Step It Up

(of course our class wasn't that big) 

Last weekend I made the 200 plus mile drive down to Baltimore to attend a BTS (Body Training Systems) Group Step Training. I made the decision that I wanted to get certified to teach Group Step classes at my gym, I figured if nothing else it would be a fun weekend and I'd buy some extra calories. Although it was an expensive, to ease the burden slightly I decided to give priceline a shot to ease the burden a bit and boy did that work out. I never used priceline before so I was skeptical and nervous to bid, I knew I wanted a 4 star and above hotel only in the Inner Harbor and I bid only $80, I was so happy when it accepted my bid and gave me the Hyatt Regency right in the Inner Harbor so I was off to a good start.

The training itself was scheduled to be held all day Saturday (from 7:30-5:30) and Sunday (from 7:30-4:30). Our training group was pretty small, just 8 women all together and I was the only person that had traveled from out of town to attend, the rest were all local to that particular gym chain. They were actually all older than me too, I was the second youngest person there and some had very little step experience. I'd like to think that I'm pretty expert in my step class. A lot of the training was educated related going through what BTS is and how to teach a class versus being on the step and exercising. The training though was incredibly valuable and really gave you the tools to learn to teach a class and put it all together, something I was worried about since I know the steps I just don't know how to teach it. I left the first day of training feeling excited about the opportunity and optimistic.

On the second day we were expected to be able to teach one track on our own. My assigned track was our Step Agility track which is the first cardio peak in class, and also a very frantic type song. I wasn't nervous about teaching it but obviously wanted to do a good job. I messed up a little bit in the morning teaching the class but still felt pretty good about teaching it. I got another chance in the afternoon to try it again and I definitely improved but still messed up a bit but it was only my second time. The most intense part of the class had to be the Group Fitness Challenge where we did a loop five times for about 7 minutes each time of the most high intensity part of a step class to help build up your endurance, it was really hard work but it felt so good afterwards.

Overall I left the training feeling very excited, no matter what I'm really happy that I did it. Step is something that I enjoy so much and it makes me feel so committed to the gym. I do buy into the BTS program, I think it is well laid out and has a good approach to teaching the class. I already ordered new sneakers, the one that the instructor was wearing, that are orange, the official step color of the BTS program, and I can't wait to try all my new teaching skills. I still have to teach a full class and send in a video of me teaching before I'm officially certified but I'm well on my way, can't wait to get better at it!

Sweet Treats for Superbowl

Even though we don't host Superbowl at our house I still spent several hours in the kitchen preparing for the big event, after all the food is almost as important as the game itself. For the past couple years we've headed over to our friends Mike and Sarah's house to watch the game, although this year's game was particularly important since it was Mike's favorite team, the NY Giants, in it. Also being back on the Weight Watchers wagon I wanted to make sure I was prepared with some healthy options to snack on so I wasn't tempted by all the fattening stuff. I probably made a lot more than I needed to but I didn't mind, I ended up deciding to bring a veggie plate with dip, baked mozzarella sticks (by Skinny Taste), Weight Watchers crispy chipotle potato skins, and not on the healthy side Almond Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies. The mozzarella sticks and potato skins turned out really good, although of course I ended up eating WAY too much since there was so much other good food there.

The cookies were solely inspired by the fact that I had half of a jar of almond butter and I didn't really like it so I decided to bake with it instead to use it up. This was also excuse to use my brand new Kitchen Aid mixer for the first time, and it was amazing, I can't believe how easy it made baking. I really need to break that bad boy out again and bake some more with it! The cookies must've turned out pretty well because even the two "pretty" cookies I put on the side were eaten by Mike before I could take a picture of them. Next time though I really want to make these ones instead, a Chewy Coconut Chocolate Almond Butter cookies, I think those would be even better!!!

Almond Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Source: A Spicy Perspective

2 ½ cups flour
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
½ lb. butter (2 sticks)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 cup creamy almond butter
2 eggs
1 Tb. vanilla
1 cup chopped almond ( or sliced almonds)
1 – 4 oz. bar of chocolate, chopped
Sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Cream the butter, almond butter and sugars together in an electric mixer. Beat well. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. *Add a little more flour, if the brand of almond butter you buy is runny. Slowly mix the flour mixture in with the butter mixture. Mix in the almonds and chocolate. Roll the dough into 2 tablespoon sized balls. Lay them on parchment paper-lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Press the tops of the dough balls with the bottom of a drinking glass dipped in flour or sugar. Sprinkle the tops with a little sea salt. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for several minutes before moving.

Dinner Diva's Goes Swedish

I love all the theme's that our dinner group comes up with since it is never the same thing and it's all on the hostess to select her theme for that month. For this month Janet selected Swedish cuisine and I was on appetizers. Of course the first thing that comes to mind is Swedish Meatballs! I actually couldn't find anything else that I was inspired to make so I went with the meatballs. I've never actually had the Swedish meatballs they serve at Ikea, the last time we were there Mike didn't let me get any so I can't attest to those one, but I can attest to my Aunt Susan's Swedish Meatballs, which she makes every year on Christmas Eve. When I asked Mom for her recipe I thought it got cut off because there really wasn't much to it. So I improvised and basically mixed together a combination of several different recipes I read online. The end result actually turned out pretty good and I would make them again. This is how I think I made them, or the best I can remember....

Swedish Meatballs 
Source: A Rachel Original/Aunt Susan

Meatballs
1 lb. Chop Meat
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons Ketchup
1/4 - 1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 small onion chopped
1 tsp olive oil

Sauce
1 container/can Brown Gravy
1 cup beef broth
couple tablespoons sour cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 400F. Combine the bread crumbs and skim milk in a large mixing bowl, starting with 1/4 cup. Let sit for 5 minutes, or until the bread has soaked up the milk, add more as needed. Sautee the onion in olive oil.  Add the onion, egg, chop meat, ketchup and salt. Use your hards to very gently mix the ingredients. Put into 1/4 cup to measure out and cut that in half (so 1/8th of a cup) and roll into a ball for each meatball. Arrange the meatballs on a baking sheet, being sure that the balls don’t touch each other. Bake for 15 minutes. Roll the balls over so that a different side is touching the sheet and bake for another 15 minutes. While the meatballs are baking, start your sauce, simmer the brown gravy and whisk in beef broth. Add meatballs when cooked and simmer until meatballs are coated nicely in sauce. Add sour cream (optional, I threw it in since I had some on hand).

The meatballs were a big hit for our Swedish dinner, I think there were only about 5 left over. And for the main event we started off with homemade Swedish cucumber salad, which I loved, I adore cucumbers and Janet even made her own homemade rye bread. Janet also made this incredible "Swedish" lasagna that her uncle makes at his restaurant in Sweden, now this lasagna is not for those that are counting their calories when you hear the amount of cheese in this thing but it was delicious. The primary cheese in the lasagna was gouda!!! Which I love since my trip to Russia in high school when they made me spaghetti with gouda, I need to pick some gouda up on my next trip to Trader Joe's. And even though she forgot to peel the apples before she made the apple pie for dessert, Michelle's Swedish apple pie was delicious, I really liked the twist on it. That was nothing compared to me cooking a knife with the pork tenderloin last month!

Rockin Mac & Cheese

I have yet to come across a bad recipe on my favorite website, Skinny Taste. I love everything that I've made on there, and I've made quite a few recipes. This one was worthy of posting because of how much we enjoyed it. When I was finished making it before I put it in the oven we tried some and Mike said right then and there that this was a definite make again recipe. Which coming from him says a lot. He is always complaining about how the sauces in a lot of recipes don't get thick enough and they're too watery. I was sure to keep this one simmering for a little longer and it seemed to help do the trick because this sauce was the perfect consistency and not watery at all. I added some chicken sausage to mine as well and it was the perfect addition. I enjoyed the leftovers this week and I already can't wait to make it again. This was the perfect low fat macaroni and cheese recipe and I loved the broccoli added in too! Highly recommend giving this one a shot.

Skinny Baked Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese (8 WW pp+)
Source: Skinny Taste

12 oz high fiber elbows like Ronzoni Smart Taste
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp light butter
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup minced onion
2 cups skim milk
1 cup fat free chicken broth (vegetarians use vegetable broth)
8 oz (2 cups) Sargento shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar
salt and fresh pepper to taste
12 oz fresh broccoli florets (I used pre-cut bag)
1/8 cup grated parmesan
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
cooking spray

Cook pasta and broccoli together in a large pot of salted water, according to package directions for al dente (or slightly under cook 2 minutes). Spray a baking dish with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 375°. In a large, heavy skillet, melt butters. Add onion and cook over low heat about 2 minutes, add flour and cook another minute, or until the flour is golden and well combined. Add milk and chicken broth and whisk, raising heat to medium-high until it comes to a boil; cook about 5 minutes or until the sauce becomes smooth and thick. Season with salt and pepper.Once the sauce is thick, remove from heat, add cheese and mix well until cheese is melted. Adjust salt and pepper to taste, add cooked macaroni and broccoli and mix well.

Option - Pour into prepared baking dish. Top with grated cheese and breadcrumbs. Spray a little more cooking spray on top. Bake for 15-20 minutes, then broil for a few minutes to get the breadcrumbs golden.

Following in Footsteps

Growing up my Mom was always a gym nut. Even when she was crazy busy taking us everywhere we needed to be, she somehow found time to squeeze in the gym or working out. I can remember going downstairs in the morning and finding her in front of the tv doing her Jane Fonda tapes (with the leotard and all, thankfully those went out of style). So hopefully I inherited this from her. Although I was always on the athletic side participating in activities like softball and tennis, it took me a while to really find my way at the gym. But I finally found it.

When I joined the gym here I joined because of the classes. I was immediately drawn to the step class.  Looking back my first time was a disaster, I remember one of the regulars telling me to follow her because I was all over the place and looking frustrated. I stayed in the back of the class, hoping to just blend in. Eventually though I moved up, closer and closer to the front of the room, until there I was right in front. I now have my regular spot in my step class and I know all the regulars. I love my step class, and I hardly ever miss a class, except on a occasion when it's unavoidable or I'm feeling particularly lazy. But it's been one of the things that has kept me going to the gym, even when it was the only thing I was going to the gym for, when I couldn't find motivation to go do cardio or weights, I always enjoyed going for step class.

A lot of it certainly has to do with the instructors. The 3 main step instructors at the gym have all been fabulous, and give a GOOD class. I'd been thinking about this for a while, but when I found a class that was going to be "local" or local enough that I could drive to it, I decided to just go for it. After some coaxing from my friend that teaches the class now I decided to do it and get certified to be a BTS Group Step Instructor. It's something that I love, and I'd like to think I'm pretty good at it now, and I have no problems being up in front of people, so why not.

So on February 18 and 19, I will be traveling to Baltimore, MD, to go get certified. As I've been to step class since I signed up I've been mentally preparing for this and trying to remember all the steps. I'm actually getting pretty excited about it. Although I think it will be tough, I also think it'll be an awesome workout, and who knows maybe I'll lose a pound or two doing it. If nothing else I get a fun, healthy weekend trip out of it!

Souper Bowl

What's better than a fresh, hot bowl of soup on a cold, snowy January day? ,Well this January has not been cold or snowy, especially in comparison to last January (not that I'm complaining by any means because I much prefer it this way). But it's still always nice to have a hot bowl of soup for a light meal. This was another trial from my favorite website, Skinny Taste, of course. While the recipe on the website was to make it in the crock pot, I made it on the stove top instead. It certainly wasn't as good as any of the soup's that my Mother-in-Law makes, because she makes some delicious ones, I'll have to try some of her mom's soup recipes next, she's always talking about how good they are!

Crock Pot Minestrone Soup
Source: Skinny Taste

1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can white beans, drained, rinsed (cannellini or navy)
3 cups fat free chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarians)
1 oz chunk of good Parmesan cheese rind
1 fresh rosemary sprig
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
salt and fresh pepper
1 medium zucchini, chopped
2 cups chopped fresh or frozen (defrosted) spinach
2 cups cooked small pasta like ditalini or elbows (al dente)
extra parmesan cheese to top (extra pts)

Rinse and drain beans. Puree beans with 1 cup of the broth in a blender. In a crock pot, combine broth, tomatoes, pureed beans, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, herbs, Parmesan cheese rind, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Forty minutes before the soup is done cooking, add zucchini and spinach. Cover and cook 30 more minutes. Add cooked pasta, cook 10 minutes more. Remove bay leaves, rosemary sprig, parmesan rind and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Top with extra parmesan cheese.

I wanted to blog this recipe for another reason though. This Sunday is not just the Super Bowl, but it's also the "Soup-er Bowl." I saw on a fellow bloggers website that she is hosting an online charity event called the Souper Bowl. For each blogger that posts a soup recipe and dedicates it to that special furry friend and sends it in to her she will donate $1 to the ASPCA. When I saw this quote on her blog, “He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.  Until there are none, rescue one (Unknown),” I was immediately pulled in, because all of this is so true of my little Rocky.

Therefore I am dedicating this post to my favorite little Giants fan (one with four legs and fur that is because I have some adorable nieces and nephews that are also Giants fans as well). He truly is my best friend. I never could have imagined how much I would love my very own fur baby, and how much of an impact he would have on our little family, and he IS part of our family.

It's fitting for this post to be on the Super Bowl as well, because it was last year on Super Bowl Sunday that we found out Rocky was going to be part of our family. I proudly showed his picture to everyone that would look last year on Super Bowl, and must have looked at those pictures a 1,000 times that day. Now here it is a year later and I couldn't be any happier with our little guy. He'll be rooting for the Giants on Sunday, here he is in his Giant's bandana (and he also has his matching Giants leash his Daddy bought for him). Go Giants!!!!