Meal Planning and Preparation

A couple of weekends ago I finally pulled finger and started preparing food on a Sunday afternoon/evening to see us through lunches and dinners for most of the week. I made Baked Chicken Parmesan Meatballs in Tomato Cream Sauce and also Manicotti. They are probably not the best options however they saw us through to about Thursday. Mark LOVES the Manicotti. I also use Kraft Lite Cooking Cream in the tomato cream sauce; so surely that wins me some bonus points?

I managed to do this for a fortnight and then I let it slide and we honestly spent so much money on meals last week. This made me think that it is kind of a waste of money and there are better things that we could be spending our hard-earned wages on. This is not to say that we will not be allowing ourselves the odd meal out during the week, but we just need to be better prepared.

All of last week I thought about food preparation and then I read Amanda’s blog and I realised “it does not need to be complex” and so I made a list of things I wanted to do over the weekend to help us be more prepared and save money.

On Friday night I made Granola and I think I have finally found a recipe that I really love. Sometimes I mix up the nuts etc. and I also add other things like Linseeds etc. I always make a double-batch which lasts us quite a while. I like that it doesn’t have sugar in it (like one of my other favourite recipes) and you get the sweetness from Maple Syrup and Honey.

On Sunday I ended up cutting up broccoli, brussel sprouts and a head of cauliflower and popped that in a click-clack container. The irony of why I have these containers is not lost on me as I have heaps after I made 100's of cupcakes to sell to raise money for the Red Cross after the Christchurch Earthquake.

Then I chopped up kumara, potato and carrots for roast vegetables and followed Jamie Oliver’s recipe. The only thing I would not do next time is boil the kumara as that got a bit soggy.

I finally pulled my food processor out of the study to make some balls as I have heaps of different recipes to try. So I made Julia & Libby’s Bliss Balls and then Emma’s Snickers Bliss Balls. They live in a container in the freezer. Next weekend I think I will try Seeded at the Table’s Chocolate Cranberry Almond Energy Ballsand Petite Kitchen's Raw Lemon and Coconut Truffles.

I am also trying to get through the food in our freezer at the moment so I can start fresh so it means remembering to take chicken out. We have some frozen fish fillets but I am unsure about how they will be although I figured that I could always pop them in a curry.

Last night we had lightly boiled veggies with fresh lemon juice and a bit of grated parmesan, with warmed up roasted vegetables with some diced chicken with lemon and herbs. Then we each had two balls. Then I was still hungry and I had plain salted Doritos and some cheese and then some of the chicken for today’s lunch. Eating after dinner is always a problem for me and it probably did not help that we ate dinner while watching Masterchef and Hell’s Kitchen. Maybe I need to have more water (in case it is thirst vs. hunger) and herbal tea.

I also want to make some hummus and seed crackers this weekend. I don’t mind having a cracker or two with a raw carrot with beautiful fresh hummus for a snack.

What do you do to prepare food for the week?

Winter Exercise

Last year vs. this year - Motivation!

My aim for 2014 was to really try and increase the number of times I exercised each month versus 2013.

Suffice to say I have hit a bit of a wall as far as the above aim is concerned.

Historically, I have always gone into hibernation over the winter months and 2013 was the first year that I did not do that and looking back it makes me really happy that I was able to maintain my level of exercise.

I have put a lot of the weight back on that I had managed to lose and while I should not be focused on weight it is still hard because I know that I am quickly slipping back into old habits and I do not want to go backwards. 

About 6-8 weeks ago the gym timetable changed and our RPM classes were really affected. This has thrown me completely and we went from going regularly 4 times each week to 2. This is down from 5-6 per week. I feel quite disappointed and sad and am finding it hard to get back into the rhythm over the cold winter months.

So I thought small changes would be good:

• 3-4 x RPM per week
• 1 x Body Attack
• Re-introduce Body Pump

I would also like to start doing some free weights again and am going to sit down on the weekend and write myself a program. I think I will find it easier doing weights at New Lynn as they have a separate woman’s gym and I know the equipment etc.

I figure if I can do the above for 4 weeks then it will become a habit.

At the same time I am going to make small, sustainable changes with my food like reducing portion sizes, upping fresh seasonal vegetables and cutting right back on takeaways and wine. Also, some meal and snack planning and preparation with Mark.

I need to now start getting back into the habit of getting out of bed when it is dark and cold.

Bikram Yoga, RPM and Ludus

So today marks the 7^th day that I have exercised in a row; I am hanging out for Saturday 13^th July when I can have a break and a sleep in.

Years ago I wrote a list of 100 things to do in a year; suffice to say that I did not manage to cross that many off. However, on Saturday I did manage to cross doing a Bikram Yoga class off my list.

A few months ago I brought a $20 voucher for 3 Bikram classes at Britomart (13 Commerce Street) and I had put off going until the voucher had nearly expired. My friend Penny said “okay, let’s go this weekend” and I said “sure”. As the day got closer I got a bit scared, however I have friends that do Bikram a lot who were really supportive.

So we go there and talked to the instructor who was lovely and explained some things i.e. you cannot leave the room and if you need a break just knee down. She also said to think of it as being on beautiful Tropical Island and doing stretches; can I say…it is NOT like that at all!

We walked in the room to get set up and it was like a full on heat wave and I thought “I cannot do this”. We sat outside until we were ready to begin.

One of my twitter/Facebook friends told me to clear my mind and focus on what I can do and relax…this did not really happen…sorry Megan!

Honestly, at about the third posture in I thought I was going to die or melt. I really thought the heat would do me in. I remember at one point looking down at my toes and thinking “wow they are actually sweating”.

I had to take a lot of breaks either lying down or sitting. However, I stayed in the room! At the end the instructor told me that I still did better than a lot of a people on their first time.

Once we had finished I actually felt pretty good and thought “I could do that again”.

What I will say is that I have so much more respect for the blogger who writes ‘My battle with becoming Bendy & Beautiful’. You are AMAZING. You are strong both physically and mentally and having gotten to know you a bit over the last little while I will bow down to your fantastic Bikram commitment! You rock. #Respect

So yes, I will do Bikram again!

Things that I reckon you should know:

• All Bikram classes follow the same format and are 90 minutes
• 26 postures done twice (not 1-26 and then another 1-26 like I thought)
• The instructors talk you through rather than demonstrate so seriously Google Bikram postures and get accustomed to how they are done and watch others in the class
• Rest if you need it
• Be prepared for the heat and wear as little as possible
• Hydrate beforehand and do not eat
• If I can do it...so can you!

Then on Sunday I did an RPM class which was nice and then went to another session of Ludus Magnus…I think that people thought I was crazy.

Honestly, I cannot do Burpees…I do not know if it is a mind thing or crappy core strength! I need to practice as I really want to be able to nail them! Also, planking…I need to practice that!  I have red knees as “for fun” we did team work and crawled under human arches. Seriously…..crawling! Also, Jan (from MMNZ) loved it and I said to her "you better not tell Delane about this".

My nutrition is still not great so Delane suggested 3 days clean and then 1 day more relaxed. So I am starting that this morning and will limit myself to 1 coffee and then have my lemon, honey, ginger, cider vinegar, coconut oil cold busting drink. Also, water and green tea! Have some snacks prepared and we are back on the Fit Me in Meals.

Now I need to start training for the half marathon that I want to do in April next year. It means training smarter to be able to run at least most of it. Last night I had a dream about running the Sculpt 6K…seriously if I am not exercising I am dreaming about it!!

RPM and a Gym Buddy!

At the end of March (I think) I asked the MMNZ members if anyone went to Les Mills Britomart as I needed a gym buddy. There were a couple of members who went there and I ended up arranging to go to RPM with Caroline at the beginning of April; best decision ever!  I also went to Pump on Tuesday night with Tara!

We have been going regularly to RPM at least twice a week since then. I really love RPM; it is absolutely addictive! I think I went to RPM 4 times in one week; which is fantastic as I had not been going to the gym at all. The thought of just going and sitting on the cross-trainer for 45 minutes was boring the pants off me. So now I have an awesome, fat-burning, fitness-increasing 45 minute workout.

My favourite instructors are Tony (Kath’s old flatmate) who only teaches a couple of classes at the moment (New Lynn and Takapuna), Tommi (AMAZING) and Charlotte (Tuesday am at Britomart). I really think that having someone to go with and an awesome instructor help me get out of bed each morning.

This morning I was all booked in and I woke up at 5am and thought “I will just rest my eyes until 5.15/5.30” and then the alarm went off again and I talked myself out of it. You know how it goes “I am too tired, I want to sleep, it is too cold, and I will go on Tuesday/Thursday/Friday”. The mind is a powerful thing for talking yourself out of doing something. So I am not going to let it foil my plans again. I am going to make sure that I get to bed earlier and that my gym bag is always packed. 

I will no longer be my excuse!!

The exciting thing is that from the 7^th May, our Shake Ups start again twice a week! So I need to change when I do RPM. So my exercise week should look like:

Monday ~ RPM (am)

Tuesday ~ Shake Up (am) / Pump or RPM (pm)

Wednesday ~ Rest

Thursday ~ Shake Up (am)

Friday ~ RPM (am)

Saturday ~ Weights (am) or Combat / Pump (am)

Sunday ~ Walk/Rest or Event

My goals for May are:

• No pasta
• No takeaways
• Stop treating myself every day; because treats should only be treats!
• Be under 140kg by the 1^st June; achievable? Definitely!
• Get out of bed and exercise!

What are your goals for May?