. Jump up and down, for a total of 30 seconds, keeping the grip on the ball.

Coming next week: Lessons from 'Fatty,' and the Badass CEO takes a healthy-shopping field trip with Badass Foodie

 

Holiday meal recipes, redux(ed)!!!

I heart the cooks in the Badass Army. So many of you are ditching fast food and fatty home-cooked meals for smoothies and lighter meals that are heavy on greens and other good stuff. The holidays are not exactly the most light cooking-friendly time of year, but Badass recruit Melanie this week sent me a few recipes that she used over Thanksgiving to lighten her family's traditionally butter-filled dishes.

She revamped her entire holiday menu so that there was very little butter and ZERO cream or half and half - yet tons of flavor. That's Badass! A few menu highlights: 

 

• Squash/Zuchini Medley - in place of cheesy squash casserole
• Diet Mac and Cheese -in place of her grandmother's homemade ma
• Crunchy Semi-Sweet Potatoes -in place of the sweet potato marshmellow gluttony
• No-Cream Cream Corn - in place of full cream corn 

Squash/Zucchini Medley

Olive Oil
3 med. yellow squash, sliced 1/4" thick
3 med. zucchini, sliced 1/4" thick
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
3/4 tsp. complete seasoning
1/4 tsp. salt/pepper

Directions: Saute veggies in olive oil until tender. Add seasoning.

Diet Mac and Cheese

1 box whole wheat macaroni
1 cup secret sauce (see below)
1 tbsp dried mustard
Pinch cayenne pepper
2 cups shredded low fat cheddar
1 cup Greek yogurt
Panko crumbs and Parmesan cheese

Directions: To make Secret Sauce, combine 1 large Vidalia onion and 9 cloves of garlic with ½ cup water and microwave on high 10 minutes. Blend to a puree. Preheat oven 425. Spray pan. Boil Macaroni until cooked. Simmer Rocco’s, mustard and cayenne. Whisk in cheddar until melted. Remove from heat, add yogurt. Mix macaroni & sauce. Pour into baking dish, top with panko and Parmesan. Bake 10 mins or until brown. 

Crunchy Semi-Sweet Potatoes

6 large sweet potatoes
2 tbsp butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp nutmeg
3 tbsp brown sugar
4 tbsp cinnamon
¼ cup Greek yogurt
1 cup Pecans

Directions: Cube potatoes and boil until soft. While potatoes boil, rough chop pecans and toast in skillet over medium heat. Drain potatoes and transfer to mixing bowl or back in pot. Add all ingredients except pecans and mix until smooth and fully combined. Move potato mixture to serving dish and sprinkle top with pecans.

No-Cream Corn

3 bags Sweet Corn
¾  cup of Greek yogurt
1 1/2 Tbsp salt/Pepper
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 cup skim milk

 

Directions: Cook corn, salt, pepper and butter over low heat until tender. Add flour, sugar, milk stirring slowly until it reaches desired consistency.

Coming later this week: For better race performance, add plyometrics and sprint workouts...