It's my turn!

Hey there!

Well, I'm having a great day today. Got up bright and early...and killed it with Burn Intervals. Wow, that's an intense workout and I love it! I was still sweating when I got out of the shower! Chest on "fiya" from yesterday's workout....ahhhh, does it get any better?


Waited about 45 minutes after my cardio workout before fueling up with my old faithful Green Monster protein shake



Ok...so, I FINALLY picked up some oat bran the other day and decided it was high time to give the ole "oats in a jar" a try. OMG-oodness! Party in my mouth! What took me so long to try oat bran you ask? I have no idea...I guess I have always loved oat meal so much that I didn't see the need to expand....but boy was I wrong..lol



Started with this....



1/3 cup into the pot...



Then I added 1 cup H2O, 1/2 banana..cut up, 1 TBL Jumbo flame raisins, dash of sea salt, 1 tsp vanilla, and sweetener of choice. I used Agave nectar.



Boil for 2 minutes stirring constantly, then take off heat and let sit for 2 minutes. Then stir in 1 TBL golden flax seeds ground with my majic bullet, and 1 TBL of wheat germ




and....can't forget... 1 tsp of Fresh Bee Pollen granules





Stir to combine well...

Next, take your "almost empty" jar of Raw Almond butter (ok, mine had a little more AB then normal...)



And put the other half of the banana in the bottom



Pour the cooked oat bran over top of the bananas, and top with fresh blueberries, raw walnuts, and a drizzle of agave nectar



Yummy! So clean, nurishing, delish, and filling. I had a scoop of protein powder mixed with 1 cup of almond milk to make this a complete complex carb/lean protein balanced meal.

Again, does it get any better?

Keep it clean!
~Linda

Torture Tuesday

Hey there! Wow, didn't realize it's been this long since my last post....eek! I'm a slacker! I am still following my plan and eating clean, just been really busy with work.

I kinda tweeked my lower back this weekend, so the past two days, have been very careful in that area.

Today was the second day of week three of the lean phase. Yesterday I did lean circuit 1 and this morning did extreme abs and then did lean circuit 3. I'm probably working the rest of the week, so saved my cardio for those days. My arms are screaming at me today. Bis, tris, core and lower body Monday, and shoulders, chest, core and lower body today...so no worries about not letting each muscle group rest fully. Tomorrow, I'll be doing cardio for sure.

Eats have been right on! I grocery shopped yesterday and my fridge and pantry are both stocked and ready to rock a clean eat week for sure! Did some cooking yesterday, but need to do some more today.

Hope you all have been doing wonderful as well :D

I'm off to read all your blogs and get caught up!! Can't be getting this far behind again...ugg!

Keeping it clean!
~Linda

Week 2 lean monday

Hey! Happy Monday!

Today I started week 2 of the lean phase. Bis and tris, lower body and core. It's been 7 hours since my workout and my arms are still shakey..whoa! I bought some lemons yesterday to add to my protein smoothie and I forgot to throw one in...darn...lol I have a nice lemon tree in my backyard, but no lemons on it yet...so I have to buy them.

Eats have been pretty good, had a few meals that were not perfect...but basically, have stuck to my plan. Today, I have been doing some cooking that I didn't get done yesterday. Boiled some eggs, baked sweet potatoes, Roasted veggies, grilled some chicken breasts, cut up some fresh pineapple. Still need to make a pot of baked brown rice with roasted tomoatoes out of the eat clean diet book. And get a pot of overnight pumpkin oats ready to roll tonight. Then I'll be all set with clean food till Sunday.

Today was also house cleaning day. So, I've been bussssssy!

Hope you all had a wonderful Monday :D

Keep it clean!
~Linda

Thankful Thursday

Hello there! What a wonderful day today is! Sun is shinning, birds are singing, life is great! I am spending the day with my 10 month old Granddaughter Kylie. She is the apple of my eye, holds the key to my heart and is my love and treasure :D



She is taking a nappy poo, so thought I'd better get on here real quick and post a little update.

So let's see...where did I leave off? Oh yea, I was anxious to start up the Lean phase of the Chalean program. I LOVE IT! Started it on Monday. Did Lean circuit 1...working Bis, tris, lower body and core. Tuesday, I did the Extreme Ab workout and also Burn it off cardio. Yesterday, I did Lean circuit 2...working shoulders, back, lower body and core. Woa baby, am I having a bad case of doms! My shoulders and back are so sore from lifting, that they hurt to lift my arms to shampoo my hair in the shower this morning...yowzers! It's a sweet pain though right? YES!

Today, I did my own thing early this morning. Jumped on old Betsy (my dinosaur of a treadmill...lol) and did a 30 minute hight intensity interval training. There are many ways to do HIIT, but basically, you start off with a couple minute warm up and then slowly bring your intensity level up... to a peak, then back down, then back up, then back down....with intervals..alternating high and low throughout the workout. How you do it is up to your individual preference or fitness level. But it has to be super intense...giving it a 9 or 10 on the intensity scale. Then follow with a couple minute cool down and your done. Intense, but quick and to the point...perfect!

Showered, then had a quick bowl of oats with blueberries, bee pollen, and wheat germ and 4 hard boiled egg whites before little miss Kylie arrived.

Tomorrow, I'll do extreme intervals and abs. I can't believe that I am actually to the point of looking forward to my workouts. I miss working out on my rest day. This is a great thing!

You all have a great and powerful day!

Keep it clean!
~Linda

WEEKend not WEAKend!

Are we all having a great WEEKend and not WEAKend? Well I'm happy to say that I am! :D For most of us, the weekend is usually a time when we are faced with much temptation and find it easy to fall off the wagon as far as our clean eating is concerned. I have a friend who always writes have a great WEEKend not WEAKend. I thought it was pretty catchy. I've been strong this weekend. Went to a party last night at our friend's house and all I had was iced tea...yeah!

Workouts have come right along this week. Today is my rest day and also ends the push phase of the Chalean plan. Tomorrow morning I start the lean phase and I'm totally hyped about it.

I weighed myself this morning and my weight has not changed but I have lost inches. I was able to easily fit into a pair of jeans that I have not been able to wear in over a year. And the top I wore has short sleeves that button and the last time I wore it, I was unable to button the sleeves and had to roll them under. Well yesterday, I was able to button them right up! Yipee! This is proof that we can not rely on the scale to show us our progress. I have been gaining precious, spectacular, fat burning muscle while at the same time burning up fat...so even though my actual body weight is unchanged, my body size is SMALLER and tighter, more compact.....music to my ears!! So use those tape measures and the way your clothing are fitting to judge your progress, not the scale!

Eats have been pretty good this past week, but I did have a few slip ups. My goal this week is to keep my diet completely tight and clean and have one cheat meal on Saturday or Sunday. Not one nibble until then!

Here are a few pics that I have taken this past couple days



Apple/Pear was delish!! Sweet, crunchy, juicy, with the consistency of a pear. Will for sure be buying more of these :D



Trader joes gormet flakes & chocolate with unsweetened Almond milk



Spinach/Tomato and Guac salad (I added some sliced grilled chicken breast after I took the picture) So delish...no fattening dressing needed :D



Best Aroma young Thai Coconut...Not to be confused with coconuts you see in the grocery store....the brown, hairy kind. A young thai coconut is the same, just not as mature, and the liquid is absolutely loaded with a ton of minerals and nutritional qualities. Coconut water has been used in tropical regions around the world for centuries. Perfect for re-hydrating the body. Maybe the future sports drink?






Just look at all that beautiful Coconut water inside. Nature's Juice! What an amazing super food it is!



The water in these young coconuts are some of the purest of all waters. It is cholesterol free, and has more electrolytes than any fruit, vegetable juice or sports drink around. It is also completely pure and sterile. Did you know that back in WWII, Coconut water saved thousands of soldier's lives? Any wounded soldier needing a blood transfusion recieved a coconut water IV. Wow, unbelievable! The coconut water is sterile and is naturally distilled and was placed directly into their body through an IV! In 3rd world countries, coconut water is used as a universal blood and is still saving lives today.



I took the ice cold young coconut water, pureed the meat from inside, added a little agave nectar and had the most delicious coconut smoothie..yummy!

So, how do you like your young coconuts? Do you love them as much as I do?

I'm off to do some clean food shopping and then do some major pre-cooking for the coming week. You all can call me Betty today...ha!

Keep it clean!
~Linda

The Honest Scrap Blog Award

Holy Moly! Today, my dear blogging friend Michelle of Secrets of a Former Fat Girl gave me the honor and presented me with the Honest Scrap Blog Award!

Thank you so much Michelle. I am truly touched and honored to accept this awesome award...how great!

So, I know you're wondering what is this Honest Scrap Blog Award?




According to the web...

"This award is bestowed upon a fellow blogger whose blog content or design is, in the giver’s opinion, brilliant. This award is about bloggers who post from their heart, who oftentimes put their heart on display as they write from the depths of their soul."

Now that's deep!

There are three rules that need to be followed upon accepting this award.
1)Brag about it
2)Select 7 Blogs you find brilliant and link to them
3)List 10 honest things about yourself

Ok, so, I think it's pretty safe to say that I've earned my bragging rights by blogging about my award right here. So, I'll cross rule number one off the list...check!

On to rule nuber two

I read a ton of wonderful amazing blogs and I love them all...and like to consider them all brilliantly written in their own right. But, per rule number 3, I can only pick 7. So, these are the ones that just jumped to my mind.

Listed in no particular order...

1) Secrets of a Former Fat Girl written by non other than Michelle herself!

2)Mama's Weeds Written by Alison

3)Simply Clean™ Clean Eating, Nutrition, Fitness Written by Maria Peters

4)Melissa's Journey to the Figure Pro-Stage! Written by Melissa

5)THE CONFESSIONS OF A SAHM Written by Justine

6)Heather Eats Almond Butter Written by Heather

7)Peanut Butter Swirl Written by Kailey

Please check out these blogs and see just how great they are!!

Now for rule number three....listing 10 honest things about myself. Hmmm, I'll try not to bore you all too much with this one...ha!

1)I believe in love at first sight

2)I love pickled foods. Eggs, bologna, potatoes, kraut, veggies, ect....love them all. Well, not pickled pigs feet...eek!

3)My father died of cancer when he was only 51 years old. I was only 23. I was so mad at God over it, that I refused to pray or have anything to do with God for two years after.

4)I won 20 bucks at a singing contest when I was 8 years old.....singing Rudolf the red nosed reindeer

5)I am super clautrophobic

6)I earned my Nursing Degree at Hurley Medical Center School of Nursing in Flint Michigan

7)I have a burning desire to learn the piano

8)I am extremely tehnically challanged....never could figure out how to run the VCR..ha!

9)I am married to my most bestest friend in the whole wide world.

10) I am owned by Einstein the Eclectus Parrot. (When you have a bird, they own YOU not the other way around)

HIIT and Pumpkin Oats...

Good Sunday Morning!

I hope you all are having one fantastic weekend. Mine has been really nice. Just relaxing at home with the hubby. Sometimes those are the best ones.

With the Chalean Extreme program, there are 5 workout days, and 2 rest days, with one of them being optional to do your own cardio of choice. Today is my rest day but Saturday, I got up and did some HIIT. 15 minutes on my recombant bike and 15 minutes on my TM. Got my hr up sky high durning the high interval portions and really worked up a sweat. Felt great! Waited about 1/2 hour or so then had a bowl of left over overnight crockpot pumpkin oats for meal numero uno.

I tell you, these tasted just as good and creamy as the first day...so now I know that they keep well stored in the fridge. This bowl of heaven, I topped with 3/4 cup of TJ's non fat Greek Yogurt for some protein, and drizzled with a little agave nectar and a sprinkle of cinnamon and a few jumbo raisins and walnuts.

The TJ's greek yogurt is loaded with a whopping 22 gms of protein per cup....love that!! With the heavy weight training I am doing, I need to make sure to get in my protein each and every meal, never eating carbs alone without protein tagging along for the ride. So, instead of drinking a protein shake with the oats... which is really hard to do cause the oats are so so filling, I opted to try the yogurt...not bad, but I think I prefer the oats best without the yogurt. Maybe CC? Hmm, might have to give that a try next.

Even Einstein...my little green feather pants...loved them. Of course his was without the yogurt since parrots can't have dairy.



Look at that oatmeal covered beak and happy face....lol Oh yea, he wanted me to tell you that he is in the process of molting his face feathers, so please excuse his shabby look..ha! He is usually in beautiful feather.

I put my Best Aroma Young coconut in the fridge last night so that it's water can get nice and cold. Might try to open that baby up today and enjoy a nice refresing...not to mention extremely healthy.... glass of coconut water and coconut meat. I don't know though, I saw on line a recipe on making a smoothie using the water and meat which sounded awesome. Decisions, decisions...hahaha! I wish I would have bought a bunch of them when I was at the Asian market Friday, can you believe I only paid a buck twenty nine? Cheap-ola!! LOL!

Ok, that's all the excitement I have for you kidos today. Keep the diet tight, get your exercise in, and make it a great day.

Frivolous Friday Re-cap!

Hey there my fellow bloggy friends!

It's Saturday...whoo hoo...my favorite day of the week! I was going to work today, but decided not to last night. I'm so lucky in that I decide which days of the week I work. And I have until 11PM the night before to decide if I want to be "added" to the following day's schedule. It takes discipline big time cause it's easy to just keep putting it off till the "next day". I've learned my lesson a few times..lol

Yesterday, I woke up very early and worked out to PC3. Back and chest with a gozillian Sumo squats and standard squats. So, yesterday finished up the third week in the push circuit. I'm really starting to see a difference in my legs and booty. Got to be all those lunges and squats that Chalene has me doing. Is there a better way to get those sexy legs and behind then with doing lunges and squats? I don't think so! LOL!

After working out, SR and I headed downstairs to the kitchen to have our recovery meal. We don't eat together usually, since she literally lives right across the street from me...but Thursday night, I planned ahead and got my crockpot out and made Recipe: Crock Pot Pumpkin Oats « Broccoli Hut
for us to have Friday morning. OM-Goodness was it divine delish! So sweet and creamy....we loved every bite! We also had a plain Protein GM shake without the complex carb added to it to balance out the protein/carb ratio.



This was made using UVAM and topped with jumbo raisins and walnuts...this will be a do-over recipe again and again..you all have to try it!

After eating, SR ran home to get ready and I hit the shower and got ready and we headed off to do a little fun food shopping. First we went to an asian market called Mekong market. Picked up a couple of Kabocha squash for 49 cents a lb. Woweee, what a bargain!



Got one of these to try. Yes I only bought one..in case I don't like it..lol Apple/Pear..anyone every try one?



I also got this



After we left MeKong market, we decided to stop for lunch at Mimi's cafe...a small, cozy cafe decorated in a french cottage theme... with pretty linens, delicious fresh food at bargain prices...oh and great service. They have something called "just enough" menus....perfect portion sizes. Have any of you eaten at Mimi's before? How do you like it? Anyways, I had my "laxed" meal consisting of a pork sandwich on cabata bread, salad, iced tea, and a little "just enough" sized sliver of chocolate brownie with a tensie tiny scoop of vanilla ice cream. I love their just enough menu....you don't get those overwhelmingly huge portions that you have to deal with.

After lunch, we headed to Trader joes so that I could finally get a few items that I am either out of, or darn near...lol Blue chips (hubby is addicted), a container of Mediterranean Hummus (I'm addicted), 3 containers of non fat greek yogurt, organic sweet tomatoes, Raw crunchy unsalted almond butter, loaf of ezekiel sprouted bread (not pictured), agave nectar, cereal (for other family members and myself to try on laxed day), some Almond milk, and a bottle of their great EVOO



Foodie treasures of the day.. :D

Last night SR and her sweet hubby came over for movie night. We watched Powder Blue, drank a bottle of wine (I only had a 1/2 glass) and ate homeade olive oil popcorn....what more could a girl ask for? LOL! Nice enjoyable evening.

Ok, Laxed day is officially over..didn't do too bad at all....ate clean for all meals except lunch, oh and that 1/2 glass of wine..... so as of the minute my eyes popped open this morning...it's time to get back to the task at hand....Linda gets fit continues on!!

Keep it clean
~Linda