Sometimes you have to count on someone else to help out with the meals. Like Joe the Trader.

Something about swimming –or bopping around holding a heavy baby- makes me so hungry. The Pilot was also starving when we got back home, so he did the bedtime routine with Liv while I whipped up a quick dinner.

Cooked zucchini, 3 cloves of minced garlic, 2 local chicken breasts, olive oil, sea salt and pepper in a large pot (med-high heat)

added a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas

and in my dreams, used my newly-acquired Indian food expertise to create a beautiful curry sauce.

In reality, I added a jar of this:

Mmmmm.

While that simmered away, I cooked up some frozen dosas from TJs (vegan and gluten-free)

After a bad dosa experience (it was sour. Thinking about it makes me cringe) I was finally ready to give them another try. I wasn’t sure if these were going to be faves, but they were incredible, especially with the coconut chutney. The dosas were full of potatoes, mustard seeds (a new fave) and spices. They’re calorie-dense (200 cals per tiny dosa) but rich and lovely- I’ll definitely buy them again.

We had our curry chicken and veg atop quinoa (I put it in the rice cooker before we went swimming)– not bad for a 15 minute meal

This morning was the return of an old fave:

Bfast cookie dough cereal with Brewer’s yeast, strawberries and coconut milk

I’m going to try and choreograph for Zumba. Still on the prowl for a nasty reggaeton, but no luck yet

Hope you all have a wonderful day <3

See ya later!

xoxo

Gina

Something to read:

-Make friends with your perfectionism

-Restaurant portion sizes

-Add an exercise ball to your home gym (and then, bust out this stability ball blitz!)

Something to think:

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Girls night!

The Pilot had a roll call (aka an official meeting among pilots that involves lots of Jeremiah Weed whisky), so Marisa and Michele (and Levi!) came over last night to hang out. I didn’t take a ton of pics, but it was so much fun to share some vino, get takeout from Renee’s Organic Oven (the salad from my “slice and salad” was missing, so I just grabbed some greens from the fridge), eat on the patio and enjoy a lovely evening. Liv and Levi play so cute together- they rolled around on a blanket, laughing and babbling at each other.

Liv slept a LOT yesterday. After a full night of zzzz’s, her first nap was 3 hours and her second nap was 2 1/2 hours. Usually she naps 3 times, each for an hour or so, and I plan out what to do during each nap (usually it’s workout, laundry and shower or work on the blog)- so I didn’t know what to do with myself when she was snoozing for so long.

TurboFire,

cleaned the house,

showered and did my hair

wrote a Fashion post, worked on an upcoming blog event, made some lunch

(salad beast with potatoes, chickpeas, greens, turkey, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, olives and Goddess dressing)

added to her baby book and read.

I had originally planned to take her swimming and/or to the zoo, but every time I finished doing something, I’d check the monitor and see her still sleeping away. Someone must be going through a growth spurt.

Breakfast:

2 eggs scrambled with turkey and spinach + tortilla for scooping

When I do egg scrambles, I’ll add each thing to the pan according to what needs to cook the longest. First, I wilted the spinach, moved it aside, scrambled the eggs, and when they were almost finished, added the turkey to heat up.

Off to work! I have no idea what I’m teaching this morning. It’s kind of a rush to go check the board and see what they have me doing

Hope you have a happy Saturday!

xoxo

Gina

Something to do: Schweaty May Workout! Have you done it yet? I did the workout last week and it was verrrry schweaty

Something to think:

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Some random things about work lately:

-When you work in the weight room, you have to empty out the towel bins. They’re sleek silver mesh trash can type things, and you carry it into one of the spa laundry rooms to empty the bin for housekeeping. You walk back to the weight room with said bin, nice and empty. Well, the bins are slightly heavy and made of metal… and you walk through the spa lobby to empty the bin. You probably get where I’m going: I dropped the bin in the spa lobby, aka the house of Zen. People were lounging, waiting for treatments or reading, and here comes clumsy Gina with the trash bin rolling and clanking around everywhere. My face was bright red.

-I wear Crocs for pool classes. We have to wear closed-toed shoes, and sneakers are too hot, so my mom gave me her red Crocs to wear. Before, I made a vow to myself to never wear Crocs- let’s be real, aesthetically, they’re a nightmare- and I have to say: I like them. A lot. They may be the comfiest things I’ve ever worn in my life. And that, my friends, is reason #14,527 why Meg is writing most of the Fashion posts on the blawg.

-Speaking of pool classes, today was my first time teaching an entire pool class! I was a ball of anxiety (swimming is not something that’s intuitive for me so it’s been tough to learn about cueing, etc), but thank goodness my assistant was awesome and I think it actually went pretty well. Here’s the playlist I used:

I had the participants swing their pool noodle over their head and say “whoo hoo!” when we were done

Some eats:

Protein oats (1 C oats cooked with frozen mixed berries, Sun Warrior and topped with a blob of almond butter)

Leftover roasted veggie salad with Goddess dressing

+ lots and lots of snacks, including the bowl of cereal and eggs I’m snacking on while typing

When I teach intense classes, it’s a tricky balance because you want to provide enough energy without having a belly full of food- so I’ll have a snack in between each class, a good lunch and a huge dinner. We’re off to eat at our neighbors’ house

Hope you’re enjoying your night!

xoxo

Gina

Something to think:

Thursday! Almost the weekend, night of our work dance recital and the Pilot’s last workday before his long weekend – I’m a fan of that

I don’t have anything to exciting to show you on the food front, besides the things I didn’t make:

(Stevia sparkling lemonade! So refreshing… I can’t wait to make a version at home)

Salmon burger atop salad with sweet potato fries and curry aioli

(both from Create Cafe)- a little lunch date with Liv and the Pilot)

so how about a workout instead?

Even though May is 1/3 of the way over, that there are still 9 max opportunities to do this workout in May if you’d like (2-3x week). I thought it would be fun to do a fast and furious strength circuit, followed by some HIIT cardio of your choice.

So who’s in?

No Schweaty Workouts for June and July because we’ll be started this year’s Summer Shape Up. Please let me know if you have any requests

Have a great day! <3

See ya later with some pics (maybe some video, too) from the dance show.

xoxo

Gina

#smoothieaday in May!

-1.5 C almond milk

-1 C frozen mixed berries

-1/2 frozen banana

-1/3 C oats

-2 T hempseeds

-1 scoop Sun Warrior

-Stevia, cinnamon

-handful of spinach

Something to think:

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Can we just take a moment of silence for these pants?

All I need are some of those curly gold shoes, a magic carpet and a ridiculously good-looking- oh wait, nevermind

Instead of the blue tank, I’ll be wearing this:

About that.

We had practice for recital during lunch again today and it was a lot of fun trying out the gorgeous costumes:

I was originally planning to go home for more food after practice (ate an egg-rito,cheesy zucchini bites, a Larabar and an apple in the am) but was hungry before practice, so I stopped by the employee cafe to get a snack.

One of the amazing perks about work is that they have an employee-only restaurant (with healthy, organic and veggie options) and the prices are ridiculous.

Grilled tilapia and veggie chili for less than the cost of a small latte:

Amazing.

After work, I stopped by the grocery store to grab oats and almond milk, and also picked up the supplies to make a refreshing snack:

After Bikram a couple of weeks ago, at the desk they had sliced watermelon with fresh lime juice and sea salt. It was the BEST thing I could have had after such a long, sweaty practice.

So this morning, I made some to take to work for everyone to snack on in between teaching.

I’m excited for the day, but even more excited to get home and snuggle Livi.

Hope you have a happy almost-Friday!

xoxo

Gina

Something to do: Keep tweeting your #smoothieaday smoothies! Here’s yesterday’s:

-1 mango

-1 C almond milk

-1 container of vanilla sheep’s milk yogurt

-1 scoop Sun Warrior

-Stevia, cinnamon

-2 T almond butter

-1 frozen banana

Something to think:

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Happy Sunday! How’s your weekend going?

Here’s what we’ve been up to over here:

-I had a little photoshoot- should be able to say what it was for later this week

-We went on our first real date in almost 4 months.

First time wearing TALL shoes in forever:

I usually stick to flats because I’m clumsy.

Livi went to bed at 7 per usual, and Kyle came over to hang out while she slept. I didn’t take my camera with me so I could fully enjoy the night with the Pilot, but we had an awesome sushi dinner at Ra. Sashimi, spicy salmon roll, lobster roll, the hot mess (fried rice topped with crab, pepper, cilantro and jalapeno!!!)), salad, soup and an amazing cucumberita.

-A Bikram and smoothie date with my friend Marisa.

A little pre-yoga toast with almond butter and strawberries:

I wore my heart rate monitor because I’ve been wondering for a while how many calories Bikram really burns. The online sources say up to 1000 for the 90-minute class, and I believed it had to be a pretty high number since I work hard and can feel my elevated heart rate throughout the practice.

The verdict:

Much lower than I expected, and the same amount I’d probably burn leisurely walking around the mall for 90 minutes.

My heart rate monitor is based on my age, weight and fitness level, so calorie burn will vary from person to person.

The reason why I feel like I’m working so hard during Bikram is because of the heat. The body is constantly attempting to cool down, and every time I’m on my stomach, I can feel my heart pounding. I’ve always considered it to be a type of interval training because you hold the challenging poses and rest in between, but when I felt like my heart rate was sky high, I looked down at my Polar and saw it was 102-105ish (about the same as if I were walking). Crazy, huh? I wouldn’t consider Bikram to be a cardio workout because my heart rate never reached my target range (60-75% of my maximum heart rate: 220 – my age) and now consider it to be a low key interval form of strength training. However, there are benefits of practicing Bikram (and other forms of yoga) that a heart rate monitor would never be able to measure.

Bikram yoga is frequently touted as a major calorie burner, but Bikram’s main purpose of the practice (like many other types of yoga) is health, not calorie burn. Bikram is supposed to help with spinal alignment, flexibility, improving blood circulation and detoxification. I always feel like a million bucks after practicing, enjoy the extra stretching and chance to clear my mind. It’s more of a mental workout than anything else and I LOVE the heat.

For the time commitment, I think it’s definitely worth practicing if it’s something you enjoy. Go for health and wellbeing- consider the calorie burn as a bonus. If you’re not a fan of Bikram, there are SO many yogas options- you just have to find the best choice for you. I also love vinyasa and anusara.

Do you train with your heart rate monitor? Have you ever been surprised by your calorie burn?

We’re off to a graduation party!

Enjoy your day <3

xoxo

Gina

Something to think:

Hi friends It’s almost the weekend! I’m so glad you liked the back workout- let me know if you give it a try!

Since the Pilot and I are both (still) feeling a little under the weather –please be allergies- we had someone else do the cooking last night.

Soup and salad FTW

Treat at work:

(Sorry for the blur- just had my phone with me)

One of the girls used to own a bakery and often surprises us with amazing desserts. I had to try a cookie –oatmeal with butterscotch and raisins, which may be the best cookie combo ever- and it didn’t upset my stomach. I’m sensitive to gluten, but if I have small amounts every blue moon, it’s NBD.

I didn’t teach any intense classes yesterday (lots of assists and taught a treadmill/strength class), so I hopped on the elliptical at the end of my lunch break to get in a good sweat for 20 minutes. I love pedaling on the elliptical reading a magazine, but since my workouts are now much shorter, I try to make them as effective as possible.

Here are some tips for getting the most out of a cardio workout:

-Be sure to warm-up. Even if you don’t have a lot of time, taking 5 extra minutes in the beginning is worth the time you’d have to spend recovering from a potential injury. 

-Choose a mode that you’ll use to challenge yourself. If something is particularly challenging (but you feel comfortable doing it), go for it!

One that is guaranteed to kick my booty: jump roping.

-Find a mode that will use your entire body. For shorter sessions, I prefer the treadmill or elliptical rather than the stairclimber or bike. I LOVE the stairclimber and bike, but to increase muscle usage and burn more calories, I’ll opt for the treadmill, elliptical or plyometric intervals.

-Put the magazine away. As you guys know, I’m a big fan of cardio reading, but for short sessions, it’s not ideal. My mind and energy are better utilized cranking out some quality cardio than reading about William and Kate. I can catch up with them during my longer, more leisurely cardio sessions.

-Add in hills, speed drills, or a combination of the two. One of my favorite ways to challenge myself for cardio is to gradually take the incline up as high as I can take it, recover, then do sprint intervals (kind of like in this workout). It’s a bonus to challenge different muscle systems and possibly burn more calories, but I also like it because it keeps things exciting. Steady state isn’t as fun for a short amout of time.

-Add in some plyo. Plyometric movements are a great way to get your heart rate up and strengthen your muscles at the same time. They’re fast, functional movements which can improve athletic performance. These bursts of energy also make steady state cardio seem easy (ish) in comparison. (You can read about my favorite plyo drills here)

-Create an awesome playlist. Even if you have a short amount of time, amazing music can provide the extra motivation and oomph to crank out an intense workout. Choose at least one power song (your absolute favorite at the moment- mine is “Wild Ones”) and put it at the beginning of your playlist. Other current faves: “Shake Senora,” “Starships” by Nicki Minaj and J Lo “Dance Again.” (I like Pitbull… a lot)

-Use a heart rate monitor. This is a great tool to make sure you’re challenging yourself and also to ensure that you’re working out in a proper zone for your personal fitness level.

(I use the Polar FT40 and love it)

-Cool down and stretch- just as important as warming up effectively. Let the heart rate come back down safely and stretch to prevent injury

What’s your go-to for short cardio workouts? Any tips you’d like to add to the list?

It’s a Zumba day over here

Hope you have a Happy Thursday!

xoxo

Gina

Something to think:

Head’s up: Sun Warrior for $36 on OpenSky!

Fresh laundry = Bella’s favorite pillow

This is why it’s so much harder to put it away.. she just looks so comfy.

Hope you’re all having a happy Monday so far!

My last post could have used some text to go along with the pictures, but kept it wordless in the spirit of my Sunday night posts:

-I got my asana handed to me in Bikram. It was my first time practicing in a little over a year, and all of the poses that I used to feel pretty good about felt just as good, and all of the ones that have been impossible for me (like toe stand!) are just as impossible.

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(I try to do toe stand and my hips and quads laugh in my face, so I stay in tree pose instead)

We took class at Yoga Vida from Shelby (who was fantastic) and treated ourselves to Whole Foods smoothies afterwards. I haven’t been practicing power yoga or Bikram lately because it’s a HUGE time suck –by the time you get to the studio, take the 90 min class and drive home, it’s 3 hours- but since we had no plans, the Pilot told me to go enjoy a class while he took Livi to Trader Joe’s and Walmart.

-Our new goldfish’s name is Fred. The Pilot won him at the fair Saturday night and he was looking a little worse for wear Sunday morning, since he was in the tiny murky tank they gave him and we hadn’t bought food yet. After intense googling, I gave him a couple of smashed peas before I went to yoga and the Pilot picked him up his Las Vegas fish club, food and water. The LED lights change colors and make the most amazing light display on the nursery ceiling- way better than a night light and Livi loves watching her little goldfish swim around.

-The quinoa cookie dough (from Whole Foods) is just as amazing as it looks. I was wondering if it would be grainy, but it’s not at all. There’s no way it’s going to see the oven- it tastes too good out of the freezer.

-Yesterday was prep day for the week, and here are some of the snacks I made:

Kale Chips

Cheesy Zucchini bites

(using the cheesy kale chip coating- I’m excited to see how they turn out!)

Chicken salad

(Shredded rotisserie chicken, mayo, Dijon, dill, onion, carrots, celery, sea salt and pepper)

Quinoa and lentils

(I’ll make this most weeks- about 8 servings of quinoa mixed with a pack of TJs pre-cooked lentils. Perfect for salad topping, wraps, grain burgers, or mixed with veggies and egg)

Dinner last night was a classic:

Grilled veg, salmon, sweet potato

This morning, we’re going to take it easy. I woke up feeling a little under the weather, but I’m going to attribute it to allergies and make myself a green juice.

Hope you have a great day!

See ya later with a Fashion post

xoxo

Gina

Something to talk about: What yoga poses are the most challenging for you? The beauty of yoga is that it’s just a practice- some days are easier than others and there’s no such thing as perfection. I always count the seconds until chair pose is over. What snacks are you enjoying this week?

Something to think:

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Ahhhh, Sunday <3 It feels so nice to take it easy after a long day of teaching, and my favorite night owl decided to sleep in with me.

We woke up to see our favorite woodpecker, snacking out of the hummingbird feeder.

Breakfast:

(oats with Sun Warrior, defrosted cherries and almond butter + tea)

and for dinner last night, I feasted my eyes on Richard Gere in Pretty Woman (silver fox)

enjoyed almost an entire bag of these chips

(Great post-Zumba snack. I shared with the madre, but really, it was almost all me)

and actually made a real dinner- I think the Pilot was surprised.

(I have a new hair routine! Wash, braid it while it’s wet, remove braid and blow dry so I don’t go to sleep with wet hair –my aunt says if you go to bed with wet hair, you die- and wake up with afro. Repeat)

Dijon Chicken with Sundried Tomatoes and Quinoa

All I did was chop up two local chicken breasts and brown in a skillet over medium with garlic, oregano, thyme, sea salt and pepper.

After the chicken was browned, added a diced shallot, 1/3 C sundried tomatoes, 1/2 T Dijon, 1 t honey and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Served over quinoa with roasted asparagus.

A robust little feast, and only took about 20 minutes from start to finish.

This morning, it’s just the girls over here –the Pilot is doing air show stuff all day- so when Livi wakes up from her nap, we’ll take off for some adventures.

Until then, I’m going to get the grocery list together, meal plan

(there’s one on Pinterest that says “Keep Calm and Act Like Kate Middleton.” Amazing)

and bust out a 15-min HIIT workout.

Hope you have a happy Sunday!
xoxo

Gina

Something to think:

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Whenever Bella’s food dish is empty, she’ll clank the bowl and then walk over to us, as if to say, “You hear that, fools? I’m outta food. Feed me.”

So you can imagine the fury that was unleashed when I walked over to the pantry, grabbed her bag of food and a few measly kernels fell into her bowl.

We were out of dog food- something that should probably never happen over here.

She was so upset, she went over and stood in the Pilot’s face,

and didn’t even notice that I was in the kitchen making her a bowl of brown rice, hardboiled egg yolk and chicken. She didn’t mind so much after that She enjoyed the same feast for breakfast, but a trip to PetSmart is definitely on the agenda for today.

Something else I’m out of?

Room for iPhone photos.

For those who were wondering, the magic number is 2105. I took it as a hint to start using my real camera.

Breakfast:

2 servings of oats with Sun Warrior and defrosted cherries and a steamed egg

I have no idea what we’re doing today, but will probably be taking it easy. Yesterday was a lot of fun, but my abs are KILLING me from the suspension training workshop. The first day, we spent a lot of the time learning about set-up and form cues, and yesterday we walked in and the master trainer was like, “I’m just going to kick your asses for 30 minutes. Here we go.”

Yeah.

Side planks and burpees using suspension trainers = no joke.

Would you guys be interested in a TRX workout? Is it something that you have access to at home or at a gym?

What are you up to this weekend?

I hope it starts off with a wonderful Friday <3

See ya later today!

xoxo

Gina

Something to think:

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Today’s workout jam: