January is for Food and Fitness!

Everybody knows that January is the time for a new commitment to fitness and healthy eating habits, right?  Well, it is no different for our family, even though we try to stay committed all of the time anyway.  I can always use a boost to my motivation and I love to fit new challenges into my usual routine.

This year, I found a way to include my handsome husband in the experience, which makes it extra fun!  For Christmas, I requested the newest Beachbody workout program, P90X3.  Nate and I did the original P90X program for the first time way back in 2009.  We loved it, but Nate has not been able to enthusiastically commit to doing it, or any long-term fitness program, since then.  That is primarily because working out just takes TIME, and that is one resource of which he has very little.  But...GOOD NEWS!  The P90X3 workouts are only 30-45 minutes long each.  SHORT!  Simple!  Fun!

So, he agreed to do the 90-day program with me.  I have my workout buddy again, and together we Bring It every morning!

We took this photo right after we completed our "fit test" the weekend before starting the program.  We were either very excited to get started, or we were experiencing an internal "What have we gotten ourselves into?"

We started the first Monday of January, and in short order we discovered that short workouts do not necessarily equal easier workouts.  Oh, no they don't!  Our muscles have been challenged and ripped to shreds in some cases.  We are pushing ourselves hard and loving it!  Here are a few of the moves we perform during these workouts:

Chair Pose

Warrior Two

Side Angle Pose

Nice, low, Chataranga Hover.  This picture makes it look so easy...like I could hold it all day.  Haha!  Try it; this one is NOT easy!

These two poses are part of the Warrior workout, used in military boot camp type workouts.  The top move is called the Sphinx Plank and the Bottom is the Thumbs Up Plank with a Leg Lift.  Balance City!

For me, the harder part of fitness is nutrition.  I actually eat pretty well most of the time, but I do have some weaknesses in my diet with which I struggle.  So, while I am generally a healthy eater, I tend to slip back into some lifelong bad habits rather easily and I end up paying for it later.  It's a never-ending process of learning how to eat for fuel and nutrients vs. impulse and comfort.  And, of course, I am a big proponent of allowing for treats now and then...which sometimes turns into now and now.  Haha!  Oh, it's NEVER easy!!!

However, I have found a few new yummy meals this month that I will share here.  These are some of my very favorites:

But first, I must share this picture of my sweet kitchen helper, Trey!  This picture cracks me up for many reasons, but mainly because this is the face he made when I asked him to smile for a picture.  Haha!  So earnest!

He is helping me make one of my favorite meals; here he is stirring up the golden sweet cornbread that we serve with my yummy crock pot turkey chili.  SO good!  The cornbread is sweetened with regular white sugar, but I "healthy" it up a little by using canola oil instead of vegetable oil and flaxseed meal in place of the egg.

Oh, this stuff is good!  See below:

Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum!  The chicken tenders are breaded with coconut flakes and panko crumbs and served over a yummy salad with a honey-mustard vinaigrette.  Delicious!

And here's a new one I tried and just about died it was so good!  My first try doing a Thai dish.  Why didn't I do this before?

My plate was a little heavy on the shrimp part and light on the rice, so it doesn't look quite as good as it would have if I had balanced it a little better.  But, trust me, it was TASTY!  This was a Thai Green Curry Coconut Shrimp with Cilantro.  I added carrots and snap peas and served it over brown basmati rice.  Better than a restaurant, especially with that fresh cilantro thrown on top.  WOW!

This one was inspired by my vegetarian niece, who was supposed to come over for dinner but ditched us in favor of her fiance in Utah (ha!).  I found a yummy recipe that we could put together with or without an option of grilled chicken, so that I could keep my meat-lovers happy while serving a vegetarian meal.  This is a Loaded Baked Sweet Potato.  The toppings include a yummy black bean, red pepper and onion mixture, along with grated cheese, diced avocado, green onion and cilantro, with a dollup of greek yogurt mixed with taco seasoning.  Oh, and of course, grilled chicken was another option.  Next to it is a serving of chips with homemade salsa.  Oh, my goodness gracious!  Even though we had to reschedule our dinner date with my niece, I will be making this again!  It is so flavorful and SO colorful.  It looks like a party on a plate!

 Here are the links to some of these recipes, although I always do my little alterations, so mine are not exactly according to these instructions:

Coconut Chicken Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Thai Green Curry Coconut Shrimp (Note that I used the Cilantro instead of the Basil and added a few extra veggies!)

Loaded Baked Sweet Potato (I added diced grilled chicken seasoned with dry adobo seasoning.)

So, like the rest of America, we have started 2014 in a healthy and hopeful way!  It's always a work in progress for us and we do it imperfectly.  But we try our best and it works all right for us.  Hopefully February will be just as good! :)