waffle wednesday.

i personally adore the fact that national waffle day happens to fall on a wednesday this year because i am such a fan of alliteration.  and i took it one step further and dubbed it “waffles at work wednesday”~fabulously fun to say.

before i dive into the waffle shenanigans i suppose i should back up a bit as i have some catching up to do.  i will try my best not to make this post longer than randy the basset hound, but no promises.

MONDAY!

i am going to breeze through these eats!

lunch=one big mess

• fage 0%
• dried strawberries & bananas
• optimum bran flakes
• TJs 9 grain honey almond flax cereal
• PB2
• scoop of maranatha creamy PB

pre-workout snack=PB&banana bites + chocolate protein shake

upper body workout

5 min warmup on treadmill

back

wide grip pull down

• 12 @ 20#
• 30 seconds jumping jacks
• 10 @ 30#
• 30 seconds jumping jacks
• 8 @ 40#
• 30 seconds jumping jacks
• 6  @ 50#
• 30 seconds jumping jacks
• 12 @ 30#

reverse dumbbell flyes

• 12 @ 20#

biceps

dumbbell preacher curls

• 12 @ 15#
• 1 min ball crunches w/ leg lift (as seen on april’s vid!)
• 10 @ 20#
• 1 min ball crunches w/ leg lift
• 8 @ 25#
• 1 min ball crunches w/ leg lift
• 6 @ 30#
• 1 min ball crunches w/ leg lift
• 12 @ 20#

dumbbell hammer curls

• 12 @ 15#

chest

dumbbell chest press on incline bench

• 12 @ 20#
• 30 seconds jump rope
• 10 @ 25#
• 30 seconds jump rope
• 8 @ 30#
• 30 seconds jump rope
• 6 @ 40#
• 30 seconds jump rope
• 12 @ 25#

dumbbell flyes on incline bench

• 12 @ 15#

triceps

skull crushers on stability ball

• 12 @ 15#
• 30 seconds boxing in deep squat
• 10 @ 20#
• 30 seconds boxing in deep squat
• 8 @ 25#
• 30 seconds boxing in deep squat
• 6 @ 30#
• 30 seconds boxing in deep squat
• 12 @ 20#

standing tricep extensions with dumbbell

• 12 @ 30#

shoulders

upright dumbbell rows

• 12 @ 20#
• 20 toe to ceiling reps with 8# medicine ball (10 each way)
• 10 @ 25#
• 20 toe to ceiling reps with 8# medicine ball (10 each way)
• 8 @ 30#
• 20 toe to ceiling reps with 8# medicine ball (10 each way)
• 6 @ 40#
• 20 toe to ceiling reps with 8# medicine ball (10 each way)
• 12 @ 25#

dumbbell lateral raises~both side and front

• 12 front @ 10#
• 12 side @ 10#

hmm i don’t remember the stats but i believe it was something like 57 minutes, 252 calories, max HR 170 average HR 130.

post workout was a celebration of two national food holidays~

national watermelon day

national grab some nuts day

dinner=grilled chicken salad

• romaine
• cucumber
• red pepper
• broccoli
• chicken
• mushrooms
• hummus
• dijon mustard
• bbq sauce

hated it.

i also had some oikos + kashi go lean crunch before retiring for the evening. no photo.

TUESDAY!

another semi-breezy day~

breakfast=pb&j protein oats

due to supplies, i mixed rolled oats with oat bran and i remembered that i love doing this. makes for a fabulous consistency! the protein powder really mixes well with oat bran.  and the jam is angelic~see that shining light? it’s cause my mom made it.

lunch=on the go and not so impressed, well, sort of.

let me explain. i didn’t have any goods in the work fridge so i tried this spot called au naturale

do you guys have these in your town?  it is a drive through but with good eats.  no nonsense, no garbage. and along with that comes high prices.

this is what i got for nine bucks~

time for a restaurant review!

i got veggies & hummus and expected a nice sized helping since it was $3.75

 

one carrot, one piece of squash, one piece of zucchini, three tomatoes, two pieces of jicama, two snap peas, three pieces of asparagus and two pieces of red pepper. not impressed.  the hummus tasted like trader joe’s tomato basil hummus~have you guys tried this?  it is more like pizza sauce than hummus.

i was not impressed with the cost-to-serving size ratio.

next up was the turkey avocado wrap (sans “honey mustard aioli” aka mayo) i got the half size and it was $4.69

decent size, probably 6 inches (TWSS), the innards looked fresh and promising~

loved this wrap.  the spinach tortilla was soft and delicious, the turkey was not salty at all and the avocado was packed with flavor~perfectly ripe.

super impressed with the wrap!  but not so much the hummus.  i also wasn’t exactly full after eating this.. bummer. i wished i had gone to the whole foods salad bar and spent 9 bones there.. i would have been waaaay full and happy.

that meant a snack was in order about 2 hours later…

raspberry spirutein + 3 strawberries + almond milk + ice

new flavor for me. it was good, not my favorite. i still prefer the cookies and cream variety. if you drink spirutein, what is your favorite kind?

after work i went to the farmer’s market because it is now open tuesday nights!  i got basil, kale, spinach, bell peppers, white eggplant, squash, zucchini, cherries, peaches and 3 kinds of goat cheese~

i also came home to a package!! (TWSS, yes i am full of them)

i won erin’s giveaway awhile back and these bangin’ applesauce flavors came in the mail :D i can’t wait to start mixing these with greek yogurt~it will be some surrriously gourmet yapple sauce! thanks erin xoxo

i managed to change and head to the gym and hit the treadmill for a 20 min session of HIIT.. i read on susan’s post yesterday “I’m realizing that I’ve got to start pushing myself harder if I want to make progress. I can’t keep going at a comfortable pace and expect to get better.”  well, she is right. i keep doing the same HIIT at the same pace and i am not making any progress~i am at a serious plateau. so i pushed harder.

incline=0

• 2 min @ 6.0
• 1 min @ 6.5
• 1 min @ 7.0
• 1 min @ 7.5
• 1 min @ 8.0

incline=0.5

1 min @ 6.5

1 min @ 7.0

1 min @ 7.5

1 min @ 8.0

incline=1.0

1 min @ 6.5

1 min @ 7.0

1 min @ 7.5

1 min @ 8.0

incline=1.5

1 min @ 6.0

1 min @ 6.5

1 min @ 7.0

1 min @ 7.5

 

incline=0

• 1 min @ 10 mph

a few minutes of recovery at a walking pace..

so let me tell you what i did different.  i upped the speed on my intervals.. i used to start out at 6.0 and build up but this time i started at 6.5 and built up.  i also increased the incline with every interval, something i have done before but not at these speeds.  i KNEW i was pushing myself way harder because i had to grab onto the sides a few times and also had to reduce the speed of the intervals on the last set.  i am stoked that i did this, i felt like i worked a lot harder and now i have something to go off of.  when i can do this routine easily then i will change it again, but for now this is hard for me so i know that is a good thing!  thanks for the inspiration susan.

stats~

duration 20 minutes

average HR 156

max HR 181

distance 2.27 miles

calories 287

i went further than usual :)

next up was my adventures in hummus making.. i have never made it from scratch!  i used susan’s recipe (you may or may not think i have a crush on susan due to all these references to her blog! she is just that stellar) for sunflower hummus and the best part was i already had ALL the ingredients in my house.  and it also gave me the perfect opportunity to use my free sample of sun butter!

and also a chance to use my new food processor~i still need more ideas of what i can make with this bad boy!

 

i am never buying store made hummus ever again.

enough said.  oh and i should note that the sunflower seed flavor was abundant in this hummus. i am definitely buying a jar of the sun butter~the sample had 2 tablespoons and the recipe only called for one so i still have enough for another batch.  LOVED the sun butter.  get cha some!  oh AND i omitted the lemon from the recipe because of the geographic tongue thang.

dinner=grilled chicken pasta + salad

the chicken was seasoned with some mrs. dash, i wonder where mister dash is. and if he is good lookin.

BBQed that business up and then mixed it with these three culprits~yes i am voting organic with this meal. i smiled inside. oh that bag is basil from the farmers market. does farmers have an apostrophe in it? i think it might.

usually i use feta in this pasta but i only had romano so it did the trick!

in the salad was a plethora of purchases from the market as well as my new hummus and some balsamic dressing i had in the fridge~

nom nom nom. lovely dinner. and i polished off my fourth liter of water for the day.

i also had this bowl of kashi go lean before bed..i never said i was perfect.

WEDNESDAY!

wow tuesday took a lot longer to recap that i intended it to! haha if you are still reading this then props to you!

i made belgian waffles for everyone at work today, complete with the fixings~strawberries, blueberries (fresh & canned), homemade whipped cream (extra vanilla), lalala

i made myself a protein waffle~

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup cottage cheese
• 2 T vanilla protein powder
• 3 egg whites
• vanilla extract
• cinnamon

garnished with some strawberries, blueberries & agave~

YES!

so bueno!

wow this is long as.  pat yourself on the back for making it through!

questions~

1. what should i make with my food processor?

2. what is your favorite out of waffles, french toast & pancakes?

3. is there something you used to buy at the store and now make from scratch instead?

ok, i promise this post is over now.

xo. janetha b.