sun and surf

At the beach, more later, have a great weekend!
xoxo
martha

!!!TWO MILES!!!

I'm in the final week of the SELF Run 3 Miles with Ease challenge and even though I think I will finish the week short I am super HAPPY with myself. This morning I hit the 2 mile mark without problems. I wasn't incredibly winded and it felt GREAT! Last week I had almost gotten there with the stroller and thought I was hitting wall but today I ran solo an BOOM! got there! So even though it might be a few more weeks until I hit a full 5K I am very pleased.

WOOHOO!

martha

REVIEW & RECIPE!!!!

Okay, so have you ever gotten a new cookbook and every time you make something from it you think, "Wow, I think this is even better than the last recipe" and they keep getting better and better and yummier and yummier? 

Well this has happened to me, so be prepared to hear a lot about Mediterranean Harvest by Martha Rose Shulman.

This is an AMAZING cookbook. Typically Mediterranean cookbooks have Spanish, Italian and French recipes only but this one covers the entire region including Turkey, The Balkans and Northern Africa. And to top it all off, all the recipes are vegetarian, SUPER YUM! 

Last night I made the SUPER DELICIOUS Vegetable Soup with Chick Peas and Spinach!

ingredients:

1 cup dried chick peas, rinsed, soaked and drained.

6 cups water

salt

4 slices baguette

1.5 tbsp. sherry vinegar

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chopped or 1 cup canned with juice

2 tsp paprika

1 lb potaotes, diced

fresh ground pepper

1 lb spinach, chopped

3 tbsp pine nuts (optional)

1.4 cup fresh chopped parsley

pinch saffron

1 large egg, hard cooked, chopped

directions:

1.**Combine the chick peas with 4 cups water and bring to a boil, reduce, cover, simmer for 1 hour. add 1 teaspoon salt and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes to 1 hour.

2. Toast bread until golden, tear, put into bowl and douce with vinegar. Set aside.

3. Heat oil in heavy soup pot. Add onions, cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add 1/3 of garlic, tomatoes and paprika, stir often until it's a think pulpy mess, about 10 to 15 minutes.

4. Add chick peas and their liquid, potatoes, salt and pepper and remaining 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are done. add spinach and simmer for another 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.

5. Add remaining garlic, soaked bread, pine nuts (optional), parsley, saffron, and hard-cooked egg. Stir once and shut off heat. Let soup rest for 10 minutes. Serve hot.

**I used canned chick peas, the water from the can, and homemade vegetable broth to make up for the missing liquid. 

This is seriously one INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS soup and it's even better the next day. 

5 out of 5 Luv Muffins!

enjoy!

martha

standing and stretching

One of my favorite yoga poses is Uttanasana - Standing Forward Bend. This is a simple but effective pose that can really refresh you and make you feel more alert and lengthened. Along with Down Dog, I find this to be a pretty common and standard pose in most yoga practices.

Some of the benefits of the pose are that it helps with digestion, reduces fatigue and stress, and it strengthens the thighs and knees while stretching the hamstrings and hips. I use this pose as part of my cool down after I go running, it's really nice on the legs.

The pose works like this:

Stand in Mountain pose, exhale and bend from the hips, not your waist. Let your upper body cascade over the front of your legs. If possible, place your hands on the floor on the outside of your feet. this pose can be done with straight legs or slightly bent knees, adjust based on your ability, don't push or strain. Stay in the pose for 30 seconds to a minute. It can be used as a resting pose or on it's own. When you return to an upright position don't snap or roll the spine. You want to lift your upper body by lowering your tailbone. It should be a hinge like movement.

So take a few minutes, give it a try, this pose is a great pick-me-up.

xoxo

martha

REVIEW!!!!30 Day Shred

I have never seen The Biggest Loser, I don't have cable, so I didn't know who Jillian Michaels was when a friend mentioned the 30 Day Shred. 

I picked up the DVD and watched through. I was immediately impressed by the technique she employs. The 30 Day Shred includes 3-20 minute workouts, beginner, intermediate and advanced. Each work out is made up of 3 circuits with 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio and 1 minute of abs. Required equipment consists of hand weights and a mat. 

I usually hate workout DVD that require equipment but I think these are pretty standard household items at this point. If you don't have hand weights use soup cans.

The 30 Day Shred is a serious workout. It's only 20 minutes but I finish it as sweaty as I finish my weekly GAP class which is an hour. If you want to really jump start your fitness program and start seeing rapid results I highly recommend this DVD.

I've worked through the beginner level for a week and this week I want to repeat it with 5lb. weights, last week I used 3 lbs. 

Here's a sample of what the workout is like:

Warm-up with stretches and light cardio. 

Circuit 1 

Strength includes alternating push-ups (yuck) and squat -n- press w/weights.

Cardio includes alternating jumping jacks and invisible jump rope

Abs includes alternating crunches and reverse crunches

This is the hardest circuit in Level one, for me at least, but once you push through the first one the rest flow nicely and you can really feel satisfied with working through it. It's also only 20 minutes so if you remind yourself of that you can do it.

Two more  circuits follow and then Cool Down.

Jillian's personality comes across as tough but fun. She doesn't sugar coat the situation and is honest with the viewer about what needs to happen if they want to see results. She is never condescending and encourages you to work hard.

There is a participant in the video who does modifications for beginners but honestly there aren't many modifications for these exercises. The workout consists of pretty old school moves but the way they are combined makes them super effective.

I highly recommend this DVD. Since I started it 1 week ago I have definitely seen improvement in my cardio ability and more definition in my muscle tone.

4 out of 5 Luv Muffins

xoxo

martha