Work-Out Wrap Up {4.14 – 4.20} + Menu Planning + Easter Weekend

Happy {day after} Easter!

Hope you aren’t feeling like you need to check yourself into a Chocolate detox center.

I did not partake in any chocolate, but I did slack off as the week progressed. Going back and reflecting over my mistakes – letting myself get too hungry, staying late at work, allowing boredom to creep in, and the big one- procrastination – I see what I can fix, and that’s motivating! So here’s what’s going to change this week:

Mix up the morning lift routine. HIIT workouts are great, but get repetitive day after day. I’ve also just been doing the workout of the day posted on BodyRock.tv instead of spot focusing on certain muscle groups. I’d like to get a bit more specific.
Food prep. I need to make sure I have a healthy light snack for when I get off work {I’m thinking something along the lines of these little energy bites}. I am ravenous after I get off work and sometimes make the mistake of eating too much, which then messes up my scheduled cardio. I hate running on full stomach, but need to have a little energy in my tank too. I also want to start prepping some other items for dinner just to make it that much easier to whip up meals.
STOP the procrastination. This ties in to the snack/food prep modification. If I have a light snacks, I won’t feel like I need to chill out and digest, which in turn will prevent me from siting down at the computer and getting sucked in.

Seems like a manageable goal list to me!

On to this past week’s {puny} workouts. BTW, another change: Instead of posting the move-by-move breakdown of each of my workouts, from now on you can find what I did simply by clicking the link. Easy enough, right?

Monday :: HIIT {arms & abs} + Yoga {75mins} + 6 mi run
Tuesday :: HIIT {full body} + 60 min cycle
Wednesday :: HIIT {full body}
Thursday :: HIIT {chest & back}

Andddd then I fell off the face of the Earth. Oops. It started with a pinch in the hip Wednesday {from what I think was inadequate stretching}, so I decided to take a rest day from running, and then my slacking snowballed.

Here’s the plan for next week:

On the Menu for Next Week:
+ Goat Cheese Stuffed Turkey Burgers with Soy Apricot Glaze
+ Roasted Lamb and Lemon Rosemary Potatoes
+ Ancho Chicken Tacos
+ No-Bake Carrot Cake Creams Cheese Bars {a girl’s gotta have her dessert!}
+ Blueberry Muffin Energy Bites {for snacks}

Some repeaters in there since I never got around to them last week… I’m loosening up my menu slightly. We decided it’s easier to have a 3 recipes and ingredients on hand for the time being. Still better than eating out every night.
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Besides working out, here are some scenes from last week’s meals + fun.

Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto.

Cauliflower Bake.

Jaime surprised me with a trip out to Chamisal Vineyards on Thursday night {which is where we first met} for our 6 month anniversary. Yes, we are that cheesy couple, and I love it! We joined the Wine Club and enjoyed a bottle of Califa Pinot on their amazing back patio.

We then headed to Arroyo Grande to try out the new hot restaurant in town, Ember. The menu was incredible! We started with the Wood Fired Squid with cannelloni beans, aioli, and toasted bread crumbs. Jaime got the Ribeye Steak with brasero roasted potatoes, garlic confit, and avocado chimichurri. I tried the Pollo al Mattone {aka chicken roasted under a brick} with grilled polenta and farmer’s market seasonal vegetables. We topped the night off with Chocolate and Strawberry Macaroons with milk chocolate chantilly. Plus many more glasses of local wines. Amazing.

We finished off the weekend with Easter celebrations. Out first stop was the Mission, followed by an amazing brunch at Luna Red {Jaime got the Fried Chicken and Quinoa Waffles and I decided on the Luna Red Custard French Toast}, champagne tasting at Cuvee, a couple hours of beach bumming in Avila, then Easter dinner at Jaime’s mom’s house, topped off with a delightful sunset walk around Terrace Hill Open Space. Perfection!

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Whew! That was one hell of a post! Maybe another goal for next week will be to break these bad boys up into smaller, easier digestible bits. In the meantime…