recipes and workouts!

First up is this meatball soup, prepared in the crock pot that is SUPER easy and delicious...

You'll Need:
 1bag (1 lb) ready-to-eat baby-cut carrots
1lb small red potatoes (2 1/2 to 3 inch), cut into quarters

1jar (4.5 oz) Green Giant® sliced mushrooms, drained

1small onion, cut into thin wedges

1bag (16 oz) frozen cooked turkey meatballs (about 32) or you can make these from scratch!

1jar (12 oz) beef gravy

1can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

Freshly ground black pepper, if desired 

*To save time, the pre-made meatballs work fabulous although they aren't as healthy as making them on your own, but I really use this recipe to fall on when we have late soccer or baseball practice or any other evening plans that keep me from cooking a great meal! Throw it all in the crock pot on LOW for 8 hours and there's your dinner tonight!
Your family will love it and I serve with a side of fresh, string beans!
YUM!!  
This recipe and picture are compliments of Betty Crocker 
with some tweaking from Move It Momma!!






I posted about this chick pea sammy a while back and let me assure you, it's THAT good!

 You can find this sandwich recipe HERE from a previous post...
WARNING:  It's so good, especially if you like chick peas the way that we do!  






And one that I'll be trying for my in-law's 4th of July party this year is this Lemony Veggie Pasta Salad!  
Sounds simple and delicious and is enough to feed 24, so it'll be perfect!  I'm sure I'll change it up quite a bit, but hopefully the end result is still delicious...it calls for snap peas, asparagus, and fat free yogurt that I'd probably substitute with Greek for added protein!

Lemon Mayonnaise

2cups fat-free mayonnaise or salad dressing

1cup Yoplait® Fat Free plain yogurt (from 2-lb container)

1/2cup lemon juice

1/4cup chopped fresh or 1 tablespoon dried tarragon leaves

1teaspoon salt

Pasta Salad

2packages (16 oz each) medium pasta shells

3lb asparagus, blanched and cut into 4-inch pieces

2lb snap pea pods, blanched

16medium green onions, sliced (1 cup)

2medium yellow bell peppers, coarsely chopped (2 cups) 

Recipe and photo compliments of EatBetterAmerica.com but yet again, will be tweaked by ME!

Recipe says to cook pasta, drain and set aside after rinsing in cold water.  Create the Lemon Mayo and then add those to the pasta, as well as the veggies!  

Sounds easy and delicious, so let me know if you try before I do! And Hmm, I wonder if I could do one package pasta and add something else in place of the other package, to cut on simple carb??  Suggestions??  

My Workouts:

I've been running, but very little mileage this week due to the hip pain.  After taking a few days off, the hip feels much better but still a dull ache...trust me, I'll be seeing a doctor soon if the pain continues!  Also, June 6th is the sign up for the Chevron Houston Marathon...hard to believe it's already time to sign up again!  They have increased the slots AGAIN for 2013, so I strongly recommend trying Houston this coming January!  

And now for a few workouts that I've tried and love when incorporated with my spin workouts!  And of course I found them on Pinterest...where else?!

Triple Threat Cardio from foodfitnessandfamilyblog.com

4 Rounds to Freedom workout from fit2flex.com

These workouts are both "pinned" on my Motivation Board, 

so try them out and tell me what ya think!  

If you're having a hard time finding motivation, these workouts seem to do the trick because you'll be sweating in the first 2 minutes,

Sounds crazy but I love these hardcore, quick workouts that help you feel the burn right away...helps to keep me focused and motivated until somewhere along the way, I find that push that gets me through the workout!  

Ah, don't ya feel bad for people that NEVER experience THAT feeling??  I sure do!