Fitness Challenge || Weeks 3 & 4 Review

Even though I did not post a Week 3 Review, hopefully you saw what did happen in Week 3 here!

This has all been a really great experience and one that I would definitely recommend to anyone who is wanting to start a healthier lifestyle. It teaches you how to be more conscious about what you are putting into your body. Regardless of your weight loss, you feel better, your clothes fit better, and you hopefully will have a slew of new and healthier recipes that will hopefully take the place of some of your old ones.

With only one week left in our Family Fitness Challenge, there are still three of us that have full points,  with everyone else very close behind. I think it is safe to say that we have all won something with this challenge, even if it is feeling great about the changes that are made and will continue to be made.

Today is another "Snow" Day here in Texas. It is a whopping 32 degrees outside, and not snowing or sleeting or anything as of now. With all these days off of work, I have found more time to search for new recipes, and now that we are no longer cleansing, it is easier to find good ones that are still healthy. Here is one that I found, but then adapted a little for us last night. The best thing… lots of leftovers!

Turkey and Quinoa Enchilada Bake

Ingredients
-1 cup cooked qunioa
-1 package extra lean ground turkey
-1 green pepper, chopped
-1 onion, chopped (I like to use
  pre-chopped frozen onions because
  one of my least favorite things is
  chopping an onion)
-3 garlic cloves, minced
-2 (15oz) cans black beans, rinsed    
  and drained
-1 (16oz) salsa (I used black bean and
  corn)
-1 (15oz) can enchilada sauce
-1 (14.5oz) mexican stewed tomatoes
-1 teaspoon onion powder
-1 teaspoon garlic powder (or more)
-1 teaspoon ground cumin
-8 corn tortillas (I used blue corn/flax
  seed tortillas, Artisan brand)
-2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
-1 avocado, diced or sliced

Preparation
-Cook quinoa according to package instructions. While quinoa is cooking, spray large saucepan with cooking spray. Cook turkey, green pepper, and onion over medium heat until turkey is browned. Add garlic, and cook for another minute. Depending on the meat you use, you may need to drain any grease. (If using extra lean turkey, you should not have this problem.) Then, stir in the black beans, salsa, enchilada sauce, stewed tomatoes, onion powder, garlic powder, and cumin, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes. When qunioa is cooked, stir into the simmering meat sauce.
-Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9in. x 13in. baking dish with cooking spray. Pour about a third of the meat sauce into the baking dish and spread over the bottom. Top with half of your tortillas. Spread another third (half of the  remaining) of the meat sauce over the tortillas, and spread. Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese. Top with remaining tortillas and then remaining meat sauce.
-Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining cup of cheese. Put back in the oven for about 10 more minutes or until you see the cheese bubbling on top. Serve topped with avocado (or sour cream if that is what you choose).

"Snow" Day in Texas

Happy "snow/ice/polar vortex/winter storm" Day, my fellow teachers!! 

If you haven't smiled today, watch this video. 

These two boys will absolutely make your day. 

What sweet talent, a true gift from God!

God is Good || Half Marathon

God bless MLK Day! This weekend was incredible and extremely full, and having today off just makes it all so much better. The women in our Sunday School class went on a retreat this weekend. It was such a wonderful time of sweet fellowship and time to "retreat". We had some great sessions and activities. One of the things we did while there was choose a word for the year that we wanted to focus on. After much prayer and thought about this time in my life, I came to the word, TRUST. Merriam-Webster defines the verb trust as "believing that someone or something is reliable, good, honest, effective; to place confidence in, to depend on or rely on, to have faith in". I want to focus on trusting God and his perfect plan for us which he has already laid out before us. I want to be able to give up control and let God do his work. Philippians 4:1-20 is my prayer. Yesterday, verses 6&7 were my prayer.

Have you ever accomplished something that you know full-well you did not accomplish with your own strength? I have--yesterday. About eight months ago, I signed up for the Aramco Houston Half Marathon, and I began training in July. I then stopped training in August--when school started. I was disappointed in myself, but I soon got over it because I knew I had already taken on too much. That said, I had come to the conclusion about mid-October that the 2014 half marathon would not happen for me, and to be honest, I was at peace with that. Fast forward two and a half months… some of you have read about our family fitness challenge, and that's where things began changing for me. It has been almost three weeks since the challenge began, and since the beginning, I have been running almost every day to get my daily work out. In order to receive a point for a work-out in the challenge if you are just going to run, it must be 3 miles, and that's what I did… almost every day. The farthest I ran was 3.5, and I'm pretty sure it was on accident. On January 9th, I sent my mom a text, "Would you maybe still want to run the half?" I was not with her when she received the text, but I can bet money she almost fell out of her chair, but I was 100% serious. Where did this confidence come from? The Lord. There is absolutely no other explanation. Fast forward again ten days…

Here we are (my mom and I) before embarking on this 13.1 mile run! The weather could not have been a bigger blessing! When we started, it was right at about 50 degrees. We both started in long sleeves (with plans to shed them at mile 3). I also started with ear-warmers, because my ears are very sensitive. Just waking up and getting downtown was an accomplishment. As odd as that sounds, it was for us. We were out there, doing it. With each step we took, we surprised ourselves. We hit mile 3 feeling really good, and then all of a sudden, we were at mile 6 feeling just as good.

My sweet dad and amazing husband were at each of the mile markers above cheering us on and encouraging us to keep going. Matt had a blast taking selfies at each of these mile markers, as well. He was such an encouragement. I told him it was even better than running with him, because I would look forward to seeing him at each of these places. My uncle picked us up at mile 3, and the three of us ran the entire way through mile 9. I was completely overwhelmed and blown away at that fact. But once leaving mile 9, I was hurting pretty bad--feeling the "not-training pain" in my legs and shins--so my uncle went on ahead of us.

That is where Philippians 4:6-7 came in. My prayer-warrior of a mom, truly an inspiration, started reciting these verses. It seemed like those last four miles all kind of blurred together. We could not believe we were at mile 12. And then at about 12.5, my uncle randomly appeared from behind us (after he had seen a friend and stopped), and the three of us got to finish together! We did it!! Praise the Lord! Although I would never recommend not training to anyone, I will say with confidence that with God's strength, there are so many things that we can accomplish. We truly can do all things through Christ who gives us strength.

To make it even sweeter, I got to trade in my old kicks (that have now been through two half marathons) for some much-needed and much cuter new ones! A gift from my parents for running yesterday. 

I wear a Fit-bit for those of you who know what one is. If not, it tracks my steps, mileage, sleep, calories (in and out), activity, etc. It connects wirelessly with an app on my phone, and before going to sleep last night, here are my results from the day… 

How crazy!

What can you accomplish with God's strength? 

Fitness Challenge || Week 2 Review

Two down, and three to go! …weeks, that is. It feels like this challenge has been going on forever, but it has only been 14 days. Oh well, I am feeling really great. I haven't been able to tell if that is a direct reflection of what I am putting into my body or if I am subconsciously feeling great because I know that everything I am putting into my body is super healthy. I may have just confused myself. Regardless, I haven't felt like I have been cleansing, which is the best way to cleanse. Amiright??

At this point in our challenge, we are able to add certain foods back into our diet. We are able to add small amounts of cheese and bread and other foods in moderation, but we actually have only had a little shredded cheese on one meal--Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers last night. I came to the realization that while I will eat bell peppers, I am definitely not in love with them. I was, however, in love with all the fixings inside of them. See the recipe here.

I also wanted to share two of my favorite recipes- one being my go-to green smoothie and the other, my favorite dinner recipe from this week.

Green Smoothie
-1 sliced banana (frozen)
-1/3 cup sliced strawberries (frozen)
-1/4 cup blueberries (frozen)
(I pre-package fresh fruit at the beginning of the week in freezer baggies.
That way, all I have to do is grab one from the freezer, and it is ready to go!)
-1 cup unsweetened almond milk
-1/4 cup vanilla greek yogurt
-1 tablespoon almond butter
(especially if I am drinking this as a meal- it helps me stay full)
-2 cups spinach leaves
(or however much it takes to fill the blender)

Asian Lettuce Wraps

1 cup quinoa (cook according to package--about 4 cups)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 (1.25 lb) package extra lean ground turkey

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1 bag broccoli slaw

1/2 can drained and chopped water chestnuts

1/2 cup teriyaki sauce (the healthiest you can find)

1 package edamame (cooked according to package)

lettuce leaves for serving

Cooking Instructions

Pour olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened. Add ground turkey, salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Cook until turkey is browned and cooked through. Once it is cooked, add broccoli slaw, water chestnuts and teriyaki sauce. Continue cooking for about 10 minutes. Add in cooked quinoa and edamame, and continue cooking for about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low until ready to serve. Serve on lettuce leaves. (I had not added the quinoa when I first served my meal, but I quickly realized it would be even better mixed in with the other ingredients. Therefore, I did.)

Honestly, the hardest part of this week was being back at work. After full days of being on my feet teaching and then coaching and then after all the other extracurricular activities, and after cooking some "elaborate dinner", it is hard to be motivated to work out or run. Thankfully, hubs helps me out in that area. I never want to go run in the dark by myself, so he takes on the role of my protector/he makes me run faster. He's wonderful. Also, my dinners are really not elaborate.

I hope this update finds you in the middle of your own fitness challenge. I hope you are doing well and feeling great. I hope you are finding what motivates you. For now, I hope this motivates you…

"Be STRONG and COURAGEOUS. 

Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you;

He will never leave you or forsake you."

Deuteronomy 31:6

Fitness Challenge || Week 1 Review

Made it through the first week of our Family's Fitness Challenge! If you missed my original post about the rules of our Family's Fitness Challenge, you can see it here. If you do know the rules, here is an update on Week 1. If you are looking for meal ideas or snack ideas while trying to eat healthy, keep on reading, because I am going to share some of my favorites!

Breakfast
Matt does not usually eat breakfast, but I am one of those people who cannot function without it. Some ideas include:

-Egg whites or Whole egg to Egg white ratio of 1:2 (for women)

-Fruit

-Extra lean turkey bacon (or sausage)

-Fruit or green smoothie

-Oatmeal topped with berries (and agave nectar)

Snacks
Because each of your meals is supposed to be between 200-300 calories, you are allowed snacks between meals. A few of my go-to snacks include:

-Almonds (or other nut)

-Apples (or bananas) with a tablespoon of almond butter

-Green smoothies

-Any fruit or veggie as a snack is also great!

Lunch
I sometimes just treat lunch as another snack, so some of the above items are things I have been eating for lunch. When I have more time, or now that I am back to work, the plan is:

-Lots of leftovers

-Salad with protein (i.e. grilled chicken) and any fruits/veggies I have on hand

Dinner
Dinner has been our favorite so far. It has been fun experimenting with recipes that fit into our eating plan, yet are still super delicious. Here are some recipes I have found that we have really loved:

- Turkey Meatloaf Muffins and steamed veggies (top left)

- Chicken Thai Stir Fry (middle)

- Slow-Cooker Chicken, homemade sweet potato fries (not pictured)

- Chicken Fajita Bowl, and instead of tortillas, just mix with brown rice and black beans (bottom right)

- "Spaghetti" Squash w/ extra lean ground turkey & all natural tomato sauce w/out cheese (bottom middle)

Favorite Recipes This Week

All of the above recipes really were very delicious! My favorite (and it was not easy to choose at all) was probably the chicken fajita bowl. I really did not feel like I was on a diet at all when eating it. I was being weird at the grocery store and bought the already thinned chicken breasts (because they're cheaper), but I shouldn't have. The recipe will make a lot, and it makes great leftovers, so I wished I had used more chicken in the beginning to make the dish last a couple more days. Matt's favorite was the spaghetti squash. He was a little hesitant at first, but afterwards, admitted to it being his favorite meal so far on the challenge.

All of this to say, so far, so good. Not that I would say this is easy by any means, however, it is very nice to have other people keeping me accountable, especially the one I live with. After all, misery loves company, right? Just kidding, it really is not miserable… yet. 

Back to School on Monday

One of my goals for Week 1 of the Family Fitness Challenge was to run Avery at least three times as part of my daily work outs. Two times down, and she loved every minute of it (as did I).

We love days off!

Family Fitness Challenge

2014. A new year full of new possibilities. To begin this new year on the right foot, my dad has come up with a 5 week Family Fitness Challenge. Each week, you get points for various things that we have decided "healthy/successful" people might/should do. Here's how it works:

• You must set three goals on or before Day 1 of the current week. If all three goals are completed by the end of the week (and signed off on by a witness or spouse), then three points are awarded. There is no partial credit. (For example, achieving one of the three goals does not give you one point.)
• Each day, there are four things you can do to receive one point for each: 
• Eat healthy. There are parameters for this one that are outlined in our Challenge Manuals. (Yes, we have those and yes, they are bound. Thanks to our Dad "Challenge Coordinator.") 
• Work Out. A "work out" constitutes as 50 minutes of exercise that includes 20 minutes of cardio. Because we are a family of runners, a 3 mile run outside also constitutes as a "work out."
• Getting at least 7 hours of sleep. This is pretty self-explanatory. This is what we decided a healthy/successful person should be getting every night.
• At least 15 minutes of personal Bible Study or time in prayer. This does not include a small group or prayer at meals. This is a quiet time set aside for God and you.
• A random act of kindness at some point throughout the week will earn you three points. (Even if you do more than one, only one act will count toward your points.)
• Attending Sunday church will also earn you three points.

This challenge is not necessarily "results-based," however I believe each of us will see results at the end of the 5 weeks. There are a maximum of 37 available points each week, but you can only max out at 33, so if you only want to work out 4 days a week, but you do everything else, you still can achieve maximum points for the week. Or, if you are not able to get 7 hours of sleep each night, you have a little wiggle-room there. Reading one book throughout the challenge also gives you 15 points that are added in at the end of the challenge for a total possible points of 180. The contest is simple, really--the one with the most points at the end of the 5 weeks is the winner. In the event of a tie, Dad the "Challenge Coordinator" will decide the winner based upon the quality of personal goals and the random acts of kindness. So, who's ready to begin?

On top of (and to help with) the Family Fitness Challenge, a few of us have decided to start another healthy-eating challenge with various supplements and meal plans. It is a comprehensive supplement and nutrition program. We will be eating about 5 times a day, with each meal falling between 200-300 calories.

What are we cutting out?

Fried foods, processed foods, white flour, white breads, dairy, mushrooms, sugar, candy, syrups, honey, creamy sauces, high-calorie salad dressings, sodas, alcohol, deli meats, and mayonnaise

So what in the world can you eat?

Protein (eggs, chicken, turkey, fish)
Fruits (berries, apples, kiwi, mango, etc.)
Veggies (spinach, romaine, kale, asparagus, sweet potatoes, broccoli, edamame, celery, etc.)
Healthy fats (avocado, nut butter, nuts or seeds)

2014 is going to be a great year. 

Did you make any resolutions?

Good luck and happy 2014!

2013 Comes to a Close

The last week has really been a pretty incredible one. On Christmas Eve, Matt and I went to the Christmas Eve service at church. If you have never felt the presence of the Holy Spirit, that is the place. It is amazing to see all the tiny little candles illuminate a worship center. Of course, though, in hubby-like fashion, he does something to get me tickled. By accident, he stepped on his candle, and it broke into pieces. When the choir lady came to light our row's candles, she refused to light his. She said it was a fire hazard or something. I thought to myself, "ironic." At the candlelight service. It was pretty priceless. We ended up getting his lit "as long as he held it by the wax." He did, and he burned himself. It was eventful, but it did not make God's presence any less evident.

After the candlelight service, we went to dinner at Pappadeaux, which has been a weird tradition in my family for quite a while now. It used to be Olive Garden, until we realized one year that no one really liked OG, so it was changed to Pappadeaux about 10-ish years ago. We then went home and woke up the next morning in our new place and exchanged gifts early and in our PJs--including Avery. She got a couple of new toys that she was really excited about. From there, Matt decided to ride the moped to my parents' house [which was a sight to see, let me tell you]. We opened gifts there and later that day had Christmas lunch with my family.

We also started our own little family tradition of taking a picture in front of our tree on Christmas day. Here are the first and second-annual Christmas tree family photos…

                            2012                                                                                          2013

After we celebrated with my family, we traveled to New Braunfels to celebrate with Matt's family. We were greeted with so many faces that we do not get to see very often, and we just had the best time. Some highlights were the Christmas dinner, Family Scavenger Hunt, Annual Bormann Bowling Party, and visiting the historical Gruene Hall (and Gruene in general). 

Believe it or not, that big family photo is actually only about a fifth of the amount of Bormanns that were in attendance at the bowling party. Once we left, we came back home for a couple of days and then headed to the bay to ring in the new year! We barely made it past midnight, but we were pretty on fire after the Aggies beat Duke! Johnny "Football" Manziel does it again. 

We have begun a Family Fitness Challenge that started today, the first of the year. I will post details in my next post and will continue to log updates throughout the challenge. For now, I will leave you with a few highlights from our year as we bring 2013 to a close. Happy New Year!